US20220005360A1 - System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles - Google Patents
System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20220005360A1 US20220005360A1 US17/469,947 US202117469947A US2022005360A1 US 20220005360 A1 US20220005360 A1 US 20220005360A1 US 202117469947 A US202117469947 A US 202117469947A US 2022005360 A1 US2022005360 A1 US 2022005360A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- restricted area
- uav
- data
- intrusion
- restricted
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Pending
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims description 25
- 230000002265 prevention Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 41
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 claims description 14
- 238000005067 remediation Methods 0.000 claims description 9
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 claims 2
- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 abstract description 4
- 230000006854 communication Effects 0.000 description 21
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 description 21
- RZVHIXYEVGDQDX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 9,10-anthraquinone Chemical compound C1=CC=C2C(=O)C3=CC=CC=C3C(=O)C2=C1 RZVHIXYEVGDQDX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 11
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 10
- 239000000284 extract Substances 0.000 description 8
- 230000000246 remedial effect Effects 0.000 description 6
- 238000013519 translation Methods 0.000 description 6
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000012552 review Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000007175 bidirectional communication Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000001413 cellular effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000003993 interaction Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000009474 immediate action Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000004931 aggregating effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009194 climbing Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003203 everyday effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000010006 flight Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008676 import Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002452 interceptive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000033001 locomotion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008520 organization Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000737 periodic effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000035755 proliferation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 231100000279 safety data Toxicity 0.000 description 1
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001052 transient effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000007 visual effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
- G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
- G08G5/0047—Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft
- G08G5/006—Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft in accordance with predefined flight zones, e.g. to avoid prohibited zones
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
- G05D1/0011—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots associated with a remote control arrangement
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
- G05D1/0011—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots associated with a remote control arrangement
- G05D1/0022—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots associated with a remote control arrangement characterised by the communication link
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
- G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
- G08G5/0047—Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft
- G08G5/0052—Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft for cruising
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
- G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
- G08G5/0047—Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft
- G08G5/0069—Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
- B64C39/00—Aircraft not otherwise provided for
- B64C39/02—Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use
- B64C39/024—Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2201/00—UAVs characterised by their flight controls
- B64U2201/10—UAVs characterised by their flight controls autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
Definitions
- UAV controller 14 a is additionally coupled to communicate with restricted area aggregator 16 .
- Communication between UAV controller 14 a and restricted area aggregator 16 may be continuous or transient.
- UAV controller 14 a communicates via the Internet with restricted area aggregator 16 , although other communication means may be utilized.
- Restricted area aggregator 16 maintains a geographic database of restricted areas, at least a part of which is communicated to UAV controller 14 a to aid in preventing breaches of restricted areas.
- restricted area aggregator 16 further maintains information on how to request access to enter restricted area identified in the geographic database.
- restricted area aggregator 16 receives restricted area data from one or more restricted area data sources 18 a , 18 b , and 18 c .
- Restricted area data sources 18 may include remote publishers of restricted area data such as government operated databases and private third-party databases.
- restricted area aggregator 16 may include an interface that allows owners of restricted areas to create restricted areas, describe the geographic boundaries of the restricted area either graphically or via upload of a designated file, and define restrictions associated with the restricted area. Restricted area data is then stored in a restricted area database.
- aggregated data is received by UAV controller 14 a via controller interface 26 (shown in FIG. 2 ).
- aggregated data is filtered to identify positional data.
- positional data may also include data related to direction and/or speed of UAV 12 a .
- a determination is made whether the aggregated data included data relevant to restricted area intrusion.
- aggregated data communicated from UAV 12 a to UAV controller 14 a will not always include positional data. This may result from, for example, GPS sensor 50 providing updates at a longer interval than other updates included in the aggregated data.
- the intrusion prevention system monitors and detects intrusions as they happen, and provides for remediation of detected intrusions, whether by generating flight commands to remove UAV 12 a from the restricted area or by providing the necessary notifications or requests to entry to the owner of the restricted area
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
- Remote Sensing (AREA)
- Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
- Traffic Control Systems (AREA)
Abstract
An intrusion prevention system includes an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a UAV controller, and a restricted area data aggregator. The restricted data aggregator collects and stores restricted area data. The UAV controller is coupled to communicate with the UAV and the restricted area data aggregator, wherein the UAV controller receives positional data from the UAV and restricted area data from the restricted area aggregator. The UAV controller determines based on the received positional data and the received restricted area data whether the UAV is currently intruding within a restricted area or is predicted to intrude within a restricted area and wherein the UAV controller initiates actions to prevent unauthorized intrusions into restricted areas.
Description
- This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/905,484, which is a continuation of U.S. application No. 15,043,310, filed on Feb. 12, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,905,134, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/115,552, filed on Feb. 12, 2015, and entitled “SYSTEM FOR PREVENTING AND REMEDIATING RESTRICTED GEOGRAPHIC AREA INTRUSIONS BY UNMANNED VEHICLES,” and U.S.
-
Provisional Application 62/213,401, filed on Sep. 2, 2015, and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD OF PREVENTING AND REMEDYING RESTRICTED AREA INTRUSIONS BY UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES”, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. - The present disclosure is related generally to restricted area intrusion avoidance systems, and more specifically to systems and methods for restricted area intrusion avoidance in unmanned aerial vehicles.
- Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), once utilized solely in military applications, are becoming more ubiquitous in everyday life. Although a variety of names have been used to describe these systems and devices, such as remotely piloted aircraft, unmanned aircraft, or drone, the common characteristic between each is that no pilot is present within the aircraft. Rather, they are controlled either autonomously by onboard computers or by the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle.
- One of the concerns with the proliferation of UAVs, however, is how to prevent operation of UAVs within restricted areas. Currently, UAV pilots are required to make themselves aware of airspace restrictions and monitor the location of the UAV to prevent operation within restricted areas. However, this is an error-prone process, and one that requires the pilot to be aware of airspace restrictions.
- It would therefore be beneficial to develop a system that provides collision avoidance for UAVs without requiring the addition of on-board collision avoidance sensors.
