Using Eye-Tracking Insights to Redesign Maritime Navigation Instruments

As maritime traffic increases and ship systems become more technologically sophisticated, the safe performance of navigators increasingly depends on the quality of human–machine interaction on the bridge. Modern Integrated Navigation Systems (INS), including radar, conning displays, and particularly Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) are essential tools, but human cognitive performance can be adversely affected by their design (Orphanides & Nam, 2017). While numerous regulatory and technical improvements have been introduced over the past years, the ergonomics of digital navigation interfaces have not evolved at the same pace as their functional capabilities (Vu et al., 2023). The goal of this research is to identify and propose ergonomic modifications to navigation instruments using eye-tracking data collected in realistic simulated bridge environments. The study originates from the recognition that existing ECDIS and INS interfaces contain design inconsistencies including poor symbol placement, inadequate colour contrast, inefficient alerting systems, and layering of shading that obscures key information (International Maritime Organization, 2019). These inconsistencies can cause navigators to overlook critical data or misinterpret vessel position and proximity to hazards. Although previous studies have explored segments of this problem, such as mental workload (Žagar et al., 2020), an integrated understanding of how ergonomic deficiencies directly contribute to navigational error is still limited. Data are collected on a full-mission bridge simulator using eye-tracking glasses capable of recording gaze position, fixation duration on navigational instruments and external visual references, saccadic transitions, scanpath distribution across critical Areas of Interest (e.g., ECDIS, radar, conning display, and outside view), as well as pupillary responses associated with cognitive workload during navigational tasks. These metrics are analyzed against task performance indicators such as route monitoring accuracy, alarm acknowledgment time, collision-avoidance decision-making efficiency, and ability to detect chart dangers. Experimental scenarios are being developed based on commonly reported ergonomic challenges in professional practice on navigation interface usability. These challenges may include issues such as overlapping shading layers, difficulty distinguishing between shallow and dangerous depth contours, poor icon differentiation and visual clutter caused by multifunction display arrangements on integrated bridges. All participants provide informed consent prior to participation, and the study is conducted in accordance with relevant ethical guidelines, ensuring the voluntary nature of participation and the anonymised use of collected data for research purposes. This work puts its emphasis on human-centered design principles tailored specifically for maritime navigation, an area in which standardized ergonomic guidelines remain comparatively underdeveloped. By comparing eye-tracking data with navigator feedback and performance outcomes, the study tends to identify the specific mechanisms through which interface design contributes to human error. It is expected that differences between experienced and novice navigators will show which ergonomic flaws disproportionately affect less experienced officers, with implications for training scenarios in maritime education. Expected results include ergonomic redesign proposals for navigational equipment used on ships. By implementing these modifications, manufacturers may reduce the probability of human error, while maritime academies can integrate the findings into simulator-based training to enhance situational awareness and cognitive resilience. The experimental phase of the study, involving simulator-based scenarios, is currently ongoing. Therefore, this abstract presents the research design and expected analytical approach, while final empirical results will be reported in subsequent publications.