MarkSetBot: Nearly 800 Improvements Focused on One Thing, Better Racing

by MarkSetBot 8 Sep 12:00 BST

When MarkSetBot was first conceived, the idea was relatively simple: build a robotic mark that could navigate to a GPS coordinate, hold position without an anchor and move when conditions changed.

The problem was equally straightforward. Sailboat racing takes place on a playing field that never stops moving. Wind shifts. Current changes. Traditionally, keeping the racecourse aligned requires people, boats, anchors and time.

MarkSetBot offered another way. Today, it has evolved into a race management platform designed to help Race Committees set more precise courses, respond to changing conditions faster, reduce on-the-water personnel requirements and provide better information for managing racing.

That evolution has taken nearly 800 improvements, refinements and enhancements, many inspired by the sailors, PROs and Race Committees who use MarkSetBot in real-world conditions.

"Our objective was never simply to build a robotic buoy," says Kevin Morin, CEO of Robobuoy, MarkSetBot's parent company. "The objective is to give Race Committees better tools to deliver better racing. That's still the test we apply to every improvement we make."

Purpose-Built for a Racecourse That Never Stands Still

Responding reliably when conditions change requires more than putting a motor on a mark. A robotic mark has to remain visible to competitors, perform when waves build and current increases, communicate reliably and respond predictably when it's time to move.

Those requirements have influenced MarkSetBot's design. Its large, rounded topside provides visibility and valuable sponsor space. Its wide hull provides stability. And its deep-mounted, steerable central propulsion system keeps the propeller immersed in waves while directing the appropriate amount of thrust where it's needed.

But the engineering isn't the point. What it allows the Race Committee to do is.

Instead of dispatching a boat and crew to retrieve an anchor and reposition a mark, a Race Committee can move MarkSetBots remotely and make precise course changes in minutes. That can mean less waiting, more opportunity for racing, fewer mark boats and fewer people on the water.

International Race Officer David Campbell-James experienced that flexibility at the Bermuda Gold Cup:

"The system worked extremely well and gave us maximum flexibility as we completed 112 races. Changes in the wind required numerous course changes, which were managed extremely efficiently. That would have been very difficult, almost impossible, using anchored marks, and the mark layers would have been extremely grumpy by the end of each day!"

More Than a Mark: A Connected Race Management Platform

Some of MarkSetBot's most significant improvements aren't immediately visible on the Bot. Race officials can manage Bots through a mobile environment, access wind information and trend data, review Bot movements through track playback, and connect with a growing ecosystem of sailing technology.

Integrations include TracTrac, Vakaros RaceSense, Expedition, Njord, PredictWind, Buoy Zone and SAP, along with systems providing wind instrumentation, automated horn and VHF functions, 360° video, AIS, boat tracking, OCS detection, weather radar and depth information.

MarkSetBot also has 5 layers of communication redundancy: cellular; SMS-based communication as a cellular fallback; Bluetooth Offgrid Remote; the new HorizonLink, with a range of up to five miles; and Starlink integration for events operating well offshore. An Anchor Button on the Bot provides a simple manual way to put it into anchor mode.

What began as a better way to position a race mark is becoming something broader: a connected race management platform.

Proven at the Top. Developed for Everyone.

MarkSetBot has been used at SailGP, the America's Cup, Pan American Games, 52 Super Series, 44Cup, and world, continental and national championships. Working alongside experienced PROs, Race Committees and sailors at these events continually challenges the company to improve the technology.

52 Super Series PRO Maria Torrijo has seen that process first-hand:

"MarkSetBot helps us achieve the quality of racing the sailors deserve. By working closely with the fleet and race officers, MarkSetBot has also developed new features based directly on our experience and suggestions."

"We learn from the people using MarkSetBot every day," Morin says. "An idea from a PRO at a championship can become a feature that helps a volunteer Race Committee at a local club."

Innovation Can Come From Outside Sailing

Not all of those nearly 800 improvements begin in sailing. Robobuoy's autonomous marine technology extends into GolfShotBot for waterfront entertainment and NavalBot for defense, aerospace and scientific applications.

Advances in communications, cameras, sensors, positioning, software, power management and autonomy developed for one application can migrate across the Robobuoy platform.

"If an aerospace customer challenges us to solve a communications problem hundreds of miles offshore, we're always asking how what we learn can make our other products better, including MarkSetBot," Morin says.

That's why nearly 800 improvements aren't simply a feature count. They're evidence of how the company develops technology.

Nearly 800 Improvements, One Measure That Matters

Ultimately, the value of those improvements isn't measured by the number of features in the app, integrations available or even the number 800. It's measured by what happens on the water.

For PROs and Race Committees, it's greater control, faster course changes, fewer anchors, mark boats and people required, and better information for managing racing. For yacht clubs, it's greater race management capability with fewer on-the-water resources. For sailors, it's less waiting and more time racing on the course the Race Committee intended.

The first MarkSetBot solved a specific problem. Nearly 800 improvements later, the technology has evolved into something much broader.

But the objective hasn't.

Help Race Committees deliver better racing.

Find out more at www.marksetbot.com