Method, apparatus, and program for real-time UAV connection monitoring and location reporting

Abstract

To provide a method and an apparatus for real-time network monitoring and position update.SOLUTION: In an unmanned aerial system, a location report indicating location information of user equipment (UE) is notified to an unmanned aerial system application enabler (UAE) server from a location management (LM) server. A first network event notification indicating a connection status of the UE with a network is notified to the UAE server from a network resource management (NRM) server. In response to detecting a re-connected status of the UE, a second networking event notification is notified to the UAE server from the NRM server. The second networking event notification indicates that the UE reconnects to the network. Further, the second networking event notification, identification information of the UAE server, and most recently updated location information of the UE from the LM server are recorded by the UAE server.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 190,676, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Real Time UAV Connection Monitoring and Location Reporting," filed May 19, 2021, which claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 17 / 746,777, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REAL TIME UAV CONNECTION MONITORING AND LOCATION REPORTING," filed May 17, 2022. The disclosures of the prior applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

[0002] This disclosure relates to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communications. [Background technology]

[0003] The background art description provided herein is intended to provide a general context for the present disclosure. The inventors' work is not admitted, expressly or impliedly, as prior art to the present disclosure to the extent that it is described in this background art section, and in aspects of the description that may not be admitted as prior art at the time of filing.

[0004] An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or crewless aircraft may include an aircraft without a human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. A UAV is a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). A UAS may further include a ground controller and a communications system with the UAV. Communications systems have been developed to support the connectivity needs of unmanned aerial systems. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for real-time network connection status monitoring and position reporting for an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), such as a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network. In some examples, an apparatus for real-time network connection status monitoring and position reporting includes a receiving circuit and a processing circuit.

[0006] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method of real-time network monitoring and location updating for a user equipment (UE) in a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) architecture is provided. In the method, a location report may be received by an unmanned aircraft system application enabler (UAE) server from a location management (LM) server of the SEAL architecture. The location report may indicate location information of the UE. A first network event notification associated with the UE may be received by the UAE server from a network resource management (NRM) server in the SEAL architecture. The first network event notification may indicate a connection status of the UE with the network. In response to detecting a reconnection status of the UE, a second networking event notification may be received by the UAE server from the NRM server, where the second networking event notification may indicate that the UE reconnects to the network. (i) the second networking event notification, (ii) an identification of the UAE server, and (iii) the last updated location information of the UE from the LM server may be recorded by the UAE server.

[0007] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a position report from the LM server, a timestamp associated with the position report may be recorded by the UAE server, and the timestamp may indicate the time the position report was received.

[0008] In the method, in response to a first network event notification indicating a UE connectivity loss event, the event and a timestamp associated with the event may be recorded by the UAE server, the timestamp may indicate a time when the event occurred.

[0009] In the method, a timestamp of the second network event notification may be recorded by the UAE server, and the timestamp may indicate a time when the UE reconnected to the network.

[0010] In some embodiments, a timestamp of the last updated location information may be recorded by the UAE server, which may indicate the time when the last updated location information of the UE was received.

[0011] In this method, location updates between the LM server and the LM client can be triggered by the UAE server.

[0012] In some embodiments, triggering a location update can cause the LM server to send a location request to the LM client. A location report can be sent by the LM client to the LM server in response to the location request. The location report can indicate the last updated location information.

[0013] In some embodiments, the UAE server may be subscribed to (i) real-time network monitoring from the NRM server, and (ii) location updates from the LM server.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus, the apparatus including a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to perform any of the methods described above.

[0015] Aspects of the present disclosure also provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform any of the methods described above.

[0016] Further features, nature and various advantages of the disclosed subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an unmanned aerial system (100), according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a networked functional model (200) for a Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) according to one embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 illustrates a process 300 for real-time unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) network connection status monitoring and location updates, according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart outlining a process for real-time network connection status monitoring and / or location updating in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 1 is a schematic diagram of a computer system, according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1, an unmanned aerial system (UAS) (100) may include an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (101) and a controller (102). The controller (102) may communicate control commands from the controller (102) to the UAV (101) using a data link (103). The controller (102) may include at least one communication circuit configured to provide communication via the data link (103) via very high frequency (VHF) and / or ultra high frequency (UHF) and / or other wireless technologies capable of analog and / or digital wireless communication. The controller (102) may control power levels of one or more propulsion devices (114), such as motors and / or engines, of the UAV (101) and / or control surfaces of a model aircraft (not shown). More abstract commands, such as pitch, yaw, and roll, may be used, similar to those of a helicopter and / or an airplane. An experienced pilot can operate the UAV (101) with basic controls without relying on sophisticated on-board processing of control signals within the UAV (101). The UAV (101) may be in the form of a helicopter and / or any other aircraft.

