RAYMARINE AND AUGMENTED REALITY
Thanks to its close relationship with Flir, Raymarine has been first out of the blocks to harness the power of augmented reality in sailing with its so-called Clearcruise. Combining a video feed from a thermal or optical camera with AIS and chart data allows Axiom MFDS to annotate the view with the names of nearby vessels, navigation marks and waypoints, identifying those that pose a risk in red.
It is also able to identify what Raymarine terms ‘non-water objects’, including buoys, pot markers and debris. ‘It uses software to interpret objects within the visible horizon and tries to identify objects that aren’t on AIS, like buoys,’ says sales director Peter Ingram. However, it is an aid only, not an infallible electronic eye. ‘We wouldn’t want to hang our hat on it.’ Nor will Raymarine be drawn on whether it plans to offer automated obstacle evasion at sea, although it has effectively proven the technology already with its automatic docking system, Docksense.