Virtual and augmented reality in the maritime industry

Computer Graphics is an important technology for progress in virtual product creation. Visualization and interaction with digital products are crucial to detect and solve problems in the design and the manufacturing process as early as possible. The concept of the virtual ship offers plenty of potential to improve communication amongst the involved disciplines, to compare alternative designs and to simulate production steps as well as usage of the ship and different situations. Highly interactive technologies such as Virtual and Augmented Reality are available and can be applied throughout the whole life cycle. This paper summarizes the state of the art from a technology perspective and presents typical usage scenarios ranging from design and production over marketing up to maintenance and training. Upcoming trends in hard- and software are highlighted and the paper concludes with an outlook to further research in this challenging field.