The Properties of a Ship’s Compass in the Context of Ship Manoeuvrability

Abstract

In evaluating the accuracy of most navigation measuring systems, it is accepted, as a rule, that measurement errors are characterised by a normal distribution. With reference to the compass, the approach of most producers is similar. However, in the case of this measuring device, the dynamics of the ship should also be taken into account. The problem is that any changes in the ship’s heading can be measured exclusively with the use of a compass. Until quite recently, this device was built based on mechanical elements, so it possessed its own dynamic properties. This means the appearance of specific, positive feedback (self-reinforcing feedback) because if the compass did not point to the correct heading, it could lead the ship to stray from the correct heading. On the other hand, it could mean an incorrect compass setup, even though the ship had the correct heading. Any incorrect indications of the compass were then interpreted as a ship’s departure from the correct heading. This problem was not essential in the era of magnetic compasses because the errors in these compasses are relatively constant, unlike the errors in gyrocompasses, which have an oscillatory and random character and, thus, it is not possible to describe them accurately with mathematical relations. This issue was already perceived before WWII, when the Anschutz Company proposed, among other solutions, using the so-called Schuler period in the construction of gyrocompasses. Fibre optic gyrocompasses do not possess mechanical sensors, so the variability of their indications is of a different character. However, computational processes, as well as applied inertial sensors, also cause certain errors of an oscillatory nature. This raises the following questions: what is the spectrum of the error frequency of such compasses, and what is the influence of the ship’s movement on them? The authors attempted to evaluate this phenomenon by performing measurements made on board three hydrographic platforms and comparing them with the headings indicated by other compasses.