ePropulsion, Raymarine connect to display motor data on Axiom systems
One of the world’s leading electric outboard manufacturers, ePropulsion, has hooked up with one of the world’s leading marine electronics companies, Raymarine, to give boaters real time ePropulsion engine data on Raymarine Axiom displays.
The system is a big advance because it does not require any additional hardware, software, gateways or interface boxes. This new functionality is available on ePropulsion’s innovative X Series outboards and I-Series inboard motors and compatible Raymarine Axiom displays (see below).
This is all possible because ePropulsion has adopted the new NMEA 2000 standards for electric engines that connect with Raymarine’s recently released LightHouse 4.6 operating system for Axiom chartplotters. These are the first to support electric motor PGN messages. (The LightHouse OS is available as a free downloadable update for owners of Axiom, Axiom+, Axiom Pro, and Axiom XL chartplotters.)
No additional software, gateways or interface boxes
There are a lot of acronyms in that last paragraph, so let’s unpack it a bit.
NMEA is the National Marine Electronics Association, a US-based not-for-profit organization that aims to “strengthen relationships between manufacturers in the marine industry and make it easier for marine electronics devices to share data with one another.”
Read: ePropulsion launches higher power X Series
NMEA 2000 is the organization’s communication standard, used in the maritime industry for connecting engines, instruments and sensors on boats. It is based on the Controller Area Network (CAN) and all of this allows data to be sent/received between devices over a single network ‘backbone’ cable.
PGN means a Paramater Group Number, which is code embedded in the communications datastream so that the controller and all the devices on the network know which device the information is coming from and how to interpret it.
The NMEA added electric propulsion messages to the NMEA 200 standard in March, 2023.
At that time, Mark Reedenauer, NMEA President & Executive Director, said “As electric propulsion continues to expand, the MFD (another acronym – Multi-Function Display) remains the command center of the vessel.”
“The NMEA 2000 Standard has become the vehicle for vessel data of all types to be viewed and controlled from multiple MFDs on board. Adopting the NMEA 2000 Standard saves EP and battery manufacturer resources by partnering with certified MFD manufacturers, and utilizing their display to view data from motors and batteries.”
Dynamic ring on display shows available range
With the ePropulsion/Raymarine collaboration, boaters can monitor data and status updates – like battery level, speed, gear, and estimated range – directly onto the Axiom’s engine dashboard application. It all fits seamlessly into ePropulsion’s Smart System Architecture.
A dynamic range ring overlays on the chartplotter display, making it easy to visualize the current cruising range and enabling optimized energy consumption.
“The team has worked hard to lead the industry in making electric propulsion more accessible,” said Danny Tao, Co-founder and CEO, ePropulsion. “The engineering team at Raymarine has been so supportive in incorporating the vital data from our engines to give customers a seamless and intuitive engine data display. We are very proud to work with Raymarine in this effort and know that the results will speak for themselves.”
“It’s always been important for us to provide users with all the information they may need to make their on-the-water experience as smooth as possible,” adds Grégoire Outters, General Manager at Raymarine. “It has been incredible working alongside one of the most innovative electric engine manufacturers to bring industry-first functionality to a previously under-represented class of boater. We’re confident that those who’ve adopted electric propulsion will appreciate the forward thinking of ePropulsion and Raymarine.”
While this integration of ePropulsion engine data with Raymarine chartplotters may seem like a minor thing, it is actually very important. Along with events like Yamaha buying Torqeedo and Mercury launching their own branded electric outboards, collaborations with established market leaders like Raymarine all bring electric propulsion closer to the mainstream boater and makes it easier for her or him to make the decision to ‘go electric’.
ePropulsion motors from local dealers in Plugboats Marketplace
