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BMT ARGOSS Delivers PC Rembrandt Update to Kiel Canal Pilots Association
07-Sep-2010
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BMT ARGOSS, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has delivered the latest version of its marine manoeuvring simulator PC Rembrandt to the Kiel Canal Pilots Association’s training facility in Brunsbuttel, Germany. Originally installed in Brunsbuttel in 2008, Kiel Canal Pilot’s PC Rembrandt system forms the back-bone of the pilot association’s ship-handling training programme.
Operating directly from S57 ENC chart data the PC Rembrandt system is a highly accurate, capable and flexible alternative to Full Mission Bridge (FMB) marine simulators, allowing the user to load any port database with relative ease and at minimal cost. PC Rembrandt utilises highly accurate ship models that include over 750 parameters. This attention to detail ensures that the user experiences identical ship to ship interaction, ship to bank .jpg)
interaction, squat and shallow water effects as the real ship would in the same conditions. Simulations can be replayed in video format with track plots and data information printed or saved electronically, providing a very structured training regime.
The upgrades include an improved visual display of PC Rembrandt’s simulation data including a series of screens that replicate the overhead displays and panels found on merchant vessels. Combined with an increased field of view from 120 to 180 degrees and a sound module, the result is a manoeuvring simulator that looks and sounds very much like the bridge of a ship, giving the pilot added realism to his training and scenarios. The displays themselves are fully customisable with Kiel requesting twin RPM/Pitch indicators, log speed and lateral movement of the bow and stern, twin rudder indicators, wind speed and direction and rate of turn indicator. Another significant .jpg)
development has been the introduction of Automatic Identification System (AIS) input into the Kiel Canal PC Rembrandt system. AIS information can be inserted into PC Rembrandt to give real life shipping scenarios and situations to the trainee pilot with the actual AIS vessels displayed on the PC Rembrandt’s Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), 3D visual and radar displays. The trainee can switch between vessels to see the view or situation from the other Captain’s view point which is ideal for incident investigation. In addition to this capability, BMT ARGOSS has developed software to monitor the AIS information from the River Elbe and Kiel Canal, saving it in bite size chunks of an hour so that if there is an incident such as a grounding or collision, the information can be easily inserted into PC Rembrandt for further analysis. A training and vector screen has also been included which depicts the effects and forces acting on the vessel when propulsion and rudders are used in manoeuvring. This module was very much developed in conjunction with Kiel Canal and is an ideal tool for giving a pictorial view of ship-handling theory and knowledge.
Michael Hartman, chairman of the Kiel-Canal-Pilots Lotsenbrüderschaft NOK I commented: “The flexibility and accuracy of PC Rembrandt is working far beyond our expectations. PC Rembrandt is not only a brilliant training tool for our trainees and pilots but its capabilities are now going to become a relevant part of the Kiel Canal quality management system including converting live Portable Pilot Unit (PPU) data to visualise live traffic scenarios.”
James Norwood, Project Manager; Manoeuvring Simulation Division of BMT ARGOSS said: “We are delighted that our PC Rembrandt manoeuvring simulator has become the lynch pin of Kiel Canal Pilot’s training facility and that we continue to fulfil the training requirements of a 140 strong pilot association. The latest version of PC Rembrandt gives our clients the ability to procure a ship manoeuvring simulator that is more than capable and accurate in comparison to a Full Mission Bridge simulator but at a fraction of the cost.” He went on to say: “We now have BMT ARGOSS’s software engineers working on a new version of PC Rembrandt for 2011 that will include enhanced graphics, client server allowing multiple own-ship users in one scenario, full tug modelling capability for tug master training, six degrees of freedom and integration with Kiel Canals Portable Pilot Units, so that we can take PC Rembrandt further down the Maritime Training Route.”