[0019] Advances in on-board electronics design allow for the offloading of certain tasks from a human operator (or user) 113 to the UAV (101) itself. Many UAVs, such as the UAV (101), may include sensors (104) coupled to on-board control circuitry (105) for sensing the attitude and acceleration of the UAV (101). The on-board control circuitry (105) may be a computer system with a reduced and / or non-existent user interface. The information obtained by the sensors (104), in addition to control inputs received from the controller (102) via the data link (103), allows the UAV (10) to remain stable unless positive control inputs are obtained from the controller (102).

[0020] The UAV (101) may include a receiver (106) for one of the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) operated by the United States. FIG. 1 shows a single satellite (108) that may provide a communication signal (107) to represent the GNSS. However, the receiver (106) of the UAV (101) may receive communications from a GNSS that includes three or more, typically four or more direct wave satellites, to triangulate the position of the UAV (101) in space. A GNSS receiver, such as the receiver (106), may determine the position of the UAV (101) in space and time with a fair degree of accuracy. In the UAV (101), the GNSS may be augmented by additional sensors (e.g., ultrasonic and / or lidar sensors) on the UAV (101), often on the most important vertical (e.g., Z) axis, to enable a soft landing (not shown). A UAV (101) that includes GNSS capabilities may provide a user with "fly home" and "auto-land" features. Thus, the UAV (101) can fly to a location defined as the home position upon a simple command from the controller (102) (e.g., the press of a single button), or upon loss of the data link (103) from the controller or other timeout of a meaningful control input.

[0021] The UAV (101) may also include one or more cameras (109). In some cases, the UAV (101) may include a gimbal-mounted camera as one of the cameras (109). The gimbal-mounted camera may be used to record photos and / or videos of sufficient quality for a user (113) of the UAV (101), for example in high definition television resolution. The UAV (101) may include other cameras (110) to cover some or all of the axes of movement. On-board signal processing based on the signals of the other cameras (110) may be used to prevent the UAV (101) from colliding with both fixed and moving objects.

[0022] In some cases, the UAV (101) may include a "main" camera as one of the cameras (109). The signal of the "main" camera may be communicated in real time to a human user (e.g., user (113)) via data link (111) and may be displayed on a display device (112) included in, attached to, and / or separate from the controller (102). The data link (111) may be the same as or different from the data link (103). Thus, the UAV (101) may be successfully flown away from the line of sight of a human pilot, using a technique known as "first-person view" (FPV).

[0023] As a result of technological developments, UAVs such as UAV(101) have become considerably easier to fly and, as a result, are popular with professional UAV pilots and established, well-off hobbyists, as well as the general public. As a result, millions of UAVs are sold each year, compared to the few thousand (at most) model helicopters sold about 15 years ago. At the same time, the knowledge, proficiency, and involvement of the user community has, on average, decreased.

[0024] The Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) can support vertical applications (e.g., UAV and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). SEAL functional entities on the User Equipment (UE) and server can be grouped into SEAL client(s) and SEAL server(s), respectively. SEAL can include a common set of services (e.g., group management, location management) and reference points. SEAL can provide its services to the Vertical Application Layer (VAL). VAL can include VAL clients (e.g., UAV) and VAL servers.

[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary network-based functional model (200) for a Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL). The model (200) includes a Vertical Application Layer (VAL) (206) and a SEAL (207) on a 3GPP wireless network, such as a 3GPP network system (213), that can be used for network resource management and to support vertical applications (e.g., UAV and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications). The model (200) is illustrated as a functional architecture that includes common application plane entities and signaling plane entities. A common set of services (e.g., group management, configuration management, location management) in the model (200) can be shared across vertical applications.

[0026] As shown in Figure 2, the VAL (206) can include a VAL client (201) and a VAL server (203). The SEAL (207) can include a SEAL client (202) and a SEAL server (204). The VAL client (201) and the SEAL client (202) can be communicatively coupled to each other to form a user equipment (212). The SEAL functional architecture shown in Figure 2 can allow for common capabilities to support mission critical and other vertical applications.

