UK-QUANTUM OF THE SEAS Robot bartender creates a stir aboard world's first 'smart ship'

Record ID: 837941

  • Title: UK-QUANTUM OF THE SEAS Robot bartender creates a stir aboard world's first 'smart ship'
  • Date: 3rd November 2014
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DOMINIC PAUL, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR INTERNATIONAL OF ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL, SAYING: "It is like something that has never been seen before on the sea, and I think that's why it's changing the face, not just of cruise ships, but of holidays. But if I only had an hour to spend now, I'd go straight upstairs and go to the skydiving machine and I'd sky dive at sea, because where else in the world can you sky dive in the middle of the ocean on board a cruise ship." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE USING SKY DIVING MACHINE VARIOUS OF PERSON SURFING ON WAVE MACHINE PAN TO 'NORTH STAR' VIEWING POD INSIDE VIEW POD MORE OF POD POD BEING RAISED INTO THE AIR WIDE OF EXTERIOR OF SHIP SEEN FROM SHORE CLOSE OF SATELLITE AERIALS ON SHIP WIDE OF SHIP AS SEEN FROM SHORE
  • Embargoed: 18th November 2014 12:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAC853QZAVGHWLYV5GN6E537TXT
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  • Story Text: Quantum of the Seas has been dubbed the world's first smart ship. Her owners say the luxury liner represents the future of holidays, offering unprecedented levels of technology to ramp up the vacation experience.
    Miami-based Royal Caribbean International recently took delivery of the newest addition to the cruise line's fleet, with Quantum of the Seas making the journey to Southampton, UK where she welcomed aboard her first guests on November 2 for a trans-Atlantic voyage to her home port of Cape Liberty Cruise Port, Bayonne, New Jersey.
    Royal Caribbean say their Quantum-class ships are the world's most technologically advanced in the world, with Quantum's sister ship, Anthem of the Seas, due to set sail in 2015.
    While Quantum of the Seas has been in development for five years, Senior Vice-President Dominic Paul says she represents the culmination of more than 30 years experience of ship building: "We've been working on Quantum of the Seas for about five years, so from concept from bringing it through to reality which is the ship that you see today. But it's bigger than that, because actually we've been building ships for decades and what Quantum of the Seas really does it encapsulates all of our learning over the last 30 to 40 years into one ship. And that is why for us it's such a game changing ship."
    Aboard Quantum of the Seas, guests can whet their whistle at the Bionic Bar: the first bar with robot bartenders, not just at sea, but anywhere in the world. The robots are equipped with a series of sensors to detect when a guest enters the bar. Then, with laser precision, the robotic arms work in synchronisation to create drinks, ordered via a tablet.
    Designed by company Makr Shakr, drinks are assembled by robotic arms whose movements mimic the actions of a bartender, from the shaking of a cocktail to the slicing of a lemon garnish. The makers say there is a near unlimited number drinks combinations.
    "You have more than 31 spirits, you have eight sodas, juices, mixers, sugar, mint, lime; I can't even remember how many. So if you mix them, the beauty of this is that you can mix them exactly as you like. You might want to have the mint before the sugar, or before rum or after it. And you can just do the exact combination with the appropriate actions," said Alessandro Incisa, an engineer from Makr Shakr.
    Robots also feature in another feature on Quantum of the Seas; with a troupe of six robo-screens staging performances; creating 3D scenes while moving in a synchronised routine.
    Royal Caribbean says that Quantum of the Seas was designed with connectivity at heart; to put users in control of their own holiday.
    "They have the apps and they have the technologies and the offerings so they can have the cruise experience that they want to have. They can arrange it for themselves; they can manage it for themselves from the beginning of the cruise to the end. They're in charge of their cruise vacation in a way they haven't been before," said President and COO of Royal Caribbean, Adam Goldstein.
    To help cater for guests' every whim and desire, every shipboard employee is equipped with their own tablet, with custom apps letting crew members keep better track of guests' tastes and preferences, allowing staff to tailor their service.
    The company has also partnered with service provider O3b Networks to launch a new satellite that was able to offer the ship an unprecedented amount of bandwidth, giving guests internet access with speeds comparable to fast broadband onshore. This, Goldstein said, was equivalent to the bandwidth of all other cruise ships in the world combined.
    "We're very, very fortunate as a company to have partnered with O3b who created a new kind of satellite technology that can beam fibre-like speed from the sky to a ship, into a jungle, into an island. They never existed before and we are debuting this on two or three of our newest ships including Quantum of the Seas. And when Quantum of the Seas is taking full advantage of the capability, she has more bandwidth available to her than all the other cruise ships of the world put together."
    This connectivity means the ship's indoor sports complex - the first ever at sea - becomes a live global gaming suit, with users able to challenge video gamers on other Royal Caribbean ships, as well as gamers situated at home.
    Other features include a pod that raises 300 feet above sea level, giving a birdseye view for miles around, and an indoor bumper car ring.
    But it was the sky diving machine that piqued the interest of Royal Caribbean's vice president.
    "If I only had an hour to spend now, I'd go straight upstairs and go to the skydiving machine and I'd sky dive at sea, because where else in the world can you sky dive in the middle of the ocean on board a cruise ship," said Dominic Paul.
    Quantum of the Seas spans 18 decks and can carry about 4,180 guests. Her makers say the technology that helped design it was used to reduce the vessel's energy consumption with efficient hull configuration, engine design and energy saving devices.
    Along with sister ship Anthem of the Seas, Quantum was built at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, under the codename Project Sunshine.
    She is due to sail from New York harbour to the Bahamas and the Caribbean for her inaugural season before departing for her new homeport of Shanghai, China, in May 2015.
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