The Healthy Ship 4U (HS4U) EU project has reached a significant milestone with the successful implementation of its pilot testing activities, which took place over the period of May 5-9, 2025, at the Lavrion Technological Cultural Park in Greece. 
Led by Le.D.R.A. Group, the pilot testing phase featured a newly designed and constructed smart cruise cabin prototype, called the “Robot Cabin”, developed in collaboration with Tsikis Shipyard. This innovative space served as the heart of the HS4U Demo Space, built to emulate real ship conditions and evaluate health technological solutions in practice.
Over the course of scenario-based testing sessions, the “Robot Cabin” was equipped and assessed using advanced systems and software developed by our partners:
- Unparallel Innovation, Lda: smart sensors, Passenger Dashboard and the Generic Communication Module (GCM);
- BetterAir UK & Université Gustave Eiffel: The Viral Detection System (VDS) enables real-time monitoring of airborne pathogens, while the integrated treatment plant includes a probiotic emitter designed to actively purify and balance the onboard environment.
- CNT LAB S.r.l.: Smart nanomaterial antimicrobial coatings;
- Epsilon Malta Ltd, Infili Technologies SA & Netcompany-Intrasoft: The Collaborative Digital Framework (CDF) is a centralized data platform that links individual cabins with the ship’s bridge, providing the Captain and crew with real-time information on the location of any communicable disease outbreaks onboard.
The above technologies were tested in the Robot Cabin, developed by Le.D.R.A. Group, where they successfully demonstrated co-robotics, autonomous health monitoring, surface-level infection control, early disease detection, mitigation and management. RWO’s black water sampler is a technology developed within the HS4U project and is proposed for the ships’ engine rooms, enabling centralized wastewater sampling and serving multiple cabins and shared spaces together. 
The collaborative efforts were showcased in a dedicated crew training session with Celestyal Cruises, where crew members received hands-on experience managing these technologies. Based on the questionnaire responses, over 94% of MV Celestyal Discovery crew members who consented to participate in the survey expressed a highly positive view of the HS4U smart system solutions, reflecting strong alignment with their expectations for enhancing health and safety conditions onboard.
The pilot activities present a tangible result in how health resilience is embedded into maritime design. By merging traditional shipbuilding with intelligent systems and autonomous care, HS4U is transforming cruise ships into health-secure environments.
