Siemens: Exploring an offshore substation

The problem

Siemens is a market leader in offshore wind power with a proven 20-year track record.

Offshore substations are the systems that collect and export the power generated by wind turbines and are an essential component of offshore wind farms.

When Siemens were designing and launching a new offshore electrical substation product, they faced two key challenges. How did their design and safety teams make sure that it was fit for purpose? And how did their prospective customers experience the product before it was built?

With this in mind, the company approached us to produce an interactive virtual model of their new offshore electrical substation product.

Our Solution

We worked closely with the Siemens team to export 3D models of the substation from their design systems and used these to produce an interactive visualisation that allowed users to explore the substation in real time. 

Making use of Oculus Rift HMD technology, the model enabled users to experience the substation with an accurate sense of scale and place not possible on standard screens. It saved time and money by allowing Siemens design and safety teams to test their iterations, ensuring that the final product was right, first time. It also allowed Siemens sales teams to quickly communicate how the product operated to potential customers.

Going forward Siemens are using the model in future development of onshore and offshore electrical substations and to train up their operations and maintenance staff on the installations.