A pilot for geofencing technology to enhance fire response times at sea
18/09/2023Safetytech Accelerator is collaborating with American Roll on Roll Off Carrier (ARC) to pilot LifeFinder’s technology for geofencing to enhance fire response time and avoid total losses at sea.
The increased number of electric vehicles (EVs) being carried onboard poses a significant risk to shipping and has resulted in some high-profile incidents over the past years. LifeFinders’ technology provides for an early identification of all personnel on board so as to shorten fire emergency response time and activate response procedures in a matter of minutes.
LifeFinder was a participant in Waypoint, Safetytech Accelerator’s maritime acceleration programme. This fourth round of Waypoint was focused on solving challenges of nearshore operations – specifically minimising human error, supporting safer navigation, reducing turnaround time and preventing accidents in nearshore settings.
LifeFinder’s unique wearable solutions present a breakthrough in the current emergency response approach, with the potential to significantly reduce response times and gain precious minutes that can make a difference between a minor incident and a major disaster.
ARC is the US flag Ro-Ro carrier operating liner services in the international trades, providing port-to-port and end-to-end transport of heavy vehicles, helicopters, household goods, privately-owned vehicles, and other equipment for the US government and its various agencies.
Fred Finger, Senior Vice President and Head of Operations at ARC had this to say, “We are extremely pleased to be engaged with Safety Accelerator and LifeFinders in testing the LifeFinders wearable system in an actual underway environment. Early results have been extremely promising, and we look forward to working further with the Safety Accelerator and LifeFinders teams to validate the system on board and determine how their wearable system might best fit into our emergency response tool kit.”
Anders Schening, CEO at LifeFinder commented, “It has been of great value to take part in Safetytech Accelerator’s Waypoint programme. We received access to so much knowledge and many companies and professionals in maritime, learning more about safety challenges and market entry hurdles. We have learned how we can improve our current solution and found new applications for our technology such as early detection and alarm in case of an EV fire. For us as technology company it is crucial to be able to test different uses cases and in real life pilots. Being onboard an ARC Vessel, doing real testing and talking to the crew has been invaluable.”
Dr. Maurizio Pilu, Managing Director at Safetytech Accelerator had this to say, “We are pleased to have facilitated this collaboration between one of the participants in our Waypoint accelerator programme and the US RoRo flag carrier. As the volume of EVs being shipped continues to increase, the industry finds itself increasingly exposed to lithium-ion battery fires, which poses a significant threat to the lives of crews and passengers alike. We hope to continue to collaborate with key players in the sectors to help solve this problem.”
The LifeFinder team is already onboard one of the ARC vessels calling at Northern European ports to install the necessary equipment on board and deliver the pilot. Over the course of the next 3 months the wearables will be tested in a range of conditions to understand the technology’s performance in case of emergency.
Check back soon to find out about results of the pilot.
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About ARC
ARC is the leading U.S.-flag Ro-Ro carrier operating liner services in the international trades and provides various land-based Government Services to support overseas operations. ARC provides port-to-port and end-to-end transport of heavy vehicles, helicopters, Household Goods (HHG), Privately-Owned Vehicles (POV), and other equipment for the U.S. government and its various agencies. We also carry agricultural and construction equipment for developing nations, Federal Transit Administration public transportation cargoes, U.S. Export-Import Bank preference cargoes, and other commercial break-bulk and Ro-Ro business.
About LifeFinder
LifeFinder based in Sweden has an intelligent alert system which enables life-saving solutions that integrate seamlessly into workers’ everyday safety routines. By proactively detecting and alerting to danger and life-threatening situations, further injuries and potential death can be avoided even in the most remote and hazardous locations.
About Safetytech Accelerator
Safetytech Accelerator is the first fully dedicated technology accelerator focused on advancing innovation in safety critical industries, with a mission to make the world safer and more sustainable through wider adoption of technology.