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Forget driver assistance technology on the road: Volvo Penta is launching it, with a new assisted docking system for your boat. Unveiled at CES 2021, the technology promises to give novice boaters the skills of seasoned salt dogs by helping – but not replacing them – at the controls.
As with Volvo’s Pilot Assist system in its recent cars and SUVs, the idea of augmenting them rather than replacing them outright is at the helm. In the case of the Volvo Penta assisted docking system, this means that the captain still has to set the course, but some of the more complex nuances are handled by technology.
“Docking can be one of the most stressful and difficult aspects of boating, even for experienced captains,” says the company. “The consequences of a mistake when docking a boat are costly at best – and that’s in good weather. Add crowded marinas, strong winds and heavy currents and the result can be problematic and even quite dangerous. ”
A not insignificant part of the challenge is the fact that a boat never stays still, at least not without manual adjustments. The Assisted Docking System works by connecting Volvo Penta’s existing joystick technology for boats with a computer connected to the GPS, which effectively takes the captain’s intention and then determines any other mitigating factors to achieve it.
So if you push the joystick forward, the boat will take into account things like wind conditions and water current, with the Electronic Vessel Control (EVC) compensating for their impact. This involves complex calculations around ride angles and thrust, monitoring the ensuing drift, and generally fine-tuning the steering and horsepower of the engines.
As a result, it can help move a boat in a straight line without the need for manual trim, keep it still, maneuver it slowly, turn around a fixed point, and even push sideways for parallel docking.
“While in some ways it would have been easier to implement full automation, the beauty of this system is that it gives the captain improved control,” says Ida Sparrefors, director of stand-alone solutions and new models. sales representatives at Volvo Penta. “With our team of experts – from software developers to test pilots – we made it behave intuitively in all situations, so that everyone can feel like a seasoned captain.
Assisted mooring will be offered from spring 2021 on new boats, as well as an option on new boats fitted with a Volvo Penta IPS measuring between 35 and 120 feet in length. It will also be offered as a retrofit for existing Volvo Penta IPS boats from 2012 and newer.
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