docs/research/sota-2026-05-22/ticks/tick-10.md
Thread: R11 (maritime / through-bulkhead sensing) Verdict: Physics scrutiny re-frames "through-bulkhead" to "through-seam" — the romantic submarine-radar vision is impossible at WiFi bands; the actual product category is gasket-leakage sensing.
examples/research-sota/r11_maritime_propagation.py — pure-numpy skin-depth + lossy-dielectric saltwater + slot-diffraction physics for 7 maritime scenarios.examples/research-sota/r11_maritime_results.json — machine-readable predictions.docs/research/sota-2026-05-22/R11-maritime-sensing.md — research note with the physics, verdicts table, feasible/infeasible verticals, honest scope, composition with prior threads.| Scenario | Verdict | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Man-overboard surface @ 200 m | ✅ | +25 dB |
| Through 10 mm closed steel door | ❌ | -938 dB |
| Through cabin door 2 mm seam | ✅ | +31 dB |
| Through cabin door 5 mm seam | ✅ | +39 dB |
| Container w/ 30 mm vent slot | ✅ | +45 dB |
| Submarine 30 mm pressure hull | ❌ | -929 dB |
| Head 30 cm underwater | ❌ | -231 dB |
Key physics: steel skin depth = 3.25 µm at 2.4 GHz (impassable). Saltwater = 853 dB/m. The loophole is slot diffraction through gasket seams.
R11 is the first thread that explicitly debunks a romantic 10-20y framing. The "through-bulkhead" terminology used in the original PROGRESS.md is physically wrong; the actual category is "through-seam". Replacing one vision with a more honest one is the kind of progress this loop is meant to surface.
Composes cleanly:
ticks/tick-10.md. No PROGRESS.md edit. Branch research/sota-r11-maritime.
R3 (cross-room re-ID), R4 (federated), R13 (contactless BP — likely negative-result candidate), R15 (RF biometric).
~6.3h to cron stop. 10 threads landed.