Schiffstechnik | Ship
Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology Virtual Reality training fascinates but faces many obstacles besides high costs © Korean Register Charles-Edouard Cady (Sirehna) in »Microservices to Reduce Ship Emissions«. The Digital Twin in the cloud combined with Big Data based performance monitoring can push operational guidance via an App to a captain’s mobile phone. But Cady sees also that »this approach creates challenges regarding certification, safety regulations, and security«. Digital training on the rise Blame it on Virtual Reality, but training is becoming a different game. Boosted by digital technologies we leave the known planet of nautical simulators, go where no [maritime] man has gone before and explore strange new worlds. For those feeling lost in this new universe, Volker Bertram and Tracy Plowman (DNV GL) offer »A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy of Maritime e-Learning«. Behind the catchy title hides a rather differentiated view on digital training, explaining why most stakeholders are disenchanted: The key lies in unrealistic expectations. An important take-home message is that digital training is often (initially) costlier than you think. It may take 100 hours development time to get 1 hour of decent digital training. The trend is towards combining digital training technologies, such as e-learning with simulation-based training. Michael Schmidt and Volker Köhler (benntec Systemtechnik) give a typical demonstration of how this is done in »Modular and Interactive Simulation Training Environment for Customer-Specific Maritime Training«. Raal Harris of market-leader KVH Videotel describes »How Virtual Reality Practically Impacts Learning Strategies within Maritime Training & Education«. He sees VR as potentially game-changing but points out that the digital transformation is not straightforward, but full of pitfalls and requiring re-designing training fundamentally. Woo-Sung Kil et al. present in »Development of Real-Time Emergency Response Training Simulator for Collective Ship Crews Based on Virtual and Mixed Reality« how Korean Register develops its Virtual Reality training tools presented at SMM 2018 further. The focus lies on safety training, such as fire drills or evacuation. Here, the technology has moved from single-player training to multi-player training, where also team coordination can be practiced in the virtual world. 68 HANSA International Maritime Journal – 156. Jahrgang – 2019 – Nr. 3
Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology Unmanned ships on the horizon There is no escape from the discussion about unmanned shipping – also not at COMPIT. While unmanned transatlantic containerships are firmly rooted in the phantasy of artist visions, unmanned tugs and fireboats seem to be within reach technically, economically and legally. The development had matured to prototypes and detailed designs in several countries. Yan et al. (Wuhan University of Technology) work on a remotely controlled ferry crossing the busy Yangtze river. In »Applying the Navigation Brain System to Inland Ferries« they describe how advanced sensor technology and Artificial Intelligence are brought together to allow unmanned ferry operation. Laura Walther et al. (Fraunhofer) present German developments in »Shoreside Assistance for Remote-Controlled Tugs«. This assistance system ensures data transfer and communication with the tug, allows line handling and propulsion control and integrates a situational awareness system. For some, tugs may be small fry. So where is the unmanned cargo ship? In short, on the horizon as the session title indicates. Svein-David Medhaug of the Norwegian Maritime Administration discusses unmanned shipping from an administration point of view, namely discussing the administration’s responsibility, and how the Norwegian administration will cope with innovation and new technologies. As an acknowledged pioneer in autonomous ship technology, Norway takes a leading role also in regulations and many will undoubtedly follow closely the disclosed roadmap and experience reported by the Norwegian administration. Medhaug prepares for a future where fully autonomous, partially autonomous and conventionally manned ships will operate side by side. Thomas Porathe (NTNU) takes a closer look at such scenarios from a perspective of occupational psychology. His paper advocates the need for precisions in the COLREGs and more transparency for the navigational plans of automated ships in the information exchange with conventionally manned ships. The wider view It is always difficult to pick highlights for the Hansa’s readership – too different at interests and professional backgrounds. But technology overviews and »Ship optimization to go«, just one of the innovations shown © Friendship Systems papers giving a perspective on an industry segment generally enjoy wider interest. Henrique Gaspar (NTNU) gives us »A perspective on past, present and future of computer-aided ship design«, where this rising superstar in the ship design scene reminds us of how many problems we have solved already – and how many new problems we created in the process. Fortunately, he remains optimistic for the future which will see »smart computeraided systems in ship design, merging artificial intelligence [and simulation] models and open access to ship design data.« This seems to echo a wider sentiment in the industry. »There are many aspects in which Artificial Intelligence can be applied in ship design, [… e.g.] learning as you go through the design[s],« confirm Rodrigo Perez and Jesus Munoz (Sener) in their paper »A.I. technologies applied to naval CAD/CAM/CAE«, where they outline a medium-term vision for design and production in shipbuilding. Ludmilä Seppälä shares Cadmatic’s vision for a »Future of Drawing-less Production in Shipbuilding Projects«. Using foresight methods and input from CAD users and shipyards, Cadmatic has built probable future scenarios of shipbuilding production up to the year 2050. Alongside the paper explores the evolution of the role CAD played in the past and will play in the future of shipbuilding production.n Drone inspection meets Artificial Intelligence, for down-to-earth engineering applications © DNV GL HANSA International Maritime Journal – 156. Jahrgang – 2019 – Nr. 3 69
