| UK. Smartcom launching SmartMet weather software at London Boat Show |
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| Tuesday, 20 December 2005 | |
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Product news: SmartMet is software for Windows PCs that allows you to download and view weather information, from the MIDAS Weather server on the internet.Getting weather information is a key factor to any mariner, but the suppliers say that, prior to SmartMet, there has been no ideal solution. Official marine sources such as radio broadcasts, Navtex and Weatherfax just give a very broad brush forecast, and the mariner needs to tune in at the right time to receive the forecast. Web browsing gives users a huge amount of data, but it is slow over mobile and satellite phone, a lot of time can be consumed looking for the right web pages, and once disconnected from the web, the information is no longer available. Some high end PC based chart plotters do offer the display of GRIB weather forecast files, but the areas are generally pre-set, so the downloads are relatively large, and the software generally costs £400 or more. SmartMet is designed to overcome these problems, allowing you to efficiently download the weather data you want, when you want, to your PC. Then, offline, you can view the weather data in whatever way you want. The user can select exactly what area and times he wants the forecast for, and also what weather information is wanted in the forecast. Data is then downloaded from the internet in a very compact format, ideal for fast and low cost downloads over a mobile or satellite phone, and many times faster than browsing web pages. It also comes direct into the SmartMet application, so the user does not have to worry about messing around with downloaded files or with e-mail attachments. Once downloaded, the user can build up the weather map exactly how he wants it, switching on and off layers, and displaying data as colour shading, contours, text and symbols. They can also zoom in and out, pan around, and step through in time. They can also export weather forecasts as GRIB files, for use with chart plotters that support GRIB weather data. The MIDAS Weather server offers a rich set of weather information. Current weather reports consist of ship, buoy and land based reports; satellite imagery; and QuickScat satellite based surface wind reports. Forecast data can be either 1 degree, 3 hour time step low resolution forecasts, or 0.2 degree, 1 hour time step detailed forecasts. Data includes surface pressure, wind speed and direction, cloud cover and precipitation, air and sea/land temperature, tidal streams, surface currents, and wave height, direction and period. Data is automatically collated from a range of high quality weather report and forecast sources, and supplied to the user through a standard, common interface. The high resolution forecasts, not previously generally available for download in Europe, are ideal for those needing a detailed forecast for day sailing, or for yacht racing. Coverage is at present European – from the top of the Baltic across to Iceland, and down to the south east corner of the Mediterranean. During 2006, coverage will be rolled out to be worldwide. SmartMet retails for £49 (inc. VAT), and will be on the shelves from February 2006. Due to the European Space Agency sponsorship of the MIDAS project, there is no charge for weather data until the end of 2006. After that, basic forecasts will continue to be free, with more detailed or extensive forecasts being a pound or two each. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 December 2005 ) |
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