Operators on naval ships are assisted in their assessment of the tactical situation around the ship and their subsequent actions by Command & Control Systems (C2-Systems). As the development of C2-Systems was mainly focused on a wider automation of working processes, little effort was spent on the ergonomic design of the Human-Machine-Interface (HMI). In a study assigned by the German Navy the aim was to develop a concept for an improved user interface for a naval C2-System. The concept was assessed in three experimental evaluations – in comparison with two alternative design concepts, in comparison with the current C2-System of a Corvette and on a moving platform which simulates ship movements. Results indicate that the new design concept with a touch-based user interface is a promising alternative to conventional interfaces for naval operations.

Evaluation; touch-based user interfaces; naval Command & Control Systems