State Based HMI Prototyping for Designing Adaptive HMIs

Abstract

The growing use of autonomous systems is leading to a significant change in the role of humans in technical processes. Instead of being directly involved in control and interaction, humans are more and more responsible for supervising and monitoring automated operations. This transformation is particularly evident in safety-critical domains such as maritime transport, where remote operation technologies are being implemented. Ships are no longer steered directly from the ship itself, rather they are monitored remotely by operators located in dedicated Remote Operation Centres [1].However, this new form of human–system interaction brings several challenges. As human operators are only required to intervene in special cases, they may become cognitively underloaded. Combined with monotony and potential night shifts, this can result in classic human factors issues such as fatigue, reduced attention and poor situational awareness. These factors can have serious consequences in safety-critical contexts.To minimize the risk of human errors, it is it is essential to keep the human "in the loop" and to provide specific support by designing adaptive HMIs. HMIs that adapt to task demands and user states can ensure that operators receive the appropriate information for their current workload. This requires a well-designed dialogue between humans and technology that can adapt dynamically to changing operational conditions.Against this background, the present study investigates how existing HMI design methods can be extended to incorporate different user and system states during the design phase. Current tools, such as Figma and the “KnOwledge eNrichEd CreaTive” HMI design Method (KONECT-Method) [2], do not systematically address the varying states of systems and users in the design process.This paper presents the conceptualization, development and prototypical integration of a user state framework into the KONECT HMI design tool. The first part of the paper outlines the motivation and problem definition, using workload as an example of a user state. This is followed by a review of current HMI design methods supporting adaptivity. The paper then details the selection and analysis of the KONECT method, presenting the extension that was implemented to enable user state modelling. Following this, the usability of the extended tool is evaluated in relation to common challenges such as overload and underload, and their implications for HMI design.Finally, the results are discussed and future research directions are outlined.[1] Seafar, „Operating vessels from shore control center,“ https://seafar.eu/services/, Date 16.06.2025.[2] M. Saager, A. Steinmetz, J-P. Osterloh, A. Naumann, A. Hahn, „Ensuring Fast Interaction with HMI´ s for Safety Critical Systems-An Extension of the Human-Machine Interface Design Method KONECT”, Intelligent Human Systems Integration (IHSI 2024)

Keywords: Human-Machine Interface (HMI), Model-Based Design, Safety-Critical Systems, HMI Design Method, HMI Evaluation

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006773