SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nov. 1, 2005–Cubic Defense Applications, the defense segment of Cubic Corporation (AMEX:CUB), has received a contract for the U.S. Navy’s Generic Reconfigurable Training Systems (GRTS) Lot II program. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract has a ceiling value of $15 million, and covers computer simulations for training crews in how to operate the hull, mechanical and electrical systems of Navy ships.
Cubic’s Orlando, Fla.-based Simulation Systems Division is among several contractors that will have an opportunity to bid on up to $15 million in ship systems simulator business over the next five years. The companies will compete for contracts to develop modeling and simulation software to train crews to operate a ship’s basic systems, including diesel and turbine engines, propulsion systems, generator systems, and damage control and related systems. These simulation models will run in a standardized Navy electronic classroom environment and offer a “whole-ship” environment for simultaneous training on multiple duty stations.
“The Cubic team offers outstanding technical expertise and understanding of the U.S. Navy’s requirements, and is able to provide rapidly reconfigurable systems that provide exceptional training value to our Navy customer,” said Ed Kulakowski, director of Operator and Maintainer Training Systems for Cubic’s Simulation Systems Division.
Cubic teamed with Atlantis Systems International (USA) to win the award. Atlantis brings extensive experience in modeling ship’s systems to the program, as well as the graphical tool, OpenSim, licensed from GSE Systems Inc. OpenSim automatically generates executable code from “drag-and-drop” library representations of the target system components.
The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is expected to award the first orders for GRTS Lot II systems early in 2006.
Cubic Defense Applications, one of Cubic’s two major segments, is a world leader in realistic combat training systems, mission support services and defense electronics. The corporation’s other major segment, Cubic Transportation Systems, designs and manufactures automatic fare collection systems for public mass transit authorities. For more information about Cubic, see the company’s website at www.cubic.com.
DRS Technologies Receives $7 Million Contract to Provide Mobile Range Simulator Systems for British Royal Navy
PARSIPPANY, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 14, 2005–DRS Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: DRS) announced today that it has received a $7 million contract to provide ground-based, transportable range simulator systems to upgrade calibration facilities for the British Royal Navy. The systems, to be deployed at the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) Skipness and Portland Bill sites and other MoD coastal sites in the U.K., will be used to calibrate direction finding equipment and validate electronic warfare libraries for British Royal Navy surface ships, submarines and aircraft.
The contract was awarded to DRS by QinetiQ Ltd. in Boscombe Down, Salisbury, the United Kingdom. For this award, DRS will deliver and install two identical, ground-based, mobile range simulator systems and also provide factory and operational acceptance testing, post-design support, and maintenance, operations and safety training. Work for this contract will be accomplished by the company’s DRS EW & Network Systems (Canada) unit in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. Product deliveries are expected to be completed by December 2006.
“This new award enhances DRS’s position as a key international supplier of high-quality range simulator software and systems for advanced applications,” said Fred L. Marion, president of DRS’s Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group. “Recognized as a leading designer of complex electronic warfare systems for a variety of customers throughout the world, our systems are playing an increasingly important role supporting national defense initiatives in the U.S. and abroad.”
Each EW system will consist of DRS’s TS-100 “Excalibur” Simulator System and ThreatBuilder(TM) software, including custom-designed software with direction finding capability, antenna positioning and array equipment, video tracking system, transmitter, carry-on-board global positioning system (GPS) kit for ship tracking and bearing analysis support, and shore-based equipment to be housed in a mobile tactical ISO (International Standards Organization) shelter.
DRS Technologies, headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, provides leading edge products and services to defense, government intelligence and commercial customers. Focused on defense technology, DRS develops and manufactures a broad range of mission critical systems. The company employs 6,000 people worldwide.
For more information about DRS Technologies, please visit the company’s web site at http://www.drs.com.
