ABSTRACT
This chapter aims at making the reader aware of the initial developmental steps which finally led to the present-day dynamic positioning system. The reader, after going through this chapter, gains a background picture of how the dynamic positioning system was developed, based on the requirements of the offshore drilling industry, to carry out drilling operations safely. The reader is introduced to the then-existing arrangements, how the development and entry of bow and stern thrusters changed the scenario and slowly how automation was introduced and upgraded.
Then came the introduction of the joystick which could control all the movements of the ship using just one lever. This was then upgraded by the introduction of a real time computer and addition of a mathematical model to make the DP system more effective and positioning more accurate. The chapter covers all these aspects well.
