Simrad Yachting has introduced AutoTrack for its HALO 2000 and HALO 3000 Radars, which adds automated vessel tracking to these radar systems. 

AutoTrack gives boaters with real-time, mission-critical information without requiring constant monitoring. The system works intelligently behind the scenes, adding an extra layer of safety without impacting the user experience. Whether someone is inshore or a marine or crossing blue water, AutoTrack keeps captains informed and in control.

AutoTrack follows up to 50 targets simultaneously at a range of up to 24 nautical miles. Within the radar application, AutoTrack creates overlays of vessels and potential hazards. Simrad says that even when the radar screen is not the active display, AutoTrack is still monitoring and a widget shows the highest-priority targets.

Simrad is careful to note the appropriate use of this technology, stating: “The Autotrack feature is an aid to navigation under specific circumstances, but should not be considered as a collision avoidance system or used as a primary source of navigation. This feature is not a substitute for proper training, qualification, licenses (where required) and prudent seamanship and is designed to be used in conjunction with conventional navigational practices.”

AutoTrack is compatible with Simrad multifunction displays, including the NSS and NSO evo3 and evo3S series (running software version 25.1 or later) and the NSX, NSX Ultrawide and NSS 4 displays (with software version 2.1 or later). It is enabled by default with HALO 2000/3000 V8.2.0.32 software update. The feature can turn on or off in the radar settings menu. AutoTrack will eventually be available with Simrad, Lowrance and B&G HALO dome radars too.

The post Simrad’s AutoTrack Enhances Radar Safety appeared first on Yachting.

Imagine ripping along at 25 to 30 knots in the dark, in a big seaway, singlehanded aboard a 60-foot offshore racing sailboat in the nonstop around-the-world Vendée Globe race. Land and help are hundreds of miles away. Sleep is one of your most valuable currencies, but commercial vessels, fishing boats and whales also transit these waters. Trusting the big-ocean theory while you get some shut-eye can be risky business.

Optical-based collision-avoidance systems are a solution to this problem. One example is Sea.AI (née Oscar), which was developed in 2018 to help keep these kinds of sailors safe. Flash-forward seven years, and this type of technology is protecting boaters of all stripes, with numerous brands on the market and companies competing to advance the systems in various ways.

Optical-based collision-avoidance tech is an offshoot of automotive-based, advanced driver-assistance systems. This technology is quickly becoming an invaluable safety net, alongside radar and the automatic identification system, aboard well-equipped yachts. Elements of this technology are also critical for enabling assisted and autonomous docking and navigation systems. Contemporary systems alert captains of potential collision threats, with AI’s evolutionary curve suggesting more to come. Much like a car’s ADAS, this tech could soon also be standard kit aboard boats.

Most optical-based collision-avoidance systems have one or more cameras, an AI-enabled black-box processor and a display. Systems can include a daylight camera with low-light capabilities or a thermal-imaging camera, or both. The processor typically contains a library of annotated images that depict, for example, a vessel at sunset, a buoy in waves or a partially submerged container. The screen, which can be dedicated glass or a networked multifunction display, presents visual and audible alarms and real-time video imagery of any camera-captured targets.

The camera’s video is fed through the processor using AI computer vision and machine learning. It essentially lets the processor “see” through the camera. The processor then compares the camera’s real-time video feed with its imagery database, or it uses its knowledge of how to identify targets based on its annotated imagery database to identify nonwater objects in the camera’s field of view—a sailboat in the fog, for example.

“Our database contains more than 20 million objects in different scenarios, like sea states, weather conditions, geographic locations,” says Christian Rankl, Sea.AI’s chief technical officer. “It’s key to have a database with a wide range of objects and scenarios to build a highly reliable collision-avoidance system.”

Once the system has identified an object, it tracks it and calculates the real-time distance and bearing to the object, as well as a safe course (depicted on the display) around it.

The math isn’t trivial, says Sangwon Shin, vice president of recreational marine for Avikus, a subsidiary of HD Hyundai that specializes in autonomous navigation: “The hardest part about creating a collision-avoidance system is calculating the distance.” Factors include the boat’s pitch and roll, plus the marine environment’s diverse conditions. A boat’s distance from an object and its velocity also factor into calculating an avoidance path.

This all unfurls almost instantaneously with Avikus’ Neuboat Navi system. “It takes about 20 to 30 milliseconds,” Shin says about the time frame required to identify an object. The system, which uses an electro-optical camera and a lidar sensor to measure distance, recalculates this 10 times per second to ensure accuracy. “Sending the alarm to the boaters takes about 100 to 200 milliseconds,” Shin adds.

Other systems also offer processing times that are lightning-fast. Phil Bourque, Sea Machines’ vice president of global sales, says his company’s AI-ris system has latency of less than 0.25 seconds at full 4K resolution. “So, it does a lot of thinking very quickly.”

But speed is only one necessary component of these systems. They also have to minimize false alarms. Rankl says Sea.AI continuously refines its AI model by analyzing scenarios where it performed poorly. “It’s crucial for the AI to accurately distinguish real threats from benign objects.”

Sensor payload is another area where evolution is occurring, beyond hardware, software and AI models.

“While optical and thermal sensors are highly effective in detecting various floating objects, they, like all sensors, have limitations,” Rankl says, noting that these limitations could be addressed by integrating radar, AIS, lidar and sonar. “Our research department is actively evaluating the value these sensors can provide to our customers and how they can further enhance their safety at sea.”

