Information at Hand

Abstract

As the maritime industry explores autonomy to improve safety and efficiency, public skepticism remains a barrier for passenger ferries. Cstrider proposes a solution to this problem by maintaining a human navigator onboard while still allowing autonomy to handle routine navigation. Unlike traditional ferries, a central part of this proposal is allowing the the navigator to stay informed of the ferry’s status from anywhere inside the ferry through a portable interface, removing the need for a stationary helm. This thesis investigates how such a portable interface can support human-autonomy team operation in a semi-automated ferry context. Building on theory from the fields of interaction design and Research through Design, this study utilizes a literature review, field observations, and iterative prototyping to identify best practices for designing in this specific context. Two interface iterations were evaluated with maritime professionals, to establish a usability baseline and identify which values from their professional experience are important to include in an interface for this context. The result is four design guidelines on the topics of situational awareness, system transparency, anomaly detection and actionable information. The guidelines are further exemplified by a prototypical interface, which together with the guidelines contribute to the literature on human-autonomy teaming through exploring a novel operational context.