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a restricted area avoidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates additional details of a restricted area avoidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. -
FIGS. 3A-3D represent a flowchart that illustrates steps performed by various components of the restricted area avoidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating restrictedarea avoidance system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 1 , restrictedarea avoidance system 10 includes one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c (generally, UAVs 12), one ormore UAV controllers 14 a. 14 b, and 14 c (generally, UAV controller 14), restrictedarea aggregator 16, and one or more third party restrictedarea data sources collision avoidance system 10 will be described with respect to interactions betweenUAV 12 a andUAV controller 14 a, although these interactions would be approximately the same between any respective pair of UAV and UAV controller. - As described in more detail with respect to
FIG. 2 , each UAV 12 is coupled to communicate bi-directionally with a respective UAV controller 14.UAV 12 a communicates status information/feedback toUAV controller 14 a, which includes flight data defined broadly to include at least positional data and may also include data related to heading (i.e., direction), speed, and/or orientation, as well as any other information related to the operation and flight of UAV 12. In turn,UAV controller 14 a provides flight control information to UAV 12 a, which may include specific instructions on controlling flight control surfaces, or may include more general instructions such as desired speed, heading, position, etc. ofUAV 12 a. Communication betweenUAV 12 a andUAV controller 14 a may be according to a variety of well-known communication means, including Wi-Fi, cellular, or other radio frequency means. In addition, data may be formatted for communication via according to a variety of well-known aviation standards, including MAVLINK, UAVLink, or other well-known standards. -
UAV controller 14 a is additionally coupled to communicate with restrictedarea aggregator 16. Communication betweenUAV controller 14 a andrestricted area aggregator 16 may be continuous or transient. In one embodiment.UAV controller 14 a communicates via the Internet withrestricted area aggregator 16, although other communication means may be utilized. A variety of information may be communicated betweenUAV controller 14 a and restrictedarea aggregator 16. Restrictedarea aggregator 16 maintains a geographic database of restricted areas, at least a part of which is communicated toUAV controller 14 a to aid in preventing breaches of restricted areas. In one embodiment, restrictedarea aggregator 16 further maintains information on how to request access to enter restricted area identified in the geographic database. As described in more detail below,UAV controller 14 a may simply be required to provide notification that the UAV will be entering a particular restricted area. In other embodiments,UAV controller 14 a may be required to request permission to enter a restricted area, pending approval by the owner of the restricted area. - In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 1 , restrictedarea aggregator 16 receives restricted area data from one or more restrictedarea data sources FIG. 2 , restrictedarea aggregator 16 may include an interface that allows owners of restricted areas to create restricted areas, describe the geographic boundaries of the restricted area either graphically or via upload of a designated file, and define restrictions associated with the restricted area. Restricted area data is then stored in a restricted area database. - In addition, restricted
area aggregator 16 may maintain a geographic database of restricted area intrusions. Restrictedarea aggregator 16 may make determinations locally regarding whether a restricted area has been violated based on positional information received from individual UAV controllers. In other embodiments, individual UAV controllers 14, monitoring the position of a respective UAV 12 may determine whether a restricted area has been violated and may provide notice of the restricted area intrusion to restrictedarea aggregator 16. Incidences of restricted area violations are recorded by restrictedarea aggregator 16, which may include information identifying the restricted area violated, the location of the violation, and identification of the UAV responsible for the violation. The restricted area intrusion database may in addition include a UAV database that includes identifying information related to registered UAVs, including owner of the UAV, identifying information, etc. This information may be included with the intrusion database, or may be maintained separately from the intrusion database. -
UAV controller 14 a utilizes the restricted area data provided by restrictedarea aggregator 16 to prevent intrusions into restricted areas. As discussed in more detail below, this may include utilizing procedures communicated by restrictedarea aggregator 16 to request access to enter restricted areas. In addition, this may include providing information to the pilot regarding the location of restricted areas, and may in some embodiments include providing command instructions to prevent intrusion and/or remedy intrusions of UAV 12 into restricted areas. In this way, the restrictedarea avoidance system 10 provides a system and method of collecting and distributing restricted area information to UAV controllers 14 and utilizing the received information to prevent unauthorized intrusion into restricted areas. -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates additional details of restrictedarea avoidance system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 2 ,UAV 12 a includesflight control systems 20, positional/navigational systems 22, andcommunications system 24. In addition.UAV controller 14 a includescontroller interface 26,data filter module 28,intrusion prevention module 30,display 32,restricted area interface 34, andUAV command module 36. Restrictedarea aggregator 16 includes UAV restricted area intrusion/UAV database 38, restricted areadata interface module 40, restrictedarea creation module 41,data translation module 42,restricted area database 44, and restrictedarea extractor module 46. As described in more detail below,UAV controller 14 a may be implemented on a hand-held device such as a tablet, laptop, or other mobile device capable of communicating wirelessly withUAV 12 a. The hand-held device necessarily includes a processor, memory, and other components required to implement certain functions, such as those performed bycontroller interface 26,data filter module 28,intrusion prevention module 30, restrictedarea interface 34 andcommand module 36. Similarly, restricted area aggregator may be implemented on any suitable computer system, typically, remote fromUAV controller 14 a. Restricted area aggregator includes processor, memory and other components required to implement certain functions, such as restrictedarea intrusion database 38, restricted areadata interface module 40, restrictedarea creation module 41,data translation module 42, restrictedarea database 44, and restricted areadata extractor module 46. - In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 2 ,UAV 12 a is configured to monitor its position via positional/navigational system 22, which may utilize one or more of global positioning system (GPS) 50, inertial navigation system (INS) 52, other well-known positional sensors, and/or combinations thereof. As well understood.GPS system 50 utilizes signals received from three or more satellites to determine the three-dimensional location of theUAV 12 a, which can be monitored over time to determine other safety data such as speed and direction ofUAV 12 a.INS 52 includes motion sensors (e.g., accelerometers) and rotational sensors (e.g., gyroscopes) to determine the orientation, speed, and velocity (direction and speed) ofUAV 12 a. These systems may be used in either alone or in conjunction with one another to generate positional data, which may include in addition to position ofUAV 12 a, the heading, speed, and/or orientation ofUAV 12 a. - In addition, positional/
navigation system 22 may be utilized to provide flight commands toflight control systems 20. While in some embodiments flight control systems, such as engine speed and flight control surfaces, are controlled directly by a user viaUAV controller 14 a, in other embodiments the commands provided by a user are with respect to a desired position, orientation, or speed ofUAV 12 a. In these embodiments, commands received fromUAV controller 14 a viacommunication system 24 are provided to positional/navigation system 22, which compares the commands to current position, orientation, and/or speed ofUAV 12 a and in response generates commands provided toflight control systems 20. As described in more detail below, in one aspect of the present invention, in response to a detected or predicted intrusion of a restricted area,UAV controller 14 a will generate a “safe position” command that is provided toflight control systems 20 viacommunication system 24. The “safe position” command provides the coordinates calculated by UAV controller to prevent or remedy the intrusion. Based on the current position, orientation and direction ofUAV 12 a, positional/navigation system 22 generates commands provided toflight control systems 20 to control aspects such as engine speed and flight control surfaces. However, it should be understood that in other embodiments this functionality may be located as part offlight control systems 20. -
