Norwegian marine tech start-up Orca revealed that its first product, the Orca Core, will be available in New Zealand shortly.
The Orca Core is the world’s most advanced wireless navigation unit. With a professional-grade GPS, 9-axis motion sensor, and cutting-edge connectivity. The Orca Core unlocks a full chartplotter experience on a boater’s mobile phone and tablet. To access this navigation experience, a boater downloads the Orca Mobile Application on their tablet or phone. The application will wirelessly connect to the Orca Core and in turn, be able to read from and command devices aboard, such as transducers, AIS-receivers, engines, and autopilots.
The Orca Mobile Application offers crystal clear marine charts, finds routes at the press of a button, and notifies the boater of weather changes and challenging situations in advance with its co-pilot insights.
“Traditional chartplotters and multi-functional displays haven’t kept up with the expectations of the modern boater. They are difficult to install, difficult to learn, and difficult to use. They are built on obsolete technology”, said Orca CEO Jorge Sevillano.
“As a result, you see a lot of boaters relying on mobile apps to supplement their chartplotter. Shifting attention between multiple screens and systems is troublesome because you end up paying less attention to your surroundings. Boaters deserve a better solution. We’ve set out to deliver that with Orca.” added Sevillano
Contrary to traditional marine navigation systems, Orca is built with cellular internet connectivity in mind. This allows the system to automatically update charts, and seamlessly synchronise routes across devices without using SD-cards or other complicated methods. When offshore and without connectivity, the system is still fully functional thanks to pre-downloaded data.
Cellular connectivity also enables weather forecasts and online AIS to be an integral part of the navigation experience. Unexpected weather changes, such as an increase in wind or rainfall, are presented to the boater ahead of time. The system even estimates travel trajectories and lets you know if you will hit or miss a local rain shower along your route or if you are about to have a near encounter with another vessel.
Orca integrates with your boat via the industry-standard NMEA 2000 protocol. It allows you to view navigation critical information, such as remaining fuel, battery levels, and depth. Orca processes this information in the cloud to give you automatic trip logs, insights into how to optimise your fuel consumption, and even early warnings of abnormal engine behavior.
With Orca, you are able to wirelessly control marine autopilots from most brands via their phone and tablet. The Orca Core is available for order at https://getorca.com/orca-core, with an MSRP of NZ$749.00.
