A developing theme of long-haul operations is the desire for non-stop services between large centres of population and business areas. The delivery of modern aircraft with such long-range capability is evidence of airline commercial objectives and plainly demands improvements to the way in which air traffic is managed. There is now an opportunity to change radically the way in which over-flights are managed and operated. It is imperative to increase capacity in step with demand as it is the limitation in capacity that is fast limiting an expansion of the business.

This paper, and the two following papers, were included in the VTS-96 Symposium held in Rotterdam in April 1996. They are reproduced by kind permission of the Symposium Organizing Committee.

In the Netherlands, inland waterways occupy an important position in the transport of goods to and from the hinterland. To guarantee safety at dangerous junctions, VTS-centres have been introduced since 1952. Some years ago an extra dimension was added to some of these VTScentres, namely the promotion of the optimal use of a limited waterway, to guarantee a smooth traffic flow. This is certainly necessary for the river Waal, which can be considered as the aorta to the German hinterland.

Automatic data exchange between all inland VTS-centres and the German information centres along the Rhine contributes to a great extent to the operation of the VTS-centres. In case of an accident, appropriate measures can be taken immediately, saving human life and respecting the environment.

This paper is concerned with the legislative change which would have to take place if an automatic collision avoidance system were to be implemented.

The principle of complementary action, and the role of coordination in achieving that action is considered. Current collision avoidance practice is discussed, noting the coordination attributes of the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collision at Sea, and the responsibility placed on the mariner by the regulations. The processing element of an automatic collision avoidance system is considered in the light of current judicial practice.

The paper concludes that the implementation of an automatic collision avoidance system is incompatible with the current collision regulations and the supporting judiciary. It is suggested that successful implementation will require the recognition of a discrete rule base.

This paper and the following six papers were presented at the NAV95 Conference held in London, November 199j. The full proceedings, under the title containing 30 papers, can be obtained from the Director (£25 to Members, £35 to Non-Members).

Farmers are having to gather increasing amounts of data on their soils and crops. Precision agriculture – the targeting of inputs such as fertilizers and herbicides according to locally determined (‘metre-by-metre’) requirements – is based on a knowledge of the spatial variation of soil and crop parameters across a field. The data has to be spatially located and GPS is an effective way of doing this. A backpack data logging system with GPS position tagging is described which has been designed to aid a fanner in the manual collection of data.

The new Australian ship reporting system, identifier ‘REEFREP’, will be the core component of a Vessel Traffic Information Service (VTIS) covering the Torres Strait region and the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). It is the first such system to be considered by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) under the terms of the new SOLAS 74 regulation v/8-1, which entered into force on 1 January 1996 and allows for ship reporting systems adopted by the Organization to be made mandatory for all, or certain categories of vessels.

The REEFREP system, planned for implementation on 1 January 1997, extends for some 900 n.m. or about 1500 km along the Queensland coastline. It will be a VHF radio-based system with radars covering three selected focal points in the Torres Strait, off Cairns and in the southern approaches to the inner route. The system will provide a capability for a single Ship Reporting Centre to interact with shipping, enabling the provision of improved information on the presence, movements and patterns of shipping in the area and the ability to respond more quickly to an incident or pollution should this occur.

An interesting feature and a major factor in the system design is the remoteness of most equipment sites and the limited infrastructure available to support communications and data transmission requiring the application of advanced technology and video transmission, solar power generation and software engineering skills of a high order.

During recent years there has been significant development in several technologies which can contribute to the efficiency and safety of maritime traffic. The most important of these are accurate positioning systems (DGPS), digital data transmission/transponder technology, electronic chart systems (ECDIS), control of ships using electronic passage plans, and ship path prediction. With a widespread implementation of these new techniques, combined with advanced ship-shore and ship-ship data transfer, significant improvements can be achieved in traffic situation awareness both in a VTS and onboard. This paper describes the research carried out at VTT on VTS development, and especially gives an outline of new VTS functions using ship—shore and ship—ship data transfer.

This paper describes one of the key features of the JTIDS/Link 16 tactical data-link, namely its relative navigation facility. A brief overview of the general features of the JTIDS system is given to provide the necessary background to the navigation aspects, and some mention is made of the message-exchange facilities. The main part of the paper describes how the JTIDS system provides the capability to perform accurate navigation, and discusses the basic principles of its operation. Some applications of the navigation function which enhance operational effectiveness are then described. The following topics are covered:

(ii) JTIDS Architecture

(i) Definition of JTIDS/Link 16

(iii) Principles of Relative Navigation

(iv) Source Selection

(v) The Kalman Filter

(vi) Time Synchronization

(vii) The Use of Relative Navigation

(viii) The Relative Grid

In a paper delivered to Geo '89, a NATO symposium, Wing Commander G. T. Scard was tempted to summarize RAF requirements for digital geographic information as ‘raster now, vector later’.1 He avoided that temptation. However, it is still easy to assume that supplying raster data is today's quick solution to the problem of providing geographic information, and that soon raster products will be replaced by a new generation of vector products. Six years on, raster digitized mapping is becoming firmly established as a major geographic information product supplied by the Military Survey Defence Agency. Although vector data is becoming widely available, there are no defined RAF requirements to procure map displays based on vector products. It is apparent that raster data will remain an important source of displayed geographic information on which the RAF will rely for a long time. However, supplying raster mapping is not easy. There are technical problems which need further work to find solutions. This work is urgent. Systems using raster data are already in service and we cannot wait for vector data to replace raster data at some unspecified future date.

