It was very exciting to participate in the development and roll out of one of the first applications for marine navigation. In 2009 when Apple released the iPad we were finally able to directly envision a long since dreamed of possibility of creating a navigation solution that was portable, low cost, independent and connected when within mobile coverage.

We had also long looked for a solution to be able leverage on the national AIS system data that we had available from the Swedish Maritime Administration for use within the leisure market. The smartphones and tablets now simultaneously provided a connected solution as well as the infrastructure to provide an almost real time system for providing AIS data over internet to users along with the navigation solution to the end user.  

So, I (as navigator) and a team of developers and designers started a project to develop the Seapilot application. It was made available on Appstore in June 2011 after almost 2 years of development. In the design phase we made some initial requirements that since then have been of significant importance and even I would go so far as to say have changed the market in general.  

The first one was to base the design on the ECDIS standards and use of IHO standards for data (S-57) and presentation (S-52). The main benefit of using ECDIS as a base was that a system for regular updates of data was already included in the standards. Why then, shouldn’t pleasure crafts also benefit from more regular updates. 

Additionally, using IHO S-57 and S-52 standards for data and presentation provided us with a process to secure the data quality in a controlled way. This meant less risk of providing erroneous data to the end user. 

We implemented a solution which provided updates when needed and at a low annual cost (for Sweden £9/year). Today, most manufacturers promote the importance of updates and provide a solution for the provision of frequent updates. 

We thought that the S-52 presentation used by professional mariners would be a beneficial tool for the leisure market to use as well. As much as was possible, the S-52 was made to be up to the standards used in traditional paper charts (Chart A/Chart No1). Firstly, this meant there were fewer obstacle to learn, and secondly things like readability and adaptions to make it easier for the eye to look at a screen for extended period of times without getting tired were taken into account. The trainers really liked this. It is important to bear in mind that every manufacturer of marine navigation equipment for the leisure market used their own presentation and symbology. This made it almost impossible to train in electronic navigation and a consequence, in my opinion, was that it held back the relatively recent transfer from “analog” to digital navigation. 

In Sweden for example, electronic navigation only overtook paper as the main method for navigation among pleasure crafts in 2016. Today many manufacturers have the functionality to choose between manufacturer specific presentation and S-52. That early adaption has therefore become more or less the industry standard. 

Our development of Seapilot was initially focused on only Apple products but was later launched on for Windows and Android devices. The app received a very positive reception and was even nominated for the best utility app only a few months after its release. In my opinion that success was accomplished by creating a team of designers and developers that all had extensive experience of navigation and several nautical miles under our belts before going into the development. In 2018 Seapilot was sold to Raymarine and since then we have included several other countries outside of Sweden for safe and easy navigation. 

An app is also a perfect backup system to traditional navigation systems and a great planning tool for those dark winter nights when we dream ourselves back onboard our boat for that nice yachting adventure. 

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