Integrating virtual reality software into the early stages of ship design

Abstract

This paper demonstrates a VR-HFE design revision tool that integrates VR within the concept stage to help increase error mitigation. The tool was built using a combination of game engine components, network development, and C#. The tool currently includes the ability to import design files, implement changes, measurements, personnel dummies, and involve multiple engineers within the same environment. The tool allows for rapid transition from the model space to VR visualisation, while allowing for design revision applications to be provided. The applicability of this tool is demonstrated through a proof of concept for VR interaction within ship design revision application of HFE focused compartments.

Full text

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
Integrating virtual reality software into the early stages of ship design
C Cassar, University College London, UK
R James Simpson, BMT, Bath, UK
N Bradbeer, University College London, UK
G Thomas, University College London, UK
SUMMARY
This paper demonstrates a VR-HFE design revision tool that integrates VR within the concept stage to help increase
error mitigation. The tool was built using a combination of game engine components, network development, and C#.
The tool currently includes the ability to import design files, implement changes, measurements, personnel dummies,
and involve multiple engineers within the same environment. The tool allows for rapid transition from the model space
to VR visualisation, while allowing for design revision applications to be provided. The applicability of this tool is
demonstrated through a proof of concept for VR interaction within ship design revision application of HFE focused
compartments.
NOMENCLATURE
.3DS AutoDesk 3ds Max format
.DAE Collaborative Design Activity format
.DXF Drawing Exchange Format
.OBJ Wavefront file format
2D Two-Dimensional Graphics
3D Three-Dimensional Graphics
API Application Programming Interface
CAD Computer Aided Design
ESD Early Stage Design
GUI Graphical User Interface
HFE Human Factors Engineering
SDK Software Developer Kit
VR Virtual Reality
VRTK Virtual Reality Toolkit
1. INTRODUCTION
Whilst there is a growing interest in Virtual Reality (VR)
ship design applications, there has not yet been a clear
design process and software implementation. The key
difference to using VR over existing 3D modelling
techniques is the immersive element, allowing the user to
step into the design. This could potentially be used to
improve awareness and understanding of human factors
considerations. However simply adding VR to the ship
design process alone is not enough to fully utilise the
potential of this new technology. To understand the
extent of its application there needs to be a direct plan of
implementation.
There has been research into the advantages of Human
Factors Engineering (HFE) and VR applications [1], but
none of this has developed a clear design process that
implements HFE and investigates applying VR as the
connecting instrument. The purpose of HFE is to take the
end user into account during the design process while
creating a full perspective of the desired environment for
the designer. Although there are engineers that specialise
in HFE, some aspects of this field are naturally
implemented by the naval architect.
By creating an interdisciplinary virtual environment this
can allow for a better opportunity of non-intrusive
collaboration [2]. This means that there is potential to
develop not only a VR tool for ship design but also a
method of implementation as well. There have been
insightful suggestions into the benefits of HFE [3], but
none speak of a clear ship design process that
implements ergonomics analysis with VR in a non-
intrusive manner.
The benefits of VR technology within the maritime
industry comes from its high immersive environment.
This includes aspects such as full-scale immersive
visualisation, which allows the engineers involved to
analyse the project from a first-person perspective. There
is also the opportunity to become less reliant on a
physical model of the vessel as the VR model will offer
similar tangible benefits. The benefits allow the designer
to gain a greater understanding of the area of focus and
then make design amendments. As the hardware and
software development environments become easier to
afford and work with, the addition of this technology into
the maritime industry is becoming more obvious. Most of
these VR applications require specialist coding
knowledge or have a high learning curve that makes it
difficult to implement within the design process. There is
currently no ship design process that integrates VR and
there is a lack of applications with non-specialist user
interfaces.
This paper presents an implementation of such a VR
HFE ship design revision tool along with the
development of various functionalities added to the
application. This work looks at the second part of three
major milestones involved in the completion of this
project. The first part involved a brief design revision
analysis that was used to understand the ship design
process [4]. The sections of the paper will include an
application analysis section that will cover current
research in the areas of implementation for VR. There
will also be a development section of this paper that
describes the planning stage involved and subsequently
the tool creation. Lastly, there is a section that covers the

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
basic functionality tests and conclusions found at this
stage of the project.
