Know Hub portfolio EBCT wins innovative public procurement contract for a navigation system in the Kirke Narrows

The Corfo call seeks to provide the Navy with a system that delivers real-time information on the intensity and direction of ocean currents and weather conditions, using local and satellite networks and artificial intelligence.

INNERCORE SPA, winning team of Desafío Avante 2020, proposed the SEALIGHT 2.0 system, which measures, processes and visualizes data on the intensity, direction and conditions of ocean currents and the weather to guide mariners.

Piracy, illegal fishing, illegal migration, smuggling and the transport of illicit substances are some of the crimes that can take place at sea. All of them endanger human life, navigation, and countries’ maritime safety and security, while also posing a threat of pollution to the coastal marine environment.

INNERCORE SPA, a science-based startup (EBCT) in the Know Hub Chile portfolio and winner of the first edition of Desafío Avante, run by the Chilean Navy (Armada de Chile) and Know Hub, developed a platform with a data-processing core that allows it to be used in different applications, providing a technological solution that makes it possible to monitor illicit activities at sea using artificial intelligence and thus detect anomalous events.

The technology is expanding and was recently selected, together with two other companies, for an innovative public procurement for the Chilean Navy to provide an “Integrated navigation aid system in the Kirke Narrows,” in the Puerto Natales area of the Magallanes region. The Kirke Channel lies 50 kilometers west of that town and is one of the two sea routes connecting it with the rest of the ports in the area.

The initiative, which is part of the Ministry of Economy’s Productive Development Program and funded by Corfo, seeks to develop a system capable of measuring, processing, disseminating and visualizing real-time information on the intensity and direction of the ocean current and local weather conditions, combining reliability, availability, accuracy and low cost, thereby helping maritime users make decisions before crossing the Kirke Narrows and reducing accidents.

Corfo will disburse more than CLP 458 million as a direct subsidy to the projects, while private parties will contribute CLP 195 million for the development and launch of the first stage of the challenge. During this stage, the companies are expected to test the proposed solutions for six months, during which the technologies will be validated in relevant environments under the supervision of the Chilean Navy.

INNERCORE SPA proposed the SEALIGHT 2.0 system, which measures, processes and visualizes data on the intensity, direction and conditions of ocean currents and the weather to guide mariners. The strengths of this proposal are its integration capacity, energy autonomy and real-time data transmission through local and satellite networks, as well as the use of artificial intelligence to detect vessels.