Felix-Marcel Petermann

Research

As autonomous passenger ferries become a reality, the interaction between humans and these systems must be carefully designed to ensure safety, efficiency, and user trust. This project addresses the challenges posed by removing human crew from ferry operations by developing and evaluating human-centred interaction solutions for both passengers and remote operators/captains. Our research-through-design approach integrates real-world trials, user studies, and multimodal feedback mechanisms to create intuitive and transparent interfaces that bridge the communication gap between autonomous systems and their users.

Passenger-Facing Solutions:

Passengers on autonomous ferries must travel without human crew assistance, making clear and accessible touchpoints essential. To support their experience, we have developed and tested the different solutions, for instance:

Smart Passenger Access Gate – An automated boarding system to support service understanding and the embarkation process while ensuring security and accessibility.
Human-Facing Explanatory Interface – A real-time passenger information system that communicates ferry status, route progress, and decision-making logic to increase transparency and trust.
Adaptive Wayfinding and Signage – Dynamic digital and physical signage systems that adjust to different passenger needs, ensuring intuitive navigation.
Multimodal Public Information System – A combination of visual, auditory, and haptic feedback to maintain situational awareness and reassure passengers during the journey.

Remote Operators and Captains:

While autonomous ferries navigate without onboard crews, remote operators and captains remain responsible for oversight, intervention, and fleet management. Our research has developed tools to enhance situational awareness, decision-making, and control interfaces for shore-based teams in Remote Operation Centers (ROC), including:

Multi-Vessel Control Interface – A control system that allows operators to monitor and manage multiple autonomous ferries from an ROC integrating sensor data, live video feeds, and predictive analytics.
Maritime Head-Up Display (mHUD) – A novel augmented reality tool designed to enhance situational awareness for emote operators and bridge crews on conventional ships, improving navigation and hazard detection.
Interfaces for remote hazard control – Interface design improving situation awareness and collaborative understanding of hazards (especially fires) on ships and the tools to intervene.
Design Interfaces for Remote Control Centers – Research-based guidelines for developing effective workspaces, workflows, and communication structures in shore-based control stations.

Research Approach and Impact

This project follows a research-through-design methodology, incorporating mixed-methods evaluations, including field trials, eye-tracking studies, user interviews, and usability testing. By designing and validating these solutions in real-world settings, the research contributes to:

Improving Passenger Acceptance and Experience – Ensuring that autonomous ferries are accessible, intuitive, and trustworthy.
Enhancing Remote Operator Effectiveness – Developing tools that support human oversight in remote control centres.
Advancing Maritime Human-System Interaction – Providing design principles and frameworks that can be applied to future autonomous vessel operations.

Publications

2024

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Nyhavna, NTNU | – Vi har jobbet veldig hardt for at det ikke skal bli bare boliger og kafeer her. Nidaros.no
Interview Journal
Meland, Ådne; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Design Research and Concept of Silent Alarms. NTNU
Masters thesis
Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Ølstad, Ragnhild Kristina; Andersen, Clas Olaf Steinbru. (2024) Delte ut 4,6 millioner til disse NTNU-prosjektene. shifter
Short communication
Siberg Nakken, Emma; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Hareide, Einar Johan. (2024) Control of Autonomous Ships - Designing a System and Modular Operator Station for the Monitoring and Control of Autonomous Ships. NTNU
Masters thesis
Alsos, Ole Andreas; Saghafian, Mina; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Park, Jooyoung. (2024) Erfaringer fra prøvedriften av en selvkjørende byferge: Implikasjoner og anbefalinger for en selvkjørende fergetjeneste i Trondheim . Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet
Report
Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Steinke, Julian; Aminoff, Hedvig; Petersen, Erik Styhr; Pantelatos, Leander Spyridon; Burgén, Julia. (2024) Collaborative Hazard Control: Designing a Digital Fire Control Center for Enhanced Safety on Ships. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Saghafian, Mina; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Park, Jooyoung. (2024) Dataset on passenger acceptance during autonomous ferry public trials: Questionnaires and interviews. Data in Brief
Academic article
Alsos, Ole Andreas; Saghafian, Mina; Veitch, Erik; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Park, Jooyoung. (2024) Lessons learned from the trial operation of an autonomous urban passenger ferry. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (TRIP)
Academic article
Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Eide, Egil Sverre; Breivik, Morten. (2024) Touchpoints and systems for unmanned autonomous urban ferry operation. Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)
Academic article
Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Interaction Between Unmanned Systems and Humans: An Example of an Smart Passenger Access Gate for Autonomous Urban Passenger Ferries. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Saghafian, Mina; Vatn, Dorthea Mathilde Kristin; Moltubakk, Stine Thordarson; Bertheussen, Lene Elisabeth; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Johnsen, Stig Ole. (2024) Understanding automation transparency and its adaptive design implications in safety–critical systems. Safety Science
Academic article