2. VR APPLICATION INTO SHIP DESIGN
2.1 VR APPLICATIONS ANALYSIS
VR for ship design has garnered interest because of
benefits such as increased immersion and spatial
awareness. This is also supplemented by the increase in
information obtained from visualisation, which in some
cases has allowed naval architects to make better design
decisions [5]. The development of VR is seen as the next
step in advanced visualisation due to the high amount of
spatial awareness and increased focus on detail within
the design [6].
VR within the ship design process is suggested to have
benefits that can increase error mitigation from both a
naval perspective and commercial one [7], [8]. During
the beginning stages of design, rendering into VR
environments has had noted issues, such as lack of
design clarity and detail, but as the technology improves
the benefits have begun to out-weigh the drawbacks [9].
This has been seen by the public enthusiasm the U.S.
Navy has expressed with the implementation of advanced
visualisation systems within their facilities [10], [11] and
seen by the development of new tools for existing CAD
software [12]. By using these virtual environments, it
lowers the dependence of physical models for detailed
aspects of the design. This is because the designer will
have access to a full-scale version of the design within
the virtual environment. In result the designer can look at
an up to date concept version of the model rather than
wait for the physical model for further design analysis.
These virtual models are more cost effective by avoiding
the validation stages of physical models and other
associated model build costs [13].
VR within the design process offers a new avenue for
design editing and innovation. Understanding the design
from a full scale and immersive perspective gives the
design team involved a more accurate depiction of the
model dimensions and ergonomics of the arrangement
[14]. VR allows the designer to find faults in the design
in a much easier fashion than traditional CAD [15]. If
there is a possibility of annotating the design this also
assists in design error illustrations in team environments.
Virtual team environments are an important benefit of
VR as this gives the designers involved a greater amount
of shared visual information to use for illustrative
purposes during design revision. VR can also make it
simple to illustrate design alternatives through
annotations, which can further the transfer of knowledge
amongst those involved in the design revision [16].
With added functionalities within VR such as
environment immersion, first-person product interaction,
and hand tracking this makes design modification easier
to implement by the designer [17]. This allows the design
modelling aspect of VR to become a less cumbersome
process, by giving the designer involved a simulated
hands on experience with the design. VR applications for
general arrangement design, which utilises VR for deck
plan modification and other levels of annotation have
also been proposed [18], [19]. The stated benefits of this
are that it helps with the early stages of vessel general
arrangement as this stage relies on the development and
analysis of new concept ideas. Looking at the design
from a first-person perspective can offer new insight,
which can stimulate innovative ideas towards the
concept. Figure 1 illustrates a simplified workflow
process for VR into ship design using current methods.
Using VR and applying it within ship design can allow
for thorough navigation of design concepts, which aids in
design error mitigation [20].
There have been proposals to use VR technology within
3D model testing for design revision. Soares [21]
suggests that the use of virtual environments for
presenting model simulations helps to increase the
realism and the clarity of the results. VR technology
within ship design revision is also suggested to allow for
more comprehensive ship predictions about the
characteristics of a vessel design [22]. This is due to the
increased amount of detail that is shown in the visualiser.
By giving the design team more visual information to
work with, this will allow for accurate predictions of the
impact that design changes can have on the vessel
lifecycle performance.
Figure 1. Workflow for visualising a vessel design in VR [13]

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
Advanced immersion because of VR can allow the user
to gain a more intimate understanding of the visual
results from CFD post-processing [23]. Barcellona and
Bertram [24] proposed an application could be used to
aid the CFD analyst in understanding the flow interaction
on the vessel, which will allow them to adjust their flow
model. This opens the possibility of creating a greater
avenue of communication for the CFD analyst and naval
architect. Making it possible for more in depth
illustrations of the flow models and its impact on the
vessel design to be communicated towards the team
involved.
VR in ship design revision and collaboration are
important additions to the overall ship design process. By
creating an environment that encourages technical
communication this creates a shared representation of the
design [2], which can be supplemented by the
implementation of work scenarios. This can be used to
consider the needs of the crew members involved in the
vessel design [25], [26]. The end user is also able to learn
from these collaborative environments, which can
increase the transfer of relevant knowledge amongst both
parties [27].
