SIGNAL K
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 11:04 am
The latest in marine electronic data communication protocols is SIGNAL K. SIGNAL K is a very interesting development. It is an initiative undertaken by a group of people who want to develop a marine data communication protocol for shipboard electronic devices that is an OPEN SOURCE project. This is the antithesis of the existing dominant protocols, the NMEA-0183 and NMEA-2000 protocols. Those NMEA protocol are protected quite vigorously by the NMEA organization, and access to the information about them requires purchase of expensive written documentation. In the age of the internet when hundreds of pages of documentation can be shared in a download that takes but a few seconds, the notion of a so-called open standard that requires one to invest thousands of dollars in purchase of its documentation seems quite dated. SIGNAL K appears to intend to follow a different course. It has already posted documentation about its protocols. It has already provided software for development and testing. All for free download.
A good indicator of the interest in SIGNAL K as an alternative to the current dominant marine electronic protocols can perhaps be judged by the results of a KICKSTARTER campaign to fund development of a NMEA-2000--SIGNAL K gateway. For those unfamiliar, a kickstarter campaign is a public funding mechanism in which a developer solicits funds for a project, promising the investors some sort of reward for their support when the project is completed. The kickstarter for the SIGNAL K gateway project hoped to raise $20,000 over a investing period of about 60-days. Interest in SIGNAL K and support for the development of this project has been so great that the kickstarter campaign is already subscribed to $93,000 with 38-days remaining in the subscription period. I'd say that represents a very impressive interest and financial funding of this early SIGNAL K project. It seems to me like SIGNAL K is off to a very impressive start.
A good indicator of the interest in SIGNAL K as an alternative to the current dominant marine electronic protocols can perhaps be judged by the results of a KICKSTARTER campaign to fund development of a NMEA-2000--SIGNAL K gateway. For those unfamiliar, a kickstarter campaign is a public funding mechanism in which a developer solicits funds for a project, promising the investors some sort of reward for their support when the project is completed. The kickstarter for the SIGNAL K gateway project hoped to raise $20,000 over a investing period of about 60-days. Interest in SIGNAL K and support for the development of this project has been so great that the kickstarter campaign is already subscribed to $93,000 with 38-days remaining in the subscription period. I'd say that represents a very impressive interest and financial funding of this early SIGNAL K project. It seems to me like SIGNAL K is off to a very impressive start.