INTEGRAL COST-EFFICIENT SYSTEM FOR SMART NAVIGATION OF THE VESSEL

Project Information

JANUS

Grant agreement ID: 854981

DOI

10.3030/854981

Project closed

EC signature date 30 January 2019

Start date 1 February 2019

End date 31 July 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

JANUS SYSTEMS SL
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - JANUS (INTEGRAL COST-EFFICIENT SYSTEM FOR SMART NAVIGATION OF THE VESSEL)

Reporting period: 2019-02-01 to 2019-07-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Technological evolution is allowing disruptive changes in marine transport, providing important advantages to all agents of the naval industry. Big companies, such Rolls Royce, Veinland or Kinsberg, are designing and implementing technological solutions for improving navigation.
In the case of big vessels, with more than 100 GT of Gross Register Tonnage (GRT), European and global normative obligate to wear a set of basic technological units (denominated as modules), to ensure the stability of the vessel and monitorization of energy consumption. However, mandatory units are still insufficient, having important limitations in terms of safety, costs and energy efficiency, mainly due to human error.

In the case of big vessels, with more than 100 GT of Gross Register Tonnage (GRT), European and global normative obligate to wear a set of basic technological units (denominated as modules), to ensure the stability of the vessel and monitorization of energy consumption. However, mandatory units are still insufficient, having important limitations in terms of safety, costs and energy efficiency, mainly due to human error.

In this scenario, Janus Systems has developed JANUS®, the first intelligent system for improved navigation, capable of more efficient routes calculation and decision making. This is the first system in the market that transfer the calculation tasks (intelligence) from the crew to the vessel. JANUS® will allow both remote and autonomous operation, when these are contemplated by normative. Meanwhile, it can work under the crew supervision, but avoiding human errors, increasing safety and reducing fuel consumption.

Main European objective are to be protected with very strict safety rules preventing sub-standard shipping, reducing the risk of serious maritime accidents and minimising the environmental impact of maritime transport. The present project is completely aligned to European objectives, since JANUS® will improve safety and environmental efficiency of maritime transport, by minimizing human error impact and optimising maritime routes and fuel consumption.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project has consisted in the study of the feasibility of JANUS commercialization in the global market. Different aspects have been analysed:
- Market: JANUS® is addressed to shipping and shipbuilding markets. The value of the potential market is around 875.000M€.
- Commercialization: Commercialization plan of JANUS® is based in the following strategy: First, direct contacts will be stablished with different players in the reference markets. Then, the validation and homologation of JANUS® in these markets, will trigger global market expansion in subsequent phases.
- Cost, revenues and funding: Janus Systems will obtain benefits from two different channels: volume of sales of JANUS® and a provision of services fee (recurring income), which covers regular maintenance, software updating, improving versions, etc. For the initial stage of the commercialization plan, the company is aiming to get funding from the SME Instrument Phase 2 program, in order to maximise the impact of the project and to start market introduction in a first set of reference markets.
- Demonstration: JANUS SYSTEMS has reached an agreement for JANUS® validation, with the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). Trials will be performed in the vessel “Sarmiento de Gamboa” in real environment. Once the system is validated by JANUS and CSIC teams, the homologation process will be performed with the company Bureu Veritas, which has also been already involved in the project.
- Feasibility study: JAUNUS® improves safety and efficiency of naval sector and reduces costs for ship owners and builders. JANUS SYSTMS has developed a study to quantify cost reduction and time for return of investment in different scenarios. The system will produce an annual saving of 300,000 € in the current situation and of 1,450,000 € when autonomous navigation is allowed.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

JANUS have three main advantages, when comparing with the alternatives in the market: (i) greater security, thanks to the minimization of human errors, due to automatic decision making by the vessel; (ii) greater efficiency, thanks to a more optimized routes; and (iii) cost reduction, thanks to fuel consumption and crew reduction. As for the crew reduction, different scenarios have been considered, according to the type of navigation allowed by normative. In the case of fuel consumption, a 10% of reduction is expected with JANUS® in all the possible scenarios, thanks to an intelligent navigation system calculating the routes and the vessel speed.

JANUS SYSTEMS is already in the naval market, offering different products to ship owners, builders and operators. The company has a set of clients for the technological units that are already in the market.
JANUS® fits perfectly with the company strategy, being a new advanced product in the line and with the same target user than the rest of its products. The commercialization of the current products of the company has allowed to develop this new innovative product, requiring important resources and efforts. Next step is the validation of the product and its further introduction in the global market, which will also be covered thanks to the benefits that the company obtains from the sale of its products.
Besides, once JANUS® is introduced in the market after the execution of the present project, the company is expecting a huge boost in volume, with a turnover of around 12 M€ and 15 new jobs in 5 years.

Regarding boarder impacts, for Europe, maritime transport has been a catalyst for economic development and prosperity throughout its history. Maritime Transport enables trade and contacts between all European nations. It ensures the security of supply of energy, food and commodities and provides the main vehicle for European imports and exports to the rest of the world. Almost 90% of the EU’s external freight trade is seaborne. Short sea shipping represents one third of intra-EU exchanges in terms of ton-kilometers. Ensuring a good quality of life on Europe’s islands and in peripheral maritime regions depends on good maritime transport services. Each year, more than 400 million passengers embark and disembark at European ports. Overall, maritime industries are an important source of employment and income for the European economy.
Main European objective are to be protected with very strict safety rules preventing sub-standard shipping, reducing the risk of serious maritime accidents and minimising the environmental impact of maritime transport. The present project is completely aligned to European objectives, since JANUS® will improve safety and environmental efficiency of maritime transport, by minimizing human error impact and optimising maritime routes and fuel consumption.

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