Improving maritime technology: A cooperation technology perspective on cooperative artifacts

This paper presents a cooperation technology perspective on cooperative artifacts within cooperative work environments in the maritime domain. The issue of cooperation technology can be seen in the design of artifacts, as much cooperation technology has been disrupted rather than supported by engineering design, an example of which is maritime technology. Maritime operation systems narrowly focus on "problem solving" functionalities. From the perspective of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), these system "problems" are not so much problems of function as they are problems raised from interactions among human operators, cooperative artifacts, and computer systems. Systems developers sometimes overlook cooperative works supported by cooperative artifacts in maritime operations. This article aims to introduce cooperation technology into the maritime technology community by presenting two ways to improve maritime technology. Systems developers from the engineering field and CSCW designers need to explore ways to help human operators who practice maritime technology in situ with safety and commitment to good user experience. It is important that systems developers keep an open mind and accept new knowledge from other research fields to balance the relationship between technology and intimacy in human interactions in maritime technology.