A major shift in the future of cruising may not be something you can see from the outside of a ship, or even walking around the inside of a ship.
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It may be something happening deep inside its digital brain.
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has delivered the first cruise vessel powered by what it calls “Navis Sapiens,” Latin for “intelligent ship.” This smart ship platform is designed to help ships think, learn and evolve over time.
“We are talking about digital infrastructures. And nowadays, technologies in other fields are actually capable to be upgraded seamlessly. In the ship it’s much more complicated,” said Marco Sabatini of Fincantieri.
Navis Sapiens is designed to simplify those complicated upgrades by integrating a cognitive layer inside the ship’s digital brain.
The platform enables ships to learn through artificial intelligence and real-time data processing, constantly improving operations and efficiency.
That includes energy management, route planning and detecting problems before they happen.
“These kinds of applications can foresee that you have to change an appliance because it’s getting worn, and it automatically checks which ports you are actually going to and automatically schedules a replacement,” Sabatini said.
Fincantieri compares the platform to the app store on your cell phone, where Fincantieri and third-party developers can create digital tools and applications for the ship.
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That could allow essential upgrades to be completed remotely, over the air, avoiding costly physical renovations.
“The ship increases its value as it operates along its lifetime, instead of becoming obsolete as soon as it starts,” Sabatini said.
Navis Sapiens isn’t just a concept. It’s already in use.
Fincantieri delivered the new Four Seasons yacht, Four Seasons I, earlier this year. It is the first vessel to include the smart ship technology.
Moving forward, Sabatini says every ship Fincantieri builds will incorporate Navis Sapiens, from luxury yachts to mega cruise ships.
And as more vessels are built, their capabilities will increase.
“Different ships of a same fleet at the end of the day, they compare notes and say, how did it go? Your trip? Oh, mine was fine. I consumed XYZ. Oh, I consumed more. How did you do that?” Sabatini said. “Or imagine, ships that talk to the port and automatically reserve the refueling slot.”
Ships talking to each other may sound like science fiction, but Fincantieri’s goal is to build smarter ships that will continue learning long after they leave the shipyard.
The idea is to extend the life of the ship, keep it from becoming obsolete and, in turn, help push sustainability in the cruise industry.
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