The use of Virtual Reality in Yacht Design and Visualization

Abstract

Particularly in recent years, development of virtual and augmented reality applications has begun to attract the attention in all sectors, also in the yacht industry. Virtual Reality (VR), which can be described as a virtual environment, is a computer-generated three-dimensional environment that makes the user feel like being in a "place" by providing a variety of artificial information for the user's sense organs. Today, VR has achieved an adequate level of development for it to be considered in innovative applications such as design and visualization in the yacht industry. In this paper, the authors demonstrate the advantages of using 3D interactive VR visualizations in yacht industry from the design stage to presentation and marketing. Some features and techniques related to developing a VR simulation are also presented by case studies.

Full text

The use of Virtual Reality in Yacht Design and Visualization
Bekir Şener*, Onur Beşli**
*Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey, bsener@yildiz.edu.tr
**Nabla VR, Istanbul, Turkey, onurbesli@nablavr.com
Abstract
Particularly in recent years, development of virtual and augmented reality applications has begun to
attract the attention in all sectors, also in the yacht industry. Virtual Reality (VR), which can be described
as a virtual environment, is a computer-generated three-dimensional environment that makes the user
feel like being in a "place" by providing a variety of artificial information for the user’s sense organs.
Today, VR has achieved an adequate level of development for it to be considered in innovative
applications such as design and visualization in the yacht industry. In this paper, the authors demonstrate
the advantages of using 3D interactive VR visualizations in yacht industry from the design stage to
presentation and marketing. Some features and techniques related to developing a VR simulation are
also presented by case studies.
Keywords: Virtual Reality, Yacht Design, Visualization
1. Introduction
Yacht design and production process could be defined as the area with most aesthetic expectations in
whole naval architecture and marine sector. Today, the expectations of especially yacht customers have
increased considerably. With the evolving technology, yacht design companies and shipyards have
begun to focus on advanced visualization methods to influence their customers.
The four traditional visualization tools that are used most often in yacht design can be listed as, pen-
and-paper sketching, 2D computer drawings, still renders, and scaled physical models. Each of these
traditional tools can be extended with a more sophisticated computerized counterpart. For instance,
electronic sketch boards have enhanced the capabilities of pen and paper; in other words, new generation
software and hardware, i.e. Virtual Reality, has begun to transform the whole design process (Figure 1).

Fig. 1. Progression of visualization tools from traditional to modern
In the past few years, many industries have taken full advantage of advances in 3D visualization, and
VR takes it a step further. VR is generally defined as a 3D computer generated synthetic environment
or structure that gives the user a sense of being immersed in a real world. It typically refers to computer
technologies that uses software to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that replicate a
real environment (or create an imaginary setting), and simulate a user’s physical presence in this
environment, by enabling the user to interact with this space and any objects depicted therein using
specialised display screens, projectors, headsets and other devices. In VR, once the 3D environment is
depicted, the user has complete freedom to navigate and explore the virtual world. It has been argued
by Newby (1993) that VR is the most promising new area for human-computer interaction since the
Macintosh computer Graphical User Interface (Al-Kodmany, 2002).
The birth and development of VR as a technology relies on Morton Heiling to design the Sensorama, a
machine that is one of the earliest known examples of immersive, multi-sensory technology, which was
designed in the 1960s to attract the attention of the spectators (Heiling, 1962). By the 1980s, VR
technology had begun to be used in different sectors with a remarkable rise, such as education and
training.
Today, VR technologies are largely used in entertainment, particularly videogames and live events
(Stapleteon et al., 2002), training and education (Freina and Ott, 2015), military (Zyda, 2005), medical
(Gallagher and Cates, 2004), architecture and real estate (Yan et al., 201). 3D digital technologies are
often a topic of applied research and are already being adopted for commercial applications especially
in the automotive, aerospace and marine design (Attridge et al., 2007; De Sa and Zachmann, 1999).
VR technologies have been integrated to design process allowing 3D digital (virtual) prototypes to be
utilized to make decisions in the early stages of design. VR also provides a suitable environment for

