Pelagio Defense

Inspiration

The ocean covers over 70% of Earth, but monitoring what's happening beneath the surface is still expensive and difficult. Ocean data is spread across different sources, and collecting new information often requires costly equipment.

We wanted to build something that could make ocean monitoring cheaper, smarter, and more accessible. That's how Pelagio Defense started: with the idea of creating autonomous ocean technology that could support environmental research, climate monitoring, and maritime security.

What it does

Pelagio Defense is a software platform for ocean monitoring and autonomous maritime systems.

Our platform brings together real environmental data from sources like NOAA, NASA, and GEBCO into one interface. Users can explore ocean conditions, monitor water temperatures, track waves and weather, and examine maritime activity.

We also built a simulation environment where users can test autonomous maritime nodes, monitor energy consumption, and explore how a network of ocean sensors could operate.

Our long-term goal is to connect this software to solar-powered physical devices that can collect environmental data directly from the ocean.

How we built it

We started by building a web platform that integrates publicly available ocean and environmental datasets.

We developed data integrations, interactive maps, device monitoring interfaces, and a backend for storing telemetry using PostgreSQL.

We also created a simulation system to model autonomous ocean nodes, including their sensors, battery levels, communications, and operating states.

The application is deployed on Vercel, allowing users to explore the software and test its functionality through a live website.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was combining environmental data from different sources. Every provider uses different formats, update frequencies, and geographic coverage, making it difficult to create a consistent experience.

Another challenge was developing autonomous maritime software without having physical hardware available yet.

We addressed this by separating real environmental data from simulated device activity, so users can clearly distinguish between actual observations and modeled scenarios.

We also had to account for unreliable connections, missing data, and how future devices would securely transmit information.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud that Pelagio Defense is more than just an idea or presentation.

We built and deployed a working software platform with real environmental data integrations, interactive ocean maps, authenticated device telemetry infrastructure, and an autonomous maritime simulation.

We also designed the initial architecture for a future solar-powered maritime node.

Most importantly, we created a foundation that could eventually support real environmental monitoring devices without needing to rebuild the entire software platform.

What we learned

This project taught us how complicated ocean monitoring actually is.

We learned how to work with environmental APIs, normalize data from multiple providers, develop secure telemetry systems, and design software around hardware that is still in development.

We also learned that building autonomous technology requires thinking beyond software, especially about energy consumption, communications, reliability, and operating in unpredictable environments.

What's next for Pelagio Defense

Our next step is turning our software into a working physical prototype.

We want to build our first solar-powered ocean monitoring node, connect real sensors, and test environmental data collection in controlled conditions before moving toward ocean deployment.

We're also interested in adding AI-powered environmental anomaly detection and stronger verification of collected data.

Our long-term vision is to create a scalable network of affordable autonomous ocean sensors that can help researchers, environmental organizations, and maritime operators better understand and protect our oceans.

Live Demo: https://pelagio-defense.vercel.app/

Built With

• copernicus-data-space
• gebco
• javascript
• lucide-react
• maplibre-gl
• nasa-power-api
• next.js
• noaa-co-ops-api
• noaa-coastwatch
• noaa-ndbc-api
• noaa-weather-service-api
• playwright
• postgresql
• python
• react
• react-three-drei
• react-three-fiber
• three.js
• typescript
• usgs-water-data
• vercel
• vercel-blob
• vitest
• zod