Unmanned aerial vehicle and method for generating a temporary flight plan for an area of ​​the unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

A method for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is provided for generating a temporary flight plan for an area. The method includes determining whether any air traffic control station is transmitting a flight plan for the area. If it is determined that no air traffic control station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, the method further includes determining a score for the UAV based on characteristics of the UAV and receiving scores from other UAVs in the area. In addition, the method includes determining whether the UAV is a master UAV or a slave UAV, and generating a temporary flight plan based on the calculated score of the UAV and the scores received from other UAVs. If it is determined that the UAV is a master UAV, the method includes performing a first task in generating a temporary flight plan. If it is determined that the UAV is a slave UAV, the method includes performing a second task in generating a temporary flight plan.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to flight planning for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In particular, examples relate to UAVs and methods for generating temporary flight plans for regions for UAVs. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid increase in the number of UAVs, the importance of air traffic control (ATC) is growing day by day. In densely populated air routes, the presence of ATC should be similar to traffic lights for ground vehicles. However, ATC may be offline unexpectedly, or UAVs may enter areas where ATC is not set up. In areas without ATC service, the possibility of a UAV colliding with another UAV increases.

[0003] Therefore, there may be a need for UAV coordination in areas that are at least temporarily without ATC service. Summary of the invention

[0004] This objective is met by the device and the method according to the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0005] According to a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for generating a temporary flight plan for a region for a UAV. The method includes determining whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the region. If it is determined that no ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the region, the method further includes determining the score of the UAV based on the characteristics of the UAV and receiving scores from other UAVs in the region. In addition, the method includes determining whether the UAV is a master UAV or a slave UAV, and generating a temporary flight plan based on the determined score of the UAV and the scores received from other UAVs. If it is determined that the UAV is a master UAV, the method includes performing a first task when generating a temporary flight plan. If it is determined that the UAV is a slave UAV, the method includes performing a second task in generating a temporary flight plan.

[0006] According to a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a UAV, which includes multiple rotors and circuits, and the multiple rotors and circuits are configured to determine whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area. If it is determined that no ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, the circuit is further configured to determine the score of the UAV based on the characteristics of the UAV and receive scores from other UAVs in the area. The circuit is configured to determine whether the UAV is a master UAV or a slave UAV, and is used to generate a temporary flight plan based on the determined score of the UAV and the scores received from other UAVs. If it is determined that the UAV is the master UAV, the circuit is configured to perform a first task in generating a temporary flight plan. If it is determined that the UAV is a slave UAV, the circuit is configured to perform a second task in generating a temporary flight plan. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Some examples of apparatus and / or methods will be described below, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

[0008] Figure 1 A flow chart illustrating an example of a method for generating a provisional flight plan for a region for a UAV;

[0009] Figure 2 An example arrangement of a UAV and an ATC station is shown;

[0010] Figure 3 A flow chart showing an example for determining whether any air traffic control station is transmitting a flight plan for the area; and

[0011] Figure 4 An exemplary data exchange between UAVs is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] Various examples will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some examples are shown.In the accompanying drawings, the thickness of lines, layers and / or regions may be exaggerated for clarity.

[0013] Therefore, although the further examples are capable of various modifications and alternative forms, some specific examples thereof are shown in the drawings and will be described in detail later. However, this detailed description does not limit the further examples to the specific forms described. The further examples may encompass all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present disclosure. The same or similar numbers refer to the same or similar elements throughout the description of the drawings, which, when compared to each other, can be implemented identically or in modified form while providing the same or similar functions.

[0014] It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, the element may be directly connected or coupled via one or more intermediate elements. If two elements A and B are combined using "or", this will be understood to disclose all possible combinations, i.e., only A, only B, and A and B, if not otherwise explicitly or implicitly defined. Alternative wording for the same combination is "at least one of A and B" or "A and / or B". The same applies to combinations of more than two elements.

[0015] The terms used to describe specific examples herein are not intended to limit further examples. Whenever singular forms such as "one", "a kind of" and "said" are used, and only a single element is neither explicitly nor implicitly limited to mandatory, further examples can also use multiple elements to implement the same function. Similarly, when the function is subsequently described as being implemented using multiple elements, further examples can use a single element or processing entity to implement the same function. It will be further understood that the terms "comprise", "including", "comprising" and / or "comprising" specify the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, processes, actions, elements and / or components when used, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, processes, actions, elements, components and / or any groups thereof.

[0016] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) are used herein as they have the common meaning in the art to which this embodiment belongs.

