OpenBridge Open-Source Code Library Designed to Boost Shipping Safety

A comprehensive open-source code library has been launched for OpenBridge. This design system is engineered to create safer and more efficient workplaces across the international fleet by standardizing how humans interact with maritime technology.

The launch marks the transition of OpenBridge from a design guideline to an open-source ready-to-use code library.

OpenBridge is uniquely designed to serve all maritime workplaces. While traditional ship bridge navigation remains a core focus, the system is equally optimized for engine control rooms and the rapidly growing sector of remote operation centers (ROC) on land.

By providing a consistent interface regardless of location, the system ensures that operators can transition seamlessly between onboard and remote environments.

Developed at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO), the system addresses one of the most persistent challenges in modern shipping: the dangerous fragmentation of digital interfaces across the industry. Modern maritime workplaces are currently equipped with a multitude of systems from various vendors, each with unique layouts, icons, and logic. This lack of consistency increases the risk of human error in critical situations and hinders the effective use of new technologies.

OpenBridge solves this by providing a universal framework that supports a vast range of maritime technologies. This includes new developments such as augmented reality for navigation support, advanced advice systems and wind assisted propulsion.

Breaking with the traditional model of proprietary, "siloed" development, OpenBridge utilizes an Open Innovation model. Backed by over 40 international partners across industry and academia, the project has now released 200 fully coded web components on GitHub.

These "building blocks" are available for free to developers and designers worldwide, dramatically reducing the cost and time required to develop safety-critical maritime software.

"The goal is to establish a global standard for user-centered maritime design," says Kjetil Nordby, Professor and leader of the Ocean Industries Concept Lab. "By offering ready-made code, we are making it significantly cheaper and easier for any vendor to implement high-quality, safety-standardized designs. We hope this will accelerate the rollout of safer workstations across the entire world fleet."

The impact of the system is already visible worldwide. Even prior to the code launch, OpenBridge design files were downloaded over 7,000 times, with the highest activity recorded in major maritime nations including Norway, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Kongsberg, Maritime Robotics, Norwegian Electric System and SEAM have showcased how they use OpenBridge in a wide range of maritime systems such as unmanned vessel control, remote operation centers for large ships, analytics software, and integrated automation systems.

Kongsberg Maritime views open innovation as the cornerstone of future progress. President Lisa Edvardsen Haugan says: "The future is all about technological innovation and collaboration. In this regard, OpenBridge plays a pivotal role as the leading open design system for advanced maritime workstations.”