Communication system 24 is responsible for providing bi-directional communication withUAV controller 14 a. In one embodiment,communication system 24 utilizes Wi-Fi, a cellular modem, or other well-known radio-frequency communication standards. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 2 ,communication system 24 receives positional data from positional/navigation system 22, which as discussed above may include position, orientation, heading and/or speed of the aircraft. This information is aggregated with additional diagnostic information associated withUAV 12 a and communicated bycommunications system 24 toUAV controller 14 a. A variety of well-known communication protocols may be utilized, including the MAVLink communication protocol. UAVLink, or others.Communication system 24 may be programmed to communicate aggregated data toUAV controller 14 a at regular intervals, or may be programmed to communicate in response to a request fromUAV controller 14 a. - In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 2 .UAV controller 14 a is implemented on a hand-held device such as a tablet, laptop, or other mobile device capable of communicating wirelessly withUAV 12 a. However, in other embodiments the software and hardware components utilized to implementUAV controller 14 a may be embodied on a traditional desktop-type workstation or server.Controller interface 26 implemented withinUAV controller 14 a provides bi-directional communication betweenUAV 12 a andUAV controller 14 a. In one embodiment,controller interface 26 is configured to monitor communications received fromUAV 12 a, and provide a notification todata filter module 28 when new data is received fromUAV 12 a. -
Data filter module 28, in response to a notification fromcontroller interface 26 that new data has been received, determines whether the received data includes data relevant to intrusion avoidance (e.g., positional data, which may include altitude, position, speed, and direction data). If relevant to intrusion avoidance, positional data is extracted from the aggregated communication bydata filter module 28 and provided to restrictedarea interface 34 andintrusion prevention module 30. In one embodiment, restrictedarea interface 34 communicates positional information to restrictedarea aggregator 34 for the purpose of identifying geographically relevant restricted area information—as opposed to receiving all restricted area information. However, in other embodiments restrictedarea interface 34 is not required to provide positional information to restrictedarea aggregator 16. Rather, restrictedarea interface 34 is only required to receive restricted area information from restrictedarea aggregator 16. In addition, positional data is provided tointrusion prevention module 30 to be compared with restricted area information received from restrictedarea aggregator 16 such that intrusion of UAV 12 into restricted areas is prevented. -
Intrusion prevention module 30 receives the positional information provided byUAV 12 a as well as restricted area data provided by restrictedarea aggregator 16, as described in more detail below. In one embodiment,intrusion prevention module 30 includes a local database (not shown) for storing restricted area data provided by restricteddata aggregator 16. This may include restricted area data geographically relevant to the area in whichUAV 12 a is operating, or may include all geographic data aggregated by restricteddata aggregator 16.Intrusion prevention module 30 utilizes the positional data received fromUAV 12 a and the restricted area data to make determinations regarding intrusions—both current and predicted—into restricted areas. In addition, intrusion prevention module provides information regarding the position of UAV 12 and the location/boundaries of restricted areas to display 32 to alert the pilot to the proximity of restricted areas relative to the position of UAV 12, and may provide information regarding notifications/permissions required to access restricted areas. Alerts and/or notifications may be presented in the form of a text notification, changing an icon in the user interface, sounding an auditory alarm, and/or changing the outline color, fill color, or opacity of one or more restricted area. In addition,intrusion prevention module 30 will determine if immediate action is required in order to prevent and/or remedy an unauthorized intrusion into a restricted area. If immediate action is required, this may include generating a “safe location” outside of the restricted area, and providing this safe location tocommand module 36 to automatically control UAV 12 to navigate to the safe location. If a response is required, this may similarly be displayed to the user viadisplay 32 as one or more interactive elements such as a button or icon that allows the user/pilot to determine whether to ignore the notification or change heading/direction/altitude as suggested. - When analyzing position data from
UAV 12 a to determine whetherUAV 12 a has entered a restricted area,intrusion prevention module 30 utilizes the most recent position information received fromUAV 12 a as well as an extract of locally stored restricted area data. The extract of data represents a sub-set of all restricted area data that is geographically relevant to the position ofUAV 12 a. In one embodiment, by extracting a sub-set of data from the local database, the amount of data that must be analyzed byintrusion prevention module 16 is reduced substantially. - In one embodiment,
intrusion prevention module 36 interacts withdisplay 32 to visually illustrate information related to intrusion prevention. For example, this may include visual displays illustrating the location ofUAV 12 a in relation to restricted area as well as alarms and/or alerts notifying the user of potential intrusions. In addition,intrusion prevention module 36 may display visually routes available to the user to avoid intrusion into restricted areas. In another embodiment, if determined that the likelihood of restricted area intrusion is high enough,intrusion prevention module 30 may generate a “safety point” command. In this embodiment, the safety point command has the effect of overriding commands provided by the remote pilot, and automatically directingUAV 12 a to a location that prevents intrusion into restricted areas. During normal operations,command module 36 receives commands from a user via an input device that it translates and provides tocontroller interface 26 for provision toUAV 12 a. - In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 2 , restrictedarea aggregator 16 is located remotely fromUAV controller 14 a. As discussed above, bi-directional communication between restrictedarea aggregator 16 andUAV controller 14 a may be according to a variety of well-known communication standards (e.g., Internet).Restricted area aggregator 16 may be implemented with a combination of hardware and software including one or more computers, servers, etc. - In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 2 , restrictedarea aggregator 16 utilizes a pair of geographic databases, including restricted area intrusion/UAV database 38 and restrictedarea database 44. Both the restricted area intrusion/UAV database 38 and the restrictedarea database 44 interact directly or indirectly with restrictedarea interface 34. Restricted area intrusion/UAV database 38 maintains records related to intrusions within restricted areas by UAVs, as well as information related to the identification of UAVs (e.g., UAV owner information. UAV type, etc.). This may include recording identifying information related to the intruding UAV and/or pilot, the time of the intrusion and/or duration of the intrusion, and location of the intrusion. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 2 , each individual UAV controller 14 is responsible for providing information related to restricted area intrusions to restrictedarea intrusion database 38. In other embodiments, rather than each UAV controller 14 being responsible for providing intrusion information, each UAV controller 14 simply provides location/position information, which is analyzed by restrictedarea intrusion database 38 to determine whether an intrusion has taken place. If an intrusion is detected, then restrictedarea intrusion database 38 records information related to the intrusion. In addition, in response to a recorded intrusion, restricteddata aggregator 16 may generate a notification or alert that is communicated to the owner of the restricted area and/or to a third party system to alert the parties of the restricted area intrusion. -
Restricted area database 44 is responsible for maintaining a record of restricted areas. In one embodiment, restrictedarea database 44 is a geographic database that is searchable by location or proximity to a location. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 2 , restrictedarea database 44 receives restricted area data from one or more restricted area data sources 18, which interact with restricted areadata interface module 40 anddata translation module 42 to provide restricted area data to restrictedarea database 44. Areas identified as restricted by the owner may be saved to the restrictedarea database 44 in the same way that restricted area data received from restricted area data sources (e.g., provided by remote publishers of restricted area data) are stored to restrictedarea database 44. Restricted areadata interface module 40 may periodically make requests to restricted area data sources 18 for restricted area updates, or may receive notification indicating that new information or updates are available from a particular data source 18. - In addition, restricted
area creation module 41 allows owners of areas to interact with restrictedarea database 44 viadata translation module 42 to identify restricted areas and define the restrictions associated with each restricted area. As described in more detail below, a graphical user interface may be provided by restricted area creation module to allow owners to identify and set these restrictions. -
