Aquaculture Simulator
Abstract
Salmon fish farming has evolved to become a multi-billion dollar industry for Norway, with a significant growth in the last 10 years. With the introduction of modern and advanced technical equipment and higher environmental demands, follows a need for further training of experienced fish farmers and aquaculture students. Spreading knowledge about aquaculture and get people interested in the industry is important in order to secure future growth.This project will continue the development of an aquaculture simulator, sup- porting virtual reality with Oculus Rift. The simulator allows a user to visit a salmon fish-farm, dive into a fish cage to swim among the salmon, or check out the anchoring of the cages. The player will also have control over the feeding ma- chine, being able to observe the change in behaviour of the fish once the machine is turned on and off.The goal of the project is to seek out how a simulator can be used for ed- ucational purposes and enlightenment of the aquaculture industry. User-testing the simulator at several exhibitions, with an aquaculture class, experts from a fish farm company among others have resulted in great positive feedback and online publicity in different medias. Several companies have showed interest in the project, and want to support the future development.