AV STUMPFL WINGS VIOSO FOR SHIP BRIDGE SIMULATOR

Hong Kong’s geographical location and its deep natural harbour have been key factors in the economic development of the legendary metropolis for hundreds of years.

As one of the world’s most important ports of call, Hong Kong has been at the forefront of international shipping developments for many decades.

It comes as no surprise that, for the Hong Kong Marine Department, the ability to make use of cutting edge ship simulation facilities is an important part of their overall training strategy.

In addition to traditional lecture rooms with professional audio-visual teaching equipment, various computer based simulation environments have also been installed in the Training Centre.

Earlier this year, Hong Kong based company Cosmo Pro AV was approached to create a high-end, 270° seamless edge blending installation that would simulate the reality on a modern ship’s bridge.

One of the key challenges in this prestigious project was to deliver a reliable solution for the blending and automatic calibration of the seven projectors that would be used.

The Hong Kong Marine Department was very clear that it wanted a truly user-friendly solution that would allow to easily re-align the projector images without the need for complicated and time consuming maintenance procedures.

Cosmo Pro AV decided to employ the latest generation of AV Stumpfl’s media servers running Wings Vioso software, which include Vioso’s multi camera calibration system for maximum efficiency and image accuracy.

Jason Yeung, Cosmo Pro AV’s CTO, explains some of the technological challenges of the project: “The limited projection distance meant that the camera positions were critical for the ship simulator project. Located in the centre of the simulator was the control bridge, which partially obstructed the camera views.

“Ultimately a total of seven cameras were needed to fully capture each projection image. In the end, it all worked beautifully. Thanks to great technology and the support of AV Stumpfl and Vioso, we were able to successfully deliver exactly what the end customer had envisioned.”

Two Wings Engine Stage media servers were used to capture all the image sources from the simulator software, creating one smooth, seamless and synchronised image.

The simulation experience features many scenes that have to realistically portray a variety of real-life scenarios, including the deep black of maritime nights. Seven Barco FL35 projectors were perfectly suited for displaying the visual environments.

The new ship bridge simulator has been seamlessly integrated into the Hong Kong Marine Department’s Training Centre and is proving very popular with both trainers and trainees.

AV Stumpfl: www.avstumpfl.com