BLUECOM+ is being developed by the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC), the  Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute (IPMA) and MARLO, a Norwegian transportation and logistics consultancy company.

The project is based on the use of helium balloons which can be anchored on boats, buoys or even wind parks, to create a broadband network that will support activities such as fisheries and maritime transportation. The idea is to provide a low-cost access point that uses communication technologies such as Wi-Fi and 4G. The project will be concluded in December 2016, and the idea is to create a prototype to be tested in the summer using two boats provided by the IPMA. BLUECOM+ is aligned with the TEC4SEA initiative, which INESC TEC is leading since 2012, and has already led to the development of systems such as JANUS or MARBED.

The goal with JANUS is to allow fishing boats to become Internet signal transmission points for other boats which are not in the range of the network on shore; MARBED, on the other hand, is based on a pilot wireless maritime network off the coast of the Porto Metropolitan Area. BLUECOM+ is funded by the EEA Grants and Norways Grants.

PC Guia, 1 February 2016