Objective and intelligent training assessment package for maritime training in simulator

Abstract

Training in simulator has been used in maritime domain for years due to its cost-effective nature. Different scenarios with varied visibility, traffic density, weather conditions, etc. could be easily set up in the simulators. However, the existing build-in training and assessment package in the simulators is rigid as it does not take into consideration the change in traffic and navigational environment. Human experts are always involved to observe and assess the performance of trainees. An objective and intelligent training and assessment package is proposed to assist the experts in training to ensure objectivity and consistency. To identify the gaps and determine the relevance and the adequacy of the existing build-in assessment in the simulator, online survey has been distributed to the shipping companies and associations. The survey has gathered inputs on the actual shipboard practices when the seafarers are navigating in Singapore waters. This includes different types of vessels, vessel sizes, and external environment conditions such as visibility. The outcome of this analysis is used to form the baseline of a common practice at sea and used in the training and assessment package, which provides consistency in setting the critical training parameters. The training and assessment package reads the data from an advanced navigation research simulator and is able to sense changes and update itself in accordance with user-defined environment. Several assessment modules such as CPA under different traffic density and visibility, minimum distance from other vessels, rate of turn at different speed and loading conditions, will be covered by this training and assessment package.