2023

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Papachristos, Eleftherios; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2023) Interaction Between Humans and Autonomous Systems: Human Facing Explanatory Interface for an Urban Autonomous Passenger Ferry.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper

2022

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petersen, Erik Styhr; Liavaag, Malene; Solberg, Julie Karine Schmidt. (2022) Increasing the Usability of Audio Alerts with Voice Instructions on Ship’s Bridges.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Alsos, Ole Andreas; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Pantelatos, Leander Spyridon; Vasstein, Kjetil; Eide, Egil; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2022) NTNU Shore Control Lab: Designing shore control centres in the age of autonomous ships. Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)
Academic article

Journal publications

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Nyhavna, NTNU | – Vi har jobbet veldig hardt for at det ikke skal bli bare boliger og kafeer her. Nidaros.no
Interview Journal
Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Ølstad, Ragnhild Kristina; Andersen, Clas Olaf Steinbru. (2024) Delte ut 4,6 millioner til disse NTNU-prosjektene. shifter
Short communication
Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Saghafian, Mina; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Park, Jooyoung. (2024) Dataset on passenger acceptance during autonomous ferry public trials: Questionnaires and interviews. Data in Brief
Academic article
Alsos, Ole Andreas; Saghafian, Mina; Veitch, Erik; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Park, Jooyoung. (2024) Lessons learned from the trial operation of an autonomous urban passenger ferry. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (TRIP)
Academic article
Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Eide, Egil Sverre; Breivik, Morten. (2024) Touchpoints and systems for unmanned autonomous urban ferry operation. Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)
Academic article
Saghafian, Mina; Vatn, Dorthea Mathilde Kristin; Moltubakk, Stine Thordarson; Bertheussen, Lene Elisabeth; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Johnsen, Stig Ole. (2024) Understanding automation transparency and its adaptive design implications in safety–critical systems. Safety Science
Academic article
Alsos, Ole Andreas; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Pantelatos, Leander Spyridon; Vasstein, Kjetil; Eide, Egil; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2022) NTNU Shore Control Lab: Designing shore control centres in the age of autonomous ships. Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)
Academic article

Part of book/report

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Steinke, Julian; Aminoff, Hedvig; Petersen, Erik Styhr; Pantelatos, Leander Spyridon; Burgén, Julia. (2024) Collaborative Hazard Control: Designing a Digital Fire Control Center for Enhanced Safety on Ships. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Interaction Between Unmanned Systems and Humans: An Example of an Smart Passenger Access Gate for Autonomous Urban Passenger Ferries. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Papachristos, Eleftherios; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2023) Interaction Between Humans and Autonomous Systems: Human Facing Explanatory Interface for an Urban Autonomous Passenger Ferry.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petersen, Erik Styhr; Liavaag, Malene; Solberg, Julie Karine Schmidt. (2022) Increasing the Usability of Audio Alerts with Voice Instructions on Ship’s Bridges.
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper

Report

Meland, Ådne; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Design Research and Concept of Silent Alarms. NTNU
Masters thesis
Siberg Nakken, Emma; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Hareide, Einar Johan. (2024) Control of Autonomous Ships - Designing a System and Modular Operator Station for the Monitoring and Control of Autonomous Ships. NTNU
Masters thesis
Alsos, Ole Andreas; Saghafian, Mina; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Park, Jooyoung. (2024) Erfaringer fra prøvedriften av en selvkjørende byferge: Implikasjoner og anbefalinger for en selvkjørende fergetjeneste i Trondheim . Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet
Report

