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Artificial intelligence is now a reality of the world we live in, and it is (increasingly) making its way into boating as well. Safety in particular is the area where AI (or AI if you want to abbreviate it to Italian) seems poised to make a difference aboard a boat. Watchit is a company that deals with this very aspect and started from one fact: human error contributes to88 percent of boating accidents.
The inspiration came to Watchit-as in many cases it does-from theautomotive sector, a much larger-scale market where technologies are developed and “digested” much faster. On new cars, safety-enhancing technologies are now standard, from anti-collision systems to those that maintain a constant speed by adapting it to the vehicles around us, even maintaining the roadway when we are on the highway.
The company’s goal was to create a complete system integrated with onboard sensors that could prevent boating accidents. From the project came a product that is now called the Smart Prevention System. The solution is proprietary software that uses a proprietary algorithm to combine information from the sensors (GPS, sounder, autopilot, wind sensor, and compass…) and navigation systems already on board.
Installation is very simple, the unit to be mounted is a processor that contains the Watchit software, is powered by 12 or 24v, and connects via NMEA 2000 to the rest of the on-board instrumentation. Then you have to connect the Watchit speaker that alerts you through audio in case of danger.
Once installed, the system functions as an ever-alert “watchman” working to identify potential hazards in the radius around the vessel. If there is an alert to be reported, the Smart Prevention System signals the information with a pop-up on the display and also alerts aurally through a proprietary speaker, first by speaking a phrase (e.g., “Danger, starboard obstruction”) and then through a siren-like sound. Watchit can recognize only real “threats” to the vessel and will not continually disturb the occupants with unnecessary alerts-it will only activate when necessary.
Among the algorithms developed by Watchit that we find within the system is the Dynamic Alert Zone, a technology that adapts the danger zone and the type of warning depending on the speed of the boat and the extent of the danger, avoiding false alarms. For example, if you are sailing at a speed that is not too fast, the first warning will only be a pop-up that appears on the chartplotter, but if you do not adjust your course immediately, the audible warning will also intervene. This technology automatically adjusts the safety radius around the boat when sailing: if we are at 70 knots of speed, the warning radius will be much larger than if we were sailing at 20, because the reaction time is much smaller at high speeds.
Currently the system-which has its own map inside-is available in Europe and North America. It interfaces with most multifunctions, but has recently formed a special partnership with the Raymarine brand. Indeed, Watchit’s technology will be found integrated into all of the British brand’s Axiom chartplotters, which at the same time becomes the exclusive supplier of its LightHouse maps for Watchit.
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