[0017] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method 100 for generating a temporary flight plan for a region of a UAV is shown. The flight plan describes a respective time-space region, and when the UAV navigates within the region, the region is reserved specifically for the respective UAV. The flight plan may include a corresponding reserved time-space region for each UAV or at least a portion of the UAV for moving (navigating) in the region. A region is a predefined geographic region. For example, a flight plan may include a 3D (three-dimensional) position (i.e., trajectory) over time and optionally the shape and size of the surrounding space reserved for the corresponding UAV. The surrounding space may, for example, cover the UAV range and optionally cover the cargo range and further safety margins to compensate for external influences (e.g., wind), navigation uncertainty of the UAV and / or sensor uncertainty of the UAV (e.g., position sensor uncertainty).

[0018] The method 100 includes determining 102 whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area. An ATC station is a station that provides ATC for a corresponding area, among other things, by transmitting a flight plan for the area. If it is determined that the ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, the method 100 includes following 112 the flight plan for the area received from the ATC station in order to safely navigate through the area.

[0019] If the ATC station is not transmitting a flight plan for the area, the chance of a collision with another UAV moving in the area increases. Therefore, if it is determined that no ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, a process for generating a temporary flight plan for the area is initiated at the UAV to safely guide the UAV and other UAVs in the area. In order to generate a temporary flight plan, a large number of tasks (e.g., calculations) may be required, which may overload a single UAV. Therefore, the UAV works together with other UAVs in the area to generate a temporary flight plan, as described below.

[0020] If it is determined that no ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, the method 100 includes determining 104 a score for the UAV based on the characteristics of the UAV and receiving scores from other UAVs in the area. Based on these scores, the performance of the UAVs can be compared and a UAV suitable for generating a temporary flight plan can be determined.

[0021] Thus, the method 100 includes determining 106 whether the UAV is a master UAV or a slave UAV for generating a provisional flight plan based on the calculated score of the UAV and the scores of other UAVs. The master UAV is the best performing UAV among the UAVs in the area. The slave UAV is a UAV with a lower score and therefore performs lower than the master UAV.

[0022] The task of generating a temporary flight plan is allocated between the UAVs according to their respective capabilities. Thus, if it is determined that the UAV is a master UAV, the method 100 for the UAV includes performing 108 a first task in generating a temporary flight plan. On the other hand, if it is determined that the UAV is a slave UAV, the method 100 for the UAV includes performing 110 a second task in generating a temporary flight plan.

[0023] Method 100 can allow the combined performance of UAVs navigating (moving) in the area to be used to generate a temporary flight plan for the area. By generating a temporary flight plan, the flight of the UAVs in the area will be safer. For example, if the ground ATC station for the area is offline (e.g., due to a technical defect) or if the UAVs are moving in an area (e.g., a desert or mountainous area) that is not served (covered) by the ATC station, collisions between UAVs can be avoided due to the temporary flight plan.

[0024] By allocating the task of generating a temporary flight plan among the UAVs based on their respective performance (as indicated by the scores), the efficiency of generating a temporary flight plan can be improved. In addition, generating a temporary flight plan does not require the ATC station to be online in a timely manner. The UAV is able to autonomously generate a temporary flight plan. Accordingly, the UAV does not blindly go further or need to stop (e.g., wait in the air or land on the ground) waiting for the ATC station to come back online. This is advantageous because the power stored in the UAV battery is limited. Generating a temporary flight plan according to method 100 allows the UAV to safely navigate through the area with almost no additional power consumption.

[0025] Furthermore, for locations not covered by an ATC station (eg, because the ATC station is too expensive to build and / or operate), temporary flight plan generation according to method 100 may allow for a trade-off between cost and efficiency and safety.

[0026] Next, we will refer to Figures 2 to 4 The method 100 is described in more detail. Figure 2 An exemplary situation with three ATC stations 210, 220 and 230 is shown. Each of the three ATC stations covers (serves) corresponding geographic areas A1, A2 and A3. In addition, four UAVs 240, 250, 260 and 270 are lifted into the air and headed for their respective destinations. In addition to the corresponding multiple rotating bodies 241, 251, 261 and 271, each UAV 240, 250, 260 and 270 includes a corresponding circuit 242, 252, 262 and 272 configured to perform method 100. Circuits 242, 252, 262 and 272 may, for example, include corresponding data processing circuits and corresponding wireless communication circuits. For example, the processing circuit may be a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor or multiple separate processors, some or all of which may share, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGA). The processing circuit is optionally coupled to read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM) and / or non-volatile memory, for example for storing software.

