Passengers cruising the ocean in luxury on one of Royal Caribbean’s ships soon are expected to be sporting custom IoT wristbands for around-the-ship activities.

Rather than selecting an off-the-shelf, connected wearable, Royal Caribbean decided to develop a purpose-built variation of its own.

Royal Caribbean’s customized wearable is expected to be deployed across its 24-ship fleet, which includes four of the world’s largest passenger vessels.

Cruise ships operated by the company are projected to carry 3 million passengers in 2021, according to Cruise Market Watch, accounting for a 19% share of cruise traffic globally.

The connected wristband, developed by Royal Caribbean with Tracesafe, an IoT platform company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, can provide a range of functions for passengers.

In addition to contact tracing for COVID, the smart wearable can serve as a room key, a wireless payment method, a depository of personal medical records, a location analytics tool and an instant messaging device so cruise operators can send mass communications to all passengers.

The connected technology also can help cruise lines improve logistics by analyzing location data to better understand the movement of passengers around the ship.

Smart wearables have been used by hospitals for contact tracing and other services as well as numerous other industries.

The partners said they’ve collaborated closely to deliver an “exclusive, sleek” wristband that meets Royal Caribbean’s commitments, on both passenger comfort and sustainability.

Royal Caribbean is set to be the first major customer for the connected bracelet with the additional aim of limiting electronic waste from products by refurbishing used IoT devices.

“It was the willingness of the TraceSafe team to develop a custom device that met our requirements for style and design that propelled the partnership forward,” said Jay Schneider, chief product innovation officer at Royal Caribbean Group.

“We look forward to continuing this engagement as we explore the many new opportunities for IoT Technology onboard our ships.”

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