Fishermen can now access phone, email, whatsapp, skype at sea

Solution developed by Amrita University will not only save fisherman's lives but will also enhance national security

A low-cost Internet connectivity solution for fishermen at sea was launched at Amrita University in Kerala. The networking solution will provide Internet connectivity to commercial fishermen at sea. Besides, an announcement about the establishment of a UNESCO Chair at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University) was also made today.

The first two were launched by the Human Resources Minister of State, Prakash Javadekar in Kerala today.

OceanNet is an unique innovation and this technology, which the University claims doesn't exist anywhere in the world, will not only help save the lives of fishermen but also strengthen national security by allowing them to inform the authorities about any suspicious activity in the sea.

J Mercykutty Amma, Kerala Minister for Fisheries & Harbour Engineering added that this latest technology will help fishermen stay in touch with their families and communicate with authorities if in distress. This is something that was urgently needed in the country.

Amrita OceanNet. was developed by Amrita University, the networking solution provides an Internet signal to fishing boats even when they are over 60 kilometres at sea -- 45 kilometres beyond the range of cell-phone towers.

Fisherman will be able to remain in touch with their families while out at sea. They can use email, Skype, Whatsapp and all other Internet-based applications, said Maneesha Sudheer, Director of Amrita Centre for Wireless Networks & Applications, the Amrita University department that developed the technology.

Amrita OceanNet comprises an onshore base-station with Internet connectivity that boosts Internet signals. This boosted signal is then captured by fishing vessels that are equipped with a low-cost Amrita OceanNet receiver-broadcaster system. In turn, these Amrita OceanNet-equipped vessels also become broadcasters. In this way, the Internet signal - through multiple boat-to-boat hops - can extend 60 km beyond the shoreline. A Wi-Fi network is provided aboard the fishing vessel to which the fishermen connect using their smart phones. The fishermen don't need to buy any special handheld device. Researchers at Amrita University are also currently developing apps for at-sea location tracking and alerts for collisions, maritime-boundary crossings, obstacles and inclement weather, etc.

This project is co-funded by Amrita University and Information Technology Research Academy (ITRA), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India.