Not new at all! AIS...

[Amgine]

I was very amused today while doing some research on L. Francis Herreshoff to find this letter from him...

In the letter he mentions that after WWI he had proposed to the U.S. Navy that ships at sea should transmit their course to aid in the prevention of collisions at sea using a variation of Morse Code. It's painful to think that this idea has taken more than 75 years to be even moderately completely implemented. But then, I haven't the equipment to take advantage of AIS yet either, so it should be surprising.

[Pblais]

It's painful to think that this idea has taken more than 75 years to be even moderately completely implemented.

Well compared to the process of computing Longitude it's a pretty quick adption. Naval traditions don't change easily and not without a lot of resitence.