Introducing: Atlas 2
written by: Jake Kielman - June 20, 2022
Vakaros was founded on the basis of a simple idea: use state-of-the-art technology to improve the experience of sailors on and off the water. The idea grew out of our own frustrations as sailors, trying to use existing technology that was far too limited in its performance, slow to adopt new advances, and incredibly difficult to use. Just 3 years ago, instruments largely provided a single function, couldn’t be updated with new capabilities, and relied on antiquated technologies — AA batteries, wired connections, displays that didn’t work with polarized glasses, just to mention a few.
“3 years later, the Atlas still outperforms every other instrument on the water. That is, until now. ”
The Atlas was specifically designed to overcome these limitations. We combined powerful, state-of-the-art sensors with clever algorithms, a revolutionary user interface, and a 75 hour rechargeable battery to redefine sailing instrumentation. We designed as much capability into the hardware as possible, allowing us to add new features with simple, easy, software updates through the Vakaros Connect app. Shift tracking, time-to-line, industry-leading 10 Hz data logging, and more — update after update, the Atlas just keeps getting better.
3 years later, the Atlas still outperforms every other instrument on the water. That is, until now. Behind the scenes at Vakaros, we’ve been hard at work on a revolutionary new product that builds on everything we’ve learned from the Atlas and incorporates brand new, state-of-the-art technology. If you thought the Atlas was game changing, just wait until you see what the Atlas 2 can do.
A sailing instrument is only as good as its sensors — the old saying, “garbage in, garbage out” really holds true. For decades, every GPS product you’ve used has been limited to receiving a single channel of GPS signal, known as the L1 band. Constant, unpredictable variation in the upper atmosphere means that these single-band receivers are fundamentally limited to a positional accuracy of 2-3 m — pretty good, if you’re navigating across an ocean, but not so great at the startline. Atlas 2 is not only the first sailing instrument, but among the very first products of any kind to offer a GPS receiver capable of receiving both L1 and L5 signals. What does this mean in terms of performance? Truly game changing accuracy, with a positional error of less than 50 cm. Yes, you read that right, an error measured in centimeters. Want to hear that another way? The Atlas 2 is the best GPS on the water, full stop.
L1 + L5 GPS performance alone makes the Atlas 2 revolutionary, but of course we didn’t stop there. Compass accuracy? Measured in tenths of a degree. Battery life? Nearly a week. Barometric pressure? Of course, another industry first. Wireless charging? Naturally. Powerful new speakers, a customizable array of LEDs, the list goes on and on.
All this new capability and performance must come at a price, right? It does — a lower one. We want to bring the game changing performance of the Atlas 2 to as many sailors as possible, without cost standing in the way.
