Yemao Man

Energy-efficient automatic location-triggered applications on smartphones

With the prevalence of localization techniques in smartphones, location-based applications on mobiles have become increasingly popular. However, only minorities of applications can be triggered automatically by the predefined locations of interest without any human interaction. One reason is that the inevitable operation of location detection by GPS is power-intensive. While existing work has focused on energy efficiency in continuous location tracking, energy-efficient location detection for matching predefined location of interest remains to be further explored. This paper proposes a unified framework that supports energy-efficient location detection for automatic location-triggered applications. Our framework triggers desired events only when the user is approaching the predefined locations of interest. Besides the efforts we make to reduce the number of GPS updates by cooperating with other types of on-device sensors, the framework also aims to coordinate multiple location-triggered applications to further reduce energy consumption on location updates. We implemented our framework as a middleware in the Android operating system and conducted extensive real experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that our framework can reduce the number of GPS requests and low the energy consumption of the smartphones significantly.

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.

Gaps Between Users and Designers: A Usability Study About a Tablet-Based Application Used on Ship Bridges

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018. In recent years, Information Technology (IT) applications have been developed for the traditional shipping industry aiming at improving safety and efficiency, but the design vision is dominantly technology-centric without much attention being given to the user’s actual work experience or needs. A usability study is an approach to uncover the gap between users and designers. Although there is substantial research on usability, the values and usability of the tabletbased applications used on ship bridges have rarely been investigated. In this paper, a tablet-based computer application was developed to provide decision support to river pilots for passing under bridges in the Gothenburg area. Experienced pilots were invited to participate in a simulated navigational environment. By exploring the potential barriers in using such novel applications on a bridge, this study aims to address the human factor concerns for future IT design and developments in the maritime domain.

Facing the New Technology Landscape in the Maritime Domain: Knowledge Mobilisation, Networks and Management in Human-Machine Collaboration

Rapid development in artificial intelligence and big data analytic applications have had a significant impact on knowledge mobilisation across industries including the shipping domain. This paper uses the practice of energy efficiency onboard ships as a case study to discuss how knowledge mobilisation should address this context change and uncovers how existing knowledge networks in the shipping industry would evolve in this emerging data-driven ecology. From a systems perspective, it suggests hallmarks associated with the knowledge mobilisation processes in the new technology landscape. This paper shapes a discussion to derive design and management implications of the system infrastructure contributing to a safe, efficient and sustainable shipping business model and provide insights on knowledge adaption in the emerging human-machine collaboration context.