AUGMENTED REALITY INTEGRATION PLATFORM FOR SHIP NAVIGATION

Holograms are the subject of sci-fi but, like many ideas once deemed impossible, fiction and reality are converging. As new technology reduces in cost, opportunities arise in the maritime sector. This research strives to make objects that may be hazardous for navigation more easily seen in poor visibility. The wider study aims to allow the crew to see holograms of the navigation-lights of other vessels and chart-objects when they would be otherwise obscured by fog. This needs the bringing together of a variety of real-time data from bridge equipment. Each device has a different protocol/dated format, that in some cases may present conflicting information. The research presented here addresses the problem of reviewing data sources, categorising data types/strings, and converting them into a common language; to define/locate the holograms. The collected information is processed using bespoke algorithms. The outcomes present the selected methodologies and derived solutions for the holographic navigational enhancements.