Software to help sailors navigate their yachts have made computer tablets, particularly the iPad from Apple, a valued piece of equipment on deck.
The apps, most of them available only for the iPad, work to ease planning and can be used to control a broad range of functions, including security systems and onboard environment.
"We have already installed iPads onboard many superyachts as an add-on to dedicated control panels," said Arjan Kleinveld, managing director of Van Berge Henegouwen Installaties, which customizes superyachts.
He added that many of his customers requested the iPad for their new yachts as well.
In October, two marine apps for the iPad were co-winners of the most innovative product award at the Marine Equipment Trade Show in Amsterdam.
One, the SiMON2 ship alarm monitoring app from Palladium Technologies, uses Wi-Fi to interface with Palladium-made controllers that monitor the ship's engines, generators, tanks, batteries, electric panels and other critical equipment, and present monitoring data on the iPad in rich graphics.
The other, the Navionics Mediterranean HD navigation system, offers high-resolution graphics of detailed marine and lake charts with a satellite imagery overlay, allowing users to search for marinas, set routes and markers and create a virtual travelog of a trip, which they can share by e-mail or through Facebook,Polycore zentai are manufactured as a single sheet, or the Navionics social network.
The two iPad-compatible apps were praised at the 2010 Amsterdam show for making control and navigation of any yacht "significantly easier than it has ever been before."
While marine apps for the iPad are dominating the market, some companies are also starting to offer similar apps for other tablets and operating systems.
WeatherBug, a company that monitors and disseminates global weather information, has recently added a mobile app compatible with the Android 3.0 operating system from Google, known as Honeycomb, which is used on the Motorola Xoom. The company also has an app for the iPad.
Digital Yacht, a marine electronics specialist, is working on an Android app similar to its AIS app for the iPad, which costs 350, or $570, plus value added tax. The app is an internationally recognized system that sends details of a boat's identity and position to other boats equipped with AIS, which stands for automatic identification system.
"This should come out shortly, but our next generation of development is geared towards putting data into any browser via our BoatraNet onboard server," said Nick Heyes, managing director of Digital Yacht. Anything with a browser, he said, "will be able to view charts and data, which makes tablets even more appealing for use onboard."
For now, developers are focusing on the iPad. Many of the new apps provide a bridge between traditional marine electronics and the latest generation of consumer products. For example, iNavX by Navionics, which costs $49.99, can support a real time GPS overlay to turn the iPad into a fully-functional electronic chart plotter. The Marine Tides Planner ($5.99) by Tucabo gives access to tide information in 5,000 locations around the world.
"We picked the Apple iPad because of the market penetration that Apple has achieved," said Michael Blake, president of Palladium Technologies. "In addition, we are able to create very user-pleasing graphics based upon the development tools available for the iPad."
The company's SiMON system, which the app syncs with, monitors the critical functions and equipment on a yacht. It can be used on several iPads concurrently to display various data simultaneously, and can be used to control the onboard lighting and audio visual and entertainment systems as well as view security cameras. Mr. Blake said the app was very secure.
"And, since technology moves fast and yacht owners always want to have the latest and greatest technology onboard their yachts, the iPad 2 is the only edition asked for since its release," said Mr. Kleinveld, of Van Berge Henegouwen Installaties. "In fact, clients that use the first generation iPads now massively request to replace these with the latest edition iPad 2."
Lurssen Yachts, a German shipbuilding company that specializes in luxury yachts, has also installed iPads on several yachts, primarily for controlling the onboard environment, though a few use it to monitor the yacht's systems.
Michael Breman, sales director at Lurssen Yachts, noted that the iPad could also be used for security — for tracking people and as an alarm system, for example — and while the company has not yet installed any for this purpose, he said he expected to do so in the future.
The use of tablets can make life on board much easier, especially when it comes to navigation. Christine Kling, an author of suspense novels and a keen sailor, says she uses her iPad because it puts a lot more information at her fingertips.
"I used to have to go into the cockpit to see the instruments there, and I don't have to anymore," she said. "I also used to have to rely on outdated guidebooks."
"If we are coastal cruising with access to 3G," she added, referring to high-speed third-generation mobile networks, "I can also check the radar to see if there are any thunderstorms in the area through weather apps such as WeatherBug or WunderMap, both free. And I love how WeatherBug even has a little arrow in the corner of the screen so you can set the radar in motion and check in what direction the clouds are moving."
Of course, there are other benefits to the iPad, those known to yachtsmen and nonsailors alike.
"On a two-handed boat, you spend lots of your off-watch time below in the bunk catching up on your rest, and I always take my iPad into my bunk with me," Ms. King said. "I can read books on the iPad or listen to music, and then when I want to see how we're doing, I only need to swipe the screen and I can check in with iNavX to see the boat's position, course and speed."
