For years, major shipping companies and shipyards knew they needed to digitize their training and maintenance processes. They had seen the demos, read the success stories, and even invested in Extended Reality devices (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality). But at the end of the day, those devices often ended up in a drawer because creating content required specialized teams, weeks of development, and budgets that could only be justified for very specific procedures.
No one was going to hire a 3D development studio to digitize the maintenance manual of a hydraulic pump—no matter how useful it might be.
Eyeflow, the XR content creation platform developed by ARSOFT, was born precisely from that frustration. Not specifically from the naval sector, but from the same realization: XR technology will only become truly transformative when the person who knows the procedure can create the content. No intermediaries. No months of waiting. No excessive budgets.
From PDF to interactive model in an afternoon
Eyeflow’s proposal is simple yet highly innovative: if you have a PDF manual, you can create an interactive 3D manual. Not in weeks. In hours.
The platform works with a logic that anyone who has used PowerPoint would understand: drag, drop, annotate, link. The difference is that instead of slides, you are working with three-dimensional models. You can directly import files, add annotations to critical components, create step-by-step sequences, insert videos of real procedures, link technical documentation, and more.
This is important because it completely changes who can create this content. There is no longer a need for an IT department. The training manager who has spent 15 years in the shipyard and knows every corner of a vessel can sit down, open Eyeflow, and start transferring their knowledge into a 3D format.
EYEFLOW: Extended Reality in naval training and maintenance
Here’s the interesting part: being easy to use does not mean being limited.
A maintenance technician on a ferry does not need the same thing as a trainer in a shipyard. The former needs quick access to specific procedures while in the engine room, probably with hands occupied and background noise. The latter needs to create assembly simulations for new operators, with the ability to repeat sequences, assess whether the process has been understood, and adapt the content as questions arise.
Eyeflow responds to both scenarios. Content can be viewed on a smartphone, tablet, augmented reality glasses, or even on a standard screen, depending on what each situation requires. And most importantly, it is the same content: you create it once and deploy it wherever you need it.
This is changing the way some companies in the sector approach training. Instead of organizing two-week in-person courses where an expert explains procedures to ten people, they can create the content once and allow each new operator to work through it at their own pace, repeating complex parts as many times as necessary, directly from the workshop floor.
Navalia and the naval industry’s turning point
ARSOFT will be at Navalia 2026 precisely because we believe the naval sector is at a turning point. Not in terms of XR technology itself, but in terms of accessibility. The tools are maturing. Devices are better and more affordable. But above all, the mindset is changing: it is no longer about launching large pilot projects, but about integrating these tools into everyday operations.
And for that to happen, they need to be usable. A maintenance manager must be able to update a procedure when a component changes. A trainer must be able to add a note to a 3D model when they notice that operators consistently struggle with the same step. Technology must adapt to the company’s pace—not the other way around.
There is a phrase we often hear during demonstrations: “Oh, but I can do this myself.” Exactly. That’s the idea.
