A new diesel generator simulator has been delivered to Pearl Harbor naval facilities by the TechSolutions program at the Office of Naval Research (ONR), officials at ONR announced March 18.
High-fidelity 3D software will allow Sailors to use 50-inch touch screens to see and access all parts of the massive generators aboard Virginia-class subs.
The Navy’s Virginia-class submarines are among the most technically advanced vessels ever built. But even these cutting-edge, fast-attack, nuclear-powered boats need emergency generators on hand and Sailors trained to operate and repair them.
As Sailors are being trained on the simulator, they are able to touch different parts of the screen to view and access all parts of the complex generators, even moving virtual controls and twisting virtual knobs to make adjustments based on digital data or sight inspection.
The advanced 3D program-called the Multipurpose Reconfigurable Training System (MRTS)-will provide estimated cost avoidances of $27 million over building more generators for training, freeing up funds for significant expansion of training capabilities. The improvements include expansion of the Machinery Room where the simulators will be placed, allowing greater immersion and multiple-mission scenarios that until now had been largely confined to the classroom.
The Sailors will work with the generator simulator at Pearl Harbor over the next several months, and it will ultimately be considered for transition to Naval Sea Systems Command’s Undersea Warfare Directorate.
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Image: US Navy