Bourque agrees, noting that Sea Machines is working to integrate AIS and radar into AI-ris. “We certainly see the demand for the fusion of computer vision, radar and AIS,” he says.

Another important integration involves displayed cartography and data overlays. Anyone who cruises with radar and AIS is familiar with how multifunction displays can overlay AIS targets and radar data atop vector cartography. To that end, Sea.AI recently partnered with TimeZero to display targets detected by Sea.AI’s Sentry system atop TimeZero’s TZ Professional navigation software. “We are actively working toward integrating our machine vision with other platforms as well,” Rankl says.

Sea.AI isn’t alone in this thinking. Avikus’ Neuboat Navi presents camera-detected targets in its real-time head-up display, and Sea Machines’ SM300 autonomous command and control system displays camera-detected targets atop cartography.

The trick, of course, will be getting optically detected targets onto mainstream multifunction displays, but multiple sources say this is already in the works.

Accurately assessing the future of optical-based collision-avoidance systems is a tougher ask.

Bourque says the next five years should see these systems mature and progress—much like the ADAS performance curve. He also says today’s refit customers will want this technology to come factory-installed aboard their next yachts, necessitating that designers and builders allocate physical space for these systems.

In addition, Rankl says, optical-based collision-avoidance technology will become a standard feature on boats, akin to radar and AIS. He sees low-Earth-orbit satellites such as Starlink playing a big role with their fast, global connectivity.

“This will enable the development of large vision models specialized for maritime use,” he says. Rankl also predicts that the rise of AI spatial intelligence, which allows AI models to understand and interact with geographic information, will let collision-avoidance systems better predict the movements of detected targets based on their positions and trajectories.

“Over the next five to 10 years, we expect multimodal systems that integrate data from all available boat sensors—cameras, radars, AIS, etc.—into a unified AI acting as a 24/7 co-skipper,” Rankl says.

Shin agrees but is more bullish about the time frame, which he puts at three to five years. “This technology will be developed in a way that combines multiple sensors and provides more accurate information,” he says. In five to 10 years, he adds, a single piece of hardware will provide “all the necessary data for collision avoidance.” As far as autonomous docking and navigation, Shin says: “We do not aim only to give situational awareness and provide suggested collision-avoidance routing. Our ultimate goal is to provide [an] autonomous system for boats, which is only possible with accurate distance calculation.”

Sea Machines is also integrating its optical-based collision-avoidance system with autopilot and engine controls to enable autonomous decision-making. Sea.AI is exploring options and applications for its technology.

As with all technologies, optical-based collision-avoidance systems aren’t without their high and low tides. On the positive side, these stand-alone systems add significant safety margins and don’t rely on signals transmitted from other vessels. Conversely, all technologies add cost and complexity, and false alarms can trigger unnecessary stress.

While today’s optical-based collision-avoidance systems offer a sea-change advancement over trusting the big-ocean theory, it will be fascinating to see what future directions the technology takes. Either way, there’s no question that technology which began as specialized equipment for racing sailors is already having a massive impact on the wider boating world.

Evading Other Emergencies

In addition to spotting potential collision targets, optical-based detection systems can be used to locate and track a crewmember who has fallen overboard. Since these systems don’t rely on incoming AIS signals or radar returns, they can be key for detecting, identifying and tracking possible piracy threats.

Nautical Nightmare

A crewmember overboard is one of every captain’s worst fears, but the same camera systems that can help avoid collisions can be used to locate crewmembers in distress.

The post Optical-Based Collision-Avoidance Tech appeared first on Yachting.

There’s an African proverb that says, “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” It’s often the difficult experiences at sea which offer the most valuable lessons, especially when the weather takes a turn for the nautical.

Maritime safety hinges on continuous advancements, particularly as vessels operate in increasingly busy waters and in unpredictable weather conditions. Sea.AI, an innovator in AI for maritime vision, is enhancing its capabilities by integrating Tocaro Blue’s radar perception software, ProteusCore, into its navigation platform.

Integrating ProteusCore with Sea.AI’s system marks a major step in maritime safety technology, introducing a comprehensive multi-sensor approach to navigation. This process merges ProteusCore’s radar capabilities with Sea.AI’s platform, enabling the visualization of filtered radar targets within the Sea.AI interface.

This integration merges data from optical, thermal, AIS, and radar systems into one interface, simplifying operator decision-making and improving detection accuracy. It enhances the differentiation between true targets and noise, boosting situational awareness and reducing false alarms that could disrupt operations.

By combining radar with visual technologies, this collaboration sets new safety benchmarks for various maritime applications. The integrated radar perception technology is applicable across diverse maritime environments.

Since 2018, Sea.AI has led maritime technology innovation with onboard safety systems utilizing machine vision. These systems enhance operators’ ability to navigate by relying on a vast database of annotated marine objects for precise recognition. Using advanced camera technology and AI, it detects and classifies objects that conventional systems like radar or AIS might miss.

ProteusCore transforms marine radar into a sophisticated perception tool by leveraging machine learning. It addresses the limitations of traditional radar technology, such as slow scanning speeds and excess noise, by using over two million labeled radar images for training.

Radar is excellent at detecting objects at great distances and in challenging conditions, but it has not been extensively used for advanced navigation assistance due to its inherent limitations. ProteusCore overcomes these with machine learning models that enhance detection, eliminate noise, and track objects precisely.

