Next Generation Helm : Improving the user experience inside a boat helm

Abstract: The design and functionality of the controls inside a boat helm are a big part of the user experience for operators. This master thesis focuses on the boat helm and the equipment from Volvo Penta placed in it. The aim is to present solutions to user’s problems revealed from interviews and look at future technology that will change the helm station. This project has been conducted in cooperation with Volvo Penta vehicle controls department. The project was conducted following a four-phase project plan with the phases learn, ideate, build, and launch. The learn phase focused on gaining state of practice information about today’s situation, using interviews to understand the stakeholders and benchmarking to understand the current marine market. The learn phase also focused on state of the art research to learn about future technologies. The ideate phase consisted of creative workshops to ideate around the findings from the learn phase. These ideas or concepts were then prototyped using a 3D printer and evaluated at a prototype evaluation during the build phase. The launch phase finalized the project by implementing the feedback from the prototype evaluation and visualizing the final concepts, highlighting the problems that were found and presenting design opportunities. The outcome of this project is several concepts presenting design opportunities for Volvo Penta when creating the next generation helm. Such as a scroll wheel joystick placed on the throttle, a driving-oriented joystick, and a modular button panel with both visual and haptic buttons. The outcome also presents information about handling increased automation/autonomy gathered from the theoretical framework and the prototype evaluation.