[0027] exist Figure 3 The flowchart 300 further depicts Figure 2 The situation shown. UAV 270 is initially flying over area A1 covered (served) by ATC station 210. ATC station 210 is online and notifies UAV 270 of the flight plan for area A1 (see Figure 320 ). Subsequently, UAV 270 enters area A2 covered (served) by ATC station 220. However, since ATC station 220 is offline, there may be no connection between ATC station 220 and UAV 270. For example, a previously existing connection with ATC station 220 that launched the flight plan for area A2 may be lost (interrupted), or UAV 270 may not be able to establish a connection with ATC station 220 at all (see Figure 3 320 in FIG. 1 ). Therefore, UAV 270 determines that a previously existing connection with ATC station 220 for the flight plan for launch area A2 is lost, or that it is not possible to establish a connection with ATC station 220.

[0028] In order to check whether the ATC 220 is indeed offline or only the UAV 270 is experiencing connection problems, the UAV 270 requests at least one of the ATC stations 210 and 230 to check whether the ATC stations 210, 230 are able to connect to the ATC station 220 (see Figure 3 If the UAV 270 receives information from one of the ATC stations 210 and 230 that the ATC stations 210 and 230 can connect to the ATC station 220, the UAV 270 requests the one of the ATC stations 210 and 230 to obtain the flight plan of the area A2 from the ATC station 220 and transmit it to the UAV 270 (see Figure 3 Element 340 in).

[0029] On the other hand, if the UAV receives information from one of the ATC stations 210 and 230 indicating that the ATC stations 210, 230 cannot connect to the ATC station 220, the UAV 270 determines that no ATC station has transmitted a flight plan for area A2. In other words, if the UAV 270 is notified by one of the ATC stations 210 and 230 that the ATC station 220 is offline because the ATC stations 210 and 230 did not receive a response from the ATC station 220, the UAV 270 confirms that the ATC station 220 is offline. For example, the UAV 270 may transmit information indicating that the ATC station 220 is offline to other UAVs. Alternatively or additionally, the ATC stations 210 and 230 may transmit information indicating that the ATC station 220 is offline to other UAVs. Therefore, the UAVs 240, 250, 260, and 270 will work together to generate a temporary flight plan for area A2 as described above (see Figure 3 Element 350 in).

[0030] Figure 3The flow chart of further illustrates another method for determining whether any ATC station is transmitting the flight plan of area A2. For example, if UAV 270 does not receive any information (message) from one of the other ATC stations 210 and 220, then UAV 270 can perform this method.

[0031] If it is determined by UAV 270 that the previously existing connection with the ATC station 220 of the flight plan for launch area A2 is lost, or that it is not possible to establish a connection with the ATC station 220 at all, UAV 270 attempts to establish a connection with one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 that it has previously detected (see Figure 3 Unit 360 in ).

[0032] If a connection cannot be established with one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260, the UAV 270 determines that it has encountered a connection problem and performs a fallback procedure (see Figure 3 370 in the UAV 270). For example, the UAV 270 may land on the ground and perform a reset (redirect) procedure, request a pickup, or request a repair. Alternatively, the UAV 270 may continue its flight and scan its surroundings for other UAVs 270. For example, the UAV 270 may activate one or more sensors for scanning other UAVs 270 around it or switch to a scanning mode with increased accuracy in order to detect and avoid collisions with other UAVs.

[0033] If a connection can be established with one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260, the UAV 270 requests one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 to connect to the ATC station 220 (see Figure 3 240, 250, and 260). If the UAV 270 receives information from one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 indicating that one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 is able to connect to the ATC station 220, the UAV 270 establishes a connection to the first ATC center via one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260. Therefore, the UAV 270 can request and receive the flight plan for the area A2 through one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 (see Figure 3 In other words, UAV 270 uses one of the other UAVs 240, 250 and 260 as a relay to request and receive the flight plan for area A2.

[0034] If UAV 270 receives information from one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 indicating that one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 cannot connect to ATC station 220, UAV 270 determines that no ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for area A2. In other words, if the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 cannot connect to ATC station 220 either, UAV 270 determines that ATC station 220 is offline. Therefore, UAVs 240, 250, 260, and 270 will work together to generate a temporary flight plan for area A2 as described above (see Figure 3 Element 350 in).

[0035] Additionally, if UAV 270 determines that it has entered an area not served by an ATC station, it may attempt to establish a connection with one of the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 (see Figure 3 305 and 360 in FIG. 30A ). For example, UAV 270 may be notified by other UAVs or by another ATC station that it is about to enter an area not served by the ATC station. In some examples, UAV 270 may determine based on map data that it is about to enter an area not served by the ATC station. Therefore, other UAVs are also unable to establish a connection with the ATC station that transmitted the flight plan for the area, so that the UAVs will work together to generate a temporary flight plan for area A2 as described above (see FIG. 30A ). Figure 3 Element 350 in).

