SEA.AI and The Carlisle & Finch Co. have integrated artificial intelligence with heavy-duty searchlight engineering to create the new Sentry-SmartVIEW system. This innovative technology enables a vessel’s searchlight to automatically lock onto and track targets detected by SEA.AI, such as persons overboard or unlit vessels. Set to debut at the 2026 NMEA Conference & Expo, the solution significantly reduces crew workload and enhances safety during critical night-time operations.
Linz, Austria | September 24, 2026 – In a significant leap forward for maritime safety and situational awareness, SEA.AI and The Carlisle & Finch Co. have announced a powerful technology integration. Combining SEA.AI’s advanced maritime machine vision with Carlisle & Finch’s heavy-duty searchlight engineering, the new Sentry-SmartVIEW integration allows a vessel’s searchlight to automatically lock onto, track, and illuminate targets flagged by artificial intelligence.
The companies will officially debut the joint solution at the upcoming 2026 NMEA Conference & Expo, running from September 29 to October 1 at the Hilton Dallas/Rockwall Lakefront in Rockwall, Texas.
Transforming Night Operations at Sea
For commercial mariners, offshore crews, and search-and-rescue (SAR) operators, night-time navigation and low-visibility responses have long presented acute challenges. While marine radar excels at tracking large vessels, it frequently struggles with small, low-profile, or non-metallic objects. Meanwhile, AIS (Automatic Identification System) is limited only to vessels actively broadcasting their coordinates.
The Sentry-SmartVIEW integration bridges this critical operational gap by merging automated threat detection with active mechanical illumination:
- Automated Slew-to-Cue: Once SEA.AI’s thermal and low-light camera systems detect an anomaly, such as a person overboard, floating debris, or an unlit watercraft, the SmartVIEW Gateway instantly directs the connected searchlight to the exact bearing.
- Hands-Free Active Tracking: Instead of forcing a crew member to juggle a searchlight joystick while trying to manually match screen coordinates with visual observations out the wheelhouse windows, the searchlight automatically follows the target’s movements.
- Reduced Operator Workload: By automating target illumination, the crew is freed up to focus on critical vessel maneuvers, radio communications, and emergency response preparations.
Executive Perspectives on the Integration
Leadership from both pioneering firms emphasized the practical, real-world impact the technology will have on the water.
Marcus Warrelmann, CEO, SEA.AI, said “Detection only matters if it leads to action. Whether the crew is watching for a security threat, tracking another vessel, or searching for someone in the water, Sentry can spot a target before it becomes visible to the naked eye. Thanks to Carlisle & Finch’s engineering, the searchlight can now follow that target automatically. That’s what we mean by bringing AI to light, and it’s a difference mariners will understand the moment they see it in action.”
Garth Finch, Sr. Vice President/Owner, The Carlisle & Finch Co., said “It has always been hard for our customers to find an object seen on a screen with a searchlight beam, their focus torn between trying to match what’s on the display with what they see out the windows. This integration removes that challenge. Once SEA.AI has a target, SmartVIEW keeps the light on it, across our entire product range, from a small-boat LED searchlight to a ship’s xenon searchlight, so the operator can focus on the rest of the job.”
Key Technical Highlights
- Broad Compatibility: The integration works seamlessly across Carlisle & Finch’s extensive searchlight lineup, accommodating everything from compact center-console patrol boats to massive commercial cargo and passenger ships.
- Seamless Target Handover: Operators can activate tracking directly from the SmartVIEW joystick and switches, easily cycling through targets to port or starboard directly from the SEA.AI user interface.
- Multi-Scenario Utility: Beyond emergency man-overboard recovery, the system proves invaluable for nocturnal security patrols, tracking erratic jet skis or low-profile speedboats that evade conventional detection methods.
See It Live at NMEA 2026
Industry professionals, mariners, and members of the press attending the 2026 NMEA Conference & Expo next week can experience the combined Sentry-SmartVIEW system firsthand. Engineering and executive teams from both SEA.AI and The Carlisle & Finch Co. will be on-site to provide live demonstrations and answer technical inquiries.
About The Carlisle & Finch Co.
Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, The Carlisle & Finch Co. has designed and manufactured heavy-duty searchlights since 1894, serving pleasure yacht, commercial marine, military, patrol, and land security customers worldwide. Its extensive product line spans xenon, LED, and hybrid searchlights, as well as infrared illuminators and the advanced SmartVIEW digital control system.
About SEA.AI
SEA.AI pioneered maritime machine vision in 2018. Its systems combine optical and thermal sensors with artificial intelligence to detect what conventional sensors, such as radar and AIS. often miss, including persons overboard, marine mammals, unlit vessels, small craft, containers, semi-submerged logs, and other floating hazards, day and night, in real time.
Operators see what was previously invisible, gaining critical information, expanded reaction time, and the certainty to act. Built on more than eight years of real-world data gathered at sea, the technology is trusted across recreational, commercial, and security operations, both at sea and from fixed installations. More than 1,300 systems are currently in service worldwide, protecting people, vessels, and marine life.
Source: SEA AI