Ship information display system, ship information display method, imaging device and program

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a ship information displaying system, a ship information displaying method, an image generating device, and a program.BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a ship navigation support device including a plurality of imaging parts (cameras) which are installed in a ship and images the circumference of a ship so that a plurality of captured images are overlapped with each other, an image synthesizing part which synthesizes the images captured by the imaging part on the basis of a given virtual viewpoint V, a measuring part (millimeter wave radar) which measures a distance from the ship to a quay, a correcting part (controller) which corrects the distance from the ship to the quay measured by the measuring part into a distance from the ship to the quay when seen from the virtual viewpoint, an image outputting part which outputs an image obtained by superimposing the distance from the ship to the quay corrected by the correcting part on the image synthesized by the image synthesizing part, and a display which displays the image outputted from the image outputting part.[Reference Document of Conventional Art][Patent Document]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP2018-188043A WO 2019 / 096401 A1 discloses real-time monitoring of surroundings of a marine vessel in an environment such as in a port, wherein images are generated that show the marine vessel and the surroundings from an external top view, and sometimes in a top perspective as to the port. WO 2018 / 216537 A1 relates to an image generating device that receives images captured on a vessel as well as positional and posture information as to the vessel, and that, with further information, generates synthesized images out of such input. The publication by P.C. Van Kluijven having the title: "Augmented reality used in navigation. Project 2 Theme: improvement and innovation Content", 5 February 2013, XP055199421, as retrievable on 01 July 2015 from the Internet under URL:http: / / www.marinesymposium-rotterdam.nl / uploads / Route / Augmented Reality On The Bridge.pdf, likewise is concerned with generation of images, here using primary information such as own vessel information, and information on buoys and shipping lanes, as well as secondary information such as on shallow waters, underwater obstacles and information on other vessels.DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE[Problem to be Solved by the Disclosure]

[0004] Meanwhile, for example, when a ship arrives at and departs from a shore, although it is necessary to grasp a distance between the edge of the ship and a circumference object, such as a quay or a tugboat, since the view of a sailor who is on the ship is interrupted by the sun deck and the ship edge near the water surface cannot be visually recognized, it is difficult to intuitively grasp the size of the ship. Such a problem is especially remarkable in large-sized ships.

[0005] The present disclosure is made in view of the above-described problem, and one purpose thereof is to provide a ship information displaying system, a ship information displaying method, an image generating device, and a program, which can easily and intuitively grasp the size of a ship.[Means for Solving the Problem]

[0006] Problems with the prior art methods and systems are solved by the subject-matter of the independent claims.[Effect of the Disclosure]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it becomes easier to grasp the size of a ship intuitively.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a configuration of a ship information displaying system according to one embodiment. Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a configuration of an image generating device according to this embodiment. Fig. 3 is a view illustrating one example of a camera image captured by a camera. Fig. 4 is a view illustrating one example of a virtual three-dimensional space. Fig. 5 is a view illustrating one example of an extension image generated by rendering. Fig. 6 is a view illustrating one example of a synthesized image where the camera image and the extension image are synthesized. Fig. 7 is a view illustrating one example of the virtual three-dimensional space. Fig. 8 is a view illustrating one example of the synthesized image where the camera image and the extension image are synthesized. Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating one example of a procedure of a ship information displaying method according to this embodiment. Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating one example of a procedure of another ship object placement processing. Fig. 11 is a view illustrating one example of the virtual three-dimensional space. Fig. 12 is a view illustrating one example of a synthesized image where the camera image and the extension image are synthesized. Fig. 13 is a view illustrating size data. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE DISCLOSURE

[0009] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a configuration of a ship information displaying system 100 according to this embodiment.

[0011] The ship information displaying system 100 may include an image generating device 1, a radar 2, a GNSS receiver 3, an AIS 4, an ECDIS 5, a gyrocompass 6, a camera 7, and a personal digital assistant 8. These apparatuses may be connected to a network N, such as LAN (Local Area Network), and network communication is possible therebetween, for example.

[0012] The image generating device 1 may generate video data containing an image which expresses a situation around a ship (the ship) in extended reality or augmented reality (AR), and display the data on its display 22 (see Fig. 2) or a display of the personal digital assistant 8.