Marcus Warellmann, Sea.AI’s CEO, states, “Merging radar with optical and thermal vision enables us to deliver an AI-enhanced safety system, transforming instruments into intelligent tools.” John Minor, CEO of Tocaro Blue, adds, “This collaboration brings powerful sensor fusion to enhance maritime situational awareness, supporting Sea.AI’s mission of sea safety.”

The post Advancing Maritime Safety appeared first on Yachting.

Hurricane Irene was bearing down on Long Island, New York, and my boat was in its path. I had the yard haul my boat, and it was placed up high at the back of the yard. There was no storm surge, and everything went according to plan. My boat was back in the water in no time.

When Superstorm Sandy appeared a year later, I once again called the marina to haul the boat. This time, it was placed in a lower section of the yard. The historic storm surge picked my boat off its jack stands. Luckily, my brother had also chained the boat to the marina’s facedock. The furthest it could travel was about 40 feet—and it did. It landed on top of a dumpster. There was damage, but the boat was saved. -Patrick Sciacca, Editor-In-Chief, Yachting

As seen above, we can’t control everything, but preparing your boat for a hurricane isn’t just about protecting your investment—it’s about safety and responsible ownership. Proper hurricane preparedness can be the difference between minor repairs and a total loss. While common sense plays a measurable role, it never hurts to review and refresh the steps when hurricane season is here.

General hurricane preparedness tips include:

• Creating a written hurricane plan specific to your vessel
• Keeping an inventory of all equipment and documentation
• Maintaining emergency contacts including your marina, insurance agent, and boat storage facilities
• Staying informed about weather forecasts throughout hurricane season

Protecting and Securing Your Boat

When a hurricane threatens, properly securing your vessel is critical. Start by removing all loose items from your boat, including canvas covers, Bimini tops, and electronics that can be easily damaged. If possible, remove sails completely to reduce wind resistance.

For boats in the water:

• Use extra lines to secure your vessel, ideally with longer, thicker lines that allow for storm surge
• Add chafe protection where lines contact the boat 
• Place fenders strategically to prevent damage from collisions with docks or other boats
• Secure hatches, windows and doors to prevent water intrusion
• Disconnect shore power and secure or remove antennas and outriggers

For trailered boats:

• Secure the boat to the trailer with multiple tie-downs
• Fill the boat partially with water for added weight
• Place the trailer on high ground away from potential flooding
• Consider using ground anchors for additional stability

Where to Store Your Boat During a Hurricane

Choosing the right location to store your boat during a hurricane requires careful consideration of several options.

Marinas and Harbors: While convenient, marinas can become dangerous during storms due to potential “domino effect” damage from other vessels. If keeping your boat at a marina, ensure it has hurricane-rated docks and protection from storm surges.

Dry Storage: Many boat owners prefer professional dry storage facilities, which can provide better protection from wind and water. However, these facilities fill quickly when hurricanes threaten, so arrangements should be made well in advance.

Personal Property: If feasible, storing your boat on high ground away from flood-prone areas on your own property can be effective. Ensure the boat is properly secured and protected from falling debris.

Hurricane Holes: Natural harbors or coves that provide protection from wind and waves are traditional safe havens, but competition for these spaces intensifies before storms.

When selecting storage, consider:

• Distance from coastal surge areas
• Protection from wind
• Accessibility before and after the storm
• Security during evacuation periods

Insuring Your Boat for Hurricane Season

Adequate insurance coverage is a crucial component of hurricane preparedness. Standard boat insurance policies may not fully cover hurricane damage, so it’s important to:

• Review your policy annually before hurricane season begins
• Understand deductibles specifically for named storms, which are often higher
• Consider comprehensive coverage that includes hurricane damage
• Verify coverage for salvage operations, environmental cleanup, and wreck removal
• Document your boat’s condition with photos and video before hurricane season

Many insurers require specific hurricane preparedness plans as conditions of coverage. These might include designated storm haul-out locations or specific securing protocols. Failure to follow these requirements could invalidate claims, so understand your policy thoroughly.

Making Claims for Damage After a Hurricane

If your boat sustains damage despite your best preparations, knowing how to navigate the claims process is essential:

1. Immediate Documentation: As soon as safely possible, document all damage with photographs and video before beginning any cleanup or repairs.
2. Contact Your Insurer Promptly: Report the damage quickly, as claims services may be overwhelmed after major storms.
3. Mitigate Further Damage: Take reasonable steps to prevent additional damage, which is typically required by insurance policies.
4. Detailed Inventory: Prepare a comprehensive list of all damaged items and estimated repair costs.
5. Professional Assessment: Consider having a marine surveyor assess the damage for larger claims.
6. Track All Expenses: Keep receipts for emergency repairs and other storm-related expenses that might be reimbursable.
7. Be Patient But Persistent: Hurricane claims can take longer to process due to high volume, but stay in regular contact with your claims adjuster.

Hurricane preparedness for boats requires planning, diligence and an understanding of both your vessel’s needs and your insurance coverage. By being proactive to secure your boat properly, choosing appropriate storage locations, maintaining adequate insurance and knowing how to handle the claims process, you can significantly reduce the risk of catastrophic loss. Hurricanes are unavoidable in many boating locales, but proper preparation can make recovery faster and less costly. Material possessions, including boats, can be replaced, but lives cannot.

The post Understanding Hurricane Preparedness for Boat Owners appeared first on Yachting.

FLIR and Garmin, two of the biggest names in marine electronics, have separately unveiled new products intended to help skippers enhance situational awareness on the boat.

