Royal Navy is now using Virtual Reality (VR) technology to train its sailors for warships.
According to the Royal Navy, the Navy’s warfare school at HMS Collingwood in Fareham has installed nine hi-tech simulators at the sites in England and Scotland.
HMS Collingwood is the home of five stimulators, while the rest of the four are divided between Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth and a new naval facility in Faslane, Scotland.
Moreover, these VR stimulators are installed after an investment of £27m between Team Fisher and Metaverse VR.
The Officer in Charge of the Navigational Training Unit, Lieutenant Commander Gavin Lowe said, “The new simulators are fantastic and the debriefing, allowing to accurately run through what’s just happened, is a game-changer when it comes to training navigators and bridge teams.”
Lowe explained, “These are very realistic simulators. The more realistic the environment, the better the training we deliver. The Virtual Reality headsets allow us to ‘step onto’ a bridge wing.”
He further added, “You can look all along the ship from bow to stern, which is fantastic for training complex ships handling manoeuvres such as entering and leaving port.”
Additionally, Sub-Lieutenant Stephen Smallman, trainee warfare officer, noted, “The old simulator was good, but you knew you were in a room with some screens. Here, you feel like you are stepping onto the bridge of a warship. It is very easy to become immersed in the situation, and it makes everything feel much more real.”