[0013] The radar 2 may detect a target (object) which exists around the ship, and generate target tracking data (TT data) indicative of a position and a velocity vector of the target.

[0014] The GNSS receiver 3 may detect the position of the ship based on radio waves received from a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and generate positional data indicative of the position of the ship. The GNSS receiver 3 is one example of a position detector.

[0015] The AIS (Automatic Identification System) 4 may receive AIS data transmitted from a base station on another ship or land. The AIS data may contain various data, such as the name of another ship, an identifier, a position, a length, a width, a course, a ship speed, a heading, and a destination. The AIS 4 is one example of an another ship data receiver, and the AIS data is one example of another ship data.

[0016] The ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) 5 may acquire the positional data of the ship from the GNSS receiver 3, and display the position of the ship on an electronic nautical chart. Further, the ECDIS 5 may also display, on the electronic nautical chart, a scheduled traveling route set so as to sequentially follow a plurality of way points.

[0017] The gyrocompass 6 may detect the heading of the ship and generate directional data indicative of the heading. The gyrocompass 6 is one example of a direction detector. Without being limited to this configuration, a GPS compass or a magnetic compass may be used, for example.

[0018] The camera 7 may image outside the ship and generate an image (hereinafter, referred to as a "camera image"). The camera 7 is installed at the bridge so as to be oriented toward the heading of the ship, for example. The camera 7 may be configured to be panned or tilted corresponding to an operational input detected by a user interface 21 (see Fig. 2) of the image generating device 1.

[0019] The personal digital assistant 8 may be carried by a sailor and display the image generated by the image generating device 1. The personal digital assistant 8 is a tablet computer, for example. For example, the personal digital assistant 8 is connected wirelessly with the network N via an access point (not illustrated).

[0020] In this embodiment, each apparatus included in the ship information displaying system 100 may be mounted on the ship. Without being limited to this configuration, for example, the image generating device 1 may be disposed at a control tower on land, and the personal digital assistant 8 may be carried by a sailor of the tugboat or a worker on the quay.

[0021] Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a configuration of the image generating device 1 according to this embodiment. The image generating device 1 may include a processing circuitry 10, the user interface 21, and the display 22.

[0022] The processing circuitry 10 may be a computer including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a nonvolatile memory, and an input / output interface. The CPU of the processing circuitry 10 may perform information processing according to a program loaded to the RAM from the ROM or the nonvolatile memory.

[0023] The program may be supplied, for example, via an information storage medium, such as an optical disc or a memory card, or may be supplied, for example, via a communication network, such as the Internet or a LAN.

[0024] The memory, such as the nonvolatile memory of the processing circuitry 10, may store various data used for the information processing according to the program, in addition to the program.

[0025] The processing circuitry 10 may include a position acquiring module 11, a direction acquiring module 12, a size acquiring module 13, a virtual space constructing module 14, an object placing module 15, a matching determining module 16, a distance calculating module 17, a predicted position calculating module 18, and an image generating module 19. These function parts may be implemented by the CPU of the processing circuitry 10 executing the information processing according to the program.

[0026] The user interface 21 is a pointing device, such as a trackball, for example. The display 22 is a display device, such as a liquid crystal display, for example.

[0027] The position acquiring module 11 may acquire the positional data indicative of the position of the ship generated by the GNSS receiver 3. The direction acquiring module 12 may acquire the directional data indicative of the heading of the ship generated by the gyrocompass 6.

[0028] The size acquiring module 13 may acquire size data of the ship from the memory of the processing circuitry 10. Without being limited to this configuration, the size data may be acquired from an external database.

[0029] The virtual space constructing module 14 may build a virtual three-dimensional space, and set a viewpoint position and a Line-of-Sight (LoS) direction of a virtual camera. The object placing module 15 may place various kinds of virtual objects in the virtual three-dimensional space.

[0030] The matching determining module 16, the distance calculating module 17, and the predicted position calculating module 18 will be described later in detail.

[0031] The image generating module 19 may generate an extension image by rendering (drawing) a scene (spectacle) of the virtual three-dimensional space imaged by the virtual camera. Further, the image generating module 19 may generate a synthesized image by synthesizing the extension image to the camera image indicative of a scene of an actual space imaged by the actual camera 7.

