Octave Modules for Planar and Spherical Trigonometry, and Great-circle Navigation
Set of GUI modules on Octave for solving flat and spherical triangles, in addition to orthodromic navigation problems.
Areas of knowledge
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Engineering and architecture
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Science
Technology’s Protection Status
Application for registration deposited on May 23, 2019, with RPI number: C-185-2019.
What are we looking for?
Provide its use free of charge to students of the Degree in Nautical and Maritime Transport of the UDC, notwithstanding that another public or private entity may be interested in acquiring this technology for its use.
Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura
Description
Octave is a free software platform, very similar to commercial software Matlab, for solving mathematical problems. It allows high-level programming of new modules to solve specific tasks.
In this context, we decided to program GUI modules for the resolution of all possible cases of flat and spherical triangles, and orthodromic navigation problems (ships and planes traveling on the spherical surface of the Earth by the shortest path). They can also be applied in any practice that requires solving triangles, for example, in a classic problem of astronomical navigation such as the resolution of the position triangle.
A user manual is available in PDF format.
Added Value
These programs were initially developed to improve the training of Mathematics II students of the degree in Nautical and Maritime Transport, in the STS of Nautical and Machines of the UDC. Since these modules are to be used on Octave, which is free software, they don’t involve any additional cost to our students, so students can check in a fast and safe way the results of the fatiguing calculations they have to know how to do by hand. However, these modules could be useful in other areas of expertise, both academic and professional.
Applications according to Sector
In Culture and Education, these modules can serve to solve immediately and safely all cases of flat triangles (present in the education sector, from primary) and spherical (reserved to specific areas of university degrees or similar: Nautical education, Astronomy, geodesy, Topography, Air traffic controllers, etc.).
In the Naval sector, resolution of great-circle (or orthodromic) navigation problems is a common practice. Typical examples of these problems are the following:
- Known the coordinates of origin and destination places, calculate the distance and time of navigation, as well as the initial and final courses.
- Known the coordinates of origin, the distance to travel and the initial course, find the coordinates of the destination place.
Other less typical situations can also be solved.
Research Group
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- Grupo de Modelización y Resolución de Modelos
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Person in Charge
- Ángel Daniel Rodríguez Arós
- María Teresa Cao Rial
Contact Us
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Office of Transfer of Research Results
Building of Central Research Services
Campus de Elviña, s/n
15071 A Coruña
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Office of Transfer of Research Results
Last Update
2019-07-15
