An evaluation of maritime simulators from technical, instructional, and organizational perspectives: a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach

Abstract

Recent advancements in simulation technology facilitated maritime training in various modalities such as full-mission, desktop-based, cloud-based, and virtual reality (VR) simulators. Each of the simulator modality has unique pros and cons considering their technical capabilities, pedagogical opportunities, and different organizational aspects. On the other hand, enhanced training opportunity and diversity of training depends on the proper utilization of simulators. In this context, the absence of an unbiased, transparent, and robust simulator selection process poses a complex decision-making challenge for the maritime instructors and decision-makers at the institutions. In this study, a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach is proposed to evaluate four major types of simulator modalities.