The Lower St. Lawrence Pilots Are Officially Opening Canada’s State-of-the-Art Navigation Simulation Center
QUEBEC, Aug. 30 /CNW Telbec/ РThe president of the Corporation of the Lower St. Lawrence Pilots, Captain Simon Pelletier, took great pride today in opening the first Navigation Simulation Center at the Port of Qu̩bec. A tool at the forefront of technology, the simulator will offer users unrivalled conditions for training and improving skills in the maritime sector in Canada.
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The acquisition of this simulator will enable the Corporation of the Lower St. Lawrence Pilots to position itself not only as a leader in terms of training and improving skills, but also as the originator of a state-of-the- art center of expertise in North America in terms of navigational safety. “We are looking forward to welcome to this exceptional training center maritime professionals from across the industry” stresses Captain Simon Pelletier.
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In accordance with the requirements of the STCW 95 Convention of the International Maritime Organization and approved by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the Class A simulator, Polaris, has been designed to meet the needs of training, practicing, updating and maintaining skills in subjects related to navigation, piloting, anticollision, instrumentation, maneuvering with adaptation in confined waters as well as emergency situations.
Exercises provide a highly realistic reproduction of the sound and visual environment, tidal effect and climatic factors that can occur during transit, including the effects of wind, current, heeling, shoals, loss of visibility linked to fog or rain and many other situations. Some of the simulator’s features include a visual presentation 330 degrees horizontally and 25 degrees vertically, a very wide choice of carrier ships and target ships, covering a range that is representative of the ships that sail the St. Lawrence River along with twelve complete databases making it possible to simulate nighttime and daytime maneuvers in Canada, the Unites States and Europe, and to reproduce the conditions thereof in great detail as well as recording sessions for analysis and feedback purposes.
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The Corporation of the Lower St. Lawrence Pilots has been in existence since 1860 and has always extolled the virtues of training and updating the knowledge of pilots in order to ensure safe navigation in all sailing areas. Accordingly, the Corporation continues to run its own training and practice program for individuals who want to become pilots. It also represents its members with governments, companies and anyone involved in the maritime sector.
C++ functions to convert between decimal degrees and degrees, minutes, and seconds
I’ve run into situations where it was necessary to convert decimal degrees to degrees, minutes, and seconds.
Here’s a couple of C++ functions which handle the conversion between these two formats:
std::string DegreesMinutesSeconds(double ang) ; double DecimalDegrees(const std::string& dms) ;
These are inline functions defined in the header file, dms.h:
BITS Pilani & RLINS Madurai Collaboration Sailing for Success
RL Institute of Nautical Sciences – “RLINS”, Madurai is a unit of Subbalakshmi Lakshmipathy Foundation ( SLF ) promoted by Dr R Lakshmipathy a doyen of the Newspaper Industry. The facilities at RLINS, Madurai include T S Meenakshi a ship in the Madurai Campus apart from Full Mission Engine Simulator, Full Mission Ship Manoeuvring Simulators.
RLINS, Madurai is a certified institution by the Indian Register Quality System ( IRQS ) to meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 apart from CRISIL rating of “Very Good”.
BITS Pilani has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with RL Institute of Nautical Sciences – “RLINS” Madurai for conducting the BS Marine Engineering Program approved by the DG shipping conforming to the standards of STCW of IMO for developing Human Resources for the Merchant Navy profession.
On 21 August 2005, at RLINS Madurai, a batch of 60 cadets who have successfully completed the BS Marine Engineering program in July 2005 were awarded the Transcripts and Provisional Certificates by Prof L K Maheshwari, the Pro Vice Chancellor and Director of BITS Pilani.
Successful course for mooring masters
SAMTRA, the SA Maritime Training Academy based in Simon’s Town, recently conducted a crisis and emergency course for a group of mooring masters responsible for the mooring and unmooring of tankers at offshore installations.
This is the first course that SAMTRA has developed to cater for the offshore industry using its full mission bridge simulators, which enable participants to be exposed to a range of simulated scenarios that focus on relevant emergencies that can affect single point moorings, a multi buoy operation or ship to ship transfers.
