Creating a Global Infrastructure for Virtual Aids to Navigation (vATON

As we look towards the next decade there are many opportunities to enhance services for navigation which compliment, enhance, and replace existing Aids to Navigation technologies. This Phase II project will continue the US Coast Guard¿s investigation of the development of a Virtual Aids to Navigation system by building a working prototype that delivers real-time data to the mariner. The vATON system will provide mariners with virtual representations of ATON hardware via information appliances, desktop computers ad augmented reality. The augmented reality version of this system enables the mariner to perceive information as though they were located in the physical environment. This system is built on WorldBoard technologies, which enable the geo-coding of data and delivery via Web servers to mobile computing devices and augmented reality displays. The devices the mariners use will vary but they will all be able to share the same data from the vATON Information System because it will be encoded in a document format based on XML, a standard Web protocol.