Autonomous Marine Autopilot Dynamic Path Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional marine autopilot systems fail to adapt to real-time changes in the marine environment, such as hazards and weather conditions, leading to potential collisions and navigation challenges.
Innovation Solution
A marine autopilot system that utilizes sensors to detect current environmental data, including hazards and weather, and adjusts the vessel's trajectory in real-time by controlling speed and direction, using historic data and vessel dynamics to ensure safe navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional marine autopilot systems follow a pre-calculated route without real-time updates, then the navigation system is simple and stable, but the system cannot avoid hazards and adapt to changing environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic route updating by continuously sensing environmental conditions (weather, currents, hazards) and recalculating the vessel's trajectory in real-time. The navigation system transitions from a static pre-calculated route to a dynamic adaptive path that responds to changing marine conditions, resolving the contradiction between reliability through hazard avoidance and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates continuous feedback loops where sensors detect current environmental conditions and vessel position, this information feeds back to the control algorithm which then updates the trajectory. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the system to adapt to hazards and changing conditions while maintaining manageable complexity through automated decision-making.
2Reliability
If the autopilot system continuously updates trajectory based on real-time sensor data and vessel dynamics, then the navigation reliability improves, but the computational requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations of vessel dynamics and potential trajectories before actual navigation decisions are required. By pre-computing response characteristics and maintaining lookup tables of optimal control actions, the system reduces real-time computational burden while maintaining high navigation safety through informed decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in vessel dynamics (mass, inertia, hydrodynamic coefficients) to simplify control calculations. By modeling the vessel's dynamic characteristics and using these parameters in the control algorithm, the system achieves reliable adaptive navigation without requiring excessively complex real-time computation, as the vessel's physical parameters provide natural constraints and guidance for control decisions.
3Reliability
If the system adjusts speed and direction based on hazard location and vessel dynamics, then collision avoidance effectiveness improves, but the control complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements preliminary anti-action by detecting hazards and computing avoidance trajectories before the vessel reaches dangerous proximity. The control algorithm proactively adjusts speed and direction in advance to prevent collision scenarios from developing, rather than reacting when already in danger. This approach improves hazard avoidance effectiveness while keeping control complexity manageable through early intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by maintaining safety margins and buffer zones around detected hazards. The control system adjusts the vessel's path to maintain predetermined safe distances from obstacles, creating a cushion of safety without requiring complex real-time collision prediction. This proactive safety approach enhances hazard avoidance while simplifying control through rule-based safety enforcement.
Data Source
AI summary
A marine autopilot system configured to control a marine vessel through a marine environment is disclosed herein. The marine autopilot system may obtain data of the marine environment from charts and community shared data and generate a path from a first location to a destination location in the marine environment. The marine autopilot system may control the marine vessel along the path based on the marine vessel dynamics and weather and water current conditions. Sensors may detect hazards on and in the water and object detections systems may classify the hazards. The marine autopilot system may control the marine vessel to avoid the hazards based on the location and classification of the hazards. Furthermore, sensors may be utilized to generate detailed 3D maps that change with time to dock the marine vessel at known and unknown locations.