In-depth | BRIDGE DESIGN


The researchers also captured the bridge equipment in use, to take into account human factors.


taken from outside of the vessel). It is this model, Komandur explains, that the university would like to see adopted by designers for future, interactive design projects; a process of onboard picture collation, followed by online storage and instant retrieval for analysis. “The pictures can be exported to the


designer’s site, as well as to file-sharing sites such as Flickr and Google Picasa, and structured in library format,” says Komandur. In this way, designers can share images with their clients (or, in the case of student designers, with each other) and leave comments and suggestions for particular sections of the bridge.


Interactive benefits Additionally,


should the designer


book an appointment with the vessel operator, the presence of these pictures allows seagoing personnel to debate the images and to give their perspectives on the bridge areas in question. Komandur says: “A seafaring captain was able to chip in with comments and share his own operational expertise, during a collaborative discussion at the Oslo School of Architecture’s lab space, and we realised that the picture library idea was a very handy tool for increasing owner / operator participation in the design process. It is a far more interactive model than a paper GA, as it gives captains more scope to assess the usability of certain sections and to make tiny amends, while moving the images around, tagging them with descriptions


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and giving detailed commentaries on the scenarios they commonly experience within these areas.” Watch officers could also contribute to such a set-up, he adds. This will particularly be the case


when Komandur and the joint research team unveil the next stage of the project, which is to incorporate the pictures into a map format. The prototype map, developed by Oslo School of Architecture and Aalesund University, will grant users access to an overhead diagram of the vessel, with blue circles positioned around key sections of the bridge. Clicking each circle will lead to a subset of images of said area, enabling users to thoroughly analyse the bridge, zone by zone. Going forward, Komandur says:


“The idea is to take this to a wider collaborative online


space, so that


others collecting similar photographic data can put their own pictures into the relevant subfolders.” Sites such as Flickr are almost ideal in that they allow comments, though Komandur recommends that comment moderation is managed adequately. “It would be a shame for important and helpful comments from other experts to be buried among pages of comments that simply say ‘Awesome’,” he remarks.


Further considerations Te project is still at an early stage, and Komandur states: “We need objective evidence to prove that this is a useful tool.” However, given the flexibility of the model, and the relatively cheap and ‘ready to go’


nature of the technology required, it certainly seems a route worth pursuing. An additional consideration, which


could perhaps bolster the central methodology of the project, could include collation of bridge-related pictures and data when the vessel is operating in high sea states and rough weather. Those photographs taken aboard Bourbon Mistral were captured during relatively calm states; an altogether different (and useful) picture of bridge area activity may emerge when this area is snapped in tempestuous conditions. For instance, when the ship is subjected to heavy rolling, one may capture the effects on the bridge to see whether personnel stability is greatly restricted, items of kit become dislodged, certain sections are made unsafe or doors become off-limits, and so on. There is also the issue of vessel


security; although the university’s proposed library tool does not reveal too much vital technical information, some owners and operators may baulk at the prospect of exposing their vessel bridge areas for public viewing. Still,


in developing a potential


interactive tool for designer / operator newbuilding negotiations, and in giving some budding trainee architects their first glimpses of precisely what the bridge entails, Oslo School of Architecture and Aalesund University are to be congratulated on at least opening up the topic for discussion and looking beyond the usual paper-based formats. SBI


Ship & Boat International January/February 2012


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