Steve, Here's an open source autohelm that the guy built for ~$350.
http://themarineinstallersrant.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-arduino-autopilot-that-jack-built.html Josh On Feb 19, 2014 9:06 PM, "Stevan Plavsa" <stevanpla...@gmail.com> wrote: > Do you guys know what OS Raymarine, Garmin et al use? I'm sure they're > different but I'm guessing they are all proprietary to their brand. Is that > correct? If it is, that would mean that they have a whole team of people > developing their OS, right? > > Why? > > A thought: why don't they simply license Android, fire their software > department (or re-orient them to create amazing Raymarine/Garmin, whatever > apps for Android) and make more money? We the consumer get a platform > that's much more flexible than what those devices are currently running > plus access to all these wonderful apps, which would only get better and > better if there was a hardware environment for them more suitable to the > marine environment than tablets. The fact that Raymarine now has apps for > those devices is telling, people are clearly using tablets on their boats. > I think they have it backwards. Don't bring raymarine to the android > device. Bring Android to the raymarine device. The marine tech companies > are in the hardware business first, software is secondary. They should > stick to their core competency and let the big guys do the software part. > More frequent updates and bug fixes, a standard user experience regardless > of manufacturer. The freedom and ability to run all kinds of apps on your > boat computer (because that's what a chart plotter is). Etc. There's > already a software environment which means there is demand in the market > (navionics, mx mariner, opencpn, etc). My feeling is that the software > companies are going to be able to provide much better apps for us than what > raymarine and garmin are currently giving us. > > Imagine a raymarine computer at your helm, just like their top of the line > plotter but you can install whatever you want on it and do whatever you can > currently do with your android device (because it runs android). If they > wanted to, they could port their chart software to android and sell it as > an app or provide coupon codes to download it free with the purchase of > their hardware. Why is Raymarine developing music playing apps and weather > apps for their proprietary platform? That costs money! and this stuff > already exists. > > Think blackberry. They got it all wrong. Along came Samsung and took the > entire market (Apple too, but Samsung is #1). If blackberry licensed > Android before the whole end game thing happened I think they'd still be > around, and profitable. People liked their platform, sure, but what they > really liked was their *hardware*. I've played around with the chart > plotters at the boat show and the chandleries. I wasn't really impressed > with any of the interfaces. They should continue to build amazing marine > grade HARDWARE and let the people that know software handle that part. > > Someone is going to come along and do this. Personally, I would buy a > "Marine Tough" android device for the helm before I purchased any purpose > built plotter. It would do everything that a plotter does plus so much more > (for those times when you're alongside a dock and want to watch a movie in > the cockpit or some other frivolous thing like facebook or the C&C mailing > list ;) ). Hell, install a display down below. > "Computer. Play movie. Terminator 2." > And so on. Science fiction had it all figured out with Hal. One central > computer. > > One computer to rule them all and in the dorkness bind them. > > I wish I was capable of starting a business like this, I'de do it myself. > > Most people have MULTIPLE computers on board. The VHF these days is a > computer, the laptop at the nav station, the chart plotter, the instrument > displays .. why?!!! Just give me one CPU running a commonly used platform > and let the software companies duke it out. Plug in a bunch of dumb > displays or interactive displays, whatever your budget allows. Hook up all > your transducers and sensors and you're off to the races. Focus on making > amazing marine hardware and continue to charge marine prices for it. Stop > spending money on coders to maintain your proprietary system and MAKE MORE > MONEY. Or like I said before, turn them into an App department and port > what they've already got as apps .. FOR SALE! > > > Rambling thoughts on a wednesday night. > Someone's going to owe me a beer if this happens. > > Steve > Suhana, C&C 32 > Toronto > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > >
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