Abstract:
System for detection and depiction of objects in the path of marine vessels and for warning about objects that may constitute a risk to the navigational safety. The system includes a sweeping unit for illumination of objects within the field of view of the system, including a light source which emits a beam within the field of view of the system, an optical sensor and pulse processing unit including optical detectors for monitoring of the beam output power and generation of a start pulse for measurement of distance, for detection/reception of radiant energy reflected from objects, including measurement of distance to the reflecting object(s) based on the time delay between emitted and reflected light, including energy and peak effect of the pulses. The sweeping unit sweeps the beam and the optical detector&#39;s instantaneous field of view over the sweep area, by means of first and second sweeping mechanisms, to obtain directional information related to the instantaneous radiation direction relative to the vessel.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention concerns a system for detection and depiction of objects in the path of speedboats and other marine vessels, including warning about objects that may constitute a danger to navigation safety. 
     Increasing vehicle and vessel speed in passenger transportation, car transportation and goods traffic has increased the consequences from collision with floating objects. During recent years, the number of containers flushed overboard has increased significantly, and represents a high risk of accidents at sea in combination with drift timber and small leisure boats including certain whale species. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,142 describes a sweeping laser-radar-system for detection of obstacles to helicopters and other aircrafts. The laser-radar-technology per se is described relatively detailed in “IR/EO Systems Handbook”, SPIE, 1992. 
     Fast moving vessels are, in addition to radar, equipped with photosensitive video camera located as high as possible to improve overview of the water in front of the vessel. However, systems of this type are highly dependent on the light conditions and are not particularly useful when sailing at night in overcast weather. 
     During recent years, passive IR depiction based upon the FLIR (“Forward Looking Infra Red”) technology has been used for night vision and detection of drifting objects. This technique is based upon detection of small temperature differences between the object and the environments, and objects which have been in the sea for a long time may exhibit very small temperature difference and are therefore difficult to detect. 
     However, neither photosensitive camera nor IR systems are able to determine exact distances to objects within the view port. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main objective of the invention is to create a system for use on speed boats and other vessels to detect and issue a warning about drifting objects and other obstacles to navigation in the vessels course which solves the prior art problems described above. Moreover, it is an objective that the system is operable under all light conditions, both day and night, and provides a three dimensional depiction of objects upon and above the sea level within a certain sector, including accurate distance measurements to the objects. Moreover, it is an objective that the system provides an improved depiction at difficult visibility in fog and precipitation compared to light sensitive cameras and passive IR systems. 
     Finally, it is an objective that the system is arranged to stabilize the sweep area both in the horizontal and the vertical plane from the vessel&#39;s rolling and stamping movements, including short-lived deviations from controlled course (gearing), so that the vessel movements will not affect the quality of the system. 
     The invention concerns a system for use on speed boats and other vessels which is intended to detect and issue a warning about drifting objects and other obstacles to navigation within the vessel course. 
     The system is operable under all light conditions, both day and night, and provides a three-dimensional depiction of objects upon and above the sea level within a certain sector, including measurements of the accurate distances to the objects. Moreover, the system can provide an improved depiction under difficult visibility in fog and precipitation compared to light sensitive cameras and passive IR systems. 
     Selection of laser wave length makes the system absolutely eye safe with regard to the prevailing Norwegian and international eye safety standard 1 , even when viewed through a binocular for marine use. 
     The system operates similar to traditional marine radars in that a laser beam pulse sweeps the field of view and detects the energy reflected passively from the surface. By using short pulses within the infrared wave length interval, we can obtain a resolution within the cm area both laterally and longitudinally (distance resolution). Contrary to traditional marine radar, the laser beam is swept both vertically and horizontally, resulting in a three-dimensional depiction, which makes it possible to detect wave height and height of objects relative to the sea level (for example bridge span etc.). 
     Contrary to laser-radar systems for positioning and target tracking, which are based on use of cooperating elements (retro-reflectors), the current invention is based on passive reflection of incoming light beams similar to a traditional camera. 
