Outside of incorporating multi-display big screens, helm design can’t be innovative, right?
Actually, it can, and Team Italia and Wider are proving it, cleverly so. Check out the photos below. This is the helm aboard the soon-to-be finished Wider 150. The console configuration can change according to the captain’s navigational needs. It simultaneously can changes to become more ergonomic.
Wider had these concepts in mind from the start of the 150. It tapped Team Italia to develop the arrangement. The electronics specialist, with 15 years’ experience in megayachts, is known for custom, creative solutions. Many of these solutions are branded under Team Italia’s iBridge system. The “i” stands for, among other things, integrative and intuitive. A single screen displays multiple nav data, accessible via a trackball or jogstick (akin to a video-game controller). Aboard the Wider 150, Team Italia takes iBridge to another level.
Say, for example, the Wider 150 is out on open ocean. The dash can stay linear, the traditional helm arrangement. When she’s approaching a destination, though, the captain can put things in motion, literally. Team Italia allows the helm to form a C shape. It should be particularly helpful when the megayacht is mooring or pulling into a marina.
Team Italia studied a variety of configurations and their impact on ergonomics in developing the solution. It applied what’s termed mechatronics. Briefly, it’s a specialty that combines what typically were independent specialties. Namely, they’re mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer control, and information technology. In decades past, mechanical engineers were solely responsible for product design. Software teams then figured out operational logistics. However, the product design wasn’t always user-friendly for the software folks, which resulted in impractical solutions for consumers. Mechatronics requires understanding and mastering all the disciplines.
Team Italia went through a few full-scale iterations of the shape-shifting helm in-house. This allowed the designers to implement and improve ideas along the way. It further allowed the electronics specialists ultimately to simplify the setup. Last, but not least, Team Italia says it met Wider’s deadline.
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