and there is still much to uncover...
The Applied Computer Science track at the HTWG Konstanz offers a variety of programs, classes, and research opportunities that focus on the latest developments in software technology. The MarkOne project originated from the idea to find one application that can be used to show and study topics from several classes of this track, including Software Engineering, Web Applications, Software Architecture, and Reactive Systems. Students from all these classes and researchers at HTWG Konstanz are involved in the MarkOne project. MarkOne is essentially an Internet-of-Things application in the domain of sailing. The project leader, Prof. Dr. Marko Boger is himself a passionate sailor, as well as an engaged university teacher and software developer.
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If you are a sailor you can use the MarkOne project to monitor your boat data. You can start with almost any mobile device. MarkOne can be used in stand-alone mode making use of the device's GPS data (GPS need to be activated and enabled). To get the most out of it, you will need a Raspberry Pi (or similar) device connected to your boat's NMEA 2000 data bus, a cable that runs through your boat and connects sensors and displays.
By integrating MarkOne technology, boat owners can easily track their rides and analyze their performance and monitor the boat's state. The boat data is stored in a time series database (Influx) on the Raspberry Pi. This data can also be uploaded and synchronized to storage in the cloud (currently still under development). Then users can also access their data from any place with an internet connection.
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With support and feedback from the user community, MarkOne can be further developed and improved. So please provide your feedback to us. You can also take part in the development and become an active contributor to the open-source project.
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
MarkOne is based on the open source standard Signal K.
Signal K is both a data transfor protocol as well as a software project that provides an implementation of said protocol. It can run as a server on your boat. It can be installed on hardware such as the Raspberry Pi 4. Such hardware uses only very little power (3 A) and can be connected to the boat's battery (12 V). The Raspberry Pi can then be connected to your NMEA cable on your boat, using an adapter from NMEA 2000 to USB 2. Then Signal K converts the sensor signals of your boat (NMEA) into data that is usable on mobile devices such as the iPhone or iPad or Android device and transmitted wirelessly (REST API with JSON). The Raspberry Pi establishes a local wireless network, that your device can connect to as long as you are in the vicinity.
MarkOne can then be connected to the Signal K server and provide a well-designed, compact user interface based on the raw data. MarkOne has two components, a backend and a frontend. The backend can be installed on the Raspberry Pi, or on your mobile device or laptop, as long as it has a stable connection to the Signal K server. It is recommended to also install it on the Raspberry Pi. The frontend can then be installed on your mobile device, laptop or desktop machine and connected to backend. The frontend can also be connected to the Signal K server directly, but additional features become available with the MarkOne server in the loop.