Unmanned Aircraft Flight Planning Using Preflight Obstacle Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current unmanned aircraft systems lack the ability to automatically detect and avoid obstacles in flight paths with minimal user involvement, necessitating the development of systems that can generate and execute flight plans that exclude obstacles for precise and comprehensive image capture.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a hardware processor with a controller that generates and executes flight plans by loading imagery maps, predicting obstacles, and modifying flight paths to avoid collisions, allowing for autonomous obstacle detection and path adjustment during flight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If automatic obstacle detection and avoidance systems are implemented, then flight safety and automation are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary obstacle detection by comparing the flight plan with aerial imagery maps before flight execution. This advance detection allows the system to identify potential collisions and modify flight paths proactively, improving safety without requiring complex real-time intervention systems during flight.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses aerial imagery maps as a representative copy of the actual terrain and obstacles. By comparing the flight plan against this map copy, the system can detect potential collisions without needing complex real-time sensing and processing during flight, thereby reducing operational system complexity while maintaining safety.
2Ease of operation
If flight plans are automatically generated and executed with minimal user involvement, then ease of operation is improved, but the ability to handle unexpected obstacles may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback by continuously comparing the generated flight plan against the aerial imagery map and automatically modifying the flight path when obstacles are detected. This closed-loop approach enables the automated system to adapt to obstacles without user intervention, maintaining both ease of operation and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight plan is not static but dynamically adjustable. The system automatically modifies flight paths in response to detected obstacles, allowing the automated system to adapt to changing conditions while requiring minimal user involvement. This dynamic capability ensures versatility without compromising ease of operation.
3Measurement precision
If the system compares aerial imagery maps with generated flight plans to detect obstacles, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The obstacle detection and flight plan modification are performed in advance before flight execution. By completing this comparison and adjustment process preliminarily, the system ensures high detection accuracy without time pressure during actual flight operations, effectively managing the time trade-off.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for mission planning and flight automation for an unmanned aircraft comprising generating an aerial imagery map of a capture area; generating a flight plan based on criteria for capturing images used to create a model of a feature present in the images; comparing the generated aerial imagery map with the generated flight plan; determining whether there is a possible collision between an obstacle associated with the generated aerial imagery map and the unmanned aircraft along a flight path of the generated flight plan; and executing, based on the determination, the generated flight plan.