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Barcotica, which was installed on board Monte Carlo Yachts’ MCY76, was presented this morning at Muggia (TS) 

The new data management and integration platform for smart yachts


07.11.2012 -

Making the user interface as simple as possible to make the many cutting-edge technologies onboard yachts available to even the most inexperienced user: this is the goal achieved by the industrial research project Barcotica, thanks to an innovative data integration platform that can concentrate all information present on board - normally scattered among a series of complex, heterogeneous systems - in a single, simple, and intuitive interface.

 

Accessible from both the yacht's bridge and iPad, the platform was presented this morning at Porto San Rocco in Muggia (TS). The new Barcotica system visualizes in a single environment all information present on onboard devices, helps the ship owner choose the best port for refuelling, and whenever the yacht's performance is negatively affected by the presence of vegetation on the hull, it pinpoints the right time for dry docking.

 

Barcotica is the fruit of the experience of Monte Carlo Yachts in collaboration with the University of Udine and Trieste's AREA Science Park di Trieste and the participation of Teorema Engineering and Eidon Kaires, two firms specializing respectively in information technology and the design and development of vision system. "We focused in particular on making the boat more accessible - explains Fabrizio Iarrera, CEO of Monte Carlo Yachts SpA. In the world of luxury, where our ship owner's private life takes place, new technologies and innovative elements are increasingly accessible. In particular, I am referring to the ability to interact with one's surroundings using tools such as smartphones, IPads, and similar instruments. We have tried to adapt this as much as possible to a leisure boat, by using a simple domotic interface to transfer some of the ship owner's preferred systems, fittings, and ways of using the boat".

 

The project also developed an innovative vision system that can identify and report the presence of semi-submerged objects at sea which are not picked up by radar or echo sounding. The ability to see semi-floating objects improves navigation safety and helps prevent impacts that can have very serious consequences. This was the case with Josh Hall, skipper of the "Gartmore", who sank after colliding with a container, during the first leg of a solo trip around the world several years ago. According to some estimates, over 10,000 containers are lost at sea every year. The vision device developed by Eidon is thus an extremely useful innovation for the at-sea safety of ships, yachts, and sailboats. Furthermore, another achievement of the Barcotica project is the innovative technique to reduce background noise developed by the University of Udine and presented during the International Conference on Image Processing, an international scientific conference dedicated to image and video processing.

 

The Barcotica project is co-financed by POR FESR 2007-2013 Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia, Axis 1, Activity 1.1b

 

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