The FLIR JCU-4 remote control is intended to allow precision control of the company’s marine thermal and visible cameras. The remote control is compatible with FLIR’s M232, M300, M400/M400XR and M500 series, and with legacy models. Its features include pan, tilt and zoom, and control of all additional camera functions with an ergonomic keypad and joystick control.

With a low-profile, three-axis design, the joystick is mounted with a 2.9-inch color LCD and keypad. A dimmable color LCD and backlit keypad help to preserve the skipper’s night vision. The JCU-4 can be configured between FLIR marine cameras and marine monitors or chartplotters, and three custom keys can be programmed for quick access to user-defined camera functions.

“Designed by mariners, for mariners, the JCU-4 is a meaningful upgrade for those who actively navigate using thermal technology and require dependable and intuitive control of their FLIR camera,” the company stated in a press release.

Also aiming to help boaters feel more confident out on the water, Garmin announced a software update for some GPSMap and EchoMap chartplotters that adds AIS warning messaging to help reduce the risk of collisions.

AIS, when connected to a Garmin chartplotter, can provide real-time information about the position, speed and heading of other AIS-equipped vessels. The AIS targets can be displayed on top of a live chart or a radar display. With the software update, Garmin’s chartplotters will also display AIS message types 12 and 14—addressed and broadcast warning messages—in addition to collision-avoidance alerts.

Garmin’s AIS warnings for object detection are available for these chartplotters: GPSMap 9000, 9500, 8600, 8600xsv, 8700, 7×3/9×3/12×3/16×3 and 10×2/12×2 series, along with the EchoMap Ultra 2 and UHD2 touchscreen series. A Garmin AIS-capable device is also required. 

What does the FLIR JCU-4 cost? Price is $1,699. To learn more, click over to flir.com

Where to learn more about Garmin’s software update: visit garmin.com

The post Helm Upgrades With FLIR And Garmin appeared first on Yachting.

In seventh grade, Matthew Zimmerman dreamed of playing in the rock band Metallica. He picked up an electric bass, and by high school, he was playing upright bass. In college, he joined the University of Rhode Island’s jazz band and his professor’s house band—experiences with steep learning curves. Zimmerman was on the six-year plan, “adding majors.” He graduated with bachelor’s degrees in French and German, another bachelor’s in ocean engineering, and several key relationships.

“There’s lots of connections between engineering students and music,” he says, referring to the mathematics of music. “You don’t notice a great bass player unless they mess up. Obstacle avoidance is like that: Best case, you avoid catastrophe.”

His path to becoming FarSounder’s co-founder and CEO took root during those college years, when he began working with Jim Miller, a professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering. A graduate student had been working with Miller on a three-dimensional forward-looking sonar project. When that student left, Zimmerman took over. The project earned some publicity, and they got a call from an oil company.

“I either had to find a job or turn the FLS project into my job,” Zimmerman says while sitting at the conference table in FarSounder’s Warwick, Rhode Island, headquarters. Their technology wasn’t a good fit for slow-turning oil tankers, but the call inspired confidence. “Our motivation was to help mariners avoid hitting whales and rocks.”

Zimmerman and Miller formed FarSounder in 2001 using private funding from family, friends and angel investors. Miller kept his position at the university and joined FarSounder’s board of directors. Given that Zimmerman was 24 and more interested in developing sensor technology than in business operations, the company hired—and then fired—a CEO. Enter Cheryl Zimmerman, Matthew’s mother. She had helped form the company, and her business experience made her an ideal replacement as FarSounder’s CEO.

“I didn’t see my mom at work,” Zimmerman says. “I saw Cheryl.”

Unlike sonars that detect fish, FarSounder’s 3D FLS technology was designed to help owners wend past icebergs and coral heads and dodge whales, all while creating their own high-resolution seafloor charts. FarSounder landed its first sale in 2004 and shipped its first product in 2005. “Our first customers were cruise ships and large yachts,” Zimmerman says. The company was also awarded several small-business innovation research grants that enabled years of research and development, and it earned its first (of eight) patents in 2006.

“In 2008 and 2009, we transitioned from R&D work to being a commercial company,” Zimmerman says. “We had around 15 employees at our largest.” This includes Matthew Coolidge, director of hardware development, and Evan Lapisky, director of software engineering, who have both worked at FarSounder since 2002. Zimmerman met them in the university’s jazz band. “Music is acoustics,” he says.

The pandemic brought FarSounder’s first major business headwinds, as supply chains became sticky. The company then moved to semi-remote operations and reconfigured some designs, which got it through the crux.

Listen: Virtual Q&A: FarSounder Argos 350 Forward-Looking Sonar

Things began to settle down, and Matthew Zimmerman took over as CEO in May 2022, a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine. Successive waves of sanctions were imposed, and the company’s second serious business challenge in two years arrived. Oligarchs, after all, adore their superyachts.

Today, the company is still plowing forward. I also spent time with Zimmerman at Wickford Shipyard’s marina. We carried heavy cases down to Cap’n Bert, a 53-foot research vessel owned and operated by the university. Our first stop was the bridge, where we met Capt. Stephen Barber. We were joined by Lapisky and Heath Henley, FarSounder’s senior application engineer (and a guitar player).

