Aware Mate FAQ

Aware Mate is an on-board, human-in-the-loop vigilance and watchkeeping support system for ship bridges. It supports active watchkeeping through local advisory prompts and privacy-bounded watchkeeping-state signals. The system is advisory only: it does not automate navigation, identify crew, analyse emotions, or make disciplinary or fitness-for-duty decisions.

It means the unit of review is the watchkeeping process, not the individual. Aware Mate helps operators understand whether the bridge watch is being maintained in practice: coverage, sustained attention-drift exposure, local recovery, occupancy context where enabled, and review trends. Signals require human interpretation inside operator procedures.

No. The system is designed as safety support, not surveillance. Processing is on board by default. Aware Mate does not perform identity recognition or emotion recognition, and raw video is not sent ship-to-shore by default. Reporting should be governed by operator SOP, crew notice, role-based access and defined retention.

No. Aware Mate is not a medical diagnostic system. It identifies sustained visual and behavioural indicators consistent with reduced alertness, attention drift, abnormal inactivity or weak engagement. These are advisory safety signals, not medical conclusions.

BNWAS is a valuable baseline for absence, non-response or failure to acknowledge. It confirms interaction, not sustained alertness. Aware Mate is upstream: it provides local advisory prompts when sustained watchkeeping-state signals suggest the watch may be weakening. It does not replace BNWAS, mandatory equipment, lookout obligations or bridge procedures.

Important: remove or soften “eliminates reliance on manual reset actions.” That sounds like BNWAS replacement.

Video is used for real-time on-board analytics. By default, the core function does not require cloud video or continuous ship-to-shore raw video. Off-vessel outputs should be limited to anonymised or aggregated metadata unless a separate, written operator policy allows more. Retention, access and export boundaries are defined in the pilot SOW / DPA / SOP.

No. Aware Mate is not designed for face recognition, identity matching or crew identification.

No. It does not perform emotion recognition or workplace emotion inference.

No. Aware Mate uses video analytics only. Audio analytics are part of the separate Helm Order Monitor product line.

In the default minimal reporting setup, shore receives aggregated / anonymised operational review data, not a live CCTV feed. Example outputs may include day-level alert trends, coverage, local recovery, occupancy context where enabled, and technical health information. Exact reporting depends on the agreed deployment policy.

A typical pilot follows: scope → install → crew briefing → silent calibration → active operation → close-out decision. The purpose is to validate operational fit: bridge layout, lighting, local alert behaviour, nuisance burden, crew acceptance, privacy/SOP fit and usefulness of aggregate outputs.

Typical pilot KPIs include uptime, detection coverage, alert latency, false-critical alerts, nuisance burden, crew acceptance, commissioning pass/fail, and reporting usefulness. These support pilot readiness and operational-fit assessment, not casualty-reduction proof.

Not at this stage. Operational bridge testing supports pilot readiness and integration diligence. Casualty-reduction or claims-reduction claims require a longer and broader evidence base.

Nuisance burden is a core pilot metric. Commissioning includes camera placement, lighting checks, silent calibration and threshold tuning. Alerts are graded and advisory, with pause/mute/override handled under operator SOP.

Where permitted and approved, Aware Mate can provide optional dry-contact or alert-chain outputs. It should not be presented as replacing BNWAS or modifying mandatory equipment without owner, service, class or flag review where required.

The HMI is designed with reference to maritime display and alerting principles, including clear status indication, colour discipline and consistent alert handling. Deployment-specific alignment depends on final configuration and any integration with shipboard alerting.

Yes, subject to bridge layout and operating profile. Inland use is especially relevant where long routine stretches, night navigation, bridge transits, locks, confined waters or track-pilot / route-guidance operation create monitoring-heavy watchkeeping.

The deployment should be explained before active use. Crew should receive a simple trust briefing: what the system does, what it does not do, what shore does not see, how local prompts work, and how pause/mute/override and feedback are handled.