Virtual Reality (VR) Safety Education for Ship Engine Training on Maintenance and Safety (ShipSEVR)

Abstract

The training and educational skills expected today from maritime engineers surpass their ability to follow them consistently. Such knowledge gap can impact significantly ship safety and operations. On this reality, ship engineers face multiple challenges related with the time required to be educated on each engine type, time needed to spend off the ship to acquire this training, the continuous training cost, and the easy access to complete engineering documentation and schematics. This paper attempts resolve these challenges with ShipSEVR (Ship Safety Education with Virtual Reality). The technology delivered has been achieved with the contribution of the smart technology company Wärtsilä and Ade with the contribution of VR development. TUAS, Ade, and Wärtsilä work close on research to optimize this engine room virtual reality training environment and impact ship and maritime safety. The paper demonstrates the industry challenge, technology architecture, working prototype, implementation methods, and adaptation techniques.