Radar Overlay to Improve

ECDIS Navigation

By MarEx 2014-09-12 [Link]

By Vladimir Fadeev

The step-by-step introduction of ECDIS as mandatory equipment aboard vessels began in

2012 and will be completed by 2018. By that time, navigators should be familiar with the
fundamental principles for using ECDIS as a part of an integrated shipboard navigational
system and be able to react promptly to system malfunctions and/or failures.

Although attempts have previously been made to combine different types of navigational
information, e.g., AIS (Automatic Identification System) with radar images, ECS (Electronic
Chart System) became the first full-featured integrator of this kind a computer system
combining information from a pre-defined set of external sensors on one screen with an
electronic chart as the backdrop.

Whereas early ECS could only display GPS locations on an electronic chart, todays ECDIS
can integrate course data from gyro, satellite and magnet compasses as well as data from echo
sounders, wind sensors, AIS, ARPA and other sources. The added data provide vital support
for navigational tasks.

However, the apparent seamlessness of integrated navigational data may lead to the navigator
placing excessive trust in navigational technology and failing to recognize system
malfunctions. This is why the Manila Amendments to the Seafarers' Training, Certification
and Watchkeeping Convention (STCW) place particular emphasis on a navigators skills in
correctly determining probable system errors and reacting adequately to them. This, in turn,
requires not only a clear understanding of the fundamental principles of ECDIS performance
but of dedicated technological aids as well.

Radar overlay (a raw radar image overlaid on an electronic chart) is the best means of
verifying cartographic data and the output of navigation sensors. The radar overlay feature of
an ECDIS not only duplicates the radar itself, as some navigators know, but can also be used
to verify the entire navigational system. The purpose of this article is to explain how this
works.

Radar-ECDIS Integration

Radar-ECDIS integration technologies include digital NMEA integration and radar

processors. The former allows for input of tracked target data into ECDIS, provided the radar
has ARPA; the latter allows analog-digital transformation of the video signal from the radar
and input of this signal into the ECDIS, as can be seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Radar image overlay.

With radar data on a chart backdrop, potentially confusing effects that would remain
unnoticed on a radar screen become visible. There are three main effects to consider:

1. The first is due to radars having an antenna pattern width: the bigger the antennas
physical size, the narrower the pattern, with the typical figure being roughly one degree
by azimuth. The result is that any object, even a point object such as a buoy, is enlarged
by that same value on the screen. For instance, a buoy one mile from a radar with a one-
degree antenna pattern seems 30 meters in size on the chart, and the farther from the
radar, the bigger it will be.

Moreover, angular enlargement is not the only kind of distortion; distance is also
increased due to the finite length of radar pulses. At short pulses of about 50 nano-
seconds, the distortion can be up to 10 meters; at middle and long pulses the effect is
even stronger (Figure 2).
 So, a point object on a chart looks much bigger than its true physical size on the radar
image. To avoid being confused by this, a navigator must remember that the true
location of an object is in the middle of the marks front - see Figure 2.

2. The same causes give rise to another confusing visual effect: Reflections from a
coastline that are generated at sharp angles appear farther from shore than they actually
are (red sectors in Figure 3). Coastline reflections generated at near-right angles (blue
sector in Figure 3) show no such [Link] 2: A) short-pulse image of a buoy;
B) long-pulse image.

Figure 3: Shifted reflection from the coastline at sharp observation angles (red lines).

This takes us to a practically significant conclusion: Sailing along a coastline, the

navigator can trust only those reflections from the coastline that come from segments
currently observed at near-right angles. The same effect, in principle, can also be
observed right on the radar screen, but maybe not so clearly. It is the chart background
under a radar image that helps to reveal the effect.

3. The third effect that has to be taken into account is that the coastline reflection does
not necessarily come from the coastline itself and therefore might not coincide with the
coastline on the chart. This happens because most reflections comes from sharp slopes
or massive on-shore objects, while gentle slopes produce poor reflections and therefore
may be poorly visible. See Figure 4, where the actual (but invisible on a radar image)
coastline is shown with a red dotted line.

Figure 4: Radar-visible and invisible segments of the coastline.

However, mismatches like that between the coastline shown on the radar image and on
the charts are quite common and recognized. See Figure 5.
 Figure 5: Non-systematic (random) mismatch between the radar image and cartographic
coastline.

It is important that a navigator doesn't get confused by the discrepancy between the
coastline viewed via the radar and that shown on the chart.

Malfunctions and ECDIS performance

Keeping in mind what we have said about integrating radar and ECDIS, lets look at how
malfunctioning navigational systems may affect ECDIS performance.

The most dangerous malfunctions are due to cartographic errors. Such errors result from
causes lying beyond the scope of this article. We only presume that cartographic errors do
happen, so charts shall never be considered absolutely trustworthy (in retrospect, cases were
documented of islands missing from navigational charts). So the question is whether the
navigator is able to determine errors of this kind. It is often said that an experienced navigator
in a familiar area can easily do so by using their experience and intuition. But what if they
arent familiar or visibility is poor?

Of all ECDIS functionality, radar overlay is the most effective in situations like these, as
acknowledged in IMO Circular #255. Mismatch between a coastline on the chart and the radar
image might be an indicator of a cartographic error, though the other possible causes of
visual distortions of a coastline described above should be kept in mind.

Occasionally, cartographic errors may occur on charts because of recalculation errors between
local and WGS-84 data (geodetic coordinate systems). Errors of this kind add a systematic
shift to the true position of a line or an area - see the red co-directional arrows of roughly
equal lengths in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Radar image shift due to recalculation errors.

Positioning system errors can also occur. Although GPS (GLONASS) devices have proven so
reliable that we trust them absolutely, they do sometimes malfunction, showing errors of up to
one hundred meters. The question is: How can the navigator determine this?
One method is to switch the positioning system into differential mode, though this is often
unavailable. Verification of echo sounder data against bathymetry on the chart may help too,
along with using traditional positioning techniques. Radar image analysis is, however, the best
method. If a coastline shows a constant degree of shift when a radar image is overlaid on a
chart (e.g., in Figure 6), this is strong evidence of a systematic GPS error. With GPS running
correctly, both coastlines coincide fairly accurately, as in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Correct GPS performance.

Sensor errors may also misinform the navigator about the course of a vessel and also produce
false bearings to targets, resulting in misinterpretation of the navigational situation in general.
How can radar overlay help in a case like this? It can display a radar image that appears to
be rotated, with respect to the chart, around the current ship position by an angle of error as
indicated by the red counter-directed arc pairs 1 a/b and 2 a/b in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Rotated radar image due to course sensor error.

AIS information, mandatory on board SOLAS vessels since 2008, can also be checked against
a radar image. As long as AIS is functioning correctly, AIS targets on an ECDIS coincide
with radar reflections by angle and range. The same is true for ARPA.
Investing in Radar Overlay

So how much does radar overlay cost? The price for a modern radar processor typically
ranges from $1,500 to $4,000 (typically only five to 20% of the total ECDIS price, depending
on other ECDIS options included), which seems like good value.

With radar overlay enabled, you can efficiently verify your ECDIS performance in real time.
The workflow couldn't be simpler: No prior preparations (calculations, set-up, etc.) are
needed. All you do is check the radar image against the chart. MarEx

Vladimir Fadeev is a Senior Developer at Jeppesen.