Marine Depth Contour Mapping with Shoreline Boundary Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional marine navigation devices lack the ability to define or identify a shoreline or region of interest within a body of water, leading to the inclusion of above-water terrain depth data in contour maps, which is not relevant to the water body itself.
Innovation Solution
A marine device with a user interface and processing unit that allows users to enter a boundary defining mode, identifying a region of interest based on navigated paths or stored maps, and selectively stores and displays contour line data within the defined region, excluding above-water terrain data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional marine devices calculate contour lines for an expanded area beyond the body of water perimeter, then depth data coverage is improved, but above-water terrain data is incorrectly included in the contour maps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates the body of water boundary from the expanded area contour calculation. By identifying the shoreline as a distinct boundary, the system extracts only the relevant water body portion while excluding above-water terrain, thus resolving the contradiction between coverage and accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the expanded area into distinct regions: inside the body of water boundary and outside the boundary. This segmentation allows the system to selectively include or exclude contour line data based on its location relative to the shoreline, ensuring accurate representation of only the water body.
2Area of stationary object
If conventional marine devices use an expanded area for contour line calculation, then the area of coverage is increased, but the relevance of data to the actual water body is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the body of water boundary information from the expanded area and uses it as a selection criterion. This extraction allows the system to maintain large coverage area while filtering out irrelevant above-water terrain data, preserving data relevance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different quality criteria to different regions: contour lines inside the body of water boundary are included with full relevance, while contour lines outside the boundary are excluded. This local quality differentiation ensures that only relevant data is presented.
3Device complexity
If conventional marine devices do not define a shoreline or region of interest, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to provide accurate marine navigation data is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically identifies the body of water boundary from the depth data itself, without requiring manual user input or complex external systems. The depth data's natural characteristics (such as depth transitions) are used to self-determine the shoreline, maintaining simplicity while achieving accuracy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate and user-defined contour mapping within a specific region of interest, excluding irrelevant above-water terrain data, thereby improving the precision and relevance of marine navigation and data collection.
Implementation Method 1
acquire depth information, as the marine vessel navigates a body of water
Implementation Method 2
acquire depth data using sensor devices, such as sonar transducers
Data Source
AI summary
Various techniques are described that relate to the manner in which marine devices may generate and display a water depth contour map while navigating a body of water. The contour map includes contour lines associated with determined contour line data that indicate geolocations of underwater terrain existing at depths of the body of water specified by the contour lines. A boundary enclosing a region of interest for the body of water may be determined and the contour map may include contour lines determined using the determined contour line data within the region of interest. The boundary may correspond to a natural shoreline along the perimeter of a body of water or a portion of the body of the water. The boundary corresponding to a shoreline may be automatically identified based on a stored map by identifying geographic locations along the perimeter of the body of water.