The maritime internet of things
Using your vessel data better is crucial to reduce your emissions, lowering fuel consumption or doing predictive maintenance. The maritime industry is going through a data revolution, both in how it is used and how it is shared. There is an increasing number of stakeholders who will want to have access to your data going forward.
But it is not always easy to get access to the big data your vessels generate. Modern ships are complex and fragmented environments, with many different systems and sensors that are not always set up to share data. Connecting the various systems to the onboard network can be challenging, cabling is expensive and often difficult. Also, there are systems, for instance simpler rotating machinery, that does not have sensors at all, being completely analogue.
It is tempting to use wireless technologies to overcome these challenges, but the existing options are limited. Wifi or mesh networks are useful within confined areas, but requires a lot of hardware to cover an entire ship. Getting good, strong signals without interference is challenging and requires a lot of follow up.
This makes it hard to scale across an entire vessel, and even harder to scale to the entire fleet. Up until today, maritime internet-of-things (IOT) has been hard to realize using wireless networks.
But there are vessel IOT alternatives that work well in the challenging environments that ships represent. The LoraWAN protocol is built on an open standard and offers multiple benefits.
LoraWAN offers long range coverage, with up to 15 kilometers range in open areas. It has significant advantages in indoor environments and long battery life of sensors. With end-to-end encryption it also offers high security.
The LoraWAN protocol is based on an open standard, ensuring you will not be dependent on a proprietary solution. This give you flexibility and reliability, future proofing your IOT solution.
To support your needs to leverage your vessel data better, you need a modern IOT solution
To support your needs to leverage your vessel data better, you need a modern IOT solution that allows you the flexibility to connect to anything, transferring data in real time to wherever you want it.
This is why RaaEDGE comes with a built in wireless LoraWAN network, enabling the wireless vessel. This allows us to retrofit sensors to any piece of equipment onboard. The RaaEDGE LoraWAN network can be established with a handful of gateways covering the entire vessel. There exists a wide range of available sensors allowing you to measure pretty much anything you want onboard your vessel.
Thinking holistically is paramount when developing your vessel IOT strategy. Your data needs and required capbilities are likely to evolve over time, but connecting to onboard vessel systems and complementing with wireless sensor data are key building blocks for your vessel IOT initiative.
RaaEDGE supports you with your maritime IOT needs, allowing you to connect to any onboard system or adding wireless sensors where needed. Get in touch if you want to learn more about how we can support your marine internet of things strategy.
