BASIS : personal locator beacons – a maritime industry distress alert system within reach of yachtsmen
THEME 1 : MARITIME SAFETY AND SECURITY
Since its inception in 1982, the international search and rescue system, COSPAS-SARSAT, has come to the aid of more than 20 000 people. International regulations now require all fishing boats, passenger vessels and merchant shipping over 300 metric tons to carry a distress beacon. When a vessel is in difficulty, the beacon emits a radio signal which is then re-transmitted via the array of COSPAS-SARSAT satellites to land-based stations where staff identify the distress signal, locate its position and alert the search and rescue services.
In contrast, very few countries apply these regulations to leisure craft. For reasons of size and, more particularly, in view of the cost, yachtsmen are hesitant about acquiring such equipment. By developing BASIS, the KANNAD Company, the world’s third largest supplier of beacons to the maritime industry, aims to offer yachtsmen in particular an extremely compact beacon at a price which is no longer a deterrent. Technological advances achieved within the context of the project will enable the Breton company to secure a key position in the expanding leisure boating market and to strengthen the position it already holds in the global market for maritime industry beacons.
In contrast, very few countries apply these regulations to leisure craft. For reasons of size and, more particularly, in view of the cost, yachtsmen are hesitant about acquiring such equipment. By developing BASIS, the KANNAD Company, the world’s third largest supplier of beacons to the maritime industry, aims to offer yachtsmen in particular an extremely compact beacon at a price which is no longer a deterrent. Technological advances achieved within the context of the project will enable the Breton company to secure a key position in the expanding leisure boating market and to strengthen the position it already holds in the global market for maritime industry beacons.
BASIS PROJECT PARTNERS :
Companies :
- Kannad, Guidel, project director: Created out of the Martec Group, the company develops and markets distress beacons. Over 30 000 beacons for maritime, aviation and terrestrial use are produced and sold every year ;
- TES Electronic Solutions, Bruz: The company offers design, industrialisation and manufacturing services for electronic cards and products and employs 1 000 people worldwide, 80% of them in Europe of whom 400 are based in Brittany at the company’s design centre in Bruz and group factory at Langon sur Vilaine.
Research centre :
- LESTER, Lorient: The Laboratoire d'Electronique des Systèmes TEmps Réel (Real-time systems electronics lab), which is part of the universities of Bretagne Sud and Bretagne Occidentale, has research links with the CNRS. It is developing design methods tailored to the demands of electronic systems and circuits.
Contact : jean-yves.eouzan@pole-mer-bretagne.com
