Viam is a software platform for robotics focused on surfacing finishing solutions for the marine industry. Most companies don’t have the resources to build AI-powered robotic systems. Viam provides the necessary platform. Our robotic solutions enable more consistent and efficient fiberglass sanding, gelcoat application, and more, addressing major manufacturing and surface finishing challenges with premier boatbuilders around the world.

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Viam and Viking Yachts Announce Robotic Sanding Partnership

Viam, the engineering platform for data, AI and automation, today announced a partnership with Viking Yachts, a global leader in sportfishing and cruising yachts with 1 million square feet of manufacturing facilities in New Jersey. Integration of Viam's technology to support fiberglass sanding—critical in yacht construction—will enhance efficiency and consistency through intelligent automation, complementing the skills of Viking's craftsmen.

Fiberglass sanding is a vital but labor-intensive and time-consuming aspect of marine manufacturing. The process requires specific protective equipment and extensive training, posing operational challenges for manufacturers and workers. Traditional sanding robots rely on rigid, pre-programmed paths and struggle to manage the complex shapes of custom yachts. The Viam platform provides skilled judgment that allows robots to adapt in real time, ensuring consistent finishes across a range of yacht sizes and types.

"Our partnership with Viking represents a major innovation around one of the most challenging aspects of marine manufacturing," said Viam Founder and CEO Eliot Horowitz. "We've taken a time-consuming, resource-intensive process and made it resoundingly more efficient and scalable."

Founded in 1964 by the Healey family, Viking has earned its reputation as one of the marine industry's most respected companies through a unique combination of experience, craftsmanship and innovation. The vertically integrated operation provides a real-world example of major marine industry trends. The shipbuilding and marine robotics sector was valued at $1.26 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow significantly over the next decade as manufacturers make new investments and advanced technology is more readily adopted. The partnership will roll out in July and positions both companies at the forefront of an industry transformation that prioritizes worker safety and smarter production methods to achieve the highest levels of quality.

"This is about improving the way we build boats," said Pat Healey, President and CEO of Viking Yachts. "We've always embraced innovation that makes us better. If robotics can help our team work smarter, faster and more efficiently, then it's worth the investment."

Eliot Horowitz will discuss the partnership during a session at Capitol Hill Ocean Week on Wednesday, June 4, in Washington, D.C., entitled "Emerging Ocean Economies: Innovation Driving Conservation Outcomes." Co-hosted by Viking, the panel will explore how companies like Viam and Viking are using technology to enhance ocean stewardship and support the marine industry overall. The discussion will also spotlight the work of the Whale and Vessel Safety (WAVS) Taskforce, a Viking-led initiative developing real-time whale detection technology to protect marine mammals and improve boater safety.

In addition to Viking Yachts, Viam's customers in the marine space include Kongsberg Discovery, Digital Yacht, Canyon Runner, and GOST. Viam's technology is applied across sectors, including manufacturing, food and beverage, sports and entertainment. The company was launched in 2020 by Eliot Horowitz, former co-founder and CTO of publicly traded database giant MongoDB, and closed a Series C funding round earlier this year.

IBEX Innovation Awards - winners revealed

The International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX) has announced the winners of the 2025 IBEX Innovation Awards. Managed by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and judged by Boating Writers International (BWI), the program received a record 112 entries from exhibiting marine industry companies.

The winners of the 2025 IBEX Innovation Awards on stage in Tampa

From this pool, 12 Innovation Award winners and four honourable mentions were selected. Awards were presented this morning in Tampa, Florida, during the annual Industry Breakfast, Keynote, and Innovation Awards ceremony.

“From the entire IBEX team, congratulations to all entrants of the 2025 Innovation Awards and a special thank you to our judges for their hard work in selecting this year’s winners,” said Mary Velline, IBEX show director. “We had such an incredible array of new and innovative products this year, showcasing a bright future for our entire industry. And with such, our winners should be especially proud of their accomplishments. Thank you to everyone for participating in this year’s awards.”

All entries are on display along Innovation Way in the second-floor rotunda of the Tampa Convention Center throughout the show. New this year, the Innovation Meet & Greet from 14:30-15:30 EDT today will allow attendees to meet the innovators behind the submissions. Products are also featured on the IBEX online showcase.

IBEX will return to the Tampa Convention Center for 2026, with the show scheduled for October 6-8.

