Marine Vessel Docking Control With Sensor-Guided Berth Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing marine vessel docking systems struggle to identify and facilitate user selection of available docking locations and surfaces in harsh and moving marine conditions, often due to vessel motion, harsh lighting, and weather conditions, making it difficult for operators to precisely align the vessel with docking targets.
Innovation Solution
A docking control system that uses imaging and proximity sensors to identify available docking locations and surfaces, providing a user-friendly interface for selection and adjustment, allowing for autonomous or semi-autonomous docking by correlating display regions to identified docking locations and prompting user input for confirmation or adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If imaging systems and proximity sensors are used to identify docking locations, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the docking control function into separate modules: imaging system for visual data collection, proximity sensors for distance measurement, processing unit for data fusion and analysis, and control unit for execution. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in specific tasks, improving overall measurement precision while making the complex system more manageable and maintainable
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a processing unit as an intermediary between the sensing systems and control systems. This intermediary fuses data from multiple sensors, processes image data to identify docking locations, and generates control commands, thereby reducing the complexity burden on individual components while maintaining high measurement precision
2Ease of operation
If autonomous or semi-autonomous docking control is implemented, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The docking control system performs autonomous functions including self-navigation to docking locations, self-alignment with the dock, and self-securing operations. The system automatically processes sensor data, identifies suitable docking positions, and executes control commands without continuous human intervention, significantly improving ease of operation while the complexity is encapsulated within the automated control algorithms
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-identifying available docking locations using imaging and proximity sensors before the vessel arrives. The processing unit pre-calculates optimal docking positions and prepares control commands in advance, allowing the vessel to execute docking maneuvers more easily and efficiently
3Reliability
If multiple sensors and processing units are integrated, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the imaging system, proximity sensors, processing unit, and control unit into an integrated docking control system. This consolidation allows for unified data processing and coordinated control actions, improving reliability through redundant sensing and cross-verification while managing complexity through integrated architecture design
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where sensor data continuously monitors vessel position and docking status, and the processing unit adjusts control commands in real-time based on this feedback. This closed-loop control improves reliability by detecting and correcting deviations from the planned docking trajectory, while the feedback algorithms are managed within the integrated processing unit
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling docking for a marine vessel includes imaging an area around a marine vessel with an imaging system to generate image data, generating a display of a docking area on a user interface based on the image data, receiving a user input selecting a location on the display of the docking area, identifying a selected docking location based on the selected location on the display and based on at least one dimension of the marine vessel, and updating the display of the docking area to represent the marine vessel docked at the selected docking location.