KRISO holds a hull magnetic field communication technology testbed demonstration

▶ Waves of innovation heralded with a demonstration of magnetic field communication technology, the key to autonomous ships

□ The Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO; president: KeyYong Hong) successfully held a hull magnetic field communication technology testbed demonstration on November 7 at Namhang (South Port) in Busan. Through this, it verified and confirmed the possibility of a new vessel wireless communication technology.

□ Hull magnetic field communication technology, a method where data are transmitted through magnetic fields on metal surfaces instead of radio waves, is an innovative technology that makes communication possible even in environments in vessels, where radio waves are blocked by metal structures, making wireless communication difficult.

□ In particular, this technology is expected to be established as a key technology for autonomous control and unmanned vessels, efficiently collecting diverse sensor data inside vessels and being indispensable to stable communication even in environments with numerous bulkheads.

□ For this demonstration, a hull magnetic field communication network (five magnetic field communication terminals) covering the entire vessel from the bow to the engine room was constructed in a 300-ton passenger ship. Through various experiments, the excellence and usability of hull magnetic field communication technology were proven by confirming stable data transmission speeds and communication quality including closed-circuit television (CCTV) video and data delay rates and packet loss rates.

□ Starting with this demonstration, KRISO is scheduled to step up efforts for application to other maritime fields in addition to accumulating data to optimize the realization of hull magnetic field communication-based wireless environments in vessels through testbed operation interlocked with diverse Internet of things (IoT) sensors by 2025.

□ Woo-Seong Shim, the head of the KRISO’s Maritime Digital Application (MDA) Unit, said, “Through testbed operation, we confirmed the possibility of stable communication in vessels made of metal structures with a magnetic field transmission method that uses metal surfaces instead of radio waves,” stating, “Through follow-up projects, we plan to implement internationalization and commercialization actively for application to state-of-the-art maritime mobility such as autonomous ships.”

□ Meanwhile, hull magnetic field communication technology has been acknowledged for its excellence and innovation, obtaining New Excellent Technology (NET) certification in oceans and fisheries and being fully reviewed and acknowledged as a new emerging technology by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) in 2023.