FEATURE SPONSOR


SIMULATION PRODUCTS & TRAINING STATE-OF-THE-ART SYSTEM FOR WIND


TURBINE MAINTENANCE TRAINING In 2017 Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, officially launched the TurbineHR Hub at Fife College, a unique Mixed Reality suite for training wind turbine technicians


That is the result of a two-year and on-going collaboration between the Energy Skills Partnership, the CyberBuild Lab of Heriot-Watt University, the UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, Fife College and Animmersion UK Ltd.


REAL WORLD SCENARIO The system immerses the trainees in a serious game simulating a 7-megawatt offshore wind turbine and requires them to carry out fault-finding inspections with a range of faults randomly generated by the game. The game includes audio effects, such as wind noise and can even simulate changing weather conditions. The turbine is in fact modelled on the real- life demonstration turbine operated off the East Fife coast by the ORE Catapult.


REALITY TECHNOLOGY The system employs the unique immersive Hybrid Reality (iHR) technology developed by the


A second game is now under development for conducting fault- finding inspections inside the turbine, where the shaft, gears and generator are located.


CyberBuild Lab at Heriot-Watt University, that seamlessly merges real and virtual worlds in real-time, so that users can see their own body (eg hand and legs) as well as tools and equipment (eg PPE) while being fully immersed in the virtual world. This has two benefits: it enhances the sense of presence (eg the sense of height when standing on top of the turbine) and it enables users to naturally manipulate both real and virtual objects within the world.


TURBINEHR HUB The TurbineHR Hub is a demonstration of the value Virtual and Mixed Reality technologies can provide to the training of engineers and technicians, in areas like the energy and construction sectors. For offshore wind, these technologies can provide very direct cost benefits compared to on-site training, in terms of cost as well as health and safety.


Beyond training in the college, such technology can also help the planning of actual operations by enabling professionals to familiarise themselves with the environment before visiting a site, optimise logistics and job sequencing and reduce errors and health and safety risks.


A mobile version of the system has also been developed that the different project partners can use in their public engagement activities, in particular engaging with young people on STEM careers in the Energy sector.


Frédéric Bosché, Dr., HEA Fellow Associate Professor Heriot-Watt University


CYBERBUILD


ACADEMY


ENERGY


ORCA HUB www.windenergynetwork.co.uk 35


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