Contemporary Ergonomics and Human Factors 2013

VIDEO SUPPORT TOOLS FOR TRAINING

IN MARITIME SIMULATORS

Sashidharan Komandur & Sathiya Kumar Renganayagalu

Aalesund University College, Norway

Training is vital for the safety of any complex offshore operation.

Advanced simulators are now a standard fixture to train operators.

Familiarization of the procedures is an important first step prior to

hands-on training in the simulators. We explore the utility of includ-

ing videos of experts in the instruction material for familiarization.

We also explore the utility of videos layered with eye tracking data

(of experts) for familiarization as it may increase specificity in the

instruction methods.

Introduction

In the maritime domain proper training is vital as most operations are highly

demanding and safety critical. This underlines the importance of training, which is

why offshore industry uses advanced training tools like modern simulators. Famil-

iarization of procedures is an important first step and many introductory courses

are geared towards this. A study in the medical domain showed that experts and

novices have very different view patterns that directlyaffectindividual performance

(Law, 2004). So we believe, recording experts’ visual attentions and showing it to

novices will enhance the training experience and accelerate their familiarization

process. The first aim of this study is to assess the utility of including videos of

experts in the instruction material during the familiarization of operational proce-

dures. The second aim of this study is to assess the utility to the familiarization

process by including eye tracking data in the video.

Methods

Subjects will be recruited from the pool of students who attend certificate introduc-

tory courses in anchor-handling operation for working at the Aalesund university

college (familiarization of anchor-handling procedures). These participants can be

classified as novices. Data from subjects will be collected onlyafter receiving ethics

approval from REK (Norway) and NSD (Norway). Materials required for this study

primarily consists of a simulator for anchor handling operations at the Aalesund

University College. The simulator in addition to realistic visualizations has a phys-

ical layout that is proportional to real ship bridge layouts in offshore supply vessels.

In this experiment we have chosen the familiarization part of training where the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/b13826-37

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152 S. Komandur & S.K. Renganayagalu

trainer gives a brief about the simulator and its equipment in the simulator space

itself. Video data of experts presented as a part of instruction material is captured

using two video cameras. One camera (video 1) captures the entire ship bridge lay-

out when the expert carries out an example of the operational procedure.The second

camera (video 2) is inbuilt in the eye-tracker and provides the perspective of the

expert (trainer) during the operational procedure. The tools used to capture expert’s

data are a standard off the shelf video camera and an eye tracker (ASL Mobile

eyeglasses 2012).

Methods for the study is as follows: The current instruction process by the trainer

during familiarization consists of oral instructions and walk through in the simula-

tor. This is followed by hands-on trials by the students in the simulator. In this study

subjects undertake 5 hands-on trials and based on the perceived outcome of these

trials effectiveness of instruction method is determined. The subjects in this study

will be divided into three groups and they will go through the instruction process

with the following additional material as shown below:

1) Group 1 (Control condition): standard instruction

2) Group 2 (Case 1): standard instruction + video 1

3) Group 3 (Case 2): standard instruction + video 1 + video 2

After the instruction process subjects in all the groups will undertake 5 hands-on

trials in the simulator and based on the perceived outcome of these trials effective-

ness of instruction method is determined. The perceived learning outcome will be

determined by a self-report adapted from the study Saus et al. 2010. The instructors

will also judge the outcome subjectively. In addition the subjects will also wear

an eye tracker (Tobii eyeglasses 2010) during the hands-on training, as we would

like to explore if any of the eye tracking metrics (e.g. fixation count or duration on

chosen areas of interest) can become measures of learning outcome. Appropriate

statistical methods will be employed to test for significant differences in the per-

ceived learning outcomes between the groups. This is a work in progress and our

preliminary studies indicate that there are substantial gains in the perceived

learning outcome when videos with eye tracking data is provided as a part of

instruction material.

References

Benjamin Law, M. Stella Atkins, A.E. Kirkpatrick, Alan J. Lomax, Christine L.

Mackenzie, 2004, EyeGazePatterns DifferentiateNovice andExpertsinaVirtual

Laparoscopic Surgery Training Environment.

Evelyn-Rose Saus, Bjørn Helge Johnsen, Jarle Eid, 2010, Perceived learning out-

come: the relationship between experience, realism, and situation awareness

during simulator training, Int Marit Health 61, 4: 258–264.