Roadmap
Current Status
Section titled “Current Status”We have the core hardware in hand — ESP32-CAM modules for the submerged vision unit, Heltec Wireless Trackers for the smart buoy and base station. The software stack is open-source tooling: TensorFlow Lite Micro for on-device inference, Arduino/ESP-IDF for firmware, LoRa for communications.
Phase 1: Core Validation
Section titled “Phase 1: Core Validation”Active
- Train and validate the species classification model on the ESP32-CAM
- Build and test the servo door latch mechanism
- Integrate the submerged unit with the Heltec Tracker buoy over a wired tether
- Bench-test the full bidirectional command protocol
- Develop base station firmware with fleet management
Goal: Demonstrate end-to-end operation on the bench — catch event triggers classification, buoy relays result over LoRa, base station displays status and sends commands.
Phase 2: Waterproofing & Field Trials
Section titled “Phase 2: Waterproofing & Field Trials”Planned
- Waterproof enclosure design for submerged unit
- Waterproof enclosure design for smart buoy
- Shallow-water field trials (dock-side, controlled environment)
- Open-water field trials with commercial crabbers
- Validate classification accuracy in real-world conditions
- Test LoRa range in maritime environment
- Battery life and solar charging validation
Goal: Prove the system works in real ocean conditions with real crabs.
Phase 3: Ropeless Recovery
Section titled “Phase 3: Ropeless Recovery”Planned
- Design ballast release mechanism
- Integrate surface command with mechanical actuation
- Buoyancy testing and ascent rate characterization
- Safety validation (no hazard to boats, divers, or marine life during ascent)
Goal: Eliminate the buoy line entirely. Pot surfaces on command from the base station.
Phase 4: Energy Independence
Section titled “Phase 4: Energy Independence”Planned
- Wave energy harvester prototype (linear electromagnetic generator)
- Hybrid solar + wave power management
- Extended deployment testing (weeks without maintenance)
- Ultra-low-power firmware optimization
Goal: Self-sustaining buoy that operates indefinitely without battery swaps.
Phase 5: Ballistic Deployment
Section titled “Phase 5: Ballistic Deployment”Future
- Collapsible hydrodynamic fairing design
- Pneumatic launch rail prototype
- Fairing-to-trap unfolding mechanism at depth
- Integration with ropeless recovery for full no-rope workflow
Goal: A crabber never handles rope at all — deploy by launch, recover by command. Dramatically faster deployment cycles, smaller deck footprint.
Phase 6: Tidal Intelligence
Section titled “Phase 6: Tidal Intelligence”Planned
- Phone GPS → NOAA CO-OPS tide table lookup for deployment location
- Flood/ebb tide alerts (productive window opening and closing)
- Catch rate correlation with tidal phase (per-pot, per-location)
- “Pot full” threshold alerts based on keeper count
- Idle pot detection (no catch events over configurable window)
- Safe-to-soak confirmation for leaving pots across tidal cycles
Goal: The system tells you when to pull — not your gut. Tidal awareness means you work the productive window and leave pots safely across cycles because GPS + ropeless = never lose a pot.
Phase 7: Data Platform
Section titled “Phase 7: Data Platform”Future
- Cloud ingestion pipeline for fleet telemetry
- Web dashboard for fleet-wide analytics
- Aggregated catch data API for fisheries managers
- Catch-per-tidal-cycle analysis and deployment optimization
- Seasonal pattern analysis across locations and conditions
- Regulatory compliance reporting
Goal: Move from per-boat operations to fishery-wide intelligence. Catch data correlated with tidal phase, location, season, and conditions creates optimization insights that used to take a lifetime on the water to develop — and gives fisheries managers real-time stock data instead of delayed survey estimates.
Phase 8: Autonomous Deployment
Section titled “Phase 8: Autonomous Deployment”Future — Research
The logical endpoint of SmartPot: the cage is the vehicle. Instead of carrying pots to the fishing ground by boat, each pot propels itself from the dock, navigates to a GPS waypoint, submerges, fishes, and either surfaces for pickup or returns home under its own power.
Surface Transit
Section titled “Surface Transit”- Propulsion system selection: electric thruster, wave-powered, or hybrid
- Steering and rudder mechanism (or differential thrust with dual motors)
- GPS waypoint navigation firmware (depart dock → transit → arrive at fishing ground)
- Collision avoidance (AIS receiver, ultrasonic proximity, or camera-based)
- COLREGS compliance: navigation lights, radar reflector, AIS transponder for autonomous vessel rules
Dive and Fish
Section titled “Dive and Fish”- Controlled-descent ballast system (flood chamber to sink, blow to surface)
- Transition from surface navigation mode to bottom-sitting trap mode
- Reuse existing SmartPot systems at depth: vision, classification, door control, telemetry
Recovery Options
Section titled “Recovery Options”Three tiers, from simplest to most autonomous:
| Mode | How it works | Complexity |
|---|---|---|
| Surface and hold | Pot surfaces at fishing ground, operator picks up by skiff | Low — just ropeless recovery with GPS |
| Herd mode | One powered “shepherd” ASV tows a string of surfaced pots back as a raft | Medium — one smart vehicle, many dumb floats |
| Self-return | Each pot navigates itself back to dock after fishing | High — full round-trip autonomy |
Power Budget
Section titled “Power Budget”| Phase | Estimated draw | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface transit (1-2 mi) | 50-100W | 30-60 min | 50-100Wh |
| Descent | 5W (pump/valve) | 2-5 min | ~1Wh |
| Fishing (standard SmartPot) | 80mA avg | Hours to days | Existing solar/battery |
| Ascent | 5W (ballast blow) | 2-5 min | ~1Wh |
| Return transit | 50-100W | 30-60 min | 50-100Wh |
A 14.8V 10Ah LiPo pack (148Wh, ~400g) covers a full round-trip with margin. Combined with existing solar charging, multi-day deployments are feasible between transits.
What SmartPot Already Has
Section titled “What SmartPot Already Has”The current stack provides a surprising amount of the foundation:
- GPS navigation — Heltec Tracker with L1/L5 GNSS (surface positioning)
- LoRa command/control — bidirectional, encrypted (waypoint updates, recall commands)
- Ballast release — Phase 3 ropeless recovery mechanism (reused for dive/surface)
- Solar power — smart buoy solar harvesting (recharges between trips)
- Vision system — could augment surface obstacle detection during transit
What’s New
Section titled “What’s New”- Propulsion hardware (thruster, motor controller, waterproof seals for moving parts)
- Steering mechanism and navigation firmware
- Dynamic waterproofing (seals that survive repeated surface/submerge cycles)
- Regulatory: USCG autonomous vessel rules, COLREGS navigation light requirements
- Insurance and liability framework for unmanned surface vessels
Economics
Section titled “Economics”A static SmartPot targets ~$160/unit. An autonomous drone pot would likely cost $800-2,000/unit — significantly more hardware and complexity. But the economics may still close:
- Eliminates fuel costs for deployment runs ($50-200/trip for a commercial boat)
- Eliminates boat time — the single most expensive resource in a crabbing operation
- Enables fishing grounds beyond casual day-trip range from shore
- A fleet of drone pots deploying from a dock pier is a fundamentally different business model: no boat required
Goal: A crabber walks to the end of a dock, taps a phone screen, and a fleet of pots deploys itself to the fishing ground, fishes the tide, and comes home full. No boat, no rope, no fuel, no empty pulls.