Gangway VR Simulator for ExxonMobil

We are very proud to announce that we recently delivered a customized version of our gangway training simulator to ExxonMobil. The simulator will be used to train gangway operators in relation to a decommissioning project offshore Santa Barbara in California, USA.

The simulator features three landing installations and location specific wave spectrums to make the training as realistic and close to the actual operation as possible. The gangway is mounted on a crew transfer vessel. ExxonMobil takes safety very seriously, and recognizes that simulator training will significantly reduce risk of injury and damage to both personnel, equipment and landing installations.

Our training simulators are portable, which enables operators to execute training on-board their vessel. This leads to increased training volume, which in turn leads to more skilled operators.

Read more about our gangway simulator here.

Simulator training at home

Virtual Reality (VR) training simulators opens a new way of how we train together digitally. VR simulators on laptops are today as powerful as traditional solutions, and with internet connection you can invite an entire crew to the virtual bridge and train together. Even the instructor can join and participate.

Morild Interaktiv have developed a series of training simulators for the maritime industry – both conventional installations and VR simulators. In 2018 we delivered a state of the art 360 degrees full mission ship bridge simulator to Rolls-Royce Marine, located at the Norwegian Maritime Competence Center (NMK) in Aalesund, Norway. Today we deliver the same simulator on a laptop using VR technology. The cost difference in both acquisition and operation is dramatic. Another benefit with the VR versions is that it is portable, enabling you to take training anywhere in the world.

One of the main advantages with our VR simulators is that you and your colleagues can team up and interact as if you were together on the same location. All you need is a laptop and internet connection. By using VR headset you can see and talk to your crew and work together to execute and complete scenarios. All actions can be recorded for playback and evaluation later on.

This also significantly reduce travel expenses by bringing employees and instructors together in a virtual environment. With fully immersive training, personnel can also learn faster and better, and retain processes with a hands-on approach - helping to greatly reduce the likelihood of future mistakes.

Technology makes it now possible to get better training at a significantly lower cost, and VR plays an essential role when we now are moving from physical to virtual training simulators.

We are more than happy to demonstrate our training simulators – get in touch and let us setup a Skype meeting.

Disruptive shift in training simulator technology

Two training simulators that we have delivered, both have the same exact software, features & functionality

The rapid adaptation of new technology and development of portable equipment seems to be a game changer in training simulator technology. Now major players as Volkswagen and Lockheed Martin are using Virtual Reality (VR) simulators in training to cut cost and provide better training.

Morild Interaktiv have developed training simulators for the maritime industry since 2012. In 2018 the company delivered a state of the art 360 degrees full mission bridge simulator to Rolls-Royce Marine, located at the Norwegian Maritime Competence Center in Aalesund, Norway. Today we deliver the same simulator on a laptop using VR technology. The cost difference in both acquisition and operation is dramatic.

Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge (Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles) conducted multiple VR training pilots, including for the front-end assembly of the T6 Multivan. In this specific case, Volkswagen found the potential of reducing training time by 50 percent, in comparison to conventional on-the-job training. The pilot also revealed that applying VR can reduce training cost with as much as one third.

Lockheed Martin are using VR building products virtually versus physical builds and testing. In addition to reduced initial design cost, the company has also saved $500,000 on travel expenses by enabling distributed employees to collaborate virtually.

VR simulators also provide significant savings in travel expenses by bringing employees and trainers together in virtual environments. You don’t have to shut down production to facilitate training on the equipment – saving potentially millions of dollars in lost production.

VR training helps alleviate language barriers across global workforces, eliminating the need for translators and numerous iterations of multilingual training materials. With fully immersive training, personnel can learn faster and better, and retain processes with a hands-on approach, helping to greatly reduce the likelihood of future mistakes.

Technology makes it possible to get better training at a significantly lower cost, and VR plays an essential role when we now are moving from physical to virtual training simulators.

With our experience building some of the worlds most complex state of the art conventional training simulators, we are certain that we have translated all aspects to our VR training simulators without compromise. We are currently conducting a study together with the Arctic University of Tromsø (UiT) and Arcos training centre, to find the effect of VR in lifeboat training compared to conventional training. We will keep you posted on the results!

Age is just a number

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Video - click image above to watch

Operating any piece of equipment has a learning curve. This is easy to forget in our daily life while interacting and operating everyday items such as door handles, light switches, a computer mouse and driving our car. These are just a few examples, and we operate all these things without even thinking about it.

When entering a virtual world using hand controllers for interaction, we are reminded about this fact. Operating the same equipment suddenly becomes more challenging. Our job, as developers of VR training simulators, is to make this transition from real life to virtual as smooth and seamless as possible. This has not been an easy task, and it has taken us thousands of man hours to get to where we are today with our physics based VR interaction engine.

As a company, we have technology and gaming in our DNA. We depend on customer feedback and extensive testing on people in different age groups and with different backgrounds. The most rewarding experience so far, has been to watch people from age 8 to 70 testing our VR simulators (see video above).

The project has given us invaluable feedback, and one of the things we found is that age isn't necessarily a factor when using VR simulators - this was a huge surprise to us! Maybe this proves that age is just a number after all?

Read more about physics based VR hand interaction engine here.

VR – from buzzword to practical application

Soon to be launched - VR lifeboat simulator

The use of VR-technology has gone from solely creating trilling enthusiasm to be an important tool for companies all over the world. And, the introduction of relevant content, in addition to the stunning realism, have rocketed the development of VR-simulators.

Morild Interaktiv developed the worlds first VR-ship simulator in 2013 for Rolls-Royce Marine, and have the last years delivered a range of simulators for the maritime industry. Development in technology combined with better interaction solutions and focus on quality content – have opened a whole new market for VR-based simulators for training and product demonstration.