2.2 BENEFITS OF VR
By utilising VR, the design engineer will be able to
visualise the product at full scale from any angle [20].
This allows the engineers involved to inspect the design
and make amendments if desired. The VR environment
allows for the most realistic visualisation of the design
before it is built without the need for the physical model
[28]. The design engineer can obtain a deeper
understanding of the area of inspection’s functionality
and in turn make corrections where necessary.
The virtual environment can also decrease the need for
the interpretation of complex drawing plans as the
inspected area can be viewed in full scale. This opens the
opportunity for collaboration from different disciplines
[2], [28]. By having an environment that allows this level
of collaboration it creates an opportunity to increase error
mitigation within the design [27]. This shows the
potential for utilising VR as the bridge between
ergonomics orientated design and traditional ship design
methods in a non-intrusive manner. The term non-
intrusive is used in this instance to describe the
implementation of a technology without disrupting the
current process.
3. DEVELOPMENT OF VR DESIGN
REVISION TOOL
The aim of the development chapter is to explain the
macro steps involved in the creation of the VR revision
tool.
3.1 INVESTIGATION OF UNITY GAME
ENGINE
The reason why Unity was chosen as the main hub for
development for this project is due to the extensive
development community, and flexible C# programming
implementation. Interaction with the community made
collaboration easier to initiate. Also, because Unity
developers use a single programming language it made it
straight forward to obtain ideas, corrections, and SDK
implementation methods. The amount of resources
available from forums and chat environments also makes
Unity development a less solitary endeavour.
There are limitations in some aspects of interaction
between unity and file importing. One for instance is that
if there are any changes made to the uploaded file from
the original CAD tool, the file will have to be reuploaded
into Unity [29]. For this project we mainly focused on
importing .OBJ file formats due its use in a large array of
CAD tools. Also, it is often not the heaviest file type in
terms of data size. This made it an efficient starting point
for the project.
Before the final decision was made to choose Unity as
the build environment for this project, it was essential to
have a look at its competitor in the space, Unreal Engine.
Although the two of them are both used for 2D & 3D
game development the key differences for Unreal must
be noted:
 Firstly, the popular use of Unreal, which is mainly
used in video game development projects with a
mid/large publisher. This is mainly because these
publishing companies focus on producing 3D video
games, which can often result in high end graphical
visualisation. Unity has grown in this respect, also
being used for mid/large publishers for game
development.
 This then brings us to the second difference, which
is graphical fidelity. Although it is possible to
achieve similar visuals in Unity; the rendering tools
in Unreal are more conducive to achieve the desired
output for high end 3D visualisation [30].
Figure 2. Example of VR collaborative environment [23]

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
 Since past versions of the software were a paid
collaborative platform the community is more
tailored towards this exclusivity. The most recent
version of Unreal Engine is now free, similar to
Unity’s registration system.
 Finally, the programming language used by Unreal
is C++, whereas Unity uses C#. C++ differs as it is
an unmanaged language, meaning that the
programmer has to explicitly handle memory
allocations. As such C++ is seen to be a more
challenging language to master.
Unity has an integrated VR development environment
that allows for the creation of VR simulations without the
need for external plugins [29]. Although the Unity VR
API offers the basic functionality available for scene
development; the true benefit of Unity is the SDKs
developed by community members. For this project
VRTK SDK was utilised, especially for the starting point
of certain key functionalities planned for the tool [31].
The benefits of VRTK are that there are a variety of open
source fundamental interactable functionalities and
GUIs. This meant that the foundation of the desired
functions had a tested starting point, leading to ease of
modification for the desired use cases.
3.2 INITIAL PLANNING METHOD
Before the programming begun it was essential to
perform a design research investigation. The basis of this
investigation involved analysing a series of interviews
and literature to find key areas of implementation for a
VR tool into the ship design process. This resulted in the
decision to focus on ESD with a scope on HFE design
revision tasks [4]. After this stage, the next step of the
project focused on determining areas with high
ergonomic criteria, such as to have a suitable testing
environment for later case studies. The areas for design
revision that were chosen were based on interviews with
industry, which were determined to be the machinery
space, operational room, and bridge of a general-purpose
frigate.
