n August of 2008 gCaptain forum member New3M made a brilliant
suggestion for gCaptain to develop software for the iPhone. We loved
the idea but wanted to make sure any software carrying the gCaptain
name was of high quality and of use to mariners.

Fast forward to the summer of this year and the crew here at gCaptain
decided that the best way to move forward on a high quality
application was to make the development of the app a team effort. With
this in mind we teamed up with the professional maritime data
providers at MIS Development and the programing team at Refresh Media
to create gTrax, Vessel Tracking For The iPhone.

What is gTrax?

gTrax harnesses MIS’s network of redundant secure, Automatic
Information System (AIS), antennas to gather information directly from
commercial ships and boats underway in the harbor. Once processed
through MIS’s server the information is pushed out to your iPhone and
the location of each ship is plotted on the app’s built in google map.

The vessel’s location is just the start. Each ship is color coded
according to it’s speed and oriented by course giving you an accurate
“heads-up” view of the marine traffic around you. Clicking on the
vessel brings additional information including the ship’s destination,
job function, navigational status and more.

Advanced sorting capabilities allow you to sort by the vessel’s name
and function. For example, if you want to find the exact location of a
ferry, you can select to view only “Passenger” vessels. If you know
the name of a specific ferry simply type it in and the map will
automatically center on the boat’s current location.

You can sort ships by type including:
- Cargo of Tanker (Large Commercials Ships)
- Passenger (Ferry’s & Cruise Ships)
- Law Enforcement (Coast Guard & Police)
- Oil Spill Response
- Fishing Boats
- Plus 14 other categories.

In addition the app tracks Super-yachts, Sailing Ships and Pleasure
Boats equipped with AIS-B transmitters.

Read More…
http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/an...ssel-tracking/

iTunes Store Link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gtrax/id329054062?mt=8

MAriner Forum Discussion:
http://bit.ly/8RWHEM

On Dec 29 2009, 2:49*am, "gCaptain.com" wrote:
n August of 2008 gCaptain forum member New3M made a brilliant
suggestion for gCaptain to develop software for the iPhone. We loved
the idea but wanted to make sure any software carrying the gCaptain
name was of high quality and of use to mariners.

Fast forward to the summer of this year and the crew here at gCaptain
decided that the best way to move forward on a high quality
application was to make the development of the app a team effort. With
this in mind we teamed up with the professional maritime data
providers at MIS Development and the programing team at Refresh Media
to create gTrax, Vessel Tracking For The iPhone.

What is gTrax?

gTrax harnesses MIS’s network of redundant secure, Automatic
Information System (AIS), antennas to gather information directly from
commercial ships and boats underway in the harbor. Once processed
through MIS’s server the information is pushed out to your iPhone and
the location of each ship is plotted on the app’s built in google map.

The vessel’s location is just the start. Each ship is color coded
according to it’s speed and oriented by course giving you an accurate
“heads-up” view of the marine traffic around you. Clicking on the
vessel brings additional information including the ship’s destination,
job function, navigational status and more.

Advanced sorting capabilities allow you to sort by the vessel’s name
and function. For example, if you want to find the exact location of a
ferry, you can select to view only “Passenger” vessels. If you know
the name of a specific ferry simply type it in and the map will
automatically center on the boat’s current location.

You can sort ships by type including:
- Cargo of Tanker (Large Commercials Ships)
- Passenger (Ferry’s & Cruise Ships)
- Law Enforcement (Coast Guard & Police)
- Oil Spill Response
- Fishing Boats
- Plus 14 other categories.

In addition the app tracks Super-yachts, Sailing Ships and Pleasure
Boats equipped with AIS-B transmitters.

Read More…http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/an...ssel-tracking/

iTunes Store Link:http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gtrax/id329054062?mt=8

MAriner Forum Discussion:http://bit.ly/8RWHEM


I can't help but wonder if it would be too distracting for those on
small boats. The waterways are congested enough now. An additional
distraction could create more problems than benefits. I can see that
recreational powerboater looking at his cell phone and paying no
attention to where he is going only to plow into that helpless
sailboater.

Am I alone with this vision?

In article
,
" wrote:

I can't help but wonder if it would be too distracting for those on
small boats. The waterways are congested enough now. An additional
distraction could create more problems than benefits. I can see that
recreational powerboater looking at his cell phone and paying no
attention to where he is going only to plow into that helpless
sailboater.

Am I alone with this vision?

Having used AIS on congested waterways (standalone product with its own
screen), I have to say that it is most useful in these circumstances.
Of course such a standalone system will also immediately compute nearest
point of approach, and to to closest approach on its own, around corners
and in thick fog as well.
Since it offers a bird eyes view, it helps very much.

HTH

Marc

--
remove bye and from mercial to get valid e-mail
http://www.heusser.com

"Marc Heusser" d wrote in
message ...
In article
,
" wrote:

I can't help but wonder if it would be too distracting for those on
small boats. The waterways are congested enough now. An additional
distraction could create more problems than benefits. I can see that
recreational powerboater looking at his cell phone and paying no
attention to where he is going only to plow into that helpless
sailboater.

Am I alone with this vision?

Having used AIS on congested waterways (standalone product with its own
screen), I have to say that it is most useful in these circumstances.
Of course such a standalone system will also immediately compute nearest
point of approach, and to to closest approach on its own, around corners
and in thick fog as well.
Since it offers a bird eyes view, it helps very much.

HTH

Marc

--
remove bye and from mercial to get valid e-mail
http://www.heusser.com


I definitely agree. While distractions are always available, you need to
learn how to filter out what's what.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com