FROM VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING TO DIGITAL TWIN

The virtual prototyping of the ship has been used for many years, starting at the beginning of the century. The main idea was to implement a Virtual representation of the ship and her systems able to behave reliably through simulation. A 3D virtual reality environment was the background for this virtual prototype which behaved realistically to verify and assess functionalities of the designed ship. This was primarily focused on the design phase, but the idea of reusing this virtual prototype in different ship lifecycle phases was already in place: reuse in training, operations, maintenance, dismantling… Many development and research activities have been performed building and reusing much technology: multibody simulations, virtual reality, HLA… But a crucial ingredient was missing: the interaction with the real ship. Meanwhile, onboard automation systems, sensors and actuators, and networks become essential parts of the ship. Nowadays, IoT, global communications, cloud technologies, A.I. pave the way for connecting the Virtual world with the Real one. The naval industry has witnessed a significant transformation, transitioning from traditional virtual prototyping applications to the more sophisticated paradigm of digital twins. This paper presents a comprehensive review of this evolutionary journey through examples of the implementation of virtual prototypes and their reuse in a Digital Twin environment under implementation and evolution, tracing the key technological advancements, challenges, and opportunities that have propelled this transition.