Perceived impacts of higher levels of automation within the European inland waterway transport: a socio-technical system evaluation

Licentiatavhandling, 2025

This licentiate thesis presents cumulative findings from ongoing research analyzing the potential impacts of higher Levels of Automation (LOA) on stakeholder interactions within an Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) using Socio-Technical System (STS) frameworks. It has investigated three co-related research issues in three papers using different system theory methods. 

The findings of the thesis suggest that with increasing LOA, the level of uncertainty in the resiliency of the STS is high given the near logarithmic growth of technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) which will have a profound impact upon the IWT ecosystem. Multiple actors are responsible for implementing foreseeable changes in the IWT STS. There are multiple roles and tasks/functions that are expected to evolve in this emerging system and being considered while designing futuristic system. There are gaps within the existing European IWT STS that need to be addressed for a smoother transition towards higher LOAs. The first step of defining the gaps is an in-depth analysis of current work as done (WAD) in order to elucidate on how to evolve to a work as imagined (WAI). As LOAs emerge in an operational setting the higher the level of system complexity will become. Illumination of WAI with standardization and becoming independent of human intervention at operational level can, perhaps, resolve these complexities. Yet, there will be necessity of human presence in the loop but more on supervisory and management level.  

The future research work will investigate the preparedness of IWT STS from a user perspective, focusing on emerging concept of ‘shift of command’ towards Remote Operating Center (ROC) and ROC operators. It will also have the opportunity to investigate preparedness of IWT STS from maritime education and training (to build up the skillsets), legal (to enable and regulate the autonomous IWT), technical (to ensure safer than before), and business case (to make it feasible and sustainable) perspectives.