The FarSounder team unpacked an Argos 500 (see sidebar) and pole-mounted its transceiver onto Cap’n Bert’s bow. Then we headed out toward Narragansett Bay and the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge. I had a great view of a laptop running a split-screen view, with two-thirds of the monitor displaying FarSounder’s 3D FLS imagery, and the other third displaying top-down FLS imagery and automatic identification system data layered atop National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cartography.

Impressively, the Argos 500 also creates and stores a high-resolution local history map of the ground covered. “When you see something that doesn’t correlate with the chart, that’s what you want to pay attention to,” Zimmerman says.

The local history map looked exactly like how I imagine the seafloor would appear to a scuba diver. As we approached the Jamestown Bridge, I stared at the screen. The working pilings were visible, as were a set of parallel footings. “That’s the old Jamestown Bridge,” Zimmerman says. This latter span was demolished in 2006, and the Argos 500 painted a detailed view of its remnants in customizable colors.

Ahead, a fast ride ripped a white streak through Narragansett Bay’s blue waters. Zimmerman asked Barber to head toward the wake. As we approached, the Argos 500’s range decreased to a few boatlengths.

“Air bubbles are really good acoustic reflectors,” Zimmerman says. “They block the acoustic energy from going to the other side.”

As we cleared the wake, the system’s normal range resumed.

“We’re a software company that makes really big dongles,” Zimmerman told me later, back at the company’s headquarters. “Software makes it possible, but hardware makes it feasible.”

Zimmerman led me to FarSounder’s testing lab and nearby assembly room. “We do all assembly and testing in-house,” he says, adding that FarSounder uses off-the-shelf components whenever possible. Other parts, including the transducers’ piezoelectric ceramics, are manufactured to FarSounder’s specs by third parties—often between larger-volume jobs for other clients. “All components are made in the USA,” he says. “This helps us control quality.” Vendors often warehouse completed components, allowing FarSounder to practice just-in-time manufacturing.

A testing room has a large water tank with a submerged calibrated hydrophone. A hoist lowers FarSounder transceivers into the water, and the hydrophone broadcasts a known frequency sequence to the transducer. Zimmerman points to a monitor that displays the results from 3,600 angles tested simultaneously. “We correct for variance on an individual level,” he says.

Listening to Zimmerman talk about acoustics testing is a reminder that, while he’s mastered 3D FLS sensors, music is his native language.

Coolidge, who designs FarSounder’s electrical components, says the company has made a lot of upgrades to reduce assembly time since the pandemic-era slowdowns. These changes also added future-proofing, but even still, navigating past the Russia sanctions required different thinking. Prior to 2022, Russian ownership accounted for roughly 20 percent to 50 percent of the world’s largest superyachts. Once the sanctions hit, “everything stopped,” Zimmerman says.

The workaround involved adjusting FarSounder’s sales strategy. One green shoot has been the unmanned-surface-vessel market. Another growth trend has been toward yachts with smaller waterlines. Zimmerman hints at a possible smaller system for trawlers; it could be a boon for yacht owners and the scientific community.

In 2023, FarSounder also partnered with Seabed 2030 (see Yachting, May 2024), which aims to map the world’s oceans by 2030. Zimmerman led me to a meeting room where a large screen displayed a FarSounder customer’s recent cruise. “Most of our customers are going places that aren’t well-mapped,” he says, noting that FarSounder sends some clients USB hard drives to capture their systems’ raw data. If issues arise, customers can send the drive to FarSounder, where engineers can troubleshoot and, if necessary, refine the company’s algorithms. These customers can also opt into a fleet-sharing arrangement, where FarSounder sends their anonymous, low-resolution data to Seabed 2030.

In exchange, FarSounder gives these customers access to high-resolution files from the greater fleet-sharing community. This means the customers enjoy some of the world’s finest charts.

And FarSounder sometimes informally collaborates with NOAA scientists. On a recent whale-sounding trip to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, FarSounder equipment detected humpback whales exhibiting interesting diving behaviors. These findings, Zimmerman says, surprised the NOAA marine biologists.

Zimmerman’s eyes lit up as he talked about FarSounder sensors helping to advance science and protect whales. Listening to him talk, I understood what he meant about bass players and obstacle avoidance: FarSounder’s frequencies may be inaudible, but they’re providing game-changing returns on several levels. 

Forward-Looking Returns

The Argos 350 ($57,000) searches 1,148 feet in front of a vessel’s bow at up to 18 knots. The Argos 500 ($108,000) probes 1,640 feet at 20 knots, and the Argos 1000 ($184,000) can prod 3,281 feet at 25 knots. Each one broadcasts shorter, quieter transmissions for infield detection and longer, louder pings for outfield work.

Take the next step: farsounder.com

The post FarSounder’s Argos Collision-Avoidance System Reviewed appeared first on Yachting.

It was 0100 on the tennessee-tombigbee waterway, and Capt. Scott “Red” Flowers was running his Canyon Bay 28h at 17 knots. He encountered a tugboat pushing barges. The tug was illuminated, but the barges were dark. While Flowers is a self-described “old-school radar guy,” the situation was confusing and unfurling fast. Then his Tocaro Blue Proteus Hub prompted him with collision-avoidance alerts. “I hate to admit it,” he says, “but without Proteus, I may have gotten into the barges.”

Instead of crashing, Flowers completed his Great Loop Challenge route in 19 days, 19 hours and 50 minutes, besting the record by nine days while raising $1 million for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Radar is one of the most important collision-avoidance sensors afloat, but reading radar imagery is an art that can take years to master. It can be frustrating for boaters who only get out on the water a handful of times a season. Tocaro Blue’s Proteus Hub navigation system uses AI machine learning to demystify radar. It bolsters situational awareness by way of built-in cartography and networked automatic identification system data, creating user-friendly two- and three-dimensional screen views of the water ahead on compatible multi- function displays.

