Norwich-based developer of software and hardware solutions Norcom Technology has received £20,000 of funding from the East Anglian grant programme, Supply Chain innovation for Offshore Renewable Energy (SCORE), for its nautical eChart Service.
The eChart Service is similar to Google maps and creates a map of the seabed around the east coast of England.
The SCORE funding will allow Norcom to further develop a desktop and web-based application for the eChart Service.
The seabed maps will be created using data supplied by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office and will be the most advanced seabed map ever created for the North Sea, claims the company.
Norcom will use chart and hydrographic data from France, Germany, Denmark and other European countries to create a complete map of the seabed.
The service will show the exact location of all the current wind farms and proposed future developments, including data pin-pointing the staggering 20,000 wrecks on the region’s seabed.
Additionally, maritime industries can use the route and timing information from the service to do passage planning.
Norcom’s eChart service will be completed by September and the data will be updated on a three monthly basis.
Norcom Technology managing director Phil Harris said that the funding from the SCORE grant programme was fundamental in bringing this project to fruition.
"It has enabled us to employ a dedicated member of staff to work on the data and web design elements, both of which are critical if we are to complete the service in the timeframe we have set ourselves," Harris said.
"The funding application process was very straightforward and the monthly approval meeting ensured a quick response, which was really beneficial in enabling us to progress our plans."
Following the development of desktop and web-based applications, Norcom is planning to develop a mobile app version of the eChart Service.
Image: Norcom Technology’s eChart Service showing routes around the east coast of England. Photo: courtesy of Norcom Technology.
