Sea Technology

NOV 2016

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www.sea-technology.com November 2016 / st 33 C ubic Global Defense, a leading provider of live, virtual and constructive training solutions, has a studio dedi- cated to the advancement of game-based training in Or- lando, Florida. In conjunction with the Naval Air Warfare Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) in Orlando, Florida, Cubic is in the final stages of delivering by the end of 2016 a unique training capability to the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. In accordance with the guide- lines of the Naval Surface Force Training Manual and the Person- nel Qualifications Standards (PQS) program, Cubic has developed the LCS Immersive Virtual Shipboard Environment (IVSE) courseware to achieve the Navy's train-to-qualify and train-to-certify requirements for LCS sailors. In terms of scope, complexity and magnitude, the LCS IVSE is the first training of its kind. Targeting specific watch sta- tions, the courseware focuses on the PQS 200 (Introduction to Sys- tems) and 300 series (Introduction to Watch-Stations) levels of profi- ciency. The individual lessons are derived from the PQS line items. The objective of the IVSE course- ware is to train a sailor to an initial level of qualification at a specific watch-station before reporting to the ship. Once on board, the sailor would be able to achieve final qualification by standing a few familiarization watches under the instruction of senior personnel. The final qualification would be the responsibil- ity of the shipboard command. IVSE training immerses the sailor in a high-fidelity, physics-based, 3D replica of a functional ship. It con- tains spaces, systems, equipment, technical documents, instructions and tools necessary to familiarize the student with the prospective watch-station. The IVSE is designed to replicate how sailors learn and qualify on board a ship through traditional on-the-job training (OJT) but within a structured, repeatable process. The strategy is the Navy's own "crawl, walk, run" approach. However, unlike tra- ditional onboard training where sailors learn from vari- ous sources that may or may not be current and or ac- curate, the IVSE standardizes training and requires 100 percent procedural compliance. It includes fundamental knowledge, program administration, maintenance, sys- tems tracing, alignments, equip- ment operation, "on watch" tasks, walk-throughs, evolutions and ca- sualty control. Operational guid- ance and procedural compliance come from shipboard instruc- tions, local operating procedures and the engineering operational sequencing system (EOSS). Each lesson starts with the nec- essary knowledge required for the student to identify basics such as purpose, components, param- eters, safety considerations and principles of alignment. A sailor would typically learn this informa- tion on his or her own from the ship's information book, EOSS and other technical manuals. How- ever, when immersed in the IVSE, the student proceeds to the des- ignated "virtual" shipboard space and meets with a Mentor Avatar. The Mentor Avatar is a "synthetic" senior, qualified watch-stander under whose guidance the "Under Instruction Watch-Stander" would normally receive OJT. The Mentor Avatar interacts with the student by providing guidance, demonstrations, amplifying instructions and safety tips. The student then aligns and/or operates the equipment or performs tasking. Once the student has successfully com- pleted a guided portion of the course, he or she must then master the lesson without guidance and only limited help. The IVSE instruction is self-paced and a student can repeat the lesson(s) as often as required to attain the required profi- ciency. When proficiency is achieved, the student proceeds to the assessment phase and completes the "PQS line item sign-off" requirement. Game-Based Naval Training Teaching US Navy Personnel with Virtual Reality By Dr. Katelyn Procci • Gabriel Velasco • Louis Y. Valsaint "IVSE training immerses the sailor in a high-fidelity, physics- based, 3D replica of a functional ship."

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