Orca AI, a London-based company that develops autonomous maritime navigation software, has recently announced its newest software feature, Co-Captain. This innovative tool is expected to improve overall maritime safety and help minimize serious accidents at sea. Co-founders Yarden Gross and Dor Raviv launched the company in 2018. As a result, it’s become a world leader in complex maritime technology, creating innovative solutions that are in use on more than 1,200 vessels around the globe.
Co-Captain also draws from inspiration from Orca AI’s previous products, SeaPod and Fleet View. The platform collects multi-sensor, real-time data transmitted information from a variety of onboard sensors. It then transmits this data to the cloud, resulting in improved efficiency and safety of vessels around the globe. Co-Captain compares the collective data of all participating cities. This makes it possible for ship operators to foresee how existing conditions might affect vessels in their vicinity, based on each ship’s unique size and design.
Merging Co-Captain with current navigational systems is another priority for Orca AI. The tech company has been working to integrate Co-Captain with Navigational Telex (NAVTEX) and Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). Through this integration, its capabilities will be greatly expanded. Using ChatGPT API, this integration centralizes alerts and status updates. Most importantly, it makes sure that operators of our nation’s ships get the information they need when they need it.
Each physical ship becomes a node in the collective whole, with each node—the ship itself—housing an onboard AI platform. This platform ingests data from a variety of sensors in real time,” continued Yarden Gross, CEO and co-founder of Orca AI.
Not only does Co-Captain help individual vessels but it serves as a semi-real-time network that chronicles maritime events around the world. This new feature allows vessels to share crucial insights with one another, helping vessels to build an overall knowledge base of what’s happening on the maritime landscape. Gross likened the platform to a navigation system designed for cars. He continued to say, “Co-Captain is a collaborative network of these vessels utilizing Orca to record events around the world and exchanging valuable information. 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.”
Beyond protecting lives and making the sea safer, improving situational awareness at sea is Co-Captain’s primary mission. By anonymizing data, the system can disseminate critical safety alerts such as GPS interference, severe weather, or high traffic without revealing which vessel reported the information or its origin. This new collaborative approach keeps individual vessels confidential while allowing all vessels to learn and improve through shared insights.
The introduction of Co-Captain is a significant milestone for Orca AI. This latest development leaps the company even deeper into the forefront of maritime technology. The firm is committed to making cutting-edge data analytics a part of daily practice. This is the commitment that can lead to a safer future for our mariners.