Low cost compared to conventional simulators, and given the mobility of VR solutions means companies now can introduce simulators to a wider range of products. The most obvious areas of use are familiarisation, scenario- and product training, but we also experience that a simulator delivered with the product gives our customers unique advantages in sales.

There is also a growing trend in using VR-simulator technology in developing assembly and operation instructions. Many companies have operators in all corners of the world, and VR is a perfect tool to demonstrate how products are assembled and operated. It’s a fact that learning by seeing and doing are much more effective than reading instruction manuals.

Morild Interaktiv is presently working with VR-simulators for subsea winch operation, lifeboat operation and ship navigation. We look forward to show you all some examples 😊.

UPTIME offers better product training

UPTIME delivers crew boat gangway VR simulator to their customer Candy Fleet in Louisiana made by Morild Interaktiv. And there's more to come, says Bjørnar Huse director of sales and development at Uptime International.

Virtual reality (VR) has entered maritime industry, and is now increasingly used in product training. As one of the leading suppliers of offshore gangways, Uptime International now uses VR simulators to reduce training costs for its customers.

Morild Interaktiv recently launched a VR crew gangway simulator for Uptime International. The simulator is purpose built to train gangway operators in procedures and handling the gangway.
“We are committed to being at the forefront of development and giving our customers the best tools,” says Olav-Rasmus Vorren CEO at Morild Interaktiv which specialises in developing training solutions based on high-end simulator technology.

Bjørnar Huse director of sales and development at Uptime International tells that it is expensive for their customers to train on the use of the gangway on board the vessel. With a VR simulator, the operators can train on shore as often as they want before they use it in actual operations.

Caption from the gangway VR simulator delivered to Candy Fleet.

The simulator technology is very well suited for learning procedures and testing out functionality, and not least for repeating the operations multiple times. In particular, simulators based on VR are well suited for training purposes since the cost is low compared to traditional simulators.
“We now deliver VR simulator along with our gangways. First out is the company Candy Fleet located in Louisiana, which has many vessels and operators, and thus a great need for product training,” says Svein Ove Haugen sales & marketing manager at Uptime International.

The crew boat gangway simulator delivered to Candy Fleet consists of a laptop, joysticks and VR headset. Operators are trained in operating the gangway and land it under different weather conditions.
“The operators have to train completely without risk of damaging the walkway or landing platform. In addition, they are trained to handle all functions before operating the actual gangway. This significantly reduces training costs and time spent,“ says Svein Ove Haugen.

Initially, it is the company's 12 meter gangway that is offered with VR simulator, but Bjørnar Huse has plans to offer simulators along with several of their products.
"The technology in VR has come so far today that it is easy for everyone to use the equipment, and we get feedback from our customers that this is useful and cost-saving for them," explains Huse. He adds that this is a supplement in the training of operators, and cannot replace the certification schemes offered by the company.

The simulators are developed in close collaboration between Uptime and Morild Interaktiv.

The Morild Gangway simulator sets the standard for operational product training for offshore gangways. Please contact us at info@morildinteraktiv.no for a demo

VR makes better learning more affordable

Your business can not thrive without well trained employees. And it is well know that nothing beats real job experience. But training accidents are common in many industries, and damage to equipment reduces downtime and income.

To increase personnel skill levels, high number of repetitions of scenarios and procedures is necessary - this is where VR truly shines as the perfect solution.

Watch video from our VR training simulator

Virtual reality simulators are a cost-effective tool for familiarisation to environment and equipment. With quality content based upon your business best practice, you can handle high risk or dangerous situations within a controlled environment. VR is truly a safe place to increase your competence.

And let us not forget, not only will you acquire information relevant to your job, but you can start practicing your skills from day one.

It is also well documented that we learn faster studying visuals rather than text. VR training is presented in a visually stunning 3D format which most people find far more appealing than regular old text. You practically bring enthusiasm and engagement to the classroom!

Virtual reality training has until a few years ago been a tool for high-end commercial and military applications. The reduction in hardware prices, faster and better software and a rapidly growing industry of developers of VR solutions means that today the technology is available and cheaper than ever before.

Virtual training simulators allow people to train faster and better with technology that fits inside a laptop.

This gives you a world of opportunities – you are free to join 😊

The new Morild Ice simulator sets the standard for Polar Code navigation training

Morild Ice give a realistic training environment for navigation in polar areas. The instructor of the simulator can change weather conditions which means that the operators have to rely on the ice radar.

The increased shipping traffic in the polar areas demands training of crew members to handle navigation in ice. Minimum requirements for the training and qualifications of deck officers on ships operating in polar waters has also become mandatory.

The Morild Ice simulator is the perfect tool for training deck officers to navigate in ice. This cost-effective training solution is based on VR technology which means that you get low hardware cost and high mobility. In other words – you can do training from your office desk.

The simulator has an instructor module where the instructor can control weather and daylight, add vessels to the scenario, change location, add props to scenario and have voice communication with operators.  

The simulator allows for multiple operators and vessels. The operators navigate by visuals and/or using the ice radar – depending on weather conditions. You can have multiple operators on the same bridge and voice communication between them. In addition, you can have multiple ships and crew with communication between them.

The Morild Ice is developed in close co-operation with leading operators in polar areas. The simulator can be delivered as a portable system or as a desktop solution. We also deliver conventional simulators for stationary setups.

Morild Interaktiv launched the first VR bridge simulator in 2013 and specializes in training solutions using simulator technology.

Please contact us for more information on our training solutions.

The Morild IceNav VR simulator sets the standard for Polar Code navigation training. Please contact us at info@morildinteraktiv.no for a demo