Kiwa Finland is one of the main partners in Necoverse research project. The goal of the project is to create an industrial metaverse to train, design and conduct remote operations in ships and shipyards. Many operations can be carried out in the future with the help of metaverse technology. In the research project, Kiwa develops future inspection methods together with research partners.
The Necoverse research project was born as part of the Necoleap project, which is Meyer Turku’s business challenge project for the years 2022-2025. The main goal of the Necoleap project is to create a climate-neutral cruise ship and shipyard. The project is partially financed by Business Finland. The name of the Necoverse project comes from the words Necoleap (cruise ship of the future) and Metaverse. In the project, an industrial metaverse will be created for the shipyard and ships, which will serve as a collaborative environment for personnel and partners. A Metaverse solution creates the necessary energy efficiency in training, commissioning, planning, operations and maintenance.
Metaverse is defined in this project as a virtual world consisting of digital twins of ships, docks and their assets. Actions taken in the virtual environment affect the operation of the real world through remotely operated IOT devices. In the future, an inspector could be able to carry out an inspection in the metaverse with the help of IOT devices, cameras, sensors, device data and on-site personnel support.
In the project, Kiwa has partnered up by project management partner Dimecc and the research pilots will be done with partners Turku University of Applied Sciences, Aalto University and VTT.
Kiwa’s vision is to be an international pioneer in providing remote testing, inspections, assessments monitoring with the assistance of industrial metaverse technologies. To reach this vision, we need to understand what kind of remote inspections and continuous monitoring solutions could be implemented with current Metaverse, AR, VR, remotely readable sensors and IoT data. In addition, we need to understand what working methods should be used for remote inspections and how these methods could save time, money and lower carbon dioxide emissions.
Remote inspections in Metaverse environments can bring the necessary competitive advantage in the efficiency of Kiwa’s services. Inspectors could possibly serve a global customer base in a versatile, flexible and safe manner. In addition, Kiwa could offer equipment monitoring services more often, which could contribute to the spread of risk-based inspections.
The Necoverse project started before the summer 2023. At first, we looked for suitable inspection types where we could pilot remote inspections with our research partners. When the pilots will be ready, we will study their effectiveness and compliance.
At Kiwa, the project is led by Business Development Manager Tuomas Suominen.
The project is a significant investment from Kiwa in the future of our company, and with it we are creating a completely new way of working. We strive to be pioneers of remote technology to be ready to serve our customers in an even more versatile way.