Remote operation of autonomous vessels presents unique challenges. How can operators maintain awareness, comfort, and control when managing ships from kilometers away? A recent study from NTNU addresses these questions by combining human-centered design, engineering cybernetics, and iterative prototyping to create effective Remote Operation Centers (ROCs).
“Remote operation is not just about transmitting information; it’s about creating presence,” says Ole Andreas Alsos from NTNU SCL. “Our goal was to design a workstation that lets operators feel connected to the vessel, even from a distance.”
The research, described in “Situation Awareness by Design: A Human-Centered Workstation for Teleoperated Vessels” (Gusev, Tufte, Petermann, Veitch, Alsos & Breivik, ICMASS 2025), developed the Prometheus workstation through seven iterative design cycles, each informed by real operator feedback, structured usability testing, and biometric measurements. Early prototypes ranged from a simple single-screen setup inside a van to an immersive cockpit featuring a 225-degree panoramic display, spatial audio, haptic feedback, and multimodal controls.
The workstation was developed and tested as part of the Autoteaming project at NTNU, which explores how humans and autonomous systems can co-create adaptive, resilient, and trustworthy teams. By merging human-centered design and engineering cybernetics, the project aims to build systems where people and autonomous vessels work together seamlessly, both in direct control and supervisory modes.
“What we’re doing in Autoteaming is building the bridge between human intuition and machine intelligence. This research shows how control theory, design and real-world experimentation can merge into systems that feel alive to the operator," says Morten Breivik.
Breivik is project lead autoteaming, and associate professor, at NTNU Department of Engineering Cybernetics.
"It’s not just about autonomy, but about creating mutual awareness between humans and machines. This project proves that when design meets control engineering, autonomy becomes collaboration,” Breivik adds.
The workstation was tested on the autonomous ferry milliAmpere1, and the results demonstrated that effective teleoperation is not just about transmitting data — it is about constructing presence at a distance. As Ole Andreas Alsos explains, “Situational awareness cannot be added at the end, it must be the foundation. Our goal was not only to display information, but to create a remote environment where operators feel connected and able to act with confidence.”
The study found that panoramic visual displays, spatial audio, multimodal feedback, and intuitive control logic substantially improved operator situational awareness, reduced cognitive load, and enhanced overall operational efficiency. This approach merges human-centered design with engineering cybernetics, highlighting that autonomy and remote control must evolve together. Even when remote, operators must remain truly present.
“The principle of Situation Awareness by Design means awareness isn’t a by-product - it’s a design goal. Every interface element, sound and movement in the Prometheus workstation was shaped to help operators feel present, connected and in control, even from shore. Remote operation should feel intuitive, immersive and human, because presence is part of performance,” says Alexey Gusev, PhD candidate, NTNU Department of Design.
“Our work on shared control explores how autonomy can assist without taking over. The goal is to maintain the operator’s authority while letting the system stabilize, guide and enhance performance in a natural way. It’s a shift from automation to cooperation. When the system understands intent, it becomes a teammate - not a tool,” says Andreas Gudahl Tufte, PhD candidate, NTNU Department of Engineering Cybernetics.
The ROC project builds directly on NTNU’s research and aims to accelerate the industrial implementation of Remote Operation Centres for maritime autonomy. The project brings together NTNU, Maritime Robotics, Massterly, Kongsberg Discovery, Zeabuz, and other partners from industry and academia to develop a new generation of ROC concepts, design principles, and operational models.
The goal is to create flexible, scalable, and safe solutions that enable the supervision and control of autonomous and remotely operated vessels — across different vessel types, missions, and environments. The project explores how situational awareness, human–machine interaction, and safety can be maintained in increasingly complex systems of autonomy.
ROC is part of the broader MIDAS research initiative (Maritime Autonomy for Dynamic and Adaptive Systems), connecting human-centered design research with industrial development, testing, and standardization efforts in Norway’s leading maritime technology environments.
“ROC represents the next step, moving from experimental setups to scalable operational solutions,” says Ole Andreas Alsos. “It’s about transforming research on human-centered design into systems that can support real operations, not just in test scenarios but in everyday maritime practice.”
NTNU’s autonomous passenger ferry milliAmpere2 in the canal in Trondheim. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset/Fremtidens Industri
The project involved an extensive team from NTNU: Alexey Gusev, Andreas Gudahl Tufte, Felix-Marcel Petermann, Erik Veitch, Ole Andreas Alsos, and Morten Breivik. Technical contributions were provided by Miguel Honistroza and Egil Eide for the milliAmpere1 ferry, Erlend Sandblåst for building the workstation, and students Are Årøen Lykke, Emre Demirci Ibsen, Gard Eltvik Grønnerød, Anna Østmo, and Maren Javenes, who contributed to the camera system, system architecture, and GUI design.
This research was supported by the Research Council of Norway through the projects Autoteaming (344326), SFI Autoship (309230), and MIDAS (331921). The authors also thank the SFI Autoship researchers who contributed feedback and the invited ICMASS-ISSS-2025 participants who took part in evaluations.