Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Develops World's First 'Cyber Commissioning' Technology

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, is accelerating the development of next-generation ship solutions by applying Digital Twin technology to ships.

On the 25th, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering announced that it has obtained Approval in Principle (AIP) from Lloyd's Register (LR) for the world's first developed "virtual sea trial solution for LNG carriers."

This solution uses Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering's Digital Twin ship platform (HiDTS) to create a virtual cyber environment identical to the actual ship's sea trial conditions, allowing verification of the performance of key equipment such as the LNG carrier's dual-fuel engine, fuel supply system, and power and control systems.

In particular, it enables simulation under extreme conditions that are difficult to experience during actual sea trials, and reduces the sea trial period, cutting costs by up to 30%.

Generally, LNG carriers require about a month of sea and gas trials, involving around 100 personnel to evaluate operational safety, gas loading and unloading, and tank cooling.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group opened a simulation verification facility (HILS) in 2017 and applied Digital Twin technology to verify equipment such as engines. Through the newly developed solution, it has succeeded in expanding the application of Digital Twin technology to the entire ship system.

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering plans to sequentially develop Digital Twin solutions such as asset management, energy optimization, and risk prediction following the development of this virtual sea trial solution, securing autonomous navigation core technologies.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group launched the Integrated Smart Ship Solution (ISS) in 2017 and recently developed a Digital Twin ship platform that integrates AI-based simulation technology. At the end of last year, it established Avikus, a specialized autonomous navigation company, accelerating efforts to secure next-generation ship technologies.