A Reconfigurable Projection System For Several Gantry Crane Simulators

Simulator systems are increasing their potential for training personnel in areas where the risks and the safety tasks at work are very important. Taking into account the fact that practical training and related tasks are one of the most dangerous phases involved in the process of becoming a skilled operator, simulators have been introduced in these areas with a lot of success. The new simulation application technologies in the civil areas have become possible due to the important reduction in the cost of the hardware involved. In this paper we present some of the work carried out in the development of training simulators for gantry crane operators in port areas. The project has been developed in partnership with the Port of Valencia, one of the pioneers in the use of this kind of technology for training of new workers and re-training experienced operators in safety procedures. The paper describes a general overview of the simulation system which contains a motion platform, a general cabin, a graphic generator and a projection system. We describe in a detailed way the design and evaluation of the projection system, which may be easily reconfigured, because our simulation system works with five different types of cranes, with different requirements in terms of field of view, size and location of the projection areas. In the top configuration the simulator system has to work with three different projection channels. The solution outlined uses high quality LCD projectors mixing retro and direct projections, and the final design includes the use of mirrors to overcome certain constraints.