Navigating a UAV with on-board navigation algorithms with flight depiction

Abstract

Navigating a UAV including receiving in a remote control device a user's selection of a GUI map pixel that represents a waypoint for UAV navigation, mapping the pixel's location on the GUI to Earth coordinates of the waypoint, transmitting the coordinates of the waypoint to the UAV, reading a starting position from a GPS receiver on the UAV, and piloting the UAV, under control of a navigation computer on the UAV, from the starting position to the waypoint in accordance with a navigation algorithm. While piloting the UAV from the starting position to the waypoint, such embodiments include reading from the GPS receiver a sequence of GPS data representing a flight path of the UAV, and depicting the flight of the UAV with 3D computer graphics, including a computer graphic display of a satellite image of the Earth, in dependence upon the GPS data.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, systems, and products for navigating an unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”). [0003] 2. Description Of Related Art [0004] Many forms of UAV are available in prior art, both domestically and internationally. Their payload weight carrying capability, their accommodations (volume, environment), their mission profiles (altitude, range, duration), and their command, control and data acquisition capabilities vary significantly. Routine civil access to these various UAV assets is in an embryonic state. [0005] Conventional UAVs are typically manually controlled by an operator who may view aspects of a UAV's flight using cameras installed on the UAV with images provided through downlink telemetry. Navigating such UAVs from a starting position to one or more waypoints requires an operator to have specific knowledge of the UAV's flight, including such as...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

Enables efficient and automated UAV navigation with reduced operator expertise, allowing complex missions to be established with minimal keystrokes and ensuring continued mission execution even if the remote control device is lost or destroyed.

Problems solved by technology

Because the waypoints and UAV instructions are uploaded and stored on the UAV along with the navigation algorithms needed to travel from waypoint to waypoint, the remote control device may lose communications with the UAV or even be destroyed completely, and the UAV will simply continue its mission.

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