Oarsense Selected as Finalists for Propel-AIR

BRISBANE, QLD - Oarsense, developed by Rowboatix Inc, has been selected as one of seven finalists in Propel-AIR 2026, Australia's dedicated AI and robotics sprint delivered by the ARM Hub AI Adopt Centre. The Brisbane team will now compete for the opportunity to work with and alongside MassRobotics in Boston, the global epicentre of robotics innovation, with its oar-mounted sensing platform for rowing teams.

Assisting coaches with data

Competitive crew rowing relies on synchronisation. Yet coaches still judge it by eye from a tinny alongside the crew boat, or from hours of video footage reviewed after sessions. Oarsense puts waterproof motion sensors on each oar, networked to a base station in the boat. The system reconstructs every stroke in real time and scores the crew's timing, feathering angle and stroke rate, delivering the results live to a coach's tablet and each rower's phone. "We're developing a sensing platform for rowing teams," says team lead Oscar Jones. "It analyses the motion of the oars themselves and synchronises all of that data across the team, to provide information about the team and how to improve your rowing performance." 

A gap in the market

Existing rowing technology serves individual athletes, not crews. "That's not a product that currently exists," Jones said. "There are a few products which can give you metrics about your individual stroke, there are a couple that get you team data but don't actually analyse it or give you any real metrics, and there are none at a reasonable price point."

Oarsense targets local competitive clubs first, a segment the team's market research identifies as willing to adopt new technology, with clearly defined needs and budget to match. Schools and coaching programs follow, with the Australian market alone valued at $5.73 million.

Growth plans

The system runs on eight battery-powered oar units and one boat base station, networked over Wi-Fi, with a cloud platform for post-session replay and long-term performance tracking. The team designs and builds the hardware, firmware and software in-house.

Through Propel-AIR, Oarsense is preparing to move from validated simulation to ruggedised prototypes tested by real rowing crews, while raising $100,000 to fund MVP development and pilot programs with clubs and university sport programs. Revenue will come from hardware sales and a cloud subscription for analytics and dashboards.

The winner will travel to MassRobotics in Boston for a one-month residency, with access to leading robotics companies and world-class institutions like MIT and Harvard.

ENDS

About Oarsense 
Oarsense, by Rowboatix Inc, is an oar-mounted sensing platform that measures crew timing and technique in real time, giving rowing coaches objective synchronisation data for the first time. The founding team of Oscar Jones, James Nichol, Horton Faint and Maurice Blake spans product development, engineering, customer alignment and business strategy.

About Propel-AIR
ARM Hub's Propel-AIR program is Australia's AI and Robotics Sprint, designed to fast-track Australian robotics and AI innovators by equipping them with tools, guidance, and networks to scale their business. This pioneering program provides business opportunities for AI and robotics companies, culminating in a virtual pitch to an international panel of experts. The winner receives a month's residency in Boston with MassRobotics.