Brave Dolphin’s 1st Training VR: “Fire in the Engine Control Room"

[By: Brave Dolphin]

The 1st training Virtual Reality scenario of the Brave Dolphin project is now a fact! The scenario is developed by SQLearn S.A. in the framework of the EU project: “Brave Dolphin” and refers to the risks that a seafarer confronts, as well as the actions that one shall take, in case of a “Fire in the Engine Control Room”. The aim of this virtual training is to provide the seafarers the chance to learn about the procedures that have to be followed in the potential incident of fire in the ECR while practicing in a VR simulated environment. The scenario is addressed to shipboard engineers and electro-technical officers since these are mainly the professions executing duties in the ECR and generally in the ER.

Investigations have shown that in several cases of engine room fires, actions are not immediate and there is a delay in decision making regarding the fixed fire extinguishing system procedure. The delay is calculated to be an average of more than 30 minutes since the fire has been discovered and this is often a radical factor for the fire to take full control. SQLearn's Brave Dolphin is a revolutionary project in maritime training by developing VR training scenarios that assist the shipping crew to obtain the necessary knowledge on dealing with such emergencies in a safe and particularly realistic virtual environment.

Brave Dolphin’s 1st training VR scenario was developed following several stages. Upon finalizing the first version of the scenario, pilot testing was implemented to evaluate it and collect information for initial improvements and adjustments. The pilot testing was used to collect feedback on the simulated activities from the maritime consultants of the company, acting as representative users of the maritime industry. Upon proceeding to the necessary adjustments based on the experts’ feedback, a beta version was created. Final testing was then assigned to SQLearn’s maritime consultants so as to apply the final modifications required and develop the finalized version of the scenario.

The development process of the 1st training VR scenario “Fire in the Engine Control Room”, will act as the pilot for the development of the next three scenarios to be deployed by June 2022.

The Brave Dolphin project is supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, in the frame of the Programme “Business Innovation Greece”.