[0032] Fig. 3 is a view illustrating one example of a camera image 30 captured by the camera 7. The example of this drawing illustrates the camera image 30 when the camera 7 is installed at the bridge of the ship so that it is oriented toward the heading of the ship. The camera image 30 contains an image 31 of the ship and an image 32 of another ship, for example.

[0033] Fig. 4 is a view illustrating one example of a virtual three-dimensional space 40 built by the virtual space constructing module 14. The coordinate system of the virtual three-dimensional space 40 may be set corresponding to the coordinate system of the actual space.

[0034] A virtual camera 41 may be disposed in the virtual three-dimensional space 40. The viewpoint position and the LoS direction may be set to the virtual camera 41. A scene contained in a field of view 42 based on the viewpoint position and the LoS direction of the virtual camera 41 may be a target of the rendering.

[0035] The viewpoint position and the LoS direction of the virtual camera 41 are set corresponding to the position and the orientation of the actual camera 7, for example. For this reason, the LoS direction of the virtual camera 41 may change in an interlocking manner with the ship's heading. Further, when the actual camera 7 pans or tilts, the LoS direction of the virtual camera 41 may also change accordingly.

[0036] A screen 43 may be disposed in the virtual three-dimensional space 40. The screen 43 may be an area corresponding to the position and the orientation of the actual camera 7, and may be an area where the camera image 30 (see Fig. 3) captured by the camera 7 is synthesized. The screen 43 may be disposed so that it is normally contained in the field of view 42 of the virtual camera 41 neither too much nor too little.

[0037] Virtual objects, such as a route object 51 and an another ship object 52 may be disposed in the virtual three-dimensional space 40. The route object 51 may be disposed based on data of the scheduled traveling route acquired from the ECDIS 5. The another ship object 52 may be disposed based on the AIS data acquired from the AIS 4 (one example of another ship data).

[0038] For example, the another ship object 52 is disposed at a position corresponding to the positional data contained in the AIS data, with a size corresponding to length and width data, and in an orientation corresponding to the heading data. The another ship object 52 may have a three-dimensional shape which imitates the shape of the ship so that it is possible to easily grasp the bow direction at a glance.

[0039] Fig. 5 is a view illustrating one example of an extension image 44 generated by the image generating module 19. The image generating module 19 may generate the extension image 44 containing the virtual objects, such as the route object 51 and the another ship object 52, by rendering the scene imaged by the virtual camera 41 in the virtual three-dimensional space 40.

[0040] In the extension image 44, the virtual objects, such as the route object 51 and the another ship object 52, may be objects having transparency (for example, translucent). In the extension image 44, the background area other than the virtual objects may fully be transparent.

[0041] Fig. 6 is a view illustrating one example of a synthesized image 60 which is generated by the image generating module 19, where the camera image 30 and the extension image 44 are synthesized.

[0042] The synthesized image 60 may contain the another ship object 52 which is superimposed on the image 32 of another ship. As described above, since the route object 51 and the another ship object 52 have transparency, the image 31 of the ship, and the image 32 of another ship can be visually recognized, even if the route object 51 and the another ship object 52 are overlapped therewith.

[0043] The synthesized image 60 may contain a heading line 61, an azimuth scale 62, a circumference indication 63, and an another ship information indication 64.

[0044] The heading line 61 may be an indication which illustrates the heading of the ship, and may be generated based on the directional data from the gyrocompass 6. The circumference indication 63 may be an indication which illustrates a situation of target(s) around the ship, and may be generated based on the TT data from the radar 2. The another ship information indication 64 may be an indication which illustrates information on another ship, and may be generated based on the AIS data from the AIS 4.

[0045] Note that the viewpoint position and the LoS direction of the virtual camera 41 in the virtual three-dimensional space 40 may change in an interlocking manner at the position and the posture of the personal digital assistant 8 carried by the sailor, for example.

[0046] In that case, as illustrated in Fig. 7, a situation where the field of view 42 of the virtual camera 41 does not match with the screen 43 may occur. As illustrated in Fig. 8, in the synthesized image 60, the camera image 30 is synthesized only with an area which is a part of the extension image 44, and the background of the extension image 44 is displayed on other areas.

