VIRTALIS worked closely with BAE SYSTEMS and the VEGA Group PLC (VEGA) to help create a package of First of Class training material for the Royal Navy’s new Type 45 Anti Air Warfare Destroyer.

Using its own Visionary Render software, Virtalis has developed a 3D virtual tour of the whole ship, from pre-existing digital designs, and a detailed 3D virtual model of critical areas with interactive features for both familiarisation and job training.

THE TRAINING COURSES

Lt Cdr Matthew Solly RN, Training Manager for the Type 45, explained: “HMS DARING’s training programme comprises 90 courses of varying length. There are some maintainer courses that last eight weeks, while others take only a day or so. These courses range in length from a few days to six months. As the entire ship is modelled in 3D, a trainee can explore any location on the virtual ship from the Foc’sle to the Wardroom.”

The Virtalis team worked hard to model all the virtual ship’s safety equipment and pipe-work, presenting an extremely useful tool for fire-fighting training and damage control drills. A trainee can investigate any item of equipment that is captured by the 3D model, both internal and externally. It therefore presents users with an extremely effective means of becoming acquainted with the layout of the ship and the relative locations of important machinery and hardware. It should be possible for fire-fighting teams to undertake ‘mission rehearsal’ prior to actual exposure to a fire. Similarly, it could enable the ship’s engineering staff to determine the most effective and expedient way to effect the extraction of major items of equipment. Marine engineers can focus their acquaint in the various machinery rooms, while weapons engineers can see where all of the ship’s sensors and weapons systems are located.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TYPE 45

The Type 45, designed and developed by BAE SYSTEMS, is of huge significance for the Royal Navy’s capability to respond flexibly to challenges in the years ahead. In concert with the Future Aircraft Carrier, it will provide the backbone of the Royal Navy’s air defences for much of the first half of this century. Designed for missions of up to 45 days, the Type 45 will be able to cover 7,000 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots, and reach a maximum speed of 27 knots. At approximately 7,350 tonnes and 152.4m in length, the Type 45 is considerably larger than the Type 42 it replaces. This reflects the need for greater versatility to meet the wider range of defence operations and other roles the new ships will be called on to perform, such as support for humanitarian operations.

THE VIRTALIS DESIGN

Andrew Connell, Technical Director at Virtalis, commented: “Our walkthrough was completed in Virtalis’ Visionary Render software, having used PTC’s CAD data integration tools to extract the 3D model directly from BAE Scotstoun’s CADDS5 and PDM system.”

The students explore freely using a combination of mouse and dedicated keyboard inputs. The real-time, interactive sub models contain “decision points” where the user may be confronted with different paths or objects that can be interacted with. This “touch-and-tell” feature allows the user to click on any part in the ship, and automatically retrieve database information and images via three dimensional pop-up windows.

“Our walkthrough was completed in Virtalis’ Visionary Render software, having used PTC’s CAD data integration tools to extract the 3D model directly from BAE Scotstoun’s CADDS5 and PDM system.”
Andrew Connell, Technical Director at Virtalis