SHIFT-DT: Sustainable, Holistic, Integrated Framework for Ship Design and Production Transformation through Digital Twins

Project date
January 2024 – December 2025

Objective
SHIFT-DT aims to transcend the current advancements in ship design and production technologies by establishing a framework that incorporates the decarbonization of shipping by marrying holistic ship design with digitalized ship production and logistics through the application of digital twins based on the model-based systems engineering method. This novel approach positions digital twin technology as the next-generation solution for sustainable ship design and production. By realizing these research objectives, we can contribute significantly to integrating digital and innovative solutions in sustainable ship design and production.

Background
Digitalization and decarbonization are the transformative forces that will shape the future of shipping. Through technologies like Digital Twins (DTs), digitalization has the potential to revolutionize ship design and production, thereby advancing decarbonization. Extensive literature reviews, however, suggest that the application of DTs in ship design and production is nascent. Studies involving ships designed entirely with DTs are notably lacking, presenting the maritime industry with the significant challenge of establishing a new design methodology for ships using DT technology. This challenge extends to the broader manufacturing industry, where new design processes are evolving slowly and implementing DTs in ship production is an emerging, complex concept.

Crossdisciplinary collaboration
A collaboration has been established between the KTH Center for Naval Architecture at the Department of Engineering Mechanics and the Production Logistics Research Group at the Department of Production Engineering. This multidisciplinary team, comprising recognized experts in ship design and production, is exceptionally positioned to lead the digitalization of sustainable ship design and production.