[0047] Figs. 9 and 10 are flowcharts illustrating one example of a procedure of a ship information displaying method according to this embodiment, which is implemented by the ship information displaying system 100. The information processing illustrated in these drawings is performed, for example, when the ship arrives at or departs from a quay or a pier in a port.

[0048] Figs. 11 and 12 are views illustrating one example of the virtual three-dimensional space 40 and the synthesized image 60 when performing the information processing illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. These drawings indicate a situation where the ship is pushed by a tugboat and is stored in an arrival-at-a-shore area.

[0049] By performing the information processing illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 according to the program, the processing circuitry 10 of the image generating device 1 may function as the position acquiring module 11, the direction acquiring module 12, the size acquiring module 13, the virtual space constructing module 14, the object placing module 15, the matching determining module 16, the distance calculating module 17, the predicted position calculating module 18, and the image generating module 19, which are illustrated in Fig. 2.

[0050] First, the processing circuitry 10 acquires the positional data, the directional data, the size data, etc. (S11; processing as the position acquiring module 11, the direction acquiring module 12, and the size acquiring module 13). In detail, the processing circuitry 10 may acquire the positional data indicative of the position of the ship from the GNSS receiver 3, acquire the directional data indicative of the heading of the ship from the gyrocompass 6, and acquire the size data of the ship from its own memory.

[0051] Here, the size data may indicate a flat dimension of the ship on the basis of a detected location of the positional data in the ship. The detected location of the positional data may be a position of the antenna of the GNSS receiver 3. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 13, the size data contains, in a condition where the ship has a rectangular flat surface contour, a length Lb from the detected location to the bow, a length Lp from the detected location to the port side, a length Ls from the detected location to the starboard side, and a length La from the detected location to the stern.

[0052] Next, the processing circuitry 10 places a ship object 53 and a target area object 55 in the virtual three-dimensional space 40 (S12; processing as the object placing module 15: see Fig. 11).

[0053] In detail, the processing circuitry 10 places the ship object 53 indicative of the ship at a position corresponding to the positional data in the virtual three-dimensional space 40, with an orientation corresponding to the directional data and a size corresponding to the size data.

[0054] For example, the ship object 53 is disposed so that a point corresponding to the detected location (see Fig. 13) is located at coordinates corresponding to the positional data. Further, the ship object 53 may be disposed so that a front end corresponding to the bow is oriented toward a direction corresponding to the directional data.

[0055] Moreover, the ship object 53 may be generated as a rectangular object having such a size that lengths from the point corresponding to the detected location to the front end, the left end, the right end, and the rear end correspond to the lengths Lb, Lp, Ls, and La (see Fig. 13) contained in the size data.

[0056] The ship object 53 may be a flat surface object (that is, an object without thickness). Further, the ship object 53 may be disposed at a height corresponding to the water surface.

[0057] Moreover, the processing circuitry 10 may place a heavy object 54 indicative of a heavy article mounted on the ship on the ship object 53. The heavy object 54 indicates a loaded object or an engine carried in the ship, for example. The heavy object 54 is configured, for example, as a box-shaped solid object.

[0058] In detail, the processing circuitry 10 may acquire the heavy object data indicative of the position of the heavy article mounted on the ship from its own memory, and place the heavy object 54 at a position specified by heavy object data of the heavy object 54. Alternatively, the size of the heavy object 54 may be changed according to the weight of the heavy article.

[0059] Further, the processing circuitry 10 may place the target area object 55 indicative of the target area at which the ship should arrive (for example, the arrival-at-a-shore area). The target area object 55 may also be configured as a flat surface object similarly to the ship object 53, and disposed at the height corresponding to the water surface.

[0060] In detail, the processing circuitry 10 may acquire area data indicative of the target area at which the ship should arrive from its own memory, and place the target area object 55 in the area specified by the area data.

[0061] The target area object 55 may have the same shape and size as the ship object 53, or may be the shape and size which envelops the ship object 53. Further, the grid lines may be displayed for facilitating the understanding of the parallelism on the target area object 55.

[0062] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 9, next, the processing circuitry 10 may determine a degree of matching of the ship object 53 with the target area object 55 (S 13; processing as the matching determining module 16). The degree of matching is calculated, for example, based on the overlapping area of the ship object 53 and the target area object 55.

