TwinSea
Integrated digital twin, IoT, and HIL systems for real control hardware
Digital Twin, IoT, and HIL Testing Before the Field
TwinSea connects digital twins and Industrial IoT data acquisition with real PLC code, controllers, embedded software, sensor networks, I/O hardware, and test benches so teams can test behaviour and capture reliable operational data before equipment is commissioned offshore or on site.
Where TwinSea Helps
Debugging PLC code on real machinery is slow, expensive, and dangerous. Virtual commissioning with TwinSea can shorten on-site commissioning, because much of the code arrives already tested against the twin.
Edge cases, failure modes, and emergency scenarios are difficult or unsafe to exercise on real hardware. TwinSea lets you stage them deterministically in simulation, then repeat them with the real controller in the loop.
Engineering, electrical, and software teams typically serialise around the physical machine. With TwinSea, software development starts against the digital twin from day one, in parallel with hardware build.
The Twin Is the Shared Foundation
TwinSea is not a standalone tool bolted onto the other MimeSeas products. The twin, its live state, and the equipment library that describes winches, motors, gearboxes, drives, and cable and line behaviour sit at the centre of the platform, and every other family works through it.
- MetroSea writes measured real-world state onto the twin, so survey and positioning data is available to control logic and analytics as it is captured.
- SimSea carries the twin forward through physics, for training, procedure rehearsal, and engineering study.
- AutoSea reads that state and decides how to actuate the equipment, with the deterministic control loop always staying local to the machinery.
- NoeSea learns from the twin's accumulated history, without a separate data pipeline to build and reconcile.
Because simulation and virtual commissioning draw on the same equipment library, the simulator that trains your operators and the twin that validates your control code are the same machine model. That is a property of how the platform is built, not an integration effort you pay for per project.
Virtual Commissioning Workflow
Step 1: Visualise
Build the twin from CAD geometry and equipment models from the shared library, then connect the control code: a real PLC over its I/O, an emulated controller, or an imported Allen-Bradley L5X project. The visualisation layer gives engineers, operators, and stakeholders real-time 3D feedback on the same machine in the same state.
Step 2: Define
Set test objectives: what must the control code prove before it ships? Configure simulation parameters, environmental conditions, and events to inject. Define success/failure criteria upfront.
Step 3: Execute
Run scenarios against the control code. Engineers can run the same scenario in parallel against emulated controllers to compare control strategies, tuning approaches, or algorithm variants, then confirm the chosen version with the real PLC in the loop.
Step 4: Analyse
Review recorded data with built-in analysis tools. Measure performance, reliability, and safety margins against success/failure criteria. Iterate on PLC code and retest until control software meets targets.
Supported Domains
Maritime and Offshore
DP controllers, crane control on floating and jack-up platforms, cable lay tensioner control, dredging automation (TSHD and CSD), jacking system controllers, mooring and anchor handling, and ROV tooling.
Autonomous Vessels
Guidance, thruster allocation, power management, collision-avoidance logic against simulated traffic, and fault-tolerant control for autonomous and semi-autonomous vessels, tested against simulated vessel dynamics.
PLC and Controller Integration
TwinSea connects with real control hardware, IoT gateways, and field sensors through the platform's shared protocol layer. It is designed to work with Siemens, Beckhoff, Bachmann, Rockwell, and B&R controllers, and Allen-Bradley projects are also supported at file level through the AutoSea L5X toolchain.
Protocols: OPC UA, Modbus TCP/RTU, EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP, Siemens S7, CAN, CANopen, J1939, MQTT, and NMEA 0183/2000.
Target PLC Platforms
- Siemens: S7-300, S7-400, S7-1200, S7-1500, TIA Portal
- Beckhoff: TwinCAT 2 and TwinCAT 3
- Bachmann: M1 controller family via OPC UA
- Rockwell Automation: ControlLogix, CompactLogix, Studio 5000
- B&R Automation
- Generic IEC 61131-3 controllers via OPC-UA or Modbus
Supported Protocols
Service Models
Complete Virtual Commissioning
MimeSeas builds the digital twin and IoT data layer, specifies and assembles the HIL hardware, integrates it with your PLC code or controllers, runs the test campaign, and delivers validated control software with full test evidence.
Platform Licensing
TwinSea, together with the SimSea physics and HIL layer it runs on, is licensed to your engineering team with onboarding, training, ongoing support, and optional HIL hardware packages. For clients who want virtual commissioning as an in-house capability.
HIL-as-a-Service
Hosted access to TwinSea environments on MimeSeas-run infrastructure, with MimeSeas engineering support and HIL rigs set up per campaign. Suitable for periodic validation campaigns without capital investment.