     The system in accordance with the invention can fulfil all requirements stated in the IMO standard for “Night Vision” IMO Res. MSC 94(72) 2  and is capable of being approved in accordance with the ISO test standard ISO 16273; 2003(E) 3 . 
     The system comprises principally a sweeping unit (sweeping head) which is located upon the wheel house roof or in the mast with a free view to the field of view in question, and an operator unit/screen unit located in the wheel house within the primary field of view of the navigator. 
     The sweeping unit preferably comprises two sweeping mechanisms, one that sweeps the laser beam in a vertical sector and illuminates a line on the sea level radial from the sweeping unit (line sweeper), and another that sweeps the line horizontally over the field of view in question (azimuth sweeper). The sweeping arrangement is constructed in a manner that it can stabilize the sweep against rolling and stamping movements including small course deviations to provide a stable picture of the environments. Moreover, the sweeping unit preferably comprises an optical sensor unit which detects the reflected laser pulses including fast analogous circuits based on the time difference between sent and reflected pulse, including pulse energy and pulse peak effect. 
     The operator/screen unit preferably comprises signal and control processors for processing the optimal sensor signals, including angle information form the encoders on engine shafts which drives the sweeping arrangement. Also the information from the rolling and stamping sensors is treated here to provide steering information to stabilize the sweep. 
     Then, the detected optical signals are processed together with the angle information from the sweeping mechanisms and external navigation data (position, speed, rolling, stamping and throw) so that the position and intensity of every single laser pulse reflected can be presented in geographical coordinates (Latitude, Longitude, Height) and as picture information on a screen. This picture information can be shown both in central projections such as for a camera, or in vertical projection (PPI) such as for radar. Moreover, the picture information is analyzed in an ARPA module to establish the nearest distance (“Closest Point of Approach, CPA”) and time to the nearest distance (TCPA) for objects in the vicinity of the vessel course. Should CPA reside within a defined safety zone for the vessel, an ARPA message in accordance with the NMEA/IEC standard 4  is sent to other navigation monitors (ECDIS, Radar), optionally also to the vessel alarm system. 
     Further details and advantageous features of the invention will appear from the following example description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be detailed with reference to the attached drawings, wherein 
         FIG. 1   a  and  FIG. 1   b  show a vessel provided with a system in accordance with the invention, 
         FIG. 1   c  shows a sweeping unit, 
         FIG. 1   d  shows an operator panel/screen, 
         FIG. 2  shows an example of distribution of footprint and resolution elements in a plane perpendicular to the centre axis, 
         FIG. 3  shows a block diagram of a vessel installation, 
         FIG. 4  shows a cross section of a sweeping unit in accordance with the invention, 
         FIGS. 5   a - d  show the principle of a sweeping mechanism in accordance with the invention, 
         FIG. 6  shows schematically the analogue signal processing for the system, and 
         FIG. 7  shows schematically an overview of partial processes of the system. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Firstly referring to  FIGS. 1   a  and  1 B, which illustrate a vessel provided with a system in accordance with the invention, hereinafter referred to as a marine laser-radar-system, abbreviated MLR system. The MLR system comprises a sweeping unit  10  (sweeping head) (shown enlarged in  FIG. 1   c ), a control unit  11  and an operator panel (screen)  12  (shown in  FIG. 1   d ). The sweeping unit  10  is arranged on a mast or to another platform above the wheel house roof to a vessel having best possible sight to the observation area. The control unit  11  is mounted within the wheel house to the vessel and integrated with existing power supply, navigation equipment, monitors and internal communication to show both video and radar pictures, and to notify about detected obstructions in a planned vessel course. 
     The MLR system can search a sector around a centre axis  13  by sweeping an infrared laser beam vertically within a vertical sector  14  and horizontally within a horizontal sector  15  or by a continuous rotation in the horizontal plane (as for a traditional radar). The centre axis  13  can be selected arbitrarily within 360 degrees horizontally from the operator panel. The distance to an object  16  within the sweeping sector is measured by using pulsed laser beam and by measuring the time between transmission and reception of the reflected laser pulse, like traditional radar. That is the reason for the term Laser-Radar (LR). 
