Posted on 08/15/2019 11:24:55 AM PDT by CedarDave
The US Navy is to replace touchscreen controls on destroyers with physical systems in 2020 after a report into the fatal 2017 USS John S McCain collision branded the controls ‘unnecessarily complex’.
The investigation into the accident that resulted in the deaths of 10 sailors said that the complexity of the control system and a lack of training led to the collision.
Bridge design on US naval vessels is largely uncontrolled by the military, with a lack of specific requirements leaving design decisions to shipbuilders.
The step-back in technology will give sailors more tactile feedback and remove the ambiguity and uncertainty that played a role in the collision.
The Navy will retrofit mechanical controls on all DDG-51 (Arleigh Burke) class destroyers that currently use the Northrop Grumman Integrated Bridge and Navigation System (IBNS).
When reached for comment Northrop Grumman told Naval Technology: “We continue to work closely with the Navy on its navigation modernisation program by providing advanced capabilities to support the fleet.”
After incidents with the USS McCain and USS Fitzgerald, the US Navy surveyed the crews of its ships and found a majority of sailors wanted to see a return to more intuitive mechanical controls.
A report from the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that: “Training on the operation of the Integrated Bridge and Navigation System for John S McCain watchstanders was inadequate, because it did not ensure that the crew could perform the basic functions of the watch, such as the transfer of steering and thrust control between bridge stations.”
The report also found that “The design of the John S McCain’s touch-screen steering and thrust control system increased the likelihood of the operator errors that led to the collision.”
The report did not place sole blame on the IBNS, however, adding that the sailors’ lack of training and fatigue also played a key role in the incident.
The incident was caused when sailors attempted to pass control of the throttle from one console to another, resulting in the belief that they had lost control of the ship.
The system on board the ship allows throttle and steering to be controlled from multiple stations on the USS McCain’s bridge. The ship’s crew enabled the “backup manual mode” to get more intuitive control of the ship, however, this meant it could be controlled from multiple stations. As a result crew members on all three stations could steer the ship when they tried to regain control of the vessel steering swapped between the three stations.
As a result, the report recommended that the US Navy “issue permanent guidance directing destroyers equipped with the Integrated Bridge and Navigation System to operate in computer-assisted steering modes, except during an emergency.”
The report added: “Mechanical throttles provide complementary information to an operator: direction, force, and the ability to confirm either visually or by touch whether the throttles are ganged and working in unison.
“Mechanical throttles are used in aviation and on most vessels still operating in the Navy. They are often preferred over touch-screen displays as they provide both immediate and tactile feedback to the operator.”
The report concluded that the US Navy should revise the way it trains sailors to use the IBNS system and provide clearer technical manuals on how to correctly transfer controls between the systems consoles.
You-should-have-bought-a-squirrel
Perhaps; but NIOT from halfway around the world in Mom's basement.
If the controls are somehow linked to the outside world; then yes; it may be possible.
But if the system is self contained; then actual physical access to the device must be obtained to do any 'hacking'.
Hal; open the pod bay doors.
yes
Do casinos have facial recog on all those thousands of cameras watching you?
And that is one of the places that it hurts the most; too!
Amen on the pad.
HATE them things!!
20 or so years ago a friend had borrowed my truck to do some moving stuff and left me his car. I almost broke the gear selector off before I accidently touched my foot on the brake pedal! (The designers were protecting little kids; being left in a running vehicle; from accidently pulling the car into gear and having a wreck.)
Another time I’d rented a car and when it was time for some gas; I couldn’t open the gas door.
I almost broke it when I noticed a little lever that released it.
At least I can open the hood on my Jeep; barely.
After flipping the latch (down by the floor) I have a hard time reaching the lever by the radiator as my fingers are too short.
There’s just HAS to be a special place in hell for the person who designed THAT thing!!
Thank god he wasn’t TEXTING and driving!
“Are you SURE you want to DELETE this patient?”
Or the “safe” gas cans where you pour gas over everything except where you want it because of what is needed to work the “safety” mechanism.
I’m in CA again after a long absence. Got to chat with my brothers who have lived in the East Bay all their lives.
There big thing is how the car dealerships here are folding. The Automall only has Ford, Honda, and Infiniti left - the others folded.
The cost of the new cars now are so bloated with sensor tech.
Doesn’t surprise me at all that some of these manufacturers are putting back the old mechanical controls. Way cheaper.
Oh yeah!
I have plenty of good gas comtainers that the yellow nozzles were NOT made out of the same material as the red thing. Thus; they’ve cracked and broken.
I can still manage to find some replacements that fit at a farm store.
Wallyworld etal have these complicated nozzle things that I GUT if I have to buy one.
And have you seen the PRICE of the things?
Just WOW!
I notice my laptop touch pad doesn’t work if my hand is wet.
I wonder if these guys verified that their touch screens still work if the user’s hands are wet, bloody, covered in grease, or any of a number of conditions likely to be encountered in a combat situation.
When working with toxic substances such as gasoline or oil, I wear disposable nitrile gloves. Touch screens on iphones or ipads are completely useless for when wearing them. This is especially bad when you need to enter data or even answer a phone call.
What the Navy needs is some sort of ‘MCAS’ : ) tech for their ships and not tell the sailors how to disengage it easily as it never fails.....
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