SYTN Editor in Chief spent the day the owner of MY Excelerate Z , Chairman of what I believe could be one of the most disruptive tech companies to ever enter the Superyacht sector.
Following the success of our Talking Tech Part 1 of SY Black Pearl I was invited by David Savage to view the first R & D superyacht in the industry.
Over the last year, I have got to know David Savage and his team. I recently was asked who I saw as the most disruptive company of 2019, I have no doubt that it might well be Excelerate technologies.
I first visited the HQ of the Excelerate Group nearly 18 months ago in Wales. I expected a small facility and I got a science park supplying tech to half the worlds governments and most of the UK’s emergency services. From cameras that can climb lamp posts to cameras that can see a number plate through fog from 4 miles away it was an array cutting-edge technology ripe for transfer to our sector. The core activity of the Excelerate group remains communication, total, flawless and cost effective communications because as David told me ” When you supply governments and emergency services you don’t get second chances”.
With new offices in Sophia Antipolis and a team of engineers, this goliath has it’s eyes turned firmly to the Superyacht Sector
How was it done?
David Savage, Founder and Chairman of Excelerate Group, is on a mission to change the ongoing perception that VSAT solutions for yachts are always expensive and poor quality. As a platform to educate the industry, Excelerate Marine recently purchased a Sunseeker 94 Motor Yacht – known as Excelerate Z.
Total GARMIN bridge
We hope to bring you a case study very soon…
Improving the interface
DDMI (Digital Dashboard Management Interface). This was invented for our Government and Emergency Services customers when it became obvious that we had begun to supply and integrate complex data, video, voice, Internet via satellite and 4G solutions which normal human beings and non-IT experts (such as Police Officers, Fire Officers and Paramedics) were finding too complicated to use. We can’t deliver on our promise of “making a captain’s day easier, safer and less stressful whilst making an owners day better and less expensive” unless we deliver the ability to make complicated solutions easy to use, or in some cases automate them. That is why our DDMI Yacht Management Solution is going to be a game changer, with even more powerful versions to be introduced further down the line via an online upgrade process.
What can DDMI achieves when integrated with a VSAT and 4G system including Pepwave?
The Multi WAN router allows the connection of a KU band antenna and service (one or more), a KA band antenna and service (one or more), 2 x 3G/4G cellular connections including Pepwave, marina Wi-Fi or a marina hardwired internet feed (such as a fibre link). The router then allows all of these options to act as a single internet connection, instantly switching from one to another depending on availability and service along with customer preference. This significantly increases uptime on board.
When this is used with Excelerate’s DDMI Yacht Connectivity Manager app (available on various devices including tablets, PC’s or phones), Captains can instantly see which connection is currently being used and can easily enable or disable connections just by clicking on them. The direction that a satellite antenna is pointing and tracking against the heading of the yacht is also shown, making it instantly obvious if a line of sight problem (mast shadow problem for instance) is the reason for a loss of connectivity. The users within the network can also be divided into groups (i.e. Owner, Guest and Crew) and bandwidth allocation can be adjusted between the individual groups in real time. Groups can be completely disabled if required.
When combined with Excelerate’s Multi WAN router, DDMI can also allow vessels to bond connections together, increasing available internet speeds. However, this is subject to approval and compatibility.
AV the Excelerate way
Phase 2 will be a total AV upgrade.
We will bring more news on this once complete.
Another area in which Excelerate has significant expertise is video streaming from sea borne, vehicle borne, airborne and body worn camera solutions, and we are also really looking forward to introducing these onto MY Excelerate Z as we develop the yacht further.
The ongoing upgrade
So there we have it: how to turn a Sunseeker 94 Motor Yacht into a worthy example for any superyacht of the modern era. But don’t just take Excelerate’s word for it… Potential Excelerate customers are invited to visit the yacht and test it out for themselves in the many ports it plans to visit around the Med. For the Winter she will be berthed in the Old Port of Cannes.