Tocaro Blue’s Proteus Hub ($2,950) is a black-box system that networks with a yacht’s NMEA 2000 backbone, also letting it access the boat’s AIS, compass (ideally, its satellite compass), depth transducer and GPS (or GNSS) sensor data. Proteus then connects with the MFD via Ethernet to access data from a compatible magnetron or solid- state radar and to display its 2D and 3D screen views.

Read More: New Yacht Tech for a New Season

Proteus Hubs are built from aluminum and Delrin plastic. They measure 8-by-4-by-1.5 inches. They sport 4G LTE, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi antennas and connectivity, along with N2K, HDMI, USB and Ethernet ports. They also come loaded with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration charts, and with bathymetric data sourced from Tocaro Blue’s user community. C-Map cartography is optional.

Proteus Hubs contain a central processing unit that runs Tocaro Blue’s machine-learning software, which “learns”—sans human instruction or programming—by applying algorithms and statistical models to networked data. Tocaro Blue also offers a software developer kit called Proteus Core that allows using the machine-learning software aboard third-party hardware.

“The intent with Proteus is to provide clear, smart navigation to the captain,” says Andrew Rains, Tocaro Blue’s senior sales director. “By that, we mean reducing the complexity of existing nautical charts and radar displays, and combining a lot of sensor information into one simple interface.”

In the case of radar, Tocaro Blue’s auto-focus function uses machine learning to eliminate irrelevant radar returns, such as land and wave noise. It classifies returns into one of eight categories: land, shoreline constructions, bridges, wake, aids to navigation, small boats (less than 40 feet), medium-size vessels (40 to 150 feet) and large vessels (larger than 150 feet). All of them are represented graphically by icons.

“We can draw a picture of a real object instead of just a radar blob on the screen,” Rains says, noting that Proteus Hubs can classify and track an unlimited number of targets. “That lets us present a lot of information in a simplified format.”

The auto-focus function also helps the system predict how radar targets will behave, and it provides corresponding alert levels. For example, Rains says, small boats tend to exhibit more erratic behavior than large ships. Tocaro Blue’s machine-learning software uses its classification system, embedded cartography, and data coming from other networked sensors to predict the future behavior of its own vessel and of acquired targets over a 30-second horizon.

If this sounds like signal filtering on steroids, welcome to the AI age.

“Machine learning is a lot more sophisticated than filtering, but I’d say that we can intelligently filter [radar targets] because we use machine learning,” Rains says. Raw radar data, he adds, is better for the system’s machine-learning software than post-processed radar returns such as Doppler processing. “Machine learning gets better with the better data that you feed it.”

For example, if the system knows that some returns are land or aids to navigation based on its cartography, then its machine learning can focus on identifying the other targets and predicting their behavior.

This information, plus closest-point-of-approach data to all targets, is presented on a graphically intuitive 2D or 3D screen view on the networked MFD. Users can split their MFD screen between a Proteus Hub screen view and standard radar imagery.

The result, Rains says, is far greater situational awareness than bloblike radar returns, especially when tricky navigation or dodgy crossings are involved.

“It eliminates the question: What’s that?” Rains says. “It eliminates the time that they need to spend learning how to use all their radar capabilities.”

More-advanced users get the most value from the system, he adds, because the software “can present really intelligent collision-avoidance alerts to the captain.” Even old salts, of course, can get distracted.

Looking ahead, Tocaro Blue’s future appears equally clear. Recent years have seen the rise of optical-based collision-avoidance systems, and Rains says the Proteus Core software could complement this technology by residing on third-party hardware. In time, Tocaro Blue’s machine-learning software could also help demystify other instrumentation—say, forward-looking sonar returns. However, Rains says, this isn’t on the company’s immediate road map.

Tocaro Blue’s machine-learning software can also ferret out errors in networked sensors. For example, most autopilots are only accurate to a few degrees unless a satellite compass is involved. (This inherent error can be compounded by the presence of ferrous metals within ships and bridges.) Rains says Tocaro Blue’s machine-learning software can perform a “constellation lock” and triangulate on known reference points, using cartographic and radar data to correct for sensor biases.

While there’s currently no feedback loop to the erroneous native sensors, in time, Rains says, this information could make autopilots and other networked sensors more accurate.

So, for skippers who find radar confusing or want to increase situational awareness, Proteus Hub is worth investigating. Just ask Red Flowers. Despite holding his captain’s license for 45 years, his night on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway could have ended differently without Tocaro Blue’s technology.

Busting Loose

For now, Proteus is available to boaters as a black-box system that networks with a vessel’s N2K and Ethernet networks to access radar and instrumentation data. Tocaro Blue may move to a software-as-a-service model and sell Proteus Core to boaters as software that runs aboard a personal computer or multifunction display. 

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The U.S. Coast Guard requires boats to have certain things on board for safety, such as personal flotation devices and flares. When a navigation/anchor light is required, it must be mounted at the vessel’s highest point. There’s a good reason for this: The higher the light is above the waterline, the farther away it can be seen by other boats, enhancing everyone’s safety out on the waterways.

