Acceptability & Usability of Location-Support Technologies for Cruise Ship Evacuations

Emergency evacuation information provided to cruise ship passengers is static and hard to access and understand by some passengers. The SafePASS project is working to provide technology solutions which provide passengers with dynamic, real-time information which they can understand and follow to aid their evacuation from cruise ships in event of an emergency. This paper reports on acceptability and usability analyses of a Passenger Mobile Application, a Smart Lifejacket and a Smart Wristband. which were positively rated by passengers and crew in surveys and workshops. Passengers responded positively to the use of a Passenger Mobile Application for directions (suggesting a willingness to use smartphone technologies as support in emergencies), while they responded neutrally to wearable technologies (Smart Lifejacket, Smart Wristband). Crew responded positively to the use of smartphones and wearable technologies in emergency situations. This suggests high acceptability of smartphone-based technologies for use by crew in emergency situations. Workshops with industry experts and passengers highlighted the importance of data protection.