Automated Functions: Their Potential for Impact Upon Maritime Sociotechnical Systems

The shipping industry is evolving towards an unknown and unpredictable future. There is speculation that in the next two decades the maritime industry will witness changes far exceeding those experienced over the past 100 years. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, automation and their impacts upon fully autonomous ships have the potential to transform the maritime industry. While change is inevitable in the maritime domain, automated solutions do not guarantee navigational safety, efficiency or improved seaway traffic management. Such dramatic change also calls for a more systematic approach to designing, evaluating and adopting new solutions into a system. Although intended to support operator decision-making needs and reduce operator workload, the outcomes might create unforeseen changes throughout other aspects of the maritime sociotechnical system. In the maritime industry, the human is seldom put first in technology design which paradoxically introduces human-automation challenges related to technology acceptance, use, trust, reliance and risk. The co-existence and challenges of humans and automation, as it pertains to navigation and navigational assistance, is explored throughout this licentiate.\ua0This thesis considers the Sea Traffic Management (STM) Validation Project \ua0as the context to examine low-level automation functions intended to enhance operator (both Navigators and Vessel Traffic Service Operators) navigational safety and efficiency. The STM functions are designed to improve information sharing between ships and from ship to shore such as: route sharing, enhanced monitoring, and route crosschecking. The licentiate is built on two different data collection efforts during 2017-2018 within the STM Validation project. The functions were tested on two user groups: Bridge Officers and Vessel Traffic Service Operators. All testing was completed in high-fidelity bridge simulators using traffic scenarios developed by subject matter experts.The aim of this licentiate is to study the impact of low levels of automation on operator behavior, and to explore the broader impact upon the maritime sociotechnical system. A mixed-method approach was selected to address these questions and included the following: observations, questionnaires, numerical assessment of ship behavior, and post-simulation debrief group sessions. To analyze and discuss the data, grounded theory, subject matter expert consultation, and descriptive statistics were used. The results point towards a disruption in current working practices for both ship and shore operators, and an uncertainty about the overall impact of low-level automation on operator behaviour. Using a sociotechnical systems approach, gaps have been identified related to new technology testing and implementation. These gaps relate to the overall preparedness of the shipping industry to manage the evolution towards smarter ships. The findings discussed in this licentiate aim to promote further discussions about a quickly evolving industry concerning automation integration in shipping and the potential impact on human performance in safety critical operations

Towards an understanding of the consequences of technology-driven decision support for maritime navigation

The maritime industry is undergoing a transformation driven by digitalization and connectivity. There is speculation that in the next two decades the maritime industry will witness changes far exceeding those experienced over the past 100 years. While change is inevitable in the maritime domain, technological developments do not guarantee navigational safety, efficiency, or improved seaway traffic management. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted the Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) concept to define autonomy on a scale from Degrees 1 through 4.\ua0 Investigations into the impact of MASS on various aspects of the maritime sociotechnical system is currently ongoing by academic and industry stakeholders. However, the early adoption of MASS (Degree 1), which is classified as a crewed ship with decision support, remains largely unexplored. Decision support systems are intended to support operator decision-making and improve operator performance. In practice they can cause unintended changes throughout other elements of the maritime sociotechnical system. In the maritime industry, the human is seldom put first in technology design which paradoxically introduces human-automation challenges related to technology acceptance, use, trust, reliance, and risk. The co-existence of humans and automation, as it pertains to navigation and navigational assistance, is explored throughout this thesis. The aims of this thesis are (1) to understand how decision support will impact navigation and navigational assistance from the operator’s perspective and (2) to explore a framework to help reduce the gaps between the design and use of decision support technologies. This thesis advocates for a human-centric approach to automation design and development while exploring the broader impacts upon the maritime sociotechnical system. This work considers three different projects and four individual data collection efforts during 2017-2022. This research took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Warsash, UK and includes data from 65 Bridge Officers (navigators) and 16 Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) operators. Two testbeds were used to conduct the research in several full mission bridge simulators, and a virtual reality environment. A mixed methods approach, with a heavier focus on qualitative data, was adopted to understand the research problem. Methodological tools included literature reviews, observations, questionnaires, ship maneuvering data, collective interviews, think-aloud protocol, and consultation with subject matter experts. The data analysis included thematic analysis, subject matter expert consultation, and descriptive statistics.\ua0The results show that operators perceive that decision support will impact their work, but not necessarily as expected. The operators’ positive and negative perceptions are discussed within the frameworks of human-automation interaction, decision-making, and systems thinking. The results point towards gaps in work as it is intended to be done and work as it is done in the user’s context. A user-driven design framework is proposed which allows for a systematic, flexible, and iterative design process capable of testing new technologies while involving all stakeholders. These results have led to the identification of several research gaps in relation to the overall preparedness of the shipping industry to manage the evolution toward smarter ships. This thesis will discuss these findings and advocate for human-centered automation within the quickly evolving maritime industry

