Evaluating the effect of live-streamed video from accident sites in maritime SAR using UAV_Analysis of control using the Contextual Control Model (COCOM)

Abstract

Maritime search and rescue is an important part in the maritime industry that is regulated partly under the International Maritime Organization (IMO). In Sweden, maritime search and rescue is mainly organized by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society. Together with RISE, Chalmers Maritime Human Factors, Airpelago, Smartplanes, and Infotiv, the Swedish Sea Rescue Society have initiated the project Eyes-On-Scene (E-O-S) which is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based support system that aims to support the responders in their search and rescue operations. The project is to be fully operational in 2023. To test whether a video from a maritime accident scene has an effect on the control of the responders, exercises have been conducted at three rescue stations in the Gothenburg area with a total number of 23 participants. Further, the study aimed to get the subject matters’ opinions and suggestions for improvements on the system. At each station, two exercises were conducted, one with a video from the accident site and one without. The responders’ actions and conversations in the rescue operations were recorded. Afterwards, the responders participated in a focus group discussion. The results were then analyzed based on the Contextual Control Model (COCOM) in order to determine whether a video from a maritime accident site has an effect on the level of control of the responders. The analysis shows that a video from an accident scene can increase the level of control among search and rescue responders. Finally, several suggestions have been given by the participants to aid the future work of the E-O-S project.