The firm’s “DRFT MRKS” software uses deep learning applied to video capture to provide an accurate measurement of a vessel’s weight and load. Accurate draught readings are necessary for determining how much cargo it’s carrying and what depths it can navigate safely.

The grant funding from Scottish Enterprise, the nation’s economic development agency, will be used by Tymor’s team to create a portable and commercially viable app version of the software without the need for cloud-based processing.

Since ancient times, mariners have conducted draught surveys — a means of determining the weight of a vessel and its cargo – by eye, but environmental variables and human error make it an inexact science. A misreading of the draught by just a centimetre could result in legal claims for assumed shortages in cargo.

Tymor Marine originally developed DRFT MRKS to help its in-house naval services team help overcome draught survey challenges. The firm was later supported by Scotland’s innovation centre CENSIS and the University of Edinburgh to optimise the deep learning functionality of the software.

Utilising AI capability, the software helps to mitigate human error and challenging factors such as faded or rusted markings, poor lighting, marine growth, bad weather, and the swell of the waves. The video capture can be collected at a safer distance from the vessel, either by a mariner using a handheld device on a boat or by drone.

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Speaking on the digitisation of the marine sector and the funding news, managing director at Tymor Marine, Kevin Moran, said: “In the next two decades the digitalisation of operations will drive more changes in the maritime sector than we have seen in the last century.”

“The funding from Scottish Enterprise is fantastic because it will allow our developers to refine our software, reducing its processing requirements so that it can be used within a smartphone app. The funding will help us to accelerate time to market with a new technology that is scalable, secure, reliable, and portable.”