Danes Test Onboard Internet of Things
Next year, a number of Danish organizations will be running a pilot Internet of Things project to test the collection of real-time data from equipment onboard ships.
The Aalborg-based company GateHouse is behind the pilot project, and a number of other companies including the shipowner Uni-Tankers, Logimatic and the Danish Maritime Authority will contribute to the testing of the new technology.
The Internet of Things refers to the wireless networking of physical things consisting of installed sensors, electronics and software enabling the ‘things’ to collect and exchange data.
In practice, the Danish solution consists of a number of sensors that measure the condition of the ship's equipment and record emissions from the ship. All the sensor-generated information is collected and continuously transmitted to shore in real-time, where stakeholders with access to the data can use the information for various purposes, including ongoing optimization of the machinery, more efficient maintenance, ongoing fuel consumption optimization and continuous emission monitoring.
For the marine equipment industry, it offers developments in condition-based maintenance and services for ship operators. For the authorities, the focus is on being able to continuously monitor whether ships' sulfur and NOx emissions comply with regulatory limits.
For a couple of years, the Danish Maritime Authority has been working on Big Data to and from ships under the auspices of the E.U.-funded project EfficienSea2. The intention is to couple the experience gained from the new pilot project where data are transmitted live to shore with elements of the EfficienSea2 project.
The project is supported by the Danish Maritime Fund.
More Smart Ship Projects
Earlier this year, South Korean shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop Internet of Things applications for ships with SK Shipping, Intel, Microsoft, the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation and the Daejeon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation.
Under the agreement, HHI and its partners will join forces to help domestic small and medium-sized companies to develop software that improves the safety of ship operations and improves crew well-being.
The ship service software, which is planned to be developed and applied to smart ships by 2019, will enable ballast tank inspection, remote medical treatment services for crews, virtual reality training, automatic voyage information reporting, and maintenance for key equipment.
A growing number of maritime Internet of Things applications are being developed focusing on real-time ship monitoring. MarEx explores some here.