With the areas of interest located, the development of the
tool focused on functions that would allow for ease of
implementation for engineers involved and help perform
HFE analysis tasks for the chosen ESD areas. This meant
that the first step involved in the development was to
create a process flowchart laying out the stages in a
typical usage scenario of the tool. The process flow
diagram is shown in Figure 4, which goes through a
simplified version of the engineer’s interaction with the
tool.
Preparation for tool development started with the
initialisation of the git repository. By using a distributed
version control system for the tool development, it
allowed for not only future collaboration but also for safe
data management. A combination of GitHub and
Sourcetree were used for the management and storage of
the repositories. The collaboration aspect of the tool
development involved BMT. Their involvement was an
important asset to the development of certain functions
of the tool, which will be described further on in the
paper.
The initial set up for Unity was quite straightforward.
The only preparations needed were to make sure that the
project was set up for 3D development, from that point it
was about making sure that the VR support was
initialised. Once the VR support has been started this will
Figure 4. VR tool process flowchart
Figure 3. VRTK stock GUIs example [29]

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
then boot up a few automatic functions of Unity. This
includes the head-mounted display rendering, automatic
head-tracked input, and the camera display is overridden
by a head-tracked positioning.
A design process pipeline was necessary to manage the
proposed timescale for this aspect of the project. This
involved choosing the CAD file that the design would be
developed in, and the rendering tool that any extra design
aesthetics would have to be corrected in. The reason
Rhino was chosen was purely because of its flexibility
between 2D and 3D. There was also an element of
accessibility, especially to do with the file export
capabilities, because Unity is limited to a various set
import files. The files that accepted by Unity are .FBX,
.DAE, .3DS, .DXF, and .OBJ files. For the sake of
simplicity, the file format that was decided to work with
for the tool import was .OBJ. This file type is capable of
being coupled with material data, which will further lead
to the enhanced aesthetics of the VR model.
A brief initial period of the design stage was spent in
Bentley Maxsurf, but this was only used to quickly
generate a hull-form. Once the initial model’s hull form
was generated this was then exported to Rhino where the
more detailed desired necessities of the vessel were
designed. At the last stage of the process pipeline; the file
was sent to Blender, which is an open source rendering
program. AutoDesk 3ds Max was also found to be a
possible substitute at this stage but both worked equally
well at this point. Finally, this created the 3D .OBJ
models that would be used for the basic tool tests.
3.3 TOOL FUNCTIONALITY DEVELOPMENT
The first step of the programming development stage,
with respect to Unity’s GUI programming structure, was
to develop the interface of the tool. This involved
creating a simple menu interface that allowed the
engineer involved to simply navigate to their design on
file and observe it in VR. The purpose of the simple UI
design was to minimalise the learning curve of the tool.
VR hardware tools often have a varying time of user
adjustment based on the individual.
To have a tool that can quickly take advantage of Unity’s
graphics engine, it became a focal point of the project to
rapidly upload 3D designs. This was done using an open
source set of scripts on Unity’s asset store called
‘Runtime OBJ Importer’, which was developed by a user
called ‘aaro4130’. These scripts were then edited to
conform to the needs of the toolset. A reference method
was created in the file browser upload button. This
activates the importer allowing for the model to upload at
runtime.
The use of the .OBJ uploader and a combination of the
file browser allowed for quick uploads of concept 3D
designs. This was important to the project as it
demonstrated an independent VR building environment
that is simple to use and quick in its execution. All the
materials were uploaded along with the design’s
geometry. This helped with giving the design more visual
aesthetics making it easier to identify items from each
other. Of course, this depended on the original materials
placed on the item during the design stage. Often the
.OBJ files demonstrated the best-looking designs once
major surfaces were converted into solids. This meant
giving the decks and hull form (or submarine casing as
shown in Figure 5) some level of thickness during the
design stage. Doing this is eventually a part of the design
cycle, so making it an effort to do it initially was not a
Figure 4. VR tool’s file browser
Figure 5. VR tool uploading the model

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
cumbersome task. The design was uploaded in full scale
and there were no data drops when uploaded. The unity
game engine does have some issues with uploading
objects with large curvature, but it is not noticeable
visually.