[0036] To generate a temporary flight plan, a large number of tasks (eg, calculations) may be required that cannot be performed by a single UAV. To complete the tasks in a distributed manner, a "master-slave" technique is used according to method 100 .

[0037] As described above, UAV 270 determines the score and receives the scores from other UAVs 240, 250 and 260 to determine which UAVs are master UAVs and which UAVs are slave UAVs. In other words, each UAV may calculate its own score for later selection of "master" and "slave".

[0038] As described above, the score of UAV 270 is determined based on the characteristics of UAV 270. For example, the characteristics of UAV 270 may include at least one of the amount of remaining energy available at UAV 270, the computing power of UAV 270, and the quality of the connection of UAV 270 to other UAVs 240, 250, and 260.

[0039] The amount of remaining energy available at the UAV 270 is the remaining energy available at the UAV 270 after excluding energy used for the scheduled mission of the UAV 270. For example, the amount of remaining energy E may be determined by subtracting a reserved (booked) energy for traveling to the destination of the UAV 270 (e.g., booked energy for delivering cargo) from the current total energy stored in the battery of the UAV 270. Considering the amount of remaining energy available at the UAV 270, the success of generating a temporary flight plan and executing each mission of the UAV 270 may be guaranteed.

[0040] The connection quality Q of UAV 270 to other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 may be determined, for example, based on the number of reliable communication connections with other UAVs 240, 250, and 260. Considering the connection quality may ensure that UAV 270 can reliably and efficiently receive and send transmission data to other UAVs.

[0041] The computing power P of the UAV 270 may be based, for example, on the number of processors or processor cores (e.g., central processing units, CPUs) of the UAV 270, the frequency of the processors or processor cores, and / or the total processing power of the UAV 270. Considering the computing power (power) may allow reflecting how powerful the UAV 270 is in generating a temporary flight plan.

[0042] Thus, the score S for UAV 270 may be a function of the amount of remaining energy E, the quality of the connection Q, and the computing power P. The score S may be calculated based on the above amounts, lesser amounts, additional amounts, or different amounts using a specific score function, which should be the same for all UAVs. The score function may be, for example, a prototype, a piece of software, or a dedicated chip that can access the information and calculate the score.

[0043] For example, UAV 270 and the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 may each create an initial table with a dictionary in which their own IDs and scores are present. Then, all UAVs begin transmitting (e.g., broadcasting) their own tables and receiving the tables of other UAVs. The local tables of the respective UAVs may be continuously updated based on the received information (tables). This process may run for a certain period of time and then stop, so that it may be assumed that all local tables at UAVs 240, 250, 260, and 270 are the same. The score exchange between UAVs 240, 250, 260, and 270 is performed in Figure 4 In summary, each UAV determines a corresponding score of the UAV according to the characteristics of the UAV, transmits its score to other UAVs in area A2, and receives scores from other UAVs in area A2. By calculating a single score based on the UAV information, a qualified UAV for generating a temporary flight plan can be selected.

[0044] The generation (production) of the temporary flight plan is split between the master UAV and the slave UAV. For example, UAV 270 may show the highest score and be determined as the master UAV. Therefore, the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 may be determined as slave UAVs. Therefore, according to method 100, UAV 270 performs the first task in generating the temporary flight plan.

[0045] Performing the first task in generating a temporary flight plan includes determining a computational task for generating the temporary flight plan and transmitting the computational task to the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260. In other words, the master UAV 270 formulates a complete computational task and splits it into N parts. N is the number of slave UAVs, e.g., Figures 2 to 4 In the example of , N=3. Then, the master UAV 270 sends tasks to each of the slave UAVs 240 , 250 , and 260 .

[0046] The slave UAV receives the task from the master UAV and sends back the calculation result after calculation. Therefore, performing the first task in generating the temporary flight plan also includes receiving the solution of the calculation task from the other UAVs 240, 250 and 260. The master UAV 270 determines the temporary flight plan based on the received solution of the calculation task and sends the determined temporary flight plan to the other UAVs 240, 250 and 260. In other words, the master UAV 270 determines (e.g., calculates) the final flight plan and transmits (e.g., broadcasts) it to all UAVs.

