A personal safety device is disclosed. The personal safety device comprises an inner core and an outer layer disposed on the inner core. The personal safety device is selectively transformable between a rigid first state and a flexible second state. The inner core and/or the outer layer may be produced from a material or combination of materials, which results in the personal safety device having a desired buoyancy rating. A void/cavity may be formed in the inner core, the outer layer, and/or between the inner core and the outer layer, to contain air or another gaseous material, which results in the personal safety device having the desired buoyancy rating. An accessory device may be coupled to the personal safety device for added benefits and features.

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 small watercraft system includes: a watercraft body; a watercraft body manipulation member through which a watercraft body manipulation command is input by an operator; a drive source that allows the watercraft body to plane; a steering device that allows the watercraft body to be steered; and a control device that controls the drive source and the steering device to operate the watercraft body. The control device determines whether a mode switching condition is satisfied, the mode switching condition including an operator's absence condition that the operator is absent from the watercraft body. Upon determining that the mode switching condition is satisfied, the control device executes an operator-absent manipulation mode in which the control device moves the watercraft body by controlling the drive source and the steering device based on an operator-absent manipulation command independent of the watercraft body manipulation command.

A boat, boat systems, and methods to determine when a water-sports participant has fallen. The boat may include an image sensor and an image processor communicatively coupled to the image sensor. The image sensor is configured to capture at least one image of the environment aft of the stern of the boat. The image processor is configured to execute a rider-down analysis that includes analyzing, using an object recognition process executed by the image processor, an image to be analyzed to determine if a water-sports participant has fallen. The boat may include a controller configured to execute a rider-down action when the water-sports participant has fallen. The controller may execute the rider-down action when the image processor determines that the water-sports participant has fallen based upon the rider-down analysis.

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 computer system for managing a man-overboard, MOB, situation for a marine vessel has processing circuitry to receive an operator request and in response thereto activate the MOB mode by controlling activation of one or more sensors configured to monitor surroundings of the marine vessel; obtain sensing data from sensors identifying detectable features of a MOB; generate a MOB map based on the sensing data, the MOB map displaying graphical indications of a position of the MOB in relation to a position of the marine vessel; estimate said position of the MOB at least based on a latest known position of said at least one detectable feature and a current position of the marine vessel; and update the MOB map based on the estimation.

A watercraft maneuvering system includes a watercraft maneuvering input on a watercraft operable by an operator of the watercraft so as to command generation of a propulsive force, a controller on the watercraft and configured or programmed to control operation of a propulsion system of the watercraft according to the operation of the watercraft maneuvering input, and a disembarkation sensor to detect disembarkation of the operator from the watercraft. The controller is configured or programmed to perform an operation state maintaining control operation to maintain the propulsion system in a propulsive force non-generation state when the disembarkation sensor detects that the operator has disembarked from the watercraft irrespective of the operation of the watercraft maneuvering input.

A jet propulsion system includes a jet propulsion mechanism including a nozzle, a steering actuator to rotate the nozzle in a right-left direction to change an orientation of a jet of water from a jetting port in the right-left direction, and a controller configured or programmed to, when a person has fallen overboard from a watercraft body, perform a turning control to point a stern toward the person who has fallen overboard by ejecting the jet of water from the nozzle and rotating the watercraft body using the steering actuator.