ILIAD

ILIAD develops an integrated digital framework for Digital Twins of the Ocean. The aim is to make complex marine processes transparent, comparable, and usable across different regions.

Background

ILIAD is a European research project focused on developing an integrated digital framework for maritime data and information services. The project addresses key challenges in ocean observation such as fragmented data systems, lack of interoperability, and limited scalability, thereby creating a foundation for transferable applications across different geographic regions.

Objectives

The goal of ILIAD is to enable Digital Twins of the Ocean that integrate maritime observation data, models, and simulations and support data-driven decision-making in areas such as environmental monitoring, biodiversity, and pollution. To this end, the project develops a scalable and interoperable digital ecosystem that makes environmental conditions analyzable and ensures the transferability of solutions to different marine regions and application contexts. In addition, user-centered visualizations are developed, and relevant users from research, public administration, and industry are actively involved.

Role of Fraunhofer IGD

Within the ILIAD project, Fraunhofer had three main thematic focuses:

1. Fraunhofer contributes to the conception, development, and implementation of key components for Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTOs). The focus lies on the pilot integration of marine sensor data into digital twins, the development of procedural 3D environments, and the architecture of DTOs with regard to scalability, replicability, and transferability to other areas.

2. Fraunhofer supports the preparation and validation of sensor technology, the expansion of data and metadata structures, and the cross-site use of the developed solutions, including with a view toward later integration into the European EDITO infrastructure.

3. Fraunhofer develops high-performance methods for the procedural generation of marine environments. These are incorporated into immersive, game-engine-based applications and enable scalable visualization of marine habitats.

Results

Within the ILIAD project, several functional Digital Twins were created, including a working minimum viable product of the Digital Ocean Lab. This includes a digital 3D representation of a real marine test field with integrated sensor systems, current profiles, as well as real-time, on-demand, and mock-up data.

In addition, software components were developed that enable uniform acquisition, description, and reuse of data from different sensors. These include structured data and metadata models as well as accompanying documentation that allow easy replicability and cross-site application.

User feedback from industry and public authorities was incorporated into further development and supports the usability and transferability of the solutions for future applications.