[0027] Referring to Figure 2, a VAL Client (201) can communicate with a VAL Server (203) via a VAL-UU (205) reference point. The VAL-UU (205) can support both unicast and multicast delivery modes.

[0028] The SEAL functional entities on the user equipment (212) and the server can be grouped into SEAL clients (202) and SEAL servers (204), respectively. The SEAL (207) can include a common set of services (e.g., group management, location management) and reference points. The SEAL (207) can provide services to the VAL (206).

[0029] The SEAL client (202) can communicate with the SEAL server (204) via the SEAL-UU (209) reference point. The SEAL-UU (209) can support both unicast and multicast delivery modes. The SEAL client (202) can provide the service enabler layer support functions to the VAL client (201) via the SEAL-C reference point (208). The VAL server (203) can communicate with the server (204) via the SEAL-S (211) reference point. The SEAL server (204) can communicate with underlying 3GPP network systems, such as the 3GPP network system (213), using respective 3GPP interfaces (e.g., 210) specified by the 3GPP network systems.

[0030] Specific SEAL clients (202) and SEAL servers (204) can be provided in the respective on-network functional models for each SEAL service, along with their specific SEAL-UU (209) reference points and specific network interfaces (210) in the 3GPP network system (213).

[0031] The VAL Client (201) can provide client-side functionality corresponding to vertical applications (e.g., UAV, V2X client). The VAL Client (201) can support interaction with the SEAL Client (202).

[0032] The VAL Server (203) can provide server-side functionality corresponding to vertical applications (e.g., UAV, V2X application server).

[0033] The SEAL client (202) can provide client-side functionality corresponding to a particular SEAL service, such as location management, group management, configuration management, identity management, key management, and network resource management. The SEAL client can support interaction with the VAL client (201). The SEAL client can also support interaction with corresponding SEAL clients between two UEs. For example, a first SEAL client (e.g., SEAL client (202)) of a first UE (e.g., UE (212)) can interact with a second SEAL client (not shown) of a second UE (not shown).

[0034] The SEAL Server (204) can provide server-side functionality corresponding to a particular SEAL service, such as location management, group management, configuration management, identity management, key management, and network resource management. The SEAL Server (204) can support interaction with the VAL Server (203).

[0035] This disclosure includes example information flows and data points that can be provided to enable real-time network status reporting and location updates for a UAS operating under a 3GPP network using the SEAL architecture.

[0036] Figures 2 and 3 show the network resource and location management of the SEAL architecture.

[0037] The Network Resource Management (NRM) Server (304) shown in Figure 3 may be a SEAL functional entity that provides management of 3GPP system network resources (e.g., unicast, multicast) to support VAL applications (or VAL clients) (201). VAL applications may include, for example, UAV and V2X.

[0038] Interactions related to network resource management functions between the NRM Client and the NRM Server (304) may be supported by the NRM-UU reference point. In Figure 2, the NRM Client may act as a SEAL Client (202) and the NRM-UU may act as a SEAL-UU (209).

[0039] Interactions related to network resource management functions between the VAL server (203) and the network resource management server (204) may be supported by the NRM-S reference point. The NRM-S reference point may function as the SEAL-S reference point (211). In some embodiments, the UAE server (303) of FIG. 3 may function as the VAL server (203) of FIG. 2, and the NRM server (304) of FIG. 3 may function as the SEAL server (204) of FIG. 2.

[0040] Similarly, SEAL location management can provide UAS location information. For example, a Location Management (LM) client (301) can interact with a LM server (302) and provide location data to a UAE server (303). The LM client (301) can act as a SEAL client (202), and the LM server (302) can act as a SEAL server (204). Interactions related to location management functions between the LM server (302) and the LM client (301) can be supported by an LM-S reference point, which can function as the SEAL-S reference point (211) of FIG. 2.

[0041] To obtain network and location information, the UAE server (303) may subscribe to a connection monitoring service from the NRM server (304) for both the UAVs and / or UAV clients, as well as for UAV location information from the LM server (302). In some embodiments, the UAE server (303) may subscribe to a monitoring event application programming interface (API) for connection monitoring by the NRM server (304) for both the UAVs and / or UAV clients.

