Doctoral Degrees (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering) by browse.metadata.advisor "Bekker, Anriette"

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    A human cyber-physical system to study the motion sickness of seafarers.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-11) Taylor, Nicole Catherine; Kruger, Karel; Bekker, Anriette; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Maritime 4.0 offers technical opportunities to digitally enable ships. Systems are equipped with virtual counterparts, forming cyber-physical systems, to manage operations. However, the human element remains constrained to the physical layer. This dissertation proposes the Mariner 4.0 concept that encourages equipping seafarers with virtual counterparts. Mariner 4.0 is a contribution formulated to serve as a branch of digitalisation that addresses opportunities and challenges associated with human factors in Maritime 4.0, such as a lack in accessibility of human-centric data during operation. Human cyber-physical systems offer a promising means for human-system integration and human digital representation amidst technically-centred developments. This dissertation contributes an architecture for a human cyber-physical system that defines core elements – a physical layer, where seafarers are present, a cyber layer, which contains virtual counterparts for seafarers, and communication between the layers. A human cyber-physical system for seafarers is implemented and deployed, which is the first objective of this dissertation. The trialled human cyber-physical system is a contribution that facilitated human-centric data acquisition and processing for seafarers on a ship over the course of a 20-day long voyage. The motion sickness of seafarers is monitored subjectively and objectively in near real time, a novel feat in shipping, in a case study with 63 participants on board. Seafarers recorded their subjective experiences of motion sickness through two methods. The first, traditional method used paper-based questionnaires, while the second, novel method used the human cyber-physical system. The second objective of this dissertation is to use the human cyber-physical system as a mechanism for advancing the study of motion sickness in shipping. The human cyber-physical system enables personalised data analysis as well as conventional aggregation of results. As such, novel understanding of motion sickness and the study thereof in shipping is uncovered. Measures of motion exposure are determined objectively according to recommended procedures in ISO 2631-1 (1997) and are integrated with the percentage of motion sick individuals on board, forming motion sickness criteria. The human cyber-physical system provides a platform for inspecting the evolution of criteria development during ship operation. The results contribute diagnostic thresholds that could be used beyond the operational stage to assess the levels of sickness that individuals or a cohort may present if exposed to certain measures of ship motion. The motion sickness criteria accommodates factors, such as exposure duration, for tailoring diagnostic thresholds to voyage missions – potentially applicable for voyage planning and ship design. The human cyber-physical system provides a customised platform for addressing challenges and opportunities associated with human factors in Maritime 4.0. Moreover, the human cyber-physical system extended the knowledge basis of motion sickness on ships innovatively. The human cyber-physical system served as a human-centric platform for seafarers that empirically revealed the importance of performing data acquisition and analysis at an individual level in addition to an aggregate level.