Outreach

2024

Academic lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Interaction Between Unmanned Systems and Humans: An Example of a Smart Passenger Access Gate for Autonomous Urban Passenger Ferries. University of Osaka 2024 IEEE 48th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC) , Nakanoshima Center, Osaka 2024-07-02 - 2024-07-04
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2024) Presenting NTNU Shore Control Lab - Innovations in Teleoperations . Erik Sivertsen - NTNU Havrom Visit Mayor of Bodø , NTNU Nyhavna 2024-03-15 - 2024-03-15
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2024) Presenting Work of NTNU Shore Control Lab. NTNU Shore Control Lab Visit of Singapore Delegation , NTNU Nyhavna 2024-06-04 - 2024-06-04
Academic lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Collaborative Hazard Control: Designing a Digital Fire Control Center for Enhanced Safety on Ships. Canadian Human-Computer Communications Society (CHCCS) GRAPHICS INTERFACE 2024 , Dalhousie University Halifax 2024-06-03 - 2024-06-06
Academic lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2024) Touchpoints and systems for unmanned autonomous urban ferry operation. Sintef, NTNU, INAS, MPA Singapore, Singapore Maritime Institute, TCOMS, NFAS MTEC/ICMASS 2024 , Trondheim Scandic Nidelven 2024-10-29 - 2024-10-30
Interview

Juul, Berit Buran; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Nyhavna, NTNU | – Vi har jobbet veldig hardt for at det ikke skal bli bare boliger og kafeer her. Nidaros Nidaros [Newspaper] 2024-06-20
Interview

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Ølstad, Ragnhild Kristina. (2024) Delte ut 4,6 millioner til disse NTNU-prosjektene . Shifter Shifter [Business/trade/industry journal] 2024-06-10
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Park, Jooyoung. (2024) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and OpenCrane Design System. Department of Design, NTNU Visit from Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Japan , NTNU Nyhavna 2024-03-22 - 2024-03-22
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2024) Presenting NTNU Shore Control Lab . Sintef Visit of Arctic Coast Guard Forum - , SINTEF Ocean, Maritime Robotics and NTNU 2024-04-16 - 2024-04-16
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2024) Presenting Work of NTNU Shore Control Lab. Ocean Autonomy Cluster Visit of Nato Innovation Fund , NTNU Nyhavna 2024-05-14 - 2024-05-14
Lecture

Ølstad, Ragnhild Kristina; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2024) Tool to increase Situation Awareness on Ship bridges (mHUD). Fiskeri og Havbruksnæringens Forskningsfinansering (FHF) Nor-Fishing , Trondheim Spektrum 2024-08-18 - 2024-08-20
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Concept of a situation awareness enhancing tool for maritime environments. Hermann Hauser I.E.C.T. Hermann Hauser I.E.C.T. Summer School , Innsbruck 2024-08-22 - 2024-08-28
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Presenting Work of NTNU Shore Control Lab. NTNU Institute for Information Security and Communication Technology CISaR in Trondheim , NTNU Nyhavna 2024-04-24 - 2024-04-24
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Park, Jooyoung. (2024) Presenting Work of NTNU Shore Control Lab. Trondheim Techport Skaperfest , Torvet i Trondheim 2024-08-30 - 2024-08-31
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2024) Presenting Work of NTNU Shore Control Lab. Ocean Autonomy Cluster Ministers visiting NTNU Nyhavna , NTNU Nyhavna 2024-04-26 - 2024-04-26
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2024) Presentation of NTNU Shore Control Lab. Sintef Ocean International Conference on Autonomous Maritime Surface Ships (ICMASS) , Trondheim 2024-10-28 - 2024-10-28
Academic lecture

Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Gusev, Alexey; Tufte, Andreas Gudahl; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Hinostroza, Miguel. (2024) Demonstration of live tele-drive of urban ferry during conference presentation "Boredom, vigilance, and repetition during remote control room work for autonomous ships". MTEC and ICMASS 6th International Conference on Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (ICMASS) 2024 , Scandic Nidelven, Trondheim 2024-10-30 - 2024-10-30

