As the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) continues to modernize its fleet, there is a growing interest in collecting data to measure the performance of electric engines, which have the potential to offer significant fuel savings and operational efficiencies. To understand this impact, the RCN sought an IoT monitoring solution to accurately collect, compare, and analyze the performance data from electric motors and combustion engines. The requested innovation would be the first-of-its-kind IoT solution that provides remote monitoring and security for electric boats.
Although the trend towards electric boats is gaining momentum, there remains a significant challenge in monitoring the performance of electric motors. Currently, each electric motor brand has its own proprietary application that only tracks its own engine and one specific battery management system. To accurately measure the benefits of electric motors, the RCN requires a comprehensive hub that integrates with multiple electric motor brands, various battery monitoring systems across different battery chemistries, and standard house battery electronics. Moreover, a major concern with the current monitoring systems is that none of the proprietary electric motor monitoring hardware platforms provide any form of security for a vessel.
BRNKL Black is a remote monitoring system designed to provide near real-time status and alerts from electric or fuel-powered boats. When placed on board an electric-powered vessel, it communicates via cellular to track and monitor the vessel and its electric motor’s health. The system allows the Royal Canadian Navy to monitor the health of all the vessels at one time using the BRNKL app on a computer or mobile device to see both fleet and individual vessel monitoring.
In addition to monitoring geofencing, position, speed, heel, pitch, impact, and battery voltage, BRNKL Black also tracks battery state of change, speed, range, power output, and more to measure the performance of the electric motor. The system also offers security features such as door/window, motion, and laser sensors for added protection.
By comparing the data from these two types of engines, the RCN can make informed decisions about the performance and efficiency of electric motors, potentially leading to significant cost savings and environmental benefits.
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