Detecting Interferences with Virtual Reality

During the shipbuilding process, there are numerous planned and unplanned “load outs” entailing the installation or removal of Customer Furnished Equipment (CFE), Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and fabricated subsystems during some of the later stages of construction. In many cases, load outs involve the rip-out of surrounding structure, grating and other potential interfering objects in the way of load out activities. Planned load outs take place at a specific stage of construction. They follow a pre-determined path and approach for rigging and landing the component, so that potential interferences between the component and any objects within that path are already known. Ideally, the designed travel path for each component correctly identifies possible interferences ahead of time, and only those objects are removed. However, the differences in as-built configurations of the ship often cause additional interferences within the load out or removal path that were unaccounted for in the design. Unplanned load outs and removals entail movement of major equipment unforeseen in the build plan or out-of-sequence according to the plan. These can include removal of defective equipment or delayed deliveries. If equipment has no requirement for removal and maintenance, then no removal route is built into the design. Both planned and unplanned load outs require a travel path to be determined and all interferences identified.

The Virtual Load Out Interference Detection project, managed by the Naval Shipbuilding and Advanced Manufacturing (NSAM) Center, will develop an augmented-reality (AR) application that will be used to identify interferences in the load out path in real time, on the deck plates prior to the load out process. The application will utilize a virtual object based on CAD models or a 3D scan that corresponds to the shape of the equipment. At General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW), the mechanic using the application will move the virtual object through the load out path to identify and verify interferences to minimize unnecessary rip out. General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) would use this tool to allow the riggers to be able to walk a component out of the ship directly. There would be no need to run the time-consuming simulations because the trades will be able to load the component into the AR session and see the interferences directly related to the as-built conditions of the ship

This project is expected to result in savings of approximately $155.0K per VIRGINIA Class submarine, approximately $186.0K per COLUMBIA Class submarine and approximately $268.0K per DDG 51 Class destroyer for combined five-year savings of $3.6M.

The Virtual Load Out Interference Detection technology is expected to be implemented at both BIW and GDEB facilities during the second quarter of FY2024.

*Prepared under ONR Contract N00014-19-D-7001 as part of the Navy ManTech Program.

*DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. DCN# 0543-545-23