International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands

A DEVELOPMENT OF WEB APPLICATION FOR VIEWING SPEEDS FORMAT USINGX3DK Murata, Kyushu University, JP, H Kimura, Kyushu University, JP
SUMMARY
Currently, in Japan, as an information sharing platform to effectively use ship 3D data in the maritime industry, a format
called SPEEDS (Smart Platform of Enhanced Engineering Data for Shipping and Shipbuilding) is being developed. Thisis a format that aims to facilitate the sharing of ship 3D data between shipyards and other organizations[1][2]. However,SPEEDS is still a developing, and there is no free software that can handle. Therefore, we aimed for free systemdevelopment for SPEEDS, and developed an open source system that can browse SPEEDS data. This system uses X3Dand operates on a web browser. Therefore, even small devices can use data, so various usage scenes can be expected.
This paper describes the functions and specifications of this system and the expected use cases. We will also examine
the problems and possibilities of SPEEDS discovered through the development of this system.

1.

INTRODUCTION

2.

OVERVIEW OF EACH FORMAT

2.1 OVERVIEW OF SPEEDS
3D CAD has long been used in shipbuilding design.
However, when 3D information is shared with thirdparties such as shipowners, class associations, andresearch institutes such as universities, it is difficult
because each shipyard uses its own CAD and security
policy. In order to resolve this, the Japan Shipbuilding
and Oceanographic Society has recently established theProject Research Committee P-40 "Common Format
Review Committee for Ship 3D Information to Realize
Information Sharing and Advanced Use of Ship 3DInformation".his committee will conduct a survey todevelop a standard of information exchange within themarine industry to resolve the aforementioned
information sharing issues. Accordingly, the common
format of ship 3D information currently underdevelopment is "Smart Platform of Enhanced
Engineering Data for Shipping and Shipbuilding"(SPEEDS)[1][2]. This SPEEDS is still a developing
format, and each shipyard is promoting development ofapplications using it. For example, when a research
institution such as a university develops an application
using outfitting information, the format of 3D data
provided by each shipyard is unique, so that they wereconverted into another format that can be easily
processed. However, with the advent of SPEEDS, there
is no need to convert each company's data individually,
and it has become possible to handle data efficiently.
SPEEDS is currently under development, and no free
application has yet been developed that anyone can use
freely. So we developed the system with the aim ofmaking SPEEDS free and easy for anyone to use. Thissystem is a viewer that visualizes SPEEDS data provided
by the shipyard and can easily make reference to eachcomponent information. This viewer uses X3D, ageneral-purpose 3D format, and operates on a webbrowser. Therefore, anyone can easily handle SPEEDS
data. This paper describes the outline and features of thesystem, the expected use cases, and the problems andpossibilities of SPEEDS through the development of thisviewer.

© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects

SPEEDS is a ship product information sharing basis
having simplified ship 3D shape information and various
attribute information. It is output from the CAD of eachcompany according to the use case (class approval,
information provision to affiliated companies, forsupervisors, 3D models for ship mounting, etc.). Also, it
is described in XML format, and has an open architecturethat exposes its basic structure. Mainly divided into hulls,outfittings and welding lines, each of which has shapeinformation and attribute information. Depending on theuse case, even assembly information is expressed. The
schematic structure of XML in SPEEDS is shown in Fig.
2 below. Thus, SPEEDS establishes Japan's first industry
standard in the maritime industry and aims to accelerate
the computerization of the Japanese maritime industry byenabling free development and competition of analysis
software etc. based on SPEEDS of each company related
to the maritime industry[2].

Figure 1: Basic Concept of SPEEDS[1]International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands

Figure 2: A schematic diagram of the structure of XMLin SPEEDS
2.3 OVERVIEW OF X3D
X3D is a standard for handling 3D computer graphics
developed as a successor to VRML. This is written in
proprietary XML format as well as SPEEDS. In addition
to building simple 3D models, it is possible to combinewith other programming languages such as JavaScript
and Java, which enables construction of dynamic 3D
models such as adding animations and mouse events.
Furthermore, the constructed 3D model can be linked
with a web page, and by embedding it in HTML, thecontents of X3D can be displayed as CG on the webbrowser. In addition, X3D has already been developed asa viewer with many free software (Flux Player, OctagaPlayer, etc.). By using these, anyone can easily browse
the contents if you have an X3D file at hand[3].
3.

The system proposed in this paper is a viewer forvisualizing SPEEDS data, and is a client server systemthat operates on a browser using X3D. The 3D object canbe intuitively manipulated by mouse operation, and it ispossible to refer to the attribute information contained
therein by clicking on a specific part. In addition,
visualization of assembly information by hierarchicaltree, writing of additional information to each part,
retrieval of parts from attribute information, etc. arepossible. Because these functions are available through aserver and on a browser, users can access data without
installing special applications. Furthermore, because it
works with small devices such as tablets andsmartphones, it can be expected to be useful in field work.
However, due to the nature of this system, constructionof a server is essential. Therefore, in order to save timeand effort for server construction on the user side, it isconsidered in the future to construct a server on theInternet and to open source its function. The schematicand UI of this system are shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4
below, respectively.

