# US 2016/0259077 A1 · Method for determining a collision free sail path of at least one vessel of a fleet of vessels, corresponding device, computer program product and non-transitory computer-readable carrier medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2016/0259077 A1 - Document ID: US20160259077A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/060,082 - Filed: 2016-03-03 - Published: 2016-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2015-03-04 - Assignees: Sercel - Applicants: Sercel - Inventors: Fabien Chene - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160259077A1 ## CPC - G01V 1/3808: {Seismic data acquisition, e.g. survey design} - B63B 49/00: Arrangements of nautical instruments or navigational aids (nautical measuring instruments G01C; radio navigation, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - G01C 21/20: Instruments for performing navigational calculations (G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence) - G05D 1/0206: {specially adapted to water vehicles} - G01V: GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS (means for indicating the location of accidentally buried, e.g. snow-buried, persons A63B29/02) - B63B: SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING (arrangements of vessel ventilation, heating, cooling, or air-conditioning B63J2/00; floating substructures as supports of dredgers or soil-shifting machines E02F9/06) - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES ## Abstract A method is provided for determining a sail path of vessels on a map representative of a marine geographic area, to perform a turn between a start point and an end point, each vessel having a turn radius, the start point, respectively the end point, being associated with a start, respectively an end, circle, the sail path being curvilinear and composed of arcs and straight segments. The method includes: detecting obstacles likely to interfere with at least one vessel; encompassing obstacles into a curvilinear geometric form; determining a sail path of the vessel by minimizing, under constraints, a cost function comprising: a first term representative of the length of arcs making up the sail path and a second term representative of the length of straight segments making up the sail path, taking into account the start and end circles and the curvilinear geometric forms, and a third term of penalization of distance separating the sail path to be determined, at any point of the sail path, and at least one disturbing object. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: determining a sail path of a fleet comprising at least one vessel on a map representative of a marine geographic area, to perform a turn between a start point and an end point, each vessel having a turn radius, which turn radius defines the smallest circle the vessel is able to sail, the start point, respectively the end point, being associated with a start curvilinear geometric form and an end curvilinear geometric form, respectively, said start and end curvilinear geometric forms comprising a combination of at least a circle and/or an ellipse which each has a predefined radius of curvature larger than or equal to said turn radius, the sail path being curvilinear and composed of arc segments and straight segments and comprising at least one segment of arc of the start curvilinear geometric form and at least one segment of arc of the end curvilinear geometric form, wherein determining the sail path comprises acts of: detecting, in the map, at least one obstacle likely to interfere with said at least one vessel; and for a given vessel: encompassing said at least one detected obstacle into an intermediate curvilinear geometric form comprising a circle or ellipse or of a combination of circle(s) and/or ellipse(s) each having a radius of curvature, at every point of the circumference of said intermediate curvilinear geometric form, that is greater than or equal to said radius of curvature of said given vessel, and determining a sail path of said given vessel by minimizing, under a set of predefined constraints, an individual cost function comprising: a first term representative of the length of arc segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, a second term representative of the length of straight segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, and a third term of penalization of a distance separating the sail path to be determined, at any point of said sail path, and at least one disturbing object, when said distance decreases. ### Claim 2 A method comprising: determining a sail path of a fleet comprising at least two vessels on a map representative of a marine geographic area, to perform a turn between a start point and an end point, each vessel having a turn radius, which turn radius defines the smallest circle the vessel is able to sail, the start point, respectively the end point, being associated with a start curvilinear geometric form and an end curvilinear geometric form, respectively, said start and end curvilinear geometric forms comprising a combination of at least a circle and/or an ellipse which each has a predefined radius of curvature larger than or equal to said turn radius, the sail path being curvilinear and composed of arc segments and straight segments and comprising at least one segment of arc of the start curvilinear geometric form and at least one segment of arc of the end curvilinear geometric form, wherein determining the sail path comprises acts of: detecting, in the map, at least one obstacle likely to interfere with said fleet of vessels; and for said fleet of vessels: encompassing, for each vessel, said at least one detected obstacle into a curvilinear geometric form comprising an intermediate circle or ellipse or of a combination of intermediate circle(s) and/or ellipse(s) each having a radius of curvature, at every point of the circumference of said intermediate curvilinear geometric form, that is greater than or equal to said turn radius of each vessel, determining the sail paths of the fleet vessels by minimizing, under a set of predefined constraints, a sum of individual cost functions, each individual cost function being associated with a distinct vessel of the fleet, and comprising: a first term representative of the length of arc segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, a second term representative of the length of straight segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, and a third term of penalization of a distance separating the sail path to be determined, at any point of said sail path, and at least one disturbing object, when said distance decreases. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method according to claim 2, wherein each individual cost function further comprises a fourth term representative of speeds of said at least two vessels. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one disturbing object is an obstacle detected in said detecting act, said detected obstacle being either fixed or moving. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one disturbing object is a vessel of said fleet. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein said set of predefined constraints belongs to the group consisting of: as geometrical constraints: a constraint relative to the tangency of straight segments making up the sail path to be determined; a constraint relative to the azimuth at the start and end points; a constraint relative to the positioning of tangential points on the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form; a constraint relative to the radius of curvature of the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form; as operational constraints: a constraint relative to the vessel speed; a constraint relative to the vessel synchronization. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric forms consists each of a circle. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, comprising the following acts: (a) selecting a given number of obstacle(s) each associated with an intermediate curvilinear geometrical form; (b) carrying out said determining act taking into account said given number of obstacle(s); (c) checking that no determined sail path passes through a curvilinear geometric form; and wherein, in the event of negative checking, carrying out a new iteration of said acts (a), (b), (c) with a different given numbers of obstacle(s). ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, comprising the following acts: (a) selecting a number q of obstacle(s) each associated with an intermediate curvilinear geometrical form; (b) carrying out said determining act with said number q of obstacle(s); wherein at least two iterations of said acts (a) and (b) are carried out with different numbers q of obstacle(s) so as to deliver a set of at least two respective potential sail paths, and wherein said method comprises an act of selecting, among said set of potential sail paths, a sail path as a function of a predetermined operational criteria. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second terms take into account a number of intermediate curvilinear geometrical forms lower than or equal to a predetermined maximal number. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, comprising an act of setting, in said map, a sail turning area of at least one vessel, having a predetermined geometric form and in which are located said start and end points, and wherein said detecting act is carried out as a function of the sail turning area. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined geometric form of the sail turning area has a centre at the barycentre of the start and end points of said at least one vessel. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The method according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined geometric form of the sail turning area is an ellipse. ### Claim 14 (canceled) ### Claim 15 A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program product comprising program code instructions for implementing a method, when said instructions are executed on a computer or a processor of a vessel of a fleet of at least one vessel, the method comprising: determining by the computer or processor the sail path of the fleet on a map representative of a marine geographic area, to perform a turn between a start point and an end point, each vessel having a turn radius, which turn radius defines the smallest circle the vessel is able to sail, the start point, respectively the end point, being associated with a star curvilinear geometric form and an end curvilinear geometric form, respectively, said start and end curvilinear geometric forms comprising a combination of at least a circle and/or an ellipse which each has a predefined radius of curvature larger than or equal to said turn radius, the sail path being curvilinear and composed of arc segments and straight segments and comprising at least one segment of arc of the start curvilinear geometric form and at least one segment of arc of the end curvilinear geometric form, wherein determining the sail path comprises acts of: receiving the map by the computer or processor; detecting, in the map, at least one obstacle likely to interfere with said at least one vessel; and for a given vessel: encompassing said at least one detected obstacle into an intermediate curvilinear geometric form comprising a circle or ellipse or of a combination of circle(s) and/or ellipse(s) each having a radius of curvature, at every point of the circumference of said intermediate curvilinear geometric form, that is greater than or equal to said radius of curvature of said given vessel, and determining a sail path of said given vessel by minimizing, under a set of predefined constraints, an individual cost function comprising: a first term representative of the length of arc segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, a second term representative of the length of straight segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, and a third term of penalization of a distance separating the sail path to be determined, at any point of said sail path, and at least one disturbing object, when said distance decreases. ### Claim 16 A device for determining a sail path of at least one vessel on a map representative of a marine geographic area, to perform a turn between a start point and an end point, each vessel having a turn radius, which turn radius defines the smallest circle the vessel is able to sail, the start point, respectively the end point, being associated with a start curvilinear geometric form and an end curvilinear geometric form, respectively, said start and end curvilinear geometric forms comprising a combination of at least a circle and/or an ellipse which each has a predefined radius of curvature larger than or equal to said turn radius, the sail path being curvilinear and composed of arc segments and straight segments and comprising at least one segment of arc of the start curvilinear geometric form and at least one segment of arc of the end curvilinear geometric form, wherein the device comprises: means for detecting, in the map, at least one obstacle likely to interfere with said at least one vessel; and for a given vessel: means for encompassing said at least one detected obstacle into an intermediate curvilinear geometric form comprising a circle or ellipse or of a combination of circle(s) and/or ellipse(s) each having a radius of curvature, at every point of the circumference of said intermediate curvilinear geometric form, that is greater or equal to said turn radius of said given vessel, means for determining a sail path of said at least one vessel by minimizing, under a set of predefined constraints, an individual cost function comprising: a first term representative of the length of arc segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, a second term representative of the length of straight segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, a third term of penalization of a distance separating the sail path to be determined, at any point of said sail path, and at least one disturbing object, when said distance decreases. ### Claim 17 A device for determining a sail path of a fleet comprising at least two vessels on a map representative of a marine geographic area, to perform a turn between a start point and an end point, each vessel having a turn radius, which turn radius defines the smallest circle the vessel is able to sail, the start point, respectively the end point, being associated with a start curvilinear geometric form and an end curvilinear geometric form, respectively, said start and end curvilinear geometric forms comprising a combination of at least a circle and/or an ellipse which each has a predefined radius of curvature larger than or equal to said turn radius, the sail path being curvilinear and composed of arc segments and straight segments and comprising at least one segment of arc of the start curvilinear geometric form and at least one segment of arc of the end curvilinear geometric form, wherein the device comprises: means for detecting, in the map, at least one obstacle likely to interfere with said fleet of vessels and for said fleet of vessels: means for encompassing, for each vessels, said at least one detected obstacle into a curvilinear geometric form consisting of an intermediate circle or ellipse or of a combination of intermediate circle(s) and/or ellipse(s) each having a radius of curvature, at every point of the circumference of said intermediate curvilinear geometric form, that is greater or equal to said turn radius of each vessel, means for determining the sail paths of the fleet vessels by minimizing, under a set of predefined constraints, a sum of individual cost functions, each individual cost function being associated with a distinct vessel of the fleet, and comprising: a first term representative of the length of arc segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, a second term representative of the length of straight segments making up the sail path to be determined, taking into account the start and end curvilinear geometric forms and the intermediate curvilinear geometric form into which is encompassed said at least one detected obstacle, and a third term of penalization of a distance separating the sail path to be determined, at any point of said sail path, and at least one disturbing object, when said distance decreases. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing the sail path in a navigation system; and driving the at least one vessel along the sail path using the navigation system. ### Claim 19 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, further comprising: providing the sail path in a navigation system; and driving the fleet along the sail path using the navigation system.