KONGSBERG K-Nav Navigation Product Series

KONGSBERG K-Nav Navigation Product Series

Modern navigation relies on highly integrated, precise, and reliable navigation systems. With the continuous improvement of the requirements for ship navigation safety by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), especially the mandatory provisions for navigation equipment and data recording systems in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), ship operators have put forward higher requirements for the performance, compliance, and long-term maintainability of navigation systems.

Kongsberg Maritime, as a leading global provider of marine technology solutions, has launched the K-NAV series of navigation products designed to meet the high standards of the SOLAS market. These products integrate advanced human factors engineering design, modular system architecture, and a global service support system, providing comprehensive navigation safety assurance for modern ships.

Corporate philosophy and customer orientation

Kongsberg's success stems from a profound understanding of customer needs. The company adheres to the core concept of "customer success is our success". By actively listening to customer feedback and transforming it into practical technical solutions, the K-NAV series products not only meet basic navigation function requirements, but also achieve breakthroughs in operational efficiency, system reliability, and decision support.

KONGSBERG's global team is committed to providing every customer with "The Full Picture" - comprehensive, clear, and real-time navigation situational awareness - by sharing professional knowledge and values. This concept runs through the entire process of product design, system integration, and after-sales support, ensuring that customers always maintain a leading position in the fierce market competition.

K-NAV System Technical Architecture

The design of K-NAV series products fully considers the operational requirements in practical use scenarios. Developed with the joint participation of professional sailors and human factors experts, ensuring an intuitive interface and convenient operation, capable of supporting sailors in making critical decisions in complex environments.

In terms of system integration, K-NAV adopts a traditional sensor interface scheme, based on serial connections to achieve data transmission between various sensors and operation stations. Through standardized sensor configuration and dedicated port design, the system can efficiently complete installation and debugging, reducing the complexity of system integration.

Radar signal processing is one of the core technologies of the K-NAV system. The radar signal is converted from analog signal to digital signal through the radar interface unit (RIN) at the transmitting and receiving antenna end, and transmitted to the display unit through high-speed network. Video processing (including target tracking and filtering) is completed on the local display unit, giving the operator full control over the display screen.

In addition, the system supports cross switching of radar signals, allowing multiple display units to access radar data from any antenna, greatly enhancing the system's fault tolerance. For large ships or scenes with blind spots, K-NAV supports the synthesis and display of video signals from up to four radars, forming a complete radar image and achieving automatic target tracking across radar boundaries.

K-NAV radar: high-performance target detection and tracking

The K-NAV radar display unit is a type approved radar/ARPA (Automatic Radar Plotter) device that supports overlaying official electronic navigation charts as base maps on radar video screens.

The raw radar data is processed locally by the display unit, and operators can adjust the filtering parameters in real time according to sea conditions and navigation requirements to ensure clear and reliable radar echoes. The system supports automatic tracking of up to 100 targets and can simultaneously display AIS (Automatic Identification System) target information. When the radar target overlaps with the AIS target, the system will automatically perform "association" processing and merge them into one target with a unique identifier to avoid operators misjudging them as two ships.

The radar transceiver offers two options, X-band and S-band, which are suitable for different navigation environments and detection requirements:

X-band (3cm): Suitable for high-resolution detection, with antenna sizes of 6 or 8 feet and power options of 10 kW or 25 kW.

S-band (10cm): suitable for detection under adverse weather conditions, with an antenna size of 12 feet and a power of 30 kW.

K-NAV ECDIS: Electronic Chart Display and Information System

K-NAV ECDIS is the core platform for ship route monitoring and planning. The system can monitor the deviation between the ship's position and the scheduled route in real time, and support route definition and verification on ECDIS local or K-NAV planning stations.

K-NAV ECDIS supports radar video overlay function, which can display the selected radar's video signal, ARPA target, and AIS information in real-time on the nautical chart, enhancing the ability to perceive navigation situation. The system also supports the "Active Lights" function, which displays the status of the lights in real-time; And can access Navtex information, automatically prompting when the ship enters the relevant area.

The system is compatible with all electronic chart formats required by IHO (International Hydrographic Organization) to ensure worry free global navigation. At the same time, the system also integrates standard functions such as echo sounding data recording, voyage recording and playback, EBL (electronic azimuth line)/VRM (variable range marker circle), etc., meeting all IMO requirements for voyage data recording and display.

K-NAV planning station and Conning display system

The K-NAV planning station serves as a "backend office" terminal, mainly used for chart maintenance and route pre planning. It adopts a desktop Panel PC form, with complete ECDIS function, supports route design and safety verification, and reduces the workload of the main workstation on the bridge.

The K-NAV Conning system is a comprehensive information display platform that centrally displays data from the rudder, propulsion system, steering commands, various sensors, and CCTV cameras. The system displays the status and position of the rudder and thruster in real-time through an intuitive ship type graphical interface, helping drivers quickly grasp the dynamics of the ship.

K-NAV Automatic Steering System: Adaptive Control and Energy saving Navigation

The K-NAV autopilot is a high-precision heading control system that can automatically optimize steering strategies based on changes in ship load and sea conditions. The system supports two operating modes: "precision mode" and "economy mode", which are respectively suitable for port control and energy-saving requirements for long-distance navigation.

The core advantage of K-NAV autopilot lies in its adaptive learning ability. During the system installation and trial voyage phase, the autopilot establishes a control model by learning the response characteristics of the ship to rudder commands. In actual navigation, the system automatically adjusts the rudder command output based on sea conditions to ensure stable heading and smooth steering, reducing servo wear and fuel consumption.

Navigation data recorder and intelligent connection

Kongsberg VDR navigation data recorder is a cost-effective solution that meets the mandatory requirements of SOLAS. Its data can be used for accident investigation, equipment operation inspection, and voyage review. The VDR playback tool can run on the K-NAV planning station, making it convenient for crew or shore based personnel to access historical data at any time.

The Kognifai Connect unit is an optional intelligent module of the K-NAV system, providing automatic chart update services based on ship shore safety connections. This unit integrates a malware protection system (with touch controlled display), Cisco industrial routers, and type approved marine computers to ensure the security and reliability of data updates.

Lifecycle Support and Global Services

Kongsberg is committed to providing customers with technical support services covering the entire lifecycle of their systems. From system design, installation and debugging to daily operation and upgrading, KONGSBERG's expert team always accompanies customers.

The K-NAV series adopts a modular and open architecture, based on industrial standard communication networks and universal hardware components, with the following advantages:

High reliability: Simplified hardware types, easy to maintain;

Cost effectiveness: Spare parts have strong universality and controllable lifecycle costs;

Easy to upgrade: New features do not require replacement of existing devices and support continuous feature expansion.

The system supports frequent hardware and software upgrades to ensure that the vessel always maintains the highest operational efficiency. Kongsberg also provides systematic training courses covering the operation and maintenance of the main modules of K-NAV, helping customers cultivate a high-quality crew team.