Watercraft Driving Support with Position-Based Fallen-User Warnings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Personal watercrafts and all-terrain vehicles have high degrees of freedom in traveling directions and routes, making it difficult for drivers to recognize if other users have fallen into water or encountered obstacles, necessitating effective driving support systems for warning and safety.
Innovation Solution
A driving support system that includes an antenna, position detection sensor, and processing circuitry to determine if a watercraft is within a warning region, outputting warning information using an informer when the watercraft is within the region, and displaying a warning region on a display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a driver manually monitors the surroundings while operating a watercraft, then the driver can respond to immediate hazards, but the driver cannot simultaneously recognize if other users have fallen into water or encountered obstacles due to the high degrees of freedom in traveling directions and routes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of sensors, processors, and communication devices that automatically detect hazards and transmit warning information to drivers. This mediator handles the monitoring task, freeing the driver from the need to continuously scan the environment while maintaining comprehensive hazard awareness through automated detection of fallen users, obstacles, and other dangers.
Solution Approach 2:
The watercraft's own system performs self-monitoring by using onboard sensors to detect hazards in the surrounding environment. The system automatically processes sensor data, determines hazard locations, and provides warnings to the driver without requiring external assistance or manual monitoring, enabling the vehicle to service its own safety monitoring needs.
2Reliability
If no warning system is implemented, then the system remains simple, but drivers cannot recognize hazards such as fallen users or obstacles in time
Solution Approach 1:
The warning system is segmented into distinct functional modules: sensor units for detecting hazards, processing units for analyzing sensor data and determining hazard locations, communication units for transmitting warning information, and display units for presenting information to drivers. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while maintaining overall system reliability without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs multi-functional components that can perform multiple tasks. For example, the sensor array can detect various types of hazards including fallen users, obstacles, and environmental conditions using the same hardware platform. The processing system handles multiple hazard types and communication protocols through unified algorithms, reducing the need for separate specialized systems for each function.
3Productivity
If the driver focuses on navigating the watercraft with high degrees of freedom, then the driver can control the vehicle effectively, but the driver cannot simultaneously monitor the surrounding environment for hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual visual monitoring with an automated electronic detection system. Sensors, processors, and communication devices substitute for the driver's manual scanning and recognition tasks, allowing the driver to focus on vehicle control and navigation while the electronic system continuously monitors for hazards and provides warnings.
Data Source
AI summary
A driving support method according to one aspect is a driving support method of supporting driving of a watercraft. The driving support method includes: by processing circuitry, receiving a warning request including positional information of a warning point; determining whether or not the watercraft is within a warning region including the warning point; and when the processing circuitry determines that the watercraft is within the warning region, outputting warning information.