987results about "Unmanned surface vessels" patented technology

A quadrotor UAV including ruggedized, integral-battery, load-bearing body, two arms on the load-bearing body, each arm having two rotors, a control module mounted on the load-bearing body, a payload module mounted on the control module, and skids configured as landing gear. The two arms are replaceable with arms having wheels for ground vehicle use, with arms having floats and props for water-surface use, and with arms having pitch-controlled props for underwater use. The control module is configured to operate as an unmanned aerial vehicle, an unmanned ground vehicle, an unmanned (water) surface vehicle, and an unmanned underwater vehicle, depending on the type of arms that are attached.

An unmanned, autonomous, waterborne vehicle (500) for marine use capable of operating on and below the surface of water, said vehicle (500) including an enclosed hull (501) having a payload bay (506), a hybrid propulsion system having energy collection means (504) in the form of a wing sail (503) covered with photovoltaic cells and energy storage means (511) for utilising at least solar energy and wind energy, a plurality of sensors (508, 514) for detecting predetermined environmental parameters and a communications system (509, 515) for transmitting data from said sensors (508, 515) to and for receiving command signals from one or more remote stations and/or cooperating vehicles.

The technical disclosure herein describes an autonomous water-borne vehicle having a segmented non-planing hull with free flood fore and aft sections and a sealed center section. The disclosure also described such a vehicle having a fixed longitudinal thruster and a fixed lateral thruster for changing the heading of the vehicle. The disclosure also described such a vehicle having an autonomous mission system, an autonomous navigation system, and a web-based command and control system. The disclosure also describes such a vehicle having a submersible winch. The disclosure also describes such a vehicle wherein the sealed center section is of substantially rectangular cross section. The disclosure also describes such a vehicle having a wheeled battery tray.

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.

An unmanned vehicle may include a vehicle body that comprises an enclosed hull. The unmanned vehicle may include a propulsion, a ballast control system, a center of gravity system, a pressurization system, a control surface system, a navigation control system, and an on board master control system. The on board master control system may execute local control over operation of the various systems of the unmanned vehicle. The unmanned vehicle may also include a power supply carried by a portion of the vehicle body to provide power to the various systems. The various systems of the unmanned vehicle may be independently operable to support selective operation of the unmanned vehicle in the air, on the surface of the water, and below the surface of the water.

An apparatus and method for control of at least one of a plurality of semiautonomous marine vessels are provided. The system includes a control station with a communications system for network communication with marine vessels, and provides diagnostics and control for control and monitoring of the marine vessels, according to a mission plan.

Systems and associated methods for planning and control of a fleet of unmanned vehicles in missions that are coordinated temporally and spatially by geo-location, direction, vehicle orientation, altitude above sea level, and depth below sea level. The unmanned vehicles' transit routes may be fully autonomous, semi-autonomous, or under direct operator control using off board control systems. Means are provided for intervention and transit changes during mission execution. Means are provided to collect, centralize and analyze mission data collected on the set of participating unmanned vehicles.

A combined system of an unmanned ship and an unmanned submersible comprises the unmanned ship located on the water surface and the unmanned submersible located underwater. The unmanned ship and the unmanned submersible are connected through an umbilical cable. A power twisted pair for power supply and duration and a signal line for transmitting control signals and data signals are contained in the umbilical cable. An unreeling system for automatically reeling and unreeling the umbilical cable is arranged on the unmanned ship and comprises an unreeling winch used for twisting the umbilical cable, an unreeling steering engine for controlling the unreeling winch to rotate to reel and unreel the umbilical cable and an encoder for measuring the unreeling length. A butt joint berthing device is arranged between the unmanned ship and the unmanned submersible. By the adoption of the combined system, the umbilical cable is reeled and unreeled through the unreeling system, and the underwater locating accuracy is improved; the unmanned submersible and the unmanned ship can be in butt joint stably through the butt joint berthing device, the butt joint berthing device is driven by the unmanned ship to move on the water surface, and the navigation efficiency is improved; and when underwater observation is needed, the unmanned submersible can be automatically separated from the unmanned ship, and the launching depth of the unmanned ship is controlled through the unreeling system.

