Simulation Platform

October 3, 2022

MTI has been researching the utilization of simulation platform in the marine field. The use of simulation technology in the development and testing phases to solve complex systems and hardware that would be very expensive to build in the real world has been actively pursued mainly in the automobile and aerospace industries. The maritime industry has also begun to utilize this approach, and various simulation platforms are being used for different purposes. In recent years, simulations and the development of tools and software that integrate specific fields (e.g., ship dynamics and power management) have also become popular.

In order to perform simulations, it is necessary to consider various factors such as “objectives,” “metrics for evaluation,” “modeling methods,” and “tools/software.” While there are different methodologies and empiricisms for each of these areas, as one example of these technologies, we introduce FMI (Functional Mockup Interface) / Coupled Simulation (co-simulation). *1 FMI is a common standard to link models created by different tools, and co-simulation is the process of linking models created with different tools and simulating them in a coordinated manner. Co-simulation is a technology that allows for the integration of simulations in different domains, regardless of the tool used to create them, and is suitable for collaborative work among multiple participants on complex problems.

We are involved not only in “using” technologies such as FMI/coupled simulation for specific purposes, but also in “creating” them. For two years, we participated in the Open Simulation Platform-Joint Industry Project (OSP-JIP), a project to develop a simulation platform for ships and release it as open source. Although the project itself has been completed, the knowledge and technology gained as well as the network of people and companies fostered at that time are still very helpful in our current R&D activities.

Demo screen of simulation platform^*2

In October 2022, MTI began participating in the “Maritime and Ocean Digital Engineering” (MODE) cooperation program at the University of Tokyo. One of the important research topics in this program is the development of a common simulation platform in order to promote the utilization of model-based development (MBD) and model-based systems engineering (MBSE) in the maritime industry. To solve complex and difficult problems in the maritime industry in a safe and efficient manner through the cooperation of diverse participants, we will continue to promote R&D in cooperation with other organizations within and outside the NYK Group.

(Participating companies: quoted from ^*3)

*1 FMI website

*2 MTI Journal No. 14 “Efforts toward an Open Simulation Platform for Ships” by Seiichiro Ishii

*3 Press release on Aug 8, 2022 “Establishment of Maritime and Ocean Digital Engineering Cooperation Program at the University of Tokyo – Aiming to build a cooperative simulation platform for sustainable maritime logistics -“

(Writer: Tadanori Matsui)