This New AI-Powered Simulator Shows What It’s Like to Pilot a Boat on a Mountain Lake

“We have a simulator that replicates the experience of driving a 370 Sea Ray Sundancer,” Brunswick CEO David Foulkes told Robb Report. “We had something similar last year, but this has a much more immersive display, with a 200-degree view of the surroundings, and voice feedback.          It’s a very realistic scenario on how the new technology operates.”

Even more impressive is the AI-powered “co-captain technology” embedded into the helm console’s electronics. It offers an interactive experience for showgoers wanting to experience assisted navigation, safety monitoring and autonomous maneuvers.

“You’ll see how it tracks in the water on autopilot, warns about objects, and even automatically rafts up to the side of another boat,” says Foulkes. “It’s like a concierge or, perhaps more accurately, a customized assistant. It can provide information, guide you or even take over in certain situations.”

Foulkes, named CEO in 2019, has been pushing hard to have Brunswick seen by the public and Wall Street as a tech company, rather than the world’s largest boat-and-engine maker.   Five years ago, the company announced an initiative called ACES—Autonomy/Assistance, Connectivity, Electrification and Shared Access—that it has been developing to make boating easier, smarter, and more sustainable. Its three-year strategy to date has included new products such as electric outboards, gas generator replacements, and perhaps, most importantly, the AI-powered helm.

The Brunswick display also has another simulator designed that promises to be more appealing than the mobile phones or other electronics in the convention center. The Fliteboard eFoil simulator replicates the experience of riding an electric foiling board. It reacts to wave conditions and, with the handheld controller, turns like a real-life foiling board would.