Human-Machine Interface for Remote Crane Operation: A Review

Cranes are traditionally controlled by operators who are present on-site. While this operation mode is still common nowadays, a significant amount of progress has been made to move operators away from their cranes, so that they would not be exposed to hazardous situations that may occur in their workplace. Despite its apparent benefits, remote operation has a major challenge that does not exist in on-site operation, i.e., the amount of information that operators could receive remotely is more limited than what they could receive by being on-site. Since operators and their cranes are located separately, human-machine interface plays an important role in facilitating information exchange between operators and their machines. This article examines various kinds of human-machine interfaces for remote crane operation that have been proposed within the scientific community, discusses their possible benefits, and highlights opportunities for future research.