Ship Speed and Maneuverability Measurement & Analysis System Based On GPS Device

Ship speed is one of the most important indexes during the ship delivery process, and its maneuverability is the changing or keeping ability of ship motion rate and heading, which is closely related to ship safety. So the measurement and analysis of the speed and maneuverability is very crucial for the ship owner, designer and building company. Based on the above facets, ship speed and maneuverability measurement & analysis system (SSMMAS) has been developed. The paper expatiates the composing, interface, framework and data acquisition & analysis theory of the SSMMAS system. The UTC time, position (latitude and longitude), heading, speed and the quality of satellites can be gained by means of the serial communication, and the average speed can be calculated by the sailing distance and time. The maneuverability test results including all kinds of ship maneuverability characteristic parameters and the sailing routes can be calculated by the system automatically. In order to adapt to the different clients, data disposal interface has two language types: Chinese & English, which can be copied to the test report provided on site. In addition to the above, the SSMMAS system can be installed on any windows platform, and its operation is simple and interface is friendly. Until now, the system has been applied more than two hundreds vessels test, which prove that the system is effective and reliable.