Eye tracking for assessment of situational awareness in bridge resource management training

The purpose of this study is to experiment eye tracking in situational awareness assessment in Bridge Resource Management training of ship officers who play a critical role in maritime accidents. The maritime industry focuses on human factor developing and improving regulations including training requirements to prevent marine casualties. The mandatory Bridge Resource Management training as per international regulations includes assessment of situational awareness of trainees in full mission ship bridge simulators. The study involves capturing and analyzing eye movement data from maritime cadets and ship officers with sea experience in a simulation exercise. An eye tracking analysis software and eye tracking glasses are used for the study. Inferential and descriptive analyses were both used to validate the results. Significant differences were found between fixation duration measurements of novice cadets and experienced officers. Heat map visualizations also revealed differences in focuses of attention among participants. The evaluations of the certified simulator assessors are considered as the ground truth, and the results were compared to and discussed accordingly. The results show that the eye tracking technology is a valuable complementary tool for assessment of situational awareness in a simulator environment, utilized with the existing conventional observation and performance measurement methods. The study reveals that eye tracking provides the assessor with novel data in simulator based maritime training, such as focus of attention, which contributes to the evaluation of the situational awareness. The study, therefore, contributes to maritime education aiming to improve the effectiveness of Bridge Resource Management training. It also contributes to scientific research on eye movement in maritime field by proposing the integration of eye tracking in the Bridge Resource Management training

Proceedings of the Second FAROS Public Workshop, 30th September 2014, Espoo, Finland

FAROS is an EC FP7 funded, three year project to develop an approach to incorporate human factors into Risk-Based Design of ships. The project consortium consists of 12 members including industry, academia and research institutes. The second FAROS Public Workshop was held in Dipoli Congress Centre in Otaniemi, Espoo, Finland, on the 30th of September 2014. The workshop included keynotes from industry, papers on risk models for aspects such as collision and grounding, fire and the human element, descriptions of parametric ship models and the overall approach being adopted in the FAROS project

Team training in safety and security via simulation: a practical dimension of maritime education and training

In the rather extended maritime domain, a term that should be the epicentre of any successful careerbuilding path is tailor-made training via cutting-edge simulators. To cut a long story short, the breadth of operations on the various types of ships has expanded to such a large extent that extensive practical training drills are becoming a compelling need to contribute to competent seafarers. This type of training can guarantee the positive outcome in their decision-making process and help the seafarers often being under continuous pressure, to suitably respond to the various safety and security threats on-board a vessel. The several conventions and codes introduced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) – including MARPOL (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships), SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea), but moreover ISPS Code (International Ship and Port Facility Security Code) and STCW (Standards of Training Certification and Watch-keeping) being probably the most well-known examples both within and outside the maritime community – posing and requesting significant performance demands on crews. Sophisticated simulation series that promote teamwork and cooperation are the tools urgently needed to maximize training efficacy. Handling safety situations under stress (emergency response), crisis management and reactions towards a security incident are important aspects of Maritime Education and Training (MET). The authors’ approach to address those aspects utilizes enhanced simulation based team training. They argue that an effective way to gain experience and achieve corresponding skills, are practice runs on specially designed simulators that realistically represent complex conditions on-board vessels, following the respective prompts though realistic scenarios. The concept of a safety & security training simulator is introduced; the research work related to the implementation of a learning objective oriented development of simulation training scenarios and the pedagogic value added by simulation to MET are also discussed. A very important recommendation is that maritime training needs should not be regarded simply as a means to achieve regulatory compliance. The value imparted by simulation as a pedagogic tool to the maritime teaching and learning process is tremendous; adopting the learning objective oriented development of simulation training scenarios in order to effectively address pre-identified learning outcomes is the right methodology to nurture competent seafarers

Realising intelligent virtual design

This paper presents a vision and focus for the CAD Centre research: the Intelligent Design Assistant (IDA). The vision is based upon the assumption that the human and computer can operate symbiotically, with the computer providing support for the human within the design process. Recently however the focus has been towards the development of integrated design platforms that provide general support irrespective of the domain, to a number of distributed collaborative designers. This is illustrated within the successfully completed Virtual Reality Ship (VRS) virtual platform, and the challenges are discussed further within the NECTISE, SAFEDOR and VIRTUE projects

