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Canadian Hydrographic Service
Glossary
Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS)
A navigation information system which with adequate back-up arrangements can be accepted as complying with the up-to-date chart required by regulation V/20 of the 1974 SOLAS Convention. ECDIS converts a wealth of information on water depths and distances to and from various marine obstacles into a constantly updated visual format. Its primary function is to capture, manage, select and display an integrated flow of information from a number of sources and display this information on a computer screen in real time. Much more than a paper chart displayed on a computer screen, the system produces a "live action" display of the ship's constantly changing position in relation to intended course, traffic and other hazards. In its most sophisticated form the electronic chart revolutionizes navigation. It displays on a full colour high-resolution computer screen all the vital navigation data in "real time" (position, course, heading, speed, depth, radar image) superimposed on a seamless digital chart. The system instantly signals any deviation from the pre-determined course (to whatever tolerance the mariner chooses) and constantly updates times, distances, and bearings to waypoints. At all times, the vessel's position is indicated on the screen in as a ship-shaped cursor, its movement updated every second, typically by differential GPS. In its "differential" mode (its satellite signal adjusted by a land-radio signal), GPS is accurate to within 10 metres or better.
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