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The hull becomes a speaker. The infinity pool turns into a basketball court. The bridge is an underwater spa. The latest yacht models focus on hi-tech. For a travel experience where fun combines artificial intelligence and pieds dans l'eau. Di Bianca AscentiWhat do the owners of an explorer vessel have in common with that of a very powerful maxi open? The most obvious answer is "a yacht", but it is wrong, because they are completely different boats, which denote almost antithetical tastes, needs and ambitions. The owner of the first loves to sail slow, constant, inexorable, reaching the most remote corners of the planet independently, thinking of the environment; the second fills the fuel tanks to feel the power of the engines under the keel and leave foam and envy behind while hurtling between Saint-Tropez and Ibiza. There is one thing, however, that unites them: the search for cutting edge technology not only for what concerns navigation, but fun. Taking for granted that inflatable slides, submarines and classic boat toys are already in the garage (floodable), the seasonal game is all about hi-tech equipment. It is there, in fact, that we find the innovations capable of transforming the cruise into a multi-sensory experience, interactive and tailored, between reality and science fiction. It starts with music: thanks to the WiFi connection and artificial intelligence systems, it is possible not only to listen to your favorite songs anywhere on board, but also to let an algorithm evaluate our mood and choose the most suitable songs accordingly, spreading them automatically in various environments. From today, then, the sound will also accompany baths and underwater diving, while exploring the wonders of the underwater world: the Italian company Videoworks has, in fact, presented the revolutionary Music Hull (adopted for the first time on board the Pershing 8X , photo above), which transforms the hull into a loudspeaker, thanks to the integrated Premium underwater speakers that release a powerful and clean sound. So you can listen to Bohemian Rhapsody or a Chopin Nocturne under a starry sky, surrounded by the open sea, which thanks to the underwater lights will no longer be frighteningly dark. It is enough, in fact, to touch a button to see, from the waterline, powerful beams of light that surround the yacht like an alien spacecraft during take-off and color the water with pyrotechnic effects: multicolor, fixed or flashing, they can also go in time to music. If, despite this, the fear of high water is difficult to overcome, especially at night, the Italian company Besenzoni, which has studied an anti-panic solution, comes to the rescue: it is a submarine bridge with a whirlpool system, which remains sleeping. of water, to experience the pleasure of a real spa, lulled by the waves, but always very close to the ascent ladder (photo on the left). And speaking of stairs, underestimating them would be a mistake: once relegated to remote corners of the yacht, today they take on a new dignity, often becoming the furnishing element on which the entire corpus of the boat rotates. An example is the new SP 602 (Besenzoni), with LED lights, which is combined with the gangway function (photo on the right). With a stainless steel structure and self-leveling steps in teak and plexiglass or crystal, it allows various custom solutions. Even the swimming pool has experienced a great revolution over the years: some will recall the round ones, a must-wash tub effect, capable of holding a maximum of two people. Memories of the Eighties: today it is the turn of the infinity pools, where you can touch the ocean with your eyes, sipping a drink on board. Of course, not everyone will be able to afford the size of the spectacular Benetti Seasense tank, ten by four meters, containing 27 thousand liters of fresh water, which, when not needed, turns into a basketball court, dance floor or extra space for dinners . There is no need to despair: a smaller version will still be good, as long as it is heated and, above all, with a counter-current - like that of the Mangusta 54 m El Leon (photo on the opening page) - to allow guests to keep in workout with energetic swims. Surprises continue below deck, where high technology and home automation reign. An example is the I-Bridge® dashboard that Team Italia has installed on the Benetti 69 m Specter, with multitouch technology and mechatronics applications, to control together wheelhouse and traceability systems, anchoring, documentation and fire alarm. We cannot conclude the roundup of the most popular on-board gadgets without speaking of Kaleidescape Strato and Magic Mirror (both Videoworks, photo above, left): the first is a media player belonging to the Encore Strato range that allows watching uncompressed movies with ultra HD resolution, up to 60 frames per second; the other one, instead, is an adhesive and transparent film, applicable on every kind of glass surface that can pass from clear to opaque, touching a button. Not only: on Intelligent Glass you can project any multimedia content, turning a simple wall into an aquarium, a glacier or a tropical forest. Finally, fitness, because there is no superyacht without a gym. Keeping fit when surfing is not enough, you have to do it in style. Size, as well as machinery, which must be strictly of the latest generation, do not count. For this Technogym has launched Personal, a design line signed by the architect Antonio Citterio, halfway between a piece of furniture and a fitness machine (picture below, on the opening page), so beautiful that enclosing it below is really a shame).