THE WELL-BEING OF PASSENGERS ABOARD VESSELS HAS LONG BEEN AT THE MERCY OF SEA CONDITIONS AND THE WEATHER, MUCH TO THE DETRIMENT OF OFFSHORE WIND FARM CREW TRANSFER OPERATORS AND THE TECHNICIANS EXPERIENCE
DO TECHNICIANS LIKE TO ADMIT THEY GETTING SEASICK?
Turner ICENI partnership
New Seasickness technology tested on CTVs
New Zealand has emerged as the industry leader in the SEASICKNESS R&D field using Virtual Reality
See-LEVEL has been working in the background with Offshore Wind Farm operators since August 2020
During our R&D stage from 2019 to 2021, we sought a partner to help us understand the CTV seasickness issue. We soon realized that the issue of seasickness was larger than we first anticipated, but the industry had already identified this, and from 2016 to 2020, they started a study costing €3,600,000.
The study "Improving Safety and Productivity of Offshore Wind Technician Transit" (SPOWTT) aimed to achieve the following:
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Widen the workable weather window for Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV).
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Improve the productivity of technicians performing service activities on offshore wind turbines.
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Find a seasickness solution for the crew at sea.
Siemens Gamesa identified issues with crew seasickness and See-LEVEL headsets on various vessels during our R&D from 2021 - 2023. Siemens Gamesa tested our system in Taiwan (Formosa Strait) under very challenging conditions. This was an R&D and learning exercise. The learnings from this trial were critical in developing a workable solution for our first CTV operator partnership, and we are eternally grateful to Siemens Gamesa for their enthusiastic feedback.
See-LEVEL Feedback - "A Career Enabler"
Turner Iceni heard about See-LEVEL in December 2020, and after initial discussions and demonstrations, a partnership was formed in 2022. During 2021 and 2022, our headsets could be tested when the situation arose. Feedback was slow at first as the crew was resistant to using the headset. After all, who wants to admit they are getting seasick if their job could rely on it? However, the results and feedback of the crew that did use See-LEVEL were fantastic! Here's what Turner has to say:
At Turner Iceni, we're committed to creating a safer and more comfortable experience for our team working in the UK's offshore wind farms. We're excited to announce that we have been trialing See-LEVEL VR headsets on our fleet of vessels for the last year. The results? Truly transformative. Here is a testimonial from a wind farm technician:
"As a wind turbine technician new to the offshore environment, I had my reservations about how I'd cope with conditions at sea. Then came the game changer: the See-LEVEL VR headset offered by Turner Iceni. Within minutes, I felt a transformative shift. The nausea that had begun to build up quickly subsided. Thanks to See-LEVEL and Turner Iceni, I was not only able to continue with my work as planned but actually enjoyed my time at sea. It's not just a good gadget; it's a career enabler."
Practical and simple vessel installation.
The implementation of See-LEVEL is extremely simple. Since See-LEVEL strikes fast against seasickness, each vessel has enough headsets to cover 25% of its passengers. The headsets are battery-operated and only need to be charged once a day.
Designed with ease of use in mind, See-LEVEL requires no WI-FI or Internet connection and is ready for use in just 15 seconds from power on. A crew member places the headset on themselves, or another sick passenger, and the headset does the rest, guiding the user through the visual interface.
The headset works fast to stabilize the user. Passengers tend to report relief in 12 minutes, and the user is free to remove and reapply the headset if their seasickness symptoms return while the vessel navigates to another dismemberment spot.
See-LEVEL rapidly and reliably alleviates:
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Nausea
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Sweating
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Anxiety
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Heart Rate
How Does The Virtual Reality See-LEVEL Headset Work?
Since 2017, people operating VR headsets have become dissatisfied with their experience. VR created a storm in the gaming market, but the headsets' motion sickness left people unsatisfied, and 25% of users were unable to use their headsets due to the crippling side effects. The onset of VR sickness, as it's now known, was powerful and hit users fast.
The buzz of virtual reality has steadily persisted, and in 2019, a New Zealand company had an epiphany. If virtual reality induces VR Sickness, could virtual reality technology be reversed at sea to counter the effects of seasickness? The results exceeded the team's research and development expectations.
The specialized design of the 360⁰ software presented in the See-LEVEL headset relieves seasickness in under 12 minutes.
In a 2020 study, 80% of participants found that See-LEVEL reduced their seasickness symptoms, improving their well-being at sea. On a scale from 1-5 (with 5 being vomiting and one being normal), the average nausea experienced by seasick passengers dropped from 4 to 1.56. Which boldly highlighted that nausea was the symptom with the most significant improvement.
On average, low levels of nausea were achieved after just 7.6 minutes of wearing the headset. Furthermore, on average, the headset proved to have an overwhelmingly calming effect as Heart rates were reduced by 15 beats per minute after 1 minute of wearing the headset.
See-LEVEL technology has been trialed and proven effective by multiple defense forces, coastguards, and commercial operators worldwide.
Following rigorous testing and patenting in 2021, See-LEVEL presented its first seasickness relief headset. Within a few months, all the hard work paid off, and the Defense Force version was created. With more and more defense forces and coastguards evaluating the units, with many having successfully completed their trials, orders are now coming in for See-LEVEL, with a keen interest in utilizing the headset technology on their landing craft.