Siemens Digital Industries Software announced today that the Orient Express Racing Team is using the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software to aid in preparation for the upcoming 37th America’s Cup and to gain a competitive advantage.

The Orient Express Racing Team, founded by sports tech company K-Challenge, brings together some of the best French athletes, engineers, technicians, and experts to win the most prestigious international sailing competitions, including the America’s Cup. Mastering this ultra-competitive environment is the drive behind the company’s creativity and capacity for innovation.

Working in close collaboration with Siemens’ Simcenter Engineering Services, the Orient Express Racing Team is gaining an understanding of the real-world performance of the hydraulic flight and aeronautic systems that control sails and rudder/foil flaps actuation. Digital twins of these systems have been built, parameterized, and functionally validated, along with dedicated libraries, that help ensure the layout and interface are comprehensive and easy to operate in a multi-disciplinary team effort spanning the Performance, Mechatronic, and Hydraulic groups.

“Sailing boats have dramatically changed since the arrival of foil technology enabling them to fly above the water. Managing two fluids and all the new aerospace flying technologies has become a real challenge as the game is completely changed,” said Stephan Kandler, CEO of K-Challenge and Orient Express Racing Team. “Digital twins and virtual testing became a major breakthrough in enhancing the R&D of boats, in addition to real sailing. Having Siemens on our side was a key element of K-Challenge Racing & LAB’s strategy in America’s Cup but also for other developments in the maritime transport decarbonization.”

“Siemens is incredibly proud to work with K-Challenge and the Orient Express Racing Team to help them in their bid to succeed in the 37th America’s Cup race,” said Jean-Marie Saint-Paul, CEO, Siemens Digital Industries France and CEO, Siemens Digital Industries Software France. “The work achieved through our technical collaboration now and during the forthcoming race shows how the benefits of digital twins of complex systems can leverage the use of real-time data in one of the most competitive sporting environments.”

The team identifies deviations from expected performance and references water data to adjust the systems model, such as pinpointing potential leaks in hydraulic systems, in order to align simulation results with the data. This approach enables more precise and efficient targeting of inspections and maintenance.

As they prepare for the race, the team can leverage the same digital twin-based systems model, designed for real-time performance, to stream live data from the race and compare the real-time response with the model. Moreover, when the boat is not in the water, the systems models integrate with K-Challenge’s virtual reality simulator. Finally, the team can also refine control system strategies and test multiple scenarios virtually before conducting water-based tests.

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a leading technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare. From more resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, and smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation as well as advanced healthcare, the company creates technology to add real value for customers. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers its customers to transform their industries and markets, helping them to transform the every day for billions of people. Siemens also owns a majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, a globally leading medical technology provider shaping the future of healthcare.

In fiscal 2023, which ended on September 30, 2023, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €77.8 billion and net income of €8.5 billion. As of September 30, 2023, the company employed around 320,000 people worldwide. 

Siemens Digital Industries (DI) leads innovation in automation and digitalization, consistently driving the digital transformation in both process and discrete industries through close collaboration with partners and customers. By offering its comprehensive Digital Enterprise portfolio, DI equips companies of all sizes with a complete range of products, solutions, and services to seamlessly integrate and digitalize the entire value chain. Moreover, the portfolio is tailored to meet the specific demands of each industry, helping customers enhance productivity and flexibility. In addition, DI continuously introduces new innovations to incorporate cutting-edge future technologies into its offerings. Siemens Digital Industries, headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany, employs approximately 72,000 people globally.

Software helps organizations of all sizes digitally transform using software, hardware, and services from the Siemens Xcelerator business platform. Siemens’ software and the comprehensive digital twin enable companies to optimize their design, engineering, and manufacturing processes to turn today’s ideas into the sustainable products of the future. From chips to entire systems, from product to process, across all industries. Siemens Digital Industries Software – Accelerating transformation.