This article analyzes and explains the future of sustainable marine industries utilizing digital technology. This article introduces the efforts and vision of the "Smart Ocean" project promoted by Tokyo Institute of Science by Vice President Kei Sakaguchi and Specially Appointed Expert Fumio Watanabe. Tokyo Institute of Science aims for a "good future ocean" where global environment, future industries, food stable supply, and healthy secure living are linked through AI, digital twins, and physical space collaboration under three visions: "good earth, good society, good life."
As background to the project, following the government's 2016 goal of realizing a super smart society, Tokyo Institute of Science established the Super Smart Society (SSS) Promotion Consortium in 2018, developing industry-academia-government collaborative education and research with participation from over 60 institutions. The ocean, covering about 70% of the Earth's surface, is positioned as the last frontier for solving issues such as food supply and global warming, emphasizing the importance of utilizing Japan's vast exclusive economic zone for marine resource utilization.
As specific initiatives, Smart Ocean studies that started in June 2021 aim for a marine version of the Digital Garden City concept, leading to the establishment of the Suruga Bay Smart Ocean Parliamentary League (January 2022) and proposals at the G7 Hiroshima Summit (May 2023), constructing a demonstration field in Suruga Bay. This field promotes smart fishing, smart logistics, and sustainable ocean realization based on communication networks covering the entire bay.
The core technology "Set Net Digital Twin" is being developed, where real-time data collection sensors and communication devices are installed in Suruga Bay set nets with fisher cooperation, analyzing fish species, catch volumes, and fisher experience and know-how with AI. This enables estimation of fish conditions within set nets, with future expectations for setting appropriate hauling dates based on estimated fish species, catch volumes, and market values, and adding value through advance notification to markets, retailers, and restaurants.
This marine digital twin approach is applicable to offshore aquaculture and coastal fisheries, using collective intelligence from sensor information mounted on ASVs (small unmanned boats) and drones for near-future estimation, combined with automated fish landing robotics to realize safe, waste-free, environmentally low-impact sustainable marine industries. The ultimate goal is smart transformation of the entire supply chain from fishers to consumers.
Tokyo Institute of Science's vision integrates enhanced CO2 absorption by seaweed, scientific and technological solutions to marine debris and microplastic problems, implementation of advanced robot technology, AI, and communication technology in fisheries and shipping, and resource prediction and environmental change risk avoidance through precise marine digital twins. The article concludes that building a comprehensive ecosystem linking global environment, future industries, food stable supply, and healthy secure living is essential for realizing sustainable marine society toward achieving SDG14 "Life Below Water."