Automatic radar plotting aid

[1][2] The system can calculate the tracked object's course, speed and closest point of approach[3] (CPA), thereby knowing if there is a danger of collision with the other ship or landmass.

Development of ARPA started after 1956, when the Italian liner SS Andrea Doria collided with the MS Stockholm in dense fog and sank off the east coast of the United States.

The first commercially available ARPA was delivered to the cargo liner MV Taimyr in 1969[4] and was manufactured by Norcontrol [no], now a part of Kongsberg Gruppen.

ARPAs are computer assisted radar data processing systems which generate predictive vectors and other ship movement information.

As we can see from this statement the principal advantages of ARPA are a reduction in the workload of bridge personnel and fuller and quicker information on selected targets.

All of the ARPA functions were installed on board as a separate unit, but needed to be interfaced with existing equipment to get the basic radar data.

The development of commercial marine radar entered a new phase in the 1980s when raster-scan displays that were compliant with the IMO Performance Standards were introduced.

The radar picture of a raster-scan synthetic display is produced on a television screen and is made up of a large number of horizontal lines which form a pattern known as a raster.

With the diameter parameters already chosen, the manufacturer has then to decide how to arrange the placement of the digital numerical data and control status indicators.