Code has conquered cabins: Why digitization is a challenge for shipyards
Superyachts are the embodiment of luxury, freedom and individuality. Yet bringing digital innovations into the ships is a huge challenge for traditional shipyards. Find out more about some of the most futuristic designs — and what they’re still missing.
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it, according to the words of David Lee Roth, singer of the legendary rock band Van Halen. Yachts promise those with the necessary change a personal expression of freedom and individuality.
Superyachts are unique. They’re one-of-a-kind creations that claim not only to set new technical standards, but also to reflect the owner in every detail of their design, from the railing to the bar. The floating luxury apartments have never been short of state-of-the-art features and equipment, from helicopter pads and indoor spas to infinity pools and drive-in tender garages. And, in recent decades, digitalization has taken things to a whole new level. Code has conquered cabins, establishing both indispensable controls and expendable but exciting digital gadgets on yachts. One area of the particularly effected by this wave of digital change is the wheelhouse.
A wheelhouse in the style of the Starship Enterprise
It’s not always easy to get a glimpse inside the wheelhouse of modern yachts. But the magazine Boat International shows us just how modern, minimalistic interpretations have found their way into superyachts.
A combination of tradition and modernity can be found on the recently renovated Istros, a 42-meter classic yacht whose interiors were designed by Van Geest Design. Originally built in 1954, Istros has undergone a digital revolution of its own. A classic wooden steering wheel in the midst of a digitalized high-tech wheelhouse with state-of-the-art electronics shows that style and the latest technology are by no means a contradiction.
The wheelhouse of I Dynasty is described by Boat International as having a ‘Starship Enterprise-style’,. Two seats, at least three times as many touchscreens, immersed in bluish light. However, the wide array of buttons and controls still appear more reminiscent of the past than the future. While certainly moving away from the traditional steering wheel, truly futuristic interface technologies don’t seem to be installed at first glance.
Can shipyards keep up with the pace of digital advancement?
Driven by the effects of the pandemic, the global superyacht market is booming. Experts say that more yachts were sold in 2020 than ever before — and that this record will be broken in 2021. But the new digital possibilities are presenting traditional shipyards with new challenges.
State-of-the-art technology is developing fast, but the construction time for a superyacht is easily three to four years — half an eternity measured in terms of technological progress. A yacht that will set sail in 2021 was commissioned in 2017. At the time, the iPhone 8 had just been unveiled.
In addition, interface individualization is costly when you consider the number of units, which is usually just one. Individual interfaces, a unique design and color scheme, even on the screens of a yacht, means a lot of effort and long development times. Even more so in a field that does not belong to the classic core area of luxury boat builders. They depend on new tools and innovations to offer their customers what superyachts promise, even in the digital age: Freedom and individuality.
Questioning the status quo
Despite these challenges, the drive for change and greater digitalization is certainly present. The maritime industry’s move from steering wheels to joysticks — even if seemingly minimal in comparison to the digitalization of the car, for example — represents another interesting case of an industry placing trust in new technology and exploring a new form of human-machine interaction.
This concept video by the software company Incari gives an impression of the cabin of the future. After all, why should wheelhouses cling to the interface designs of the last century when new technologies can make control easier and safer? Only by questioning and re-questioning the status quo in this way can we move towards truly futuristic cockpits and interfaces.
Good design should make people’s lives easier — at Incari we are convinced of this. We are a Berlin-based software provider that creates the HMI development platform Incari Studio. We create the required tools and technologies necessary for developing future-based HMI systems in various industries. InterFaces is a platform to explore what such systems can or will look like at some point in the future. Follow us on Twitter: Incari_HMI, Follow us on Instagram: Incari_HMI, Follow us on LinkedIn: Incari HMI Development.
