Massive Murray Paddle boats to be digitally tracked along the 404km river route

Announcement posted by carbonTRACK 17 Nov 2018

Digitising the Paddle

The boats in this year’s Massive Murray Paddle (19th – 23rd of November) will be digitally tracked along the 404km river route – helping to keep participants safe in the water and allowing race supporters to see their progress online.

Phase Zero Consultancy Services is leading the safety management efforts at the event and have selected carbonTRACK technology to track the boats and provide regular updates on their location.

This is the second time the risk management organisation is working with carbonTRACK to digitise what is one of the longest paddle races in the world. Phase Zero also used carbonTRACK technology at the 2017 event.

Prior to carbonTRACK’s involvement, the participants were manually marked when passing each of the checkpoints. Phase Zero recognised that technology could transform this process and selected carbonTRACK to help them overcome the event’s challenges - a 404km course (much of it under thick vegetation and poor cellular coverage) and the need for water-resistant tracking devices with enough power to last 5 days. 

To meet this challenge, carbonTRACK has created a bespoke communication network that leverages the LoRaWAN protocol and its own patented Minimal Data Transfer (MDT) protocol over the existing cellular network (where available). This network enables carbonTRACK’s battery operated tracking devices to transmit a signal back to mobile gateways.

In the solution created for the Massive Murray Paddle, it is the carbonTRACK SmartHubs that act as the communication gateways. There will be multiple units positioned throughout the course, supported by Safety Drones Australia, a subsidiary of Phase Zero. The drones will carry carbonTRACK’s repeater devices and be used by the Phase Zero safety team to further extend the network coverage where required.

With this technology, Phase Zero will have near real-time updates on the location of each boat and the organisation’s team will be on the ground to provide the onshore and afloat safety management program for the event.

Race organisers and supporters will be able to track the action via an online portal. Phase Zero has created a list of Frequently Asked Questions on how this will work in practice (see link below).

Extending their support of this great community event, a representative from carbonTRACK will also be participating in the paddle race. carbonTRACK’s Head of Customer Engagement, Chris Benson is taking a boat out on the water and raising money for Macquarie University’s research into motor neurone disease (MND).

About Phase Zero
Phase Zero Consulting Services specialise in safety and risk management of high-risk operations, activities and environments. We are also a preferred Defence consultancy specialising in Capability

Development and Training Analysis. Our subsidiary, Safety Drones Australia, provides aerial support using our fleet of rotary and fixed wing autonomous aircraft.

In addition to our primary clientele, Phase Zero also cater our skills sets for large-scale special events. Whether it be an extreme sports event or an outdoor gathering of any scale, we can provide our risk management expertise and Project Management consultants to ensure each event is safe and successful. Phase Zero Consulting is proud to be the safety management providers for the Massive Murray Paddle. For more information about Phase Zero visit www.phasezero.com.au

About carbonTRACK
Clean technology company carbonTRACK is best known for its intelligent energy management platform. The company was built on helping homeowners and businesses take control of their energy use and spend, and on creating an ecosystem where energy is consumed sustainably and shared fairly.

“carbonTRACK has a bold vision that requires big thinking and advanced technology solutions. As such we’re always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.  We’re delighted to provide the technology that helps Phase Zero to better manage the safety efforts over the 400km course between Yarrawonga and Swan Hill” - Shavaj Kallamkote, CTO and Co-founder of carbonTRACK. 

For more information about carbonTRACK visit www.carbontrack.com.au