[0063] Without being limited to this configuration, the degree of matching may be calculated based on the parallelism between the ship object 53 and the target area object 55, or may be calculated based on a distance between the ship object 53 and a quay-side side of the target area object 55, for example.

[0064] Next, the processing circuitry 10 performs another ship object placement processing (S14). Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating one example of a procedure of another ship object placement processing S14.

[0065] In the another ship object placement processing S14, the processing circuitry 10 may first acquire the AIS data (one example of the another ship data) from the AIS 4 (see Fig. 1) (S21).

[0066] Next, the processing circuitry 10 may determine whether another ship specified by the AIS data is a tugboat (S22). The determination of whether it is the tugboat is performed based on whether the AIS data contains an identifier indicative of the tugboat, for example. Without being limited to this configuration, the determination of whether it is the tugboat may be performed based on whether a distance between the ship and the another ship is below a threshold.

[0067] If the another ship is a tugboat (S22: YES), the processing circuitry 10 may place the another ship object 56 indicative of a tugboat based on the AIS data (S23; processing as the object placing module 15).

[0068] The placement of the another ship object 56 may be similar to the placement of the another ship object 52 (see Fig. 4) described above. That is, the another ship object 56 may be placed at a position corresponding to the positional data contained in the AIS data, with a size corresponding to length and width data, with an orientation corresponding to the heading data.

[0069] Next, the processing circuitry 10 calculates a distance from the edge of the ship to the another ship (S24; processing as the distance calculating module 17). The position of the edge of the ship (port or starboard) is calculated based on the positional data, the directional data, and size data of the ship, and the position of the another ship is calculated based on the AIS data.

[0070] Next, if the calculated distance is below the threshold (S25: YES), the processing circuitry 10 adds a contact mark 67 indicative of contact to a part of the ship object 53 close to the another ship object 56, and it may add an arrow 68 indicative of a traveling state of the another ship to near the another ship object 56 (S26).

[0071] The direction of the arrow 68 may indicate the heading or course of the another ship, and the size of the arrow 68 may indicate the ship speed of the another ship. Note that the contact mark 67 and the arrow 68 may be added in the extension image 44 or the synthesized image 60 after the rendering.

[0072] Note that although in the example of explanation the another ship object 56 is not placed when the another ship is not the tugboat, it is not limited to the configuration. For example, the display mode may be changed based on whether the another ship is the tugboat or not to allow one to identify whether it is the tugboat.

[0073] By the above, the another ship object placement processing S14 is finished.

[0074] Returning to explanation of Fig. 9, the processing circuitry 10 may then calculate a predicted position and a prediction posture of the ship after a given period of time, and place a predicted ship object 57 indicative of the position and posture (S15). The predicted position and prediction posture of the ship may be calculated based on data indicative of a traveling state, such as the heading and the speed of the another ship which is determined to be the tugboat.

[0075] The predicted ship object 57 may also be configured as a flat surface object similar to the ship object 53, and disposed at the height corresponding to the water surface. In the example of Figs. 11 and 12, the predicted ship object 57 indicative of the ship translating toward the quay by being pushed by two tugboats is illustrated.

[0076] Next, the processing circuitry 10 may set the viewpoint position and the LoS direction of the virtual camera 41 in the virtual three-dimensional space 40, and generate the extension image 44 by rendering the scene which the virtual camera 41 images (S16-S17; processing as the virtual space constructing module 14 and the image generating module 19).

[0077] Next, the processing circuitry 10 may generate the synthesized image 60 (see Fig. 12) by synthesizing the generated extension image 44 with the camera image 30 captured by the actual camera 7 (see Fig. 1) (S18; processing as the image generating module 19).

[0078] Then, the processing circuitry 10 may output the generated synthesized image 60 to the display 22 (see Fig. 2) or the personal digital assistant 8 (see Fig. 1) (S19). As described above, a series of processings are finished. These processings may be repeatedly performed at a given interval.

[0079] As illustrated in Fig. 12, the synthesized image 60 may contain the ship object 53 indicative of the contour of the ship. Therefore, it becomes easier to grasp intuitively the size of the ship and the distance from the circumference object. Especially, by using the flat surface object as the ship object 53 and disposing it at the height corresponding to the water surface, it becomes easier to grasp intuitively the size of the ship near the water surface.

