Ship handing simulators have been available in many forms since the 1980’s and earlier. Since then simulators have developed significantly in realism and in the underlying mathematical formulation. There are, however, a number of factors that still need to be considered when using these tools, either as pilot training, scenario testing or for engineering design.
These factors can be generally divided into the following categories:-Human factors
- Environment factors and
- Model factors
All these factors introduce compromises into the simulations and need to be fully understood or the simulations may be compromised.
- Human Factors
Simulators are becoming very sophisticated over time but they don’t replace pilotage on the actual bridge of a ship. There are various human factors that can vary from pilot to pilot that can make pilotage in a simulator more difficult or easier than in real life
- Environmental factors
Whilst every endeavour is made to make the 3D environment as realistic as possible it is possible that different pilots use different reference lines. In addition the simulator is essentially a 2D image of what the pilot usually interprets as a 3D image. The depth of view may be misleading in a simulator situation.
In addition the simulation if wind and currents are usually simplified in the simulator by removing natural gusting in speed, fluctuations in direction and shielding from buildings. This and other factors will be discussed.
- Model factors
Not all hydrodynamic situations are modelled fully in simulators either because the research is not available or the hydrodynamics have just not been implemented. An example of this might be the change in the coefficient of drag on the vessel hull is a ship that is swinging in a confined waterway. Recent testing in Australia indicated if a ship blocked 75% of the waterway area at the most vulnerable part of the swing the Cd could be as much as 17 times higher that might be adopted in the model. Similarly research still continues on bank effects which will become important in the situation where the channel has only a single bank. These and other factors will be discussed.
The reason why the above factors are important is because the simulator can be either easier or more difficult than piloting in real life and it is important to understand how these factors might impact on the outcome of the simulations.