PROPOSED SYSTEM

3.1 OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM
SPEEDS is still in development and there are no freeapplications and systems that anyone can use. Therefore,
we developed a viewer that anyone could easily use. This
does not assume that only data sharing with affiliates
other than shipyards is expected, and it is expected that3D data will be used in on-site work etc. in shipyards.
Also, by developing a system that anyone can use forfree, it is possible to promote cross-industry systemdevelopment using SPEEDS

Figure 3: A schematic diagram of this application’s
process flow

© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands

Figure 4: The UI of this application on a web browser

3.2 FUNCTIONS

specific part are also possible. Figures 5 and 6 below
show how 3D data is actually displayed on the system.

The system mainly consists of five functions: conversion,
viewing, reference, search, and BBS. Here, we describe
the detailed specifications of each function.
3.2 (a) Conversion Function
This function is performed on the server-side uploaded
SPEEDS file, and converts the SPEEDS file into an X3D
file. Since both SPEEDS and X3D are described in XML
in their structure, schema-compliant conversion can beeasily performed using a dedicated library. In addition,although SPEEDS deals with some primitive figures, it
was decided to represent all with triangular polygons at
the time of conversion, due to the difference in
expression from X3D
3.2 (b) Viewing Function
The viewing function displays 3D data on the browser byembedding the converted X3D data into the HTML. 3D
data embedded in HTML can be moved by mouse
operation on the browser, and can be intuitively grasped
from various viewpoints. When embedding, use an open
source JavaScript library called X3DOM[4]. Thiseliminates the need for installing a new plug-in on theuser's browser, and allows display independent of theuser's environment. Furthermore, since X3DOM also hasa function as Document Object Model (DOM), X3D
objects can be handled dynamically by linking withJavaScript. In other words, operations such as changing
the color of the part clicked with the mouse or hiding a© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects

Figure 5: Display of hull and outfitting 3D data on thissystem

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands

the problems and possibilities of SPEEDS obtained
through system development.
4.1 USE CASES

Figure 6: Display of hull and weld lines 3D data on thissystem
3.3 (c) Reference Function
This function refers to the information of each part andassembly from the 3D object or the hierarchical treelocated on the left of the UI, and the referenced data isplaced in each of the tabs located on the right side of theUI. It is displayed divided into outfitting and weldline.
3.3 (d) Search Function
This function is an inverse function of the referencefunction described above, and highlights matching partsin 3D data based on the information input to the form.
3.3 (e) BBS Function
This function adds additional information to the clicked
part, and can add user name and text information. The
written information is stored on the server via Python
CGI. Currently, only text information is supported, but it
is planned to support external files such as image data inthe future. The BBS UI is shown in Fig.7.

We consider some possible use cases in this system. Thissystem is a client server system, and it has the featurethat data can be accessed only with a browser if theserver is constructed. This enables access to 3D datausing small devices such as smartphones and tablets,
further expanding the scene of use of SPEEDS. Inaddition to the advantage of SPEEDS in sharing 3D dataof each company by using this system, it may be usefulfor data sharing in various situations in the company.
Therefore, we will consider not only the data sharing
with other companies as a use case, but also the in-houseuse.
4.1 (a) Inside Shipyard
In a shipyard, a CAD system is used at a design site, butsince it conforms to a specific format, there are limited
places and terminals from which the data can bereferenced. When field workers refer to data, it isnecessary to look at the printed two-dimensional drawing
and refer to the arrangement of parts. In this application,in order to enable access to design information from asmartphone or a tablet terminal, it is considered that thesite worker does not need to carry around these design
drawings by constructing an environment on an in-houseserver. Furthermore, by using the BBS function,
information sharing can be made smarter, which will leadto facilitation of design and communication in the field.
Specific possible use cases and corresponding functions
are listed below.
·Clearing of parts in assembly work (Viewing Function)
・ Progress management of assembly work (BBSFunction)
・ Share defect information (BBS Function)
・ Calculation of block’s center of gravity (ReferenceFunction)
・ Examination of the position of the suspended piece bycrane (Viewing and Reference Function)

Figure 7: The UI of BBS function
4. DISCUSSION
SPEEDS is still in the development stage. Althoughinterviews have been conducted at each shipyard andvarious use cases have been assumed, the advantages anddisadvantages of actual system development have notbeen examined. Therefore, this chapter assumes someuse cases as a study on this system, and also examines

