Sonar Image Boundary Cropping for Chart Overlay
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sonar images often extend beyond the boundary of a body of water when displayed over a chart, causing inaccuracies and making it difficult to read due to incorrect sonar returns or preset display distances.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that use a processor to receive sonar data, determine the boundary of the water body, and generate an image that does not extend beyond the boundary by filtering out data that exceeds the boundary threshold, ensuring the image is accurately displayed over the chart without overlapping land.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If preset display distance is used to show sonar image, then the image spans a desired distance from the watercraft, but the image extends beyond the boundary of the body of water covering land
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the portion of the sonar image that extends beyond the water body boundary. The processor identifies the boundary of the body of water and crops the sonar image to exclude any areas beyond this boundary, thereby removing the harmful extension over land while preserving the useful sonar data within the water body.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the display parameters of the sonar image based on the detected water body boundary. When the watercraft approaches a boundary, the system modifies the image display area to align with the boundary, changing the effective display distance parameter to prevent land coverage while maintaining optimal viewing within the water body.
2Loss of information
If sonar data is gathered when watercraft is close to boundary, then complete underwater environment is captured, but inaccurate sonar returns cause image to extend beyond boundary
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the water body boundary as an intermediary reference to resolve the conflict between capturing complete sonar data and maintaining accuracy. The boundary acts as a mediator that separates valid sonar returns (within water) from invalid ones (beyond boundary), allowing the system to retain comprehensive underwater data while filtering out inaccurate extensions over land.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary determination of the water body boundary before displaying the sonar image. By pre-identifying the boundary location using chart data or GPS coordinates, the system can proactively adjust the image display parameters to prevent extension beyond the boundary, rather than correcting the issue after it occurs.
3Ease of operation
If sonar image is displayed over chart, then user can associate underwater environment with location, but image extending beyond boundary makes display confusing and difficult to decipher
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the confusing portion of the sonar image that extends beyond the water body boundary when displayed over the chart. By extracting and excluding the land-area extensions, the display maintains clarity and prevents confusion, while still preserving the association between the underwater environment and the watercraft location through the remaining valid sonar data.
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
This solution provides a clear and easy-to-read sonar image by removing portions that extend beyond the water body's boundary, enhancing user understanding of underwater environments by maintaining image integrity within the water's edge.
Implementation Method 1
Sonar (SOund Navigation And Ranging) has long been used to detect waterborne or underwater objects. For example, sonar devices may be used to determine depth and bottom topography, detect fish, locate wreckage, etc. Sonar beams from a transducer assembly can be transmitted into the underwater environment. The sonar signals reflect off objects in the underwater environment (e.g., fish, structure, sea floor bottom, etc.) and return to the transducer assembly, which converts the sonar returns into sonar data that can be used to produce an image of the underwater environment.
Data Source
AI summary
Overlaying a sonar image over a chart at a corresponding location can provide a beneficial and easy to understand view of the underwater environment for a user. However, in some cases, the watercraft may be close to a boundary of the body of water when the sonar data is gathered. In such a scenario, inaccurate sonar returns or preset display distances of the sonar image can cause the resulting sonar image to be displayed over the boundary and covering land. This can be confusing and can be difficult to decipher. Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for cropping the sonar image for presentation over the chart such that no portion of the image extends beyond the boundary line of the body of water. This creates a smooth and easy to read sonar image/chart display.