Autonomous Watercraft Return Control for Drift Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Small watercrafts often drift away from operators, requiring them to manually catch up, which is burdensome and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A small watercraft system with a control device that detects the operator's absence and automatically switches to an operator-absent manipulation mode, allowing the watercraft to be controlled and moved independently using a drive source and steering device based on pre-defined commands, reducing the need for manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the watercraft drifts away on water, then the watercraft body moves independently, but the operator must manually catch up which increases operator burden and reduces safety
Solution Approach 1:
The watercraft system automatically detects operator absence through sensors (weight sensor, proximity sensor) and autonomously navigates back to the operator using its drive source and steering device, eliminating the need for manual intervention and reducing operator burden
Solution Approach 2:
The control device continuously monitors operator presence status and watercraft position, automatically switching between normal operation mode and operator-absent manipulation mode based on detected conditions, creating a closed-loop control system that responds to operational status
2Ease of operation
If automatic operator-absent manipulation mode is implemented, then operator burden is reduced, but control device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device integrates multiple functions including normal operation control, operator presence detection, mode switching logic, and autonomous navigation control into a single unified system, managing complexity through functional integration rather than separate dedicated systems
Solution Approach 2:
The control device dynamically adapts its operation mode based on real-time detection of operator presence status, switching between normal operation mode and operator-absent manipulation mode to optimize system behavior according to operational conditions
Data Source
AI summary
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.