PRESS RELEASE
March 30, 1995
New "Black Box" increases safety and
efficiency in the shipping industry

The "Black Box", a well-known tool for
analysis of incidents and accidents
within the aviation industry, has been
introduced to the shipping industry by
the Swedish company, Wahlberg & Selin.
The product called IBB - Interactive Black Box - is a state of the art VER (Voyage Event Recorder), designed to continuously store and display video, audio, analogue and digital inputs from various sources, such as radar images, video-recordings from cargo bays, audio-recordings from radio-traffic, navigational informations, manoeuvre information, alarms, status, plotting information from electronic charts, etc.
Apart from reducing the risk of
accidents, the IBB is said to provide
a powerful tool for simulations and sea rescue training while lowering overall operational costs.

Wahlberg & Selin began developing the "Interactive Black Box" in 1991 in co-operation with insurance and shipping companies, IMO representatives, suppliers of marine electronics and bridge officers of various vessels.
By continuously storing important information from various onboard systems, data can easily be retrieved, merged, time synchronised against the built in GPS, and safely stored.
After an incident, information can easily be retrieved and presented in a concise and orderly way to clarify the exact course of events. The IBB is, therefore, claimed to also provide a powerful tool for increasing efficiency during operational simulations and education. The software utilises a user-friendly window interface.
Technically, the IBB consists of a computer which has been specially designed for high performance and reliability. It comes in a fireproof/water-tight box.
As an option the information can also be continously stored in an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon
(E.P.I.R.B.). If the vessel is lost, information will be retrieved from the E.P.I.R.B.
The information from the Interactive Black Box is time coded with the accurate GPS clock. The information is stored digitally and can also be transmitted via satellite to shore. The storage time can be set on installation as, typically, 1-4 weeks. Longer storage times can be offered on request.


Caption: The Swedish company, Wahlberg & Selin has developed an "Interactive Black Box" which is claimed to increase safety and efficiency within the shipping industry.

For further information, please contact:
Wahlberg & Selin AB
Markus Selin
Box 24005
S-104 50 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel: +46 - 8 783 20 05
Fax: +46 - 8 783 20 03