Systems and methods for reporting objects of interest

• US 10,094,665 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2013
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Venturini, Luca
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Tuan A
• Application Number:
  US13/863,438
• Publication Number:
  US 20140310234A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,002 Days
• Field of Search: 707603
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/203 Specially adapted for sailing ships
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/22 Plotting boards
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3811 Point data, e.g. Point of Interest [POI]

Abstract

A computing device is provided. The computing device includes a user interface configured to receive an input that indicates a user has detected an object of interest in a body of water, a processing device coupled to the user interface, the processing device configured to automatically retrieve, in response to the input, data from at least one data source, and generate a report including the retrieved data, and a means for transmitting data coupled to the processing device and configured to transmit the generated report to a database that includes a plurality of navigational charts, wherein the generated report is used to update at least one of the database and at least one of the plurality of navigational charts to include the object of interest.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a user input interface for receiving an input that indicates a user has detected an object of interest in a navigable body of water, wherein the input is associated with a location of the object of interest in the navigable body of water, and wherein the object of interest is at least one of missing or shown in a different location on at least one navigation chart;

a processor coupled to said user input interface, said processor is programmed to;

receive, from the user input interface, the input from the user indicating the location of the object of interest that is at least one of missing or shown in a different location on at least one navigation chart;

automatically retrieve, in response to the input, data about the location from one of a depth transducer and a fish finder, wherein the data includes a screenshot of a data page of the one of the depth transducer and the fish finder;

retrieve chart data associated with the location; and

generate a report including the retrieved data and the chart data; and

communication interface for transmitting the generated report to a database that includes a plurality of navigational charts, said communication interface coupled to said processor, wherein the generated report is used to update at least one of the database and at least one of the plurality of navigational charts to include the object of interest based on at least one of an accuracy of the generated report and a plurality of reports received associated with the object of interest.

2. A computing device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said user input interface further receives an input from the user that identifies at least one of a name of the object of interest and a category of the object of interest, and wherein said processor is further programmed to generate a report that includes the at least one of the name and the category of the object of interest.

3. A computing device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said computing device further comprises a memory communicatively coupled to said processor, and wherein to automatically retrieve data from at least one data source, said processor is further programmed to automatically retrieve data from said memory.

4. A computing device in accordance with claim 3, wherein to automatically retrieve data from said memory, said processor is further programmed to automatically retrieve at least one of a device identification number of said computing device and a chart code for a chart covering an area that includes the object of interest.

5. A computing device in accordance with claim 1, wherein to automatically retrieve data from at least one data source, said processor is further programmed to automatically retrieve data from a navigation system.

6. A computing device in accordance with claim 5, wherein to automatically retrieve data from a navigation system, said processor is further programmed to automatically retrieve at least one of a speed over ground (SOG) of a vehicle from which the object of interest is detected, and a course over ground (COG) of the vehicle from which the object of interest is detected.

7. A system for reporting an object of interest, said system comprising:

at least one data source;

a computing device communicatively coupled to said at least one data source, said computing device programmed to;

receive, from a user input interface, an input from a user indicating a location of the object of interest that is at least one of missing or shown in a different location on at least one navigation chart;

automatically retrieve, in response to the input that indicates a user has detected the object of interest in a navigable body of water, data about the location from said at least one data source, wherein the input is associated with a location of the object of interest in the navigable body of water, wherein the at least one data source includes one of a depth transducer and a fish finder, and wherein the data includes a screenshot of a data page of the one of the depth transducer and the fish finder;

retrieve chart data associated with the location; and

generate a report including the retrieved data and the chart data; and

a database including a plurality of navigational charts updatable, using the generated report, to include the object of interest based on at least one of an accuracy of the report and a plurality of reports received associated with the object of interest.

8. A system in accordance with claim 7, wherein the object of interest is at least one of a rock formation, a tree stump, a shipwreck, debris, a cargo container, and a sandbar.

9. A system in accordance with claim 7, wherein said at least one data source includes a chart plotter, and wherein the data includes at least one of a device identification number of said chart plotter and a chart code for a chart covering an area that includes the object of interest.

10. A system in accordance with claim 7, wherein said at least one data source is a navigation system, and wherein the data includes at least one of a speed over ground (SOG) of a vehicle from which the object of interest is detected, and a course over ground (COG) of the vehicle from which the object of interest is detected.

11. A system in accordance with claim 7, wherein said computing device is further programmed to transmit the generated report to said database over at least one of a wired network and a wireless network.

12. A method for reporting an object of interest, said method comprising:

receiving, at a processing device, an indication that a user has detected an object of interest in a navigable body of water that is at least one of missing or shown in a different location on at least one navigation chart, wherein the indication is associated with a location of the object of interest in the navigable body of water;

automatically retrieving, in response to the indication, data about the location from one of a depth transducer and a fish finder, wherein the data includes a screenshot of a data page of the one of the depth transducer and the fish finder;

retrieving chart data associated with the location;

generating, using the processing device, a report including the retrieved data and the chart data; and

updating, using the generated report, at least one of a database and a navigational chart to include the object of interest based on at least one of an accuracy of the generated report and a plurality of reports received associated with the object of interest.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising transmitting the generated report to the database, wherein the at least one navigational chart is stored in the database.

14. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein automatically retrieving data further comprises automatically retrieving, from a chart plotter, at least one of a device identification number of the chart plotter and a chart code for a chart covering an area that includes the object of interest.

15. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein automatically retrieving data comprises automatically retrieving, from a navigation system, at least one of a speed over ground (SOG) of a vehicle from which the object of interest is detected, and a course over ground (COG) of the vehicle from which the object of interest is detected.

16. A method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising receiving, at the processing device, user input including at least one of a name and a category of the object of interest, wherein the generated report includes the at least one of the name and the category of the object of interest.