An unmanned ocean-going vessel including a primary hull, a rigid wing rotationally coupled with the primary hull where the rigid wing freely rotates about a rotational axis of the rigid wing, a controller configured to maintain a desired heading, a control surface element configured to aerodynamically control a wing angle of the rigid wing based on a position of the control surface element, where the controller is configured to determine a control surface angle and generate a signal to position the control surface element based on the control surface angle, a rudder, where the controller is further configured to determine a rudder position and generate a signal to position the rudder to the rudder position, and a keel including ballast sufficient to provide a positive righting moment sufficient to cause the primary hull to passively right from any position.

A robotic ocean farm includes a plant support means such as a grid, with a submersible towing system incorporating means for navigation of the support grid in the open ocean, and means for positioning of the support grid in a first surfaced position for sunlight exposure of the plants and a second submerged position for nutrient gathering by the plants. The submersible towing system incorporates one or more tow boats connected to a forward periphery of the grid, each of the tow boats incorporating a propulsion system for navigation of the grid and maintaining lateral tension in the forward periphery of the grid. Additionally, one or more reaction boats are connected to an aft periphery of the grid. Each of the reaction boats incorporates a propulsion system for maintaining lateral tension in the aft periphery of the grid and reacting in concert with the tow boats to maintain longitudinal tension in the grid. A system for harvesting multiple independently operating farms incorporates a harvesting station which is placed or positions itself to meet the farms at predetermined locations during their voyage to harvest and replenish the plants carried on the farm grid. Base stations, separately or as a part of the harvesting station, communicate with the farms provide mutual support and informational exchange for optimized operation of the farms.

A fish locating system combines the functionality of a remote controlled miniature electric boat with an underwater sonar system. The watercraft is provided with a sonar transponder attached to an exterior deck. The sonar transponder wirelessly transmits sonar readings including bottom depth and terrain, schools of fish, underwater obstructions, water temperature, and the like, to the watercraft's wireless remote controller's display screen. The remote controller comprises a display screen that visually depicts the sonar scan in real-time. In use, a person can be on shore or on an anchored boat while performing underwater reconnaissance.

The invention discloses a device for recovering an autonomous underwater vehicle by an unmanned ship based on a guide cable. The device for recovering the autonomous underwater vehicle is characterized in that the water surface unmanned ship, a recovery device carried on the water surface unmanned ship, the recovered or arranged autonomous underwater vehicle and a guide recovery control system arranged on the autonomous underwater vehicle are included; an underwater acoustic transducer is arranged at the bottom of the water surface unmanned ship and is used for underwater acoustic communication of the water surface unmanned ship and the autonomous underwater vehicle; a hydraulic telescopic rod connected with the recovery device is arranged in a cabin of the water surface unmanned ship; motion of the recovery device in the vertical direction can be achieved through the hydraulic telescopic rod; and an arc-shaped guide arm and cable fastening pliers are arranged at the top end of the bowof the autonomous underwater vehicle. The device for recovering the autonomous underwater vehicle has the beneficial effects that a USV serves as a water surface platform, and the device and method for autonomously recovering the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) through a guide cable are adopted so as to overcome the defects that in the prior technological means, water surface arrangement recovery is greatly influenced by sea wind waves, and people and equipment safety risk exists.

The invention discloses a wireless charging device for unmanned aerial vehicles and an unmanned ship and a combined cruise searching and rescuing method. The device comprises an unmanned ship and a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, a plurality of stop loading platforms are arranged on the unmanned ship, and the unmanned aerial vehicles berth and land and take-off through the stop loading platforms; wireless charging units are arranged below the unmanned aerial vehicles, and wireless power supplying units are arranged on the stop loading platforms; and when berthing on the stop loading platforms, the unmanned aerial vehicles are subjected to wireless charging through the wireless charging units and the wireless power supplying units. According to the wireless charging device for the unmanned aerial vehicles and the unmanned ship, the range and the efficiency of cruise searching and rescuing are enhanced greatly through combined cruise searching and rescuing of the unmanned aerial vehicles and the unmanned ship, and therefore a maritime sector can discover abnormal conditions on the sea earlier or search and rescue wrecked ships and overboard personnel earlier; and the cruising ability of the unmanned aerial vehicles is enhanced through adopting the unmanned ship to charge the unmanned aerial vehicles wirelessly, so that the unmanned aerial vehicles can conduct more cruise searching and rescuing operations.

