A virtual container terminal simulator for the design of terminal operation

Abstract

Port container terminal operation requires a skill workforce who participates in performing a number major operation including container loading/unloading, task planning, scheduling of terminal resources, operating of crane systems, etc. in a highly coordinated manner. To facilitate the optimal design of terminal operation for both management and operators, and to provide a flexible environment for operator training and skill evaluation, a real-time distributed virtual environment that simulates container terminal operation is developed. The system includes an imseCAVE, which is a low cost fully immersive virtual reality system developed at the University of Hong Kong, together with several network computers that are linked to the imseCAVE for remote control and monitoring of terminal operations, and providing user interfaces that simulate the planning systems for terminal operations. The simulator recreates a vivid terminal operating environment that is found useful for both teaching and research in logistics and other related fields.

Dataspace: A Reconfigurable Hybrid Reality Environment for Collaborative Information Analysis

“…Focusing on the visualization of ultra-high-resolution geospatial data, Reality Deck [39] managed to increase the environment's total resolution from 36 MegaPixels to more than 1 GigaPixel by tiling 416 LCD displays together. DSCVR [40] focused instead on a smaller number of displays, attempting to tackle concerns surrounding the scalability and reconfigurability of the environment, while other researchers tried to minimize production costs without renouncing the original CAVE design [5,18,26,30]. Parallel efforts attempted to improve users' interactions with the data, sometimes integrating external devices such as tablets [28] and smart watches [24].…”

Perceived usefulness of, engagement with, and effectiveness of virtual reality environments in learning industrial operations: the moderating role of openness to experience

“…VR has featured in many applications in recent years, including logistics and transport (Wong et al 2020 ; Massei et al 2013 ), manufacturing (Matsas et al 2018 ), product design (Guo et al 2018 ), construction (Sampaio and Martins 2014 ), healthcare (Aiken and Berry 2015 ), art appreciation (Huang and Han 2014 ), and education (Müller et al 2007 ; Ott and Freina 2015 ). VR CAVE technology has been applied to teaching and learning in various disciplines, including science (Tarr and Warren 2002 ; Limniou et al 2008 ), engineering (Wang et al 2018 ), health care (Bracq et al 2019 ), cultural heritage (Vasileva and Petrova 2019 ), and logistics (Lau et al 2007 ). VR facilitates users to understand complex content in an interactive, immersive and multi-dimensional way.…”

Unlocking the Complexity of Port Data With Visualization

“…These techniques are useful for forecasting future system demands or for optimizing the productivity, based on different parameters and factors. Modeling and simulation systems provide 3-D real-time visualization [22], [23] and/or synthesized scenarios [24], [25] of various artifacts at the terminal, such as containers, equipment, tractors, cranes, trolleys, ships, and others. GIS and simulation systems [18], [25] also provide tabular text-based interfaces and charts to enhance data description.…”