inFollow
inFollow

WhaleSpotter

Software/Algorithm
Manufacturer

US marine AI company (2024) spun from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; AI thermal-camera whale detection for ships and autonomous marine platforms.

Visit Website

Company Overview

WhaleSpotter is a US-based marine AI technology company co-founded in 2024 by Dr. Daniel Zitterbart, a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Sebastian Richter, co-developer of the underlying AI detection algorithm. The company is headquartered in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and commercializes more than 10 years of WHOI research under an exclusive technology license. Shawn Henry, former President, COO, and CEO of microlocation company Humatics, serves as Chief Executive Officer.

WhaleSpotter's core product is a real-time AI-powered whale detection and alert system designed to prevent fatal ship-whale collisions, which kill hundreds of endangered whales annually worldwide. The system uses highly stabilized infrared thermal cameras manufactured in the USA and mounted on a vessel's deck or near offshore installations. The cameras continuously scan the water surface, detecting the warm heat signatures of whale blows and bodies. A proprietary AI model analyzes the thermal imagery stream in real time to identify patterns consistent with whale surfacings. When an anomaly is detected, the signal is immediately routed to a global network of expert marine mammal specialists who verify the detection and transmit a confirmed alert to the ship's crew within seconds.

The system achieves up to 99% whale detection efficacy and operates effectively in total darkness, heavy fog, glare, and adverse weather — conditions that render human visual observation unreliable. Detection range reaches approximately 7 km (about 4 nautical miles), providing ship operators and offshore installations with substantially more response time than traditional observation. The platform reduces vessel strike risk by over 90% and produces near-zero false positives. WhaleSpotter's technology is also designed for integration with autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) and unmanned aerial systems (UAS/drones) to extend detection coverage and support passive acoustic monitoring programs.

In November 2025, Matson, Inc., a Hawaii-based container shipping company, announced it would deploy WhaleSpotter's system across multiple vessels, making Matson the first container shipping company to adopt this marine protection technology. WhaleSpotter is a member of Greentown Labs cleantech incubator. The thermal sensing hardware is based on Teledyne FLIR OEM infrared cameras.

Capabilities & Activities

Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:

Applications & Industries

Product Categories

Products & Solutions

WhaleSpotter AI Whale Detection System

Ship-mounted AI thermal camera system delivering 24/7 real-time whale detection with 99% efficacy and expert-verified alerts up to 7 km range.

Partnership & Notable clients

Associating Events

Listed in RobotToday Supplier Discovery. Verified Profile

More related news

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
    RobotToday Weekly September 21 – 25, 2026 RobotToday  · Sep 26, 2026
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20

Contact WhaleSpotter

WEBSITE

https://www.whalespotter.com/

HEADQUARTERS

Woods Hole , Massachusetts  02543

United States

Company Facts

Founded

2024

Primary Role

Software/Algorithm

Company Size

-

Primary Region

North America

Annual Sales

-

Funding Stage

-

Funding Total

-

Keywords

© Copyright 2026 RobotToday. All rights reserved powered by RobotToday.com