A Japanese government-funded project to develop the world's first predictive maintenance system for industrial plants will employ artificial intelligence and advanced technology to store data in a secure and user-centric way.

The IOTA Foundation, a German-based nonprofit organization behind the technology, said it has been chosen as a partner in the project funded by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, a national research and development agency operating under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The project, which seeks to strengthen the durability of critical infrastructure, will optimize facility management systems deployed in power, industrial, petrochemicals and oil refining plants throughout Japan by digitizing maintenance data and using artificial intelligence to predict when checkups are needed, according to the foundation.