The oceans cover a vast area, making it difficult for governments, shipping companies, and insurance providers to monitor maritime events in real time. Most modern ships still operate with outdated technology. Virginia-based startup Quartermaster has developed a special system called “SmartMast” to solve this problem. It is a weather-resistant sensor suite consisting of cameras and radio transmitters that mounts to a ship's mast. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports.
According to Quartermaster founder and CEO Neil Sobin, SmartMast is far more advanced than the current standard, AIS (Automatic Identification System). The AIS system is very simple, transmitting only location signals, and is prone to fraud. Criminals can easily spoof AIS data or turn off the system to engage in smuggling or sanctions evasion. Quartermaster's technology is resistant to such manipulations and aims to connect millions of ships worldwide into a single intelligent network.
This project has sparked significant interest among investors, and the company raised $43 million in Series A funding. The round was led by venture capital firms First Round Capital and Quiet Capital. First Round partner Bill Trenchard noted that Quartermaster has solved the key barrier in ocean data collection—the problem of expensive equipment—and is completely transforming how maritime operators work.
Currently, more than 600 ships equipped with SmartMast cover 10 million square miles of ocean. The system is used not only to detect other vessels and ensure safety but also to collect data for companies working on maritime autonomy. Notably, with the help of this technology, more than 20 rescue operations have been successfully carried out at sea so far.
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