Data translation module 42 is responsible for translating the received restricted area data—whether received from restricted area data sources or from the owners directly—into a common format for storage to restrictedarea database 44. Restricted area data stored by restrictedarea database 44 includes identification of the area (e.g., boundaries) of the restricted area. In addition, restricted area data may also include information regarding the owner of the restricted area, the type of restrictions placed on the area (e.g., altitude, speed, type of vehicles allowed, etc.) as well as information regarding how to request access to enter the restricted area. - In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 2 , restrictedarea extractor module 46 interacts with individual UAV controllers 14 via restrictedarea interface 34 to provide restricted area data to the controllers. In one embodiment, restrictedarea extractor module 46 receives—either upon initialization or continually—UAV location information from UAV controller 14 and in response extracts geographically relevant restricted area data from restrictedarea database 44. In this way,UAV controller 14 a is not required to store and maintain complete information regarding restricted areas, but rather is only required to store and maintain information geographically relevant to the location ofUAV 12 a. In other embodiments.UAV controller 14 a (in particular, intrusion prevention module 30) is capable of storing all restricted area data. When new restricted area data becomes available.UAV controller 14 a compares the new restricted area data within the restricted area data already stored locally byintrusion prevention module 30. If the new restricted area data relates to a geographic area already stored byintrusion prevention module 30, then the record related to the geographic area is either deleted or modified based on the newly received restricted area data. If the new restricted area data does not refer to a geographic area previously stored, then the new restricted area data is simply added to the local database. - In this way, restricted
area avoidance system 10 provides a system of aggregating restricted area data—collected from one or more restricted area data sources and disseminating the information to UAV controllers 14. In response. UAV controllers 14 utilize the received restricted area data to prevent and remedy intrusions into restricted areas. -
FIGS. 3A-3D represent a flowchart that illustrates steps performed by restricted area avoidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Throughout the description of the flowchart illustrated inFIGS. 3A-3D , reference is made to components described with respect toFIG. 2 . While the plurality of steps are numbered, it should be understood that the numbered steps do not imply an order in which the steps are required to be performed, and in fact many are implemented simultaneously. - At
step 50, positional data associated with UAV 12 is generated. As described above, positional/safety information may be generated via one or more on-board sensors (e.g., GPS, INS, etc.), and may be generated periodically. Positional information may include information related to position, airspeed, altitude and/or direction ofUAV 12 a. - At
step 52, positional data is aggregated with other on-board data for transmission from UAV 12 to UAV controller 14. In one embodiment, positional data is aggregated with other on-board data only when it provides an update to a previous position. - At step 54, aggregated data is transmitted from
UAV 12 a toUAV controller 14 a via a wireless communication link. As described above, any one of a variety of well-known wireless communication standards may be employed (e.g., Wi-Fi, cellular, etc.). Transmission fromUAV 12 a toUAV controller 14 a may be initiated periodically or on demand fromUAV controller 14 a. In one embodiment.UAV 12 a is configured to provide periodic updates at an interval not to exceed 300 milliseconds. - At
step 56, aggregated data is received byUAV controller 14 a via controller interface 26 (shown inFIG. 2 ). Atstep 58, aggregated data is filtered to identify positional data. As described above, in some embodiments positional data may also include data related to direction and/or speed ofUAV 12 a. Atstep 60, a determination is made whether the aggregated data included data relevant to restricted area intrusion. In some embodiments, aggregated data communicated fromUAV 12 a toUAV controller 14 a will not always include positional data. This may result from, for example,GPS sensor 50 providing updates at a longer interval than other updates included in the aggregated data. If atstep 60 it is determined that the aggregated data does not include data relevant to restricted area intrusion (e.g., does not include updated positional data), then no further action is taken on this data as indicated bystop 62. If atstep 60 it is determined that the aggregated data does include data related to restricted area intrusion (e.g., does include positional data), then atstep 64 data the positional data is communicated tointrusion prevention module 30. In addition to receiving positional information,intrusion prevention module 30 also receives restricted area data from restrictedarea data interface 46. An embodiment illustrating the collection of restricted area from a plurality of sources and dissemination to UAV controllers 14 is provided by steps 68-98. However, it will be recognized that these steps may be performed in tandem with other steps. That is, operations performed remotely atrestricted area aggregator 16 are discussed first, although it should be noted that this does not imply that these operations are executed prior to those discussed subsequently. The collection and dissemination of restricted area data to the individual controllers 14 is described next with reference toFIGS. 3A and 3B , before returning to howintrusion prevention module 30 utilizes this information to prevent intrusions. - At step 68 (shown in
FIG. 3B ), expiration of a timer is utilized to determine when to request data from restricted area data sources 18. In other embodiments, other mechanisms may be utilized to determine when to request or prepare to receive restricted area data. Atstep 70, in response to expiration of the timer, a request is made to remote restricted area data sources 18 for updated information. The request is received by restricted area data sources 18 atstep 72, and atstep 74 the requested restricted area data is transmitted from restricted area data sources 18 to restrictedarea aggregator 16. In one embodiment, restricted area data includes only that data that has been recently updated or newly added, not all restricted area data stored or otherwise maintained by remote restricted area data sources 18. - At
step 76, the restricted area data provided by remote restricted area data sources 18 is received by restrictedarea aggregator 16. Atstep 78, the received restricted area data is translated into a common format prior to storage to restrictedarea database 44. Atstep 80, the formatted restricted area data is buffered or stored to restrictedarea database 44, and the timer used to determine when to request updated data is reset. Restricted area data includes the geographic boundaries of the restricted areas, type of restrictions associated with the area (e.g., altitude restrictions, aircraft restrictions, time of day restrictions, etc.), and information on how to gain access to the restricted area (e.g., notification, request, etc.). As described previously, restrictedarea database 44 may be organized as a geographic database that is searchable based on proximity to a particular location. This type of database configuration is particularly beneficial when the restricted area data to be stored represents an update to data already stored in the database. A database organized by geography allows data previously stored with respect to a particular geographic area to be located and updated or replaced. - In addition to receiving updates from restricted area data sources (e.g., from remote publishers of restricted area data), restricted
area aggregator 16 may also receive restricted area data from the owners of restricted areas via restrictedarea creation module 41. In one embodiment, restrictedarea creation module 41 is a graphical user interface (GUI) made available by restrictedarea aggregator 16 that allows an administrator and/or owner to graphically define the boundaries of a restricted area as indicated atstep 82. This may include providing a variety of tools which allow the user/administrator to draw geometric shapes, such as rectangles and circles, or allow a user to draw an arbitrary shape by defining a series of points. The interface also allows a user/admin to import a pre-existing set of restricted areas from a file in a well-known format. In addition, atstep 82 the owner/administrator is able to define restrictions associated with the restricted area, including altitude restrictions, aircraft restrictions, time of day restrictions, etc., as well as information on how to gain access to the restricted area (e.g., notification, permission, etc.). Atstep 84, the administrator/owner uploads the information via restrictedarea creation module 41 anddata translation module 42 to restrictedarea database 44. Restricted area data received from either remote restricted area data sources 18 and/or restrictedarea creation module 41 are both stored to restrictedarea database 44 in the same format. - At
step 86, notification is provided to UAV controllers 14 regarding the availability of updated restricted area information. In other embodiments, the particular interactions between UAV controllers 14 and restrictedarea aggregator 16 may be varied (e.g., utilizing a different order of handshake operations to transfer updated restricted area data to UAV controllers 14). For example, updates may be provided automatically to individual UAV controllers 14 at regular intervals, rather than in response to a notification provided by restrictedarea aggregator 16. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3 , the notification is provided to all UAV controllers 14 in response to updated or new restricted area data. However, in other embodiment the notification is only provided to those UAV controllers 14 with respective UAVs 12 operating within a defined proximity of the updated restricted area data. However, this requires restrictedarea aggregator 16 to maintain information related to the location of UAVs 12.Restricted data aggregator 16 receives the notification of updated restricted area data availability atstep 88. - At
step 90. UAV controller 14 makes a request to restrictedarea aggregator 16 for the updated restricted area data. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3 , no additional information is required other than the request. However, in other embodiments additional information may be provided with the request, including position information associated with UAV 12 that may be utilized to extract only the restricted area data that is geographically relevant to UAV 12. Atstep 92, the request fromUAV controller 14 a is received by restricted data aggregator 16 (specifically, restricted area data interface 46). - At
