Water Vessel Location Estimation via SMS and Machine Learning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies struggle to accurately locate water vessels offshore due to the lack of infrastructure for location tracking, leading to inefficient and sometimes failed rescue efforts for distressed mariners.
Innovation Solution
A rescue system that utilizes SMS messages to initiate location sharing from a mariner's mobile device, even in areas with poor connections, and employs machine learning to estimate the location of a water vessel based on received location coordinates and environmental factors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dedicated location tracking technology is used on water vessels, then location accuracy is improved, but cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses mobile phones as intermediary devices that mariners already carry, eliminating the need for dedicated tracking equipment. The mobile phone acts as a mediator between the mariner and the rescue system, using existing cellular infrastructure to transmit location data and enable tracking without requiring specialized hardware on the vessel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent leverages the universal mobile phone that mariners already possess for multiple functions: location determination, communication with rescue agencies, and distress signaling. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate dedicated tracking devices, reducing complexity while maintaining location accuracy through the phone's built-in capabilities.
2Reliability
If dedicated location tracking technology is deployed, then location tracking capability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system requires mariners to use their own mobile phones, which they already possess and maintain. The mariner's device performs the location tracking function itself, eliminating the need for expensive dedicated tracking equipment to be manufactured and installed on each vessel. The rescue system provides the software platform, while hardware costs are borne by individual users through their existing mobile devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent relies on ubiquitous, inexpensive mobile phones rather than expensive dedicated tracking equipment. Mobile phones are mass-produced consumer devices that are far cheaper than specialized maritime tracking systems, making the overall implementation cost significantly lower while achieving the same location tracking capability.
3Measurement precision
If location data is transmitted frequently, then location accuracy is improved, but data loss risk increases in poor connection areas
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes a communication protocol where the mobile phone continuously determines location coordinates and prepares them for transmission. When connection is available, data is transmitted; when connection is lost, the pre-determined location data is retained in the device and automatically transmitted when connectivity is restored, preventing data loss without requiring frequent transmission attempts.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the rescue system acknowledges receipt of location data and confirms communication status to the mariner's device. This feedback loop allows the system to adjust transmission frequency based on connection quality, maintaining location accuracy by transmitting when possible while avoiding unnecessary transmission attempts that would fail in poor connection areas.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and a method are disclosed for enabling accurate estimation of a location of a water vessel. In an embodiment, a rescue system transmits a Short Message Service (SMS) message to a user device on the water vessel, the SMS message comprising a selectable option that, when selected, causes a location of the user device to be shared. Based on a selection by a user of the user device of the selectable option, the system receives a plurality of location coordinates from the user device at a plurality of respective times, each respective location coordinate describing a respective location of the user device at its respective time. The system computes an estimated location of the water vessel based on the plurality of location coordinates and an elapsed time between a current time and a time at which a last-received location coordinate was received. The system transmits the estimated location to a responder device.