design reviews helping to reduce the development time and costs. Hence, VR simulations can be used
to improve the quality and usability of new products.
In parallel to the developments, in recent years, VR technologies are also beginning to be used in
shipbuilding and maritime industries. When considering safety and cost advantages of VR simulations,
the use of VR in training and education is at the forefront of potential use areas in naval architecture.
The study on engine room simulator based on VR technology realized by Shen et al. (2016) can be given
as a sample of VR studies related with marine sector. One of the best areas where VR technology can
be used is the design and presentation stages because of its superior visual presentation features and the
ability to experience a sense of reality. In this paper, the authors demonstrate the advantages of using
3D interactive VR visualizations in yacht industry from design stage to presentation and marketing. A
brief review of other design phase visualization methods is presented to provide perspective on the
capabilities of the VR. Some features and techniques related with developing a VR simulation are also
presented by case studies.
2. VR in Yachting: Features and Advantages
Innovation is critical for companies to be successful in today’s global market. Competitive advantage
can be achieved by effectively applying new technologies and processes to challenges faced in current
engineering design and marketing practices. Opportunities encompass all aspects of product
development (including design, ergonomics, production, maintenance, marketing, etc.) with the greatest
potential impact during the early stages of the product design and marketing. Prototyping and evaluation
are indispensable steps of the current product creation process as well as marketing. However, yachts
are products without prototype; a full scale prototype (mock-up) can be only used for interior in yacht
industry (Figure 2).
Fig. 2. Full scale mock-up of an interior of a motor yacht (Credit: Sunseeker Yacht)

Nowadays, 3D modelling software, high detailed photo-realistic renders and videos are the most
common tools and products that are used in yacht design and presentation phase. Scaled yacht models
are also used especially at fairs. However, as the rise of new technology shapes expectations among
luxury yachting clients seeking experiential products and services, the use of VR technologies in the
yacht industry has begun to gain importance. In past 2 years, a small number of well-known yacht
companies introduced their yachts using VR simulations at most important boat shows, like Düsseldorf,
Cannes and Dubai. (Figure 3).
Fig. 3. Walk-through VR simulation of a yacht (Credit: Dominator Yacht)
One of the most important effects of VR simulations is that the user feel the depth perception as real-
like and may interact with the environment. These features allow the customer to make decisions more
quickly and easily, and also actively interact with the environment to participate in the design process.
The well-known fact that design decisions made earlier in the life cycle of a project have the least cost
associated with their implementation and yet the greatest influence on determining the products
functionality. Design changes enacted later in the project are more costly (i.e., rework and engineering
and administrative delays) to the project. The use of VR technology will allow the design process to be
carried out interactively and the effects of the changes in the design, both ergonomics and different
aspects, can be observed as real-like.

2.1. Development Process of a Virtual Reality Software
Various stages involved in developing a VR software can be basically divided into 2 phases, design and
programming, as can be seen in Figure 4. Design phase include everything that is related to the
visualization which are 2D arts, 3D models, textures, materials, animations, cinematics, environments,
interface designs, sound effects and more. Programming phase is where the codes are developed and
tested for interactive features, world rules, physics interactions, AI, UI, networking and more.
Fig. 4. Schematic outline of Virtual Reality software development process
2.1.1. Design
Modern video games usually renders minimum 30 frame per second (fps) to the screen but VR
visualizations needs higher fps in order to prevent motion sickness, which are 90 fps and 75 fps for HTC
Vive and Oculus Rift, respectively. To achieve this, game engines use real-time rendering that allows
them to render frames much faster when compared to software that use raytracing rendering such as
VRay or MentalRay that renders a frame in minutes, sometimes hours. An example of a technique used
by real-time renderers is pre-calculation. If something (e.g. lighting) is too slow to calculate, the engine
pre-calculates and stores it, then the renderer uses the pre-calculated data for a performance boost that
often comes at the expense of dynamic effects. This is a memory vs. compute power tradeoff where
memory is often cheap and plentiful but compute power is often not. So extra memory is sacrificed in
exchange for a saving on compute power.
Since compute power is often very limited, it’s very important have heavily optimized assets (3D
models, textures, materials etc.) that doesn’t have high polygon count or too much transparent material
in the scene since they will require more compute power.

Complex and highly detailed CAD models are common in the yacht industry where small details like
holes on a catwalk grid are modelled. However, these holes adds a tremendous amount of polygons but
the user will never be so close to even see them. Such small details are not modelled but instead they
are created with a combination of diffuse textures, normal textures, mask maps which are created from
UV maps and applied to a plane to increase performance, as can be seen in Figure 5.
Fig. 5. A mask map used to illustrate a catwalk grid without real holes
UV mapping is the process of flattening a 3D object into 2D space so that texture maps can be applied.
Without UV mapping, the 3D object wouldn’t know how 2D textures should be applied. A benefit of
UV mapping is that multiple real-world materials (like wood, plastic, metal, and so forth) can be fit in a
single material and in one texture, as can be seen in Figure 6. Using a single material reduces the storage
required and improves rendering performance since every material that gets applied has a performance
cost.
Fig. 6. UV map of a motorboat