The apps, most of them available only for the iPad, work to ease planning and can be used to control a broad range of functions, including security systems and onboard environment.
"We have already installed iPads onboard many superyachts as an add-on to dedicated control panels," said Arjan Kleinveld, managing director of Van Berge Henegouwen Installaties, which customizes superyachts.
He added that many of his customers requested the iPad for their new yachts as well.
In October, two marine apps for the iPad were co-winners of the most innovative product award at the Marine Equipment Trade Show in Amsterdam.
One, the SiMON2 ship alarm monitoring app from Palladium Technologies, uses Wi-Fi to interface with Palladium-made controllers that monitor the ship's engines, generators, tanks, batteries, electric panels and other critical equipment, and present monitoring data on the iPad in rich graphics.
The other, the Navionics Mediterranean HD navigation system, offers high-resolution graphics of detailed marine and lake charts with a satellite imagery overlay, allowing users to search for marinas, set routes and markers and create a virtual travelog of a trip, which they can share by e-mail or through Facebook,Polycore zentai are manufactured as a single sheet, or the Navionics social network.
The two iPad-compatible apps were praised at the 2010 Amsterdam show for making control and navigation of any yacht "significantly easier than it has ever been before."
While marine apps for the iPad are dominating the market, some companies are also starting to offer similar apps for other tablets and operating systems.
WeatherBug, a company that monitors and disseminates global weather information, has recently added a mobile app compatible with the Android 3.0 operating system from Google, known as Honeycomb, which is used on the Motorola Xoom. The company also has an app for the iPad.
Digital Yacht, a marine electronics specialist, is working on an Android app similar to its AIS app for the iPad, which costs 350, or $570, plus value added tax. The app is an internationally recognized system that sends details of a boat's identity and position to other boats equipped with AIS, which stands for automatic identification system.
"This should come out shortly, but our next generation of development is geared towards putting data into any browser via our BoatraNet onboard server," said Nick Heyes, managing director of Digital Yacht. Anything with a browser, he said, "will be able to view charts and data, which makes tablets even more appealing for use onboard."
For now, developers are focusing on the iPad. Many of the new apps provide a bridge between traditional marine electronics and the latest generation of consumer products. For example, iNavX by Navionics, which costs $49.99, can support a real time GPS overlay to turn the iPad into a fully-functional electronic chart plotter. The Marine Tides Planner ($5.99) by Tucabo gives access to tide information in 5,000 locations around the world.
"We picked the Apple iPad because of the market penetration that Apple has achieved," said Michael Blake, president of Palladium Technologies. "In addition, we are able to create very user-pleasing graphics based upon the development tools available for the iPad."
The company's SiMON system, which the app syncs with, monitors the critical functions and equipment on a yacht. It can be used on several iPads concurrently to display various data simultaneously, and can be used to control the onboard lighting and audio visual and entertainment systems as well as view security cameras. Mr. Blake said the app was very secure.
"And, since technology moves fast and yacht owners always want to have the latest and greatest technology onboard their yachts, the iPad 2 is the only edition asked for since its release," said Mr. Kleinveld, of Van Berge Henegouwen Installaties. "In fact, clients that use the first generation iPads now massively request to replace these with the latest edition iPad 2."
Lurssen Yachts, a German shipbuilding company that specializes in luxury yachts, has also installed iPads on several yachts, primarily for controlling the onboard environment, though a few use it to monitor the yacht's systems.
Michael Breman, sales director at Lurssen Yachts, noted that the iPad could also be used for security — for tracking people and as an alarm system, for example — and while the company has not yet installed any for this purpose, he said he expected to do so in the future.
The use of tablets can make life on board much easier, especially when it comes to navigation. Christine Kling, an author of suspense novels and a keen sailor, says she uses her iPad because it puts a lot more information at her fingertips.
"I used to have to go into the cockpit to see the instruments there, and I don't have to anymore," she said. "I also used to have to rely on outdated guidebooks."
"If we are coastal cruising with access to 3G," she added, referring to high-speed third-generation mobile networks, "I can also check the radar to see if there are any thunderstorms in the area through weather apps such as WeatherBug or WunderMap, both free. And I love how WeatherBug even has a little arrow in the corner of the screen so you can set the radar in motion and check in what direction the clouds are moving."
Of course, there are other benefits to the iPad, those known to yachtsmen and nonsailors alike.
"On a two-handed boat, you spend lots of your off-watch time below in the bunk catching up on your rest, and I always take my iPad into my bunk with me," Ms. King said. "I can read books on the iPad or listen to music, and then when I want to see how we're doing, I only need to swipe the screen and I can check in with iNavX to see the boat's position, course and speed."
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