Systems and methods for wave sensing and ship motion forecasting using multiple radars

A ship motion forecasting system comprising:

• a first radar configured to reflect first radar signals off a first portion of a body of water;
• a second radar configured to reflect second radar signals off a second portion of a body of water;
• a processor;
• a memory coupled to the processor;
• a ship motion forecasting program residing in the memory and being executed by the processor, the ship motion forecasting program configured to:
• receive first radar data from the first radar and receive second radar data from the second radar;
• generate ocean wave components from the received first radar data and the received second radar data;
• generate ship motion forecasts from the generated ocean wave components;
• and
• generate a graphical indication of the ship motion forecasts for display to a user.

A ship motion forecasting system comprising:

• a first radar configured to reflect first radar signals off a body of water;
• a second radar configured to reflect second radar signals off a body of water;
• a ship motion forecasting device, the ship motion forecasting component device to:
• receive first radar data from a first radar and receiving second radar data from a second radar, the first radar reflecting first radar signals off a first plurality of azimuthal sectors of a body of water, the second radar reflecting second radar signals off a second plurality azimuthal sectors of the body of water;
• generate moment data from the received first radar data and the received second radar data by performing a method of moments analysis on the received first radar data and the received second radar data, wherein the generated moment data includes a first moment representing a peak frequency shift and amplitude for each of a plurality of patches in the first and second plurality of azimuthal sectors;
• filter the moment data based at least in part on wave period and wave direction to identify portions of the first plurality of azimuthal sectors and second plurality of azimuthal sectors relevant to forecasting ship motion, each of the identified portions comprising a plurality of patches;
• generate ocean wave components from the filtered moment data corresponding to the plurality of patches in the identified portions of the first plurality of azimuthal sectors and second plurality of azimuthal sectors, the ocean wave components including wave phase and wave amplitude for the plurality of patches in the identified portions;
• generate ship motion forecasts from the generated ocean wave components;
• generate a graphical indication of the ship motion forecasts for display to a user;
• and
• display a graphical indication of the ship motion forecasts to a user.