[0047] According to some examples, the master UAV 270 does not determine the computing tasks and transmit the computing tasks to all other UAVs 240, 250, and 260. For example, UAVs with very low (or too low) scores may be excluded from selection because they cannot make a substantial contribution to the generation of the flight plan. Therefore, performing the first task in generating a temporary flight plan for area A2 may further include: determining which UAV among the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 exhibits a score that satisfies a predetermined condition, so that the master UAV 270 determines the computing tasks only for the UAV among the other UAVs 240, 250, and 260 that exhibits a score that satisfies the predetermined condition. For example, if UAV 240 exhibits a score that is too low, the master UAV 270 determines the computing tasks only for UAVs 250 and 260, and therefore transmits the computing tasks only to UAVs 250 and 260.

[0048] In an alternative example, another UAV other than UAV 270 may show the highest score (e.g., UAV 250), so that UAV 270 may be determined as a slave UAV. Therefore, according to method 100, UAV 270 performs a second task in generating a temporary flight plan. As described above, slave UAV 270 receives a computing task for generating a temporary flight plan from one of the other UAVs that acts as a master UAV. The slave UAV 270 determines a solution for the received computing task and transmits the solution for the computing task to one of the other UAVs that acts as a master UAV. Once the master UAV generates a temporary flight plan based on the solution provided by the slave UAV 270, the master UAV will transmit the temporary flight plan so that the UAV 270 can receive it and navigate according to the temporary flight plan.

[0049] The proposed technique may allow the combined performance of UAVs navigating (moving) in the area to generate a temporary flight plan for the area. By generating a temporary flight plan, the flight of the UAV in the area will be safer. Specifically, the proposed technique may reduce the movement in the central flight plan.

[0050] The following examples relate to further embodiments:

[0051] (1) A method for generating a temporary flight plan for a region for a UAV, the method comprising:

[0052] Determine if any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area;

[0053] If it is determined that no ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, determining a score for the UAV based on characteristics of the UAV and receiving scores from other UAVs in the area;

[0054] determining whether the UAV is a master UAV or a slave UAV for generating a temporary flight plan based on the determined score of the UAV and the scores received from the other UAVs;

[0055] If it is determined that the UAV is the master UAV, performing a first task in generating a temporary flight plan; and

[0056] If it is determined that the UAV is a slave UAV, a second task is performed in generating a temporary flight plan.

[0057] (2) The method of (1), wherein performing the first task in generating the temporary flight plan includes:

[0058] Identify computational tasks used to generate a provisional flight plan;

[0059] transferring computing tasks to other UAVs to place at least a portion of them;

[0060] A solution for receiving said computing tasks from at least some of said other UAVs; and

[0061] A provisional flight plan is determined based on the received solution to the computing task.

[0062] (3) A method as in (2), wherein executing the first task in the temporary flight plan for the generated area further comprises: determining which of the other UAVs exhibits a score that satisfies a predetermined condition, wherein the UAV determines the calculation task only for the UAV among the other UAVs that exhibits a score that satisfies the predetermined condition.

[0063] (4) The method according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein performing the second task in generating the temporary flight plan comprises:

[0064] receiving a computational task for generating a temporary flight plan from one of the other UAVs;

[0065] determining a solution for the received computing task; and

[0066] A solution for the computational task is communicated to one of the other UAVs.

[0067] (5) A method according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the characteristics of the UAV include at least one of the following: the amount of remaining energy that can be used at the UAV, the computing power of the UAV, and the quality of the connection of the UAV to other UAVs.

[0068] (6) The method of any one of (1) to (5), wherein determining whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area comprises:

[0069] Determining that a previously existing connection to the first ATC station for the flight plan in the launch area is lost, or that a connection to the ATC station cannot be established;

[0070] requesting at least a second ATC station to check whether the second ATC station can connect to the first ATC station; and

[0071] If the UAV receives information from the second ATC station indicating that the second ATC station cannot connect to the first ATC station, it is determined that there is no flight plan for the ATC station transmission area.

[0072] (7) The method of (6), wherein determining whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area further comprises:

[0073] If the UAV receives information from the second ATC station that the second ATC station can connect to the first ATC station, the second ATC station is requested to obtain the flight plan of the area from the first ATC station and transmit it to the UAV.

[0074] (8) The method of any one of (1) to (5), wherein determining whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area comprises:

[0075] Determining that a previously existing connection to the first ATC station of the flight plan with respect to the launch area is lost, a connection cannot be established with an ATC station or the UAV enters an area not served by an ATC station;

[0076] Try to establish a connection with one of the other UAVs;

[0077] If a connection can be established with one of the other UAVs, requesting one of the other UAVs to connect to the first ATC station; and

[0078] If the UAV receives information from one of the other UAVs indicating that one of the other UAVs cannot connect to the first ATC station, it is determined that no ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area.

