Case Study: JRCS Co. Ltd. achieves safer autonomous vessel navigation and overcomes maritime communication barriers with Microsoft Azure Stack Edge

AI in edge appliances promotes Autonomous Vessel in the maritime industry and overcomes communication barriers at sea

JRCS Co. Ltd., a long-established Japanese maker of maritime instruments and power systems, set out to address the industry’s aging workforce, crew shortages and safety challenges—exacerbated by limited ship-to-shore communications—by driving digital transformation. To modernize operations and make seafaring more attractive to younger workers, JRCS created a Digital Innovation LAB and the “infinity” DX brand to develop AI and mixed-reality solutions for ships.

Their flagship solution, infinity command, combines Azure Stack Edge with Azure IoT Hub, Machine Learning Studio and related Azure services to run computer vision and sensor-fusion workloads at the edge. Installed on vessels and trialed with Hankyu Ferry, the system provides real-time object detection, map annotation and route prompts on tablets, reducing crew stress and improving situational awareness and safety; Azure Stack Edge’s cloud-like, subscription model sped development and enables future plans for wider rollout and autonomous navigation.

JRCS Co.

Atsushi Sora

Digital Innovation LAB / Chief Digital Officer