Benefits
Helm of a small yacht
FT NavVision systems offer multiple benefits in comparison to other, similar systems. The benefits below are a small selection of these benefits, but is by no means a complete list.
A thing of beauty
FT NavVision’s refined Graphical User Interface (or GUI) constantly receives credit for its looks. From its early beginning, FT NavVision has established a graphic identity of its own; one that is often mimicked by others.
It has been optimized for daily use, and a close eye was kept on touch screen functionality.
The GUI can be adjusted to your own personal taste in terms of color, data representation and location of data. Free Technics delivers their systems with default settings, but you are free to change the viewers at will. For instance, if you want an analog instrument showing Current Depth instrument to show Speed Over Ground digitally instead, you can do so with a minimal amount of mouse clicks.
FT NavVision Client
Modular, scalable & redundant
No matter how big or small you vessel is or going to be, the FT NavVision system can automate it with ease. Systems can consist of just one server, or span an entire network using 2 servers, 3 clients and several alarm panels complete with hundreds of I/O connections. If one decides to install an extra client, server or alarm panel, even after commissioning, it’s as easy as plugging it into the network, and the network will automatically notify all hardware of the new equipment and your system is immediately ready for use.
Also, thanks to the system’s ring (or dual) network set-up, the entire system is redundant. Single points of failure are ruled out, and even in the case of a server crashing, the system will keep running. The dead server’s role will simply be transferred to the next PC in the hierarchy, allowing you to safely continue what you were doing.
No proprietary hardware
FT NavVision I/O Processing Unit
Unlike most vessel monitoring systems, FT NavVision systems do not use any proprietary hardware. Free Technics selects industrial hardware that is freely available on the market. In the unlucky event of failing hardware, proprietary hardware is a huge inconvenience to replace. Not only because it generally costs more than “Commercial, Off The Shelf” (or COTS) hardware, but it also needs more time to be replaced. By using commercial off the shelf hardware, Free Technics minimizes both the costs and time of hardware replacement. On top of that comes the fact that COTS hardware is available worldwide, whereas proprietary hardware is only available where its manufacturer happens to be based.
Remote servicing
Servicing your FT NavVision is as easy as clicking a button. This button allows us to access your system from our office, wherever you are. No need to fly a technician over to perform a simple software upgrade: everyone can stay at home.
Using the Internet, Free Technics is able to take over control of your system and perform the necessary adjustments. Not only does this feature save the costs of sending a technician over, it also saves the costs of in-depth technical training the crewmen.
Certification & approval
Duty Alarm Panel
Free Technics has delivered numerous systems, multiple of those have received certification from various certification bureaus. Our systems have been approved by Lloyd’s Register, Bureau Veritas & Rina.
Currently we are in the process of obtaining a type approval for our FT NavVision systems. Once we have successfully received the approval from the surveyor, it will be communicated through this website.
Embedded
In comparison with standard Windows (XP, Vista or 7 installations, Windows Embedded offers several advantages, making it the ideal Operating System on board vessels. Just like standard home- & office PC’s, regular OS’s simply aren’t designed for a bumpy ride.
Windows Embedded, however, is. It has been stripped down to the bare necessities, keeping all unnecessary code out. This results in greatly increased stability, small disk-space requirement and increased performance.
Also, because there’s simply less code to load, Embedded systems boot significantly faster and require less power than regular OS’s. An additional benefit stems from the very nature of Windows Embedded. The system files of an image (the term for an OS installation) provide read-only access. This means that, should these files get compromised by e.g. a virus, a simple reboot of the system resets all files to their original state, giving you back the system as it was commissioned.