     A laser illuminates a small area  17  (footprint,  FIG. 1   b ,  FIG. 2 ) with an extension defined by the opening angels of the laser and the distance to the object  16 . At the same time, this area is depicted on an optical detector which can be a simple detector element or a matrix (array) of detector elements. By using a detector matrix, a space like resolution within the illuminated area is achieved, given by the number of elements in the detector matrix. An example of distribution of footprint and resolution elements in a plane perpendicular to the centre axis  13  is shown in  FIG. 2  for a square detector matrix having 4×4 (16) elements. This regular pattern is produced by sweeping the laser beam about two axis by means of two independent sweep mechanisms  19 ,  20  (sweepers), illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The first sweeping mechanism  19  distributes the laser spots along a line  18 , whereas the other sweeping mechanism  20  displaces these lines parallel so that they fill the whole view field in azimuth. The laser rate of fire and line displacement is done so that the field of view is covered by partly overlapping laser spots. A continuous sampling of the sweep sector is performed by turning the direction of the horizontal sweep each time the sector limits has been reached or by a continuous horizontal rotation. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the figure shows a block diagram of a vessel installation. In addition to the two sweeping mechanisms, the sweeping unit  10  comprises an optical/sensor and pulse processing unit  21 , a laser controlling unit  22  and an optical window  23 , whereas the controller  11  comprises a sweep engine controller  24 , signal processor  25 , time controller and controller electronics  26 , and a picture and control processor  27 . The picture and control processor  27  is provided with outputs for connecting to the operator control unit  12  and the vessel navigation and communication system  28 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the figure shows a cross section of the sweeping unit  10 . The illumination source in the system is preferably an eye safe IR laser  30  having a fibre-optical  31  feeding of the laser light to an optical collimator  32  which transforms the laser light to a beam  33  having a footprint adapted to the distribution of the elements in the detector matrix. A small part of this beam  33  is directed to an optical detector  34  via a beam divider  35  for monitoring of the output power and generation of a start pulse for the distance measurement. Moreover, the optical/sensor unit  21  comprises an optical filter  36  for elimination of background light, a collector lens (objective)  37  for reception of the filtered light reflected back from objects  16  within the field of view, and an optical detector  38  in focus of a receptor objective. The receptor objective  37  can be a non-spherical Fresnel lens or other lens combinations, possibly telescope, having a low F-number and with a resolution ability better than the dimensions of the detector elements in the optical detector  34 . 
     The first sweeping mechanism  19  (line sweeper) comprises two optical deflection elements  43 ,  44  which are driven by two engines  45 ,  46  having internal rotors. The deflection elements  43 ,  44  can be wedge prisms (Risley prisms), optical transmission grids (“Volume Bragg Grating, VBG”) or diffractive optical elements (DOE), all having the characteristic that they deflect an incoming optical beam by a fixed angle. At high rotational speeds on the sweep engines  45 ,  46 , it is preferred to use a diffractive optical element (DOE) or an optical transmission grid (VBG) as beam deflector to obtain a balanced rotator. By means of such arrangement, both the laser beam and the field of view for the objective  37  are swept along a substantially straight line with an orientation defined by the mutual angles between the deflection elements  43 ,  44  (discussed in further detail below in connection with  FIG. 5 ). 
     After deflection in the first deflection mechanism  19 , the laser beam and the receptor field of view are deflected by the second sweeping mechanism  20  which is a mirror surface  47 , about 45 degrees relative to the main axis  40  of the sweeping unit  10  and which is rotated about the main axis  40  by means of an engine  41  (azimuth sweeper). To generate a vertical line sweep for all azimuth angles, the orientation of the line sweep must be turned synchronically with the azimuth sweep, so that the sweep line is situated in the inlet plan normally to the mirror plane. This is performed by controlling the phase of the second sweep engine  46  in relation to the first engine  45  (explained in further detail below in connection with  FIG. 5   d ). 