[0042] An exemplary procedure for a VAL server to subscribe to an NRM server may include the following steps: (i) the VAL server (e.g., UAE server (303)) sends a monitoring event subscription request to an NRM server (e.g., NRM server (304)), requesting the NRM server to monitor events related to the VAL UE (e.g., UAV) according to the subscription request, which may include information related to the events that the VAL server is interested in. (ii) the NRM server may check whether the VAL server is authorized to initiate the monitoring event subscription request, and if so, may respond with a monitoring event subscription response message indicating a successful subscription status along with subscription information to the VAL server. The VAL service ID may be used by the NRM server to derive event specific information in the 3GPP core network service (e.g., QoS requirements in the analysis event subscription) based on the local configuration. The NRM server maps the VAL group ID (if received) to an external group ID known to the 3GPP core network. (iii) Based on the information of the events of interest in the subscription request message, if applicable, the NRM server can subscribe to UE monitoring events (e.g., LOSS_OF_CONNECTIVITY, COMMUNICATION_FAILURE, etc.) for the set of UEs (VALUE) in the subscription request. (iv) Based on the information of the events of interest in the subscription request message, if applicable, the NRM server can subscribe to UE analysis events (e.g., ABNORMAL_BEHAVIOUR, etc.) for the set of UEs (VALUE) in the subscription request.

[0043] In some embodiments, the UAE server (303) can subscribe to UAV location information and location deviation monitoring events from the LM server (302).

[0044] An exemplary procedure of location information subscription to the LM server (302) may include the following steps: (i) The VAL server sends a location information subscription request to the location management server to subscribe to location information of one or more VAL users and / or VAL UEs. The request may include an indication for supplemental location information. (ii) The location management server may check whether the VAL server is authorized to initiate a location information subscription request. In addition, the location management server may initiate a location reporting configuration with the location management client of the UE for immediate reporting. (iii) The location management server may optionally subscribe to UE location information from the 3GPP core network for the UE. If an indication for supplemental location information is included in step 1, the UE location information is obtained from the 3GPP core network. (iv) The location management server determines the UE location information of the UE received in steps 3 and 4. (v) The location management server returns a location information subscription response indicating the subscription status and, if immediate reporting is requested, the location information of the VAL UE.

[0045] When the UAE server subscribes to connection monitoring, location information, and location deviation monitoring events as described above, the UAE server (303) can receive a location report from the LM server (302), as shown in step (S305) of FIG. 3. The location report can provide the location information of the UE. The UAE server (303) can record a current location report timestamp. In some embodiments, the UAE server (303) can receive a location report and / or a location deviation monitoring event notification from the LM server (302). In some embodiments, the UAE server (303) can record a current location report timestamp. In one example, the current location report timestamp can indicate the time when the location report was received by the UAE server (303), the time when the location report was sent from the LM server (302), or the time when the UE's location report was generated. In another example, the current location report timestamp can indicate the time when the UE's location information was captured.

[0046] An exemplary procedure for event-triggered location information notification may include the following steps: (i) the location management server receives the latest location information of the UE according to the location reporting procedure; (ii) the location management server may optionally receive the location information of the UE from the 3GPP core network. If an indication of supplemental location information is included in the subscription, the UE location information is obtained from the 3GPP core network; (iii) based on the configuration of, for example, the subscription, the periodic location timer, the location management server is triggered to report the latest user location information to the VAL server (e.g., the UAE server (303)); the location management server determines the UE location information received in steps 1 and 2, including the supplemental location information (if indicated); (iv) the location management server sends a location report to the VAL server or a previously configured location management client, including the latest location information of one or more VAL users and / or VAL UEs; (v) the VAL server may further share this location information with the group or with another VAL user and / or VAL UE.

[0047] An exemplary procedure for monitoring location deviation may include the following steps: (i) the VAL server (e.g., UAE server (303)) sends a monitoring location subscription request to the LM server; (ii) the LM server (e.g., LM server 302)) processes the information of the area of ​​interest in the request, and then subscribes to UE location monitoring with appropriate parameter mapping. Based on the subscription, the LM server periodically receives VAL UE location information from the 3GPP core network; (iii) the LM server periodically obtains the VAL UE location information; (iv) after the subscription according to steps 2 and 3 is successful, the LM server sends a monitoring location subscription response, indicating that it accepts the VAL server's request, and monitors the location of the VAL UE to verify whether the VAL UE is within the area of ​​interest. (v) If the location information received from the location management client does not match the core network, the LM server may consider the VAL UE to be outside its specified region of interest and may notify the VAL server with a “Notify Mismatch Location” message. (vi) If the current location of the VAL UE is from the location management client and the core network matches and is not within the area of ​​interest received from the VAL Server in the Monitor Location Subscription Request message, the LM may consider the VAL UE to be outside its specified area of ​​interest and notify the VAL Server that the current location of the VAL UE is outside the area of ​​interest and the VAL UE ID is included in the “Notify Absence” message. (vii) If the current location of the VAL UE is within the area of ​​interest, the LMS may periodically notify the VAL Server ("Notify Presence" message) according to the "Notify_Interval" value in the "Monitor Location Subscription Request" message, indicating that the VAL UE is within the area of ​​interest, together with the current location information of the VAL UE.

