Thomas Porathe

Design of human-map system interaction

In this work-in-progress we present some ideas and findings involving map design and human performance. Satellites has once and for all automated geographic positioning and resulted in a plethora of map applications, not only in professional transportation but also in the private sphere, in cars and even for street use in mobile phones. But many people have problems using the traditional birds-eye view maps. A maze experiment presented here show that an egocentric (out of the window) view of the map results in faster decision making and fewer errors. Can this also address some of the human-out-of-the-loop problems of navigation automation?

Information Environment, Fatigue, and Culture in the Maritime Domain

Maritime shipping operates within a complex operational setting and incorporates many types of workplaces and work roles. The maritime domain has been a bit slower than other complex domains in its research and development of human factors and ergonomics application. The problem remains that the operator is continuously being excluded from the loop, which increases the probability of shipboard errors and accidents. This chapter begins by providing a general introduction to the maritime domain and its unique characteristics and is followed by a section on the information environment on the bridge. The section on the information environment on the bridge highlights the importance of integrating the end user into the bridge system and how technology must provide intuitive information at the right level of complexity at the right time. The main focus of this chapter is then split into two areas of current high significance: fatigue on board and maritime culture (also incorporating safety culture issues). Fatigue on board is of major concern, and most studies indicate that a systems approach must be adopted. This approach should account for aspects such as the number of personnel, trip length, frequency and duration of port visits, and shift planning. Within the area of maritime culture, multiculturalism and the way it is managed on board ships, including shipboard practices, affect safety. In the area of safety culture, three recommendations are central: (a) increase compliance with regulations, (b) implement a safety management system, and (c) implement a behavioral safety system. In general, this review indicates that more data are needed on human-technology-organizational issues in the maritime domain.

Seeking harmony in shore-based unmanned ship handling – From the perspective of human factors, what is the difference we need to focus on from being onboard to onshore?

Previous studies have discovered that the tacit but indispensable “ship sense” from seafarers is intensively involved in creating and maintaining “harmony” to assure the safety. The concept of “harmony” reveals the continuous balanced effect by tuning the ship to the dynamic environment under different situations that ship handlers strive for. While the notions of ship sense and harmony is originally created for onboard ship maneuvering, this paper extends it to the domain of shore-based control centers for unmanned ship handling from the perspective of human factors. With the loss of direct ship-sense, the harmony is also lost. This paper analyzes the challenges from having the operator onboard to onshore during ship maneuvering and explores the changing aspects of human factors we need to focus on, in order to facilitate shore-based ship-handlers to regain the harmony. The EU project Maritime Unmanned Ship though Intelligence in Networks (MUNIN) provides the context to conduct the focus group interview of participants with seagoing experience. The shifted human factors in shore-based unmanned ship handling are discussed. The results highlight several differential aspects in human factors that should be considered, such as situation awareness. It provides keys to design shore-based control center for remote monitoring and control in accordance with user-centered design principles.

Transmitting intended and suggested routes in ship operations: cognitive off-loading by placing knowledge in the world

Transmission of intended and suggested routes to and from electronic chart systems has been identified as a user need. The idea was discussed during a focus group meeting and two field studies in fringe fields like search and rescue (SAR) and ice breaking. A prototype test was then conducted during a SAR drill. The features were very well received by all the participants in the drill. A system simulation with two ships and a VTS station was also conducted in a full mission bridge simulator. Preliminary results are very promising. Behavior with vessels in conflicting situations suggested that the intended routes could facilitate understanding when negotiating with or without VHF communication. No major concerns were expressed by the professional crew members that participated.

Harmonised Portrayal of e-Navigation-related Information

A Guideline on the Harmonised Portrayal of e-Navigation-related Information was recently completed by IALA. The purpose of this Guideline is to provide guidance regarding the presentation and display of e-Navigation-related information. The basic, over-riding premise of this Guideline is that shipborne and shore-based equipment, systems, and services should portray e-Navigation-related information to all users (both onboard and ashore) in a consistent manner. However, since e-Navigation is an evolutionary process, this goal-based guideline describes over-arching objectives to be achieved, while freedom to innovate is left to both developers and users. An explanation is provided about key aspects of the Guideline. In particular, a website has been established to show examples of useful ways to portray e-Navigation information for current as well as some future types of equipment, systems, and services.

Landmark representation in 3-D nautical charts

This work first presents an overview of a research project in the field of information design concerning a new 3-D decision support system for nautical navigation, a 3-D cart. The paper then discusses landmark representation in the virtual environment of the chart; particularly the representation of forested islands and coasts where the tree canopy is an important feature in the silhouette. Experiment with removing certain parts of laser scanned data, shows promising results when it comes to recreating the silhouette of islands with forests or groves of trees in the virtual environment.

Examining interactive surfaces for maritime operations

This paper presents a tabletop application used to explore the potential of tabletops on maritime ship bridges. We have constructed four conceptual scenarios for tabletops in everyday ship operations. An initial study consists of creating video prototypes within a full-sized bridge simulator. These scenarios correspond to tasks regularly performed by a ships crew. We have introduced an interactive surface to a bridge simulator to conduct an inquiry of bridge officers. Future research should introduce tabletops to a real bridge to investigate their use in a real environment.

Human Error and e-Navigation: Developing the Nautical Chart as Resilient Decision Support

Recent development of HCI on the ship bridge has led to a discussion of deskilling and out of the loop syndrome; of the “navigating navigator” versus the “monitoring navigator”. In this paper work done on some new design concepts for decision-support systems on the ship’s bridge is presented. The work has focused on keeping the navigator in the loop while sharing information to the wider maritime system: route exchange.