     The sweep pattern can also be stabilized with regard to rolling movements of the vessel by the phase controlling of the two sweep engines  45 ,  46  mentioned above. In addition, the mirror  47  can be tilted about an axis  48  perpendicular to the main axis  40  by means of an engine  49  to stabilize the sweep pattern in relation to the horizontal plane from stamping movements of the vessel. 
     Preferably, all components in the sweep unit  10  are mounted in a water proof cylindrical house  50  with a cylindrical window  34  for transmission of laser light and reflected light from illuminated objects  16  within the field of view. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5   a - b , the drawings show the principle of the first sweeping mechanism  19 , which is a so-called line sweeper. A perpendicularly incoming laser beam is deflected in a direction  51  perpendicular to the stripe pattern (main direction) in a DOE/VBG  43 , and when this rotates about the main axis the beam will describe a circle  52  in a plan perpendicular to the main axis  40  ( FIG. 5   a ). By placing a new DOE/VBG  44  after the first ( FIG. 5   b ), the beam will be deflected again in a direction determined by the main direction of the same. Should the main directions be coinciding for the two DOE/VBG  43 ,  44 , too small angles (&lt;5 degrees) will make the total deflection to become twice the deflection of the individual DOE/VBG  43 ,  44 . When we rotate the two DOE/VBG  43 ,  44  with the same speed in separate direction, the beam will describe an approximately straight line  53  having a direction determined by the difference between the main directions of the two DOE/VBG  43 ,  44 . At constant rotational speed the total deflection will be determined by a sinus function of time and having amplitude equal to the double of the deflection for the DOE/VBG  43 ,  44 . 
     The deviation from a straight line ( FIG. 5   b ) is caused by the distance between the DOE/VBG&#39;s  43 ,  44  and equals the diameter of the circle  52  which the beam from the first DOE/VBG  43  describes on the other DOE/VBG  44  (by a magnitude of 1 mm). However, the direction will be the same, independent of this displacement, resulting in a negligible deviation at longer distances. 
     In order to generate a regularly and stable sweep pattern as shown in  FIG. 1 , some presumptions have to be fulfilled. In order to obtain a mutual parallel displacement of the vertical lines  18  ( FIG. 2 ) by rotation of the second sweep mechanism  20 , i.e. the mirror  47 , the sweep lines  53  must be located in the inlet plane  54  perpendicular to the mirror surface  47 , which means that the sweep lines  53  must be rotated synchronous with the rotation of the sweep mirror  47 , see  FIG. 5   c . This is obtained by incrementing the phase of the motor  46  for the second DOE/VBG  44  in relation to the motor  45  for the first DOE/VBG  43  for every half rotation, so that the turning of the sweep line equals the turning angle of the sweep mirror  47 . 
     The described sweep arrangement also enables stabilization of the sweep pattern for rolling and stamping movements, including small course deviations (gearing) of the vessel in a relatively simple manner. As illustrated in  FIG. 5   d , a rotation of the sweep line  53  a small angle out of the inlet plane  54  for the mirror surface  47  results in a similar rotation of the vertical sweep lines  17 . In the same manner a tilting of the mirror  47  about the second axis  48  will move the sweep pattern up or down in relation to the horizontal plane. If the laser beam is oriented along the vessel longitudinal axis (rolling axis), a rolling movement will be compensated by turning the sweep line  53  an angle equal to the rolling angle but with opposite sign. In the same manner, in order to compensate for stamping movements, the mirror  47  must be rotated an angle equal to the stamping angle, but with opposite sign. Small deviations from planned course (gearing) are corrected by turning the mirror  47  about the main axis  40 . For other orientations (azimuth) of the laser beam, the compensation angles will be determined by known transformations of the rolling, stamping and gearing angles. 
     The two DOE/VBG  43 ,  44  in the first sweeping mechanism  19  are preferably mounted in the rotor part of the conventional brush-free DC engines which rotate on a turbine type bearing. Conventional angle encoders record position and speed of the DOE/VBG  43 ,  44 . The sweep engine controller  24  preferably consists of conventional electronic servomotor units which adjust speed and phase of the DOE/VBG  43 ,  44  based upon input signals from positioning sensors (angle encoders) and selected values for sweeping direction and sweeping speed from the operator control unit  11 . 
