Technical students from the Royal Netherlands Navy can now make virtual acquaintance with naval ships. They do this with a Virtual Reality program that Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, Thales Nederland and the maritime innovation cluster Extended Reality developed for them.
The so-called Intro-TD-OPV experience was created for students of the Royal Navy Technical Training. Supported by game techniques and a narrative, the student moves over the HNLMS Holland, a patrol ship of the Holland class and learns, playfully, the functional design of the ship and the location of the systems on board.
Recruit and retain
The idea is that virtual reality (VR) technology, game technology and gamification contribute to innovative education. The defence sector in general, and the Royal Navy in particular, nowadays need all the tools available to recruit and retain suitable personnel.
Extended reality
The VR programme was developed in close collaboration with the maritime innovation cluster Extended Reality. This cluster is largely run by naval personnel from the Simulation Center Maritime (SimCenMar). Here experiments are performed with all kinds of possibilities of extended reality.
For the realisation of this VR project, Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) worked closely with students from the Media Designer course at Scalda in Vlissingen. They participated in the course 3D models and graphics. To date, more than ten trainees have been involved in DSNS’s ever-growing VR/AR (augmented reality) department.
Picture (top): Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Admiral Benelux Vice Admiral Rob Kramer with VR glasses on.
