SEA.AI steams ahead: After successfully introducing AI-based object recognition systems in ocean racing, the company has presented a product range covering a broad range of applications from sailing yachts and motor yachts, commercial boats and ships to SAR and first responder applications.
The systems improve safety at sea and are an essential element in the developing field of autonomous mobility on the water.
For the current Series A financing round, founder Raphael Biancale has attracted two investors with a track record for business building inside and outside the marine industry:
One of Germany’s most successful IT entrepreneurs is Stephan Schambach. An avid sailor, Schambach was the former lead investor behind electric mobility pioneer Torqeedo.
Christoph Ballin founded Torqeedo. During his tenure as CEO he led the company to the global leadership position in waterborne electric mobility.
Both Christoph Ballin and Stephan Schambach join founder Raphael Biancale, former IMOCA class CEO Gaetan Gouerou, and Austrian venture capitalist Invest AG as shareholders of BSB Artificial Intelligence.
Finally, with the financing round amounting to € 3 millions, SEA.AI will strengthen its capabilities in R&D, operations, Sales and Marketing.
Raphael Biancale comments: “I´m very happy to welcome Stephan Schambach and Christoph Ballin on board. They understand the marine industry, they love innovation, and they understand and appreciate the huge potential of AI in navigation.”
Stephan Schambach adds: “After learning about SEA.AI, I immediately understood the role the company can play in marine mobility. Being an early SEA.AI customer myself, the product convinced me that Raphael and his team are on the right track to create new useful tools for safety at sea.”
Christoph Ballin looks ahead: “The SEA.AI team has done a great job in developing the technology and the current generation of products. With the new funding and a reinforced team, we look forward to taking SEA.AI to the next level in its development.”
This Friday (28th April 2024), the Transat CIC will set sail from Lorient in the Western France to New York in the East Coast of the USA. This race will feature 33 IMOCA of which 20 are equipped with SEA.AI Machine Vision System.
SEA.AI demonstrated its machine vision at the Congressional Boating Caucus briefing on April 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C..
Baltic Yachts, a Pioneering Shipyard, integrates SEA.AI Machine Vision Technology to its Range of Innovative Options
SEA.AI offers extensive detection capabilities both on and above the water’s surface, regardless of the materials involved, whether it’s wood, steel, plastic, or organic matter.
Its visual range extends to the horizon, although the exact detection range depends on factors like the size of the object, the specific SEA.AI model being used, and the current environmental conditions.
SEA.AI excels at identifying and also categorizing floating objects and potential hazards. It has the capability to differentiate between various entities, including buoys, persons overboard, sailing or motorboats, and ships. With each software update, it further refines its intelligence, continuously enhancing its capacity to identify and classify objects. In situations where certainty may be lacking, SEA.AI labels the item as an “unknown object,” ensuring clarity and facilitating informed decision-making.
Yes, SEA.AI consists of thermal and color cameras and can therefore see during the night. Even in bad weather situations the thermal cameras will be able to perform much better than the human eye. Taking into account that a crew is usually helming, navigating or just busy with other things – SEA.AI will continue to keep an eye and act as the “barrelman” on top of the mast, alarming when a potential hazard appears.
SEA.AI has an in-built IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit). The IMU helps SEA.AI to know in which direction and with which acceleration the cameras and the boat are moving. As a second point of reference for image stabilisation and movement compensation, SEA.AI uses AI-based horizon detection. This is the reason why SEA.AI also works in bad sea states.
Since SEA.AI is usually mounted at the highest point of the boat (on sailing vessels SEA.AI is mounted on the mast top), it can see over the wave crests. Waves will generally influence the boat’s pitching and rolling, and the crew will have a hard time to identify even close objects. As soon as the boat drops into a wave trough, it is typically impossible to see behind the next wave. The mounting height will already make SEA.AI a lot more reliable than what a crewmember can see.