“Technologies for Future Ships and Future Shipping” is the theme of the 11th HIPER Conference, www.hiper-conf.info. Advanced thinkers from research laboratories, maritime authorities and industry meet to offer a sneak preview of the future of the maritime industries in Zevenwacht, South Africa, September 11-13.
The main take-home messages from HIPER’2017 are:
- Digitalization now – Digitalization comes, in fact it is here already. Smartphones for stability tests? You’ve got it. Drone-based inspection? You’ve got it. Booking your virtual towing tank in the cloud? You’ve got it. Your pass to the future? Apparently, a smartphone and a credit card. Digital solutions change the way we do business in our industry as we speak. And at least one new player will surprise you.
- Autonomy meets team-playing – Of course, no discussion of future technologies can avoid unmanned or autonomous ships. Good news: The drones are team-players. They cooperate (in prototype testing) on cleaning up oil spills and garbage floating on the water. They swarm out by the hundreds for oceanographic mapping, and the Norwegian Maritime Directorate has formulated already its point of view on the future of autonomous shipping – playing along our conventional manned ships.
- Smart design, smart building – 3d models are the backbone of future shipbuilding. Big Data from ship operation is piped back to improve the next designs. And the knowledge is stored in Digital Twins. Passing on the treasure of knowledge to ship operators and other stakeholders. Physics are simulated, ergonomics explored in Virtual Reality. And the smart ship yards (“shipyard 4.0”) evolve – towards “totally integrated automation” – as demonstrated for a new shipyard in South Africa.
HIPER covers three days, with sessions dedicated to coherent themes:
- Day 1: “Digital Solutions”, “New Ways of Doing Business” “Smart, Autonomous, Unmanned?”, and “Cool Ships”
- Day 2: “Future Antifouling”, “Future Fuels & Converters”, and “Future Design Methods”
- Day 3: “Fast & Furious”, “The Power of Simulation”, “Yards of the Future”
DNV GL will contribute with several papers demonstrating its competence and commitment to the maritime future:
- Cabos et al. – “Towards Future Hull Surveys based on Virtual Reality, Drone and Digital Twin Technologies”
- Plowman – “Maritime e-Training – Matching Requirements to Solutions”
- Hochkirch, Hahn – “Cloud-Based Numerical Towing Tanks: Anytime, Anywhere and for Anybody”
- Bertram, Yebra – “Past, Present and Prospects of Maritime Antifouling”
- Bertram – “Ship Design Technologies: A CAVE-man’s View”
- Bertram – “Simulation of Ships in Sea-Ice: A Survey”
HIPER shows us that the future starts now - in some cases it might have started without us noticing it yet. And you can be part of it. There is still time to join.
Contact: volker.bertram@dnvgl.com