Increasing Eco-Efficiency Awareness for Ship Loading Process Using Virtual Reality and Gamification

Abstract

The world is striving for a sustainable future as United Nations proposed the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to reduce the environmental impact and increase societal wellbeing by 2030. In this endeavor, eco-efficiency is considered as one of the key concept to facilitate the successful transition to the sustainable development with the focus to reduce the ecological impact of industry through efficiency improvements. The shipping industry is largely involved in this challenge with a target set by International Maritime Organization to cut emissions from individual ships by 40% from 2008 levels by 2030. The ship loading process is believed to have great impact to the overall eco-efficiency as it is not only a time consuming process but also determines the fuel consumption of the transportation. In this study, we aim to incorporate virtual reality (VR) technology and gamification theories to raise the eco-efficiency awareness in the shipping loading process. A VR application for ship loading process was developed using a real world case in the Baltic sea region. Eco-efficiency concept is introduced in different levels based on the gamification theories. Maritime professionals tested the VR application and provided their feedback. The results are positive that combining VR and gamification can be useful to train operators with eco-efficiency in the ship loading operations. It also shows a huge potential to support the shipping industry in this transition towards a more sustainable future.