Unity’s physics engine allows the user to interact with
the objects in the environment. Utilising this capability
via script allowed for the implementation of a cross-
shader. The cross shader was a material set on a simple
quad platform game object. This platform was then made
interactable, allowing the user to hide objects based on
its vertical positioning. Once the equipment 3D model
game object has been selected and the hiding function is
selected; the equipment object changes to a white colour
indicating it can be hidden. A script was made to initiate
a shader function based on this dynamic movement in the
environment. Figure 6 shows an example of the quad
being used.
One of the first tool sets that was developed for the user’s
interaction was the distance measurer. This tool involved
using the raycast aspect of Unity, which gives the unity
events system indication of a point being in contact with
a physical object in the environment [29]. The purpose of
the tool was to place two points anywhere on the design
and then the measurement between the two will be
displayed in meters. This resulted in the development of
a simple raycast based distance measurer with a trigger
initiation.
The VRTK SDK was used specifically for some of the
more fundamental functionalities of the tool. Functions
such as basic controlled movement and the controller
menus. There was also use of the fixed joints found in
the interactable objects function [31]. Most of these tools
were not edited via script except for the ‘RadialMenu’
game object, which was a simple circular menu. The
other instances of VRTK functions used in this project
were left untouched.
A suitable interface was made for the users, which
involved having to make some edits to the VRTK menu
prefabs. A script was created to move the menu’s collider
from near the object of question in proximity to the
user’s controllers. Doing this allowed for ease of use for
Figure
6
.
Cross
-
shader example
Figure 7. Controller Menu
Figure 8. Ruler Tool Test Scenario

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
the engineer involved without the need for any strenuous
over reaching. The circular menus were activated based
upon the collision of the controllers with the object of
question. Figure 6 also demonstrates the results of the
collision of the user’s left controller with an object. This
would open the circular menu thus giving the user a
series of possible actions to take.
Once the development of the menu system was
functional the next step involved was building the model
library. This library included a combination of machinery
available in spaces of focus in a vessel as well as some
anthropometric avatars. The first set of machinery
designs were a set of integrated navigation system
consoles, chairs, and stairwells. An anthropometric
model for individuals in the 90th percentile [32] was
made as an initial functionality test.
Making an environment for multiple users in the same
space is important for collaborative design revision.
COTS VR hardware are generally designed to only allow
one headset to run on one computer. Therefore, enabling
network capabilities for the tool became an important
functionality to implement. The tool that was utilised for
this was Unity’s network manager, which allows for
local host management. This means that one of the users
can bring another into their environment while
maintaining the environment over the network [29]. The
environment set up is allowed, theoretically, to have up
to 8 users. This maximum capability has not been tested,
so the speed of user interaction in the environment at full
capacity may have some impact on the design revision.
4. VR TOOL FUNCTIONALITY TESTS
4.1 BASIC USAGE TESTS
A main goal of the tool is for the user interface to be
simplistic in its approach. The base radial menu provided
by VRTK is visually simple to navigate and offers the
desired level intuitive design. The radial menu, shown in
Figure 7, was designated for the left controller, and the
number of buttons on the controller are based on the
number of available tools. The functionalities of the
menu are based on a switch on and off set up. Currently,
there are three main controller tools, one being the ruler
tool and the other two being an inventory menu
initiation.
A distance measurer tool was developed within the VR
unity environment as a tool for spatial awareness
analysis. To test the tool, two points were picked
between two surfaces in the environment. This then
creates a link between the two points that initiates the
‘vector3.distance’ class, which returns the distance
between two points [29]. This number was then returned
Figure 10. Avatar Library Test Scenario
Figure 9. Equipment Library Test Scenario

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
via a text object and displayed above the controller as
shown in Figure 8. The distance represented in the VR
environment is relative to the scaling of the model. If the
model is scaled in metres the ruler system can be cross
checked with the original CAD model, which allowed for
the validation of the numbers represented in the VR tool.
