Wärtsilä Partners With Microsoft For Marine IoT

Wärtsilä Voyage and Microsoft, aim to reinforce the synergies within the end-to-end digital services portfolio and bring all its current and future products on a common platform. Thus, enabling faster deployment and easier maintenance of all Wärtsilä Voyage technologies and software through IoT.

In the meantime, Wärtsilä is increasing its investments in remote operation capabilities, shared data standards. Moreover, leveraging Microsoft’s long-term investment in cybersecurity that supports its commitment towards monitoring, security updates, and asset management services.

Building on its existing IoT experience, the platform will also help Wärtsilä Voyage further advance its autonomy offerings.

Wait. What is IoT Technology?

Partnership

Wärtsilä Voyage has entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft. Wärtsilä Voyage, a leader in end-to-end onboard solutions with decades of experience and expertise in marine Internet of Things (IoT). Now, through an integration with Microsoft Azure IoT Edge, the company plans to accelerate its efforts towards industrializing IoT for shipping through a highly scalable cyber-secure platform. The Wärtsilä platform will help the company and its partners deploy digital solutions to the market faster and more easily.

This collaboration signals Wärtsilä Voyage’s strong focus and commitment towards the deployment of streamlined Intelligent Edge technology. It is an essential enabler to meet the industry’s decarbonization targets as well as the large-scale application of autonomous technology.

“The maritime world is entering the digital era where mutualizing our investments into common platforms and standards are a prerequisite to successful innovations for a more sustainable and efficient maritime industry… The Wärtsilä common platform will act as an enabler to deploy future technology for autonomy and emissions reduction”.
Sean Fernback, President, Wärtsilä Voyage and Executive Vice President, Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä will also focus on strategic themes spanning industrial remote operation capabilities, state-of-the-art cybersecurity with active monitoring, runtime, and commonly shared data standards to ease collaboration between maritime stakeholders.

“The same way smartphone and some automobile manufacturers are able to update, deploy new features, and improve their systems remotely, the new generation of digital ships needs to constantly adapt, update to keep up with their evolving ecosystems while staying cyber secure at all times,”
Pierre Guillemin, Vice President, Technology, Wärtsilä Voyage.

Insights

Through its secure-by-design remote operation capabilities, the Wärtsilä platform will enable immediate access to the latest solutions onboard. Asset commissioning, diagnostic, updates, and upgrades available remotely — streamlining maintenance, speeding up deployment, and increasing vessel uptime.

Wärtsilä Voyage will also integrate several Microsoft Security and IoT solutions. Hence, enable to strengthen the platform with monitoring, security updates, and asset management services.

“Wärtsilä Voyage is innovating with solutions that reduce carbon emissions and enhance autonomous shipping. Its vision of the secure and connected vessel will be anchored by Microsoft IoT Edge and Security solutions. We look forward to help drive this significant step in the industry’s transformation,”
Ralph Haupter, President of Microsoft EMEA

Therefore, the company will accelerate its efforts towards building an open development environment with;

Standardized data formats and APIs that reduce fragmentation
Integrate systems to reduce the complexity of digital services lifecycle
Multi-layered cybersecurity built into every smart ship and maritime ecosystem solution.

Building on Wärtsilä Voyage’s existing IoT experience, the collaboration will further help unlock autonomous capabilities.

“Digital systems essential for vessel autonomy, such as extending existing sensor technologies, require a paradigm shift in processing power and integration to enable the next generation of autonomous vessel systems… Wärtsilä Voyage’s long experience in machine learning, for instance, gained through the development of vessel optimization systems and flagship autonomous projects such as Intellitug, help us in scaling integration capabilities across the maritime industry.”
Pierre Guillemin, Vice President, Technology, Wärtsilä Voyage.

Nerd Thoughts

IoT technology is gradually entering the maritime sector to benefit everyone. Hence, allowing vessels and other ecosystems in the shipping industry to develop Digital Twins for continuous development. In this regard, Korean shipyards are introducing this technology to support digitalization and address the evolving demand for large-scale LNG carriers.

Source: Wartsila