Every asset is created with two sets of UV maps applied to them. First of them is for defining extra
detail through materials. Second of them, called light map, is used for pre-calculated shadows. Renderer
uses these light maps to calculate shadows to increase render speed in real-time render.
2.1.2. Programming
In order to create a VR simulation and perform the required interactions, an administrative software
similar to game engine is needed. One of the most common software used in this area is the Unreal
Engine 4. Unreal Engine’s Blueprint Visual Scripting system allows developers to code whole
executable package and any necessary features. The Blueprints Visual Scripting system (Figure 7) is a
complete gameplay scripting system based on the concept of using a node-based interface to create
gameplay elements from within Unreal Editor. As with many common scripting languages, it is used to
define object-oriented classes or objects in the engine. This system is extremely flexible and powerful
as it provides the ability for developers to use virtually the full range of concepts and tools (Unreal
Engine documents).
Some examples of interactions that can be created with Blueprint Visual Scripting are: changing
materials of assets, adding new assets to the scene, moving/ deleting already existing assets in the scene,
changing time of day, inspecting the yacht in a scaled-down version, using drawing tool to draw in 3D
and taking pictures from inside virtual scene, etc.
Fig. 7. An example of a Blueprint function: Interaction laser (Credit: Nabla VR)
3. Case Studies: VR Visualization of Yachts and Samples of Interactive Tools
In this section, examples of virtual reality simulations for yacht design and visualization will be given.
Depending on the scope of the simulation, various equipment are required to develop and execute the
VR simulations. In the following case studies, a VR headset (HTC Vive) and a powerful laptop have
been utilized (Figure 8).

Fig. 8. Walk-through VR simulation of a yacht (Credit: Nabla VR)
In these case studies, the user can navigate all the pre-modeled interior and exterior areas as desired. To
do this, user can either select the specified point on the general arrangement plan displayed on the screen
or teleport to wherever they want to explore the environment and examine it in detail (Figure 9). The
HTC Vive sensors provide a play area where the user can physically walk around and all movements
within this area are transferred simultaneously to the simulation.
Fig. 9. Navigation in VR simulation: Selection of a point on GA (Credit: Nabla VR)
Additionally, the user can experience both exterior and interior style in the most realistic way. The user
can interactively change the yacht's exterior color or view the interior with different ground material
options in real-time (Figure 10).

Fig. 10. Interactive alteration of exterior color (Design & VR Simulation: Nabla VR)
It is also possible to offer the user different layout alternatives in VR simulations. The user can examine
different arrangements or even create their own design from scratch. This enables the customer to be
effectively involved in the decision making process. In addition to the main interactions mentioned
above, different project-specific interactions can also be developed. For instance, it is possible for a user
to capture a picture of the scene, view the yacht as a scaled model, or experience the same simulation
with multiple users at the same time (Figure 11).
Fig. 11. Scaled model view of a house in multiplayer mode (Credit: Nabla VR)
In addition to the presentation, VR simulations can also be used in the design phase of a yacht. It is
possible to get a cross-section or measure the dimensions and the area of anyplace of the yacht in real-
time. All of these interactions allow the companies in yacht industry to let their prospective customers
to take a tour inside a yacht and decorate it to their hearts’ desires before the construction of the yacht
even begins. Besides, they can collect feedback from their customer in early design stages where
changes to the design cost much less. This is especially great for showcasing multiple options of the
yacht interior or material. Furthermore, yacht-builders can use these VR simulations especially in fairs
for concept yachts that have not been built yet. Also, it can be a feasible solution for existing yachts,
when it is expensive or impossible to transport them to fairground.

4. Conclusions
In this paper, the advantages of using 3D interactive VR visualizations in yacht industry were explained
from design stage to presentation and marketing and some features and techniques related with
developing a VR simulation were presented. It is aimed to demonstrate through real-life practical case
studies how the innovative technology can be employed both to design and marketing phases in yacht
industry. The adopted technology meets the expectation of today’s up-to-date designers and clients.
VR technologies have been integrated to design process, allowing 3D digital prototypes to be utilised to
make decisions in the early stages of design. Virtual reality also provides a suitable environment for
design reviews helping to reduce the development time and costs, and to improve the quality and
usability of new products.
Currently, VR in yachting is not a fast track solution to solving thorny marketing problems for little
expense. The true cost of VR is not yet apparent to many yachting companies; software development,
research, content creation and hardware such as headsets can all be expensive. However, reductions in
the cost and design improvements of VR software and hardware are coming fast. VR is relatively new
in yacht industry, but it will become increasingly mainstream as companies will want to integrate new
technologies and strong digital elements into their marketing strategies. Although cost is recognized as
a key challenge, leading yacht companies have already started to implement the technology for design
and visualization purposes. Whether or not some yachting businesses continue with traditional sales and
marketing methods, VR will certainly be a major player in the cultural evolution of the industry.
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