People-related issues on WASP ships investigated

Partners in the EU’s OptiWise project met at the maritime test site, RI.SE’s SSPA Maritime Centre, to conduct HMI (human-machine interface) tests of the wind drive in the bridge simulator.

‘The purpose of these tests is to gather input from mariners on the user interface, the information displayed, the usability and user experience of the functionalities and their integration with existing navigation systems on the bridge,’ says Nicole Costa, the task leader. ‘We will also assess how these factors affect sailors’ work and identify their training needs before operating a wind-powered ship.’

The application of wind propulsion changes the way ships are operated and how they respond, compared to traditional fuel-powered propulsion. This requires new on-board control systems and new ways of working in route planning, navigation and manoeuvring. This part of the OPTIWISE project focuses on such questions, in particular the navigation and manoeuvring of tankers using OceanWings’ wing sails.

What is new?

Wind propulsion in this format is a new technology and studies on human factors in this field are lacking. The OPTIWISE project focuses not only on technical questions, but also on operational and human-related issues, investigating how sailors interact with wind propulsion and how to reduce fuel consumption. This HMI is produced by OceanWings, a developer and supplier of new and innovative wind-assisted propulsion systems (WAPS).

Partners in the Optiwise project are:

OceanWings: developer and supplier of the wing sails and associated control system.
The team at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, to carry out simulations, user testing, data collection and analysis.
Euronav: four seafarers with extensive experience aboard tankers are participating in this study and helping to evaluate the integration of wind propulsion.
FIMC: coordinates the OPTIWISE project and assists with observations.
MARIN (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands): is working with RISE on the involvement of sailors in the development of wind propulsion. They support with observations, questionnaires for participants and the use of eye-tracking to analyse the use of the control system in the simulator.

Source: RISE.
Photo: Ocean Wings.

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