Challenge: Internet in the Ocean

• Design a low-cost method of delivering internet to people located on the ocean.
• Making use of existing technologies

The environment:

• There are at any given time over 50,000 ships on the ocean.
• Boats have various types each illustrating a specific use.
• All boats require an internet connection for navigation and localization.

The need for internet in the ocean:

• Maps and localization
• Voice communication (VoIP).
• Ship status.
• Get broadcast data (weather, etc..).
• Basic use (privilege)

Satellite internet issues:

• High prices
• reliability issues
• High latency
• Limited bandwidth
• Satellites do not cover all the globe

Satellite internet prices:

• Cheapest Hardware: $1,400, bandwidth: 384kbps, subscription: $59.99 for 10MB
• Best bandwidth: Hardware: $13,000, bandwidth: 2Mbps, subscription: $9,499/month
• Balanced: $4800, bandwidth: 128kbps, subscription: $1,000/month

The solution:

A cheaper internet plan in the middle of the ocean through generating a network of interconnected ships (Using Internet of Things’ technology) and NASA’s Delay/Disruption Tolerant Network in order to provide internet to distant ships through other ships that are more close to land.

Technology used:

• Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking
• Mesh Network
• Long range Wi-Fi

Delay/Disruption Tolerant Network:

This is a network technology developed by NASA in order to establish internet connection through long distances where delays and disruptions are a very important issue. DTN-based networks have proved to be more efficient in fields where disruption and delay have a high impact. Example: Earth to Venus.

Mesh networking topology:

Mesh topology is a new networking topology used in Internet of Things in order to establish networks of interconnected devices independently of their location or the amount of connections.

Implementing our solution:

NetShip makes use of both Mesh networks and DTN in order to make a network of interconnected ships that automatically determines the best path to take and takes into consideration the possibility of having delay and disruption issues. We have used 300km+ long range Wi-Fi for this.

Examples:

World ship traffic map:

Hardware required:

1. 3x Ubiquity AF-5X: 200+km range, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, 500+Mbps (Been tested for 300km) - $399 per ship
2. 3x PoE injector $17
3. 3x AF-5G30-S45 $125
4. 6x ETH-SP $12.50
5. Hard Drive: $40 per ship
6. EdgeRouter 10X - $109
7. Lite-AP GPS - $99

Price proposition:

Hardware cost: $1946 per ship

Installation cost: $500

Configuration cost: $500 - It can be eliminated by implementing a Software Defined Radio solution

Based on the price of the hardware, configuration and installation costs, also considering the possibility to automate configuration through software, we can offer a setup price of $2,800 with a monthly subscription of $40 for up to 1Gbps internet speeds.

Future visions:

The desert:

The same technologies we have studied in this challenge can be applied in order to provide internet connectivity in previously disconnected areas of the desert. This will make it easier to have Internet of Things’ connected objects in such areas.

Example: Safe Sahara, getting lost in the desert

Laser communication can be seen as a futuristic premium addition to this system as it will allow a higher bandwidth communication. It is, however, hard to implement this using the current technologies