FISHERIES. MARINE
Fishermen Gear Accountability and Tracking System.
HARDWARE | FIRMWARE | MOBILE/WEB APPS
Project Overview
Designed a tamper-proof beacon system to monitor fishing gear deployment and retrieval in large fleets, ensuring transparency and accountability. The system logs geolocation and time data of gear dips, helping fleet admins oversee operations and detect anomalies in fishing activity.
Client Requirement & Objectives
Deployment & Retrieval Detection: The beacon needed to accurately detect and log the timestamps and geolocations when fishing nets or gears were submerged and when they resurfaced.
Gear-Level Identification: Each beacon had to be uniquely associated with a specific fishing gear to ensure detailed tracking and audit capabilities per unit.
Tamper-Proof Design: Devices must detect and alert the server in case of unauthorized detachment or tampering, helping maintain integrity of the operation.
Long Battery Life: The system had to be operational for at least 6 months without recharging, supporting long-term deployments on open waters.
System Design & Build
Depth-Based Activity Trigger: Integrated depth sensors allowed the device to detect whether the gear was underwater or surfaced, initiating beaconing only when out of water.
Periodic Wake-Up Mechanism: The beacon entered deep sleep mode for 90% of the time, waking up every 2 minutes to quickly check depth readings and conserve energy.
BLE Beaconing and Alert Protocols: BLE transmissions were enabled when out of water to report status; when submerged, BLE was disabled to extend battery life and reduce noise.
Rugged, Sealed Housing: Developed a waterproof and tamper-resistant casing that securely attaches to fishing gear while protecting internal electronics from oceanic conditions.
Project Tech Stack
Key Challenges & Solutions
Power Optimization: Achieving long battery life was challenging; this was solved by implementing intelligent sleep-wake cycles and disabling unnecessary transmissions underwater.
Tamper Detection Logic: Designing accurate tamper-detection required both mechanical and software solutions to ensure any beacon removal would immediately raise alerts on the backend.
False Positives in Depth Sensing: Calibrating the depth sensor to differentiate between minor splashes and true submersion was key. Fine-tuned thresholds were implemented to avoid erroneous triggers
Fleet Data Aggregation: Built a backend capable of handling data from numerous beacons, parsing dip events, tamper alerts, and associating them with individual fleet assets in real-time..
Client
Succorfish is a technology company that aims to offer precise, dependable, and cost-effective monitoring technology that can operate in the most extreme and remote locations on earth.
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