This paper was presented at a meeting of the RIN History of Air Navigation Group held at Shoreham Airport on 20 September 1995. In the paper, Group Captain Johnston tells the story of the distinguished and extraordinary career of his father, Squadron Leader E. L. Johnston. Bound up with this is the brief and glorious, but ultimately tragic, story of the operation and navigation of British airships.

Electronic navigation systems are now well established on commercial vessels throughout the world. In a big ship it is entirely feasible (and probably necessary) to design the system to suit the ship. Budgets are large and there are few space constraints, so that many separate displays may be used on a bridge which would not look out of place on the USS Enterprise. This is definitely not so for a small sailing cruiser or powered leisure craft. Neither is it true for many fishing vessels. It is to those with an interest in these small boats that I address this paper.

Recent statistics are reviewed with regard to deficiencies in standards of seaworthiness often resulting in detention as noted from surveys worldwide. Recent ship loss statistics are analysed, the subject of ownership of Flag of Convenience (FOC) vessels is addressed and FOC registry related to vessel loss data. The increasing age of the world fleets is noted as replacement orders for new hulls have dwindled. Crew costs are discussed and considered in relation to economics and safety of operation. Comparison is made on ship safety between routed and non-routed vessels. Improvements in weather routeing services and safety are noted as a result of employing automated systems.

This paper presents the research for the development of a new travel aid to increase the independent mobility of blind and elderly travellers. This aid will build on the technologies of geographical information systems (GIS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS). The MOBIC Travel Aid (MOTA) consists of two interrelated components: the MOBIC Pre-journey System (MOPS) to assist users in planning journeys and the MOBIC Outdoor System (MOODS) to execute these plans by providing users with orientation and navigation assistance during journeys. The MOBIC travel aid is complementary to primary mobility aids such as the long cane or guide dog. Results of a study of user requirements are presented and their implications for the initial design of the system are discussed.

The introduction of a transponder-based ship identification system may have far-reaching effects on the way navigation is carried out. Fundamental changes to the underlying principles of collision avoidance become a reality, offering the potential for a new set of sailing and anticollision rules that allow unprecedented levels of control for maritime traffic.

The last few years have seen the launch of several new navigation-related products to the market; TrafficMaster is an excellent example of technical innovation and marketing skill which assists drivers to make decisions about travelling. There are many other products in development targeted at differing user groups for a wide range of applications.

Surveys reveal that walking is by far the most popular leisure activity in the UK, and still growing. Each year some half a billion ‘leisure day visits’ specifically involve walking in the countryside and over 60 percent of the adult population claim to participate in walking as a ‘sport’. These statistics serve to confirm our own experience that enormous numbers of walkers go out to enjoy the countryside, but when we say ‘walker’ we include Sunday afternoon strollers in Windsor Great Park, a rambling group following the coastal path in Dorset, strong fit youths doing the Pennine Way, or Munro baggers in the Scottish highlands. Walkers come in many a hue.

This paper presents a brief overview of current human factors research into route guidance systems. A short description of different interface styles is given and a review of two road-based studies of three existing route guidance systems is provided. A general discussion then highlights a range of issues of relevance to driver-system interfaces, drawing on results both from the studies carried out, and other research. Specific aspects addressed include the content and means of presenting route guidance information, and the potential effect of interface design on driver visual behaviour and performance.

Knowledge of the statistics of aircraft vertical speeds is important both for the construction of realistic traffic simulators and for the development of trajectory prediction tools for use in future air traffic control (ATC) systems. This paper reports on the analysis of radar data recordings for nearly 10000 civil flights on airways. Results are presented for the means and spreads of vertical speeds as functions of altitude. Evidence is presented that roughly half of the observed spreads arise from fluctuations within each aircraft's trajectory, as opposed to variation from one aircraft to another. A simple procedure is proposed for simulating vertical speed data which has statistics similar to those obtained from the radar recordings. Some consequences of the results for the development of trajectory prediction tools for use in future ATC systems are discussed. The results suggest that the provision of accurate trajectory prediction tools is not as straightforward as it might at first appear to be.

This report summarizes a study of signals for indicating course alterations conducted by the Course Signal Committee of The Mercantile Marine Institute of Japan (President Captain Inazo Ara) as part of the 1995 project entitled ‘Research on Improving Course Signals etc’ sponsored by The Japan Foundation for Shipbuilding Advancement.