On Modern Cruise Ships, Even Door Hinges are Intelligent

The majestic Icon of the Seas entered service on January 2024, and she is the largest cruise ship ever built. There are a lot of features that make her iconic and innovative, including the door hinges. Antti Marine delivered over 3,200 e-hinges to certain types of stateroom doors onboard the Icon.

The e-hinge and an online RFID lock connect the door to the ship’s Ethernet network. The lock is also supplied with electricity via the e-hinge (PoE). The cabin key can then be used as an identifier, for example when the passenger buys services onboard or in a partnered resort.

Conventional systems leave the online cabling exposed when the door is open, making it vulnerable to accidental damage, and even vandalism. In our intelligent system, the cabling between the door leaf and the door frame is implemented with an e-hinge. In other words, the cable is invisible and protected all the way. Passengers will never even know it’s there.

Antti Marine has thoroughly tested the functionality of the e-hinge. It is totally maintenance-free and corrosion-resistant. It has been tested according to the EN1935 standard for durability up to class 11, which is over 200,000 test cycles for an 80-kilogram door. The electronic operation of the e-hinge is tested in as many as three stages: first mechanically and for the electronic features at the hinge manufacturer, then the wiring is tested in a pre-cabled hinge with RJ45 connectors, and finally, the e-hinge is tested when installed in the finished door.

The e-hinge opens up avenues into other options that improve safety, such as controlling the conditions of cabins via an Ethernet network. For Antti, a door is never just a door. A door is a platform to which novel smart functions can be connected.

This article is sponsored by Antti Marine. For more information, visit https://anttimarine.fi.