Dassault Systemes has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IPACS to jointly pursue technical and business opportunities in key industries in Australia, namely natural resources, defence, marine and offshore, cities and territories.

IPACS is an Australia technology company specialising in the collection, monitoring and reporting of real-time asset performance in various industries.

Dassault Systemes and IPACS went through a value assessment during a pre-qualification phase for the South Australia Government’s marine and defence industry supply chain programme, the “Virtual Shipyard”, to develop a strong domestic defence industry that will support the Federal Government’s Future Submarines and Future Frigates programmes set to commence in 2020.

In the course of the assessment, Dassault and IPACS identified each other as partners with strong and desired skills for technical and business collaboration as they explore opportunities in natural resources, defence and other key industries in Australia, they said. Under the terms of the agreement, Dassault will collaborate with IPACS to create a “first-of-a-kind industrial demonstrator in Internet of Things (IoT) for joint exploration of these business opportunities”, which will leverage IPACS’ IoT sensing technology and Dassault Systemes’ software solutions on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Kailash Nath Sriram, Managing Director and CEO of IPACS, said: “IPACS currently operates South Australia’s pioneering Remote Operations Centre (ROC) for the state’s resources industry. This new industrial IoT demonstrator will be a fantastic platform for IPACS in expanding our expertise to service other major industries.”

The ROC is a collaboration between OZ Minerals, the University of South Australia, IPACS Power and the South Australian State Government that provides an information and communications technology (ICT) platform for remote applications. It examines how vibration analysis of equipment at a distant mine site can indicate impending problems and failures. This enables equipment to be repaired before issues arise and used more intensively for longer periods.

The collaboration also further extends Dassault Systemes’ ongoing partnerships with local companies in Australia for industry capability development and expansion.

Said Masaki Sox Konno, Managing Director, Asia Pacific South, Dassault Systemes, said: “As a technology partner to IPACS, already an established player in South Australia’s resources sector, Dassault Systemes brings its global expertise and best practices in industrial processes and digitalisation solutions to the collaboration.”