Geometric modelling of ships for real-time 3D ship simulators

The paper presents the sequence of procedures and the main techniques used currently to build a digital geometric model of a ship that fulfils the high demanding requirements for realism and performance of modern 3D ship simulators. The work presented shows that some particular characteristics of a ship, often define how to apply these techniques. It also highlights the importance of a well-defined workflow, and discusses the impact that it may have on the modelling time and quality of the final product. The description of the procedures and subsequent discussion are supported by a real example of 3D modelling of a free fall lifeboat and a tugboat currently used in a ship manoeuvring simulator.