Studying Control Processes for Bridge Teams

Several technological advances have been seen the maritime domain to achieve higher operational efficiency and to address the generally recognised causes of most maritime accidents. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) endorses the use of best available technology to “drive continuous improvement and innovation in the facilitation of maritime traffic” in line with the goal of sustainable development. It is commonly acknowledged that modern technology revolutionized marine navigation, and presently it has a large potential to increase safety in navigation. However, the incorporation of new technologies in support of navigation also brought unforeseen critical consequences, contributing to unsafe practices, or even to accidents or incidents. Several issues were associated with human factors. To properly address the adoption of the newest technology in support of safe navigation, IMO established the e-navigation concept, currently under implementation. The complexity of the maritime socio-technical system requires novel theoretical foundations, since many of the present framework rely on the analysis of accidents. The design of complex maritime navigation system must take place on several levels, providing different perspectives over the system problems. The evaluation and design of technologies envisaged by the e-navigation concept requires a better understand of how teams perform the navigation work in the pursuit of safe navigation. This study attempts to provide a better understanding on how maritime navigation is currently done on-board, considering the overarching elements and their interactions. In maritime navigation safety is a transverse issue, and that is why we need to know the conditions for safe navigation to improve the design of ship navigation control. The work supporting this thesis was focused on: (i) understanding how navigation is done and to perceive by the practitioners, (ii) understanding interactions between humans and technological interfaces, and (iii) understanding the relevant soft skills for the navigation functions. To address these topics, data was collected from expert practitioners such as navigators, pilots and instructors, thru semi structured interviews and questionnaires. The mains contribution of this study lies in presenting a framework of maritime navigation, exploring the control processes in the different levels of the maritime socio-technical system. In the view of safe operations, interactions between stakeholders are clarified, trying to determine how they influence safe navigation. This systemic view is then analysed from the perspective of the ship, considering it as a Joint-cognitive system (JCS). It is proposed that this JCS comprises 5 control levels: reactive, proactive, planning, strategic and political-economical. Planning is considered a fundamental process in the maritime Socio-technical system, because it facilitates the interactions between the different control level. It also increases the integrity of communications and enhances the predictability of the different control agents. New directions are proposed to improve the design of navigation system, recommending new roles for human and automated agents, and presenting a new conceptual navigation display.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Realising intelligent virtual design

This paper presents a vision and focus for the CAD Centre research: the Intelligent Design Assistant (IDA). The vision is based upon the assumption that the human and computer can operate symbiotically, with the computer providing support for the human within the design process. Recently however the focus has been towards the development of integrated design platforms that provide general support irrespective of the domain, to a number of distributed collaborative designers. This is illustrated within the successfully completed Virtual Reality Ship (VRS) virtual platform, and the challenges are discussed further within the NECTISE, SAFEDOR and VIRTUE projects

"Are You Planning to Follow Your Route?" The Effect of Route Exchange on Decision Making, Trust, and Safety

The Sea Traffic Management (STM) Validation project is a European based initiative which focuses on connecting and updating the maritime world in real time, with efficient information exchange. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate two functions developed during the project: a ship to ship route exchange (S2SREX) function and rendezvous (RDV) information layer, collectively referred to as S2SREX/RDV. S2SREX displays the route segment consisting of the next seven waypoints of the monitored route of a collaborating ship and the RDV layer that predicts a meeting point. S2SREX/RDV provides supplementary information to data acquired by existing navigation systems and is intended to improve situational awareness and safety through a more comprehensive understanding of the surrounding traffic. Chalmers University of Technology and Solent University completed an experiment using twenty-four experienced navigators in bridge simulators. Six traffic scenarios were developed by subject matter experts and tested with and without S2SREX/RDV functionalities. Qualitative data were collected using post-test questionnaires and group debriefs to evaluate the participants\u27 perceptions of S2SREX/RDV in the various traffic scenarios, and quantitative data were collected to assess the ship distances and behavior in relation to the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs). The results revealed that participants generally trusted the S2SREX/RDV information, and most used S2SREX/RDV for decision support. The quantitative assessment revealed that the COLREGs were breached more often when S2SREX/RDV was used. Experimental findings are discussed in relation to safety, trust, reliance, situational awareness, and human-automation interaction constructs

Annual General Assembly of the International Association of Maritime Universities

978-84-947311-7-