[0079] (9) The method of (8), wherein determining whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area further comprises:

[0080] If a connection cannot be established with one of the other UAVs, a fallback process is performed.

[0081] (10) The method of (8) or (9), wherein determining whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area further comprises:

[0082] If the UAV receives information from one of the other UAVs indicating that the one of the other UAVs is able to connect to the first ATC station, a connection to the first ATC center is established through the one of the other UAVs.

[0083] (11) A UAV comprising a plurality of rotating bodies and a circuit, wherein the circuit is configured to:

[0084] Determine if any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area;

[0085] If it is determined that no ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, determining a score for the UAV based on characteristics of the UAV and receiving scores from other UAVs in the area;

[0086] determining whether the UAV is a master UAV or a slave UAV for generating a temporary flight plan based on the determined score of the UAV and the scores received from the other UAVs;

[0087] If it is determined that the UAV is the master UAV, executing a first mission in generating a temporary flight plan; and

[0088] If it is determined that the UAV is a slave UAV, a second task is performed in generating a temporary flight plan.

[0089] (12) The UAV of (11), wherein, to perform the first task, the circuit is configured to:

[0090] Identify computational tasks used to generate a provisional flight plan;

[0091] transferring computing tasks to at least a portion of the other UAVs;

[0092] receiving a solution to the computing task from at least some of the other UAVs; and

[0093] A provisional flight plan is determined based on the received solution to the computational task.

[0094] (13) A UAV as in (12), wherein, in order to perform the first task, the circuit is configured to determine which of the other UAVs exhibits a score that satisfies a predetermined condition, wherein the circuit is configured to determine the computing task only for the UAV among the other UAVs that exhibits a score that satisfies the predetermined condition.

[0095] (14) The UAV of any one of (11) to (13), wherein, to perform the second task, the circuit is configured to:

[0096] receiving a computational task for generating a temporary flight plan from one of the other UAVs;

[0097] determining a solution for the received computing task; and

[0098] A solution for the computational task is communicated to one of the other UAVs.

[0099] (15) A UAV as described in any of (11) to (14), wherein the characteristics of the UAV include at least one of the following: the amount of remaining energy that can be used at the UAV, the computing power of the UAV, and the quality of the connection of the UAV to other UAVs.

[0100] (16) The UAV of any one of (11) to (15), wherein, in order to determine whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, the circuit is configured to:

[0101] Determining that a previously existing connection to the first ATC station for the flight plan in the launch area is lost, or that a connection to the ATC station cannot be established;

[0102] requesting at least a second ATC station to check whether the second ATC station can connect to the first ATC station; and

[0103] If the UAV receives information from the second ATC station indicating that the second ATC station cannot connect to the first ATC station, it is determined that there is no flight plan for the ATC station transmission area.

[0104] (17) The UAV of (16), wherein, in order to determine whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, the circuit is further configured to:

[0105] If the UAV receives information from the second ATC station that the second ATC station can connect to the first ATC station, the second ATC station is requested to obtain the flight plan of the area from the first ATC station and transmit it to the UAV.

[0106] (18) The UAV of any one of (11) to (15), wherein, in order to determine whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, the circuit is configured to:

[0107] Determining that a previously existing connection to the first ATC station of the flight plan with respect to the launch area is lost, a connection cannot be established with an ATC station or the UAV enters an area not served by an ATC station;

[0108] Try to establish a connection with one of the other UAVs;

[0109] If a connection can be established with one of the other UAVs, requesting one of the other UAVs to connect to the first ATC station; and

[0110] If the UAV receives information from one of the other UAVs indicating that one of the other UAVs cannot connect to the first ATC station, it is determined that no ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area.

[0111] (19) The UAV of (18), wherein, in order to determine whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, the circuit is further configured to:

[0112] If a connection cannot be established with one of the other UAVs, a fallback procedure is performed.

[0113] (20) The UAV of (18) or (19), wherein, in order to determine whether any ATC station is transmitting a flight plan for the area, the circuit is further configured to:

[0114] If the UAV receives information from one of the other UAVs indicating that the one of the other UAVs is able to connect to the first ATC station, a connection to the first ATC center is established through the one of the other UAVs.

[0115] (21) A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing a program having a program code, which, when executed on a processor or programmable hardware, is used to execute the method of generating a temporary flight plan for an area according to any one of (1) to (10).

[0116] (22) A program having a program code, which, when executed on a processor or programmable hardware, is used to execute the method of generating a temporary flight plan for an area according to any one of (1) to (10).