This meant that a simple test of measuring the distance
between two points was done in the VR environment and
then checked in the CAD programme. When they were
shown to be the same; the tool was deemed to accurate.
An equipment list scenario was also tested. This involved
initialising the library independently and instantiating the
new piece of equipment in the environment. The tool kit
is selected via the menu wheel shown in Figure 7, which
brings up the menu library. The menu shows a list of
equipment types and then is chosen via selection using
the controller’s pointer function. Figure 9 shows the
integrated navigation system console being brought into
the environment. The tool then allows the object to be
moved around the environment for further testing of
design ideas and layout arrangements.
An avatar model that is scaled based on the height of
anthropometric percentile was introduced into the tool.
The purpose of the tool is to be used as a part of the HFE
element involved in the design analysis aspect of this
project. It also helps with understanding the spatial
awareness of the environment. A simple test scenario
was carried out that was like the equipment library test.
Figure 10 illustrates the scenario, which firstly involves
bringing up the inventory menu. At this point the desired
avatar is chosen and subsequently placed in the position
of question. This simple test helped to understand the
interaction of the model with the environment. It also
assisted in highlighting the difference a human-shaped
presence can make in changing design perception; adding
the model immediately made the movement allowance a
conscious design issue.
5. DISCUSSION
The aim of this paper was to describe the current level of
the program’s capabilities while demonstrating some test
scenarios. Functionalities of the program have been
shown, which demonstrates some basic tests being
carried out inside of an ESD. This shows that the
programme can quickly process basic concept designs for
further analysis. The designs being used in these
demonstrations only consider a few spaces of interest for
further analysis. Demonstrations of the different tools
within the design environment are shown to work as
intended with minimal interaction errors. The library for
both the equipment and anthropometric avatars is limited
at this time, but its implementation in the environment is
promising.
This work was an expansion on the initial research
published at COMPIT 2019 [30]. The study in that paper
looked at the initial design research done as a part of this
project. A set of design research studies were compiled,
which involved interviews with naval architects and
human factors engineers. This involved gaining their
understanding of the ship design process as well as
practical understanding of HFE within ESD. Also,
through these interviews special areas of interest were
found in the ship design process that would be used for
further case study analysis. By completing the design
research aspect of the project, it gave the VR tool
development a better sense of scope. This meant that
necessary functionalities could be developed that would
be best suited for the ergonomic analysis done on the
ESD spaces chosen on the vessel. This eventually
brought the scope of the software environment for this
tool to focus on HFE visual analysis.
Outside of the simple tool tests demonstrated in this
paper; the tool itself can be used for general design
revision scenarios. The amount of detail involved in the
design can have an impact on the accuracy of the tool so
at this stage in development the tool is best suited for
ESD. A recommendation for improving these detail
limitations depends on the graphics engine that the tool is
built around. Although Unity’s engine is flexible and
powerful in its current capabilities, to be used for more
detail design scenarios an independent graphics engine
may have to be developed. There is also the possibility of
adapting the tool to work with the CAD software such as
AutoCAD and attach itself as a visualiser plugin.
With the continuation of this work, there is the
possibility to further understand the impact this tool will
have on simple design revision scenarios. There is a
potential that the tool will create visual opportunities for
design corrections based on increased design perspective.
Although there is no claim in this work for VR to
completely take over 2D, or traditional 3D design work,
it should be stated that the benefits will vary based on the
scenario. It is theorised that VR can be used for areas of
the design process that 2D or 3D design are not able to
capture and vice versa. The purpose of the future work
will hopefully reveal this.
6. CONCLUSIONS
This paper has demonstrated some of the
accomplishments of the VR design revision tool
developed at UCL. A short discussion on the use of
Unity for this project has also been considered, including
a comparison with its nearest competitors. The tool has
been developed with a focus on ergonomic design
assessment scenarios at the concept stage. The basic tests
included demonstrating some of the functionalities
involved in the tool. A brief background analysis was
also discussed in the steps taken to arrive at the desired
levels of functionality.

