Mercury launches smart ‘man overboard’ system in Australia
Wearable devices will automatically cut a Mercury outboard engine’s power should anyone go overboardMercury Marine Australia has launched an innovative new 1st Mate smart tag system that will automatically cut a boat’s engine should anyone fall overboard.
The system is so advanced that it can even send an alert to emergency contacts to let them know something is wrong.
The 1st Mate system is made up of a hub, a set of up to eight wearable devices, and a smartphone connection.
The system can either sound an alarm, or even cut power to the engine if the hub loses contact with any one of the wearable devices. It can even be set up to send an SMS to emergency contacts including the date, time and GPS location – handy for boaters heading out on the water alone.
Part of 1st Mate’s intelligence is that the system can recognise if it is the skipper or one of the passengers that has fallen overboard.
If it is the skipper, the system will cut engine power and send a message to all the passengers’ smartphones. The message contains instructions on how to restart the boat and steer it safely back to the skipper.
If it’s a passenger falling overboard, the skipper will receive instructions on how to return to the location where the person fell off the boat.
The system also acts as an anti-theft deterrent, as it is able to “lock” the boat’s SmartCraft-compatible Mercury outboard engine, only unlocking when told to via the skipper’s smartphone or wearable device.
If the engines are stolen, they will refuse to start if there is no handshake detected from the 1st Mate system.
No pricing has yet been announced for the 1st Mate system.
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