Watercraft Navigation Assist With Collision-Risk Target Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing navigation assist systems face instability and increased computational load in calculating evasion routes due to considering all detected object targets, leading to unnecessary meandering and inefficient route calculations.
Innovation Solution
A navigation assist system that includes an avoidance target selector to identify and prioritize targets based on collision risk, using selection areas and risk areas to stabilize and optimize evasion route generation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all detected object targets are considered in the calculation of the escape route, then the navigation system can avoid more potential hazards, but the calculation becomes complicated and the calculation load increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates the target selection process from the route calculation process. The avoidance target selector identifies and extracts only the most critical targets (those with collision risk in the selection area) from all detected targets, passing only these filtered targets to the evasion route generator. This extraction reduces the calculation load while maintaining collision avoidance reliability by focusing computational resources on the most relevant targets.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the navigation system into distinct functional modules: a avoidance target selector that handles target identification and filtering, and an evasion route generator that handles route calculation. This segmentation allows each module to process information independently and efficiently, with the selector filtering targets before they enter the calculation module, thereby reducing overall computational complexity while maintaining safety.
2Reliability
If all detected object targets are considered in the escape route calculation, then comprehensive hazard avoidance is achieved, but the escape route may meander unnecessarily to avoid distant targets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a selection area centered on the movable body's position and direction, which differentiates the treatment of targets based on their spatial relationship to the vessel. Targets within this local selection area are considered for avoidance, while distant targets outside this area are ignored. This local focus ensures the route remains smooth and direct for most targets while providing comprehensive hazard avoidance only where locally relevant, preventing unnecessary meandering.
3Reliability
If the selection area is expanded to include more targets, then more hazards can be avoided, but the computational load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by defining a selection area that includes only the necessary portion of the surrounding environment for collision risk assessment. The area is configured to include targets that pose actual collision risk while excluding distant targets that do not threaten the movable body. This partial coverage approach provides sufficient collision avoidance reliability while significantly reducing computational load compared to processing all detected targets.
Data Source
AI summary
The navigation assist system is provided with: a movable body data interface configured to acquire movable body data including position and speed of a movable body moving on water; a target data interface configured to acquire target data including the position and the speed of a plurality of targets existing respectively around the movable body; an avoidance target selector configured to select one or the plurality of targets having collision risks of colliding with the movable body; and an evasion route generator configured to generate an evasion route of the movable body based on the selected targets.