Getting Real: Star Center Upgrades Bridge Simulator

Maritime training specialists, STAR Center, upgrades its bridge simulator for an unparalleled 360 degree training experience.

Digital Projection International (DPI), an Emmy® Award-winning manufacturer of high-performance projection systems, Scalable Display Technologies, a leading provider of software for automatic edge-blending, and Electric Picture, a leading systems integrator recently collaborated on a significant system upgrade to STAR Center’s maritime training simulator in Dania Beach, FL.  This upgrade resulted in increased imagery resolution and vertical coverage, improved color management and made overall system maintenance more efficient. 

In operation since 1993, STAR Center (Simulation, Training, Assessment & Research) says it is regarded internationally as a top destination for ocean-going and inland professional maritime training and research.  A division of the AMO Safety and Education Plan, STAR Center is the primary training provider for the U.S. merchant marine officers represented by American Maritime Officers.

“The upgrade was a resounding success,” commented Brian Long, director of STAR Center.  "The existing projectors were replaced by nine of DPI’s higher-resolution HIGHlite WUXGA 660 projectors with built-in advanced warp and blend capability, courtesy of their internal Fusion software.  With the ability to run in both single and dual-lamp mode, the HIGHlite displays allow the STAR Center to accentuate extreme brightness or increased lamp efficiency based on the configuration.   Additionally, the HIGHlite displays came with 3-year factory warranties. 

A further benefit resulting from the projector upgrade allowed Electric Picture to increase the simulator’s vertical field of view, which, as Long noted, was “a very big deal indeed.  The extra projected height reinforces that feeling of depth and full immersion and gives the simulator a much more realistic feel.  The experience is very similar to being on an actual ship.”

Long and the entire STAR Center team take their training responsibility very seriously.  “Our central goal at STAR Center is to help produce the most well-trained, prepared maritime officers in the world.  The newly upgraded bridge simulator will help us achieve that goal for years to come.”