Mariner 4.0: Integrating Seafarers Into A Maritime 4.0 Environment

Abstract

Digitalisation of systems and processes in the maritime industry are spurring Maritime 4.0, a digital transformation promising enormous gains, including improved design processes and reduced operational costs. Gleaning inter-disciplinary proficiency from Operator 4.0 in manufacturing, the present work seeks to introduce the Mariner 4.0 – a seafaring passenger or crew member with technologically augmented skills. This research aims to realise Mariner 4.0 through a human digital twin solution – a virtual representation of the state and behaviour of a unique individual over time – for seafarers on South Africa’s polar research and supply vessel, the SA Agulhas II. This paper presents human-related challenges identified within seafaring vessels, the expected value of human digital twin solutions for the maritime industry, the development of a human digital twin solution to integrate seafarers into a Maritime 4.0 environment (i.e. the development of Mariner 4.0), and an illustrative use case focussing on human comfort monitoring and management.