[0048] The example data points shown in Table 1 may be provided by the LM server to a requesting location management client and / or VAL server for reporting location information.

[0049] [Table 1]

[0050] In some embodiments, the current location report timestamp can take one of several different time formats, such as ISO 8610 (e.g., yyyy-month-dayTHH:MM:SS), RFC 1123 (e.g., Monday, DD month YYYY HH:MM:SS time zone), Coordinated Universal Time (UTC:yyyy-mm-ddTHH:MM:SS), etc.

[0051] In step (S306), the UAE server (303) may receive a network event notification from the NRM server (304). The event may relate to a loss of reachability of the UE (e.g., UAV or UAV-C). For example, a network event notification "Loss_of_connectivity_notification" may be received by the UAE server (303), indicating a loss of connectivity of the UE to the 3GPP network. Thus, the UAE server (303) may record such an event with a current timestamp. The timestamp may indicate the time when the UE is unreachable. The timestamp may also indicate when the network event notification was received by the UAE server (303) or sent from the NRM server (304).

[0052] In some embodiments, the UAE server (303) may receive a monitoring event notification (or network event notification) from the NRM server (304). For example, a procedure for an NRM server (e.g., the NRM server (304)) to notify a VAL server (e.g., the UAE server (303)) of a VAL UE-related event may include the following steps: (i) if applicable, the NRM server receives a VAL UE-related monitoring event notification from the 3GPP core network; (ii) if applicable, the NRM server receives a VAL UE-related analysis event notification from the 3GPP core network; (iii) the NRM server notifies the VAL server of the event related to the VAL UE in a monitoring event notification message. If multiple events are notified, the NRM server may aggregate the notifications and send them to the VAL server.

[0053] In step (S307), the NRM server (304) can send a notification to the UAE server (303) when the UE reconnection status is detected. The notification can indicate that the UE has been reconnected to a network, such as a 3GPP network (213).

[0054] In step (S308), the UAE server (303) may record such an event with the last known location information and timestamp in addition to the current timestamp. Thus, the UAE server (303) may record a notification from the NRM server (304) indicating that the UE has reconnected to the network, and a timestamp associated with the notification. The timestamp may indicate the time when the notification was received or sent. The timestamp may also indicate when the UE was reconnected to the network. Similarly, the UAE server may record the last updated location information of the UE from the LM server (302) and an associated timestamp. The timestamp associated with the last updated location information may indicate one or more of the time when the last updated location information was generated, the time when the last updated location information was sent by the LM server (302), and the time when the last updated location information was received by the UAE server (303).

[0055] In some embodiments, the UAE server (303) may record the UE reconnection notification and associated timestamp, and the UE's last known location information and associated timestamp. The LM server may provide one or more data points, such as those shown in Table 2, to a VAL server (e.g., the UAE server) or a location management client.

[0056] [Table 2]

[0057] In some embodiments, as shown in step (308), when the UAE server (303) receives a notification of the UE reconnection, the UAE server (303) can further trigger a location update. For example, the UAE server (303) can trigger a location update. Thus, the LM server (302) can request the UE location information by sending a location information request to the LM client (301). The VAL user or VAL UE is notified and asked for permission to share its location. The LM client (e.g., 301) responds to the location management server with a report including the location information. Furthermore, the LM server (302) can send the UE's location report to the UAE server (303) to provide the UE's real-time location information.

[0058] In some embodiments, the UAE server (303) may record the data points shown in Table 3. The data points may be recorded, for example, in step (308) of FIG.

[0059] [Table 3]

[0060] As shown in Table 3, the network event information may be included in a notification from the NRM server (304) indicating a connection loss of the UE. The network event information may also be included in a notification from the NRM server (304) to indicate a reconnection of the UE. The UAE server ID may be an identifier (or identification information) of the UAE server (303) that provides real-time network connection status monitoring and location updates. The location information may indicate updated location information received from the LM server (302). The updated location information may include the last updated location information. For example, the last updated location information may be the last updated location information obtained from the LM server before the UE was disconnected from the network. The last updated location information may be the last updated location information obtained from the LM server after the UE reconnects to the network.