Honorable Mention: Viam, Viam Robotic Block Sanding System

Viam Robotic Block Sanding System

In the eye of the discerning boatbuilder or buyer, beauty is more than skin deep. Not just the glossy surface finish determines the quality of a paint job; the underlying structure must be free of flaws and waves as well. Even in the age of high-quality molded composites, the perceived fairness of a boat hull or deckhouse remains directly proportional to the builder’s investment in longboarding and block sanding time and expertise. The flawless finish that signifies high quality, almost always comes at the cost of countless hours of physically demanding hand sanding. We don’t call them torture boards for nothing.

Last year, Viking Yachts (New Gretna, New Jersey) turned to automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics specialist Viam (New York City) to help reduce the thousands of hours of manual fiberglass sanding required for its deserved reputation for superb finishes. Conversations started in November 2024, and by July 2025 the first custom robotic block sander was installed at Viking and early-stage testing began, starting with a center console hardtop.

“Fairing is one of the most labor-intensive and critical parts of the build process,” said Daniel Thompson-Rhodes, Industrial Engineer at Viking Yachts and the project lead. “If we can maintain Viking’s standard of finish while reducing physical strain and reallocating our skilled techs to other areas, that’s a win. This isn’t about replacing people—it’s about evolving the process to support them and the long-term quality of the product.”

That rapid deployment was partially enabled by Viam’s deep experience in developing machine learning and AI technology for niche applications. It helps that company founder and CEO Eliot Horowitz is a passionate fisherman and boater. Indeed, Viam’s work on data-driven capabilities for sportfishing, and marine mammal protection first brought him into contact with Viking.

Viking had previously pursued automation for some build tasks in the shop and learned through experience how programmed repeatable robotics like those in the automotive sector wouldn’t work for boatbuilding applications where tasks and variables change frequently. “We needed an adaptive robotic system—one that could respond to different parts as we put them in front of it,” said Winston Zeberlein, an advanced manufacturing engineer at Viking.

Viam designed its sanding tool by learning how the best technicians at Viking did the work by hand. That meant avoiding the random orbital sanders that are good for final finish, but less so at fairing flaws out of the molded surface. The Viam tool is essentially a block sander on a robotic arm with a 63″ (1.6m) reach. It requires a skilled sanding technician to operate it, running the machine’s scanners, changing sandpaper, applying dye to the subject surface, identifying areas in need of sanding, directing whether to sand more or less, and approving when a task is complete.

Contrary to the hype that AI is completely automating production tasks, this is not a technology you can walk away from and find a perfectly faired surface when you return from lunch. “People should be thinking of them as tools first, robots second,” Horowitz said. “You can instill some knowledge into it and have it repeat tasks.”

With that in mind, the attainable goal was not to have a robot that would produce Viking-quality finished surfaces unattended, but rather to create a tool that automates as much of the unpleasant task of block sanding as possible for the skilled technician operating it. As anyone who has subjected their body to days of longboarding can attest, that’s a laudable ambition.

“The most annoying part of the job is the first couple of passes removing the most material. It’s also the bulk of the manual work,” Horowitz said. That’s what the robot is best suited to. Finish fairing will be left to technicians sanding by hand.

In late July, Viking had begun early-stage testing, starting with a center console hardtop. The robot is permanently bolted to a 42″ (1.1m) pedestal; the hardtops on metal carts are rolled to it and secured in position for sanding. Then the robot performs a 3D scan precisely capturing the part’s position, surface features, and dimensions. At the direction of an operator, the robotic sanding block engages with the part, fairing the surface based on the scan geometry. Zeberlein explained that technicians wipe blue dye on the surface to help the unit’s optical scanner and the human operator to see the low spots that remain after each pass, and to sand judiciously until the blue is gone.

When we spoke in July, Viking said early testing suggested the Viam robot could significantly reduce finishing labor on a hardtop while maintaining rigid quality standards. Next steps include more R&D and dialing in the process on hardtops. Long-term goals include expanding the system to larger parts, including hull sides and the eventual use in Viking’s mold shop where fair surfaces must adhere to strict tolerances.

viam-sanding-closeup.png

Viam’s Robotic Block Sanding System is the first mobile robotic system designed specifically for first-pass fiberglass sanding, addressing a critical challenge in marine manufacturing. Unlike existing fixed-in-place robotic solutions that force workflow disruption and use orbital end-effectors unsuitable for the first stage of fiberglass sanding, our system brings the robotic arm right to the boat component with a standard long board sanding capability.

Viam’s Robotic Block Sanding System is the first mobile robotic system designed specifically for first-pass fiberglass sanding.

Viam is a software platform for robotics.

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