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The new set of dangers that are introduced by electronic navigation should be well understood, so nothing in this article should be news to anyone who’s learnt

The new set of dangers that are introduced by electronic navigation should be well understood, so nothing in this article should be news to anyone who’s learnt how to navigate. That said, navigation is now so “easy” that you can get complacent. As demonstrated by this professional crew in 2014 in one of the most prestigious ocean races when they hit a reef in the pacific because they hadn’t zoomed in enough on their plotter to identify the hazard: https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/sailing-skills/electronic-charts-and-grounding-a-cautionary-tale-31042 https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/sailing-skills/electronic-ch... This is a set of circumstances where the UX of the modern device is subtly far worse than the old pen and paper way, with some quite spectacular results. Ultimately the blame falls on the navigator and the skipper, but I can’t help but feel sorry for them.

pm215 4y ago
On a similar note, last year the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch published a safety study on electronic chart system use: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-and-usability-of-ecdis-safety-study https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-and-u... It's based largely on structured interviews with people who actually have to use the system, and it flags up some of the UI problems that they run into. I'm neither a mariner nor a UI designer, but I thought it was a pretty interesting report.
LeifCarrotson 4y ago
> This is a set of circumstances where the UX of the modern device is subtly far worse than the old pen and paper way, with some quite spectacular results. I understand why, when helping a user navigate from one side of a dense city to the other, a mapping app might not draw in small alleyways that would make the big picture illegible. But why in the world are tiles/pixels on the map that, if zoomed in, contain navigation hazards, shown to contain no hazards?!? Take a look at this Google Maps view of the shoals in normal view, with pale blue everywhere: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2K27Bfp9C5YN7cDu7 https://maps.app.goo.gl/2K27Bfp9C5YN7cDu7 Maybe you see two tiny landmasses, maybe your screen doesn't show them. Zoom out far enough to 20 mile tiles and they go away completely. Zoom in close and see a tiny stripe of tan land. Then turn on satellite view...Does it match what you expect to see? If the map is already as dense as possible, it makes sense to simplify the least relevant details - it should be obvious that zooming in would be useful. But if it's almost featureless, there's no reason to simplify it to be completely feature-free, that implies there's nothing at any scale! > Ultimately the blame falls on the navigator and the skipper, but I can’t help but feel sorry for them. Certainly the proximate cause and liability for the grounded vessel fall on the navigator and skipper, it was in their hands and is their responsibility, but this is an easy and understandable mistake that will be made by someone else again if the root cause - bad UI on the chart plotter - is not also addressed.
bobowzki 4y ago
Didn't their system didn't contain some sort of collision avoidance warning?
- bennyelv 4y ago
  Generally no - these things are designed for navigation at sea where you can generally go in straight lines between things. I’m not aware of any plotters that let you put in the depth you require and plot a route for you. You’d rely on a depth sounder to tell you that you were getting into danger, but if you’re not expecting any dangers why would you be paying any attention it?

pm215 4y ago

On a similar note, last year the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch published a safety study on electronic chart system use: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-and-usability-of-ecdis-safety-study https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-and-u... It's based largely on structured interviews with people who actually have to use the system, and it flags up some of the UI problems that they run into. I'm neither a mariner nor a UI designer, but I thought it was a pretty interesting report.

LeifCarrotson 4y ago

> This is a set of circumstances where the UX of the modern device is subtly far worse than the old pen and paper way, with some quite spectacular results. I understand why, when helping a user navigate from one side of a dense city to the other, a mapping app might not draw in small alleyways that would make the big picture illegible. But why in the world are tiles/pixels on the map that, if zoomed in, contain navigation hazards, shown to contain no hazards?!? Take a look at this Google Maps view of the shoals in normal view, with pale blue everywhere: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2K27Bfp9C5YN7cDu7 https://maps.app.goo.gl/2K27Bfp9C5YN7cDu7 Maybe you see two tiny landmasses, maybe your screen doesn't show them. Zoom out far enough to 20 mile tiles and they go away completely. Zoom in close and see a tiny stripe of tan land. Then turn on satellite view...Does it match what you expect to see? If the map is already as dense as possible, it makes sense to simplify the least relevant details - it should be obvious that zooming in would be useful. But if it's almost featureless, there's no reason to simplify it to be completely feature-free, that implies there's nothing at any scale! > Ultimately the blame falls on the navigator and the skipper, but I can’t help but feel sorry for them. Certainly the proximate cause and liability for the grounded vessel fall on the navigator and skipper, it was in their hands and is their responsibility, but this is an easy and understandable mistake that will be made by someone else again if the root cause - bad UI on the chart plotter - is not also addressed.

bobowzki 4y ago

Didn't their system didn't contain some sort of collision avoidance warning?

bennyelv 4y ago
Generally no - these things are designed for navigation at sea where you can generally go in straight lines between things. I’m not aware of any plotters that let you put in the depth you require and plot a route for you. You’d rely on a depth sounder to tell you that you were getting into danger, but if you’re not expecting any dangers why would you be paying any attention it?