A life ring deployment system comprising a life ring including a light, a geotracking unit and a radio frequency (RF) transmitter for transmitting a current location of the life ring, a deployment device configured for holding the life ring and automatically deploying the life ring when activated, the deployment device comprising a mechanically activated apparatus with an energy-storing release mechanism that stores potential energy and release it to deploy the life ring when activated, and an interface configured for activating the deployment device.

A control device of a marine vessel includes a wireless master unit to wirelessly communicate with a wireless slave unit possessed or worn by a vessel operator, and a processor configured or programmed to function as a detecting unit to detect that an engaging portion of a lanyard connectable to a connecting portion provided on a hull of the marine vessel is detached from the connecting portion, an obtaining unit to obtain a physical quantity that indicates at least one of a rotation speed of a drive source that propels the hull and a vessel speed, a judging unit to judge a state of wireless communication between the wireless master unit and the wireless slave unit, and a control unit to control the drive source based on a detection result obtained by the detecting unit, the physical quantity obtained by the obtaining unit, and a judgment result obtained by the judging unit.

A driving support method according to one aspect is a driving support method of supporting driving of a watercraft. The driving support method includes: by processing circuitry, receiving a warning request including positional information of a warning point; determining whether or not the watercraft is within a warning region including the warning point; and when the processing circuitry determines that the watercraft is within the warning region, outputting warning information.

The invention relates to a comprehensive safety system for water sports activities, integrating advanced SMART components to enhance participant security and situational awareness. The system includes a participant's FOB device equipped with a microcontroller, CPU, RF transmitters, receivers, and data processors to detect water immersion. Upon detection, an alarm device on the watercraft activates, and a smart flag automatically raises, emitting visual and auditory signals to alert nearby individuals and vessels. A captain's console provides centralized control, enabling remote operation of alarms and flags while displaying real-time status through a smart device application. Unique identifiers prevent false alarms by ensuring interactions only between paired components. The system employs multimodal immersion detection, GPS-based tracking, and a Man Down Switch to cut off the engine when necessary. This robust design combines precise detection, communication, and safety measures, ensuring reliability in diverse environments and scenarios.

A seafarer safety device (500) includes an evaluator (510a) and an inboard outputter (510k). The evaluator (510a) executes an evaluation process of evaluating whether a crew in emergency circumstances, on the basis of the intensities of notification radio waves indicating the existence of the crew on a craft and transmitted from a wearable transmitting device that repetitively transmits the notification radio waves, and on the basis of the strengths of rocking motions of the craft detected by a craft rocking-motion sensor that detects the strengths of rocking motions. The inboard outputter (510k) outputs, to an alarm unit, an emergency evaluation signal indicating a result of evaluation, when the evaluator (510a) evaluates that the crew is in emergency circumstances.

A small watercraft includes: a watercraft body; a propulsion device that imparts the watercraft body with a propulsion force; a direction change device that changes a travel direction of the watercraft body; and a control unit that sets a destination of the watercraft body and executes automatic navigation control of controlling the propulsion device and the direction change device so that the watercraft body moves toward the set destination. The control unit varies control patterns of the propulsion device and the direction change device in the automatic navigation control depending on a combination of an angular difference between a destination direction that is a direction from the watercraft body toward the destination and a travel direction of the watercraft body, and a separation distance from the watercraft body to the destination.

A watercraft of an automatic maneuvering system includes an actuator configured to generate a propulsive force and a turning moment, an operation unit, and a watercraft control device.

An automatic watercraft maneuvering system includes a watercraft and a communication device.

A wearable safety device for preventing drowning includes a housing for wearing on a user's wrist or limb and configured to be waterproof, biometric sensors, a motion sensor, a water detection subsystem, a processor for receiving input data from the biometric sensors, the motion sensor, and the water detection subsystem, and to evaluate whether the input data indicates a potential drowning or distress event based on predetermined threshold logic, a dye release mechanism for visibly marking surrounding water with a non-toxic dye upon activation by the processor, an alert subsystem communicably coupled, and a wireless communication module for transmitting a distress signal to a paired mobile device or networked system.

A watercraft according to one aspect includes: a watercraft body; a speaker supported by the watercraft body and exposed to an external environment; and processing circuitry supported by the watercraft body. The processing circuitry is configured to: acquire status information indicating a status of the watercraft; acquire sound information; based on the sound information, generate a speaker driving current that allows the speaker to emit a sound; and modify the speaker driving current based on the status information.