KOREA
Kongsberg Digital simulation and
software selected to fast-track R&D at
new autonomous ship centre in Korea
UIPA, the South Korean Information and Communication Technology Promotion Agency, has awarded Kongsberg Digital
the contract to supply a fully-featured bridge simulator for a new, state-of-the-art autonomous ship research facility
in Ulsan, South Korea. The Korean government has committed to invest 130 billion won (US$110 million) in the project
over the next three years, with a goal of starting operations in 2023. The simulation contract is being delivered through
maritime ICT convergence specialists eMARINE Global.
The simulator will be used primarily for re-search
and development of navigational
equipment and display systems, and will
facilitate testing of autonomous vessel
technologies in a safe virtual environment
before trials in a designated autonomous
ship test bed. Based on Kongsberg Digi-tal’s
industry-proven K-Sim Navigation
platform, the new system will deliver
high-fidelity visual and physical simula-tion,
a radar signal interface function and
software for navigation analysis, equip-ment
testing and evaluation.
The high-fidelity simulator is due for in-stallation
in November this year. In addi-tion
to K-Sim Navigation, the delivery will
include development of new software to
integrate external inputs such as GPS
and wave sensors, as well as an API inter-face
to permit simulation data transfer to
other systems. Kongsberg Digital will also
supply an area database for the virtual
‘Ulsan Port’, and a modelling tool enabling
new simulator vessel models to be built
from the ground up.
Kongsberg Digital’s senior vice president
Tone-Merete Hansen said: “Kongsberg
Digital’s suite of simulators have a huge
potential in the maritime research and de-velopment
sector. The K-Sim technology
platform, with its physics-based model-ling,
incredibly realistic vessel behaviour
and virtual environment, enables testing
and verification of operations to a very
high level. Our simulation technology will
support UIPA to test, verify and shape in-novations
PAGE 14 THE MARITIME SIMULATION NEWSLETTER | DECEMBER 2019
in the field of autonomy. Other
international autonomy projects have re-cently
selected our simulation technology
to carry out advanced autonomy studies,
so we see a growing new market for ad-vanced
simulation.”
Kongsberg Digital is recognised as the
technology leader in simulators for crew
training and a driving force behind the
growing use of digital twins in maritime
applications. The company’s flexibility to
deliver a customized service including
research-focused software development
for the new autonomous ship research fa-cility
in Ulsan reflects its central role as an
enabler of new safety and performance-enhancing
technologies for both manned
and unmanned vessel operations.
PRESS RELEASE
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