Human factor influences on supervisory control of remotely operated and autonomous vessels

Autonomous ships require remote supervision from a human operator to ensure safety. However, there are knowledge gaps concerning human factor influences on remote supervisory control. We investigate the influence of five factors on remote supervisory control during simulated intervention scenarios: (i) Skillset, represented by gamers and navigators; (ii) Monitoring Time, represented by either 5 or 30 min of passive monitoring; (iii) Number of Vessels, represented by either one or three vessels; (iv) Available Time, represented by 20- or 60-s critical time windows; (v) Decision Support System (DSS), represented by availability of a DSS. The experiment was a randomized factorial design where participants (n = 32) completed two interventions: first a handover (automation detects a critical event and hands over control) and then a takeover (operator detects a critical event and takes over control). We observed: (i) gamers and navigators both demonstrated transferrable skillsets, but neither group excelled over the other; (ii) monitoring time affected boredom, but this translated to minor performance effects. Moreover, performance was reduced under conditions of (iii) supervising three vessels, (iv) low time availability, and (v) unavailable DSS. These outcomes contribute to the empirical basis for assessing maritime human factors in remotely controlled and autonomous ship design.publishedVersio

Academics' perception of systems engineering and applied research projects

There is an increased complexity in applied research projects that demand more researcher skills, especially in managing the research project and interdisciplinary work. Researchers receive little training in how to manage such projects, yet most manage to deliver project results. There is a tradition of project management and systems engineering which benefits complex development projects in industrial settings. Despite the apparent benefits, we found limited application of either project management or systems engineering practices in academia. Furthermore, we found barriers to applying these practices in the first place, such as a lack of clear guidance or tools for their execution. A case study based on 18 semi-structured interviews provides a perspective on academic research projects, and how the application of project management and systems engineering in an academic setting shows promise to improve the realization of concept design.acceptedVersionpublishedVersio

Human-Centered Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Marine Autonomous Surface Vehicles

Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) for Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs) addresses developers’ needs for model interpretation, understandability, and trust. As ASVs approach wide-scale deployment, these needs are expanded to include end user interactions in real-world contexts. Despite recent successes of technology-centered XAI for enhancing the explainability of AI techniques to expert users, these approaches do not necessarily carry over to non-expert end users. Passengers, other vessels, and remote operators will have XAI needs distinct from those of expert users targeted in a traditional technology-centered approach. We formulate a concept called ‘human-centered XAI’ to address emerging end user interaction needs for ASVs. To structure the concept, we adopt a model-based reasoning method for concept formation consisting of three processes: analogy, visualization, and mental simulation, drawing from examples of recent ASV research at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The examples show how current research activities point to novel ways of addressing XAI needs for distinct end user interactions and underpin the human-centered XAI approach. Findings show how representations of (1) usability, (2) trust, and (3) safety make up the main processes in human-centered XAI. The contribution is the formation of human-centered XAI to help advance the research community’s efforts to expand the agenda of interpretability, understandability, and trust to include end user ASV interactions

A systematic review of human-AI interaction in autonomous ship systems

Automation is increasing in shipping. Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications like collision avoidance and computer vision have the potential to augment or take over the roles of ship navigators. However, implementation of AI technologies may also jeopardize safety if done in a way that reduces human control. In this systematic review, we included 42 studies about human supervision and control of autonomous ships. We addressed three research questions (a) how is human control currently being adopted in autonomous ship systems? (b) what methods, approaches, and theories are being used to address safety concerns and design challenges? and (c) what research gaps, regulatory obstacles, and technical shortcomings represent the most significant barriers to their implementation? We found that (1) human operators have an active role in ensuring autonomous ship safety above and beyond a backup role, (2) System-Theoretic Process Analysis and Bayesian Networks are the most common risk assessment tools in risk-based design, and (3) the new role of shore control center operators will require new competencies and training. The field of autonomous ship research is growing quickly. New risks are emerging from increasing interaction with AI systems in safety–critical systems, underscoring new research questions. Effective human-AI interaction design is predicated on increased cross-disciplinary efforts, requiring reconciling productivity with safety (resilience), technical limitations with human abilities and expectations (interaction design), and machine task autonomy with human supervisory control (safety management)

Exploring Challenges with Designing and Developing Shore Control Centres (SCCs) for Autonomous Ships

The concept of remotely operated, unmanned, and autonomous ships is creating increasing interest in the maritime domain, promising safety, increased efficiency and sustainability. Shore control centers (SCCs) have been proposed to operate such vessels and some industry projects are initiated. This paper aims at bringing knowledge about what a SCC is envisioned to be. It identifies and explores challenges related to designing and developing SCCs through semi-structured interviews with the research community and industry. We discuss tasks, functions and interactions between human and machine

Toward an integrated project complexity narrative – A case study of academic organizations

The last decade has seen a growing interest in the benefits of applying project management (PM) and system engineering (SE) in an integrated way toward complex projects and programs. The concept of project complexity dimensions, with roots in both disciplines, is suggested as a component of an integrated project complexity narrative. This paper investigates how such a project complexity narrative is reflected when informants talk about the role of PM and SE in two academic organizations. Most informants address uncertainty and social-political risks as part of their work, but any consistent use of a project complexity narrative is related to environmental and technical systems. The findings also indicate difficulty differentiating between the concepts of complicated and complex. The paper further contemplates how these findings inform efforts to manage complex research projects and programs.Toward an integrated project complexity narrative – A case study of academic organizationspublishedVersio

Toward an integrated project complexity narrative – A case study of academic organizations

The last decade has seen a growing interest in the benefits of applying project management (PM) and system engineering (SE) in an integrated way toward complex projects and programs. The concept of project complexity dimensions, with roots in both disciplines, is suggested as a component of an integrated project complexity narrative. This paper investigates how such a project complexity narrative is reflected when informants talk about the role of PM and SE in two academic organizations. Most informants address uncertainty and social-political risks as part of their work, but any consistent use of a project complexity narrative is related to environmental and technical systems. The findings also indicate difficulty differentiating between the concepts of complicated and complex. The paper further contemplates how these findings inform efforts to manage complex research projects and programs

Toward an integrated project complexity narrative – A case study of academic organizations

The last decade has seen a growing interest in the benefits of applying project management (PM) and system engineering (SE) in an integrated way toward complex projects and programs. The concept of project complexity dimensions, with roots in both disciplines, is suggested as a component of an integrated project complexity narrative. This paper investigates how such a project complexity narrative is reflected when informants talk about the role of PM and SE in two academic organizations. Most informants address uncertainty and social-political risks as part of their work, but any consistent use of a project complexity narrative is related to environmental and technical systems. The findings also indicate difficulty differentiating between the concepts of complicated and complex. The paper further contemplates how these findings inform efforts to manage complex research projects and programs