The iSea programme has been approved for funding by the Eurostars programme. In addition to Danelec Marine, participants are Vessel Performance Solutions (Denmark), i-Marine Technologies and Research (Turkey) and Deniztekno Danismanlik Bilgi Teknolojileri ve Bilgisayar (Turkey).
An iSea team will deliver a set of expert decision support systems (EDSS) for enhancing the performance and navigability of vessels. EDSS will be enabled by a low-cost and low-risk telematics solution, providing real-time transfer of crucial data from ship to shore. The main goals will be to increase fuel efficiency in open waters and facilitate near-shore navigation and reduce human errors, especially in difficult waters.
The R&D program will commence in January, 2017 and will run for two years. It will include EDSS solution sea trials.
“A critical element for an EDSS for ship navigation is the availability of real-time data from shipboard sensors and systems,” said Hans Ottosen, Danelec Marine CEO. “As a part of the iSea initiative, Danelec Marine is investigating an alternative type of communication, which would give a subscriber access to real-time data within limits set by the system administrator.”
The real-time data solution will use Danelec’s VDRConnect technology, which enables remote push-through and pull-through data retrieval from shipboard systems and sensors, according to Ottosen.
Eurostars is a European joint programme that supports international innovation projects by R&D-performing small- and medium-sized enterprises. It is co-funded from the national budgets of 34 EUREKA countries and the European Union, with a total public budget of €1.14 bill for the period 2014-2020. EUREKA is an intergovernmental network launched in 1985 to support market-oriented R&D and innovation projects.