Master’s Thesis - User centered bridge design

With the aim to develop a vision for the future of ship bridge design on large passenger vessels, this master’s thesis project led to an interesting combination of field studies, creative ideation sessions, digital modeling, VR evaluations, video editing, and much more.

The bridge vision was to satisfy requirements regarding layout, physical/cognitive ergonomics, social aspects, and user-centered design while incorporating the latest technological advancements and considering how more advanced automation might affect bridge design in the near future. The project was conducted by myself and my colleague Jens Junkers in collaboration with ABB.

Project type: Master’s thesis project

Project duration: 5 months

Skills: User research, Concept ideation, CAD, Visualization

Programs: Figma, Blender, Adobe Premiere Pro

The final bridge vision - Showcase video

One of the deliverables in the project was a short video with the purpose of showcasing our bridge vision with its intended functionalities while simultaneously inspiring future product development processes within the maritime field. All clips seen in the video were rendered using Blender and the video was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro.

The Final Concept

A short walkthrough

Layout

The resulting bridge vision offers a slim, centrally located bridge with a protruding cockpit while also incorporating a spacious workspace design featuring open surfaces and large windows. The bridge provides an almost uninterrupted view all around the horizon with flat, top-out inclined windows to minimize reflections and refractions. The layout of the bridge includes a central navigation station, a large widescreen setup, an overhead display, an administrative area, and a break area.

Cockpit

The T-shaped central control table houses ship control equipment and two multifunctional touchscreens with adaptable card interfaces. The seats offer a flexible working position with the ability to sit, stand, or walk. Smart camera systems replace physical wing bridges, allowing the navigators to have all controls in one place.

Horizontal visibility

The diagonal windows connecting the cockpit with the rest of the bridge are angled at 45 degrees to perfectly align with the central navigator positions which reduces the obstruction of the view due to window poles. Additionally, the shape of the bridge together with the protruding cockpit allows for a nearly uninterrupted 260-degree forward-facing view through the cockpit windows.

Vertical visibility

By placing the widestrip close to the bottom of the window, it is clearly and comfortably visible for the navigator with minimal impact on the forward vertical visibility, allowing roughly 30-degree vertical visibility from the navigator.

Field Studies

Field visits were carried out throughout the project with three different active ship bridges and one full scale bridge simulator being visited. The three ships visited were Stena Jutlandica, Stena Danica and Stena Carisma. Working conditions were observed both during night and day operation providing different needs and requirements in different situations.

Analyzing and identifying problem areas

The layout of the visited bridges were mapped out and analyzed.

Ideation

Early ideation sketches & physical ship prototype with magnetically interchangeable bridges to test different shapes.

The physical prototypes were also used to test how the different shapes would affect the possible layouts with the help of 3D printed furniture and figures.

Evaluation

Ideas and concepts were modeled, evaluated and iterated with the help of VR technologies, providing an intuitive way to test reachability, viewing angles and placement of equipment on the bridge.

Image Gallery