Eliminating barriers to boating

Countless consumer studies from all around the world agree that one of the greatest barriers to consumers becoming boaters is a fear of returning the boat to the slip at the end of the day. Part of that is the fear of making a mistake and damaging the boat. Part is the fear of a mishap resulting in damage to other vessels. And a significant part of that is fear of embarrassment when a return to the dock goes wrong. No one wants to wind up in someone’s YouTube video of humiliating boating failures.

Advanced driver assistance systems like the revolutionary NEUBOAT platform from Avikus utilise groundbreaking technologies to overcome such challenges and make boating easy. NEUBOAT is a unique hardware and software suite designed to utilise three different modules – Dock, Navi and Control – to deliver increasingly automated on-water experiences.

Situational awareness at the boat helm

Leveraging more than a decade of smart ship R&D from parent company HD Hyundai, the world’s largest ship builder, the latest NEUBOAT Dock II platform provides unequalled situational awareness at the helm to reduce operator anxiety and make docking the vessel easy. The platform can even compensate for elements like tides, currents, wind gusts or wakes from passing boats, assuring a safe and stress-free experience.

Designed for recreational vessels over 40ft in length, NEUBOAT Dock II goes far beyond the capabilities of a chartplotter and joystick control by incorporating intelligent camera technology. It can not only detect and display obstacle data in real time, it can deliver audible and visual alerts to prevent mishaps at the dock. NEUBOAT Dock II enhances safety while allowing even inexperienced boaters to bring their vessel into the slip like a professional captain every time.

360-degree 3D view of the boat

A total of six fisheye cameras provide a digitally enhanced, 360-degree overhead view of the vessel to eliminate the blind spots that make manoeuvring in close quarters so difficult. Unlike standard docking cameras which only offer fixed angles, NEUBOAT Dock II provides boaters with a 3D interactive interface that allows them to zoom, pan, and tilt views around their vessel to see every perspective in real-time, assuring captains never miss an obstacle, piling, or dock cleat.

Unlike static video feeds, NEUBOAT Dock II incorporates dynamic distance measuring technology to calculate precise distance measurements between the boat and surrounding obstacles in real time, eliminating guesswork for greater ease in approaching even narrow slips. A 3D cluster view mode displays this information numerically and visually, while a virtual bumper and collision warning system protects against accidental contact with the dock. Users can select to view individual cameras as desired, and the system can intelligently toggle to automatically select the camera which is closest to the dock.

In-water installation

Best of all, NEUBOAT Dock II is fully engine and MFD agnostic, requiring only an HDMI and USB input. It is the only system of its kind that can be installed with the boat in the water as a dealer add-on, thanks to its integrated, installer-accessible calibration tools. This means boaters can upgrade their vessel with cutting-edge docking technology without the need for costly and time-consuming dry dock installations.

The innovative technology behind the NEUBOAT Dock II platform eliminates barriers to boating participation by not only assisting beginners on their journey, but by bringing tangible benefits to aging boaters who may feel less at ease when navigating more confined spaces. The impact of this groundbreaking platform cannot be overstated and has seen Avikus honoured with a number of prestigious awards, including an NMMA Miami International Boat Show Innovation Award, a Red Dot Design Award, an IF Design Award and no less than two CES Innovation Awards – all within the past two years.

The future of the recreational boating industry depends on its ability to continually attract new participants. With its breakthrough technologies, the NEUBOAT Dock II docking assistance platform from Avikus eliminates a significant barrier to entry, allowing even novice boaters to command their vessel like a pro and dock with confidence and precision every time.