NMEA Launches Marine Data Initiative
Driving Innovation in Technology, Safety, Marine Mammal, and Ocean Conservation
The National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) is embarking on a marine data collection & aggregation project. We are calling upon and inviting sensor manufacturers, programmers, IT experts, and cloud data member experts to participate in this first phase of the project. NMEA sensor data has been used on vessels worldwide for over 30 years. NMEA 0183 data is on all commercial vessels of all sizes. NMEA 2000 data is on all recreational vessels of all sizes. Harnessing this data for current and future use by all industry stakeholders is what this new “NMEA Cloud” data initiative is centered around.
This initiative started in 2024 with NMEA advocating alongside industry partners, through the Whale and Vessel Safety Taskforce (WAVS), for the need to provide greater protections to North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) from vessel strikes while also accommodating the operational needs of boaters. The objective is to leverage existing, in development, or future technologies, innovative tools, and engineering approaches that can decrease the likelihood of collisions with whales and help reduce operational impacts to vessels. These risk reduction tools can be developed and implemented at a fast pace through the use of large datasets to drive machine learning and validation. What started as a project to protect marine mammals and mitigate risk of vessel strikes, has allowed NMEA to see the larger role and value that data from vessel systems can provide for conservation, safety, service, product development and research in the marine industry and beyond.
Harnessing existing NMEA 0183/NMEA 2000 data from vessels frequently traversing a specific area can prove invaluable for future vessels operating in the same general area. The NMEA believes having this data available across industry to all participating members for interpretation can both save lives and prevent vessel strikes to keep with our core mission. Calling upon NMEA membership to participate in dialogue is critical in Phase 1 of this project. Data would be automatically collected and sent to the NMEA Cloud in an anonymous and secure format, provided the vessel has off ship higher bandwidth connectivity via satellite or near shore cellular to local vessel Wi-Fi. As time goes on and more data is collected, a maritime data ecosystem will build considerably. This data set will be accessible by NMEA manufacturer, dealer, trade, and boat builder members for use. The data collected from this effort can also serve academia and the marine, conservation and research communities around the world to better protect marine life.
NMEA installing companies will become critical in Phase 2 of the project as more NMEA manufacturer members develop their tie in to “NMEA cloud” initiative. NMEA will rely heavily on NMEA Dealer, Boat Builder, and Trade members to install and work with their key customers who frequently use their vessels who would be willing to contribute to this initiative. NMEA is also calling upon “Citizen Scientists” who own and operate vessels and want to contribute for the greater good, but also maintain data privacy. A data privacy agreement would need to be signed by the vessel owner and NMEA, and mechanisms will be in place for new vessel owners to opt out of sharing data if a previous vessel owner was sharing vessel data.
NMEA is well positioned to be the lead for a large crowdsourced marine data collection project. The NMEA Cloud Committee shall manage access to the data. Access would be afforded to all NMEA members and non-NMEA members through an approval process governed by the NMEA Cloud Committee. NMEA and non-NMEA members will be permitted to opt-in and share vessel data. All user information and data will be protected through a data services agreement, consented by both parties choosing to opt in and share vessel data with industry. Data privacy and security is the front and foremost concern for all contributors. Data will be anonymized and limited to uses approved by NMEA. Approved uses will not include enforcement purposes by local and national authorities, such as vessel speed monitoring or closed area monitoring. NMEA is currently evaluating proposals from cloud data providers to maintain the data sets gathered through this effort.
The initial goal is to have 200 vessels contributing to this crowdsourced data initiative by 2026. Use case examples could include data being sent to other boats to prevent collisions with marine mammals, and to identify floating objects. AI-based classification software could help identify areas of interest or concern while traversing channels or fishing. Common NMEA data such as latitude/longitude, water temperature, wave heights, and water depth can be shared.
Recreational boaters, commercial operators, shipping companies, fishing vessels can all contribute with minimal to no effort by simply operating the vessel as they normally would. The large amounts of data that gets collected in the years to come can help shape the future of boating, fishing, and commercial maritime operations. Future uses of these large data sets may be unimaginable today but can help revolutionize the future of safety and security at sea.
