SubSafe: a games-based training system for submarine safety and spatial awareness (Part 1)

Recent advances in hardware and software technologies for computer games have proved to be more than capable of delivering quite detailed virtual environments on PC platforms and gaming consoles for so-called “serious” applications, at a fraction of the cost than was the case 8 years ago. SubSafe is a recent example of what can be achieved in part-task naval training applications using gaming technologies, exploiting freely available, freely distributable software. SubSafe is a proof-of-concept demonstrator that presents end users with an interactive, real-time three-dimensional model of part of a Trafalgar Class submarine. This “Part 1” paper presents the background to the SubSafe project and outlines the experimental design for a pilot study being conducted between August 2008 and January 2009, in conjunction with the Royal Navy’s Submarine School in Devonport. The study is investigating knowledge transfer from the classroom to a real submarine environment (during week 7 of the students’ “Submarine Qualification Dry” course), together with general usability and interactivity assessments. Part 2 of the paper (to be completed in early 2009) will present the results of these trials and consider future extensions of the research into other submarine training domains, including periscope ranging and look-interval assessment skills, survival systems deployment training and the planning and rehearsal of submersible rescue operations.