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
7. FUTURE WORK
The next steps of this project will focus on developing
case study scenarios utilising the tool in HFE ship design
revision-based tasks. These tests will include a focus on
concept stage spatial areas on a general-purpose frigate,
which have been chosen to be the bridge, operation
room, and machinery space. The case study scenario will
conduct HFE assessments using the same design from a
2D, 3D, and VR perspective. This will help to conclude
the distinct benefits that VR has from more traditional
formats of ship design.
8. REFERENCES
[1] VAN DE MERWE, F., KÄHLER, N., and
SECURIUS, P., “Crew-centred Design of Ships –
The CyClaDes Project,” Transportation Research
Procedia, 2016.
[2] MENCK, N., et al., “Collaborative Factory
Planning in Virtual Reality,” Procedia CIRP, vol.
3, pp. 317–322, 2012.
[3] COSTA, N. A., HOLDER, E., and
MACKINNON, S. N., “Implementing human
centred design in the context of a graphical user
interface redesign for ship manoeuvring,”
International Journal of Human-Computer
Studies, Apr. 2017.
[4] CASSAR, C.-J., BRADBEER, N., and THOMAS,
G., “The Implementation of Virtual Reality
Software for Multidisciplinary Ship Design
Revision,” presented at COMPIT, Tullamore,
Ireland, 2019.
[5] ANDERSON, T., “The UK Virtual Ship- The Way
Forward?,” NEJ, Jan. 2000.
[6] ŠIKIĆ, G., and BISTRIČIĆ, M., “Stereo 3D
Presentation of Ship Structures Using Low Cost
Hardware,” presented at the International
Conference on Computer Applications in
Shipbuilding, Bemen, Germany, 2015.
[7] VON LUKAS, U. F., “Virtual and augmented
reality for the maritime sector,” presented at the
8th IFAC Conference on Control Applications in
Marine Systems, Rostock-Warnemünde, Germany,
2010.
[8] ROSENBLUM, L. et al., “Shipboard VR: from
damage control to design,” IEEE, vol. Vol.16, p.
pp.10-13, Nov. 1996.
[9] MORAIS, D., WALDIE, M., and LARKINS, D.,
“The Evolution of Virtual Reality in
Shipbuilding,” in 16th Conference on Computer
and IT Applications in the Maritime Industries,
Cardiff, 2017.
[10] KOOLONAVICH, N., “US Navy eyes virtual
reality application with Moback CRADA,” VR
Focus, UK, 29-Jun-2018.
[11] PROQUEST,
“U.S. Navy Opens Center for Concept Visualizatio
n for New Ship Design Using SGI Onyx Advanced
.pdf,” PR Newswire Association LLC, New York,
United States, p. 1, 22-Jan-2004.
[12] ŠIKIĆ, G., “Using Virtual Reality Paradigm to
Present Ship Structures in CAD Environment,”
presented at the International Conference on
Computer Applications in Shipbuilding, Singapore,
2017.
[13] TORRUELLA, A., “Augmented reality labs:
Seeing the future of design,” Jane’s International
Defence Review, vol. 47, no. 10, pp. 32–33, Oct.
2014.
[14] ALONSO, V., PÉREZ, R., SÁNCHEZ, L., and
TRONSTAD, R., “Advantages of using a virtual
reality tool in shipbuilding,” SENER,
Madrid/Spain, 2012.
[15] JAMEI, E., MORTIMER, M.,
SEYEDMAHMOUDIAN, M., HORAN, B., and
STOJCEVSKI, A., “Investigating the Role of
Virtual Reality in Planning for Sustainable Smart
Cities,” Sustainability, vol. 9, no. 11, p. 2006, Nov.
2017.
[16] CEBOLLERO, A., and SÁNCHEZ, L., “Virtual
Reality Empowered Design,” presented at the
International Conference on Computer
Applications in Shipbuilding, Singapore, 2017.
[17] MARTIN, J., and CONNELL, A., “Accessible
Immersive Visualisation for Shipbuilding,”
presented at the International Conference on
Computer Applications in Shipbuilding, Bemen,
Germany, 2015.
[18] AHOLA, M., MAGICA, R., REUNANEN, M.,
and KAUPPI, A., “Gameplay Approach to Virtual
Design of General Arrangement and User
Testing,” RINA, 2014.
