B63B79/40

Control system for boats
11472521 · 2022-10-18 ·

A control system for boats includes a direction control system of a propulsion unit having a directional control member, and an acceleration/deceleration control system of the propulsion unit having an acceleration/deceleration control member. The directional control member activates a directional unit that generates directional control signals, which set an orientation of the propulsion unit, and the acceleration/deceleration control member activates an acceleration/deceleration unit that generates acceleration/deceleration control signals, which set at least a number of revolutions of the propulsion unit. The control system further includes a display unit provided with a screen, and a camera having a control system that provides images of areas or zones that cannot be observed by an operator of the control system while steering the boat, so as to enable driving the acceleration/deceleration unit and/or the directional unit according to a content of those images.

Control system for boats
11472521 · 2022-10-18 ·

A control system for boats includes a direction control system of a propulsion unit having a directional control member, and an acceleration/deceleration control system of the propulsion unit having an acceleration/deceleration control member. The directional control member activates a directional unit that generates directional control signals, which set an orientation of the propulsion unit, and the acceleration/deceleration control member activates an acceleration/deceleration unit that generates acceleration/deceleration control signals, which set at least a number of revolutions of the propulsion unit. The control system further includes a display unit provided with a screen, and a camera having a control system that provides images of areas or zones that cannot be observed by an operator of the control system while steering the boat, so as to enable driving the acceleration/deceleration unit and/or the directional unit according to a content of those images.

System for guiding a connected boat equipped with an on-board system communicating with a remote server in order to modify its route plan
11597480 · 2023-03-07 · ·

A system for guiding a boat, which includes the boat and a remote server. The boat includes a central unit linked to a user interface, a receiver for receiving data transmitted by at least one electronic tag affixed to a device of the boat and to a radio device for bidirectional communication with the remote server. The central unit transmits information resulting from the data transmitted by the tags, the current position and the route plan of the boat via the radio device to the server, and receives route plan modification data, which are displayed on the user interface, from this server. In this way, the operator of the boat is able to gain knowledge of the movement of nearby craft and of possible collision risks. Further, the boat may include on-board connected objects that communicate with the central unit in order to determine whether devices are missing on board.

System for guiding a connected boat equipped with an on-board system communicating with a remote server in order to modify its route plan
11597480 · 2023-03-07 · ·

A system for guiding a boat, which includes the boat and a remote server. The boat includes a central unit linked to a user interface, a receiver for receiving data transmitted by at least one electronic tag affixed to a device of the boat and to a radio device for bidirectional communication with the remote server. The central unit transmits information resulting from the data transmitted by the tags, the current position and the route plan of the boat via the radio device to the server, and receives route plan modification data, which are displayed on the user interface, from this server. In this way, the operator of the boat is able to gain knowledge of the movement of nearby craft and of possible collision risks. Further, the boat may include on-board connected objects that communicate with the central unit in order to determine whether devices are missing on board.

Marine propulsion control system and method

A method of controlling a propulsion system on a marine vessel includes receiving proximity measurements describing locations of one or more objects with respect to the marine vessel, receiving a command vector instructing magnitude and direction for propulsion of the marine vessel with respect to a point of navigation for the marine vessel, and then determining a funnel boundary based on the command vector. When an object is determined to be within the funnel boundary, a propulsion adjustment command is calculated to move the marine vessel such that the object is no longer in the funnel boundary. At least one propulsion device is then controlled based on the propulsion adjustment command.

Adaptable control for autonomous maritime vehicles

Methods and structures are disclosed for providing autonomous control of an underwater vehicle using a state machine. A controller is used onboard the underwater vehicle and includes a state machine having a plurality of operating states. Each of the plurality of operating states includes one or both of entrance criteria and exit criteria. The controller is configured to transition from executing a first operating state of the plurality of operating states to executing a second operating state of the plurality of operating states in response to the exit criteria of the first operating state and the entrance criteria of the second operating state both being met. The plurality of operating states includes a first portion of operating states associated with a first task, a second portion of operating states associated with a second task, and a third portion of operating states associated with both the first and second tasks.

Adaptable control for autonomous maritime vehicles

Methods and structures are disclosed for providing autonomous control of an underwater vehicle using a state machine. A controller is used onboard the underwater vehicle and includes a state machine having a plurality of operating states. Each of the plurality of operating states includes one or both of entrance criteria and exit criteria. The controller is configured to transition from executing a first operating state of the plurality of operating states to executing a second operating state of the plurality of operating states in response to the exit criteria of the first operating state and the entrance criteria of the second operating state both being met. The plurality of operating states includes a first portion of operating states associated with a first task, a second portion of operating states associated with a second task, and a third portion of operating states associated with both the first and second tasks.

Systems and methods for optimizing vessel fuel consumption
11598282 · 2023-03-07 · ·

An optimum engine configuration is determined, based on a predicted required power, for a seafaring vessel having a plurality of thrust engines. The predicted required power is determined by inputting vessel operational data, environmental data, and voyage data to a required power model. At least some of the vessel operational data and environmental data is received from a plurality of sensors positioned onboard the vessel. The optimum engine configuration is selected from a plurality of candidate engine configurations. Each candidate engine configuration includes a specified number of thrust engines running and a specified power output level of each thrust engine. The optimum engine configuration is selected based on a candidate total predicted fuel consumption of each candidate engine configuration. The candidate total predicted fuel consumption amount is determined as a sum of the engine-specific predicted fuel consumptions determined for each running thrust engine of that candidate engine configuration.

Systems and methods for optimizing vessel fuel consumption
11598282 · 2023-03-07 · ·

An optimum engine configuration is determined, based on a predicted required power, for a seafaring vessel having a plurality of thrust engines. The predicted required power is determined by inputting vessel operational data, environmental data, and voyage data to a required power model. At least some of the vessel operational data and environmental data is received from a plurality of sensors positioned onboard the vessel. The optimum engine configuration is selected from a plurality of candidate engine configurations. Each candidate engine configuration includes a specified number of thrust engines running and a specified power output level of each thrust engine. The optimum engine configuration is selected based on a candidate total predicted fuel consumption of each candidate engine configuration. The candidate total predicted fuel consumption amount is determined as a sum of the engine-specific predicted fuel consumptions determined for each running thrust engine of that candidate engine configuration.

SPATIO-TEMPORAL DP METHOD BASED ON SHIP TRAJECTORY CHARACTERISTIC POINT EXTRACTION

Disclosed is a spatio-temporal DP method based on ship trajectory characteristic point extraction, which belongs to the technical field of ship trajectory compression and includes: Step 1: performing clustering analysis on AIS raw data using a clustering algorithm to identify outliers in the AIS data and then eliminate noise points; Step 2: identifying and retaining the characteristic trajectory points of the ship course change, ship speed change, and the ship entering and exiting from a certain area and the like; Step 3: compressing the AIS data by taking the start and end points of the ship trajectory and the characteristic trajectory points retained in step 2 as the initial points, and considering the spatio-temporal characteristics of the AIS data at the same time. The present disclosure can effectively compress redundant AIS data.