Mercury News
Mercury Marine's 1st Mate system named as CES 2021 innovation awards best of innovation honoree
FOND DU LAC, Wisc. (December 15, 2020) – Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), today announced that its 1st Mate Safety and Security System has been named a CES® 2021 Innovation Awards Best of Innovation Honoree. The 1st Mate technology won in two categories, earning the Best of Innovation designation in the In-Vehicle Entertainment & Safety category, which is given to the highest rated product in the category. 1st Mate, a part of the Mercury family of brands, was also named a CES Innovation Award Honoree in the Vehicle Intelligence & Transportation category. This marks the first CES Innovation Award for Mercury to go along with Brunswick’s Best in Show award from Exhibitor Magazine earlier this year for its exhibit at CES 2020.
“We are honored to be recognized for a Best of Innovation Award as the best product in our category and one of the top products at CES 2020,” said Dave Foulkes, Brunswick Corporation CEO. “We are making boating safer and more enjoyable with the design of not only our award-winning boats and engines, but in the technology that represents a significant step forward in enhancing the boating experience.”
1st Mate is a comprehensive marine safety and security system that integrates with a boat’s propulsion system through an intelligent hub. Wearable fobs for the captain and passengers link together with the hub and a mobile app. If a passenger goes overboard or a fob signal is lost, 1st Mate distributes an alert and GPS location to connected mobile devices. If the captain fob signal is lost, 1st Mate shuts down the engine(s) and can alert emergency contacts onshore. As a customizable security system, 1st Mate can be programmed to wirelessly lock the engine(s) to prevent unauthorized use.
“Safety is our number one priority and this product reflects commitment to the safety of anyone on the water,” said Chris Drees, Mercury Marine president. “System integration and enhanced technology is the future of our industry and we are well positioned to make the boating experience more intuitive and reliable for our customers.”
The CES Innovation Awards program, owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products across 28 product categories. An elite panel of industry expert judges, including members of the media, designers, engineers and more, reviewed submissions based on innovation, engineering and functionality, aesthetic and design.
The CES 2021 Innovation Awards Honorees, including product descriptions and photos, can be found at CES.tech/innovation. Additional honorees will be revealed during CES 2021 on Jan. 11, 2021.