     The second sweeping mechanism  20  is preferably controlled by a conventional step motor/driving unit with an integrated angle encoder. The motor stepping is synchronized with the first sweeping mechanism  19 , so that the beginning of the step starts immediately before the sweep line  53  has reached the extreme point and is terminated when the sweep line  53  starts to move in the opposite direction. 
     The motor  49  for stabilization of the sweep mirror  47  in the second sweeping mechanism  44  is preferably also a conventional servomotor/driving unit with an integrated angle encoder controlled by the rolling and stamping angle information provided by the vessel navigation system (attitude sensors), including the horizontal (azimuth) direction of the laser beam  33 . 
     The time controller and controller electronics unit  26  provides starting pulses to the laser  30  and the pulse processing unit  21  processes the pulse signals from the photo detectors to extract reflected intensity and distance to objects  16  within the field of vision of the detector, including output power to the laser  30 . The signal processing is typical for new radar and laser-radar systems and is illustrated schematically in  FIG. 6 . 
     A pulse and function generator  55  receives synchronization pulses (master trig, MT) from the signal and controller processor  27  when the sweeping unit  10  has reached an angle position within the regular sweep pattern, and generates a starting signal to the laser  30  which causes the latter to emit a laser pulse. 
     The current pulse(s) from the photo detector(s)  38  is amplified in current/voltage amplifiers  56  and move on to TVG amplifiers  57  (time-varied-gain), where the amplification increases with time to compensate for weakening caused by spherical diffusion and optical attenuation in the stratum of air between the sweeping unit  10  and reflecting objects  16 . The time function for the amplification is selected from the operator panel  11  and is generated in the pulse and function generator  55  by means of clock pulses from a digitalization unit  58 . A final set of time functions which are representative to different sight conditions (clear, hazy, rain, fog) is implemented in the pulse and function generator  55 . 
     The received pulses from the TVG amplifiers  57  proceed further on to an analogous digitalization unit  58  which also receives the signal from the reference detector  34 . Then, the digitalized signals are sent via cable to a signal processor  25  in the controller unit  11 . The digitalization unit  58  preferably comprises fast A/D converters, data buffers and clock and transfers the digitalized signals to the signal processor  25  where distance and peak value for the return signals are calculated. 
     Furthermore processing of distance, peak and angle information (elevation and azimuth) are performed by the image and control processor  27 . Both the signal and image processors are based upon a conventional modular DSP architecture where the particular processes are distribute on several digital signal processors (DSP), controlled by a PC processor (control processor). 
       FIG. 7  shows schematically an overview of the individual sub processes. The time course for the received signal between each laser pulse emitted is analyzed with regard to instances of return pulses which exceed a threshold given by the signal to noise relationship and a given probability of false detection. The first pulse is always the outgoing laser pulse, and the point of maximum which represents the peak effect of the laser pulse from the reference detector  34  is registered together with an accurate point in time for the emission. The remaining pulses either represent backscattered light from the stratum of air (rain, snow etc.), reflection from objects  16  or false noise pulses. In order to distinguish the object pulses from backscattered pulses, the detector  34  is based upon the simple hypothesis that the laser pulse is stopped by solid objects  16  with an extension larger than the laser spot, so that the last detected pulse with high probability represents reflection from the object  16 . After the outgoing laser pulse has been detected, the search process is therefore started in the end of the time series and back in time. The last pulse is registered in the same way as the laser pulse, with a peak value and an accurate interpolated value for the detection point in time. Then the peak value is normalized with regard to the peak effect of the laser to correlate variations in sent effect, and the distance to the object is calculated by subtracting the point in time of emitted pulse and by multiplying with half of the speed of light (because of two-way transmission). 
     The registered intensity (peak) and distance values are sent to the line generator where all values for a vertical sweep line are accumulated. Then, every point is marked with the vertical sweep angle from the sweep angle decoder and every line is marked with the horizontal sweep angle including a time mark from an external time reference. The intensity values are correlated further with regard to deviation from the selected TVG function (radiometric correlation) so that the intensity values represent reflectivity of the objects  16  and not differences in illumination. 