[0080] Further, the synthesized image 60 may also contain the heavy object 54 indicative of the heavy article loaded on the ship. Therefore, it becomes easier to grasp the position of the heavy article in the ship. Thus, an analysis of the position and the magnitude of a force which should be applied to the ship when departing from and arriving at a shore, becomes easier.

[0081] Further, the synthesized image 60 may also contain the target area object 55 indicative of the target area at which the ship should arrive. The target area object 55 is displayed, for example, adjacent to an image 35 of the quay. Therefore, an analysis of which direction the ship should be moved when departing from and arriving at a shore, and a judgment of how much the ship reaches the target area, becomes easier.

[0082] Further, the synthesized image 60 may also contain a matching indication 65 indicative of the degree of matching between the ship object 53 and the target area object 55. Therefore, a judgment of how much the ship reaches the target area becomes easier.

[0083] Further, the synthesized image 60 may also contain the another ship object 56 indicative of the tugboat. The another ship object 56 may be superimposed on an image 36 of the tugboat. Therefore, it becomes easier to grasp the position, the size, and the orientation of the tugboat.

[0084] The synthesized image 60 may also contain a distance indication 66 indicative of the distance from the edge of the ship to the another ship. Thus, by displaying the distance from the edge of the ship to the another ship which is calculated using the size data in addition to the positional data, it becomes easier to grasp a more accurate distance.

[0085] The synthesized image 60 may also contain the contact mark 67 indicative of a contact of another ship. Therefore, it becomes easier to grasp the position of the ship to which the force is applied from the tugboat.

[0086] Further, the synthesized image 60 may also contain the arrow 68 having the size corresponding to the speed of another ship, which indicates the heading or the course of the another ship. Therefore, it becomes easier to grasp the direction and the magnitude of the force applied from the tugboat.

[0087] As described above, although the embodiment of the present disclosure is described, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and it is needless to say to the person skilled in the art that various changes may be made to the embodiment.

[0088] For example, the display may be a head mounted display which is mounted on the sailor's head. The extension image 44 may be generated based on the viewpoint position and the LoS direction of the virtual camera 41 which change in an interlocking manner at the position and the posture of the head mounted display.

[0089] Note that the synthesized image 60 where the extension image 44 and the camera image 30 are synthesized may be outputted to a non-transparent type head mounted display, and only the extension image 44 may be outputted to a transparent type head mounted display.DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

[0090] 1Image Generating Device 2Radar 3GNSS Receiver 4AIS 5ECDIS 6Gyrocompass 7Camera 8Personal Digital Assistant 10Processing circuitry 11Position Acquiring Module 12Direction Acquiring Module 13Size Acquiring Module 14Virtual Space Constructing Module 15Object Placing Module 16Matching Determining Module 17Distance Calculating Module 18Predicted Position Calculating Module 19Image Generating Module 21User Interface 22Display 30Camera Image 31Image of Ship 32Image of Another Ship 35Image of Quay 36Image of Tugboat 40Virtual Three-dimensional Space 41Virtual Camera 42Field of View 43Screen 44Extension Image 51Route Object 52Another Ship Object 53Ship Object 54Heavy Object 55Target Area Object 56Another Ship Object 57Predicted Ship Object 60Synthesized Image 61Heading Line 62Azimuth Scale 63Circumference Indication 64Another Ship Information Indication 65Matching Indication 66Distance Indication 67Contact Mark 68Arrow 100Ship Information Displaying System

Claims

1. A ship information displaying system (100), comprising: a position detector (3) configured to detect a position of a ship and generate positional data; a direction detector (6) configured to detect a heading of the ship and generate directional data; a memory configured to store size data indicative of a flat dimension of the ship on the basis of a detected location of the positional data in the ship; an object placing module (15) configured to place a ship object (53) indicative of the ship at a position in a virtual three-dimensional space (44) corresponding to the positional data, with an orientation corresponding to the directional data and a size corresponding to the size data; an image generating module (19) configured to generate an image (44) containing the ship object (53) by rendering a scene based on a viewpoint position and a line-of-sight direction set in the virtual three-dimensional space; and a display (22) configured to display the image (44); wherein the ship information displaying system (100) further comprises an another ship data receiver (4) configured to receive another ship data containing at least positional data indicative of a position of another ship, wherein the object placing module (15) places another ship object (56) in the virtual three-dimensional space based on the another ship data, wherein the ship information displaying system (100) further comprises a distance calculating module (17) configured to calculate a distance between an edge of the ship and another ship based on the positional data, the directional data, the size data, and the another ship data, and wherein the object placing module (15) adds a contact mark (67) indicative of a contact at a part of the ship object (53) close to the other ship object (56), when the distance is below a threshold.

