Why a robot on board works
A yacht is already a special setting, so the entertainment has to be more than a playlist. A humanoid robot that meets guests at the top of the passerelle, welcomes them in English or French and poses for photographs against the harbour gives an evening its first memorable moment.
It suits the events that happen on board around Monaco: a private viewing during the Monaco Yacht Show, drinks after a day at the Grand Prix, a birthday or a charter party. It suits the yacht too. A robot on deck says the owner or the brand behind the evening is comfortable with advanced technology.
Getting aboard: the passerelle decides
The first question is not the deck, it is the way on. A passerelle, a threshold, a step or a narrow side deck can decide on its own whether the robot can get aboard at all. The robot does not climb stairs as a routine, and anything that means lifting it across a gap or onto a moving platform is something to settle at the survey, not on the night.
So we survey the yacht with you, and with the captain, before we commit. We look at the route from the quay to the working area, the surface along it and where the flight cases can wait out of sight.
Which decks work, and which do not
The robot needs a flat, dry, firm surface of about three by three metres with a clear route to it. On most yachts that points to the aft deck or a main-deck lounge area.
- Works: a level, dry aft deck, a covered lounge deck, a beach club with a solid floor
- Does not work: wet teak, a swim platform, stairs, a narrow side deck, a deck moving in swell
A yacht moored in port is a steadier stage than one at anchor. If the event is at sea, tell us early, because movement of the deck is outside what the robot does.
Weather and the sea
The robot does not work in rain, and spray counts as rain. For an evening on deck, agree a covered area or an indoor fallback, such as the main saloon if the floor and the route allow it. Shade helps your guests as much as the robot, and it gives the photographs better light.
Safety around guests on deck
An operator is with the robot for the whole booking. On a yacht that matters more than anywhere else. The operator steers it along a route agreed in advance, keeps it away from edges, open transoms and the top of stairs, keeps a working distance from guests and stops it instantly if anyone comes too close.
Guests can stand alongside for photographs, and a handshake happens on the operator's cue. What we avoid is guests pressing in from all sides in a narrow space. We also carry public liability insurance for the robot and the operator and send the certificate to the yacht's management on request.
Video by Mashable, on YouTube. It shows the Unitree G1 platform we hire out, not one of our events and not on a yacht.
What the robot can do for guests on board
- Welcome guests as they step aboard, in English, French or both
- Pose for photographs with the harbour behind
- Deliver a short toast, a birthday line or the host's welcome
- Wear the owner's or the brand's artwork on its chest plate and back board
- With the AI assistant upgrade, answer guests' questions about the yacht or the evening
It does not serve drinks or carry trays, and it does not replace the crew. MONTARI is from €2,000 per day with an operator, multi-day rate, excluding VAT. Send us the yacht, the berth and the date and we will tell you honestly whether it can work on board.