Samsung SmartThings to usher in smarter yachts

Samsung is rolling out its Smartthings connected platform to yachts. The surprise news was broken at CES 2025, where the company outlined its vision for a connected control and monitoring marine ecosystem built around the technology.

Until now, Smartthings has primarily centred on connected home appliances, from security products to consumer electronics and appliances.

However, the platform is now moving beyond smart homes to bring connected convenience to ships.

The Smartthings app can simplify boarding and departures. Passengers can check-in via a quick QR code scan, and receive real time notifications on departure and arrival times, locations and arrival information. Smartthings can even manage passenger health issues.

For those onboard, the ability to control devices onboard and in their cabins via a smartphone app will be a familiar convenience. For yacht owners, the ability to monitor connected devices via a simple Smartthings dashboard on a Samsung screen, has obvious appeal.

What’s surprising though is the scalability of the system. Smartthings isn’t just envisaged as a local superficial control system.

The technology can be used across a wide range of vessels, from cruise ships and ferries, to container ships and LNG carriers. It can be used to monitor a fleet of yachts, so that a central control monitoring station can at a glance inspect the health of multiple ships.

Functionality is wide and varied. The Smartthings dashboard lets yacht owners monitor and control ship devices in real time. The technology can manage all aspects of lighting, from port, starboard and stern and RAM lights, to anchor lights and NUC (Not Under Control) lights when the ship is experiencing difficulties. It also offers control and monitoring over air purifiers, appliances, entertainment and a multiplicity of camera, humanity and motion sensors. It could even control electric starting outboard motors.

Smartthings Pro also provides energy management of fuel and electricity via a dynamic dashboard, automates air quality monitoring inside the hull and provides navigational logs.

All of this technology has been deployed on a test vessel launched by Samsung Heavy Industries, a scaled down model of which was on display at Samsung’s CES 2025 booth.