What’s "OpenBridge"?
Current bridges on ships are often made up of a large number of systems delivered by multiple suppliers.This has led to human error, inefficient operation and an increased need for training. OpenBridge developed an open platform that provides better and safer user interfaces on ships, simplifies multi-vendor integration and opens the ship bridge for new applications.
Who's it for?
OpenBridge delivers an open source platform that can be interesting for various stakeholders in the maritime sector.
Approach
OpenBridge adopted a Human-Centred Design approach to understand user needs and requirements in the context of ship bridge operations. Participatory Design added a collaborative dimension, ensuring that seafarers, designers, industry partners and policy-makers could co-create the framework together.
Contribution
Among other outputs, the project delivered a design guideline with integrated component library for maritime user interfaces, and a framework for user testing consisting of tools, processes and methods for iterative quality assurance.
Why is it in the Observatory?
This project exemplifies the application and the large scale impact of design research and participatory design on global industries. It showcases its remarkable social, economic, and sustainable impact within the maritime sector.