London-based autonomous maritime navigation company Orca AI has unveiled an innovative software feature called Co-Captain, designed to enhance safety across the global shipping industry. Orca AI was established in 2018 by Yarden Gross and Dor Raviv. The company addresses the growing trend of maritime casualties, which have increased by 22 percent in recent years due to aging vessels and equipment malfunctions.
Co-Captain functions as a network of vessels equipped with Orca AI technology, capturing real-time events and sharing valuable insights among ships. This cooperative strategy allows ships to warn each other to steer clear of dangerous GPS jamming, bad weather, or crowded seas. In so doing, they properly anonymize the identities of individual ships.
Each ship serving as an important node in a wider national network. Each one of those vessels has its own onboard AI platform,” explains Yarden Gross, CEO and co-founder of Orca AI. This new platform, powered by Google Cloud, ingests data from dozens of sensors simultaneously in real time.
Today, Co-Captain is in active use on more than 1,200 vessels around the globe. The platform collects dense data from a host of different onboard sensors. It’s then able to upload this mission-critical data up to the cloud, improving ship performance and safety across the globe. This grounding development is significant. Ship officers have historically relied on manual tools, like radar and the Automatic Identification System (AIS), to monitor ship movements and avoid collisions.
Maritime incidents are multiplying. In response, Orca AI is currently working on connecting Co-Captain with additional bridge systems, including Navigational Telex (NAVTEX) and Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). In particular, this integration highlights how digitizing workflows can make life easier and more efficient for shipboard officers. It ends the hassle of fallible manual processes.
Co-Captain increases situational awareness further by modeling the impact of prevailing environmental conditions on the vessels in your vicinity. Input to and functionality out of the simulator takes into account all aspects, including pitch and roll in heavy seas. Then it adjusts its analyses based on the size and design of individual ships.
“Co-Captain is a fleet of ships using Orca to record their ships’ adventures around the world and output their experiences,” Gross described. “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.”
The launch of Co-Captain coincides with an era of heightened scrutiny on the maritime industry for its adherence to safety practices. With increasing complexity of maritime operations comes a need for more sophisticated technological solutions that can deliver relevant information, overcome data overload and support key decision-making workflows.
Orca AI’s story began long before with its initial SeaPod and Fleet View solutions. These examples and innovations inspired and informed the development of Co-Captain. The company’s dedication to innovation doesn’t stop there, as they work to keep the seas safer with high-tech solutions to prevent maritime accidents.