Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), in partnership with M1, has implemented a 5G augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) smart glasses solution at its yard in Singapore, the first in Southeast Asia’s maritime industry. The pilot project is part of Keppel O&M’s strategy to leverage digitalization and virtual technology to enhance the efficiency of remote operations for its tech-enabled workforce. The project received a grant from IMDA’s 5G Innovation Program for the development of virtual platform solutions.
Smart Glasses can have multiple applications. It can be deployed in different phases of a project’s construction as well as to optimize the use of resources in shipyard settings. Versatile virtual platform solutions such as smart glasses can help to improve the overall efficiency of production processes in the maritime industry.
Equipped with a camera lens, microphone, micro speaker and cellular or WIFI reception, smart glasses are powered by leading-edge software that can perform real time analyses and provide data to the wearer. The device also enables the wearer to communicate seamlessly with a receiver or control room. Smart glasses are also equipped with a micro projector, which can project a digital overlay of text and images within the wearer’s field of vision.
Chris Ong, CEO of Keppel O&M, said, “As a provider of leading-edge solutions for the maritime industry, Keppel O&M is pleased to partner M1 in leveraging digital technologies to enhance yard operations and safety. During the Covid-19 pandemic when safe management measures limited physical inspections and site surveys, we were the first to officially conduct remote inspections for a newbuild vessel with a classification society using smart glasses.
“Today, we are further expanding its use to not only improve the efficiency of delivering projects and enhancing yard operations but also widening our capabilities to provide digital solutions for our customers’ assets. This is part of Keppel O&M’s Yard of the Future initiative, which harnesses digitalisation to transform our products, services, and operations.”
Keppel O&M worked with M1 to test-bed applications for smart glasses, harnessing M1’s 5G high-speed and low latency connectivity to enable quicker and more effective responses.
Manjot Singh Mann, CEO of M1, said, “We are pleased to collaborate with Keppel O&M to pilot 5G-enabled wearables such as smart glasses, which can help solve critical challenges in Singapore’s maritime industry.
“Through M1’s robust 5G network, smart glasses can provide high-bandwidth immersive AR/VR environment that enables highly detailed representations and real time information to be relayed to users and control centres. The successful introduction of the smart glasses solution at Keppel O&M is a useful test case that can be scaled and replicated to boost operational efficiency and safety across businesses and industries.”
