Ifremer/Kinéis Call for Expression of Interest “Development of marine and maritime services based on spatial data using IoT Kinéis technology”

The Internet of Things (IoT) is starting to contribute to the digitisation and modernisation of industrial domains. The maritime sector is one of the industries benefiting from the adoption of IoT solutions.

What is IoT? Internet of Things is a connected technology that aims at filling the gap between humans, machines and data. More specifically, IoT is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital gears with the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interactions.[1]

Satellite technology will play a critical role in supporting the development of the IoT sector in order to maximise the potential of the IoT interconnected devices. In this context, satellite technology can deliver multiple frequencies, coverage to provide tailored services for smart applications such as solutions for shipping and transportation systems.[2]

Figure 1. Kinéis nanosatellites constellation to be deployed by 2023. Source: Kinéis

According to the InMarsat Report “Industrial IoT on land and at sea: Maritime”[3], different subsectors in the maritime domain are already adopting IoT-based solutions to achieve efficient services, in terms of operations (e.g. the logistic domain), reduce human errors and risks (e.g. maritime traffic), and enhance the offered services (e.g. shipping).

Ifremer (French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea) and the satellite operator and global connectivity provider Kinéis, are launching the Call for Expression of Interest (AMI- Appel à Manifestation d’Intérêt) “Development of marine and maritime services based on spatial data using IoT Kinéis technology”. The call is supported by the clusters Pôle Mer Bretagne-Atlantique and Pôle Mer Mediterranée.

The AMI aims at developing pre-operational solutions using Kinéis technology in the areas of activity of Ifremer, such as ocean knowledge and protection, and the development of the blue economy. In particular, Ifremer aims at financially supporting 5 to 8 projects between the period 2021-2023 through 4 calls for this AMI.

  1. First call: 14 May 2021
  2. Second call: 17 September 2021
  3. Third call: 17 January 2022
  4. Fourth call: 17 June 2022

The expected innovative projects will have to target the following sectors of applications:

Halieutic, fishing, aquaculture

  • Traceability of the halieutic resources and the associated exploitation process;
  • Connectivity of fisheries devices (fishing net, FAD, fish traps, buoys, etc. );
  • Use of Biologging in the process of evaluation and exploitation of resources;
  • Monitoring of farming

Biodiversity monitoring and assessment

  • Biologging
  • Observation of natural and artificial habitats
  • Monitoring of the chemico-physical status of the marine environment

Maintenance and logistics of surface marine infrastructures and vessels

  • Monitoring and positioning of marine equipment seeing by satellites
  • Industrial facilities on the sea (offshore, etc.)

The participants to the call should be a consortium composed of one (or more) socio-economic partners and one Ifremer team. The AMI is open to everyone regardless their nationality. What matters is the link of the project with the blue economy sectors and their further development.

The selected demo projects will have a duration of 24 months. At the end of the two years, the proposed solution should reach a TRL 5 (Technology Readiness Level), meaning that the technology has been validated and tested in an industrial environment.

For each selected project, Ifremer will set up a partnership agreement. Based on the eligible costs, the economic support agreed to the partners is limited to:

  • €100k per partner;
  • €150k per consortium (not including Ifremer teams’ costs).

The laureate projects will receive a minimum of 2 Kinéis development kits that includes:

  • An Arduino evaluation board;
  • Multiple Kinéis modules;
  • A technical support of about 2.5 days per project;
  • Access during the 24 months of the project to the unlimited data available on the platform Argos Web/Kinéis and unlimited Airtime with a tailored strategy for each use case.

The AMI is open until May 14th 2021 at 14:00 CET. The laureates projects will be announced in July 2021. Don’t miss this opportunity, submit your proposal here. For additional information: ami-ifremer_kineis@polemermediterranee.com

 

 

[1] Baibhav Mishra, Role of Internet of Things in Shipping and Maritime industry, Sea News. Sept. 7th 2020. https://seanews.co.uk/features/role-of-internet-of-things-in-shipping-and-maritime-industry/

[2] EMEA Satellite Operators Association (ESOA), Internet of Things (IoT) and the Role of Satellites, https://www.esoa.net/cms-data/positions/1695%20ESOA%20IOT%20%20Sat%20Brochure%20Proof%204.pdf

[3] InMarsat, Industrial IOT on land and at sea: Maritime, InMarsat Research Programme 2018. https://www.inmarsat.com/content/dam/inmarsat/corporate/documents/maritime/insights/Inmarsat_IIoT_on_land_and_at_sea_Maritime.PDF