In one aspect, a wireless remote controller for a personal watercraft is provided that includes a watertight body and a rotatable thumbwheel disposed on an upper surface of the watertight body. The remote controller includes at least one magnet affixed to the thumbwheel such that the at least one magnet rotates with the thumbwheel. The remote controller includes a magnetic sensor configured to produce magnetic field data in at least two axes. The remote controller includes a processor operably coupled to the magnetic sensor and communication circuitry configured to communicate control signals to an associated personal watercraft. The processor is configured to determine an angular position of the thumbwheel based at least in part on the magnetic field data in each of the at least two axes and to generate a control signal based at least in part on the determined position of the thumbwheel.

An automatic swimming pool cleaner (APC) may include a sensor for detecting adjacency of a pool wall or other object. Following such detection, the APC may reorient itself so as to re-approach the wall (or other object) in a manner better suited for cleaning the area. The reorientation may occur through, for example, changing speeds of motors on-board the APC, directions of travel of the cleaner, or both.

A control target controller generates control targets in accordance with a route, the control targets being for controlling the location and orientation of a ship. The route has a plurality of via points. Each of the via points has information about a target location and a target orientation for the ship. The route is made up of a plurality of partial routes that sequentially connect the target locations of the via points. The control target controller comprises a transit target point generation part and an arrival determination part. The transit target point generation part can generate, as control targets, transit target points that are in the middle of the partial routes and have information about a target location and a target orientation for the ship. On the basis of the current location and the current orientation of the ship, the arrival determination part determines whether the ship has arrived at the transit target points.

Indoors positioning and navigation systems and methods are described herein. In one embodiment, a system for inspecting or maintaining a storage tank includes a vehicle having: at least one sensor for determining properties of a storage tank and a navigation system. The navigation system includes an acoustic transmitter carried by the vehicle and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor configured to at least partially determine a location of the vehicle with respect to the storage tank. The vehicle also includes a propulsion unit configured to move the vehicle within the storage tank, and an acoustic receiver fixed with respect to the storage tank. The vehicle moves inside the storage tank in concentric arcs with respect to the acoustic receiver.

Techniques and methods for wirelessly communicating with equipment such as, but not necessarily limited to, automatic swimming pool cleaners (APCs) are detailed. An accelerometer or other sensor on-board an APC may recognize such communications. In some cases, varying operation of a motor or other feedback generator of the APC may provide sonic or other feedback in response to the communications.

In one aspect, a wireless remote controller for a personal watercraft is provided that includes a watertight body and a rotatable thumbwheel disposed on an upper surface of the watertight body. The remote controller includes at least one magnet affixed to the thumbwheel such that the at least one magnet rotates with the thumbwheel. The remote controller includes a magnetic sensor configured to produce magnetic field data in at least two axes. The remote controller includes a processor operably coupled to the magnetic sensor and communication circuitry configured to communicate control signals to an associated personal watercraft. The processor is configured to determine an angular position of the thumbwheel based at least in part on the magnetic field data in each of the at least two axes and to generate a control signal based at least in part on the determined position of the thumbwheel.

Disclosed is a system 1000 for determining a virtual representation of at least part of an environment 800 that is navigable by a ship 700. The system has at least one beacon 101, 102, 201, 202, 301, 302, 401-403 remote from the ship. The or each beacon comprises at least one sensor 411-415 for sensing surroundings information representative of at least part of the environment, a transmitter 420, and a controller 430 connected to the at least one sensor and configured to cause the surroundings information to be transmitted via the transmitter. The system also comprises a control centre 500 remote from the ship. The control centre comprises a receiver 520 configured to receive the surroundings information, and a control unit 530 connected to the receiver and configured to determine a virtual representation of at least part of the environment based on the surroundings information. The virtual representation may comprise a topographical map, such as a LIDAR map.

An apparatus for artificial intelligence (AI) bathymetry is disclosed. The apparatus includes a sonic unit attached to a boat, the sonic unit configured to generate a plurality of metric data as a function of a plurality of ultrasonic pulses and a plurality of return pulses. An image processing module is configured to generate a bathymetric image as a function of the plurality of metric data, identify, as a function of the bathymetric image, an underwater landmark, and register the bathymetric image to a map location as a function of the underwater landmark. A communication module is configured to transmit the registered bathymetric image to at least a computing device. An autonomous navigation module is configured to determine a heading for the boat as a function of a path datum and command boat control to navigate the boat as a function of the heading.

A system includes an outboard motor, an actuator, a pitch angle sensor, a trim angle sensor, and a controller to obtain at least either of a pitch angle of a watercraft and an angular velocity of the pitch angle, and to obtain a trim angle of the outboard motor. The controller is configured or programmed to selectively set either a trim-up direction or a trim-down direction as a trim direction based on the trim angle of the outboard motor and at least either of the pitch angle of the watercraft and the angular velocity of the pitch angle. The controller is configured or programmed to control the actuator to cause the outboard motor to perform a trim motion in the trim direction.

Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods to provide dynamic display systems for mobile structures. A dynamic marine display system includes a user interface comprising a primary display and secondary display, where the secondary display is disposed along and physically separate from an edge of the primary display, and where the secondary display comprises a touch screen display configured to render pixelated display views and receive user input as one or more user touches and/or gestures applied to a display surface of the secondary display. A logic device is configured to receive user selection of an operational mode associated with the user interface and/or the mobile structure and render a primary display view via the primary display and/or a secondary display view via the secondary display corresponding to the received user selection and/or operational mode.