This paper looks to expand on the INEC 2016 paper ‘The future role of virtual reality within warship support solutions for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers’ presented by Ross Basketter, Craig Birchmore and Abbi Fisher from BAE Systems in May 2016 and the EAAW VII paper ‘Testing the boundaries of virtual reality within ship support’ presented by John Newell from BAE Systems and Simon Luck from BMT DSL in June 2017. BAE Systems and BMT have developed a 3D walkthrough training system that supports the teams working closely with the QEC Aircraft Carriers in Portsmouth and this work was presented at EAAW VII. Since then this work has been extended to demonstrate the art of the possible on Type 26. This latter piece of work is designed to explore the role of 3D immersive environments in the development and fielding of support and training solutions, across the range of support disciplines. The combined team are looking at how this digital thread leads from design of platforms, both surface and subsurface, through build into in-service support and training. This rich data and ways in which it could be used in the whole lifecycle of the ship, from design and development (used for spatial acceptance, HazID, etc) all the way through to operational support and maintenance (in conjunction with big data coming off from the ship coupled with digital tech docs for maintenance procedures) using constantly developing technologies such as 3D, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality, will be proposed. The drive towards gamification in the training environment to keep younger recruits interested and shortening course lengths will be explored. The paper develops the options and looks to how this technology can be used and where the value proposition lies.