2. The ship information displaying system (100) of claim 1, wherein the viewpoint position and the line-of-sight direction are set corresponding to a position and a posture of the display.

3. The ship information displaying system (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the ship object (53) is a flat surface object.

4. The ship information displaying system (100) of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the object placing module (15) places the ship object (53) at a height corresponding to a water surface.

5. The ship information displaying system (100) of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the object placing module (15) places a heavy object (54) indicative a heavy article on the ship object based on heavy object data indicative of a position of the heavy article in the ship.

6. The ship information displaying system (100) of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the object placing module (15) places a target area object (55) indicative of a target area of the ship in the virtual three-dimensional space based on area data indicative of the target area.

7. The ship information displaying system (100) of claim 6, further comprising a matching determining module (16) configured to determine a degree of matching between the ship object and the target area object (55).

8. The ship information displaying system (100) of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a camera (7) configured to image outside the ship, wherein the image generating module (19) synthesizes an image (30) captured by the camera (7) with an area of the image (44) generated by rendering, corresponding to the position and the orientation of the camera (7). 8.

9. The ship information displaying system (100) of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the object placing module (15) places the other ship object (56), when the another ship data contains an identifier indicative of a tugboat.

10. The ship information displaying system (100) of any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: an another ship data receiver (4) configured to receive another ship data containing at least traveling data indicative of a traveling state of another ship; and a predicted position calculating module (18) configured to calculate a predicted position of the ship after a given period of time based on the another ship data, wherein the object placing module places (15) a predicted ship object (57) at the predicted position.

11. A method of displaying ship information, comprising the steps of: detecting a position of a ship and generating positional data; detecting a heading of the ship and generating directional data; acquiring size data indicative of a flat dimension of the ship on the basis of a detected location of the positional data in the ship; placing a ship object (53) indicative of the ship at a position in a virtual three-dimensional space corresponding to the positional data, with an orientation corresponding to the directional data and a size corresponding to the size data; generating an image (44) containing the ship object (53) by rendering a scene based on a viewpoint position and a line-of-sight direction set in the virtual three-dimensional space; and displaying the image (44); wherein another ship data containing at least positional data indicative of a position of another ship are received, wherein another ship object is placed in the virtual three-dimensional space based on the another ship data, wherein a distance between an edge of the ship and another ship is calculated based on the positional data, the directional data, the size data, and the another ship data, and wherein a contact mark (67) is added that is indicative of a contact at a part of the ship object (53) close to the another ship object (56), when the distance is below a threshold.

12. A program for causing a computer to function as: a position acquiring module (11) configured to acquire positional data indicative of a position of a ship; a direction acquiring module (12) configured to acquire directional data indicative of a heading of the ship; a size acquiring (13) module configured to acquire size data indicative of a flat dimension of the ship on the basis of a detected location of the positional data in the ship; an object placing module (15) configured to place a ship object (53) indicative of the ship at a position in a virtual three-dimensional space corresponding to the positional data, with an orientation corresponding to the directional data and a size corresponding to the size data; and an image generating module (19) configured to generate an image (44) containing the ship object (53) by rendering a scene based on a viewpoint position and a line-of-sight direction set in the virtual three-dimensional space wherein the computer further functions as an another ship data receiver (4) configured to receive another ship data containing at least positional data indicative of a position of another ship, wherein the object placing module (15) places another ship object in the virtual three-dimensional space based on the another ship data, wherein the computer further functions as a distance calculating module (17) configured to calculate a distance between an edge of the ship and another ship based on the positional data, the directional data, the size data, and the another ship data, and wherein the object placing module (15) adds a contact mark (67) indicative of a contact at a part of the ship object (53) close to the other ship object (56), when the distance is below a threshold.