However, that high point on the vessel is also prime real estate when it comes to some of today’s AI technology. There are now cameras with AI features that can augment situational awareness and safety to provide skippers at the helm with bird’s-eye views all around the yacht. These cameras can identify and track buoys, debris, logs, other vessels and marine wildlife, and their detection range increases with mounting height, making them most effective when they’re installed at the vessel’s highest point.

Hence the new partnership between Lookout, which makes marine AI systems, and Lumitec, which makes marine lighting. The companies have combined advanced AI vision cameras with a Coast Guard-certified all-around white navigation/anchor light, eliminating the challenge of trying to install both items in the same spot on board.

“Our integrated system offers boat owners significant advantages by combining navigation compliance with advanced safety technology,” David Rose, CEO of Lookout, stated in a press release. “The high-mounted night vision camera provides exceptional range and clarity in darkness, while the 360-degree camera delivers complete situational awareness around your vessel. It’s essentially a second set of eyes on the water that never blinks, never gets distracted and can see things the human eye might miss. The system is available in various colors to complement different vessel designs while providing the safety benefits that modern boating demands.”

The integrated system is compatible with different styles of boats from about 20 to 65 feet length overall, according to the Lookout team, which premiered the product at the Palm Beach International Boat Show in March.

Who created Lookout? The team has included AI researchers, video game developers, 3D designers and hardware engineers. Lookout systems generally combine data from computer vision, charts, AIS and online sources into a single, 3D augmented reality view that can display on multifunction screens from leading brands such as Garmin, Furuno, Raymarine and Simrad, as well as on tablets and smartphones.

Take the next step: click over to getalookout.com

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Sea.AI, a company that uses artificial intelligence technology to try and improve safety at sea through better situational awareness at the helm, premiered its Watchkeeper system this month at the Palm Beach International Boat Show.

Watchkeeper uses Sea.AI’s database of millions of annotated marine objects—floating debris, rafts, buoys, boats not equipped with AIS, and more—to help skippers and crew see hazards and avoid accidents. The idea behind Watchkeeper is to bring this kind of affordable, AI-powered collision-avoidance technology to more recreational boaters, including those who own powerboats and fishing boats of most sizes.

“Our goal with Watchkeeper is to bring advanced safety technology to more boaters, at a price point that makes sense for a broad range of applications,” Marcus Warrelmann, CEO of Sea.AI, stated in a press release. “Collisions are the first event in more than half of all boating accidents and injuries. With automated real-time alerts, Watchkeeper is your extra set of eyes on the water, working in all light conditions and sea states.”

The price point for Watchkeeper starts at $4,999. That includes a 4K low-light camera with an ultrawide field of view; built-in GPS; and Sea.AI software for object recognition. For boaters who need full night-vision capabilities, there’s also a version of the system with integrated long-wave infrared thermal cameras.

Watchkeeper adds to Sea.AI’s existing portfolio of products, which includes the flagship offering called Sentry for large yachts and commercial vessels. Sentry is a 360-degree, AI-powered perimeter surveillance system that provides real-time tracking of people who go overboard, floating hazards, unlit objects and unauthorized approaches, even in total darkness.

Sea.AI also makes products specifically for bluewater sailors, as well as products for racing sailors whose boats have rotating masts. The company’s goal with all of its products is to combine the latest camera technology with artificial intelligence, to give skippers and crewmembers better situational awareness and detection capability than conventional systems such as radar and AIS.

What else did Sea.AI display at the Palm Beach International Boat Show? The company also used the event to promote Brain, which is an add-on product that lets vessels upgrade existing thermal cameras to integrate AI-powered object detection and collision avoidance with automatic alarms. Brain detects small objects, including people who fall overboard, and has real-time alerts to improve situational awareness at the helm.

Take the next step: learn more about all this AI-augmented technology at sea.ai

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When Capt. Karl Anderson smelled the fire, he knew he was in trouble. He was delivering a prototype 90-foot sport-fishing catamaran south along the coast of Florida when the unmistakable odor of burning wire insulation hit him.

“One of the engines died, so I hit the starter button. Within a minute, you could smell electrical heat,” Anderson says. “I went below into the engine room and saw smoke coming from beneath the exhaust manifold on the inboard side of the starboard engine. The starter had locked up. It was now glowing red, and thick, black smoke was billowing out of the engine-room hatch. I had to shut off the electrical power to the engine.”

That’s when he realized the boat had a serious design flaw: The battery switches were located on the forward bulkhead of the engine room. He would have to take a deep breath, rush past the fire, kill the power and make it back out.

After two failed attempts, he managed to shut it down on the third—and learned a valuable lesson about how quickly a dangerous incident can escalate on a boat. While fire is not one of the top hazards that boaters face, it is one of the most lethal. Leading causes of injuries, boat damage and death, according to the latest data from the US Coast Guard, include collisions with fixed objects or other vessels; flooding, swamping or capsizing; grounding; and passenger ejection.

For each hazard, there are a variety of ways to mitigate the danger. These can range from boater education to advanced electronics and even AI.

Ejection from a vessel, either voluntary or involuntary, is the most frequently fatal event in boating, according to the US Coast Guard statistics. One tragic illustration: In November 2024, a 28-year-old woman died and five others were ejected from a boat en route from Miami to the Florida Keys. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the 39-foot center-console was in Calda Channel when it took an unexpected sharp turn and ejected all six passengers into the water. No one was wearing a personal flotation device—going against Coast Guard recommendations for boating at high speeds, in inclement weather, in high-traffic areas, at night or during other hazardous times.

