Remote control for fish farmers, with the ability to manage aquaculture operations from anywhere in the world – that's the vision espoused by Krucial, the Scottish satellite communications company that's now aiming to make a splash in the aquaculture industry.
The company has announced a new satellite-based technology solution to enable fish farmers to feed their livestock and monitor environmental conditions and welfare without needing to set foot on their farms.
According to Krucial, their solution enables remote feeding by relaying low-latency video and feed controls via satellite transmission.
The service, the company says, "could save the aquaculture industry millions while improving fish welfare and reducing waste". The satellite-based technology enables aquaculture operators to monitor their fish remotely, and to feed several farms at once from a central location anywhere in the world.
Krucial describes the technology as an "add-on" to its existing Connected Seafarm product. The company has recently deployed this for environmental monitoring at Mowi Ireland's Portlea Farm, Clare Island, off the west coast of Ireland, in an effort to combat harmful algal blooms.
Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Krucial was founded in 2018, working across a range of industries with operations in remote or inaccessible sites. The company's technology uses both satellite and cellular communications protocols to transmit data, with the aim of enabling continuous coverage even for "off grid" locations.
"This is a huge step forward for Krucial and our offering to the aquaculture industry," said Krucial Co-founder and CTO Kevin Quillien. "We are confident that with our new capabilities we are providing fish farmers with the ultimate tool in understanding what's happening at their farms – ranging from fish behaviour to water quality to equipment conditions."
"Farmers can now sit at home or in the office, with all the information they need at their fingertips to take quick action that boosts efficiency and sustainability and reduces risk – even at their most remote and inaccessible sites."
Quillien added that the company is already working with a number of aquaculture operators on the technology, and is "looking forward to working with early adopters in the coming months."
Krucial is a cutting-edge satellite-communications scale-up that provides technology to connect enterprises to mission-critical data from anywhere on earth. Since being founded in 2018, Krucial has raised seed funding of $4.3mn led by Space Capital, joined by the Scottish National Investment Bank, Scottish Enterprise, the University of Strathclyde and others. The company has commercialised multiple products, built a team of around 30 members and undertaken successful trials across a number of high-value industries, including the aquaculture industry.
