Design Principles for Human–Autonomy Interaction in the Maritime Domain: Transition from Onboard to Remote Operations

Abstract: As the maritime industry transitions toward highly automated and autonomous operations, the roles of human operators, remote control centers, and decision-support technologies are evolving rapidly. In this changing context, particularly from onboard operation to remote operation of multiple autonomous vessels, ensuring safety, usability, and resilience in safety-critical systems requires the effective application of human factors (HF) and human-centered design (HCD) principles. This paper presents a literature review in the maritime sector to identify key design principles that integrate human factors into highly automated operations. The aim is to explore how HF and HCD principles can support the transition from traditional onboard maritime operations to remote operation systems, ensuring safety through successful design strategies. The review draws on eight academic publications (years 2013-2025) that were systematically filtered to include empirical studies addressing HF and HCD applications in maritime automation, with particular attention to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), remote operation centers, and integrated decision-support systems. These publications were selected based on clearly defined inclusion criteria and screened for HF and HCD principles, outcomes, gaps, and implications. The results show that current practices address a range of micro-, meso-, and macro-level HF principles and design implications. It was found that both research and practical application remain limited and lag behind the rapid technological developments within AI and automation. Across the literature, consistent gaps remain in the study of HF and HCD for MASS and remote operations. These gaps highlight the complexity of transitioning from onboard to shore-based operations and underscore the need for a sociotechnical perspective that spans individual, team, and system coordination, as well as organizational and ecological contexts.

Keywords: Human Factors, Human-Centred Design, Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships, Remote Operation Centre, Human-Autonomy Interaction

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007025

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