diff --git a/database.py b/database.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb191d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+from sqlalchemy import create_engine
+from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
+from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker
+
+SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL = "sqlite:///./seismo_fleet.db"
+
+engine = create_engine(
+    SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL, connect_args={"check_same_thread": False}
+)
+
+SessionLocal = sessionmaker(autocommit=False, autoflush=False, bind=engine)
+
+Base = declarative_base()
+
+
+def get_db():
+    """Dependency for database sessions"""
+    db = SessionLocal()
+    try:
+        yield db
+    finally:
+        db.close()
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9458fd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/main.py
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+from fastapi import FastAPI
+from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
+
+from database import engine, Base
+from routes import router
+
+# Create database tables
+Base.metadata.create_all(bind=engine)
+
+# Initialize FastAPI app
+app = FastAPI(
+    title="Seismo Fleet Manager",
+    description="Backend API for managing seismograph fleet status",
+    version="0.1.0"
+)
+
+# Configure CORS (adjust origins as needed for your deployment)
+app.add_middleware(
+    CORSMiddleware,
+    allow_origins=["*"],  # In production, specify exact origins
+    allow_credentials=True,
+    allow_methods=["*"],
+    allow_headers=["*"],
+)
+
+# Include API routes
+app.include_router(router)
+
+
+@app.get("/")
+def root():
+    """Root endpoint - health check"""
+    return {
+        "message": "Seismo Fleet Manager API v0.1",
+        "status": "running"
+    }
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    import uvicorn
+    uvicorn.run(app, host="0.0.0.0", port=8000)
diff --git a/models.py b/models.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ae42c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/models.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+from sqlalchemy import Column, String, DateTime
+from datetime import datetime
+from database import Base
+
+
+class Emitter(Base):
+    """Emitter model representing a seismograph unit in the fleet"""
+    __tablename__ = "emitters"
+
+    id = Column(String, primary_key=True, index=True)
+    unit_type = Column(String, nullable=False)
+    last_seen = Column(DateTime, default=datetime.utcnow)
+    last_file = Column(String, nullable=False)
+    status = Column(String, nullable=False)  # OK, Pending, Missing
+    notes = Column(String, nullable=True)
+
+    def __repr__(self):
+        return f"<Emitter(id={self.id}, type={self.unit_type}, status={self.status})>"
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4ab590c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+fastapi==0.104.1
+uvicorn[standard]==0.24.0
+sqlalchemy==2.0.23
+pydantic==2.5.0
+python-multipart==0.0.6
diff --git a/routes.py b/routes.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4cdb4fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/routes.py
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
+from pydantic import BaseModel
+from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Optional, List
+
+from database import get_db
+from models import Emitter
+
+router = APIRouter()
+
+
+# Pydantic schemas for request/response validation
+class EmitterReport(BaseModel):
+    unit: str
+    unit_type: str
+    timestamp: str
+    file: str
+    status: str
+
+
+class EmitterResponse(BaseModel):
+    id: str
+    unit_type: str
+    last_seen: datetime
+    last_file: str
+    status: str
+    notes: Optional[str] = None
+
+    class Config:
+        from_attributes = True
+
+
+@router.post("/emitters/report", status_code=200)
+def report_emitter(report: EmitterReport, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
+    """
+    Endpoint for emitters to report their status.
+    Creates a new emitter if it doesn't exist, or updates an existing one.
+    """
+    try:
+        # Parse the timestamp
+        timestamp = datetime.fromisoformat(report.timestamp.replace('Z', '+00:00'))
+    except ValueError:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Invalid timestamp format")
+
+    # Check if emitter already exists
+    emitter = db.query(Emitter).filter(Emitter.id == report.unit).first()
+
+    if emitter:
+        # Update existing emitter
+        emitter.unit_type = report.unit_type
+        emitter.last_seen = timestamp
+        emitter.last_file = report.file
+        emitter.status = report.status
+    else:
+        # Create new emitter
+        emitter = Emitter(
+            id=report.unit,
+            unit_type=report.unit_type,
+            last_seen=timestamp,
+            last_file=report.file,
+            status=report.status
+        )
+        db.add(emitter)
+
+    db.commit()
+    db.refresh(emitter)
+
+    return {
+        "message": "Emitter report received",
+        "unit": emitter.id,
+        "status": emitter.status
+    }
+
+
+@router.get("/fleet/status", response_model=List[EmitterResponse])
+def get_fleet_status(db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
+    """
+    Returns a list of all emitters and their current status.
+    """
+    emitters = db.query(Emitter).all()
+    return emitters