Spoondrift Launches Spotter, Crowd-Sensing the Ocean

Spoondrift, a Bay Area startup aiming to improve understanding of our oceans by democratizing ocean observations, has announced the launch and pre-sales of Spoondrift Spotter, a low-cost, solar-powered ocean wave-current tracker that provides real-time data access anywhere and anytime.

“Ocean dynamics affect us all. Every day. Our goal is to contribute to a better understanding of our dynamic ocean environment by accelerating the real-time digitization of our oceans. Getting a lot more people involved is essential. So we need to make the process of data collection much simpler and dramatically less expensive. That’s what Spotter is all about,” said CEO Tim Janssen.

Spoondrift aims to get local communities involved in making ocean data available and visible. Early adopter and Beta tester Dr. Alec Torres-Freyermuth, an oceanography professor at Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM), says: "the portability and simplicity of the Spotter make it an ideal platform for involving the community in our ocean monitoring projects."

Spotter builds on years of research and combines design thinking with recent advances in ocean science and sensor technology. As a result, it provides exceptional data quality, while offering extreme usability and out-of-the-box real-time connectivity across the globe. Spoondrift sees Spotter as a first step toward a globally-extended data network, and a more connected ocean.

Spotter, is an ocean wave-current sensor that is developed through a combination of design thinking and ocean science to provide extreme affordability and usability. The goal is to enable a broad base of ocean professionals and communities to collect and share ocean data, improve forecasts, drive marine renewable energy, and help understand our oceans. The Spotter system consists of a globally-connected, solar-powered wave-current buoy that is integrated into an online app for real-time data access. You turn it on and data flows to your dashboard; it’s that simple. This instrument may be used by anyone from coastal communities and fishermen, to offshore industry and governments. Spotter is a first step toward a more connected ocean.