step 94, restricted area data interface 46 extracts restricted area data for provision to UAV controller 14. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3 , this includes only that restricted area data that has not been previously provided to UAV controller 14 (i.e., updated or new restricted area data). In other embodiments, restricted area data interface 46 may rely on positional data provided by UAV controller 14 to extract only geographically relevant positional data. Atstep 96, extracted restricted area data is transmitted toUAV controller 14 a. Atstep 98, the transmitted restricted area data is received by restrictedarea interface 34, and included with data received fromUAV 12 a at step 66. - At step 100 (shown in
FIG. 3A ), based on positional data received fromUAV 12 a and restricted area data received from restrictedarea aggregator 16, a restricted area extract is generated. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3A , the restricted area extract represents restricted area data relevant to the location ofUAV 12 a. This may be a subset of the total restricted area data available tointrusion prevention module 30, or may represent all the restricted area data available. The extract of restricted area data does not need to be overly precise, but simply acts to reduce the amount of data that must be scrutinized during the subsequent intrusion calculation step. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3A ,intrusion prevention module 30 acts to both remedy on-going intrusions into restricted areas and prevent future intrusions. On-going intrusions are detected based on the current position ofUAV 12 a relevant to the restricted area extract generated atstep 102, while future/predicted intrusions are based on the predicted location ofUAV 12 a. - At
step 102,intrusion prevention module 30 compares the current position (e.g., most recent information related to the position/direction/speed) and predicted position ofUAV 12 b with the most recently updated restricted area data. Atstep 104, the comparison is utilized to determine whetherUAV 12 a is currently located within a restricted area or predicted to be located within a restricted area. IfUAV 12 a is not currently located within a restricted area and not predicted to enter a restricted area in the near future, then no remedial measures are necessary and the process ends atstep 106. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3 , if it is determined thatUAV 12 a is currently within a restricted area or predicted to enter a restricted area in the near future, then at step 108 a determination is made whether the owner ofUAV 12 a and the owner of the restricted area space in whichUAV 12 a resides belong to the same owner and/or organization. In other embodiments, information regarding the owner of the restricted area may not be available, in which case this step would be omitted. If it is determined that the restricted area in whichUAV 12 a currently resides are co-owned, then no remedial measures are necessary and the process again ends atstep 110. If the restricted area in whichUAV 12 a currently resides are not co-owned, then at step 112 a determination is made regarding the type of restriction associated with the restricted area. As described above, restricted area data may include information regarding restrictions particular to a particular restricted area. For example, restrictions may include restrictions above or below a particular altitude (e.g., aircraft are permitted above 2,000 ft.). In another example, restrictions may include the type of aircraft permitted/restricted from entering the restricted area, and/or the hours of operation in which aircraft are permitted to enter the restricted area. Finally, the restriction type may include information regarding how to request access to enter the restricted area, if possible. - In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 3A , a determination is made at step 112 regarding whether any action is available toUAV 12 a to remedy the entry into the restricted area. If at step 112 it is determined that no entry is allowed into the restricted area, then at step 114 (shown inFIG. 3C ), a determination is made whether the intrusion is current (i.e., has already occurred) or is predicted. If the intrusion is current (i.e.,UAV 12 a is currently located within the restricted area), then atstep 116 intrusion data is collected and a notification is generated that include the collected intrusion data for provision to the restrictedarea aggregator 16. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3C , this includes sending a notification to restrictedarea interface 34 information related to the breach of the restricted area (i.e., intrusions data). This may include information regarding the restricted area that was breached, identification of the UAV responsible for the breach, the location/time ofUAV 12 a when the breach was discovered, etc. Atstep 118, the intrusion data collected byUAV controller 14 a and provided to restrictedarea interface 34 is transmitted to restrictedarea aggregator 16. At step 120 (shown inFIG. 3D ), the intrusion data provided byUAV controller 14 a is received by restrictedarea aggregator 16, and atstep 122 is stored or buffered in UAV restrictedarea intrusion database 38. Intrusion data may be subsequently accessed and utilized to notify the owner of the restricted area regarding the intrusion, or may be accessed by a third-party. - In addition to recording the detected intrusion with restricted
area aggregator 16, at steps 124-144, action is taken on behalf ofUAV 12 a to remedy the intrusion into the restricted area. If at step 114 it is determined that the intrusion is merely predicted rather than current, then no reporting is required as described with respect to steps 116-122, and the process continues to step 124, in which intrusion avoidance calculations are generated to prevent and/or remedy the restricted area intrusion. Intrusion avoidance calculations performed byintrusion prevention module 30 includes comparing the position (including in some embodiments, altitude) ofUAV 12 a, the position ofUAV controller 14 a (for the purpose of determining, in some embodiments, the home base or origin ofUAV 12 a), and the boundaries of the restricted area.Intrusion prevention module 30 then performs a number of calculations to determine the nearest point to maneuver to removeUAV 12 a from the restricted area. In one embodiment, six points are calculated—a remediation maneuver point to the north, south, east, and west, as well as a remediation maneuver that includes climbing or descending in altitude. The point existing outside of the restricted area that is closets toUAV 12 a is then selected. In another embodiment, a set of points are generated at random (e.g., random directions), and the point that is both outside of the restricted area and the shortest distance fromUAV 12 a is selected. In other embodiments, the position of theUAV controller 14 a is utilized as a weighting factor in determining which point to use, or in other embodiments is utilized to break ties in distance between two points, with the point located closest to the position ofUAV controller 14 a winning out. A number of calculations may be utilized to perform the remediation, including locating the shortest route to an area outside of the restricted area. In other embodiments, depending on the particular restrictions associated with the restricted area, this may include changing the altitude and/or speed ofUAV 12 a to accommodate particular restrictions associated with the restricted area. For example, if a restricted area has altitude restrictions, the remedial action calculated may include increasing the altitude ofUAV 12 a to remedy the intrusion. In other embodiments, this may include calculating whereUAV 12 a entered the restricted area and simply calculating a route to exit the restricted area and the point of entrance. This has the benefit—in some cases—of allowing a pilot or owner ofUAV 12 a to retrieve the UAV. In instances in which the calculated remedial position results in UAV 12 intruding within a different restricted area, the process begins again to calculate a different remedial position. - Based on the remediation calculations performed by
intrusion prevention module 30 atstep 124, at step 126 a maneuver request is generated for display to the user via the user interface. The maneuver request may display the predicted/current intrusion, as well as the avoidance maneuver selected to prevent/remedy the intrusion. Atstep 128, the notification is presented to the user, and atstep 130 the user is prompted for resolution. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3C , the user may elect to ignore the suggested avoidance maneuver or perform the maneuver, in which case the process ends atstep 132, If atstep 130 the user elects to perform the maneuver, then at step 134 the intrusion notification is cleared and at step 136 a notification is provided to the command module 36 (shown inFIG. 2 ) indicating performance of the avoidance maneuver. Atstep 138,command module 138 generates flights commands required to perform the intrusion avoidance maneuvers, and atstep 140 transmits the generated flight commands toUAV 12 a. Atstep 142, the flight commands are received by UAV 12, and atstep 144 the flight commands are utilized to perform the avoidance maneuver. Having reached the safe point—which represents a position that does not present an intrusion issue—control of UAV 12 returns to the user and process restarts with positional data being utilized to determine/predict intrusions within restricted areas. - Returning to step 112, if it is determined that
