Flanders Hydraulics turns to Barco to upgrade ship bridge simulator

Barco, a leading global provider of visual display systems for simulation, is pleased to announce the successful completion of its upgrade to Flanders Hydraulics' ship bridge simulator. After experiencing maintenance issues with their previous visual system, the hydraulics research laboratory chose Barco's SIM 5R projectors as a more reliable solution for their simulator.

Flanders Hydraulics is an Antwerp-based study service and laboratory owned by the Flemish government, which provides maritime information to both the public and private sectors. The lab runs a 225° field-of-view ship bridge simulator, used for the design of harbors and fairways, and for the training of pilots and maritime students. After initial installation, the simulator operations team found the projectors were breaking down frequently and required constant repair. Flanders Hydraulics decided to upgrade their simulation visual system with newer, more reliable projectors.

Barco's offer was the most compliant to the stringent requirements for the new projection system, especially in regard to maintenance, and response time in case of break-down. "We are pleased Barco came out best, as our larger 360° simulator is already powered by Barco projectors and it has consistently performed very well,�? says Karel Van den Broeck, Operations Manager Flanders Hydraulics Research.

Barco replaced the original visual system with five Barco SIM 5R projectors, easily slotting the new units within the existing rear-projection, curved screen set-up. The SIM 5R uses single-chip DLP technology which is known for its durability and reliability, and comes with a low-maintenance dual-lamp system. Moreover, the projector features multiple inputs, which eliminate the need for expensive external switches.

"Upgrading the system with Barco projectors has meant that we now have an excellent image quality with a brighter picture, better resolution and more accurate colors,�? says Karel Van den Broeck. The SIM 5R projectors ensure there is no color or brightness variation across channels, and uses advanced geometry corrections to avoid any distortions on a curved screen. Barco also added Optical Edge Blending to the WABO installation, which eliminates any visible overlaps zones between the images to deliver one seamless image.

Working together with Flanders Hydraulics' computer cluster IG, the simulator can reproduce Antwerp Harbor and other major waterways in great detail, and under different conditions - fog, mist, twilight and nighttime. Designed with a 225° field of view, the eye-direction on the bridge console can be changed to visualize the ship from bow to stem, and offers a vertical tilt to look downwards. Communication links are provided between the simulator, the lecture room and the instruction room for effective training sessions. All in all, the upgrade ensures that Flanders Hydraulics can continue to provide excellent facilities for the training of pilots and the testing of nautical procedures.