Eureka/Eurostars: Spanish SME is seeking partner with experience in machinery failures prediction of the ship

The Spanish company is formed by a multidisciplinary team with wide experience in the naval sector. The modules already developed and marketed by Spanish SME are I - Static calculations of the intact ship; II - Static calculations of the damaged ship; III - Dynamic calculations with the intact ship; IV - Dynamic calculations with the damaged ship; and V – Optimization and control of energy efficiency. In addition, in collaboration with a Spanish university, it has developed a large part of module VII - Navigation control and approach to the port (by remote control), which has been tested on marine drones (TRL7). Now it only remains to develop and test it on large ships and reach the TRL9. The company seeks to apply to the Eurostars program and accordingly seeks a partner that guarantees Module VI: Control and prediction of machinery failures. It must guarantee the highest reliability and accuracy in ship failures detection thanks to the consideration of multiple physical magnitudes and operation signals; and provides information about the machinery condition thanks to the analysis of temporal frequency behavior patterns. It consists of developing a module that will have two operation modes: (i) normal mode adapted to the vessel to detect deviations from normal performance; and (ii) diagnosis mode that identifies the causes of any malfunctioning detected and provides recommendations. The module will is in continuous communication with a control unit inland, which will guarantee the correct performance of both modes and avoids the need of making frequent inspections of machinery onboard. There is it should be clarified that the software of auto diagnosis tools and anomalies detection modules, will be developed by Spanish SME staff, as well as integration with the rest of the modules. The remote operation center for machinery and automation systems moves the ship's engine control room to a Ground Engine Control Centre. There, the propulsion systems and auxiliary machinery of one or more ships will be operated remotely. The transfer of responsibilities and facilities for supervision and control to land reduces the need for on-board machine engineers so that the on-board maintenance personnel of the ship will be replaced by a single polyvalent marine man capable of assuming command of technical systems. The automation of the engine room is an essential initial step, previous to achieving an automated vessel. The partner for a research cooperation agreement should come from Eurostars member countries. The Spanish SME is willing to coordinate the project but open in case another SME is interested to lead the project. The Eurostars call cut-off date is February 2021. The deadline for expressions of interest is 31 December 2020. Anticipated duration of the project – two years.