2023

Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. Ocean Autonomy Cluster and NTNU Department of Design Visit Mexican Embassador to Norway , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-04-20 - 2023-04-20
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2023) Presentaion and Demonstration of the NTNU Shore Control Lab and LASHFIRE. NTNU SCL Visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs Norway , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-01-11 - 2023-01-11
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. Ocean Autonomy Cluster and NTNU Department of design After Sea , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-04-14 - 2023-04-14
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Pantelatos, Leander Spyridon; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. Trondelag Flylke Levende Abels Gate Festival 2023 , Bøker og Bylab Trondheim 2023-09-02 - 2023-09-02
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Pantelatos, Leander Spyridon. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. Ocean Autonomy Cluster, NTNU Department of Design and NTNU Department of ITK Official Opening of new Nyhavna Research Infrastructure , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-08-21 - 2023-08-21
Academic lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. NTNU Department of Design Midterm Presentation Felix-Marcel Petermann , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-09-13 - 2023-09-13
Academic lecture

Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2023) SFI AutoShip webinar: Remote control rooms. NTNU Department of Design and SFI Autoship SFI AutoShip webinar , Online 2023-11-14 - 2023-11-14
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar. (2023) Presentation of NTNU Shore Control Lab (SCL). Department of Design, NTNU & Zeabuz Besøket av digitalisering- og forvaltningsminister Karianne Tung , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-11-14 - 2023-11-14
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2023) Presenting PhD work and NTNU Shore Control Lab. IXDA Trondheim PhD night , Trondheim 2023-11-15 - 2023-11-15
Academic lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Saghafian, Mina; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Porathe, Stig Thomas; Aminoff, Hedvig. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. NTNU Department of Design Seminar: Maritime Human Factors , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-06-08 - 2023-06-08
Academic lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Porathe, Stig Thomas; Braseth, Alf Ove. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. NTNU Department of Design Seminar: Designing for Landbased Control of Autonomous Ship , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-09-17 - 2023-09-17
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2023) Presentation of Shore Control Lab and Lashfire. NTNU Visit Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs , NTNU Shore Control Lab 2023-01-11 - 2023-01-11
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Sitompul, Taufik Akbar; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. NTNU Department of Design Seminar and Visit from Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-07-26 - 2023-07-26
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. NTNU Department of Design Demonstration Lashfire DFC to Consilium , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-09-28 - 2023-09-28
Academic lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2023) Interaction Between Humans and Autonomous Systems: Human Facing Explanatory Interface for an Urban Autonomous Passenger Ferry. AHFE Conferences & IUAV University of Venezia IHSI Conference 2023 , IUAV University of Venezia 2023-02-22 - 2023-02-24
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. NTNU Institute of Design Roboat Amsterdamm and MIT visits NTNU SCL , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-10-02 - 2023-10-02
Lecture

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2023) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. NTNU Department of Design Roboat and MIT visits NTNU SCL , NTNU Nyhavna 2023-10-02 - 2023-10-02

2022

Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2022) Exhibition of NTNU Shore Control Lab and MilliAmpere 2. NTNU Oceans Ocean Week 2022 - An Ocean of Knowledge , Trondheim 2022-05-03 - 2022-05-03
Lecture

Veitch, Erik Aleksander; Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Alsos, Ole Andreas. (2022) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab and LASH FIRE. NTNU Department of Marine Technology Visit from Japanese students , Trondheim 2022-09-01 - 2022-09-01
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2022) Presentation of Shore Control Lab at MIT Sensible City Lab. MIT Sensible City Lab MIT Sensible City Lab Seminar , MIT Massachusetss 2022-07-12 - 2022-07-14
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2022) Presentation of the Shore Control Lab (SCL) and Lashfire. NTNU Department of Design and SINTEF Visit SMASH Research group , NTNU Shore Conrol Lab 2022-11-24 - 2022-11-24
Lecture

Alsos, Ole Andreas; Petermann, Felix-Marcel. (2022) Presentation of Shore Control Lab. NTNU Norwegians Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Politics , NTNU Shore Control Lab 2022-12-06 - 2022-12-06

2021

Interview

Petermann, Felix-Marcel; Akdag, Melih. (2021) SFI AutoShip stand:Besøk av det nederlanske kongeparet og det norske kronpsinsparet. TV2 TV2 [TV] 2021-11-11

Språkvelger

Felix-Marcel Petermann