Scenarios for Sensors and Actuators Deployment to Prevent and Mitigate Epidemics on Cruise Ships

Following the COVID-19 outbreaks on board cruise ships in 2019, the naval community is considering how the rapid development of the Internet of Things could contribute to better preventing and mitigating outbreaks on cruise ships. A consortium of experts through the European Union-funded project Healthy Ship for You (HS4U) analyzed the high-level requirements and the state of the art of sensors and actuators solutions that could be used. Technologies for symptom detection, disease recognition, and passenger localization were identified, and approaches for surface, air and duct purification, and for communication between the crew, the public, and authorities were considered. Coupling the requirements with the state of the art allowed the consortium to propose several feasible scenarios for the deployment of sensors and actuators aboard a cruise ship. The architecture of a digital platform utilizing the sensors and actuators to assist the crew in preventing and mitigating an outbreak is also described. The information gathered here is expected to have a broad impact outside the HS4U consortium: (1) on the one hand, it aims to familiarize the cruise ship stakeholders with the technologies offered by the Internet of Things for health-related matters and to consider their adoption in the near future; and (2) on the other hand, it may contribute to the development of regulations regarding outbreak management by competent authorities.