Digital twin platform development project launched

A digital twin is a digital copy of a real ship, including its systems. Using digital twins enable optimisation of a ship’s design, production, operation and maintenance. The project partners will create a collaboration platform that is open for use by other parties, with core aspects built on an open source framework.

Rolls-Royce Marine, The Norwegian University of Technology Science (NTNU), research organisation SINTEF Ocean and classification society DNV GL signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work on the Open Simulation Platform (OSP) in July last year. Since then Hyundai Heavy Industries, Kongsberg Digital, Vard and Offshore Simulator Centre have joined the project, and the founding partners are inviting more companies to follow

Jon Rysst, senior vice president and regional manager, DNV GL Maritime North Europe, said: “The goal is to establish a maritime industry standard for models and system simulation that will allow companies to reuse simulation models and construct digital twins of existing and future vessels in a safe and more cost-efficient way.”

A prototype platform is now running with a simulated vessel conducting a dynamic positioning operation. One of the first projects using the prototype, led by Rolls-Royce Marine, aims to create a digital twin to verify a vessel’s power and propulsion system modules and their integration.

The platform is being designed to support model libraries for storing simulated ship concepts, systems and equipment.

“Through working together in a virtual environment, we can achieve a larger degree of interaction between different systems and their owners,” said Hans Petter Hildre of NTNU.