Researchers from TU Delft have investigated how haptic feedback can be deployed in the maritime sector. The two see great potential in this form of kinesthetic tactile communication.
Researcher Arthur Vrijdag, associate professor of marine engineering, hydromechanics and control engineering, first saw the potential of haptics for shipping when he walked into TU Delft's Haptics Lab. This lab is led by David Abbink, researcher and associate professor of Human-Robot Interaction at the Department of Cognitive Robotics. The lab includes all kinds of joysticks and levers that can be used to generate steering commands and on which you can feel forces (so-called haptic feedback). Vrijdag saw potential in this for the maritime sector and discussed it with Abbink. The two then wrote a cohesion proposal to realise a haptic simulator for maritime applications. With this simulator, prototypes can be designed and tested. From the money awarded, they appointed researcher Frank Hoeckx. For a year, he set to work on their idea.
Haptics in maritime operations
Haptics is relatively unknown territory in the maritime world. The researchers from TU Delft wanted to know why this is so and what the benefits might be. 'Haptic feedback means feedback by force, i.e. by feeling, and is so naturally present when we move our bodies that we find it hard to imagine it not being there. But just try tying your laces when your fingers are ice cold,' Abbink shows that haptic feedback offers better control and 'situation awareness' when driving vehicles, compared to just visual feedback or warning feedback. Moreover, haptic feedback can help interact with semi-automatic systems. Abbink has already managed to implement this in cars. He is currently doing further research on this in his VIDI project 'Symbiotic Driving'. Through haptic feedback, a helmsman can feel the lever being pushed back when he needs to reduce speed, for instance when he wants to moor towards the quay at too high a speed. Haptic feedback can not only increase safety, but can also reduce costs related to fines for being too early or too late: ship speed can be 'guided' in time by haptic signals that can easily be temporarily pushed away if the human deems it necessary. This keeps the driver directly involved while supporting him in arriving at his destination on time. Moreover, haptics can play an important role in supporting captains during a long cruise, the driver is literally 'guided' in what to do.'
Test stand
Frank Hoeckx, in collaboration with automation supplier Bachmann and Rotterdam-based simulator supplier VSTEP, built a test rig that allows users to experience some of the basics of haptic feedback in shipping. This quickly showed that the hardware, software and their interfaces work. They also showed that the autopilot and haptic algorithms can be changed and tuned, such that the researchers had full control over the experimental setup. The conclusion, therefore, is that the developed maritime haptic simulator can be well used for tests involving human interaction. Thus, the benefits of haptic feedback for maritime operations can be looked at even more closely.
Using the test rig, David and Arthur regularly give demonstrations of examples of haptic feedback in maritime operations. By doing so, they hope to get companies in particular excited about becoming partners in a Joint Industry Project. With a Joint Industry Project, David and Arthur can develop more specific applications and prototypes that directly address industry needs. Thus, they have already organised several industry demos in Delft and recently attended the Marine Electrical and Control Systems Safety Conference (MECSS) conference in Glasgow to showcase the setup to industry and science.
Arthur Vrijdag: 'On ships, fewer and fewer people have to perform more and more tasks simultaneously faster and more efficiently. They are running up against the limits of how much information they can still absorb. It can help if they really feel this information through intuitive 'haptic force feedback'. It can also be a solution for interaction with autonomous ships. Moreover, remote control is safer and easier if the driver receives haptic feedback. We will now investigate further how useful exactly haptic feedback is for the maritime world. Me and David believe in it and are sure this can be a 'gamechanger'.
By: Kelly Bakker
Source: TU Delft
