Analysis Of The Virtual Scylla Project

The motivation for conducting the present underwater mine clearance training research, with an emphasis on subsea “situational awareness” (e.g. Endsley, 2012), came about as a result of a number of “serious games”, or, more correctly, games-based simulation projects that were delivered as part the UK’s Human Factors Integration Defence Technology Centre programme between 2003 and 2012. In addition, an educational project based on the UK’s first artificial reef – the deliberately scuttled hull of the ex-Royal Navy (RN) frigate HMS Scylla – provided early confirmation that some of the current-generation gaming toolkits were capable of delivering credible and believable underwater scenarios. In brief (and with further details available in the form of case study summaries in Stone, 2012), these projects were:

• Virtual Scylla (Stone, op cit. – Case Study 23; Stone & Guest, 2012): two interactive 3D demonstrators developed in collaboration with the National Marine
– Case Study 13): During the course of the Virtual Scylla Project, considerable support in the form of bottom profiling and side-scan sonar data was provided by the Royal Navy’s hydrographic teams. These data supported the planning of activities during the short windows of opportunity available to conduct ROV surveys on the actual wreck. Whilst presenting the Virtual Scylla Project at an NMA public event, a naval representative expressed interest in developing the simulation effort further, to address the visualisation of seabed topography and artefacts, using bathymetric data collected by the Navy’s hydrographic fleet. The resulting multi-window display concept, comprising seabed topographical representations supplemented with chart textures and simulated ROV views in real time, has also generated interest on the part of maritime heritage organisations for the mapping of seabed sites and artefacts and the planning of expeditions to those