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The VERA research project, whose full name is "Data bases, infrastructures and technologies for virtual testing of automation functions", is being supported with a total funding amount of €2,328,240.99, of which €876,541.19 will go directly to the University of Duisburg-Essen. It is a cooperation between various partners in the field of ship technology and automation, including the DST - Entwicklungszentrum für Schiffstechnik und Transportsysteme e.V. (DST), the Chair of Mechatronics (IMECH) and the Institute of Ship Technology, Marine Engineering and Transport Systems (ISMT) at the University of Duisburg-Essen, as well as the Institute of Automatic Control (IRT) at RWTH Aachen University and Ingenieurbüro Kauppert (IBK).
The main objective of VERA is to set up a virtual test environment for inland waterway vessels based on the existing VeLABi infrastructure. The test environment includes a simulation-based environment with waterways, terrain, hydraulic conditions, weather conditions and digital twins of inland vessels. It enables the integration of automation functions both in terms of hardware (HiL) and software (SiL) via modular interfaces.
The research project aims to test systems and subsystems for (partially) automated ship navigation. The functional areas include environment perception, object and obstacle detection, localization, positioning, situational awareness, path and trajectory planning, control, regulation, monitoring, communication and networking. It is necessary to integrate subsystems into an overall system with defined interfaces in order to test functionalities.
A modular structure enables a multifunctional simulation environment in which functional areas can be detached and added. In addition, generic interfaces and protocols for data exchange are defined and implemented. VeLABi will be expanded into a multifunctional and modular virtual test field in order to model larger sailing areas, depict traffic, physically represent the movement dynamics of ships and generate realistic sensor data.
A higher-level monitoring and control instance is required to carry out, monitor and control tests. The project is also developing the technical requirements for carrying out virtual testing of safety-critical systems. Future steps include the identification and definition of procedural framework conditions and quantified risk variables for risk assessments and reliability tests.

Project duration:

             11/2022 – 01/2025

Website of the project:

VERA – Smartshipping

Project supervisors at the Chair of Mechatronics:

• Frederic Kracht
• Maximilian Jarofka
• Christian Hürten
• Jason Sutanto

Participating chairs/departments at UDE:

• Chair of Mechatronics (Prof. Schramm)
• Institute for Ship Technology, Ocean Engineering and Transport Systems (Prof. El Moctar)

Further project partners:

• DST - Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems
• Institute of Automatic Control (RWTH Aachen)
• Ingenieurbüro Kauppert

Belongs to profile focus of the Faculty of Engineering at UDE:

• Smart Engineering
• Human-Centered Cyber-Physical Systems

Link to Faculty (profile focus): www.uni-due.de/iw/de/forschung/psp