In recent years, the technology on board superyachts has vastly improved, in terms of its capabilities. Indeed, many systems have gone beyond simply responding to commands; they provide a variety of pre-settings and almost countless custom options, they predict and follow movement and even make suggestions based on usage data. Importantly, however, many of these systems profess to be user-friendly and intuitive, but have they gone too far?

What characterises technology on board superyachts today, perhaps more than anything else, is the ‘one remote to rule them all’ philosophy. All of a sudden, music, television, lights, blinds, doors, food and drinks orders and every other piece of technology under the sun is controlled by a single, seemingly innocuous, controller. This might be a phone, iPad or piece of custom hardware, but regardless of the specifics, these technologies are touted as being easy to use.

Various conversations with captains, crew and even owners, have revealed examples of owners and guests, as well as the crew, becoming discontent with the co-called ‘intuitive’ and ‘reliable’ technology, with one owner even throwing remotes overboard in fits of rage.

Therefore, in partnership with Crestron, we want to know which technologies and means of control are preferable; how much time crew spend rectifying issues; and which systems and interfaces require urgent overhauls.

With so much time now spent on a variety of video and music streaming platforms, when these systems don’t work it can become a real frustration. Furthermore, with so much money having been invested in these on board systems, having them work seamlessly should be a given.

If you have ever encountered issues with AV/IT systems on board superyachts, now is your opportunity to have your say anonymously. Sparing five minutes of your time will help improve the implementation of guest technologies on board moving forward.

All responses to the below survey will be kept 100 per cent anonymous and, as a gesture of thanks, all participants who complete the survey will be rewarded with a 12-month complimentary subscription to The Superyacht Report.

Click here to take part in the survey.

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