Immersive safe oceans technology: Developing virtual onboard training episodes for maritime safety

© 2020 by the authors. This paper introduces four safety training episodes and virtual training technology called Immersive Safe Oceans which can be used in further education of professionals in immersive training scenarios. These episodes were developed for maritime safety and are under testing. Immersive Safe Oceans Technology is a cost-effective, portable technology that can be used on board just in time or in maritime training centers. Four introduced episodes, namely, (1) command bridge, (2) machine room, (3) crane, and (4) fire safety, illustrate how Immersive Safe Oceans technology can be used in various professional training scenarios. These episodes also emphasize the growing need for virtual reality training in the shipping industry. As a result, next generation learning will happen onboard in sophisticated virtual training centers

A strategic partner selection decision-making support methodology in the business modelling phase for startups in the pre-incubation phase

Partner choice is an important element for any business throughout its lifecycle. It is even more strategic in early startup stages, when the business model is set in the pre-incubation phase.Entrepreneurs are confronted to take decisions on which partners to choose. Those strategic decisions on which partners to commit with, and defining their roles, can be made more or less formally, with the risk of relying on “gut feelings” when there is complex data to be taken in consideration and when there is pressure, constraints, limited resources and no proper methodology for the entrepreneur to base its decision on.Confronted to such a situation, it is interesting to consider building a decision-making support methodology for strategic partner choice for in the business modelling phase of a startup pre-incubation phase. This can offer support to the entrepreneur and make its leadership anchored in more formal approach to decision-making.This research presents a methodological framework that can support early startups, while still in the pre-incubation phase, to select the most suitable strategic business partner(s) and develop, based on that, their business operations, management, development and commercialization models. The methodology offers an initial approach which allows an entrepreneur to make more formal investigation and be assisted in the decision-making process on choosing the partners and defining their roles and contribution in the strategy of the start-up. Specifically, the methodology intends to provide support on selecting the most relevant and feasible data types that need to be collected for the effective partner evaluation and selection. Furthermore, it provides a data collection mechanism and algorithm, a partner evaluation procedure, support on identifying the strategic intend or need from a specific partner, the analysis of the potential partner based on the partnership needs, a scoring tableau based on several parameters per partner selection criteria and finally the calculation of the potential partner’s score. The research conducted evaluated twenty-one potential partners for a VR training startup that intends to operate in the following months and it is currently at the partnerships establishment phase. The partners that have been analyzed derive from eight, related to the start-up, professional sectors, from five countries, and with more than fifty unique activities that cover the fourteen key parameters of the partner evaluation methodology. The paper presents the overall methodological approach in stages and the procedure (steps) of each stage. It indicates the goal setting approach, the evaluation of the partner’s activities, the partner’s evaluation scorecard, the computation of the scoring process and the visualization of the scoring results in tables and charts that create a partner’s evaluation dashboard for effective partners comparison in total or in specific partnership requirements as set in the partnerships strategy and objectives. It must be noted that the proposed methodology is not an optimal tool but more of a heuristic exploratory tool. Further research has been scheduled to be extend the testing of the methodology with more cases, to increase the number of partner evaluation parameters and to link several of the related parameter metrics with sources than can provide more subjective values

Indoor positioning using symmetric double-sided two-way ranging in a welding hall

We introduce a method by which to locate sensors in a 2.4 GHz wireless network. We tested our system in a rough welding hall, where plasma cutters and welding machines commonly cause radio interference. Indoor positioning is a challenge because standardized GPStype global-positioning technologies are not available. There is therefore a need for extra infrastructure, such as wireless sensors, but moreover there is no standardized communication between sensors. Therefore, it is reasonable to investigate alternative technologies. We found that a reliable positioning system could be created by using Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS) modulation. Also, we studied which CSS parameters affect the transfer data rate in order to determine the most reliable speed for both top and average transfer

Digital Museum Transformation Strategy Against the Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis

During the last decade, the art industry and especially the museums, the art galleries and the auctions has stagnated due to the global financial crisis (2007–2017) and latest lockdowns brought by the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-). Many art institutions introduced digital technologies into their operations and transitioned to the online art market. Visits to art exhibitions include interaction with other visitors of similar interests. Hence, digital art venues must create the same environment vibes and offer similar opportunities as the physical ones. The paper indicates the application of the avatar technology as an interaction method in digital museum spaces. It also provides the functional requirements, a navigation process, and the implementation scenarios for the adaptation of such technologies. The application of this digital strategy can transform the art market, contribute to the museum’s sustainability, and offer the public different ways of learning and entertainment

Strategic Utilization of the VR and AR Technologies for the African Cultural Heritage Promotion and Management

