Development of a virtual environment based training system for ROV pilots

Availability of trained pilots is key to many military and commercial remotely operated vehicle (ROV) missions. Due to the expense and logistics involved with operating actual systems, training and practice is: often difficult to obtain in other than an “on the job” fashion. To remedy this situation, a virtual environment (VE) based system is being developed for the training of ROV piloting skills. Analysis of typical missions such as mine countermeasures and search/salvage yielded a set of general skills to be taught including manoeuvring, situational awareness, sensor data integration, and mission operations. Use of VE technology permits the creation of an enriched learning environment including simulation of a wide range of operational environments, vehicle configurations, learning aids, rind mission scenarios. The prototype training system is a VE-based Intelligent Tutor which implements various training aids and interventions to promote the development of both the sensorimotor and cognitive skills related to basic manoeuvring tasks and situational awareness. Once implemented, the training effectiveness of this prototype will be studied by analyzing pilot performance on an actual ROV