French Racing Yacht Design Enhanced by Digital Twin Technology

The summer is a time when many people enjoy messing about in boats, but for the Orient Express Racing Team, this season means taking things to a whole new level with the use of a digital twin. This French racing team, gearing up for the 37th America’s Cup, has partnered with Siemens to incorporate a digital twin into their latest racing yacht to enhance performance.

Founded by sports tech company K-Challenge, the Orient Express Racing Team boasts a talented lineup of French athletes, engineers, technicians, and experts. Leveraging Siemens Xcelerator software, the team has developed a digital twin to simulate the hydraulics and aeronautic systems of their yacht while it's out on the water.

Collaborating with Siemens’ Simcenter Engineering Services, the Orient Express Racing Team is utilizing the digital twin to assess the real-world functionality of the hydraulic flight and aeronautic systems responsible for controlling sails and rudder/foil flaps actuation. By creating digital twins of these systems, along with dedicated libraries, the team ensures a comprehensive and user-friendly interface for their multi-disciplinary team effort.

When discrepancies arise between expected and actual performance, the team references data collected from the water to make adjustments to the systems model. This process helps identify issues such as suspected leaks in the hydraulic systems, enabling the engineers to align simulation results with real-world data more accurately and efficiently, thus optimizing inspection and maintenance procedures.

Digital twins have proven their effectiveness in various industries, from modeling semiconductor fabs to managing electricity grids. Stephan Kandler, CEO of K-Challenge and Orient Express Racing Team, emphasized the significance of digital twins in advancing boat R&D alongside real-world testing. Siemens’ involvement has been instrumental in the team's strategy for the America’s Cup and other maritime transport decarbonation initiatives.

Looking ahead to the upcoming race, Jean-Marie Saint-Paul, CEO of Siemens Digital Industries France, highlighted the transformative impact of digital twins on complex systems in competitive environments. As the team readies for the America’s Cup, they are exploring the potential of using the digital twin-based systems model to stream live data from the race, compare real-time responses, and conduct virtual testing scenarios before hitting the water.