An application that
saves lives!
Safe-On-Board is an application for cruise ship passengers. Its primary objective is to ensure the passenger safety and convenience. It assists the passenger understand his position and how to navigate around the ship and at the same time offers increased awareness by the crew about the safety of the passengers.
Advances over existing practices
The proposed innovative system is unique in its kind. Currently, the individuals on board regular passenger ships and ferries can only rely on the safety leaflet attached to walls of their cabin or in public areas of a ship. Large passenger ships and cruise ships will also offer basic guidelines in 5 minute video clips, played back in the early stages of their voyage, with seriously questionable outcomes as to their informative impact. In the case of cruise ships, it is normal that a 1hr safety drill takes place at the beginning of the voyage. We have not heard of any similar application or other interactive digital medium that offers real time information about the safety conditions on board.
#1
A mobile concierge
To increase the potential of use and buy-in from the passengers, the application may be also offered as part of a mobile concierge application, attending to all the needs of the passengers, including services, support for commercial activities, navigation around the ship and ultimately safety.
Among the commercial features offered are
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Location based advertising (e.g. "happy hour" special offers for passengers who like cocktails and pass near a bar of the ship)
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Analytics mechanism for identifying statistics and trends relevant to the consuming statistical behavior
IMO/SOLAS Compliance
The application (through its back end functionality), supports the officers of the ship to better assess the situation with regard to passengers' safety. The functionality of the application is in complete accordance to IMO (International Maritime Organization) and SOLAS (Safety-Of-Life-At-Sea) regulations.
Technology
The application may be downloaded and installed on iPhone6 (5/5C/5S are also supported) and works both outside as well as on-board the boat. Indoors location is based on the Bluetooth technology and needs minimal equipment installation. The smartphone application will communicate via the 4G/3G network or the local WiFi network with the platform backend.
HERE IS HOW IT WORKS
Next, we describe the functionality of the system, divided according to its use, before (1) and after (2) the passenger is on board, as well as its functionality during an emergency situation (3).
FOLLOW US :
(1) Before a passenger enters the ship:
The first group of functionalities is to inform the passenger of a ship about the facilities (especially useful in the case of persons who need assistance) even before he boards the ship.
This way he may identify his room at a specific deck.
Thus the passenger gets acquainted with living on board, plans his activities, makes reservations to popular shows on board, etc. The cruise operators can better plan resources, as they may know in advance the interest for a specific product (e.g. how many people would like to take guided tours at archaeological sites, thus plan in advance tour guides, buses, ticket offers, etc.).
(2) Once on board:
Once the passenger is on board, the application locates him/her by identifying nearby Bluetooth beacons and WiFi Access Points (in the case of indoors location). A route finding algorithm allows the passenger to find his/her way to a room or any other point of interest, an especially handy feature for one to navigate the large labyrinth-like inside of the modern cruise ship. Accessibility information for persons with special needs is also provided (wheel ramps, elevators). He is also offered information relevant to his choices as well as his current location.
(3) In the case of an emergency:
The application will notify the passengers in case of an emergency situation by way of a push notification or other asynchronous message.
Furthermore it will assist the passengers to go to their designated Muster Stations, while it will also remind them to collect their life vests and show them how to wear them.
Every display features some common characteristics: at the very top, we have the status display which offers an overall status message and color (e.g. a green-colored “Status OK” or a red-colored “Alert” message). At the bottom, a clear “Call for help” button is available that will call the first responder in charge of the specific group of passengers, or the specific area.
Overall the application will offer passengers with valid, up-to-date information about the crisis, indications on how to get help and an evacuation route.
