Research On Feasibility Of Azimuth Measuring By Compass In Ship Handling Simulator

Navigation and positioning are basic abilities of seaman. The precision of course and position are closely related with economic profits and safety of life. STCW 78/95 convention also presents compulsory requirements for using ship handling simulator to train seaman. Obviously, azimuth measuring of objects using compass in foil-mission ship handling simulator is an important application of simulator. The paper will discuss the feasibility of using compass to measure azimuth of objects in full-mission ship handling simulator. The multi-channel visual system of ship handling simulator provides a virtual environment using cylindrical screen. For a visual system, a 2-D image of perspective projection from image generating computer will not distort if the image is projected on a plane screen, but it will be distorted if projected on a cylindrical screen. The image must be corrected before it is projected on a cylindrical screen. The paper analyzes various errors of visual system. The following contents are included in the paper:1) analyzing the errors of visual system using cylindrical screen and providing a correcting model.2) analyzing the errors generated by vertical movement of projector and providing a correcting model.3) After step 1-2, the paper analyzes the errors generated by fixing compass in different position. A correction table is also presented in the paper.