RFF Trøndelag (Trøndelag Regional Research Fund) has granted the cluster’s Digifjord project (Digital Trondheimsfjord) NOK 700.000 to continue the development of a digital platform for testing and verification of autonomous ocean technologies.
The project includes a number of disciplines, such as design (product, service and user design), cybernetics, game development, in addition to a number of marine engineering disciplines. In short, the Digifjord project will create new knowledge on how easily accessible 3D technology, open data, photogrammetry and virtual models can be used for simulation and early testing of autonomous vessels and operations in the ocean space. An expected outcome of the project is increased efficiency and reduced costs for early-phase testing and verification of autonomous systems for maritime applications.
The project period is from April 2021 to April 2022.
Project partners:
As of today, there are many unresolved questions related to how autonomous ships should be able to operate safely and efficiently. Automation has so far been shown to be dependent on human monitoring and control, and we have a growing field of study aimed at interaction solutions between autonomous systems and operators. Major players are now building autonomous ships, with several more to come within a few years. With the development of new autonomous ships and solutions, there is a growing need for knowledge about solutions for monitoring and remote operations and infrastructure for testing.
Although knowledge from the automotive industry has some transfer-value to maritime applications, developing a virtual and digital model of the fjord and its surroundings as a platform where digital twins and data are combined for testing, simulation and verification, raises several challenges.