UAV 12 a has entered a restricted area that may be entered pending notification or permission of the owner of the restricted area, then atstep 146intrusion prevention module 30 determines whether the proper notification has been provided. Although restricted areas will typically require either notification or permission, both of these mechanisms for gaining access to a restricted area are described together. The only difference being that a request for permission must be granted by the owner, whereas notification typically only requires the user to provide the notification, without requiring a response from the user. In one embodiment,intrusion prevention module 30 maintains a local buffer of restricted area entry declarations that can be checked to determine if a notification has been sent with respect to the restricted area in question. In another embodiment, this may requireintrusion prevention module 30 to communicate either with restrictedarea aggregator 16 or directly with the owner of the restricted area in order to determine whether the proper notification has been provided. If the proper notification has been provided, as determined atstep 146, then the entry ofUAV 12 a into the restricted area is not an intrusion and the process ends atstep 148. If the proper notification has not been provided, then atstep 150intrusion prevention module 30 generates the required notification/request and logs the notification in the local buffer to prevent duplicate notifications from being generated. In one embodiment, this includes identifying information related toUAV 12 a, including owner/pilot of the aircraft and type of aircraft. In other embodiments, this may further include the location ofUAV 12 a, expected duration of operating time within the restricted area, and/or flight path plan. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3C , atstep 152 the notification/request generated atstep 150 is presented to the user/pilot for review viadisplay 32. The user may modify or augment the generated notification/request. In other embodiments, the notification/request may be transmitted directly to the required parties (i.e., owner of the restricted area). Atstep 154, the user/pilot is prompted for resolution of the generated notification, which may include ignoring the notification or transmitting it to the required parties. If atstep 154, the user/pilot decides to ignore the notification, then atstep 156 the notification is cleared and the process ends atstep 158. If the user/pilot decides to transmit the notification, then atstep 160 the notification is cleared fromUAV controller 14 a and the notification is communicated atstep 162 to the required parties. In some embodiments, this may include communicating the entry/notification request directly to the owner of the restricted area. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3C , this includes transmitting the entry/notification request to the restrictedarea aggregator 16. Atstep 164, the entry/notification request is received by restrictedarea aggregator 16. Atstep 166 the entry/notification request is acted on. In embodiments in which only notification is required, then atstep 166 the notification is stored to restricted area intrusion/UAV database 38 along with identifying information associated with the UAV to maintain record of the notification. A similar record may be stored locally byintrusion prevention module 30 withinUAV controller 14 a. In embodiments in which entry request must be granted, review of the entry request may be provided automatically via review of the request to determine whether the request complies entry request rules, or may be provided to the owner/administrator of the restricted area for review and a determination of whether to grant the request. If the request is granted, then at step 168 a notification is provided toUAV controller 14 a allowsUAV 12 a to operate or continue operating in the restricted area. If the request is denied atstep 166, then at step 170 a notification is provided toUAV controller 14 a regarding the denied entry request. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 3D , if the request is denied this is equivalent to the restricted area being deemed a “no entry” area, and the process continues at step 114 (shown inFIG. 3C ) as described above in instances in which the restriction type indicates no entry. In this way, despite an intrusion or predicted intrusion into a restricted area,intrusion prevention module 30 may be able to remedy the intrusion without altering the flight path ofUAV 12 a. In cases in which the intrusion cannot be remedied—such as if the owner of the restricted area denies the request to enter the restricted area—then avoidance/remedial maneuvers may be required to remedy or prevent an intrusion of the restricted area. - In this way, the intrusion prevention system monitors and detects intrusions as they happen, and provides for remediation of detected intrusions, whether by generating flight commands to remove
UAV 12 a from the restricted area or by providing the necessary notifications or requests to entry to the owner of the restricted area - While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment(s), it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (20)
1. A UAV controller comprising:
a controller interface for receiving a flight path corresponding with a UAV;
a restricted area interface configured to communicated bi-directionally with a restricted area aggregator, wherein the restricted area interface provides the flight path or information corresponding with the flight path to a restricted area aggregator and receives in response spatially relevant restricted area data from the restricted area aggregator, wherein the spatially relevant restricted area data includes information identifying notifications/permissions required to enter restricted areas; and
an intrusion prevention module configured to remedy/prevent restricted area intrusions based on the flight path and spatially relevant restricted area data, wherein the intrusion prevention module generates notification/requests for access to the restricted areas intersecting with the received flight path and communicates the notifications/requests via the restricted area interface to one or both of the restricted area aggregator and owners of the restricted areas.
2. The UAV controller of claim 1 , wherein the controller interface is further configured to receive position information associated with the UAV, wherein the intrusion prevention module compares position information with spatially relevant restricted area data to detect intrusions and/or predicted intrusions, wherein the intrusion prevention module remedies detected intrusions and/or predicted intrusions.
3. The UAV controller of claim 2 , wherein remedying detected intrusions and/or predicted intrusions includes generating notification/requests for access to the restricted area corresponding with the detected intrusion and/or predicted intrusion.
4. The UAV controller of claim 2 , wherein remedying detected intrusions and/or predicted intrusions includes calculating a safe position outside of the restricted area.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the intrusion prevention module calculates remediation paths in a plurality of different directions and selects the safe position from the plurality of remediation paths, wherein the safe position is not located within a restricted area.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of directions may further include increases or decreases in altitude.
7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the safe position is selected based, at least in part, on distance of the safe point from a current position of the UAV.
8. The system of claim 4 , wherein the intrusion prevention module calculates an entry point of the UAV into the restricted area, wherein the safe position is selected based on proximity to the entry point.
9. The system of claim 4 , wherein the UAV controller is remotely located from the UAV, wherein calculated safe positions and/or flight path instructions based on the calculated safe position are communicated to the UAV.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the safe position is selected based on proximity to a location of the UAV controller.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the UAV controller is located on-board the UAV.
12. A method of preventing and/or remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles, the method comprising:
receiving a flight path corresponding with a UAV;
receiving spatially relevant restricted area data from a restricted area aggregator, wherein the spatially relevant restricted area data is provided in response to the received flight path of the UAV;
comparing the flight path to the spatially relevant restricted area data to predict restricted area intrusions;
generating notification/requests based on the predicted restricted area intrusions, wherein the notification/requests are generated based on information provided in the spatially relevant restricted area data; and
communicating the notification/requests to one or both of the restricted area aggregator and owners of the restricted areas.
13. The method of claim 12 , further including:
receiving position information associated with the UAV;
comparing the position information with the spatially relevant restricted area data to detect intrusions and/or predicted intrusions; and
remedying the intrusion and/or predicted intrusion.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein remedying a predicted intrusion includes generating notification/requests based on information provided in the spatially relevant restricted area data and communicating the notification/requests to one or both of the restricted area aggregator and owner of the restricted area.
15. The method of claim 13 , wherein remedying a detected intrusion includes calculating a safe position to remedy the detected intrusion.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein calculating a safe position to remedy the detected intrusion includes calculating remediation paths in a plurality of different directions and selecting the safe position from the plurality of remediation paths, wherein the safe position is not located within a restricted area.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of different directions may further include increases or decreases in altitude.
18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the safe position is selected based, at least in part, on distance of the safe point from a current position of the UAV.
19. The method of claim 15 , further including:
calculating an entry point into the restricted area, wherein the safe position is selected based on proximity to the entry point.
