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OSPREY - TERMINAL |
Tanker Berthing And Position Tracking |
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With the significant development of a reliable global satellite based positioning network GPS technology is now an essential tool in almost all forms of modern position referencing and tracking systems. have adapted this technology to produce a flexible and cost-efficient means of monitoring the position of a tanker during berthing at a jetty or sea island.
The system is completely self contained and consists of a BASE STATION permanently installed in a terminal control room and a lightweight PORTABLE unit to be hand carried onto the approaching tanker. The two units communicate via integral radio transceivers operating on a single UHF or VHF frequency and provide a real time graphical display of the berthing process with sub meter positional accuracy.
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The system provides the following information: |
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In addition to the positional information wind and sea current speed and direction data may be displayed on the system from sensors mounted on the jetty or terminal. Again to provide all relevant information to the pilot.
Additionally if the mooring hooks are instrumented with load monitoring devices the real time load may be displayed on the tanker unit. Again a vital indicator for safe loading. Finally the portable unit is fitted with two pushbuttons that may be user defined e.g. pump control or ESD functions.
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The tanker portable unit, now a second generation design, consists of a highly integrated device housed in a sealed aluminium briefcase. The unit contains an embedded microprocessor with full colour TFT liquid crystal touch screen, a GPS satellite receiver, a radio transceiver for communication to the SPM, and a gyroscope compass to determine the vessel heading. All internal components are shock mounted and contain NO moving parts to minimise vibration susceptibility. The unit includes all necessary cables and antennas for operation and once on board the tanker the unit can be deployed on the bridge in less than ten minutes ready for use. Apart from external power there are NO physical connections to the tanker ensuring 100% compatibility with ANY vessel.
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The system employs Microsoft Windows for the graphical user interface providing a familiar environment for the majority of users and can overlay the moving tanker on scanned marine chart of the area for immediate points of reference. User configurable alarm limits are available for each of the above which can sound an audible alarm at both base station and portable unit.
Both the tanker and base station use Microsoft Windows NT as the graphical user interface running the OSPREY application software. The software has been specifically written to be user friendly and with the touch screen interface a novice can master the system in minutes. All options are accessible via menu toolbars which allow the operator to call up any parameter in a small data window at a moment notice.
Two typical screens are shown below. The first details the tanker on approach to a jetty. The approach distance, speed, and bearing are displayed in movable windows. With additional instruments at the terminal the wind speed and direction and sea current speed and direction may also be displayed. The second screen details the mooring line tension monitor once the tanker is moored to the jetty.
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The base station unit is a self contained device suitable for either desk or rack mounting. The base station contains an embedded microprocessor, a GPS satellite receiver, and a radio transceiver for communication with the tanker. All internal components are shock mounted and contain NO moving parts to minimise vibration susceptibility. The unit includes all necessary cables and antennas for operation simplifying the installation.
The basis behind the operation of a differential GPS system is the requirement of an absolute reference for a non moving base station. The base station unit generates the standard RTCM SC104 correction factors and ADDITIONAL information to create a sub meter accurate differential GPS system which allows the tanker to be move in real time over a digitised marine chart of the terminal. The base station transmits the correction factors to the tanker unit which transmits back its corrected position for display on the base station screens.
As standard the base station is not supplied with an operator interface. However if the berthing screens are required to be seen at the terminal a desk top computer may be supplied which can connect to the base station with a CAT 5 Ethernet cable.
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Relative position | better than ± 0.1 m typical |
Relative bearing | better than ± 1º typical |
Relative speed of approach | better than ± 0.01 m/s typical |
Tanker absolute heading | ± 1º typical |
Tanker absolute speed | better than ± 0.01 m/s typical |
FPSO absolute heading | ± 1º typical (dependant on FPSO gyro) |
Portable container | Custom anodised aluminium carry case |
Size | 458L x 330H x 129W mm |
Weight | 9.7 kg |
Power | 85-264 VAC 47-63Hz 50W max OR 18-36 VDC 2.0A max |
Operating system | Microsoft Windows NT Embedded |
Micro Processor | Intel Tillamook Pentium 266Mhz in EBX format |
Mass storage | 80MB silicon disk with NTFS format |
Graphic Display | Active matrix LCD panel XGA 16bit colour |
Touch Screen | Guided acoustic wave on 1mm glass plate |
Radio transceiver | 425-475Mhz (typical) |
Transmit power | 1W |
Data rate | 9,600 bps over the air |
DGPS Receiver | 12 channel GPS receiver operating in RTK relative differential mode with RTCM SC-104 correction factors. |
RTCM update period | 1s typical. |
Heading (compass) | Internal non magnetic gyroscope |
Heading accuracy | better than ± 0.6 deg/hr random drift |
Shock | 10g 11ms ½ sine |
Vibration | 3-500 Hz 0.41 grms |
Ingress protection | IP55 (dust and moisture) |
Ingress protection in transit case | IP68 (immersion to 10m) |
Temperature | 0-40 ºC |
Humidity | 5-93% non-condensing |
Altitude | Sea level |
Drop | 100mm on four corners |
Drop in transit case | 600mm on four corners |
Enclosure | Painted steel 19" compatible card frame |
Size | 483W x 88H x 390D mm (2U) |
Weight | 7.3 kg |
Power | 85-264 VAC 47-63Hz 50W max |
Operating system | Microsoft Windows NT Embedded |
Micro Processor | Intel Tillamook Pentium 266Mhz in EBX format |
Mass storage | 80MB silicon disk with NTFS format |
External Display | XGA 16bit colour on VGA D-TYPE connector |
Keyboard/Mouse | PS/2 connectors |
Ethernet | 10Base-T on RJ-45 connector |
Radio transceiver | 425-475Mhz (typical) |
Transmit Power | 1W |
Data rate | 9,600 bps over the air |
DGPS Base station | 12 channel GPS receiver operating in RTK relative differential mode generating RTCM SC-104 correction factors type 1,3,9,18,19. |
RTCM update period | 1s typical. |
Gyroscope input | NMEA-0183 protocol, RS422 four wire. |
Hawser load input | 4-20mA current loop 100 ohm sense |
ESD output | Clean contact relay 1A max, pulsed. |
Manufacture | Toshiba Equium 2000 |
Size | 350W x 212D x 389H mm |
Weight | 5.8 kg |
Processor | Intel Celeron 466MHz |
Display | Slimeline 15" TFT LCD |
Hard disk / Ram | 6 GB / 64 MB |
CD ROM | 24x |
Ethernet | 10base-T RJ-45 |
Sound | Internal speakers |
Power | 100-240 VAC |
Operating system | Microsoft Windows 98 |
Printer | HP Deskjet 970Cxi |
Size | 440W x 370D x 196H mm |
Weight | 5.85 kg |