Autonomous Aerial Vehicle for Exterior Light Inspection and Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous aerial vehicles lack the capability to efficiently inspect and replace exterior lights on structures like buildings and towers, especially in hard-to-reach locations, which can lead to safety hazards and maintenance inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) equipped with a lightbulb changing mechanism, including grippers and an actuator, that can hover stably and perform lightbulb replacement tasks by controlling its position and orientation using a flight control system and camera, allowing for unobstructed views and precise operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional manual methods are used for lighting inspection and replacement, then operators can perform tasks with human judgment and adaptability, but maintenance time increases and safety risks arise from working at heights
Solution Approach 1:
The AAV performs lighting inspection and replacement autonomously without human intervention. The system uses onboard sensors to detect faulty lights, positions itself using flight control, and mechanically replaces bulbs using a dedicated mechanism, enabling the system to service itself in remote locations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations with an automated aerial vehicle equipped with mechanical arms and grippers. The AAV uses flight control systems and automated mechanisms to perform tasks previously requiring human climbers, eliminating safety risks while reducing maintenance time
2Ease of operation
If AAV is equipped with lightbulb changing mechanism and stabilization systems, then lighting replacement capability and hover stability improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The AAV integrates multiple functions into a single platform: flight control for navigation, camera systems for inspection, lightbulb changing mechanism for replacement, and stabilization systems for hover control. This multi-functional design consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems into one unified vehicle
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the inspection system (camera), replacement mechanism (lightbulb changer), and flight control systems into a single integrated AAV platform. The stabilization system merges gyroscopic control with flight control to achieve coordinated hover and positioning, reducing overall system complexity through integration
3Stability of the object's composition
If AAV uses active stabilization systems to maintain hover in adverse conditions, then hover stability improves, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The AAV employs active stabilization systems that generate counteracting forces to neutralize adverse environmental conditions such as wind. The flight control system continuously adjusts rotor thrust to counterbalance external disturbances, maintaining stable hover despite energy-consuming counter-actions
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilization system uses sensors to detect deviations from the desired hover position and feeds this information back to the flight control system. The system continuously adjusts control inputs based on real-time feedback, maintaining stability while optimizing energy consumption through responsive rather than continuous maximum-power operation
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) includes a plurality of lightbulb changers and an actuator for controlling the plurality of lightbulb changers. A structure database stores structure data corresponding to a structure, the structure data including coordinate data corresponding to three-dimensional coordinates of a location that facilitates an unobstructed view of a plurality of exterior lights of the structure, the structure data further including schematic data that indicates positions on the structure of the plurality of exterior lights. A flight control system controls a position of the AAV, based on the coordinate data, to the location that facilitates the unobstructed view of the plurality of exterior lights of the structure. A camera captures image data corresponding to the unobstructed view of the plurality of exterior lights of the structure. A processor controls the AAV to perform a lighting inspection procedure and/or a lightbulb replacement process.