[0061] Figure 4 illustrates a process (400) for real-time network monitoring and location updates. As shown in Figure 4, the process (400) can start at step (S401) and proceed to step (S410), where a location report can be received by a first server, for example from a second server. The location report can be received by an Unmanned Aircraft System Application Enabler (UAE) server from a Location Management (LM) server of the SEAL architecture. The location report can indicate location information of the UE.

[0062] In step S420, a first network event notification associated with the UE may be received by the UAE server from a network resource management (NRM) server in the SEAL architecture. The first network event notification may indicate a connection status of the UE with the network.

[0063] In step (S430), in response to detecting a reconnection status of the UE, a second networking event notification may be received by the UAE server from the NRM server, and the second networking event notification may indicate that the UE has reconnected to the network.

[0064] In step (S440), (i) the second networking event notification, (ii) the identification information of the UAE server, and (iii) the last updated location information of the UE from the LM server may be recorded by the UAE server.

[0065] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a position report from the LM server, a timestamp associated with the position report may be recorded by the UAE server, and the timestamp may indicate the time the position report was received.

[0066] In the process (400), in response to a first network event notification indicating a UE connection loss event, the event and a timestamp associated with the event may be recorded by the UAE server, where the timestamp may indicate a time when the event occurred.

[0067] In the process (400), a timestamp of the second network event notification may be recorded by the UAE server, and the timestamp may indicate the time when the UE reconnected to the network.

[0068] In some embodiments, a timestamp of the last updated location information may be recorded by the UAE server, which may indicate the time when the last updated location information of the UE was received.

[0069] In the process (400), a location update between the LM server and the LM client may be triggered by the UAE server.

[0070] In some embodiments, triggering a location update can cause the LM server to send a location request to the LM client. A location report can be sent by the LM client to the LM server in response to the location request. The location report can indicate the last updated location information.

[0071] In some embodiments, the UAE server may be subscribed to (i) real-time network monitoring from the NRM server, and (ii) location updates from the LM server.

[0072] The unmanned aircraft system communication aspects described above can be implemented in both the controller and the UAV using computer readable instructions and as computer software physically stored on one or more computer readable media, such as one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media. For example, Figure 5 illustrates a computer system 600 suitable for implementing certain embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.

[0073] The computer software may be coded using any suitable machine code or computer language that can be assembled, compiled, linked, or similar mechanisms to create code containing instructions that can be executed by a computer central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), etc., directly, or via interpretation, microcode execution, etc.

[0074] The instructions may be executed on various types of computers or components thereof, including, for example, personal computers, tablet computers, servers, smartphones, gaming devices, Internet of Things devices, and the like.

[0075] 5 for computer system (600) are exemplary in nature and are not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the computer software implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure. The arrangement of components should not be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement regarding any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of computer system (600).

[0076] The computer system (600) may include certain human interface input devices. Such human interface input devices may be responsive to input by one or more human users using, for example, tactile input (keystrokes, swipes, data glove movements, etc.), audio input (voice, clapping, etc.), visual input (gestures, etc.), and olfactory input (not shown). The human interface devices may also be used to capture certain media not necessarily directly associated with conscious human input, such as audio (voice, music, ambient sounds, etc.), images (scanned images, photographic images obtained from still image cameras, etc.), and video (two-dimensional video, three-dimensional video including stereoscopic video, etc.).

[0077] The input human interface devices may include one or more (only one of each is shown) of a keyboard (601), a mouse (602), a trackpad (603), a touch screen (610), a data glove (not shown), a joystick (605), a microphone (606), a scanner (607), and a camera (608).

[0078] The computer system (600) may also include certain human interface output devices. Such human interface output devices may stimulate one or more of the human user's senses, for example, by haptic output, sound, light, and smell / taste. Such human interface output devices may include haptic output devices (e.g., haptic feedback via a touch screen (610), data gloves (not shown), or joystick (605), although there may also be haptic feedback devices that do not function as input devices), audio output devices (such as speakers (609), headphones (not shown)), visual output devices (such as screens (610) including CRT screens, LCD screens, plasma screens, OLED screens (each with or without touch screen input capability, each with or without haptic feedback capability, some of which may be capable of outputting two-dimensional visual output, or output in more than three dimensions by means of stereographic output, etc.), virtual reality glasses (not shown), holographic displays, and smoke tanks (not shown)), and printers (not shown).

