The Korea Research Institute of Shipbuilding and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) announced on April 24 that it has received Digital Twin READY certification from Lloyd’s Register (LR) for its virtual-environment-based autonomous ship performance verification technology in response to the growing global competition for autonomous ship technology.
In response to the global trend of autonomous ship technology, Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) has launched the comprehensive development project for autonomous ship technology in 2020 and is aiming to establish a demonstration base for the development and commercialization of autonomous ship technology through the Korea Autonomous Surface Ship Project (KASS Project). As part of this project, the KRISO has established the Autonomous Ship Performance Demonstration Center and constructed and operated the Autonomous Sailing Demonstration Vessel “Marine Nuri” with the support of MOTIE.
The technologies certified by Lloyd’s Register include the Self-Tested Ship Simulation (S-TAS) and the Virtual Data Generation System (VDGS). Both technologies were developed by the KRISO in collaboration with Safetech Research and Zinos, and were installed and operated at the Autonomous Ship Performance Demonstration Center (ASPDC) and on the demonstration vessel Marine Nuri.
The Digital Twin READY certification awarded by Lloyd’s Register recognizes the applicability of digital twin-based technology. By evaluating the engineering, software development process, and development capabilities of S-TAS and VDGS, Lloyd’s Register has formally confirmed that the technology can validate the performance, safety, and reliability of a wide range of systems installed on autonomous ships.
S-TAS verifies the performance of autonomous ship-equipped systems by simulating the actual operating environment of a ship as well as the operation of ship equipment in the simulated environment, thereby reproducing various test conditions that may occur at sea.
The VDGS provides the target system with conditions such as virtual seagoing vessels and obstacles during actual sea trials to remove the limitations associated with the imposition of navigational conditions during the conduct of sea trials, thus allowing for the simulation of a wide range of navigational scenarios and the testing of the performance of the target system.
KRISO believes that the Digital Twin Ready certification is of great significance to the international leading technology in the field of performance verification of autonomous ships as well as autonomous ship technology.KRISO will continue to utilize S-TAS and VDGS to carry out performance verification in complex conditions such as harbors, in order to promote the development of the core technology of autonomous ships.
