Green light for Furuno’s berthing aid system

The clever berthing aid aims to improve safety by creating increased situational awareness between the quay and ship.

Situational awareness

Furuno’s Berthing Aid System was granted the ClassNK ’Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions’, which supports the deployment of innovative products and services through third-party certification.

Berthing Aid System uses LiDAR to calculate the relative distance and angle between the quay and hull and displays superimposed images for situational awareness.

LiDAR is a type of sensor that uses laser light. The luminous flux density is higher than radio waves and the position and shape can be detected by using short wavelength laser light.

The system measures and gives crew a clear visual of the the position between the quay and ship, which was previously measured visually and communicated verbally.

Berthing Aid System also gives both a measurement and display of the distance and the angle relative to the quay. It also displays the predicted velocity and angle at a potential point of contact.

It also gives a display of the hull movement relative to the quay in a top view.