A range of simulator exercises were conducted during the course to expose mooring masters to emergency situations which included fires, collisions, heavy or unexpected weather, evacuation of ill or injured personnel, engine, rudder and navigation equipment failures.
These exercises afforded the mooring masters the opportunity to assess their reactions to the various situations and the efficiency of their company procedures for such emergencies.
In an industry where the consequences of errors of judgment impact critically on both terminal operations and the environment, such training provides participants the opportunity of making mistakes in a simulated controlled environment without risk.
SAMTRA’s first course in July was attended by experienced mooring masters from Smit Marine South Africa.
Simulator training for HSV-2 crew
Marine Safety International (MSI) reports that the “Gold Crew” of the U.S. Navy’s Navy’s High Speed Vessel SWIFT (HSV-2) completed five days of training at MSI Norfolk on August 5, 2005.
A significant part of the training was 28 hours of simulator exercises using MSI Norfolk’s new High Speed Vessel console. The console features separate ARPA displays for the Navigator and Officer of the Deck positions along with a shared ECDIS (Electronic Chart).
The crew training included a 24 hour Bridge Resource Management course and 16 hours of advanced shiphandling. During the advanced shiphandling phase the crew training focused on high speed choke point transits with high traffic density.
SWIFT has two crews – Gold and Blue – which alternate in manning the vessel. The Gold crew is homeported at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek in Norfolk, VA. The Blue crew is homeported in at the Naval Station, Ingleside, TX.
During its last deployment, SWIFT conducted a high speed transit from Ingleside to Singapore to provide disaster relief in response to the December 2004 South Asian tsunami. The 31-knot open-ocean transit included a one-day crew swap in Pearl Harbor. Relief support operations included high speed cargo transport and over 30 days of continuous helicopter operations in support of USNS MERCY (T-AH 19)
People made seasick in the name of science
Defence Department researchers have been trying to make people seasick””but not too seasick””so they can assess their performance under trying conditions.
Faced with shrinking rosters aboard its naval fleet and at the same time demanding more technical expertise from sailors, the military can ill afford to let rough seas compromise operations.
If commanders could identify which crew members are most susceptible to seasickness and under what conditions, they could respond by shortening shifts or replacing vulnerable sailors before they get sick.
Researchers also hope to ultimately identify what tasks can still be done even by those who are seasick, so Defence can decide where to spend its money on replacements.
The problem is, there’s no criteria for measuring seasickness, the precise conditions that cause it, or, particularly, its effect on human performance.
That’s where Jim Colwell and Scott MacKinnon come in.
Colwell, a naval architect with Defence Research and Development Canada, drafted the protocol for a study aimed at controlling illness so researchers can measure how people perform when they’re seasick.
He even came up with a Misery Scale ranging from 0 (no problems), through nine levels of discomfort, nausea, and retching, to 10 (full-scale vomiting).
MacKinnon, an ergonomist, conducted the study in a ship motion simulator at Newfoundland’s Memorial University. His first challenge was finding enough volunteers””20, in the end””willing to get sick for science.
“It’s pretty hard to get people who chronically get motion sickness to actually volunteer to do these types of trials,” said MacKinnon, whose seasick-prone wife, Helen, was among those who signed on.
“We got 20 people who at least demonstrated some levels of motion sickness. Some did end up vomiting. Some dropped out,” he noted. “Typically, it’s very hard to reel them back in once they pass a certain point.”
By altering the simulator’s motions (pitch, roll, yaw, heave, surge, and sway), MacKinnon managed to keep about half the seasick participants in the four-six range, which included sweating, dizziness, and an uneasy stomach, up to slight nausea.
All but two of the others got just seasick enough that the machine’s motions didn’t need to be altered. The two others threw up no matter what the testers did.
The results””that seasickness can be regulated for research purposes””will be published later this summer. The findings also could help industries such as fisheries and commercial shipping.
