McMurdo’s game-changing SmartFind G8 AIS, the world’s first AIS EPIRB, has been short-listed in the highly prestigious DAME Awards. The DAME Awards, which are presented on the opening day of the METSTRADE Show held annually in Amsterdam, have cemented themselves as the world’s number one international design competition for new marine equipment and accessories.
This is McMurdo’s third award nomination for its SmartFind G8 AIS this year. The DAME Award nomination comes hot on the heels of McMurdo’s SmartFind G8 AIS being selected as “Maritime Product of the Year” by the British Marine Electrical and Electronics Association (BMEEA) in October. The SmartFind G8 AIS was also crowned the winner of the Pitman Innovation Award, presented by US magazine SAIL, at the beginning of this year.
A breakthrough innovation for the marine industry, with a combination of four leading technologies in one device, the McMurdo SmartFind G8 AIS is the world’s first EPIRB to include 406MHz, 121.5MHz, AIS and GNSS (better known as GPS) to accelerate search and rescue. The unique power of this new award winning beacon is in the flexibility and additional tracking capabilities long demanded by maritime customers. This will further reduce rescue times by combining the global location power of 406MHz with the localised rescue capacities of AIS, first introduced to the world in McMurdo’s AIS MOB range.
McMurdo’s innovative beacon, is designed for long term exposure in harsh marine environments, no other EPIRB has the range of frequencies to increase the speed or accuracy of the alert detection and recovery process. As well as precision technology, the inclusion of AIS in EPIRBs offers additional benefits. Over 80% of EPIRB activations are accidents, to combat this the SmartFind G8 AIS features accidental activation prevention button tabs, additional drop protection, accidental activation prevention carry bracket, multiple self-tests to ensure the unit is viable and an internal hands-free carry strap.
Additional key features of the SmartFind G8 AIS include QuadrotechTM Technology for accelerated rescue – containing four search and rescue support frequencies, built-in AIS for localised rescue support, multiple GNSS (GPS) sources, a 10-year battery, 360 degree strobe, Easy Service Battery and multiple accidental activation prevention features.
Orolia’s McMurdo brand is a leader in emergency readiness and response, and offers a growing portfolio of solutions, from voyage data recorders, distress beacons and satellite ground infrastructure, mission control centers and rescue coordination centers supporting the Cospas Sarsat search and rescue ecosystem. Half of the world’s MEOSAR satellite ground infrastructure has been installed by McMurdo, and the brand is responsible for the manufacture of 25% of the world’s 500,000 registered 406 MHz emergency beacons.
