Orca AI, the leader in artificial intelligence for maritime operations, has released its latest software innovation, Co-Captain. This feature is intended to further transform safety on the seas. Beyond logistics Co-Captain manages a burgeoning, collaborative fleet of vessels. It uses the cutting-edge technology of artificial intelligence to collect and disseminate real-time discoveries about important maritime happenings across the world. This unique system has been adopted onto more than 1,200 vessels so far. One of its key parts is to reduce maritime casualties, which have tragically increased by 22 percent.
The Co-Captain system operates by gathering data from various sensors mounted on vessels. This new real-time data allows for analysis of a ship’s movements, timing, and route. In doing so, it uncovers very valuable information that informs you of what to expect when current conditions work against the ship in question. This capability improves the operational efficiency of individual vessels and the overall safety of the maritime operating environment.
Yarden Gross, CEO and co-founder of Orca AI, underscored the importance of the Co-Captain platform. He explained how it functions as a decentralized network:
“Every ship acts as a node in a larger network, and each node—the vessel itself—has an onboard AI platform. This platform collects data from multiple sensors in real time.” – Yarden Gross
Co-Captain is easily adaptable to existing bridge systems including Navigational Telex (NAVTEX) and Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). This potent combination expands its already impressive power even more. In turn, the software can send centralized alerts and updates. These notifications allow ship operators to take corrective actions proactively, enabling officers to avoid incidents before they even occur.
By anonymizing data, Co-Captain can disseminate critical safety alerts regarding GPS interference, severe weather, or high traffic without disclosing the identity of the reporting vessel. This method protects the privacy of identified individuals while still allowing critical information to be transmitted across the network.
“By anonymizing the data, Co-Captain can share critical safety alerts such as GPS interference, severe weather, or high traffic without ever exposing which vessel reported it or where it came from.” – Yarden Gross
Through the software’s cloud sharing capability, the performance and safety of every ship in use can be continuously improved all over the world. This is becoming more pressing as maritime incidents continue to rise and the value of effective preventive measures becomes clearer. Co-Captain is designed to overcome this challenge by equipping ship officers with insights that improve situational awareness and decision-making.
In the last decade, maritime commercial incidents have disproportionately risen in comparison to other sectors. The toll of collision and grounding incidents has dropped drastically. This neat trend is indicative of how new technologies like Co-Captain and others are helping to improve navigation safety.
“Think of it like the navigation app you use in your car: it tells you about traffic or roadblocks in advance so you can adjust your route.” – Yarden Gross
Orca AI is continuing to develop Co-Captain’s capabilities. This increase has the potential to save the industry billions in reduced navigation risk. As important as improving the vessel’s operations is, this new AI technology promotes more positive, collaborative interaction between vessels.