It’s not the first time motion sickness studies have been conducted, but Colwell said previous projects typically recorded how many people got sick, how fast they got sick, and how sick they got under set conditions.
“The typical kind of experiment is you set the motions at a certain level of severity and then you watch what happens to the people,” he said.
“Generally, people who begin to get motion sick progress through mild, moderate, and fairly severe symptoms over a fairly short period of time.
“So it’s really difficult to look at performance with mild motion sickness when people don’t stabilize at that level but get worse pretty rapidly.”
Colwell and MacKinnon’s study was the first to regulate the motions of the simulator by the seasickness they caused. It required participants to perform rudimentary computer tasks such as math problems and other questions.
“I wondered why anyone who knows how bad it can be would volunteer to put themselves through it,” said study participant Helen MacKinnon.
“Near the end, you got the feeling you just didn’t care, you just wanted to answer the questions. You just weren’t feeling up to it.
“I can see how anybody working on a boat would find it hard to concentrate on their job.”
In fact, the issue came to the fore after a 1997 NATO exercise where about half of 1,025 sailors surveyed aboard seven ships reported varying degrees of seasickness resulting in problems doing their jobs.
Better training at sea becoming a reality
Human error causes most incidents and accidents in the marine sector. To improve the quality of training, and therefore safety, a flexible multimedia learning system has been developed that offers customised self-learning programmes.
Developed under the IST programme-funded SLIM-VRT project, the partners’ work brings together technology with maritime and pedagogical expertise.
“SLIM-VRT introduces personalised e-learning for the first time in the maritime sector,” says project manager Nikos Skarpetis. “It is better than existing computer-based training that takes place onboard because it allows users to select courses according to their needs, preferences and future plans.”
The SLIM-VRT project analysed trainee-employee profiles, such as skills, qualifications, training needs/styles and formal/informal career development in the shipping industry. It also studied emerging job requirements in today’s changing maritime environment. Using this information, project partners produced an innovative self-learning for work methodology based on individual user personalities and needs.
The project also developed the ‘Virtual Training Based on Real Experience’ paradigm, an innovative virtual reality tool (VRT) that acts as a powerful simulator enables students to examine real conditions at sea without moving to an expensive simulation site.
“Existing simulators cannot realistically simulate, in a user-centred way, emergency situations such as fires, accidents, sinking and near miss situations,” he explains.
The platform is based on a new framework for developing Intranet/Internet applications, consisting of a core system (execution environment) and a set of components each responsible for operating a different functionality. The system uses XML technology to present the requested data on a Web page. Another innovation is the support to authors provided through a tool that allows them to produce cost-effective educational material tailored to the users’ context.
The SLIM-VRT system was piloted using 55 users, including seafarers, shipping company employees, marine academy students and newcomers to the industry. Evaluation data were gathered using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Skarpetis says the results were “extremely positive” . Project partners are exploring ways to exploit the system within the maritime sector.
The innovative virtual reality educational tool (VRET) can be easily adapted to other learning environments because the platform is fully customisable, while both the self-learning methodology and sub-system can support education and training needs of different user groups.
Town Cut will have to be widened
Two Rock Passage into Hamilton and St. George’s Town Cut will have to be widened and dredged in the near future to accommodate modern mega-cruise ships, a coastal engineer has concluded.
And environmental impact studies will have to be done to determine the impact it would have on not only coral reefs, but also currents. Philip Smith, co-director of Smith Warner International Ltd, the largest Caribbean firm specialising in Coastal Engineering, Coastal Zone Management and Oceanography, was commissioned by Government in 2003 to do a comprehensive survey of Bermuda’s coastline.
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The initiative was announced earlier this year by Government to overhaul all of Bermuda’s ports — St. George’s, Marginal Wharf, St. David’s, Hamilton Harbour and at Ireland Island North. For this purpose, a high-tech computerised maritime database, including simulation software, is being used to determine possible alterations, before actually making them.