On Tuesday 8th June 2021, successful sea trials of the SAAM (Sea Assisted Positioning System for Offshore Provisioning), were carried out in a provisioning manoeuvre between the Combat Supply Vessel (BAC) Cantabria (A-15) and the Frigate Blas de Lezo (F-103), in the waters of Ferrol.
This innovative system, conceived and developed entirely at the Defense University Center at the Spanish Naval Academy (CUD-ENM), provides precise information in real time and under a highly intuitive interface on the navigation data of the two naval units participating in the supply manoeuvre, including: lateral and forward distances, courses and speeds of both ships, as well as dangerous trend indicators.
The SAAM System uses state-of-the-art devices, visualizing information on different platforms, including augmented reality glasses, tablets and mobile phones. Augmented reality devices such as the glasses used in this project represent a qualitative change in the way information is represented and open the door to multiple applications in the naval field.
The application of state-of-the-art technology to this operational procedure not only improves safety compared to the traditional distance corporal, but the use of devices such as GNSS sensors and augmented reality devices used in this project could be of interest in the framework of the Navy’s Digital Transformation.
En la actualidad, el CUD-ENM dispone de un prototipo completamente operativo bajo la protección de la Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM), desarrollado por la Prof. Dra. Paula Gómez Pérez y el AN Iván Krakhmaloff Moreno. La exitosa realización de estas pruebas ha permitido validar la fiabilidad y eficiencia del sistema SAAM por parte de las unidades participantes, puesto que ha demostrado su capacidad para proporcionar medidas precisas y en tiempo real de ambas plataformas navales a lo largo de toda la maniobra de aprovisionamiento.
