Boating proves it has its fair share of cutting edge tech
TIME magazine has just published a list of the best inventions for the year, and 2023 has proved particularly fruitful. Whilst some inventions have been purely in the marine sector, IBI has noticed others that will have an indirect impact, particularly in the fields of AI, household appliances, energy, and fuel. Here are some that are particularly noteworthy.
Marine sector highlights
Sharrow MX Propeller
Helping reduce environmental impact is the Sharrow MX propellor, said to be 80% quieter than competitors and 30% more efficient. The design evolved when founder Greg Sharrow attempted to find a near silent propellor for drones that would shoot video over classic music concerts. He tested his designs in water, as it was easier to gauge the results, and the rest is history.
GoBoat
Making boating accessible to all in a highly portable design is the GoBoat 2.0, an inflatable platform that is electrically powered and made of the same material as stand-up paddleboards. Over a thousand of the single-seat versions have been sold since its release in June. A two-person model is planned for next year, and the inventor says the market seems to be mainly ‘women and fishermen.’
Callboats autonomous ferry
Automating regular ferry routes is Finland-based Callboats, which has developed an AI- enabled autonomous electric passenger boat which is partly solar powered. With much of the cost of passenger boat fleets being the salaries of experienced skippers, Callboat is instead using fully automatic control. The boat, which can be summoned with an app, will run at 12 knots, and carry a maximum of 30 passengers between Helsinki and a nearby archipelago. The concept is awaiting regulatory approval, but for the moment will still carry a single standby crewman.
Faro Powerdock
Also helping the environment is the Faro Powerdock, which allows a boat to sit out of the water beneath a solar array which will recharge the batteries between outings. Surplus power from the array can be sent to the grid, whilst the elevated dock removes the need for antifouling. Although the dock has been designed for the Faro range, there are plans to make the concept fit any electric or hybrid motorboat up to 12m.
Other sector nominees
The marine sector often shares common themes with other sectors, so here are some of TIME’s nominees that we think could help marine OEMs in the very near future.
1: Better mapping
Several nominees were involved in harnessing far more accurate mapping, mainly based on new satellite imaging technology. The ability to spot real-time changes in water levels, infrastructure, algae blooms, coastal erosion and other marine impacts will greatly help with autonomous pilotage.
Boat owners will also gain more recreational benefits from various cruising locations by being able to see more precisely what to expect on arrival. Several electronics chart OEMs are already providing updated overlays onto navigation charts to further enhance the cruising experience.
Nuview LiDAR satelitte Constellation
LiDAR is a tech that uses lasers instead of radio waves to ‘light up’ terrain and can help scientists to keep track of how the natural environment is changing. Nuview will be using a constellation of 20 LiDAR equipped satellites to paint the earth with laser pulses and time the reflections, from which the system can create a 3D image. The system won’t be operational until 2025, but Nuview has already received US$1.2 billion in business investment, including - predictably - the US Department of Defence.
OnX Recent Imagery
Helping outdoors enthusiasts avoid areas that may have become compromised is OnX, which already makes apps for hunters and off-road adventurers. This year the company has added a ‘recent imagery’ feature which uses cloud-free satellite pictures from Planet Labs. The images, which are claimed to be twice as detailed as any from competing apps - are updated every two weeks, particularly useful for boaters watching diminishing water levels on v various lakes and rivers, or who want to monitor shifting sandbanks or new marine infrastructure.
Pixxel Hyperspectral Imaging Satellites
Adding even more information to the layers on a chart could be Pixxel, a space data start up. The company’s powerful satellite-mounted hyperspectral imaging technology can not only detect a forest, but also identify the species of trees and see how healthy the leaves are. There are currently 3 satellites in orbit, with six more planned for launch, and Pixxel already has over 50 customers, including agritech and mining groups. The data could also find its way into the marine sector when it comes to new developments, impact assessments and cruise planning.
