Q SHIP TECHNOLOGY
Marine haptic
feedback Haptic levers can support the crew with alerts and active guidance When human operators control complex machines, feedback 12 W
on the control interfaces can reduce operator error and increase situational awareness. Now a Dutch team has developed a new system specifi cally for maritime use
e are often told that 80% of all maritime accidents are caused by human error. But, as in aviation, the actual underlying causes often revolve
around issues with human-machine interface design, where support systems potentially cause information overload or stimulate improper use of the automation. A recent review of marine accident investigation reports identifi ed that 67% of the accidents involved Human-Machine Interface (HMI) issues. The number and severity of such accidents may even increase further in the future, given the congestion caused by increasing traffi c density and restriction of sea lanes (for example, by wind farms and environmental areas), and the ever-increasing demands on cost-effectiveness. “Coping with these challenges should not
be pursued merely by better selection and training of crew, but also by facilitating crew in their task by improving onboard HMI design,” argues Arthur Vrijdag, an assistant professor at the Department of Maritime Technology at Delft University of Technology (DUT).
“There are fewer and fewer people on ships
these days, and they have to perform their tasks faster and more effi ciently. They are reaching the limit of how much information they can still assimilate. So it would help if they could really feel this information by means of intuitive ‘haptic force feedback’. This can also provide solutions for interacting with autonomous ships. Moreover, operating a vessel by remote control is safer and easier if the operator receives haptic feedback.”
Haptic interaction The word haptic derives from the Greek word for the sense of touch, and bi-directional haptic interaction lies at the root of how we control our own body, tools or vehicles. For example, in the control of ship sailing, the sailing direction started with the direct control of a tiller by the helmsman, and later evolved to a mechanical servomechanism, with pulleys that amplify the force provided by the helmsman. This allowed the helmsman to feel the forces interacting on the rudder, reducing the visual load of checking the vehicle and environment. Nowadays most rudders are driven by an electro-hydraulic steering gear, where the command by the helmsman is an electric
signal which drives one or more hydraulic control valves. This means that the actuator is mechanically decoupled from the rudder, removing the haptic feedback for bi-directional communication. Commands are unidirectional, and the only way that the helmsman can receive feedback is via visual indicators on the bridge panels, or auditory feedback from crew or warning systems. Haptic feedback, however, allows a
helmsman to feel that the lever is being pushed back when he has to reduce speed, for example if he is approaching the quay too quickly. The additional haptic information reduces cognitive and visual load, and improves control.
Successful development Vrijdag collaborated with colleague David Abbink, associate professor at the Delft Haptics Lab to develop haptics for ship control. In 2017, they exhibited at MECSS in Glasgow, Scotland. “Without radical innovation in interface
design, the human is destined to become the limiting factor in any human-machine system,” argues Abbink, “Traditional interface design is focussed on visual displays and warnings, or traded control with partially autonomous systems, each with its own issues.
Photos by Monique van Zeijl
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