Automatic watercraft piloting system and automatic watercraft piloting assist method

An automatic watercraft piloting system for assisting in piloting of watercraft from a start position to a target position, comprising:

• a current position detecting device for detecting a current position of the watercraft;
• an interference detecting device for identifying an interference that affects navigation of the watercraft, the interference detecting device comprising at least one of a communication device that receives meteorological and oceanographic information from a meteorological/oceanographic information station via a receiving antenna, a watercraft speedometer, a wind speed/direction meter, and a wave meter;
• an input unit for accepting the target position of the watercraft;
• an obstacle identification device that identifies an obstacle located between the current position and the target position;
• a propulsion device that provides a propelling power to the watercraft, the propulsion device comprising a propeller, a drive source for driving the propeller, and a steering device that changes a heading of the watercraft;
• and
• a control unit for controlling the drive source and the steering device, the control unit comprising a processor, a memory, and a storage device,
• wherein the control unit is configured to
• set the start position when the target position is accepted by the input unit,
• acquire at least one of detected interference information including at least one of a wind direction, wind speed, wave direction, and wave period detected by the watercraft speedometer, the wind speed/direction meter, or the wave meter, and received interference information at the current position of the watercraft acquired via the communication device,
• compute a plurality of first routes from the start position to the target position that avoid any obstacle that may exist between the start position and the target position, wherein each of the plurality of first routes disregards the interference and includes a plurality of predicted positions,
• compute a second route for each of the first routes that the watercraft is predicted to travel when the drive source and the steering device are controlled by the control unit so as to follow the particular first route under the interference identified by the interference detecting device, wherein each second route includes a plurality of corrected predicted positions that are obtained by considering the interference, the plurality of corrected predicted positions of each second route including a final corrected predicted position which is an end position of the second route,
• select one of the second routes whose final corrected predicted position is nearest to the target position as an optimum route,
• and control the drive source and the steering device so as to cause the watercraft to progress along the first route that corresponds to the optimum route in absence of the interference.