Maritime autonomous station keeping (MASK)

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9430947-B2
Application number	US-201213671380-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 7, 2012
Priority date	Nov 7, 2012
Publication date	Aug 30, 2016
Grant date	Aug 30, 2016

Abstract

Technology for determining a point-to-point separation between a first ship (e.g., guide ship) and a second ship (e.g., following ship) is disclosed. One approach can include maritime autonomous station keeping (MASK) interactive device comprising a communication module and a processor. The communication module can be configured to receive a following ship reference point (SRP) generated by at least one differential global positioning system (DGPS) receiver on a following ship relative to a guide SRP generated by at least one DGPS receiver on a guide ship. The processor can be configured to generate a plurality of fixed following reference edge points (REPs) relative to the following SRP representing a following ship hull, generate a plurality of fixed guide REPs relative to the guide SRP representing a guide ship hull, and monitor a plurality of distances between the plurality of following REPs and the plurality of guide REPs.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A maritime autonomous station keeping (MASK) interactive device, comprising:
a communication module to receive a following ship reference point (SRP) generated by at least one differential global positioning system (DGPS) receiver on a following ship relative to a guide SRP generated by at least one DGPS receiver on a guide ship;
a processor to:
generate a plurality of fixed following reference edge points (REPs) relative to the following SRP representing a following ship hull,
generate a plurality of fixed guide REPs relative to the guide SRP representing a guide ship null, and monitor a plurality of distances between the plurality of fixed following REPs and the plurality of fixed guide REPs,
recommend a change in at least one of a following ship course and a following ship speed based on an error value between a measured variable and a desired setpoint as to the plurality of fixed following REPs and the plurality of fixed guide REPs, to perform at least one of an overtake maneuver and a station keep on an intended station; and
a controller operable to automatically modify at least one of the following ship course and the following ship speed for correction of the error value, based on at least one of a recommended course and a recommended speed, wherein the controller optionally modifies at least one of the following ship course and the following ship speed based on a user input.

2. The MASK interactive device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a display to represent a position of the following ship hull relative to the guide ship hull.

3. The MASK interactive device of claim 2 , wherein the display further comprises:
a graphical ship swim lane display of at least one of:
the following ship hull relative to the guide ship hull with distance flags from the guide ship hull,
a predicted following ship position overlaid on an actual following ship position, wherein the predicted following ship position indicates a future relative location and orientation between the following ship and the guide ship,
a target following ship position overlaid on an actual following ship position, wherein the target following ship position indicates an ideal relative location and orientation between the following ship and the guide ship, and
an actual separation between the following ship hull and the guide ship hull.

4. The MASK interactive device of claim 2 , wherein the display further comprises:
a graphical ship target plot display of at least one of:
a current location of the following ship in a surge direction and a sway direction relative to the guide ship with
a gradually fading history of past relative locations,
a predicted location of the following ship in a surge direction and a sway direction relative to the guide ship,
a target location to identify a desired relative location between the following ship and the guide ship, and
a rate of change of the guide ship relative to the following ship in the surge and the sway direction.

5. The MASK interactive device of claim 2 , wherein the display further comprises:
a configuration display of information selected from the group consisting of a guide ship type, a guide ship point to align, a following ship point to align, a target separation distance between the guide ship hull and the following ship hull, a control setting, an alert, and combinations thereof.

6. The MASK interactive device of claim 2 , wherein the display further comprises:
a ship course and speed display including a following ship course and speed relative to a guide ship target course and a guide ship target speed, wherein a following ship course display or a following ship speed display is selected from the group consisting of an actual course or speed, a recommended course or speed, a current order of course or speed, a recent previous history of courses or speeds, and combinations thereof, and a following ship course and a following ship speed is selected from the recommended course or speed, or a user entry course or a user entry speed.

7. The MASK interactive device of claim 2 , wherein the display includes at least one of a portable display, a shock resistant display, a touch screen, a function button, a cursor control, and a brightness control.

8. The MASK interactive device of claim 1 , wherein the processor further comprises:
a ship hull dynamics module to estimate a trend of the following ship hull and the guide ship hull using a plurality of following SRP measurements and a plurality of guide SRP measurements measured over time and accounting for ship hull dynamics including a Venturi effect generated by a combination of motions of the following ship and the guide ship.

9. The MASK interactive device of claim 1 , wherein the communication module is in communication with the at least one DGPS receiver on a following ship using a wired connection, an optical fiber connection, or radio communication.

10. The MASK interactive device of claim 1 , wherein the communication module is further configured for communication with at least one of an inertial navigation system (INS) processor or an inertial measurement unit (IMU) of the following ship, at least one of an INS processor or an IMU of the guide ship, and at least one DGPS receiver on the guide ship.

11. A method for maintaining distances between hulls of at least two ships on a waterway, comprising:
receiving a following ship reference point (SRP) on a following ship and a guide SRP on a guide ship via at least one differential global positioning system (DGPS) receiver;
generating a plurality of fixed following reference edge points (REPs) relative to the following SRP representing a following ship hull;
generating a plurality of fixed guide REPs relative to the guide SRP representing a guide ship hull;
monitoring a plurality of distances between the plurality of fixed following REPs and the plurality of fixed guide REPs;
recommending a change in at least one of a following ship course and a following ship speed based on an error value between a measured variable and a desired setpoint as to the plurality of fixed following REPs and the plurality of fixed guide REPs, to perform at least one of an overtake maneuver and a station keep on an intended station; and
using a controller, automatically modifying at least one of the following ship course and the following ship speed for correction of the error value, based on at least one of a recommended course and a recommended speed, the controller optionally modifying at least one of the following ship course and the following ship speed based on a user input.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
generating an alert when a distance between a following REP and a guide REP falls outside an acceptable range.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
modifying a following ship course or a following ship speed based on the alert.

14. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement the method of claim 11 .

15. A maritime autonomous station keeping (MASK) system for maintaining distances between hulls of at least two ships on a waterway, comprising: at least one differential global positioning system (DGPS) receiver providing a following ship reference point (SRP) on a following ship relative to a guide SRP on a guide ship;
a radio to receive the guide SRP from at least one DGPS receiver on the guide ship;
a processor to:
generate a plurality of fixed following refer

Assignees

• Raytheon Co

Inventors

• Richardson James J
• Fries Robert M
• Saunders Robert C

Classifications

• G01S5/0295

  Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals · CPC title

• G05D1/00

  Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots (drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00) · CPC title

• G08G3/02 Primary

  Anti-collision systems · CPC title

• G01S19/51 Primary

  Relative positioning · CPC title