For more information, and to get involved with this NMEA Data initiative, email [email protected] or call 410-975-9425.
The National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) is embarking on a marine data collection & aggregation project. We are calling upon and inviting sensor manufacturers, programmers, IT experts, and cloud data member experts to participate in this first phase of the project. NMEA sensor data has been used on vessels worldwide for over 30 years. NMEA 0183 data is on all commercial vessels of all sizes. NMEA 2000 data is on all recreational vessels of all sizes. Harnessing this data for current and future use by all industry stakeholders is what this new “NMEA Cloud” data initiative is centered around.
This initiative started in 2024 with NMEA advocating alongside industry partners, through the Whale and Vessel Safety Taskforce (WAVS), for the need to provide greater protections to North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) from vessel strikes while also accommodating the operational needs of boaters. The objective is to leverage existing, in development, or future technologies, innovative tools, and engineering approaches that can decrease the likelihood of collisions with whales and help reduce operational impacts to vessels. These risk reduction tools can be developed and implemented at a fast pace through the use of large datasets to drive machine learning and validation. What started as a project to protect marine mammals and mitigate risk of vessel strikes, has allowed NMEA to see the larger role and value that data from vessel systems can provide for conservation, safety, service, product development and research in the marine industry and beyond.
Harnessing existing NMEA 0183/NMEA 2000 data from vessels frequently traversing a specific area can prove invaluable for future vessels operating in the same general area. The NMEA believes having this data available across industry to all participating members for interpretation can both save lives and prevent vessel strikes to keep with our core mission. Calling upon NMEA membership to participate in dialogue is critical in Phase 1 of this project. Data would be automatically collected and sent to the NMEA Cloud in an anonymous and secure format, provided the vessel has off ship higher bandwidth connectivity via satellite or near shore cellular to local vessel Wi-Fi. As time goes on and more data is collected, a maritime data ecosystem will build considerably. This data set will be accessible by NMEA manufacturer, dealer, trade, and boat builder members for use. The data collected from this effort can also serve academia and the marine, conservation and research communities around the world to better protect marine life.
NMEA installing companies will become critical in Phase 2 of the project as more NMEA manufacturer members develop their tie in to “NMEA cloud” initiative. NMEA will rely heavily on NMEA Dealer, Boat Builder, and Trade members to install and work with their key customers who frequently use their vessels who would be willing to contribute to this initiative. NMEA is also calling upon “Citizen Scientists” who own and operate vessels and want to contribute for the greater good, but also maintain data privacy. A data privacy agreement would need to be signed by the vessel owner and NMEA, and mechanisms will be in place for new vessel owners to opt out of sharing data if a previous vessel owner was sharing vessel data.
NMEA is well positioned to be the lead for a large crowdsourced marine data collection project. The NMEA Cloud Committee shall manage access to the data. Access would be afforded to all NMEA members and non-NMEA members through an approval process governed by the NMEA Cloud Committee. NMEA and non-NMEA members will be permitted to opt-in and share vessel data. All user information and data will be protected through a data services agreement, consented by both parties choosing to opt in and share vessel data with industry. Data privacy and security is the front and foremost concern for all contributors. Data will be anonymized and limited to uses approved by NMEA. Approved uses will not include enforcement purposes by local and national authorities, such as vessel speed monitoring or closed area monitoring. NMEA is currently evaluating proposals from cloud data providers to maintain the data sets gathered through this effort.
The initial goal is to have 200 vessels contributing to this crowdsourced data initiative by 2026. Use case examples could include data being sent to other boats to prevent collisions with marine mammals, and to identify floating objects. AI-based classification software could help identify areas of interest or concern while traversing channels or fishing. Common NMEA data such as latitude/longitude, water temperature, wave heights, and water depth can be shared.
Recreational boaters, commercial operators, shipping companies, fishing vessels can all contribute with minimal to no effort by simply operating the vessel as they normally would. The large amounts of data that gets collected in the years to come can help shape the future of boating, fishing, and commercial maritime operations. Future uses of these large data sets may be unimaginable today but can help revolutionize the future of safety and security at sea.
For more information, and to get involved with this NMEA Data initiative, email [email protected] or call 410-975-9425.