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Lean innovative connected vessels

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - LINCOLN (Lean innovative connected vessels)

Período documentado: 2018-04-01 hasta 2019-09-30

The global challenges, such as climate changes, green energy, food security, people safety and migrants mobility, and the new technological developments are reshaping the European economy, affecting the usage of the marine space as well. In the last decades, new business activities were born along the European sea coasts, such as aquaculture and renewable energy, beside the intensification of more traditional ones, like blue tourism, surveying, emergency and recovery response. This marine business diversification brings new activities and requires specialized operations and then the maritime industry is challenged to develop innovative vessels able to work in a more and more efficient, cost effective and specialized way to satisfy the above business needs. LINCOLN project demonstrates how this new market demand of the maritime sector can be satisfied through an integrated approach among the technological enhancements in the vessels equipment and ICT sector, a new design & shipbuilding proposition and the vessel life cycle perspective adoption. This adds high value not only to the vessels in themselves, but to the whole shipbuilding industry and its value chain.
LINCOLN project vision is to develop three new added value vessels with innovative on board equipment, using lean design methodology and IoT solutions, able to be used in diverse maritime coastal activities and sectors in an efficient and sustainable way. The new developed vessels are:
• A multi-platform catamaran to serve as Service crew vessel and Multipurpose survey vessel, with hybrid propulsion and innovative people transfer system
• A design and production module based high-speed patrol boat platform, with its first vessel release
• An Emergency Response and Recovery Vessel (ERRV), with a low cost dynamic positioning system.
These vessels represent three highly focused costal activities and takes in account all the main seas around Europe (Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, Mediterranean).
They have been designed according to the lean fact based design approach, reported in figure 1.

Figure 1: LINCOLN Lean fact based design approach
LINCOLN has developed and applyed lean design tools (KbeML – Knowledge Based Engineering Modelling Language) and methodologies (SBCE – Set Based Concurrent Engineering), taking care of sustainability of the whole process, from environmental (LCA - Life Cycle Assessment) and financial (LCC - Life Cycle Cost) point of view and adopting digital solutions, through an integrated IoT (Internet of Things) platform, able to provide knowledge and future services to the maritime sector actors. In detail, the IoT platform consists of a physical part made of dedicated black boxes (also called edge gateway), the UMG (Universal Marine Gateway) black box for vessel prototypes and the MG (Marine Gateway) for commercial versions, hosting sensors and connected to other vessels systems, like the on-board weather station Portweather, able to provide short time weather forecast locally. The data gathered by the sensors are then collected and sent to a cloud system, where they are analysed and processed through specific algorithms. The generated information is published through a web interface to different end-users categories, like designers, shipbuilders, suppliers, maintenance companies, etc. Moreover, the platform includes a semi-automated virtual towing tank, based on HPC (High Performance Computing) and named LincoSim, where the designers can simulate the hull behaviour in different conditions, fastening the design choices.
The benefits of the LINCOLN IoT platform are not just limited to the design and shipbuilding phases of the vessels, but they can also be extended to the operational life of the vessels, enabling new after sales services in the maritime sector. Figure 2 shows the whole LINCOLN project approach.

Figure 2: LINCOLN project approach
During the project the LINCOLN consortium has strictly collaborated to develop the three vessels with their integrated innovative equipments, together with the methodologies and digital tools used to demonstrate the project vision. Picture 3 shows the identified exploitable results.

Figure 3: LINCOLN exploitable results
The exploitable results in terms of single products and composite products, such as the IoT platform, have been identified since the early stage of the project, taking care of the target maritime markets needs as main development driver. A study about the exploitable results requirements has been done in WP2. In parallel with the requirements definitions, the development of the different exploitable results was done in WP3, for the technological solutions, and in WP4, for vessels design methodology application and technical vessel concepts design.
In WP5 the vessels validation has been conducted through virtual towing tank tests. The virtual towing tank (LincoSim) has been developed and validated against the vessel towing tanks tests, resulting a second vessel validation approach. Finally the IoT Platform has been validated in industrial environment and the sustainability report, resuming the project models and results has been released.
In WP6 the communication, dissemination and exploitation activities of the project have been done. Moreover, an external advisory board made of maritime organizations has been managed through virtual and physical meetings, to advise the LINCOLN partners on the project activity and developments. Collaborations among LINCOLN and HOLISHIP, SHIPLYS and BLUEMED CSA H2020 projects have been done. Last but not least, a skill development methodology to enable the adoption of digital solution in the maritime sector has been developed together with open access web trainings, about LINCOLN results, available on LINCOLN website: www.lincolnproject.eu
Last but not least, in WP1 the project team, the executive board and general assembly have been named and organized in a proper structure at the beginning of the project, and they have been monitor and control the project activity from managerial, administrative, financial, qualitative and technical point of view.
LINCOLN exploitable resuls are:
• Multiplatform catamaran for Survey and Services, with hybrid propulsion system and innovative people transfer system
• Module based high-speed patrol boat Platform, with two vessels models (P42 and RS models) delivered
• Emergency Response with the Recovery Vessel and its HJDP (Integrated Dynamic Position System)
• Lean Design methodology for maritime sector
• UMG black box [Universal Marine Gateway (UMG)]
• MG black box [Marine Gateway (MG)]
• Portweather.
• LINCOLN IoT platform
• LincoSIM - HPC Virtual Towing Tank.
• LCPA SW - Life Cycle Performance Assessment SW.
The resulting lean innovative and connected vessels bring to their sectors the following technical and operational benefits:
- An Innovative Hybrid Propulsion (diesel-energy) for the 20-25m length vessels segment
- Reduced fuel consumptions and emissions between 10 and 50%
- A safer people transfer system to/from wind farms platforms
- A vessel modular platform solution for 8 to 15m length vessels
- An easier customizable vessel design and shipbuilding process
- An innovative dynamic positioning system for small rescue vessels with low operational cost
- Safer rescues operations
- Short time and on board weather forecasts
- New services along the vessels value chain through cloud web interfaces.
LINCOLN project approach
LINCOLN Lean Fact Based Design Concept
LINCOLN exploitable results