Anti-aircraft autonomous undersea system (AUS) with machine vision target acquisition

• US 10,065,718 B1
• Filed: 09/14/2017
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SparkCognition Inc.
• Original Assignee: SparkCognition Inc.
• Inventors: Husain, Syed Mohammad Amir, Allen, John Rutherford
• Primary Examiner(s): Olson, Lars A
• Application Number:
  US15/704,949
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: 114 201, 114316, 114317, 114318, 114319, 244 63
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 2008/004 autonomously operating
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 8/001 Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations self-propelled or direction controlled diving chambers with mechanical link to a base B63C11/42
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 8/08 Propulsion schnorkels B63G8/36; nuclear propulsion B63H21/18; submerged exhausting apparatus F01N13/12
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 8/28 Arrangement of offensive or defensive equipment
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 8/30 of artillery or missile launching means
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: F41F 3/04 for rockets
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 11/02 Anti-aircraft or anti-guided missile or anti-torpedo defence installations or systems cartridges or missiles for producing smoke or for dispensing radar chaff or infrared material F42B5/15, F42B12/48, F42B12/70; informative reference: details of radar or sonar systems G01S7/00; jamming or electronic countermeasures G01S7/38, G01S7/495, H04K3/00
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 19/00 Marine torpedoes, e.g. launched by surface vessels or submarines having additional propulsion means for movement through air F42B17/00; Sea mines having self-propulsion means F42B12/00 takes precedence; launching means F41F; locating by use of radio or other waves G01S; automatic control of course G05D1/00; firing directors or calculators G06G
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/106 Change initiated in response to external conditions, e.g. avoidance of elevated terrain or of no-fly zones
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/12 Target-seeking control
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/611 Station keeping, e.g. for hovering or dynamic anchoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/665 Releasing payloads, e.g. parachutes
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 2105/35 for combat
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 2107/27 Oceans
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 2109/38 operating under the water surface, e.g. submarines

Abstract

A submersible vessel comprises a hull. The hull contains a plurality of subsystems. The subsystems comprise a sensor subsystem configured to sense potential target information regarding a potential target, a database subsystem configured to store target characterization information, a processing subsystem coupled to the sensing subsystem and to the database subsystem, and an ordnance subsystem. The processing subsystem is configured to process the potential target information according to the target characterization information to confirm the potential target as being a confirmed target. The ordnance subsystem comprises an ordnance magazine configured to store ordnance. The ordnance is deployable against the confirmed target, wherein the confirmed target is an aircraft.

Claims

1. A submersible vessel comprising:

a hull, the hull containing a plurality of subsystems, the subsystems comprising;

a sensor subsystem configured to sense potential target information regarding a potential target;

a database subsystem configured to store target characterization information;

a processing subsystem coupled to the sensing subsystem and to the database subsystem, the processing subsystem configured to process the potential target information according to the target characterization information to confirm the potential target as being a confirmed target; and

an ordnance subsystem, the ordnance subsystem comprising an ordnance magazine configured to store ordnance, the ordnance deployable against the confirmed target, wherein the confirmed target is an aircraft.

2. The submersible vessel of claim 1, wherein the processing subsystem is configured to provide autonomous control of the submersible vessel.

3. The submersible vessel of claim 1, further comprising:

a communications subsystem configured to provide communication with a second vessel for coordinating engagement of the confirmed target.

4. The submersible vessel of claim 3, wherein the second vessel is a second submersible vessel.

5. The submersible vessel of claim 4, wherein the second vessel comprises a second sensor subsystem configured to sense additional potential target information, wherein the submersible vessel is configured to receive, via the communications subsystem, the additional potential target information and to process, via the processing subsystem, the additional potential target information according to the target characterization information to confirm the potential target as being the confirmed target.

6. The submersible vessel of claim 1, further comprising:

a tracking subsystem configured to track the confirmed target.

7. The submersible vessel of claim 1, wherein the sensor subsystem comprises a passive aircraft sensor subsystem.

8. A system comprising:

a plurality of submersible vessels, each submersible vessel of the plurality of submersible vessels comprising;

a sensor subsystem configured to sense potential target information regarding a potential target;

a database subsystem configured to store target characterization information;

a processing subsystem coupled to the sensing subsystem and to the database subsystem, the processing subsystem configured to process the potential target information according to the target characterization information to confirm the potential target as being a confirmed target; and

an ordnance subsystem, the ordnance subsystem comprising an ordnance magazine configured to store ordnance, the ordnance deployable against the confirmed target, wherein the confirmed target is an aircraft.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of submersible vessels is configured to operate autonomously and cooperatively.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of submersible vessels further comprises:

a communications subsystem configured to provide communication with others of the plurality of submersible vessels for coordinating engagement of a confirmed target.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of submersible vessels further comprises:

a navigation subsystem configured to identify a respective location of a respective one of the submersible vessels relative to the others of the plurality of submersible vessels.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of submersible vessels are configured to share the potential target information regarding the potential target among each other.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of submersible vessels further comprises:

a tracking subsystem configured to track the confirmed target.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensor subsystem comprises a passive aircraft sensor subsystem.

15. A method comprising:

deploying to a location via a navigation subsystem, a sensor subsystem, and a propulsion subsystem;

maintaining the location via the navigation subsystem, the sensor subsystem, and a dynamics subsystem;

maintaining readiness via a power subsystem, a processing subsystem, a database subsystem, and an ordnance subsystem;

coordinating operation via a communications subsystem, the processing subsystem, the database subsystem, the sensor subsystem, and a tracking subsystem;

confirming a target via the sensor subsystem, the tracking subsystem, the processing subsystem, the database subsystem, and the communications subsystem;

delivering ordnance via the ordnance subsystem, the tracking subsystem, the processing subsystem, and the database subsystem; and

tracking the ordnance to the target via the tracking subsystem, the communications subsystem, and the processing subsystem.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a tasking order via the communications subsystem.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the coordinating the operation comprises passively sensing an aircraft via a passive aircraft sensor subsystem of the sensor subsystem.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein a plurality of submersible vessels cooperatively develop a firing solution for at least one of the plurality of submersible vessels to engage the target with the ordnance.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the maintaining the location comprises maintaining a standoff distance around a plurality of naval surface vessels.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the delivering the ordnance comprises launching a missile and wherein the target comprises an aircraft.