Enhancing Operator Performance of Remote Container Landing: an Assessment of a 3d Stereoscopic Control & Display System

A freight company in Singapore has developed and implemented the world’s first semi-automated camera-based remote control crane system to pick-up and land freight containers. A centralised computer commands the crane to move a container between locations, while the operator performs the skilled task of vertically landing/picking up the container. However, the 2 dimensional (2D) camerabased system compromises somewhat the depth perception required for the container landing/pick-up task. For instance, the operator may experience difficulty in judging container height relative to the prime mover chassis. Their ability to control container landing/pick up speed and thus, throughput, may be affected. Similarly, container landing impact may be controlled poorly. To address these problems, depth perception needs to be restored. A desk-top virtual reality system comprising a threedimensional (3D) stereoscopic display, has thus been developed to meet this requirement. Subject tests with a scale model has shown that the 3D stereoscopic display can enhance operator performance of container landing impact (P<0.01). For the small scale test rig, no significance difference in container landing speed is found between the displays as expected. Thus, it may be concluded that a 3D stereoscopic display has shown promise in enhancing operator performance of container landing with apparently no loss in throughput.