Rolls-Royce (RR) has opened the first in a series of ship intelligence experience spaces that will demonstrate how the latest digital solutions can transform the marine industry.
The first Intelligent Asset Management (IAM) experience space, opened today (27 November) in Ålesund, Norway, demonstrates how ship intelligence systems can harness the “power of data” to optimise fleet operations, reduce operating costs and improve maintenance procedures.
Validation of IAM Systems
The IAM space provides an area to validate the advantages of using IAM systems, such as the RR Energy Management (EM) and Equipment Health Management (EHM) portals in real-time, operational environments. RR plans to open more Ship Intelligence Experience Spaces around the world.
Digital Factory
Split into two distinct areas – an “Intelligent Analytics Centre Collaborative Canvas area” and a “Fleet Management Command Centre” – the IAM Experience Space will showcase the RR range of digital products for vessel and fleet management. The facility also provides a work space in which existing digital solutions can be honed and new ones can be developed.
'Essentially, the Intelligent Analytics Centre is a "digital factory", where data is transformed into insights that facilitate and support more informed decision-making,' says Jan Chirkowski, RR, Intelligent Analytics Centre Manager. 'The Intelligent Analytics Centre Collaborative Canvas space allows us to visualise this data, co-develop product features with our customers to make better use of that data and give them a complete digital picture of the current and potential operational performance of their fleet.'
Fleet Management Command Centre
The Fleet Management Command Centre area, meanwhile, is a proof-of-concept for a future product that puts all the information a fleet manager needs at their fingertips. The command centre is fitted out with an intuitive touch interface and a floor-to-ceiling, six-metre-wide curved screen to display collected ship data via systems such as the RR EM and EHM portals.
Machine Learning
The EHM portal, to be officially introduced next year, uses “Machine Learning” algorithms to flag-up any anomalies in the sensor data coming in from machinery and systems onboard a vessel, in a real-time, live operating environment. This information can then be used to make informed decisions to take more effective and pre-emptive action.
The concept of real-time machinery data is common in the aviation industry where aero-engine performance information is critical to safe operation. However, until recently, bandwidth availability and cost have been barriers to the concept being rolled out across the marine industry.
