The current systems supporting navigation on board of ships are built on the classic concept for equipment:
the system is developed, tested, type approved and installed; and from that time on it is used with no or little
modifications. The systems are using data, but the data streams do not influence the system behavior. Looking
at other industries, a regime of software and system maintenance has been established which allows more rapid
updates. System development in the IT arena is moving towards a more modular approach, encapsulating
individual components to ease the implementation and delivery of updates with a limited system-wide impact.
This key concept is lately often referred to as the “app-concept”. In addition, more and more systems are using
data to adjust system behavior to support a situational centric approach for decision support. The e-Navigation
development asks for exactly that: a way to improve innovation, while ensuring system stability for the navigational
components used by the navigator on the bridge, and a concept to increase situational awareness. A key
aspect of the success of new systems will be the ability to convert data into information as needed in any given
situation, creating the necessary knowledge for intelligent decision making and increasing the competence of
a navigator. The paper will focus on the following topics: the classic monolithic equipment paradigm; modern
system architecture, using components and app-concepts; advantages of using data streams to enable situational
driven tool enhancements; and the app-concepts supporting the situational centric information presentation.
