Orca AI, a London-based autonomous maritime navigation company, has announced one of the most creative software features seen so far, Co-Captain. We believe that this new tool can help to significantly reduce maritime accidents and unsafe practices. These incidents have increased by 22 percent in recent years, largely due to vessel obsolescence and equipment failure.
Easy Integration Co-Captain integrates easily and quickly with any bridge builder’s bridge management system (BMS). It’s interoperable with Navigational Telex (NAVTEX) and Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). This unique training enhances the knowledge and skill sets of junior ship officers. As they navigate in crowded waterways, they are science and artfully executing planned paths while watching other vessels on radar or through the Automatic Identification System (AIS).
Yarden Gross and Dor Raviv started Orca AI in 2018. Since then, they have managed to deploy Co-Captain to over 1,200 vessels across the globe. The platform leverages real-time data from a variety of onboard sensors, which is then transmitted to the cloud for further analysis. This data is not only integral to NOAA’s mission, but to the quality of ship performance, safety, and accountability across the entire maritime industry.
As a networked system, Co-Captain enables all connected vessels to share important best practice insights and warnings with each other. On a meta-level, each ship serves as a point within this larger networked web, adding their own learning to a shared wisdom of ship and sea. As Gross explains, “Every ship acts as a node in a larger network, and each node—the vessel itself—has an onboard AI platform.”
The software improves communication between multiple vessels, obscuring data to protect competing interests. With Co-Captain, we can immediately push out important safety messages regarding GPS interference, dangerous weather conditions, or areas with high traffic volumes. It does so without revealing the name of the reporting ship. According to Gross, “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.”
In many ways, Co-Captain is like a navigation app you might use in your personal car. It gives users real-time updates on traffic or road obstructions, so they can recalibrate their paths. Co-Captain is a cooperative fleet of vessels operating with Orca to record and broadcast experiences from across the globe. 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,” Gross stated.
Orca AI started its voyage with SeaPod and Fleet View. These early products laid the groundwork for their cutting-edge navigation packages. The startup has an ambitious plan ahead as it accelerates user adoption and deepens its impact across the international maritime industry.
Fewer crew members mean less safety. Incidents at sea are increasingly on the rise. Orca AI’s Co-Captain provides a hopeful answer using advanced technology to improve safety. Structuring this tool to fit into existing bridge management and inspection systems will enhance its impact as well. In doing so, vessels will be able to operate more safely and efficiently.