IP Library Granted Patent US 12703464
Granted Patent B2
US 12703464 · App. 18/529,415 · Granted Aug 11, 2026

Methods and apparatus for relative guidance of watercraft

Inventors: Abhijeet Agnihotri (Cambridge, MA); Max Lewis Greene (Cambridge, MA)
Assignee: The Boeing Company
B63B49/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12703464
App. No.
18/529,415
Granted
Aug 11, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture, and methods are disclosed to relatively maneuver watercraft. A disclosed apparatus includes interface circuitry communicatively coupled to a sensor carried by a first watercraft, machine-readable instructions, and programmable circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine-readable instructions to: calculate a pose between the first watercraft and a second watercraft based on output from the sensor, determine whether the first watercraft is within a threshold offset relative to the second watercraft based on the pose, and provide an indication as to whether or not to adjust operation of the first watercraft based on whether or not the first watercraft is within the threshold offset relative to the second watercraft.

Claims (35)

1 . An apparatus to guide a watercraft comprising:

interface circuitry communicatively coupled to at least one sensor of a mobile device carried by a first watercraft;

machine-readable instructions; and

programmable circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine-readable instructions to:

calculate a relative position of the mobile device to a marker of a second watercraft based on an output of the at least one sensor corresponding to detection of the marker, the marker communicatively coupled to the mobile device;

calculate a pose between the first watercraft and the second watercraft based on the relative position;

determine whether the first watercraft is within a threshold offset relative to the second watercraft based on the pose; and

provide an indication as to whether to adjust operation of the first watercraft based on whether the first watercraft is within the threshold offset relative to the second watercraft.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the threshold offset corresponds to a first speed of the first watercraft and a second speed of the second watercraft.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the indication as to whether to adjust the operation of the first watercraft includes a current trajectory of the first watercraft and a desired trajectory to guide the first watercraft with respect to the threshold offset.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the indication as to whether to adjust the operation of the first watercraft is displayed on at least one of the mobile device, a watercraft navigation panel, or a desktop computer onboard the first watercraft.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to cause a display to display at least one of (i) a distance between the first watercraft and the second watercraft, or (ii) a first speed of the first watercraft and a second speed of the second watercraft.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuitry is to cause a display to display a region around the first watercraft, the region indicating an area in which the first watercraft may traverse during a recommended vehicle operation.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second watercraft includes at least one marker to be tracked by the sensor carried by the first watercraft.

8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the indication to adjust the operation of the first watercraft includes a recommended heading and a recommended speed of the first watercraft.

9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pose further includes a relative heading between the first watercraft and the second watercraft.

10 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions to cause processor circuitry to at least:

calculate a relative position of at least one sensor of a mobile device carried by a first watercraft to a marker of a second watercraft based on an output of the at least one sensor corresponding to detection the marker, the marker communicatively coupled to the mobile device;

calculate a pose between the first watercraft and the second watercraft based on the relative position;

determine whether the first watercraft is within a threshold offset relative to the second watercraft based on the pose; and

provide an indication as to whether to adjust operation of the first watercraft based on whether the first watercraft is within the threshold offset relative to the second watercraft.

11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the threshold offset corresponds to a first speed of the first watercraft and a second speed of the second watercraft.

12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the indication as to whether to adjust the operation of the first watercraft includes a current trajectory of the first watercraft and a desired trajectory to guide the first watercraft with respect to the threshold offset.

13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the instructions cause the processor circuitry to display at least one of (i) a distance between the first watercraft and the second watercraft, or (ii) a first speed of the first watercraft and a second speed of the second watercraft.

14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the instructions cause the processor circuitry to display a region around the first watercraft, the region indicating an area in which the first watercraft may traverse during a recommended vehicle operation.

15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the indication as to whether to adjust the operation of the first watercraft includes a recommended heading and a recommended speed of the first watercraft.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the pose further includes a relative heading between the first watercraft and the second watercraft.

17 . A method comprising:

calculating a relative position of at least one sensor of a mobile device carried by a first watercraft to a marker of a second watercraft based on an output of the at least one sensor corresponding to detection of the marker, the marker communicatively coupled to the mobile device;

calculating a pose between the first watercraft and the second watercraft based on the relative position;

determining whether the first watercraft is within a threshold offset relative to the second watercraft based on the pose; and

providing an indication as to whether to adjust operation of the first watercraft based on whether or not the first watercraft is within the threshold offset relative to the second watercraft.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further including displaying at least one of (i) a distance between the first watercraft and the second watercraft, or (ii) a first speed of the first watercraft and a second speed of the second watercraft.

19 . The method of claim 17 , further including displaying a region around the first watercraft, the region indicating an area in which the first watercraft may traverse during a recommended vehicle operation.

20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the indication as to whether to adjust the operation of the first watercraft includes a recommended heading and a recommended speed of the first watercraft.