Acoustic Drone Navigation for Low-Visibility Event Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drone guidance systems rely on visual data for navigation, which is limited in low-visibility situations and increases the weight and power requirements, making them unsuitable for certain scenarios, and they often fail to detect events due to obstructed views.
Innovation Solution
An acoustic monitoring system that uses a low-power, directionally-discriminating acoustic sensor coupled with an acoustic analysis engine to autonomously navigate drones to the source of acoustic energy, reducing hardware resources and enabling navigation in low-visibility conditions by processing acoustic profiles stored locally and remotely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If visual data is used for drone navigation, then navigation capability is provided, but weight and power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces visual sensors (cameras and processing systems) with acoustic sensors for drone navigation and event detection. This substitution uses sound wave detection instead of light detection, significantly reducing the weight and power requirements while maintaining navigation capability, especially in low-visibility conditions.
2Ease of operation
If visual data is used for drone navigation, then navigation capability is provided, but performance in low-visibility situations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes acoustic sensing for visual sensing, enabling the drone to navigate and detect events using sound waves that are not blocked by fog, rain, or darkness. This provides reliable operation in low-visibility conditions where camera-based systems fail.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If visual data is used for event detection, then detection capability is provided, but detection reliability deteriorates when views are obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces camera-based event detection with acoustic sensor arrays that detect sound waves from events. Since sound waves propagate differently than light and are not blocked by visual obstructions, this substitution maintains detection capability and reliability even when the drone's visual view is obstructed.
4Extent of automation
If acoustic sensors and processing systems are added to enhance autonomy, then drone autonomy improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the acoustic sensor system to perform multiple functions: navigation, event detection, and characterization. By using the same acoustic sensors and processing pipeline for all these tasks, the system achieves high autonomy without proportionally increasing complexity, as one set of components serves multiple purposes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enhances drone autonomy, reduces response time, and allows for efficient navigation in low-visibility situations by using acoustic data, improving the drone's ability to detect and respond to events without relying solely on visual data.
Implementation Method 1
a monitoring location within the monitored space is provided. Acoustic energy from the monitored space is received using an acoustic sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A monitored space is monitored including the production of a first audio signal from received acoustic energy. The first audio signal is then processed against a whitelist of acoustic profiles and, based on lack of substantial correspondence with any of the acoustic profiles, a drone is navigated toward an apparent position of an apparent source. While in-flight, additional acoustic energy is received and a second audio signal is produced from the additional acoustic energy. The second audio signal is processed against the whitelist and, based on lack of substantial correspondence with any of the acoustic profiles of the whitelist, an investigate mode of the drone is initiated. The investigate mode includes notifying a remote monitor and supplying the remote monitor with an audiovisual feed. Responsive to a characterization by the remote monitor, an entry of the whitelist may be updated, added or replaced.