In fact, although it is still only possible to view the shapeand includes some practical problems, it can be expected
to promote IT implementation of field work.
4.1 (b) Outside Shipyard
When research institutes like universities do systemdevelopment, there are many differences in data formats.
The shipyard may provide data and use it for testing, butthe problem was that the data format of each company© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands

was different. This problem not only significantly
reduces the efficiency of system development, but also
can reduce the versatility of the completed system. Since
SPEEDS can solve these problems, it is thought that thissystem will help other system development if data isprovided by SPEEDS in the future. Furthermore, 3D data
can be used for maintenance etc. also in the case where aclassification association or a shipowner is assumed as auser. In particular, the X3D system represents thestructure of the ship, so it has a high degree of freedom incolor information and viewpoint operations, and can beused as a three-dimensional map on a browser. In thefuture, it can also contribute to raising the added value ofthe ship itself by linking with cameras and measuring
devices. At present, only the browsing function is mainly,
but by expanding the information that can be extracted
further, the possibility of various system development
can be considered.
4.2 PROBLEMS OF SPEEDSHere, we will point out some problems of SPEEDS that
we noticed through the development of this system. Firstof all, the complexity of the representation of primitive
figures in SPEEDS files is raised as a problem. InSPEEDS, parameters such as normals are required evenfor cylinders and the like. The cases of utilizing theseparameters are limited and not considered necessary.
Other primitive figures such as cubes and spheres canonly be represented by polygons. If the primitive figure
is expressed as a polygon, the calculation cost increases
when performing calculations such as interference
determination of an object in another system, and it
becomes necessary to pre-process data. Therefore,
SPEEDS is required to simplify the geometricalrepresentation. However, since SPEEDS is output from
CAD of each company, there is a possibility that it isunavoidable for ensuring compatibility with CAD data ofeach company.
Next, there is a problem that only HullPart can represent
hierarchically in Assembly. There are cases where thesame hierarchical representation is required for Outfitting.
Therefore, I think that the expression of Outfitting needs
to be improved.

possible to develop systems more efficiently. In addition,
SPEEDS will be able to process data from various
shipyards with the same program, and research atuniversities may be more efficient because it saves timeand effort to write programs individually for eachcompany's samples. Furthermore, SPEEDS has been
adopted by i-Shipping, a project aimed at achieving amaritime productivity revolution, which was raised inJapan in 2017, and further development can be expected.
5. CONCLUSION
In this research, we developed a Web application forbrowsing SPEEDS files using X3D. By using X3D, itwas possible to visualize 3D data using a web browser.
This made it possible for anyone to easily read SPEEDS
files, and to improve other system development
efficiency and in shipyards. It can be expected toimprove the efficiency of on-site work. In addition, we
examined the problems and possibilities that SPEEDS
faced through the development of the system. It can beexpected that the range of utilization of this system willfurther expand with the development of SPEEDS in thefuture. At present, it has only a viewer function, but wethink that various other functions can be implemented byeffectively using the information contained in SPEEDS.
There are also security problems as practical problems.
Furthermore, while anyone can easily view it, there arealso problems related to confidentiality. We will facethese problems in the future and plan to expand thesystem more.
6.

REFERENCES

1.

K. Hamada T. Hiraki M. Nagano M Ozaki,‘THE CONCEPT OF SPEEDS (SMART
PLATFORMOF
ENHANCEDENGINEERING DATA FOR SHIPPING AND
SHIPBUILDING) AND INNOVATIVE USE
OF SHIP 3D DATA’, International Conference
on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding,
September 2017.

2.

K. Hamada T. Hiraki M. Nagano M Ozaki,‘Development of information sharing platform
SPEEDS prototype for effective utilization ofship 3D data in marine industry’, Conference
proceedings of JASNAOE, 2017(in Japanese).

3.

T. Hirouchi, ‘X3D Graphics -Create a moving
virtual world on the web’, katto shisutemu,
2008(in Japanese).

4.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, ‘x3dom Instant 3D theHTMLway!’,
https://www.x3dom.org/,2019/07/29(access).

7.

AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY

4.2 POSSIBILITY OF SPEEDSIn this research, we actually developed a system forSPEEDS. Although the problems as described above arestill included, it has been confirmed that the range ofsystem development is broadened. At this time,
information on attribute values is hardly used, but there
is a possibility that the system can be further expandedby making good use of such information in the future.
The use of the XML format makes it easy to interpret 3D
information, and has the advantage of being easy toprocess in writing a program. Currently, libraries forprocessing XML are also developed in various
programming languages, and using these makes it© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects

International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding 2019, 24-26 September 2019, the Netherlands

K Murata holds the current position of a candidate ofM. A. in Department of Maritime Engineering, Graduate
School of Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering,
Kyushu University, Japan.
H Kimura holds the current position of professor at theDepartment of Maritime Engineering, Kyushu University,
Japan. His previous experience includes optimization inshipbuilding.

© 2019: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects