**1. Introduction**

In recent years, the advancement of technology has dramatically improved the functions of remotely operate vehicle (ROV) [1–3] and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) [4] to handle the growing spectrum of underwater tasks [5]. Artificial Intelligence is becoming an increasingly common sight in automating machines to carry functions without the need for an actual operator. It will continue to take on a more observatory role [6–8]. Nowadays, ROVs and AUVs are commonly used in the maritime industry to carry out underwater tasks. These machines possess the capabilities to carry heavier loads to stay in deeper underwater for a longer

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

duration than the human divers. These machines are operated from shore by a pilot making them very profitable and safer in the maritime industry. The challenge facing these ROV pilots is the ability to run the ROV with minimal information from the ROV feedback systems. As a result, the ROV pilot needs to be sufficiently skilled in maneuvering the vehicle in underwater.

With modern day technology, training simulators are developed to better equip ROV pilots with the necessary skills. Currently, the majority of ROV simulators available in the market are owned and distributed by companies that build ROVs. It is much cheaper to hone a pilot's competencies on a simulator than on the actual ROV as it creates room for the pilot to improve. It would better equip the pilots to deal with different underwater scenarios. Many ROV simulators are equipped with multiple scenes and a wide array of simulated sensors and equipment on the ROV.

This paper aims to develop a virtual simulation where ROV pilots can gain experience via a virtual environment using an open-source game development software to produce highly graphical visuals simulations for training purpose. The Unity3D game engine [8–10] was identified as a suitable development platform for the project due to its high graphics capabilities, built-in physics engine, well-documented manual, large online community and relatively mild learning curve in comparison with other game engines like the Unreal Engine [11] and CryEngine [12]. The details of designing a low-cost pilot simulator using a game engine are unique to this chapter.

The chapter is organized as follows. Section 2 presents a brief methodology for the training simulator. Section 3 discusses the virtual simulation development and followed by a conclusion.
