The technology group Wärtsilä has today opened its Acceleration Centre in Singapore. This purpose-built centre promotes innovation and collaboration with industry, academia, and local partners to strengthen and develop Singapore’s maritime ecosystem. The opening marks a key milestone following the agreement signed between Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Wärtsilä in April 2018 to collaborate in areas of intelligent vessels, connected smart port operations, cyber-physical security, and digital acceleration with start-ups. Wärtsilä will also address cybersecurity challenges in connected maritime operations by launching its Maritime Cyber Centre of Excellence as part of the Singapore Acceleration Centre.
The first project to be co-created at the Wärtsilä Acceleration Centre is the Wärtsilä IntelliTug. The project to develop a harbour tug with autonomous navigation is being carried out together with MPA and PSA Marine, a leading marine services provider. The vessel will be capable of performing a range of routine missions designed to further improve tug safety and efficiencies, while reducing operator workload and pressures in one of the world’s most demanding harbour environments.
The IntelliTug project will involve a combination of technologies, innovations and capabilities within Wärtsilä’s vast portfolio, to generate a tailored solution for Singapore’s unique situation. It will deliver tangible customer value and provide a notable contribution to regional sustainability goals. This will include a new-to-market near-field wideband radar and real-time video analytics, integrated with a light-weight human-centric mission control system to supervise the close quarters and alert users on collision avoidance using adaptive, dynamic route planning capabilities. In 2019, together with MPA and PSA Marine, Wärtsilä will test-bed the IntelliTug concept on an existing tugboat in Singapore’s actual operational port.
Through implementing these strategic initiatives in the Singapore region, Wärtsilä is establishing critical links between the ecosystem players. In meeting the needs of multiple operational stakeholders simultaneously, it embodies Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine Ecosystem vision.