[0079] The computer system (600) may also include human-accessible storage devices and associated media, such as optical media, including CD / DVD ROM / RW (620) along with CD / DVD or similar media (621), thumb drives (622), removable hard drives or solid state drives (623), legacy magnetic media such as tape and floppy disks (not shown), and specialized ROM / ASIC / PLD based devices such as security dongles (not shown).

[0080] Also, those skilled in the art should understand that the term "computer-readable medium" as used in connection with the subject matter of this disclosure does not encompass transmission media, carrier waves, or other transitory signals.

[0081] The computer system (600) may also include an interface (654) to one or more communication networks (655). The networks may be, for example, wireless, wired, optical. The networks may further be local, wide area, metropolitan, vehicular and industrial, real-time, delay tolerant, etc. Examples of networks include local area networks such as Ethernet, wireless LAN, cellular networks including GSM, 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE, etc., TV wired or wireless wide area digital networks including cable TV, satellite TV, and terrestrial broadcast TV, vehicular and industrial including CANBus, etc. Certain networks typically require an external network interface adapter that connects to a specific general-purpose data port or peripheral bus (649) (e.g., a USB port on the computer system (600)), while others are typically integrated into the core of the computer system (600) by connection to a system bus as described below (e.g., an Ethernet interface to a PC computer system or a cellular network interface to a smartphone computer system). Using any of these networks, the computer system (600) may communicate with other entities. Such communications may be unidirectional, receive only (e.g., broadcast TV), unidirectional transmit only (e.g., CANbus to a particular CANbus device), or bidirectional, for example to other computer systems using local or wide area digital networks. Specific protocols and protocol stacks may be used in each of these networks and network interfaces, as described above.

[0082] The aforementioned human interface devices, human accessible storage devices, and network interfaces may be connected to a core (640) of the computer system (600).

[0083] The cores (640) may include one or more central processing units (CPUs) (641), graphics processing units (GPUs) (642), dedicated programmable processing units in the form of field programmable gate areas (FPGAs) (643), hardware accelerators for specific tasks (644), graphics adapters (650), and the like. These devices may be connected via a system bus (648), along with read only memory (ROM) (645), random access memory (646), internal mass storage such as an internal non-user accessible hard drive, SSD, and the like (647). In some computer systems, the system bus (648) may be accessible in the form of one or more physical plugs to allow expansion with additional CPUs and GPUs, and the like. Peripheral devices may be attached directly to the core's system bus (648) or via a peripheral bus (649). In one example, a screen (610) may be connected to the graphics adapter (650). Peripheral bus architectures include PCI, USB, and the like.

[0084] The CPU (641), GPU (642), FPGA (643), and accelerator (644) can execute certain instructions that may combine to constitute the aforementioned computer code. This computer code may be stored in ROM (645) or RAM (646). Temporary data may also be stored in RAM (646), while permanent data may be stored, for example, in internal mass storage (647). Rapid storage and retrieval in any of the memory devices may be made possible by the use of cache memory, which may be closely associated with one or more of the CPU (641), GPU (642), mass storage (647), ROM (645), and RAM (646), etc.

[0085] The computer-readable medium can bear computer code for performing various computer-implemented operations. The medium and computer code can be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present disclosure, or they can be of the type well known and available to those skilled in the computer software arts.

[0086] By way of example and not limitation, the architecture, particularly the computer system (600) having the cores (640), can provide functionality as a result of processors (including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, accelerators, etc.) executing software embodied in one or more tangible computer-readable media. Such computer-readable media can be the user-accessible mass storage introduced above, as well as media associated with the cores' (640) specific storage having a non-transitory nature, such as the cores' internal mass storage (647) or ROM (645). Software implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure can be stored in such devices and executed by the cores (640). The computer-readable media can include one or more memory devices or chips, depending on the particular needs. The software can cause the cores (640), and in particular the processors therein (including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, etc.) to perform certain processes or certain parts of certain processes described herein, including defining data structures stored in RAM (646) and modifying such data structures according to the software-defined processes. Additionally or alternatively, the computer system may provide functionality as a result of logic hardwired or otherwise embodied in circuitry (e.g., accelerator (644)) that may operate in place of or in conjunction with software to perform certain processes or portions of certain processes described herein. Where appropriate, references to software can encompass logic and vice versa. Where appropriate, references to computer-readable media can encompass circuitry (such as an integrated circuit (IC)) that stores software for execution, circuitry that embodies logic for execution, or both. The present disclosure encompasses any appropriate combination of hardware and software.