Grounding is the most common incident that boaters face. Although the risk of fatality is relatively low, a grounding can cause significant damage or complete loss of the vessel. The most common causes are operator inattention and inexperience, as well as excessive speed. As with ejections, each factor is compounded by darkness or bad weather.

Boater inattention is something that Capt. George Creasy sees a lot. He has hundreds of yacht deliveries under his belt, primarily along the Eastern Seaboard. He says he knows the Intracoastal Waterway as well as anyone, but he still keeps a sharp lookout amid the frequently shifting sandbars.

“One thing I see a lot of boat owners doing, even some who are very experienced as well as those who are still learning the ropes, is relying too much on their electronics,” he says. “You’ll have people who are heads-down in their plotter or sounder—or both—and they’re not paying attention to what’s going on around them. When you lose that situational awareness, especially at night or in rough seas, that’s when you’re much more likely to run aground.”

Here Are More Ways to Help Keep Boaters Safe at Sea: Offshore-Cruising Safety Tips

Speed is another factor. “Just because you can run at planing speeds doesn’t mean you always should,” Creasy says. “Things happen a lot faster at 30 knots than they do at 10, so if there’s any doubt of what’s ahead of you, I always recommend slowing down. Give yourself more time to think, and to analyze the situation. We’re always on a time schedule for deliveries, but it’s better to be a little late than to have to explain that you dinged up the boat’s running gear because you were in a hurry.”

Creasy recommends operating the boat from the highest possible helm position: “Elevation gives you a much better view down into the water. A lot of times, even when it’s cold, windy or rainy, I’ll put on my foul-weather gear and run the boat from the flybridge rather than the lower helm when I’m in unfamiliar waters, just because I feel like I can see so much better from up there. It’s worth a little discomfort.”

Collisions—whether involving another vessel or a floating or fixed object—are another common cause of boating accidents. Watchkeeping can be monotonous, but this is an area where AI-enabled technology can help. Several manufacturers have introduced AI-based systems that analyze the waters ahead using all-weather cameras and black-box processors. These systems identify objects in the water and display warnings as audible and visual alarms. When combined with AIS and radar, these systems can greatly increase the helmsman’s situational awareness.

There’s a good chance that kind of system might have saved Atlantis, an 80-foot sport yacht that sank on Memorial Day weekend in 2024. The boat was running at speed approximately 3 miles off St. Augustine, Florida, when it apparently hit a large, floating, square metal marker denoting an offshore dredge pipe. The collision tore a hole in the bow, and the vessel went down in a matter of minutes, according to the US Coast Guard. Local authorities rescued the two crewmembers, one of whom suffered minor injuries.

Flooding, swamping and capsizing are also common causes of vessel damage, including when a vessel sinks at the dock. In an extended rainstorm, unless connected to shore power, a boat relies on battery power to operate the vitally important bilge pumps. When the batteries drain, the pumps can no longer keep up with the incoming deluge. Or perhaps a worn bilge-pump impeller fails catastrophically just when it’s needed the most.

A second scenario involves being caught in rough weather, such as a violent thunderstorm or a waterspout that can capsize a vessel. The key here is knowing the vessel and its limitations. Frequently inspect, test and replace bilge pumps. Install a high-water alarm (or two). Consider using remote monitoring systems, which can send real-time notifications of potentially dangerous situations such as low-battery voltage or high water in the bilge. Having a high-volume emergency pump on board is a great idea too.

No matter the boater’s level of experience, there is always room for more education. In Anderson’s case, after extinguishing the onboard fire, he decided to be better prepared for the future. He now has fire hoods for breathing, and mini flashlights for every guest stateroom. He has two of them for the engine-room entrance, in case of thick smoke or darkness.

“I religiously adhere to annual fire-equipment service on every boat I run,” he says. “I also have more fire extinguishers than are required. With so many flammable items on a boat, there are different canisters for certain situations, and knowing which one to use can help you not make the fire worse by using the wrong one. And I recommend our crewmembers take a firefighting course at least once in their career.”

Falls, Capsizing and Ejections

The most frequent event in fatal incidents involves people ending up in the water. A fall overboard, capsizing and a person voluntarily departing a vessel account for more than half of fatal incidents. The majority of those people are not wearing a PFD. Alcohol is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents.

Fatalities Trending Down

In 2023, boating fatalities were down 11.3 percent from the previous year, dropping from 636 to 564. The fatality rate in 2023 was 4.9 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels, a 9.3 percent decrease from the previous year’s rate of 5.4 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. By comparison, in 1971, when the Federal Boat Safety Act was passed, the rate was 20.6 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.

No Smoking, Please

For boats under 26 feet, the US Coast Guard requires at least one extinguisher rated 5-B aboard. Boats 26 to 40 feet must have two 5-B extinguishers, while boats 40 to 65 feet must be equipped with a minimum of three 5-B extinguishers. For boats greater than 65 feet, at least one larger 20-B extinguisher is mandatory, with the number depending on gross tonnage. B-rated extinguishers are used for gasoline, oil and grease fires.

What type of PFD is best?

Type I PFDs are designed for rough waters and provide the most buoyancy. Type II PFDs are for use in calmer waters. Type III, most commonly used for watersports, offers flotation but will not turn someone face up. Type IV are throwable flotation devices and are not designed to be worn, while Type V PFDs are usually inflatable wearables, which are legal when used correctly in accordance with their design.

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