Alaska tanker simulation experiments with new precise navigation displays

Abstract

The demands for accurate navigation and safety become increasingly more stringent in travelling from the open waters into confined and congested harbor areas. This has dictated a need for an efficient all-weather precise navigation system using Loran-C and mini-computers to process the basic position information with minimum human intervention. As the development and field testing of such a new concept can be an extended process, the human was introduced into the evaluation process at the earliest opportunity by testing out the principle on the CAORF real time Simulator. This evaluation was incorporated in a series of experiments concerned with the safety of large tankers operating in the Valdez Narrows, Alaska. One of the objectives of the experiment was to compare the performance of a number of pilots when using an ideal precise navigator against that with an ideal radar system. The precise navigator proved to be more effective in allowing the pilot to maintain the ship's position within a prescribed tolerance zone. The use of the Simulator at this stage is both economical and effective as it allows the human operator to make judgments after experience with a "real-life" situation as to what information, at what rate, and in what form of display would best help him to navigate most safely.