ADVANTAGES AND OBSTACLES OF APPLYING PHYSIOLOGICAL COMPUTING IN REAL WORLD: LESSONS LEARNED FROM SIMULATOR BASED MARITIME TRAINING

Abstract

While simulator based maritime training is widely implemented under international maritime organization (IMO) convention and model courses, troublesome issues such as objective evaluation of training effectiveness remain unsolved. Physiological computing system (PhyCS) refers to an innovative bidirectional human computer interaction which is achieved by monitoring, analysing, and responding to operators’ psychophysiological activities in real-time. With the development of wearable devices, it becomes promising to apply PhyCS, which was considered as a laboratory technology, in real-world scenarios. In our experience utilizing view tracker, portable heart beat sensor, electroencephalogram device, and web-cameras in simulator based maritime training, PhyCS shows potential for advanced applications in operator performance assessment, usability tests, and adaptive training. However, ambulatory working environment, body movement artefact, and model verification are intricate obstacles that constrain its applications in the real world. By examining the advantages and obstacles, this paper aims to develop guidelines to apply PhyCS in the real-world.