KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), provider of maritime satellite connectivity, announced that it has expanded its KVH Watch® suite of maritime IoT solutions with Cloud Connect. This new addition is a service designed to use advanced edge computing to enable integration of maritime applications and digital services for smart shipping.
Cloud Connect is designed to address the complexity of managing data from hundreds of onboard sensors with a comprehensive package containing data source definitions, data mappings, and associated dashboards. An onboard Cloud Connect Edge Server aggregates and processes data from vessel sensors and provide a containerized, hybrid cloud architecture to enable downsampling, data storage, and data access for analysis, cloud-based data reporting, and dynamic visualizations. The Cloud Connect service has undergone onboard-vessel trials and is available to order for shipping on November 30, 2021.
“The power of Cloud Connect is its ability to turn data into economic benefits for a fleet of vessels,” says Sven Brooks, senior director of IoT business development for KVH. “With Cloud Connect’s data acquisition, aggregation, and analysis capabilities, connectivity from the sensor level on vessels to analytics in the cloud is poised to change the paradigm at sea.”
KVH Watch Cloud Connect is designed to deliver an edge-to-cloud IoT connectivity solution for many in the maritime industry. Vessel owners and operators can see operational data in real-time, such as noon reports, MRV reports (monitoring, reporting, and verification), or EEXI (energy efficiency existing ship index) compliance; they can also see how each system and ship performs based on chosen key performance indicators. Equipment manufacturers and multi-card service providers can monitor onboard equipment to support service contracts and warranties via versatile data analytic reporting tools and customizable dashboards. Vessel performance optimization and analytics consultancies can rapidly deploy digital services, condition-based alarms, and dashboards for fuel savings and operational efficiencies throughout a fleet using KVH blueprints written to the ISO 19848 standard normalizing data channel names for comparisons.
Cloud Connect is part of the KVH Watch maritime IoT suite, which includes the ability to perform on-demand Remote Expert Interventions using video, voice, or text via KVH’s global HTS network. KVH Watch is designed with stakeholder budgets in mind as a Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) program offered for an all-inclusive monthly fee with no equipment purchase CAPEX or maintenance costs for the Watch terminal, Cloud Connect equipment, or Remote Expert Intervention equipment for the subscription duration. For cybersecurity, the KVH Watch antenna provides an isolated-for-purpose LAN, data connectivity at the sensor level, a secure Wi-Fi network for SOLAS-regulated spaces, and a dedicated connectivity solution separating IT and OT as recommended by IMO 2020.