2: More efficient batteries
With the move to all-electric propulsion gathering pace, the quest for better batteries remains ongoing. Some battery tech is also proving useful for smaller equipment that may have to operate off grid for long periods.
Better Lithium Production
The rising demand for Lithium, the base component in a variety of energy-dense battery chemistries, means the metal is in high demand. A new method of production has been developed to move production away from the harmful conversion of lithium chloride to use the far more abundant lithium carbonate. A technique developed by the company Li-Metal uses a molten salt bath for the process. The founder says that whilst the existing chloride extraction methods can only provide metal for 150,000 ‘next generation’ car batteries a year, his new carbonate process can provide batteries in the millions.
Nitrogen-iron magnets
Magnets are essential to make the powerful electric motors required for propulsion, and the usual source has been the so-called ‘rare earth’ magnets. Mining these minerals is environmentally very destructive, but now a Minnesota-based company has found a way to make a much greener alternative. Niron Magnetics’s Clean Earth Magnets are created by combining two very abundant materials, nitrogen and iron, and the result is said to be even stronger than their rare-earth counterparts. Automotive and marine OEM Volvo has already signed up as a partner and the US Department of Energy has provided Niron with $17.5 million to help increase production.
Form Energy’s Iron Battery
Regarding abundant materials for battery making, another US company, Form Energy, is using the ‘reversible’ rusting process of iron to create electricity. The company explains that when iron rusts, it swaps an electron for an oxygen molecule, and the electron basically goes to waste. Form Energy has developed a battery about the size of a ‘side-by-side’ domestic washer-dryer machine that contains fifty 1-meter-tall plates. The battery takes in oxygen to convert iron to rust, efficiently capturing and then storing the release of electrons. The battery can then discharge energy for four days straight and so last longer than lithium-ion equivalents. The company already has five pilot projects underway, mainly for land-based applications, as it requires one acre of land to house enough batteries to make one megawatt, but the technology could be transferable for marina installations to recharge electric boats.
3: Robotics, computers, and AI
All boatbuilders use computers in some form, but advances in robotics and AI could pave the way for a yard where the yachts can almost build themselves. Here are some - slightly scary - innovations from the TIME inventions list.
Robotic co-worker
Forget recruiting, just upload a skills programme into your new robot. The concept for relatively simple tasks has already been proven with a humanoid-looking robot that stood 5ft 7in (1.5m) tall and was able to collect, pack, fold and label clothes in a Canadian clothing store. The latest model, named Phoenix, is powered by Carbon, a sophisticated software platform developed by Sanctuary AI. The platform enables the machine to think and act like a real human labourer, but obviously without the need to banter, have coffee breaks, and use the toilet. Sanctuary AI says the technology can perform hundreds of tasks across dozens of industries, although so far boat building isn’t one of them. The goal is that the general-purpose robots will be capable of doing any work already done by humans, which begs the question what people will do to make a living.
Need more screen?
If you are a yacht designer or project engineer, you may be frustrated when travelling that you must cope with a small laptop screen. Now augmented reality (AR) specialists Sightful have created a product that allows you to ‘see’ a 100-inch virtual screen whatever your location, even on an aircraft. Key to the system is a pair of special lightweight AR glasses, which fills the space in front of the user with the virtual display, all of which can be interfaced and controlled with a wireless keyboard and trackpad. Because only the spectacle wearer can see the screens, the display is even more private than usual. The Spacetop AR laptop version is currently available to selected users, with a full roll out scheduled for next year.
Dealing with drones
Drones are either a blessing or a curse, but for many yacht owners, especially in the superyacht sector, they are a major invasion of privacy. A celebrity aboard their private yacht may well be interested in Dedrone’s City-Wide Drone Detection product, which erects a detection shield around a geographical area. Unlike marine radar, which may fail to identify an approaching target as a drone, Dedrone is able to track the proprietary blend of signals needed to keep the drone in flight. This allows the system to identify any incursions into the protective zone. The tech is currently being used to protect several land-based infrastructure projects, including an unspecified number of airports.
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