DriftWatch
An extra set of eyes that never gets tired. DriftWatch uses marine-grade cameras and onboard AI to spot floating logs, deadheads, and other surface hazards — and warn you while there's still time to steer around them.
The problem
Deadheads don't show up on radar
A waterlogged log floating vertically with inches of freeboard is one of the most dangerous things on the coast — and one of the hardest to see. It hides in glare, disappears in chop, and blends into the water it floats in. Existing electronics can't help: radar returns nothing, sonar sees it too late, and charts only know about hazards that stay put. The tools that can see it — high-end AI vision systems — start at several times the price of many of the boats that need them.
How it works
Cameras up. AI onboard. Alerts at the helm.
Watch
Compact marine cameras mount on your arch or hardtop — a telephoto eye scanning the water ahead and a wide-angle eye covering the near field. Weatherproof, low-power, running off the boat's 12 V.
Detect
An efficient onboard AI computer analyzes the video in real time, right on the boat. No cell coverage needed, no cloud round-trip, no subscription required for core detection.
Warn
When DriftWatch spots a hazard, you know immediately — an audible and visual alert at the helm with bearing and range, designed to work alongside the chartplotter you already own.
What it sees
Trained to know the difference
A system that cries wolf gets switched off. From day one, DriftWatch is being trained as a multi-class detector so it can tell a deadhead from a sea lion, a pot float from a kelp paddy — and alert you accordingly.
Logs & deadheads
The headline threat — floating and semi-submerged timber, at range.
Pot floats & gear
Crab and prawn gear that can foul a prop or shaft.
Kelp & debris
Kelp paddies and flotsam worth steering around.
Wildlife & vessels
Marine mammals, birds, and boats — recognized, not mistaken for hazards.
The foundation
Built on real water, not stock footage
There is no public dataset in the world of floating logs and deadheads filmed from vessel height in coastal seas — so we're building one. Throughout the 2026 season, SeaVRO camera rigs are recording real hazard encounters in British Columbia's coastal waters: harsh glare, wind chop, rain, fog, and the full cast of things that float. That dataset is the bedrock under every detection DriftWatch will ever make.
- ✓Vessel-height perspective — trained on the exact viewing geometry a real boat has, not drone or shore footage.
- ✓Pacific Northwest conditions — the glare, sea states, and debris fields our customers actually run in.
- ✓Rigorous evaluation — leak-free train/test methodology from day one, so our accuracy numbers mean what they say.
Roadmap
From dataset to fleet network
Phase 1 — Dataset (now)
Camera rigs on the water all season, capturing and labelling real hazard encounters on the BC coast.
Phase 2 — The Watcher
Real-time edge detection at the helm: hazard alerts with bearing and range, on affordable low-power hardware.
Phase 3 — The Network
Confirmed sightings shared between SeaVRO boats — a living chart of what's drifting out there today.
Want DriftWatch on your boat?
Join the waitlist for early access and field-trial opportunities on the BC coast.
Join the waitlist