Rolls-Royce and Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre have unveiled the latest vision of ship intelligence, known as the Future Operator Experience Concept or ‘oX’.
Rolls-Royce has worked together with VTT’s researchers and Aalto University to develop the futuristic ship’s bridge concept. The Future Operator Experience Concept is expected to be launched by 2025.
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This new concept will offer the crew smart workstations that automatically identify individuals when they walk into the bridge, and adjust to their own preferences, Rolls-Royce said.
The bridge’s windows will serve as augmented reality displays of the vessel’s surroundings, enabling the operators to identify potential hazards that are normally not visible to the human eye.
Rolls-Royce president (Marine) Mikael Makinen said: "With the demands of environmental legislation and rising operating costs, ships are going to become more complex. Add to that the fact that skilled crews are already in short supply, then we see a distinct gap opening up between the complexity of ships and the competency of the people who will crew them.
"That will cause real problems for the industry and we believe it is ship intelligence that will fill that gap."
The new concept will use the latest digital techniques including 3D animation to offer safer and more energy efficient ship operations.
Recently, Rolls-Royce’s Unified Bridge system started operation on the vessel, Stril Luna, and is now coordinating the operation of on-board equipment ranging from engines to propulsion and cargo handling.
Image: The new concept will offer augmented reality displays of the vessel’s surroundings. Photo: courtesy of Rolls-Royce plc.
