Navigational heads-up display: will a shipboard augmented electronic navigation system sink or swim?

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to develop and test a proof-of-concept augmented reality display that presents critical navigation information to naval conning officers. The objective of this research effort was to study the feasibility and usability of such an approach in operational conditions. The testbed platform consisted of a virtual environment that fully simulated a conning officer’s basic tasks in conditions of restricted navigation; this type of setup enabled a cost-effective test solution that was safe and supported scenario repeatability in studies with human subjects. The study involved 25 experienced test subjects who were surface warfare officers at both the Naval Postgraduate School and Surface Warfare Officer School. This effort helped acquire a comprehensive set of objective and subjective data that provided a close insight into the performance of conning officers. The empirical results demonstrate the viability of using such a system in an operation environment and support a need for further research and development of a working display platform onboard Navy warships