The Application of Eye-Tracking Technology in the Maritime Industry: A Brief Review

The maritime industry has made significant technological advancements in ship systems and navigation equipment, yet human error remains a primary cause of maritime accidents. Eye-tracking technology offers a promising solution to improve safety by providing insights into human cognitive processes during maritime operations. This work presents a brief review of eye-tracking applications in the maritime industry, focusing on their potential to reduce human error. The review provides a comprehensive analysis of experimental designs, participant characteristics, eye tracker brands, and eye metrics commonly used in maritime research based on the surveyed papers. Key challenges such as environmental factors, integration with other shipboard systems, and the high cost of equipment are discussed, alongside opportunities to enhance training effectiveness, improve system designs, and optimize situational awareness. In addition, by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of current applications, as well as the challenges and opportunities in this area, this review provides insights into future research directions to promote the improvement of maritime operational efficiency and safety.