     By means of navigation data (position, course, speed, rolling, stamping and throw) we can transform the data points from relative distance, azimuth and vertical angle to geographical coordinates; latitude, longitude and elevation above sea level. This is performed in the process called “geometrical creation” ( FIG. 7 ). If the laser beam and the field of view have not been formerly stabilized as described above, we can use navigation data to correlate for rolling and stamping movements including course deviations (gearing) prior to presentation on the graphical monitor. 
     The correlated line data are collected in a sweep data storage which represents a complete sweep image. The sweep data storage is updated line by line if new lines are being generated. The graphical presentation processor picks data from the sweep data storage and generates sweep images both in central projection like a camera and in vertical projection (PPI) as for radar. 
     The ARPA module analyzes the sweep storage for detection of objects  16  within the sweep sector. Detected objects  16  are collected in an object database and classified as stationary or movable based upon correlation from sweep to sweep. A closest distance (CPA) and time to closest distance (TCPA) is calculated for all objects  16  as for conventional ARPA radar. Should the CPA reside within a defined safety zone for the vessel, an ARPA message in accordance with NMEA/IEC standard 4  is sent to other navigation monitors (ECDIS, Radar), and to the vessel alarm system. 
     Modifications 
     The described marine laser radar system can be implemented in numerous alternative ways by alternative selections of components. It is already mentioned that the line sweeper  45 ,  46  ( FIG. 4 ) can be implemented with numerous optical components  43 ,  44  ( FIG. 4 ), all having the characteristic of being able to deflect a laser beam at a fixed angle in relation to the incoming beam, such as Risley prisms, optical transmission grids and holographic elements (HOE). Among theses, optical transmission grids (“Volume Bragg Grating, VBG”) and HOE&#39;s, point themselves out as suitable components in the rotating construction described here. The possibility of using an array of detectors  38  ( FIG. 4 ) has also been mentioned, to be able to increase the sweeping speed compared to the use of single detectors. At the high sweeping speeds which the described utilization here involves, the line sweeper constitutes a critical element. Traditionally, the line sweepers are implemented by means of vibrating single mirrors or rotating multi facet mirrors. With synchronous sweeping of laser beam and larger receiver apertures by means of mirrors, which is required in depicting sweep systems, these systems often attain large dimensions (multi facet mirrors) and are power demanding (vibrating mirrors), wherein vibrating mirrors also can generate large vibrations in the optical-mechanical construction. 
     If large dimensions on the sweep unit can be tolerated, it is possible to implement the present sweep arrangement by means of a rotating multi facet mirror sweeper. In that case, this will replace the line sweeper  45 ,  46  ( FIG. 4 ). 
     For the azimuth sweeper (sweep mechanism  20 ), as an alternative to the internal rotation of the azimuth sweeper, the whole sweeping unit can be rotated by means of an external motor. In this case the cylindrical window  23  ( FIG. 4 ) could be replaced by a smaller level window which covers the field of view of the detection system. 
     As an alternative to the illustrated beam geometry ( FIG. 4 ) where the laser beam is isolated from the receiver optics, the laser beam can be folded into the field of view of the receiver before the line sweeper by means of mirrors or prisms. This can reduce the dimensions of the deflection elements  43 ,  44 , but will also reduce the reception area. 
     References 
     
         
         
           
             1.  1 NEK EN 60825-1 1  IEC 60825-1, Ed 1.2, 2001-08; Safety of laser products—Part 1: Equipment classification, requirements and user&#39;s guide. 
             2.  1  Performance Standards for Night Vision Equipment for High-Speed Craft (HSC), MSC 72/Add.1/Annex 12, Res. MSC.94(72) (adopted on 22 May 2000) 
             3.  1 ISO 16273:2003(E); Ships and marine technology—Night vision equipment for high-speed craft Operational and performance requirements, methods of testing and required test results 
             4.  1  NMEA 0183 v3.01, NMEA 2000