The Smart-Ship levers
Smart-Ship is a start-up from Delft that took part in 2019’s PortXL Antwerp program. They make force-feedback controls for the maritime industry. By bridging the gap in information transfer their aim is to enable a sustainable maritime future with regard to people, equipment and the environment.
We spoke with Brent Kok, Co-Founder & CFO, Smart-Ship
On their new approach: “We made a shift towards sustainability. A lot of electric and hybrid ships are being built, but there’s the issue that a lot of operators have never been taught to sail sustainably with hybrid or electric vessels. With our haptic levers we would indicate thresholds, so you could feel what the engine or battery pack is recommending you should do with regards to speed and acceleration.”
On the PortXL program: “We weren’t looking for a coaching program, where people tell you what to do and that’s what we liked about the PortXL program, it was this link between us and big corporates, where it would usually take months to get in. You were now within a day around the table with very important people who could actually make a decision on your project. It was an eye-opener for us, on one hand it showed us that we were interesting for sectors we hadn’t looked at yet, on the other it gave us plenty of experience in working together with a corporate.”
The Smart-Ship demo at the 2019 PortXL Antwerp Executive Dinner
Original interview took place and was published on the PortXL LinkedIn page in February 2021 . This is the full version. Our thanks go to Brent Kok from Smart-Ship for his availability.