20. The method of claim 13 , wherein a UAV controller is remotely located from the UAV, wherein the safe position is selected based, in part, on proximity to a location of the UAV controller.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US17/469,947 US20220005360A1 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2021-09-09 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
Applications Claiming Priority (5)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US201562115552P | 2015-02-12 | 2015-02-12 | |
US201562213401P | 2015-09-02 | 2015-09-02 | |
US15/043,310 US9905134B2 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2016-02-12 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
US15/905,484 US11120697B2 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2018-02-26 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
US17/469,947 US20220005360A1 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2021-09-09 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US15/905,484 Continuation US11120697B2 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2018-02-26 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20220005360A1 true US20220005360A1 (en) | 2022-01-06 |
Family
ID=56621207
Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US15/043,310 Active US9905134B2 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2016-02-12 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
US15/905,484 Active US11120697B2 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2018-02-26 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
US17/469,947 Pending US20220005360A1 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2021-09-09 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
Family Applications Before (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US15/043,310 Active US9905134B2 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2016-02-12 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
US15/905,484 Active US11120697B2 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2018-02-26 | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (3) | US9905134B2 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20220036749A1 (en) * | 2015-01-09 | 2022-02-03 | Botlink, Llc | System and method of collision avoidance in unmanned aerial vehicles |
Families Citing this family (67)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2015157883A1 (en) | 2014-04-17 | 2015-10-22 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Flight control for flight-restricted regions |
US20170108866A1 (en) * | 2014-05-13 | 2017-04-20 | Joseph Patrick Quinn | Method and apparatus for controlling unmanned aircraft |
US9495877B2 (en) * | 2014-05-27 | 2016-11-15 | The Boeing Company | Airspace deconfliction system and method |
CN108132678B (en) * | 2014-09-15 | 2021-06-04 | 深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司 | Flight control method of aircraft and related device |
US10102590B1 (en) | 2014-10-02 | 2018-10-16 | United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) | Systems and methods for unmanned vehicle management |
US11688014B1 (en) | 2014-10-02 | 2023-06-27 | United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) | Systems and methods for unmanned vehicle management |
CN113342050A (en) | 2014-12-31 | 2021-09-03 | 深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司 | Vehicle height limitation and control |
US10365646B1 (en) | 2015-01-27 | 2019-07-30 | United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) | Systems and methods for unmanned vehicle management |
WO2016154949A1 (en) | 2015-03-31 | 2016-10-06 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Authentication systems and methods for generating flight regulations |
EP3152089A4 (en) | 2015-03-31 | 2017-08-02 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for geo-fencing device communications |
CN113031653A (en) | 2015-03-31 | 2021-06-25 | 深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司 | Open platform for flight-limiting area |
US9939810B1 (en) | 2015-04-17 | 2018-04-10 | United Services Automobile Association | Indoor drone flight awareness system |
EP3128386B1 (en) * | 2015-08-04 | 2017-12-06 | The Boeing Company | Method and device for tracking a moving target from an air vehicle |
US10185316B2 (en) * | 2015-08-10 | 2019-01-22 | Edward Kablaoui | System and method for drone connectivity and communication over a cellular network |
WO2017058966A1 (en) * | 2015-09-28 | 2017-04-06 | Department 13, LLC | Unmanned aerial vehicle intrusion detection and countermeasures |
WO2017084031A1 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2017-05-26 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for managing flight-restriction regions |
US10339818B2 (en) * | 2015-11-24 | 2019-07-02 | Drone Go Home, LLC | Drone defense system |
US9626874B1 (en) * | 2016-01-06 | 2017-04-18 | Qualcomm Incorporated | Systems and methods for managing restricted areas for unmanned autonomous vehicles |
US10354386B1 (en) | 2016-01-27 | 2019-07-16 | United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) | Remote sensing of structure damage |
US10169856B1 (en) | 2016-01-27 | 2019-01-01 | United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) | Laser-assisted image processing |
US10853756B2 (en) * | 2016-03-02 | 2020-12-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | Vehicle identification and interception |
US10395542B2 (en) * | 2016-03-28 | 2019-08-27 | Cisco Technology, Inc. | Drone traffic engineering |
US9977428B2 (en) | 2016-04-26 | 2018-05-22 | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. | Augmentative control of drones |
US10080099B2 (en) * | 2016-04-28 | 2018-09-18 | Raytheon Company | Cellular enabled restricted zone monitoring |
EP4047439A1 (en) * | 2016-06-21 | 2022-08-24 | Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | Methods of route directing unmanned aerial vehicles |
US10745132B1 (en) * | 2016-06-28 | 2020-08-18 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Tow control handle for unmanned aerial vehicle |
US10082802B2 (en) * | 2016-08-11 | 2018-09-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for continued navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles beyond restricted airspace boundaries |
GB2559475A (en) * | 2016-09-19 | 2018-08-08 | Citadel Defense Company | Radio control transmissions |
US11125561B2 (en) * | 2016-09-30 | 2021-09-21 | Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. | Steering assist |
US10679511B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2020-06-09 | Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. | Collision detection and avoidance |
US10410320B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2019-09-10 | Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. | Course profiling and sharing |
WO2018069911A1 (en) | 2016-10-11 | 2018-04-19 | Dr. Frucht Systems Ltd | Method and system for detecting and positioning an intruder using a laser detection and ranging device |
US10573188B2 (en) * | 2016-10-23 | 2020-02-25 | Gopro, Inc. | Virtual wall mapping for aerial vehicle navigation |
EP3315405A1 (en) * | 2016-10-25 | 2018-05-02 | Alcatel Lucent | Collaborative security system to control drones |
CN106448274A (en) * | 2016-10-26 | 2017-02-22 | 汕头市杰泰电子科技有限公司 | A method of defining a flight area of an unmanned aerial vehicle based on a Beidou short message system and an unmanned aerial vehicle |
US10429836B2 (en) * | 2016-11-14 | 2019-10-01 | Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute | Channel access method in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control and non-payload communication (CNPC) system |
EP3500903B1 (en) * | 2016-12-01 | 2021-04-28 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods of unmanned aerial vehicle flight restriction for stationary and moving objects |
CN108513560B (en) * | 2016-12-23 | 2019-07-05 | 瑞典爱立信有限公司 | Unmanned vehicle in control zone |
CN106933250A (en) * | 2017-05-04 | 2017-07-07 | 陕西舜洋电子科技有限公司 | Headroom spatial domain unmanned plane management method |
CN106950994A (en) * | 2017-05-04 | 2017-07-14 | 陕西舜洋电子科技有限公司 | Headroom spatial domain unmanned plane managing device |
WO2018203112A1 (en) * | 2017-05-05 | 2018-11-08 | Onesky Sàrl | A portable air-traffic control system for drones |
CN107315421B (en) * | 2017-07-10 | 2019-05-10 | 山东科技大学 | A kind of distributed speed sensor fault diagnostic method that time delay unmanned plane is formed into columns |
WO2019028862A1 (en) * | 2017-08-11 | 2019-02-14 | 北京小米移动软件有限公司 | Drone control method and device, drone and core network device |
JP6634423B2 (en) * | 2017-09-26 | 2020-01-22 | Kddi株式会社 | Operation management method and operation management device |
US11032022B1 (en) | 2017-10-11 | 2021-06-08 | Genghiscomm Holdings, LLC | Detection, analysis, and countermeasures for automated and remote-controlled devices |
EP3665867A4 (en) * | 2017-11-17 | 2020-07-29 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | System and methods for electronic fences |
WO2019101321A1 (en) * | 2017-11-23 | 2019-05-31 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) | Flight policy determination at roaming |
