Some of you may already be familiar with the emerging Signal K interfacing standard. Now the first hardware manufacturer is joining the game. This is a good step towards building Internet of Things for Sailing!
Signal K aims to be the next generation solution for marine data exchange. It is intended to be used not only for communication between instruments and sensors on board a single vessel, but also to allow for sharing of data between multiple boats, aids to navigation, bridges, and marinas. It is designed to be easily consumable by Web and Mobile applications and to connect modern boats to the Internet of Things.
Signal K sets out to create a common modern and open data format for marine use. A format for the modern boat, compatible with NMEA, friendly to WiFi, cellphones, tablets, and the Internet. It is a format available to everyone, where anyone can contribute.
The Signal K standard has its roots in Finland. The developer web site gives you more information on the standard and the people behind it.
Digital Yacht (UK) is the first company to make an announcement to support the Signal K standard. They are also planning to produce a certified NMEA 2000 to Signal K gateway. That would be a big step for anybody interested in building modern service concepts for sailing.
A white paper on this subject (by Digital Yacht) is available here.