The Industry IoT Consortium (IIC) is running a “short-term, rapid-engagement” pilot to develop a blockchain-based peer-to-peer IoT network for the marine industry. The work will engage various IoT, digital twin, and blockchain elements, to deliver fleet management, tracking, and security, including boat-to-dock payments, maintenance scheduling, and general asset management.
The new Marine Management Test Drive, scheduled to run for three-to-six months, is spearheaded by a US-based firm called Ahoy (stylised AHOY), billed as a “global infrastructure company”, but with very little online to say more (and a bunch of other firms with the same name in the marine industry); its website, which appears unfinished, paints it as a high-end yacht and dock rental company.
A press statement from IIC says Ahoy is working with Silicon Valley IoT and blockchain startup IoTex on the testbed. IoTeX has a recent deal with Google Cloud “to accelerate its global expansion strategy”, according to reports. Connecticut-based boat retailer Bassett Yacht & Boat is also involved. Unlikely IIC bedfellows, perhaps; but the trio are looking to the scheme to “stimulate IoT adoption across the industry through accelerated implementation”.
A statement says: “The test drive is helping Ahoy to build out a next-generation, peer-to-peer network designed for the ownership economy as it applies to the marine industry. Built on top of the IoTeX blockchain, AHOY is developing a Web3 infrastructure complete with an NFT marketplace, a utility token, decentralized apps, and IoT implementation.”
It continues: “The objective is to decentralize the utilization, management, ownership, renting, docking, financing, along with the overall boating experience as it pertains to marine-based assets. A goal is to implement a decentralized solution for boat-to-dock payment (IoTeX-machine Fi) with smart contract weather probability oracles (Chainlink/IBM’s Weather.com) based on the boat’s GPS location and captain’s log data.”
Quotes from the main parties were provided in the press note. John Paul Zable, chief executive and founder at Ahoy, said: “With the Marine Management Test Drive, we’re showing boaters and marina owners how, thanks to MachineFi Lab technology, they can turn underutilized resources, stagnant occupancies, and user data into reliable sources of revenue.”
Raullen Chai, chief executive and co-founder at IoTeX, said: “We’re helping to drive the management of marine assets into the IoT ownership economy – where users are the owner and beneficiary of their data, privacy, and money. Boat owners can now monetize their marine and associated digital assets globally.”