[0087] While this disclosure has described several exemplary embodiments, there are modifications, substitutions, and various substitute equivalents which are within the scope of this disclosure. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems and methods which, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure and are therefore within its spirit and scope. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 100 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) 101 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) 102 Controller 103 Data Link 104 Sensors 105 On-board control circuit 106 Receiver 107 Communication Signals 108 satellite 109 Camera 110 Other Cameras 111 Data Link 112 Display Devices 113 Operator or User 114 Propulsion device 200 Function Model 201 VAL Client 202 SEAL Client 203 VAL Server 204 SEAL Server, Network Resource Management Server 205 VAL-UU 206 Vertical Application Layer (VAL) 207 SEAL 208 SEAL-C reference point 209 SEAL-UU 210 3GPP interface 211 SEAL-S reference point 212 User Equipment 213 3GPP Network System 300 processes 301 Location Management (LM) Client 302 LM Server 303 UAE server 304 NRM Server 400 processes 600 Computer Systems 601 Keyboard 602 Mouse 603 Trackpad 605 Joystick 606 Microphone 607 Scanner 608 Camera 609 Speaker 610 Touch Screen 621 CD / DVD or similar media 620 Optical media 622 Thumb Drive 623 Removable Hard Drive or Solid State Drive 640 cores 641 Central Processing Unit (CPU) 642 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) 643 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) 644 Hardware Accelerator 645 Read-Only Memory (ROM) 646 Random Access Memory (RAM) 647 Internal Mass Storage 647 SSD 648 System Bus 649 Surrounding Bus 650 Graphics Adapter 654 Interface 655 Communication Network 1410 Screen 1450 Graphics Adapter 1800 Computer Systems 1854 Interface 1855 Communication Network

Claims

1. A method for real-time network monitoring and location updating for a user equipment (UE) in a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) architecture, comprising: receiving, by an Unmanned Aircraft System Application Enabler (UAE) server, a location report from a Location Management (LM) server of the SEAL architecture, the location report indicating location information of the UE; receiving, by the UAE server, a first network event notification associated with the UE from a Network Resource Management (NRM) server in the SEAL architecture, the first network event notification indicating a connectivity status of the UE with a network; receiving, by the UAE server, a monitoring event notification from the NRM server, wherein, when multiple monitoring events are notified, the NRM server aggregates the monitoring event notifications and transmits them to the UAE server; receiving, by the UAE server, a second network event notification from the NRM server in response to detecting a reconnect status of the UE, the second network event notification indicating that the UE has reconnected to the network; recording, by the UAE server, (i) the second network event notification, (ii) the identity of the UAE server, and (iii) the last updated location information of the UE from the LM server; A method for providing the above.

2. In response to receiving the position report from the LM server, recording, by the UAE server, a timestamp associated with the position report, the timestamp indicating one of the time the position report was received by the UAE server, the time the position report was sent by the LM server, and the time the position report was generated by the LM server; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein in response to the first network event notification indicating a connection loss event for the UE, recording, by the UAE server, the event and a timestamp associated with the event, the timestamp indicating a time when the event occurred; The method of claim 1 further comprising: recording, by the UAE server, a timestamp of the second network event notification, the timestamp indicating the time at which the UE reconnected to the network; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

5. A step of recording, by the UAE server, a timestamp of the last updated location information, wherein the timestamp indicates one of the time when the last updated location information of the UE was received by the UAE server, the time when the last updated location information of the UE was sent by the LM server, and the time when the last updated location information of the UE was generated; The method of claim 1 further comprising: Triggering, by the UAE server, a location update between the LM server and the LM client, The method of claim 1 further comprising:

7. The step of triggering further includes the step of causing the LM server to send a location information request to the LM client; The method of claim 6 , wherein the location report is sent by the LM client to the LM server in response to the location information request, the location report indicating the last updated location information.

8. The UAE server is subscribed to (i) the real-time network monitoring from the NRM server, and (ii) the location updates from the LM server. The method of claim 1.

9. A method for detecting a signal from a signal source, comprising: a processing circuit configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8; Device.

10. A program comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of an Unmanned Aircraft System Application Enabler (UAE) server, cause the at least one processor to perform a method described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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