Ecological Aided Marine Navigation

Abstract

A system for presenting environment alerts for a watercraft is provided. The system includes a display, a processor, and a memory having computer program code. The computer program code is configured to, when executed, cause the processor to receive position data for the watercraft including a current watercraft position, receive environment data, determine a status of the watercraft at the current watercraft position, perform an analysis of the position data, the environment data, and the status of the watercraft, determine a notification based on the analysis, and cause presentation of the notification on the display. The notification is related to the environment data or the status of the watercraft at the current watercraft position.

1 . A system for presenting environment alerts for a watercraft, the system comprising:
 a display;   a processor; and   a memory including computer program code configured to, when executed, cause the processor to:
 receive position data for the watercraft including a current watercraft position; 
 receive environment data; 
 determine a status of the watercraft at the current watercraft position; 
 perform an analysis of the position data, the environment data, and the status of the watercraft; 
 determine a notification based on the analysis; and 
 cause presentation of the notification on the display, 
   wherein the notification is related to the environment data or the status of the watercraft at the current watercraft position.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the environment data includes at least one of regulatory data or ecological data. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the notification is:
 an alert that discharge is prohibited in the current watercraft position;   an alert that the watercraft is in a reduced noise area;   an alert that a watercraft noise level exceeds a permissible level at the current watercraft position;   an alert indicating the speed limit at the current watercraft position;   an alert indicating that the watercraft is travelling at a speed that exceeds the speed limit at the current watercraft position; or   an alert that deployment of a marine device is prohibited at the current watercraft position.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the notification is an alert that the watercraft noise level exceeds the permissible level at the current watercraft position, wherein the watercraft noise level is attributable to a motor, a sonar, a sounder, or an onboard speaker on the watercraft. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the environment data includes regulatory data in the form of watercraft noise level restrictions at the current watercraft position. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the notification is an alert that an animal could be located near the watercraft, wherein the environment data includes ecological data regarding a known location of one or more animals. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the notification is an alert that the watercraft is required to operate in an electric mode at the current watercraft position, wherein the environment data includes regulatory data regarding locations where various watercraft are required to operate in electric mode. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the notification is an alert that the watercraft is not permitted to discharge material in the current watercraft position, wherein the environment data includes regulatory data regarding positions where material discharge is not permitted, wherein the status of the watercraft indicates that a command has been made to discharge material from the watercraft. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the environment data is saved in the memory, wherein receiving the environment data occurs by retrieving the environment data from the memory. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the environment data saved in the memory is updated periodically. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer program code is configured to, when executed, cause the processor to:
 analyze the position data, the environment data, and a proposed action; and   block the proposed action from being performed,   wherein the notification indicates that the proposed action was not performed.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer program code is configured to, when executed, cause the processor to:
 receive a user command providing a proposed action;   analyze the user command, the position data, and the environment data to evaluate whether the proposed action is permitted in the current watercraft position; and   block the proposed action from being performed,   wherein the notification indicates that the proposed action was not performed.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the computer program code is configured to, when executed, cause the processor to:
 receive a user override command; and   execute the proposed action.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one or more onboard sensors are located on the watercraft that are configured to provide onboard sensor data, wherein the one or more onboard sensors include at least one of a radar, a position sensor, a direction sensor, a sonar transducer element, an air temperature sensor, a water temperature sensor, a current sensor, a light sensor, a wind sensor, a noise sensor, or a speed sensor, wherein the onboard sensor data is analyzed as part of the analysis. 
     
     
         15 . A method for presenting environment alerts for a watercraft, the method comprising:
 receiving position data for the watercraft including a current watercraft position;   receiving environment data;   determining a status of the watercraft at the current watercraft position;   performing an analysis of the position data, the environment data, and the status of the watercraft;   determining a notification based on the analysis; and   causing presentation of the notification on a display.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the environment data includes at least one of regulatory data or ecological data. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 receiving a user command providing a proposed action;   analyzing the user command, the position data, and the environment data to evaluate whether the proposed action is permitted in the current watercraft position; and   blocking the proposed action from being performed,   wherein the notification indicates that the proposed action was not performed.   
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon software instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 receive position data for a watercraft including a current watercraft position;   receive environment data;   determine a status of the watercraft at the current watercraft position;   perform an analysis of the position data, the environment data, and the status of the watercraft;   determine a notification based on the analysis; and   cause presentation of the notification on a display,   wherein the notification is related to the environment data or the status of the watercraft at the current watercraft position.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the environment data includes at least one of regulatory data or ecological data. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the environment data includes regulatory data in the form of watercraft noise level restrictions at the current watercraft position. 
     
     
         21 .- 40 . (canceled)