Advertisement
Weather and navigation apps have become integral information tools for recreational boaters. The latest, from a California technology company named BoatBot, was built to enhance boating safety. Created in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the company says the artificial intelligence-powered Pocket Captain app “knows” all about the Rules of the Road, state boat certification classes, Coast Guard Auxiliary in-class training, and six-pack and 100-ton license courses.
But don’t seasoned, responsible boat owners already know how to safely operate their vessels?
“Traditional boating safety education provides a vital foundation, but retaining that knowledge over time can be difficult,” says John Doogan, Flotilla Commander 61 U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, based in Hampton, Virginia. “Pocket Captain addresses this challenge by providing boaters with a readily available resource for safety questions.”
In other words, no matter how thorough your boating education has been, when you see two all-around red lights accompanied by a ship’s anchor lights, you may not recall that this indicates a ship being aground. With Pocket Captain, however, you can simply ask your phone what the light pattern means – verbally or by typing in the question – to get a quick refresher. The app’s AI adapts to user questions to provide tailored results, while its conversational interface makes it fast and easy to get the answers you’re looking for.
Here's a short video that shows how the Pocket Captain app works.
Beyond rules of the road, the app has answers to questions on things like basic boat maintenance, troubleshooting, and finding replacement parts. It even has a parts identifier that can scan images, part numbers, or descriptions to help you figure out what you need. That information dovetails with app’s service tracking feature that allows both the owner and chosen service provider to track maintenance and service needs of the boat.
Free, iOS and Android | boatbot.ai