Extra help for Dutch and Belgian pilots
The ADX XR pilot units are placed on the incoming vessel.
Both Dutch and Belgian marine pilots are to be supplied with Portable Pilot Units (PPU), following an order for 25 high precision systems that not just survived but surpassed rigorous testing.
The ADX XR is a wireless PPU developed by AD Navigation that communicates with the pilot’s electronic chart system (ECS) via standard wireless technology. The complete system, delivered in a specially designed backpack, comprises only of three small, lightweight, ruggedized POD units, easing transportation and installation under a variety of conditions.
The weight of all three pods, without the laptop, comes to only 4.2 kg, while the dimensions of each pod are just 14 x 14 x 10cm. However, these systems have been put through their paces, and the pods’ robustness has been tested with a drop test onto concrete, surviving a 1.5m fall. The pods are also designed to be buoyant, a small but necessary factor in the overall plan.
The battery life is a useful 11 hours (with a UHF connection), and 7 hours (running on a dual modem). There’s also integrated power management and ‘intelligent’ recharging of the batteries.
The design of the ADX XR is in accordance with the POADSS (Portable Operational Approach and Docking Support System) concept, which was itself developed under the European Marine project.
The GLONASS constellation will be fully operational from 2012, resulting in double the amount of satellites available in NW Europe when compared to GPS only based systems.
The RTK coverage is achieved by using a RTK network of 42 existing reference stations in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. This combined data gives an accuracy of 3cm in 3D across the entire area.
The order concludes several months of intensive development to meet the exacting standards required. After testing, the pilots from the Port of Rotterdam and Antwerp Harbour acknowledged the system’s performance.
Captain Wim van Buuren of the Dutch Pilot Organisation, said that the organisation’s requirement from PPU technology “is probably the most demanding within the industry” and gave a special mention to the “unmatched” heading and rate of turn accuracy, “crucial for reliable docking and lock approach applications”.
The Dutch Pilots have chosen the dual SIM version of the ADX XR system. This feature, unique to the ADX XR PPU, incorporates two modems allowing reception of RTCM RTK corrections via two different GPRS/UMTS providers. An automatic selection of provider minimises the loss of corrections, which results in almost zero downtime. Continuous high precision RTK positioning during docking and lock approach translates into extreme reliability.
For this agreement, the ADX XR will be supplied with QPS Qastor software. The ADX can also be used along with most ECS systems in the market via the standard NMEA output.
Images for this article - click to enlarge
Unless otherwise stated, all images copyright © Mercator Media 2012. This does not exclude the owner's assertion of copyright over the material.
