Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

Global maritime industries face increasing pressure from climate change, leading to unpredictable ocean phenomena like rapid currents and marine heatwaves. This necessitates advanced, cost-efficient monitoring. Regulatory bodies are also pushing for better environmental data collection to protect marine biodiversity and ensure sustainable resource management. This technology provides a critical tool for stakeholders to meet these challenges, offering superior data quality and operational safety compared to existing methods, driving adoption across marine research, commercial fishing, and coastal defense sectors.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Reduces operational costs by over ~65% compared to traditional methods

02

Predicts rapid ocean currents with real-time high accuracy

03

Significantly reduces installation and operational risks

Market Opportunity
Fisheries and Aquaculture
$75M–$125M domestically (AI est.)
This technology could reduce damage to fishing nets and aquaculture facilities from rapid currents, optimize fishing ground searches, and streamline aquaculture water temperature management, contributing to increased productivity and risk mitigation.
Large-scale fishing cooperatives Commercial aquaculture operators Seafood processing and distribution companies
Oceanographic Research Institutions & Universities
$40M–$65M domestically (AI est.)
Long-term, continuous sea surface temperature data provides valuable foundational information for climate change research, marine ecosystem change prediction, and ocean physics studies, enhancing research quality.
National oceanographic agencies Marine science university departments Environmental monitoring organizations
Coastal Disaster Prevention & Port Management
$35M–$60M domestically (AI est.)
This could support safe vessel navigation through rapid current prediction, protect port facilities, and provide environmental data during tsunamis or storm surges, contributing to coastal area safety.
Port authorities and operators Coastal defense agencies Maritime safety organizations
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

This patent protects a broad technical scope covering a continuous remote measurement method and system for sea surface temperature from land, with 12 claims. It successfully navigated examiner objections with precise amendments and arguments, indicating a robust and stable patent that is difficult to invalidate, allowing licensees to operate with confidence.

Competitive White Space

This patent primarily covers temperature measurement and correction. Opportunities exist to develop additional IP in advanced predictive analytics for long-term climate modeling or integrating multi-spectral sensors for comprehensive water quality analysis.

Economic Impact
~$200K/year estimated operational cost reduction per facility (est.)
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

Operating multiple traditional measurement buoys incurs an estimated annual maintenance cost (installation, retrieval, data communication, repairs, personnel, etc.) of ~$65K per buoy (AI est.). By deploying this technology at three locations, even accounting for initial investment, it could reduce annual maintenance costs by over ~$200K (AI est.) compared to three traditional buoys. This significantly curbs re-installation costs due to buoy loss or damage, substantially lowering overall operational expenses.

Speed to Market
6× faster than in-house development
Developing a similar system in-house would require at least 3 years for thermal camera selection, proprietary correction algorithm development, continuous measurement system construction, and field validation. This technology, with its established land-based concept and patented measurement/correction algorithms, allows licensees to significantly shorten fundamental research and development phases. It could enable market entry within approximately six months of system integration, accelerating business launch.
Competitive Positioning

X: Deployment & Operational Cost Efficiency
Y: Real-time Monitoring Accuracy

Business Models & Applications
📈 Sea Surface Temperature Monitoring Service
Offer a SaaS-based monitoring service utilizing this technology. Provide real-time data and alert functions on a monthly subscription, helping clients reduce operational costs.
🛠️ System Integration
Sell custom measurement systems incorporating this technology to fishing ports, harbors, and research facilities. Generate revenue through initial setup fees and installation/configuration services.
📊 Ocean Data Platform
Aggregate and analyze collected sea surface temperature data, licensing it to weather forecasting companies, marine research institutions, and insurance providers.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
🌊 Marine & Fisheries
Real-time Aquaculture Water Temperature Management
Continuously monitor aquaculture water temperatures remotely from land to maintain optimal growth environments. Early detection of abnormal temperatures could reduce disease and growth inhibition risks, potentially improving aquaculture productivity by 15-20%.
🏭 Industrial Facilities
Industrial Wastewater Temperature Monitoring & Compliance
Continuously monitor the temperature of warm wastewater discharged from factories or power plants remotely from land. This could be used for compliance evidence preservation and early detection of abnormal discharges, reducing environmental compliance risks by up to 30%.
🛰️ Meteorology & Environment
River & Lake Water Temperature Anomaly Detection System
Continuously measure river and lake water temperatures to detect abnormal increases or decreases. This could be applied to assess ecosystem impacts, manage water quality, and monitor water temperature changes due to extreme weather events, improving data collection efficiency by 2x.
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 9-Month Deployment
Phase 1: Site Survey & Requirements Definition
Duration: 2 months
Conduct detailed surveys of the proposed site's geographical conditions, existing infrastructure, and measurement needs to define system requirements and installation plans.
Phase 2: System Construction & Test Operation
Duration: 4 months
Install thermal cameras, establish communication networks, and set up the data collection and correction system. Conduct real-world test operations for accuracy verification and adjustments.
Phase 3: Full Operation & Impact Measurement
Duration: 3 months
Initiate full system operation for continuous data collection and monitoring. Quantitatively evaluate rapid current prediction and cost reduction effects, optimizing operations.
Technical Feasibility
This technology eliminates the need for offshore equipment like measurement buoys, featuring land-based non-contact measurement. This approach maximizes the use of existing coastal infrastructure (power, communication lines), potentially reducing new capital investment. Combining a general-purpose thermal camera with a software-based correction algorithm ensures high adaptability to diverse installation environments, indicating relatively low technical implementation hurdles. The patent claims explicitly detail the correction value calculation process, demonstrating technical feasibility.
Success Scenario
If implemented, fishing cooperatives could gain real-time awareness of rapid current risks, potentially reducing damage to fishing nets and aquaculture facilities by approximately 20% annually. This could lead to reduced equipment repair costs and stable fish catches/aquaculture production. Furthermore, oceanographic research institutions could affordably collect long-term, high-precision sea surface temperature data, which was previously challenging, significantly contributing to marine ecosystem change prediction and climate change model accuracy.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2021-142434
REGISTRATION NO.
7675601
FILING DATE
2021/09/01
GRANT DATE
2025/05/01
EXPIRATION DATE
2041/09/01
PATENT HOLDER
四国計測工業株式会社
Examination History
2024年06月20日
出願審査請求書
2025年01月28日
拒絶理由通知書
2025年03月17日
意見書
2025年03月17日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2025年04月15日
特許査定