Research and development being a major pillar in the company’s dynamics, ETM seeks above all to imagine the maritime world of tomorrow. It is from this vision that the Béa project was born: the connected buoy.
For many years, ETM has been supplying most of the equipment used for mooring operations in the Bay of Arcachon. As a result, ETM decided to invent a new mooring system that would best meet the needs of its customers.
The company is carrying out this project in its entirety: from the design of the buoys to the computer system used to manage them, and also optimizing the buoys’ communication mode.
THE CHALLENGE: BETWEEN EVOLUTION, RELIABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT
Today, consumption patterns are constantly evolving, and we are entering an era of shared goods, the “cloud” generation, and everything connected. It therefore seemed necessary to rethink mooring systems, to use technology to serve the environment and to review the economic model of their management.
In designing this project, ETM also had to take into account the specific characteristics of the Arcachon Basin, and therefore had to deal with technical and physical constraints, while paying particular attention to the safety and sustainability of the environment.
AN INTELLIGENT PRODUCT
Since the primary objective of the connected buoy is to have a low environmental impact, the bet is
The Bea buoy is a sustainable product, with a 10-year lifespan, thus reducing the impact of waste reprocessing. In addition, we have developed a patented system of moorings on dead bodies aiming to reduce the impact of moorings on the sea bed: the footprint is reduced, there is no ragging and therefore no destruction of eelgrass beds.
It is positioned as a solution to the multiplication of traditional dead bodies that attack the seagrass beds at the bottom of the basin.
A SECURE PRODUCT
The connected buoy has also been designed with safety in mind: it is a real continuous communication link between the boat and the harbour master’s office, thanks to an alert system. Signals are sent to the harbor office in case of tides, bad weather, risk of untimely stalling of the ship, theft or any other unusual behavior on the boat. This system means that teams are not required to monitor anchorages without having any information, but are only required in the event of a problem.
AN ECONOMICAL BUOY
The Béa also allows for the collection of information that will allow for the best possible adjustment of the number of moorings in the Bay of Arcachon. Thanks to its permanent connection, it allows to optimize the profitability of each mooring, thus increasing the capacity of reception without multiplying the volume of moorings, but by increasing the number of occupied hours for a buoy. In short, it allows to refine the management by offering each tenant à la carte periods. It therefore offers a simplified response to a high demand.
ADAPTABILITY TO THE EXISTING SYSTEM
It was essential that the management of the software be similar to the existing while being innovative: the connected buoy project is easy to use, in general and at any level. It is easy to integrate into existing harbor master software and is accessible from computers or an application. The service can also be adapted to the harbour master’s office, being scalable and customizable.
