A small Maltese company Marsec-XL working with a number of individuals abroad, has launched a computer software platform which will enable boat owners to navigate their vessels remotely and also control on-board facilities.

Research engineer Zak Borg this morning piloted a boat in Dockyard Creek much in the same way as enthusiasts pilot remote controlled scale models, and said that the platform can already be downloaded for large vessels, with the suitable applications. The platforn has been called Marssa - standing for Marine Systems Software Architecture.

Similar platforms already exist in the military, but Mr Borg said the Maltese development has generated interest from the US Navy, Google and Microsoft, who will be sending representatives to a conference about it in Malta next week.

Mr Borg said the project was community-oriented and the platform was therefore available for free. ( www.marssa.org )

See video above.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.