[0117] with one or more of the previously detailed examples and appendices Figure 1 The aspects and features mentioned and described above may also be combined with one or more other examples in order to replace similar features of another example or in order to additionally introduce the features into another example.

[0118] The description and drawings illustrate only the principles of the present disclosure. In addition, all examples described herein are primarily and explicitly for illustrative purposes only to help the reader understand the principles of the present invention and the concepts contributed by the inventors to further advance the art. All statements and specific examples thereof detailing the principles, aspects, and examples of the present disclosure are intended to include their equivalents.

[0119] For example, a block diagram may show a high-level circuit diagram that implements the principles of the present disclosure. Similarly, a flow chart, a flowchart, a state transition diagram, a pseudo code, etc. may represent various processes, operations, or steps, for example, which may be generally represented in a non-transitory machine-readable medium (e.g., a floppy disk, DVD, Blu-ray, CD, ROM, PROM and EPROM, EEPROM or flash memory) and thus performed by a processor or programmable hardware, whether or not such processor or programmable hardware is explicitly shown. The methods disclosed in this specification or claims may be implemented by an apparatus having means for performing each of the individual actions of the methods.

[0120] It should be understood that the disclosure of multiple actions, processes, operations, steps or functions disclosed in the specification or claims may not be interpreted as being in a specific order, unless otherwise stated explicitly or implicitly, for example for technical reasons. Therefore, disclosing multiple actions or functions does not limit these actions or functions to a specific order, unless these actions or functions are not interchangeable for technical reasons. In addition, in some examples, a single action, function, process, operation or step may include or may be decomposed into multiple sub-actions, sub-functions, sub-processes, sub-operations or sub-steps, respectively. Unless explicitly excluded, these sub-actions may be included in the disclosure of this single action and become part of the disclosure.

[0121] In addition, the attached claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, where each claim can stand alone as a separate example. Although each claim can stand alone as a separate example, it should be noted that although a dependent claim may refer to a specific combination with one or more other claims in a claim, other examples may also include a combination of a dependent claim with the subject matter of each other dependent or independent claim. Such a combination is explicitly proposed here unless it is stated that a specific combination is not intended. In addition, it is also intended to include the features of any other independent claim, even if the claim is not directly dependent on the independent claim.

Claims

1. A method (100) for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for generating a temporary flight plan for an area, the method (100) comprising: Determine if any air traffic control station is transmitting flight plans for the area; If it is determined that no air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area, determining a score for the UAV based on characteristics of the UAV and receiving scores from other UAVs in the area; wherein the characteristics of the UAV include at least one of the following: an amount of remaining energy available at the UAV, a computing power of the UAV, and a quality of connection of the UAV to the other UAVs; and the score of the UAV is a function of the amount of remaining energy, the computing power, and the quality of connection; determining whether the UAV is a master UAV or a slave UAV for generating the provisional flight plan based on the determined score of the UAV and the scores received from the other UAVs; If it is determined that the UAV is the master UAV, performing a first task in generating the temporary flight plan; and If it is determined that the UAV is the slave UAV, performing a second task in generating the temporary flight plan; Performing the first task in generating the temporary flight plan includes: determining a computational task for generating the provisional flight plan; transmitting the computing task to at least a portion of the other UAVs; for receiving a solution to the computing task from at least a portion of the other UAVs; and determining the provisional flight plan based on the received solution to the computing task; Wherein, performing the second task in generating the temporary flight plan includes: receiving a computational task for generating the temporary flight plan from one of the other UAVs; determining a solution for the received computing task; and The solution to the computing task is communicated to one of the other UAVs.

2. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein: Executing the first task in generating the temporary flight plan for the area further includes determining which of the other UAVs exhibits a score that satisfies a predetermined condition, wherein the UAV determines the computational task only for the UAV of the other UAVs that exhibits a score that satisfies the predetermined condition.

3. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein: Determining whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area includes: determining that a previously existing connection with a first air traffic control station transmitting the flight plan for the area is lost, or that a connection with the air traffic control station cannot be established; requesting at least a second air traffic control station to check whether the second air traffic control station can connect to the first air traffic control station; and If the UAV receives information from the second air traffic control station indicating that the second air traffic control station cannot connect to the first air traffic control station, it is determined that no air traffic control station has transmitted the flight plan for the area.

4. The method (100) according to claim 3, wherein: Determining whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area further includes: If the UAV receives information from the second air traffic control station that the second air traffic control station can connect to the first air traffic control station, it requests the second air traffic control station to obtain the flight plan of the area from the first air traffic control station and transmit the flight plan to the UAV.

5. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein: Determining whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area includes: determining that a previously existing connection with a first air traffic control station transmitting said flight plan for said area is lost, a connection cannot be established with said air traffic control station or said UAV enters an area not served by an air traffic control station; attempting to establish a connection with one of the other UAVs; If a connection can be established with one of the other UAVs, requesting one of the other UAVs to connect to the first air traffic control station; and If the UAV receives information from one of the other UAVs indicating that the one of the other UAVs is unable to connect to the first air traffic control station, it is determined that no air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area.

6. The method (100) according to claim 5, wherein: Determining whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area further includes: If a connection cannot be established with one of the other UAVs, a fallback procedure is performed.

7. The method (100) according to claim 5, wherein: Determining whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area further includes: If the UAV receives information from one of the other UAVs indicating that the one of the other UAVs is able to connect to the first air traffic control center, a connection to the first air traffic control center is established through the one of the other UAVs.

8. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (270), the UAV comprising a plurality of rotating bodies (271) and a circuit (272), the circuit being configured to: Determine if any air traffic control station is transmitting flight plans for the area; If it is determined that no air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area, determining a score for the UAV based on characteristics of the UAV and receiving scores from other UAVs in the area; wherein, The characteristics of the UAV include at least one of: an amount of remaining energy available at the UAV, a computing power of the UAV, and a quality of connection of the UAV to the other UAVs; the score of the UAV is a function of the amount of remaining energy, the computing power, and the quality of connection; determining whether the UAV is a master UAV or a slave UAV for generating a provisional flight plan based on the determined score of the UAV and the scores received from the other UAVs; If it is determined that the UAV is the master UAV, performing a first task in generating the temporary flight plan; as well as If it is determined that the UAV is the slave UAV, performing a second task in generating the temporary flight plan; In order to perform the first task, the circuit (272) is configured to: determining a computational task for generating the provisional flight plan; transmitting the computing task to at least a portion of the other UAVs; receiving a solution to the computing task from at least a portion of the other UAVs; and determining the provisional flight plan based on the received solution to the computing task; Wherein, in order to perform the second task, the circuit (272) is configured to: receiving a computational task for generating the temporary flight plan from one of the other UAVs; determining a solution to the received computing task; and The solution to the computing task is transmitted to one of the other UAVs.

9. The UAV (270) of claim 8, wherein: In order to perform the first task, the circuit (272) is configured to determine which of the other UAVs exhibits a score that satisfies a predetermined condition, wherein the circuit is configured to determine the computing task only for the UAV among the other UAVs that exhibits a score that satisfies the predetermined condition.

10. The UAV (270) of claim 8, wherein: In order to determine whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area, the circuit (272) is configured to: determining that a previously existing connection with a first air traffic control station transmitting the flight plan for the area is lost, or that a connection with the air traffic control station cannot be established; requesting at least a second air traffic control station to check whether the second air traffic control station can connect to the first air traffic control station; as well as If the UAV receives information from the second air traffic control station indicating that the second air traffic control station cannot connect to the first air traffic control station, it is determined that no air traffic control station has transmitted the flight plan for the area.

11. The UAV (270) of claim 10, wherein: In order to determine whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area, the circuit (272) is further configured to: If the UAV receives information from the second air traffic control station that the second air traffic control station can connect to the first air traffic control station, it requests the second air traffic control station to obtain the flight plan of the area from the first air traffic control station and transmit the flight plan to the UAV.

12. The UAV (270) of claim 8, wherein: In order to determine whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area, the circuit (272) is configured to: determining that a previously existing connection with a first air traffic control station transmitting said flight plan for said area is lost, a connection cannot be established with said air traffic control station or said UAV enters an area not served by an air traffic control station; attempting to establish a connection with one of the other UAVs; If the connection can be established with one of the other UAVs, requesting one of the other UAVs to connect to the first air traffic control station; as well as If the UAV receives information from one of the other UAVs indicating that the one of the other UAVs is unable to connect to the first air traffic control station, it is determined that no air traffic control station has transmitted the flight plan for the area.

13. The UAV (270) of claim 12, wherein: In order to determine whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area, the circuit (272) is further configured to: If a connection cannot be established with one of the other UAVs, a fallback procedure is performed.

14. The UAV (270) of claim 12, wherein: In order to determine whether any air traffic control station is transmitting the flight plan for the area, the circuit (272) is further configured to: If the UAV receives information from one of the other UAVs indicating that the one of the other UAVs is able to connect to the first air traffic control center, a connection to the first air traffic control center is established through the one of the other UAVs.

Images