Page 26: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2023)

DATA & AUTONOMY eOdyn surface currents (streamlines) superimposed with optical images from satellites in the Sicily Channel

Images courtesy eOdyn last summer one Norway ferry company in Oslo reduced eOdyn’s technology – in a product called SeaWaze – ana- routes because of crew shortages. lyzes ships’ AIS (automatic identi? cation system) data that is

Also important is that the autonomous ferries will still have a automatically uploaded to satellites. (100,000 vessels are at crew member on board. That human could intervene in case of sea every day.) eOdyn has built what Guichoux refers to as an emergency, either with the vessel or among the passengers. “Omni-Situ” (OS) technology. For SeaWaze, each ship is an

MacFarlane said the crew member “would not take direct ocean-based sensor. A machine learning algorithm takes the control over the vessel. Rather, they would have an interface satellite data to create a high-resolution, spatiotemporal ocean to interact with the vessel by issuing speci? c commands and surface current map that presents information in near real time communicate with a remote operations center.” and at global scale.

Swarm technology is expanding. Hyke was one of three “With SeaWaze,” Guichoux explained, “we can provide groups chosen to deliver and operate four ferries along the customers with services that help reduce the environmental

Seine River during the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics. footprint of their activities and mitigate risks at sea.” Ship-

The ferries will connect the municipalities of Juisy-sur-Orge, ping accounts for about 3% of global greenhouse gases. With

Ris-Orangis and Soisy-sur-Seine in the region Grand Paris SeaWaze a vessel can reduce fuel consumption by an average

Sud. (Hyke was named as one of Time Magazine’s best inven- of 5%, Guichoux said.

tions of 2022.) Historically, ocean currents have been measured using buoys, which are dif? cult to place, or altimetry satellites, a limited eOdyn: The Ocean in Motion resource since there are only seven in orbit. OS technology “Why install sensors aboard, when the ship itself can be generates current information anywhere there are ships – im- the sensor?” portantly, anywhere there is human activity, e.g., submarines,

Sea Tech’s theme in 2022 was “Towards Smarter and Green- emergencies, and oil spill response. er Solutions.” Safety and ef? cient operations are fundamental “Ocean currents provide information about conditions that priorities for maritime companies and agencies, from research affect the performance of sonars used to locate submarines,” to defense. Now, concerns about fuel and carbon add new Guichoux explained, adding that eOdyn “validated our data complexities and pressures to decisions about voyages and at- with the French Navy in 2022 and quali? ed it for military use.” sea operations. Additionally, SeaWaze data can improve drift predictions for

Vessel routing has critical environmental issues. The most a person overboard, helping to target search areas. Data on ef? cient course will likely require less fuel. Taking advantage ocean currents can help track pollutants at sea to better pre- of real-time ocean surface currents offers new possibilities for pare cleanup operations. ef? cient navigation. (US agencies use a network of coastal high frequency radars eOdyn is a maritime software company based in Plouzane, for this kind of tracking.)

Brittany, near Brest. During Sea Tech week, Yann Guichoux, eOdyn’s OS technology is completely digital and provided in eOdyn’s CEO and co-founder, met with a select group of SaaS (“software as a service”) mode. Guichoux said new ser- journalists to present and describe how eOdyn uses big data vice capabilities are planned for 2023, including development to provide new capabilities delivering measurable bene? ts to of an onboard system called eObox to deliver the real-time shipowners and to the planet. ocean currents data to ships at sea.

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