Check out the video and see how it handles hazards in a very unique way. That's just one of dozens of things it'll do.
That's an impressive use of the technology and I can certainly see the value in it.
But all this, and the AIS thread as well, brings to mind a good friend of mine who is the chief production pilot for the 787 program. He was also one of the flight test pilots for the program during the testing phase. I did some video work for him last year and when we were finished and were both sitting on the flight deck of the 787 we'd been using I asked him what the plane was like as an airplane. What it was like to fly it, in other words.
This is a fellow who when I first met him was a Beaver pilot at Kenmore Air. And today he still flies both a Beaver and a Cessna 180. He also flies all our other models-- 37, 47, 67, and 77 as well as the 87.
He thought for a moment and then said (I'm paraphrasing), "Well it flies very nicely. Smooth on the controls, responsive, feels right. But," he added, it's not all that much fun to fly. It's more like playing a video game than flying an airplane."
And it seems to me that perhaps boating is going the same way. We have all sorts of electronic gizmos--- many of which we have and use on our own boat. But each new device or capability seems to take away more of the "fun" of running a boat. We have more and more "stuff" telling us what's around us, what's ahead of us, what's going to happen in three miles, two miles, one mile. We are fed the names and speeds and headings of every ship on the planet, or at least every one with an AIS transponder.
Now there is no argument against the increased safety that is realized through the use of a lot of this stuff. And there is always the tried and true philosophy "If it saves one life or keeps one boat off the rocks then it's all worth it." Also true, at least from one perspective.
But to me I'm thinking that all these screens and audible and visual warnings and readouts and tons of information are like the 787. Really cool use of technology and it can certainly be said to have an important purpose. But, like the 787 which has put multiple layers of technology between the pilot and the actual flying experience, it's simply not as much fun anymore.
My own prediction is that boating is going the same way. Even today, when most boats are still relatively simple in terms of technology, the people I see on the water who seem to be getting the most out of being there are, in order:
Kayakers, sailboaters, fishermen, runabout and PWC drivers, the owners of older, basic cruisers, and lastly, the modern powerboat cruiser owner with all his gadgets and bells and whistles. Not that this last guy isn't having fun or enjoying boating, but in listening to them talk about boating and what's important to them about it, it's become way more about the technology than about the fun of simply being on the water and seeing what there is to see.
Just a generality I've observed developing over the years, even on our own boat as we've added layers of technology. I think human nature makes it inevitable, but I also think it's too bad.
Nothing to do with the Nexus 7, I'm afraid, but hearing Jeff's hazard warning brought me in mind of our airplanes these days and my friend's remark.