A ship motion prediction system is described that includes a plurality of surface platforms and a central computer having a communications interface. The platforms each include a propulsion system for movement of the platform, a plurality of sensors operable for gathering sensor data relating to an environment proximate the platform, a processing device communicatively coupled to the propulsion system and the plurality of sensors, and a transceiver communicatively coupled to the processing device. The central computer includes a communications interface, and the processing device is programmed to transmit sensor data to the central computer via the transceiver and the communications interface. The central computer is programmed to transmit commands for operation of the propulsion system to the processing device via the communications interface and transceiver. The central computer is further programmed to predict an effect of the environments associated with the plurality of surface platforms on a water vessel or vessels operating within a vicinity of the plurality of surface platforms.

This invention concerns a remote control unmanned boat which can be freely operated by remote control and a remote control device. The remote control unmanned boat comprises a propelling power source 11 for generating a propelling power, a steering device 13 for freely varying the direction of advance, a first transmit-receive antenna 24 for receiving the signal transmitted by ratio from a control device 20, a first controller 15 for controlling the propelling power source 11 and the steering device 13 based on the signal received from the first transmit-receive antenna 14, a memory device 17 for memorizing the initial position set in advance, and a GPS antenna 16 for receiving the electric wave transmitted from an artificial satellite. The first controller 15 calculates the present position based on the electric wave received by the GPS antenna 16 and, when the stated condition is satisfied, initiates automatic control of the propelling power source 11 and the steering device 13 so as to attain regression to the initial position based on the present position and the initial position. Thus, the remote control unmanned boat has no possibility of being missed.

A boat or ship (marine vessel) can be powered and propelled by using wind or solar energy. This propulsion results in the forward movement and six degrees of motion (roll, heave, pitch, yaw, surge, and sway) of the marine vessel. These motions have kinetic energy. This invention capitalizes on the fact that the solar wind and wave energy are cyclical by nature. The present invention enables the vessel to store energy harvested from these energy sources during periods when levels of energy is available from wind, solar, or the motion of the vessel in waves. This invention makes this stored energy available for use during periods when the external natural sources of energy (wind, wave, or solar) are not available in adequate quantities to maintain a reasonable speed of advance for the marine vessel. The harvesting of the energy during high energy cycles, storing it and using it when needed in this invention allows a marine vessel to get maximum speed of advance over a course. In this invention the marine vessel can maintain faster average speed without reliance on any fossil or chemical fuel and by only using renewable energy sources. In this invention the vessel is normally driven by wind channeling methods like canvas or foil sails or Flettner rotors. In addition to this, the vessel can be propelled by propulsion thrusters such as propellers, rim driven thrusters, azimuthing drives, water jets or other means of thrusting and propelling the vessel. These propulsion devices are driven by regenerative electric motors using stored electric energy in batteries on the vessel. The energy stored in the battery bank is used to provide supplemental or primary propulsion during cyclical periods when natural sources of wind, wave or solar energy are low. These same thrusters and their electric motors work in reverse to generate and harvest energy when wind levels are high and as the marine vessel is moving forward at higher speeds while being propelled by wind energy. In this invention the batteries, which are dense and heavy, to store this energy, are secured in the bottom of the marine vessel also serve as ballast to keep the vessel upright. This serves to lower the marine vessel's center of gravity to get the maximum hull stability for safety. This also helps the vessel channel maximum available wind energy to propel the vessel and harvest energy whenever stronger winds permit.

The invention discloses an unmanned-ship-towed underwater magnetic detection system. The unmanned-ship-towed underwater magnetic detection system comprises an unmanned ship, a towed body connected with the unmanned ship by virtue of a towrope as well as a control system used for data processing and automatic control of the magnetic detection system; the unmanned ship is a water surface platform ofthe magnetic detection system and comprises a ship body of the unmanned ship, a winch system arranged at the tail of the unmanned ship, a detection system arranged at the head of the unmanned ship aswell as a communication system used for real-time communication between the unmanned ship and a shore station; and the winch system is used for controlling underwater movement of the towed body by laying and recycling a towrope and comprises a motor, the towrope used for towing the towed body, a winch used for coiling the towrope thereon as well as a mounting bracket. The unmanned-ship-towed underwater magnetic detection system disclosed by the invention has the beneficial effects that the magnetic detection system utilizes an underwater magnetic detection location technology, the unmanned ship on water is taken as a mother ship towing body, the towed body carries a three-component magnetometer array, and near-bottom target detection and location is performed.