[19] MAGICA, R., “Proteus: A Cruise Design Tool for
the Future,” MA thesis, Aalto University School of
Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of
Media, AALTO, FINLAND, 2014.
[20] PEREZ, R., TOMAN, M., SANCHEZ, L., and
KERAUSCH, M., “The latest development in
CAD/CAM/CIM. The Virtual Reality in
Shipbuilding,” presented at The 29th Asian-Pacific
Technical Exchange and Advisory Meeting on
Marine Structures, Vladivostok, Russia, 2015.
[21] SOARES, C. G., Marine technology and
engineering, vol. 1, 2 vols. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC
Press, 2011.
[22] FERNÁNDEZ, R., and ALONSO, V., “Virtual
Reality in a shipbuilding environment,” Elsevier
Ltd., no. 81, pp. 30–40, Dec. 2014.
[23] FU, D., et al., “Virtual Reality Visualization of
CFD Simulation for Iron/Steelmaking Processes,”
in 2010 14th International Heat Transfer
Conference, Volume 4, Washington, DC, USA,
2010.
[24] BARCELLONA, M., and BERTRAM, V.,
“Virtual Reality for CFD Post-Processing,” in
COMPIT’2000, Postdam, 2000.
[25] NORDBY, K., BØRRESEN, S., and GERNEZ,
E., “Efficient Use of Virtual and Mixed Reality in

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands
© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
Conceptual Design of Maritime Work Places,” in
COMPIT’16, Lecce, 2016. [26]
THÉRISIEN, Y. L., and MAÏS, C., “Virtual
Reality – Tool of Assistance to the Design of the
Warship’s Complex Systems,” presented at
COMPIT 08, Liege, Belgium, 2008.
[27] PYNN, W., “Minimising the Designer / End User
Knowledge Gap using Virtual Reality,” presented
at the International Conference on Computer
Applications in Shipbuilding 2017, Singapore,
2017.
[28] GOH, K., and SPENCER, R., “Virtual Reality for
Concept Design,” presented at the The Royal
Insitution of Naval Architects Warship, London,
UK, 2018.
[29] Unity Technologies, “Unity User Manual
(2019.1),” San Francisco, California, U.S, Manual
2019.1, 2019.
[30] SUNDAY SUNDAE, “Unity VS Unreal – Which
Engine Should You Choose?,” 08-Aug-2018.
[31] Fox, T. E., “VRTK,” VRTK v4 beta is now live!,
05-Apr-2019.
[32] GORDON, C.C., “Anthropometric Survery of U.S.
Personnel: Summary Statistics Interim Report,”
Mar. 1989.
9. AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY
Christopher-John Cassar, BEng, MSc, AMRINA holds
the current position of PhD Researcher at University
College London. His project focuses on VR applications
into early stage ship design. His previous experience
includes spending the beginning of his career as a Naval
Architect focusing on offshore structural design of
offshore wind turbines, and engine room design.
Richard James Simpson, BSc, holds the current
position of Unity 3D Developer at BMT. A software
developer that uses gaming technology to design and
create synthetic immersive training applications and
environments using VR and AR (Augmented Reality)
technology. With a degree in Games Development, he
has a wide range of experience developing 3D virtual
walkthroughs for various Royal Navy platforms for use
in training and familiarisation.
Dr Nick Bradbeer, MEng, MSc, PhD, CEng, FRINA,
holds the current position of Honorary Lecturer of Naval
Architecture at University College London. He then
spent two years working as a desk officer for the Royal
Navy’s technical safety assurance body for submarines,
before returning to the department to complete his PhD.
He is a member of the Royal Corps of Naval
Constructors, with experience of working on both surface
ships and submarines. Nick’s main areas of research are
survivability and operational modelling of surface
warships, with an interest in cost-effective means of
improving the resistance of ships to explosions. Other
areas of interest include unconventional ship and
submarine design, and the application of virtual reality to
naval architecture.
Professor Giles Thomas, BEng, MPhil, PhD, CEng,
FRINA, holds the current position of BMT Chair of
Maritime Engineering at University College London. A
naval architect, his research focusses on the performance
of ships, boats and offshore structures. Specific interests
include fluid-structure interaction, hydrodynamics, full
scale measurements, model testing and design.