Shipboard Automatic Identification System Displays Meeting the Needs of Mariners -- Special Report 273 (2003) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
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AIS is essentially a communications medium that automatically provides vessel position and other data to other vessels and shore stations and facilitates the communication of vessel traffic manage ment and navigational safety data from designated shore stations to vessels. The onboard "AIS unit" (which consists of a VHF-FM transceiver, an assem bly unit, and a communications transceiver)
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The committee is both encouraged at the prospects for major improvements for vessel operations with the proper display of AIS information and cautious about problems that could result from poor display of AIS information. ESTABLISHING A SYSTEMATIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN It is important to have a plan and schedule for any process as complex and multifaceted as that for implementing AIS and their displays aboard vessels-
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Additional work is required to determine how to best integrate existing and new systems, and this will affect the entire process of introducing AIS displays aboard vessels. Finally, USCG needs an AIS display implementation plan, schedule, and process to ensure that the underlying research will be accomplished to demonstrate the viability of the AIS display requirements and that the result ing system will meet the needs of the mariners who use it.
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The design of an AIS display interface needs to consider appropriate strategies for delivering information to the mariner in a readily cognizable form. For example, there are many different operating environments in which AIS information will be displayed: rivers and inland waterways, high-density ports with mixed traffic, coastal waterways, urban harbors with scheduled ferry and passenger vessel operations, and major commercial ports accom modating large deep-sea vessels.
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For example, much of the effort on shipboard displays has focused on target data in ship-to-ship use for colli sion avoidance, with little attention to shore-to-ship data relating to traffic management. Upon examination of existing standards and guidelines for AIS displays published by the international bodies associated with AIS and other related organizations, many gaps were found.
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navigable waters by Defining mariner information needs, Defining key functions for AIS displays aboard different types of vessels and in different operating environments, Developing appropriate requirements for each major vessel class that take into consideration the wide differences in operating environments, Involving the key stakeholders in the entire process, and Developing a new requirement for minimum information display of AIS. USCG should take a leadership role in establishing display require ments for AIS information and work with appropriate international organizations in this process to ensure compatibility with interna tional requirements.
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The interface includes not only the display of information through such means as a cathode ray tube, graphics, and auditory warnings, but also data entry and control elements such as keyboards or switches. Development of an effective human interface for the AIS requires a systematic process that considers the capabilities of users and the demands of the operating environment.
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Recommendation 4: In its standards, USCG should specify that design, process, and performance standards be used in combination to promote adequate shipboard AIS display design. SYSTEM LIMITATIONS For a shipboard display to function adequately and provide necessary infor mation to the mariner, the overall AIS and supporting infrastructure must also function reliably and accurately.
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In addition to infrastructure, it is important to consider shipboard oper ating environments that will shape shipboard display of AIS information. For example, display designs will depend on such factors as the range of data that will be received by ships from shore stations; the areas and routes used by vessels with AIS; the work environment, tasks, and workload of the ship board bridge watchstanders; and the skill levels and training of individuals using the AIS displays.
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Continuing evolution in the form and function of technology also suggests a range of presenta tion options for AIS information that may be appropriate in different ship board settings. AIS interface design should be subject to further analysis and critical investigation.
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Furthermore, there is little commonality in bridge layouts, even for vessels of the same class, and this lack of bridge layout stan dardization affects potential shipboard displays of AIS information. This leads to the need to consider specific display requirements for specific oper ating environments rather than universal display requirements for all vessels.
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and related applica tions of similar technology; and Investigation of trade-offs between information requirements and the associated cost for shipboard display of AIS. CONTINUED OPERATIONAL TESTING OF AIS DISPLAYS USCG and other authorities have conducted a number of operational tests of AIS and transponder-based technology in the United States and abroad.
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It should use heuristic evaluation, where multiple designers assess how well a design conforms to human factors rules of thumb or heuristics. It should also incorporate usability tests and operational evaluations as complementary approaches to assess how well AIS displays and controls support mariner performance.
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54600_TRB_015_028 10/16/03 7:13 AM Page 14
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