A search and rescue drone system includes a buoyant body member, a frame attached to the buoyant body member for carrying a motor and propeller, and an electronic array including a camera, GPS, an EPIRB radio distress beacon, and a transmitter/receiver for remote control flying the drone and communicating with an operator. A laser guidance system may provide coordinates for landing near a swimmer in distress. The search and rescue drone may also be programmed to simply fly to the location of an electronic wearable device, like a bracelet, that is worn by a man overboard. In another embodiment, the search and rescue drone includes pivoting motor mounts, so that it can take off and land vertically with propellers rotating in a horizontal plane, and then the propellers may pivot to rotate in a vertical plane for propulsion across water similar to a fan boat with rescued people aboard.

Many different types of systems are utilized or tasks are performed in a marine environment. The present invention provides various configurations of unmanned vehicles, or drones, that can be operated and/or controlled for such systems or tasks. One or more unmanned vehicles can be integrated with a dedicated marine electronic device of a marine vessel for autonomous control and operation. Additionally or alternatively, the unmanned vehicle can be manually remote operated during use in the marine environment. Such unmanned vehicles can be utilized in many different marine environment systems or tasks, including, for example, navigation, sonar, radar, search and rescue, video streaming, alert functionality, among many others. However, as contemplated by the present invention, the marine environment provides many unique challenges that may be accounted for with operation and control of an unmanned vehicle.

Many different types of systems are utilized and tasks are performed in a marine environment. The present invention provides various configurations of castable devices that can be operated and/or controlled for such systems or tasks. One or more castable devices can be integrated with a transducer assembly, such as a phased array, that emits sonar beams and receives sonar returns from the underwater environment. Processing circuitry may receive the sonar returns, process the sonar returns, generate an image, and transmit the image to a display.

A submarine support ship is preferably a triple-hulled vessel; the lower portion of the ship is a paired-hull catamaran which is capable of deep diving, clasping the submarine at deep sea, and floating upwards together with the clasped submarine. The upper portion of the ship is a buoyancy tank, which can supply air to and pull up the deep-diving lower portion, and can also conduct security of an ocean-going submarine. For the submarine support ship of the present invention, by utilizing a mature deep diving submersible technology, the lower portion of the submarine support ship is manufactured as a deep-diving submersible in a submarine contour form, which is quickly separated from the upper portion of the submarine support ship and dives to reach the submarine position in the deep sea, clasps the submarine and then floats upwards together with the submarine as a whole to the water-surface position, such that the egress hatch of the submarine is docked with a dedicated docking hatch of the submarine support ship, to implement rescue security of the submarine; which mainly solves the problem that the rescue water-depth of current deep-diving lifeboats is shallow, but it also solves the problems that the deep-diving lifeboat has many rescue links, slow speed, and can only save people, but not submarines.

Many different types of systems are utilized or tasks are performed in a marine environment. The present invention provides various configurations of unmanned vehicles, or drones, that can be operated and/or controlled for such systems or tasks. One or more unmanned vehicles can be integrated with a dedicated marine electronic device of a marine vessel for autonomous control and operation. Additionally or alternatively, the unmanned vehicle can be manually remote operated during use in the marine environment. Such unmanned vehicles can be utilized in many different marine environment systems or tasks, including, for example, navigation, sonar, radar, search and rescue, video streaming, alert functionality, among many others. However, as contemplated by the present invention, the marine environment provides many unique challenges that may be accounted for with operation and control of an unmanned vehicle.

Many different types of systems are utilized and tasks are performed in a marine environment. The present invention provides various configurations of castable devices that can be operated and/or controlled for such systems or tasks. One or more castable devices can be integrated with a transducer assembly, such as a phased array, that emits sonar beams and receives sonar returns from the underwater environment. Processing circuitry may receive the sonar returns, process the sonar returns, generate an image, and transmit the image to a display.

A search and rescue drone system includes a buoyant body member, a frame attached to the buoyant body member for carrying a motor and propeller, and an electronic array including a camera, GPS, an EPIRB radio distress beacon, and a transmitter/receiver for remote control flying the drone and communicating with an operator. The search and rescue drone may be flown manually, or may have some autonomous flight and locator capabilities. For example, in one embodiment, the search and rescue drone may be programmed to simply fly to the location of an electronic wearable device, like a bracelet, that is worn by a man overboard. In another embodiment, the search and rescue drone includes a basket, harness, or other means for actually recovering a swimmer in distress, and flying that person back to safety on a ship or on shore.

A search and rescue drone system includes a buoyant body member, a frame attached to the buoyant body member for carrying a motor and propeller, and an electronic array including a camera, GPS, an EPIRB radio distress beacon, and a transmitter/receiver for remote control flying the drone and communicating with an operator. The search and rescue drone may be flown manually, or may have some autonomous flight and locator capabilities. For example, in one embodiment, the search and rescue drone may be programmed to simply fly to the location of an electronic wearable device, like a bracelet, that is worn by a man overboard. In another embodiment, the search and rescue drone includes a basket, harness, or other means for actually recovering a swimmer in distress, and flying that person back to safety on a ship or on shore.

A submarine support ship is preferably a triple-hulled vessel; the lower portion of the ship is a paired-hull catamaran which is capable of deep diving, clasping the submarine at deep sea, and floating upwards together with the clasped submarine. The upper portion of the ship is a buoyancy tank, which can supply air to and pull up the deep-diving lower portion, and can also conduct security of an ocean-going submarine. For the submarine support ship of the present invention, by utilizing a mature deep diving submersible technology, the lower portion of the submarine support ship is manufactured as a deep-diving submersible in a submarine contour form, which is quickly separated from the upper portion of the submarine support ship and dives to reach the submarine position in the deep sea, clasps the submarine and then floats upwards together with the submarine as a whole to the water-surface position, such that the egress hatch of the submarine is docked with a dedicated docking hatch of the submarine support ship, to implement rescue security of the submarine; which mainly solves the problem that the rescue water-depth of current deep-diving lifeboats is shallow, but it also solves the problems that the deep-diving lifeboat has many rescue links, slow speed, and can only save people, but not submarines.

A search and rescue drone system includes a buoyant body member, a frame attached to the buoyant body member for carrying a motor and propeller, and an electronic array including a camera, GPS, an EPIRB radio distress beacon, and a transmitter/receiver for remote control flying the drone and communicating with an operator. A laser guidance system may provide coordinates for landing near a swimmer in distress. The search and rescue drone may also be programmed to simply fly to the location of an electronic wearable device, like a bracelet, that is worn by a man overboard. In another embodiment, the search and rescue drone includes pivoting motor mounts, so that it can take off and land vertically with propellers rotating in a horizontal plane, and then the propellers may pivot to rotate in a vertical plane for propulsion across water similar to a fan boat with rescued people aboard.