The Command space in future submarines could be turned
“outside in” as a result of pioneering analysis
commissioned by the Defence Science and Technology
Laboratory (Dstl).
Submarine command teams are facing an increasing challenge
of manipulating escalating amounts of data and information
as crew numbers are set to decrease. In these high pressure
environments understanding and optimising how information
flows and is presented is critical.
Working under the Command Team-working Experimental
Test-bed (ComTET) programme, Dstl has engaged with the
University of Southampton (Department of Transportation
Research) who built a Submarine Control room simulator.
Dstl supplied the simulation engine – a modified commercial
gaming software called Dangerous Waters. To play the game
and provide an appropriate amount of human behaviour data
for analysis, university students, Dstl and Industry
participants have been trained to be ‘submariners for day’
using a bespoke training package.
A second simulator has been built at Dstl’s Portsdown West
site which replicates and will build upon the Southampton
facility and will enable more sensitive data to be
generated. Industry delivered Human Machine Interface (HMI)
prototypes that ‘mash’ sensor information together in an
approach that will pave the way for enabling future RN
command teams to adopt ‘new ways of working’.
Dstl’s Technical Partner, Chris Parnell, commented:
“Analysis generated during the first stage of the programme
using the Southampton University simulator was very
valuable. It demonstrated that co-location of operators
highly dependent on each other for task completion creates
greater efficiency in terms of information flow and
increases Command team capacity. Having operators facing
inwards creates conditions for much better shared situation
awareness between the Command team; and placing the Officer
of the Watch in the centre of the Command team leads to a
more efficient tactical picture generation.”
Dstl is now undertaking human in the loop assessments of
novel HMIs that will introduce ‘new ways of working’ for
future submarine command teams. This will include
alternative roles, new procedures, adjustments to manning
and changes to training regimes.
The ComTET programme has been running since 2014. This was
initially funded through the Chief Scientific Advisor’s
Science & Technology programme and now as a Technology
Demonstrator Programme sponsored by the Defence Nuclear
Organisation (DNO) with governance and funding provided by
the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA).