EP3714610B1 (en) | 2017-11-23 | 2023-05-31 | Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | Flight policy query at roaming |
FR3074347B1 (en) * | 2017-11-24 | 2022-10-14 | Thales Sa | ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR REMOTE CONTROL OF DRONES, METHOD FOR COMPUTER PROGRAM ASSOCIATED |
LU100674B1 (en) * | 2018-01-10 | 2019-07-17 | Krys S A R L | Method and system for monitoring transport related activity |
CN108196582A (en) * | 2018-02-12 | 2018-06-22 | 深圳技术大学(筹) | A kind of indoor Visual Navigation unmanned plane cluster flight control system and method |
CN108762291B (en) * | 2018-03-06 | 2022-01-14 | 西安大衡天成信息科技有限公司 | Method and system for discovering and tracking remote controller of black flying unmanned aerial vehicle |
US10569898B2 (en) | 2018-03-26 | 2020-02-25 | Honeywell International Inc. | Method and system for generating an alert for an aircraft potentially exceeding speed limits in restricted airspace |
CN109195126B (en) * | 2018-08-06 | 2022-07-05 | 中国石油天然气股份有限公司 | Pipeline information acquisition system |
WO2020058535A1 (en) | 2018-09-18 | 2020-03-26 | Arborea Intellbird S.L. | Unmanned aircraft operating control system and method |
CN110968106A (en) * | 2018-09-30 | 2020-04-07 | 华为技术有限公司 | Aircraft control method and device |
CN109792786A (en) * | 2018-12-17 | 2019-05-21 | 北京小米移动软件有限公司 | The method and device of user equipment pairing |
US11287818B2 (en) * | 2019-01-23 | 2022-03-29 | Uatc, Llc | Depart constraints implementation in autonomous vehicle routing |
US20210197967A1 (en) * | 2019-04-12 | 2021-07-01 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univesrity, Inc. | Uas detection and negation |
CN110084296B (en) * | 2019-04-22 | 2023-07-21 | 中山大学 | Graph representation learning framework based on specific semantics and multi-label classification method thereof |
US11191005B2 (en) | 2019-05-29 | 2021-11-30 | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. | Cyber control plane for universal physical space |
CN113227710A (en) * | 2019-12-31 | 2021-08-06 | 深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司 | Flight control method, device, system and computer readable medium for unmanned aerial vehicle |
CN110908391A (en) * | 2019-12-31 | 2020-03-24 | 深圳市道通智能航空技术有限公司 | Airport limiting method and device and unmanned aerial vehicle |
CN113853596A (en) * | 2020-09-03 | 2021-12-28 | 深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司 | Method, apparatus, removable platform and computer storage medium for updating restricted area data |
TWI766427B (en) | 2020-11-06 | 2022-06-01 | 財團法人工業技術研究院 | Drone apparatus and method for deploying drone working zone |
US20220229449A1 (en) * | 2021-01-15 | 2022-07-21 | Wing Aviation Llc | Managing a fleet of autonomous vehicles based on collected information |
CN113784284A (en) * | 2021-09-01 | 2021-12-10 | 中国航空工业集团公司西安飞行自动控制研究所 | Electronic fence avoiding method for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20150254988A1 (en) * | 2014-04-17 | 2015-09-10 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd | Flight control for flight-restricted regions |
US20160117853A1 (en) * | 2014-10-27 | 2016-04-28 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd | Uav flight display |
US20190114925A1 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2019-04-18 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for managing flight-restriction regions |
Family Cites Families (13)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5890441A (en) * | 1995-09-07 | 1999-04-06 | Swinson Johnny | Horizontal and vertical take off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle |
US7127334B2 (en) * | 2002-12-03 | 2006-10-24 | Frink Bentley D | System and methods for preventing the unauthorized use of aircraft |
US7818099B2 (en) * | 2006-08-24 | 2010-10-19 | Honeywell International Inc. | System and method for alerting a user of an aircraft of a possible entrance into a selected airspace |
US8082102B2 (en) * | 2008-01-14 | 2011-12-20 | The Boeing Company | Computing flight plans for UAVs while routing around obstacles having spatial and temporal dimensions |
US9513125B2 (en) * | 2008-01-14 | 2016-12-06 | The Boeing Company | Computing route plans for routing around obstacles having spatial and temporal dimensions |
US9257048B1 (en) * | 2010-04-21 | 2016-02-09 | The Boeing Company | Aircraft emergency landing route system |
US20140306799A1 (en) * | 2013-04-15 | 2014-10-16 | Flextronics Ap, Llc | Vehicle Intruder Alert Detection and Indication |
US9984348B2 (en) * | 2013-11-29 | 2018-05-29 | Fedex Corporate Services, Inc. | Context management of a wireless node network |
US9334051B2 (en) * | 2014-02-28 | 2016-05-10 | Siemens Industry, Inc. | Apparatus for servicing a detector of a fire safety system |
EP3149597B1 (en) * | 2014-06-02 | 2019-10-02 | Bastille Networks, Inc. | Electromagnetic threat detection and mitigation in the internet of things |
ES2876449T3 (en) * | 2014-09-05 | 2021-11-12 | Sz Dji Technology Co Ltd | Multi-sensor environment mapping |
EP3241205A4 (en) * | 2014-12-31 | 2018-11-07 | Airmap Inc. | System and method for controlling autonomous flying vehicle flight paths |
US9552736B2 (en) * | 2015-01-29 | 2017-01-24 | Qualcomm Incorporated | Systems and methods for restricting drone airspace access |
-
2016
- 2016-02-12 US US15/043,310 patent/US9905134B2/en active Active
-
2018
- 2018-02-26 US US15/905,484 patent/US11120697B2/en active Active
-
2021
- 2021-09-09 US US17/469,947 patent/US20220005360A1/en active Pending
Patent Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20150254988A1 (en) * | 2014-04-17 | 2015-09-10 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd | Flight control for flight-restricted regions |
US9317036B2 (en) * | 2014-04-17 | 2016-04-19 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd | Flight control for flight-restricted regions |
US20160117853A1 (en) * | 2014-10-27 | 2016-04-28 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd | Uav flight display |
US10086954B2 (en) * | 2014-10-27 | 2018-10-02 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | UAV flight display |
US20190114925A1 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2019-04-18 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for managing flight-restriction regions |
US10902734B2 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2021-01-26 | SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for managing flight-restriction regions |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20220036749A1 (en) * | 2015-01-09 | 2022-02-03 | Botlink, Llc | System and method of collision avoidance in unmanned aerial vehicles |
US11830372B2 (en) * | 2015-01-09 | 2023-11-28 | Botlink, Llc | System and method of collision avoidance in unmanned aerial vehicles |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US11120697B2 (en) | 2021-09-14 |
US9905134B2 (en) | 2018-02-27 |
US20180190130A1 (en) | 2018-07-05 |
US20160240087A1 (en) | 2016-08-18 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US20220005360A1 (en) | System and method of preventing and remedying restricted area intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles | |
US11830372B2 (en) | System and method of collision avoidance in unmanned aerial vehicles | |
US11961093B2 (en) | Authentication systems and methods for generating flight regulations | |
US9858822B1 (en) | Airspace activity tracking using unmanned aerial vehicles | |
EP3347270B1 (en) | Unmanned aerial vehicle in controlled airspace | |
US9821910B1 (en) | Unmanned vehicle control system and apparatus | |
CN107430403B (en) | System and method with geo-fencing device level | |
CN107531324B (en) | System and method for mobile geofencing | |
CN107533331B (en) | Geo-fencing device with dynamic characteristics | |
CN112330984B (en) | System and method for regulating operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle | |
CN113345271B (en) | Method for detecting flight deviation of unmanned aerial vehicle | |
CN107615785B (en) | System and method for displaying geofence device information | |
US10310498B2 (en) | Unmanned aerial vehicle transponder systems with integrated disablement | |
US20180090012A1 (en) | Methods and systems for unmanned aircraft systems (uas) traffic management | |
KR20170137040A (en) | System and method for controlling autonomous flight paths | |
US10991259B2 (en) | Drone remote piloting electronic system, associated method and computing program | |
EP2710574B1 (en) | Aircraft navigation system | |
WO2017149160A1 (en) | Very low level operations coordination platform | |
JP6652620B2 (en) | System for operating unmanned aerial vehicles | |
EP3648082A1 (en) | Systems and methods for detecting and alerting security threats in vehicles | |
EP3676618B1 (en) | Travel compliance detection using body-worn offender monitoring electronic devices | |
US20240177613A1 (en) | Remote id conflict system |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: DOCKETED NEW CASE - READY FOR EXAMINATION |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: NON FINAL ACTION MAILED |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: RESPONSE TO NON-FINAL OFFICE ACTION ENTERED AND FORWARDED TO EXAMINER |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: FINAL REJECTION MAILED |