KVH and Kongsberg bring IoT to the maritime frontlines

Photo: KVH

The team installed a KVH Watch VSAT antenna for IoT connectivity and the Kognifai Vessel Insight platform on Simrad Echo, a Norwegian research vessel owned and operated by Kongsberg, which will continue normal operations during the pilot project.

The system provides an integrated infrastructure for IoT connectivity and vessel-to-shore data. It speaks to the growing need of shipowners, managers and maritime equipment manufacturers looking for real-time monitoring and data analysis.

Simrad Echo will rely on Kognifai Vessel Insight to monitor main and auxiliary systems on the vessel and help ensure full availability. One of the features, the Kongsberg Mapping Cloud application, will move high-resolution echo sounding data from vessel to shore in real time so that shore-based teams can provide analysis to optimize vessel operations.

Vigleik Takle, Senior VP of Maritime Digital Solutions, Kongsberg Digital, said, "While Vessel Insight works as an infrastructure for accessing contextualized quality data from a vessel or fleet, KVH is providing an alternative for IoT connectivity that enables the transfer of data from ship to cloud."

The data flow from Simrad Echo will be facilitated by KVH Watch IoT connectivity as a VSAT solution that leverages KVH's end-to-end maritime connectivity services and high throughput satellite (HTS) network. KVH Watch features two modes: Watch Flow, a round-the-clock, machine-to-machine data delivery compatible with major IoT ecosystems such as Kognifai; and Watch Intervention, enabling on-demand high-speed sessions for face-to-face support, remote equipment access, and very large data transfers.

Robert Hopkins, Jr., Senior Director of Maritime Services, KVH, added, "Vessels are complex systems of systems that must work together for the vessel to perform reliably and efficiently. During the Simrad Echo pilot, Watch Flow will deliver a complete view of those systems to shore on a Kognifai Vessel Insight dashboard. One system, Kongsberg Mapping Cloud for very high-resolution bathymetry, is particularly data intensive, making it a great use case for our high-throughput Watch antenna."

The solution can be applied on a variety of vessels, ranging from small research ships to tankers, bulk carriers and containerships.