The importance and purpose of heritage preservation have been extensively discussed in tourism research and has also been linked with regional and national development strategies. Because of time degradation, human activities, and the overcrowding effect, heritage preservation and reconstruction efforts are becoming critical to ensure the sustainability of heritage sites and disseminate the history and the potential of a region or a country. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) offer useful applications in heritage preservation. This study aims to explore the potential of these interactive technologies to be applied in heritage preservation in Africa, introduce strategies and applications developed Egypt and Tunis but also from Oman, and Finland, and highlight their impact in regional and national socio-economic development. As members of the Time Machine Europe this paper analyzes previous experiences in global scale and aim is to contribute in large-scale digitalization projects in Europe but also world-wide

Kierrätettyjen tekstiilikuitujen pituusjakauma ja sen vaikutus prosessoitavuuteen

Tiivistelmä. Tässä kandidaatintyössä käsitellään tekstiilien mekaanista kierrätystä. Työn tavoitteena on selvittää, miten tekstiilikuidun ominaisuuksiin voidaan vaikuttaa mekaanisen avausprosessin aikana. Avatun tekstiilikuidun loppukäyttökohteeksi on valittu langanvalmistus, johon tärkeimpänä kuidun ominaisuutena on pituusjakauma. Pituusjakauman tiedetään lyhenevän mekaanisessa kuidun avauksessa kitkan vaikutuksesta. Työn päätavoitteena on selvittää alan tutkimustulosten avulla, miten tekstiilikuidun pituusjakauma voidaan säilyttää mahdollisimman korkeana. Työn alussa käydään läpi tekstiilien kiertotalouden nykytilanne ja lainsäädännön muutokset. Kandidaatintyöni on rajattu käsittelemään tekstiilimateriaaleista yleisimpiä puuvillaa ja polyesteriä sekä näiden sekoitteita. Materiaaleja käydään läpi kemiallisen koostumuksen perusteella, jotta ymmärretään niiden käyttäytymistä mekaanisessa rasituksessa. Merkittävimpiä tuloksia työssäni ovat erilaisilla voitelukemikaaleilla saatavat hyödyt kuidun pituusjakaumaan. Tarkastelemani kemikaalit ovat toimivuutensa lisäksi ympäristöystävällisiä. Tulosten perusteella mekaanisesti avattua tekstiilikuitua voidaan käyttää langanvalmistukseen kehräysmenetelmästä riippuen. Lisäksi kierrätyskuidun pituusjakaumaa voidaan korjata myös sekoittamalla joukkoon ensiökuitua. Tutkimustuloksien luotettavuutta ja yleistettävyyttä olen pyrkinyt edistämään vertailemalla eri lähteissä saatuja tuloksia keskenään. Tieteellisten lähteiden lisäksi olen haastatellut Rester Oy:ltä Henna Knuutilaa Resterin mekaaniseen avausprosessiin liittyen

Virtual Reality (VR) Safety Education for Ship Engine Training on Maintenance and Safety (ShipSEVR)

The training and educational skills expected today from maritime engineers surpass their ability to follow them consistently. Such knowledge gap can impact significantly ship safety and operations. On this reality, ship engineers face multiple challenges related with the time required to be educated on each engine type, time needed to spend off the ship to acquire this training, the continuous training cost, and the easy access to complete engineering documentation and schematics. This paper attempts resolve these challenges with ShipSEVR (Ship Safety Education with Virtual Reality). The technology delivered has been achieved with the contribution of the smart technology company Wärtsilä and Ade with the contribution of VR development. TUAS, Ade, and Wärtsilä work close on research to optimize this engine room virtual reality training environment and impact ship and maritime safety. The paper demonstrates the industry challenge, technology architecture, working prototype, implementation methods, and adaptation techniques

FiAAR: An augmented reality firetruck equipment assembly and configuration assistant technology

Augmented reality (AR) is the technology that expands the physical world by enhancing the objects that reside in the real world with computer generated perceptual information to provide interactive experience in a real-world environment. AR is used effectively in many business sectors such as the engineering, education and training, medicine, logistics and transport, and others. Rescue services is one of the challenging areas where the use of AR technology has extremely high demands for robustness and ease of use. In this paper, we have introduced two augmented reality versions for the FiAAR project developed by Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences. The first version is developed for Realmax HMT-1 device with hands free interaction utilizing speech recognition. The second version in turn focuses on hand recognition and it's developed for Realwear Qian device with Leap Motion sensor. Our intention is to show the potential of current AR technologies in demanding use cases

Finger tracking and hand recognition technologies in virtual reality maritime safety training applications

The competitiveness and development of the maritime sector together with the continuous effort on increasing operations performance while reducing operations costs, drives the needs for on-board effective and qualitative training safety related issues. Virtual reality (VR) has been considered by classification societies and training organizations as a technology that can significantly improve seafarer's performance and competence with the adaptation of maritime applications developed for design simulation and gaming. This paper presents the evolution of the MarSEVR (Maritime Safety Education with VR) technology as a new concept and technology by integrating finger tracking and hand recognition technologies that increase immersiveness and user engagement within the MarISOT technology, a Green Ocean innovation composed of VR safety applications. The paper approaches this integration by addressing game design, pedagogic and cognitive neuroscience principles and challenges on the use of hand recognition and finger tracking in the MarSEVR learning episodes