Garmin's Surround View Camera System: A 360-Degree Bird's-Eye View

Take the guesswork (and stress) out of docking with Garmin's new Surround View, which the electronics manufacturer calls, "the marine industry's first intelligent camera system to offer captains a 360-degree bird's-eye view." The system maximizes visibility around the vessel for elevated situational awareness and convenience in tight maneuvering situations.

"Our innovative Surround View brings the comforts and conveniences our customers rely on in their vehicles to the helm of their yacht to help captains see as much of their environment as possible for easier maneuvering on the water," says Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales.

Using six through-hull mounted cameras that act like multiple sets of eyes, Surround View provides a live 360-degree bird's-eye view around the vessel to help captains quickly view their vessel's perimeter during low-speed maneuvers, such as docking, from the helm. See Surround View in action here:

The 1080p cameras include a forward-looking camera at the bow, a rear-looking camera on the aft, and two side-looking cameras on both the port and starboard sides. When the system is engaged, it displays a full overhead stitched image with 360-degree real-time video views from around the vessel directly to compatible Garmin chartplotters or multifunction (MFD) helm displays. Designed to maximize visibility and minimize blind spots, captains can view one or two cameras simultaneously with the bird's-eye image and even zoom in and pan around on an area of interest from any of the individual camera views.

Additionally, the Surround View Camera System provides a number of augmented reality features for increased situational awareness and collision avoidance:

• Visual Bumper — provides a visual indicator at a user-configurable distance around the vessel that shows the captain when any non-water objects such as docks or piers breach the barrier

• Distance Markers — offers visual cues around the vessel to the captain to aid in distance determinations while navigating in close quarters, similar to automotive backup camera systems

Designed for a broad range of boats, the Surround View cameras have a low-profile for OEM factory-installed thru-hull mounting that blends functionality with streamlined aesthetics. A compatible Garmin chartplotter or MFD, including the GPSMAP 8400/8600, GPSMAP 7x3/9x3/12x3 series, or the Volvo Penta Glass Cockpit System, is required.