Partners Spur Smart Shipping Software Development
The world’s largest shipbuilder has launched an initiative with several industry partners that aims to help small and medium-sized ICT companies develop software for smart shipping, a so-called Eco System for Smart Ships.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding, South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and its partners SK Shipping, Intel, Microsoft, the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (UCCEI) and the Daejeon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (DCCEI) will together help domestic companies develop “17 Ship Service Software,” that meet the needs of shipowners for safe ship operation and improved crew wellbeing.
The Ship Service Software that 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.
HHI and SK Shipping will provide technological mentoring services and smart ship platforms for the to-be-developed software while UCCEI and DCCEI hold briefing sessions on technology demand for shipbuilders and shipping liners to encourage the participation of the ITC companies.
“The Korean shipbuilding industry has developed on the back of the advanced manufacturing technology but now is the time for us to shift our focus to differentiated ship service technologies,” an HHI official said. “We see that customized and value-added software will play a role in reviving the industry.”
In May this year, HHI and Accenture jointly unveiled OceanLink, its version of smart ship, for the shipbuilding, shipping and onshore-logistics sectors. With a network of sensors and analytics software, shipowners can monitor a ship’s status and condition in real-time and have at their disposal a wide range of ship operation information including weather, location and onboard equipment and cargo status data.
