Client problem
A marine technology client required a rugged vessel monitoring and telemetry system capable of continuously recording crew shock exposure and vessel operating data in harsh offshore environments.
The system was developed to support regulatory compliance, operational analysis and long-term evidential logging for potential injury investigations and employer liability requirements.
The platform needed to reliably capture and store high-frequency operational data including:
- Crew shock and vibration exposure
- Vessel GPS position, speed and heading
- Engine operating data
- Hull force measurements
- Crew presence detection
- Per-seat impact monitoring
All monitoring data needed to be recorded continuously with sufficient sampling and processing performance to ensure that short-duration high-impact shock events were not missed.
Solution
Designed and developed a complete embedded marine telemetry platform combining custom electronics hardware, embedded firmware and cloud-based infrastructure for automated vessel data collection and analysis.
The solution included:
- Custom vessel monitoring hardware
- High-sensitivity shock and vibration sensing
- GPS and vessel telemetry integration
- Engine and CAN bus monitoring
- Crew identification and tracking
- Remote data upload via GSM/WiFi/Iridium satcoms
- AWS-based cloud storage infrastructure
- API services for third-party web platform integration
The system was engineered specifically for reliable long-term operation within harsh marine environments, including support for intermittent connectivity and power-loss resilience.
IBEX Role
- Full electronics hardware design
- Component selection and system architecture
- Schematic capture and PCB design
- Embedded firmware development
- Sensor integration and signal processing
- Cloud infrastructure architecture
- Remote telemetry and data upload systems
- AWS database and storage implementation
- API development for external web platform integration
- Prototype development and manufacturing documentation
Technology Stack
- Embedded C/C++
- Linux
- Python
- AWS cloud infrastructure
- AWS databases and storage
- PHP
- CAN bus communications
- GPS and telemetry systems
- GSM, WiFi and /Iridium satellite communications
Challenges Overcome
- High-speed sensor acquisition and processing for accurate 1-second RMS shock calculations.
- Ensuring reliable operation within harsh marine environments.
- Maintaining continuous logging during engine failure and unstable power conditions.
- Designing battery backup and controlled shutdown systems to prevent data loss.
- Implementing reliable crew identity tracking and person overboard detection using RFID/Bluetooth technologies.
- Managing large-scale telemetry data collection and remote synchronisation from deployed vessels.
Outcome
Successfully delivered the initial vessel monitoring platform including custom hardware, embedded software and cloud infrastructure.
The project progressed through prototype development, manufacturing preparation and ongoing feature expansion, with the platform continuing to evolve through additional operational and telemetry capabilities.
