Collision Spheroid Control for Uncrewed Vehicle Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing collision prediction and prevention systems for uncrewed vehicles, particularly smaller aerial drones, lack the necessary transponders and radar capabilities found in larger crewed aircraft, necessitating a mechanism for reliable collision avoidance using limited power sources and processing power.
Innovation Solution
A collision prevention system that utilizes collision spheroids, represented by three-dimensional coordinates, to predict and prevent collisions by generating and updating spheroids based on vehicle velocity, dimensions, and maneuverability, and transmitting velocity commands to uncrewed vehicles to avoid intersections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex transponders and radar capability are used for collision prevention, then collision prediction and prevention reliability is improved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual model (collision spheroid) of the physical vehicle and its movement trajectory. Instead of using complex physical sensors like radar, the system copies the essential motion characteristics into a computational model that can be analyzed mathematically for collision prediction
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical/electromagnetic sensing systems (radar, transponders) with a computational geometry approach. Collision detection is achieved through mathematical operations on coordinate data and spheroid equations rather than physical signal transmission and reception
2Reliability
If complex transponders and radar capability are used for collision prevention, then collision prediction and prevention reliability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a virtual representation of the vehicle's collision envelope and trajectory, allowing collision prediction through computational geometry rather than energy-intensive electromagnetic sensing. This copying approach consumes minimal power while maintaining prediction accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes energy-consuming radar and transponder hardware with low-power computational operations on coordinate data. The collision detection algorithm processes mathematical models rather than transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals
3Measurement precision
If collision spheroids are continuously generated and updated based on vehicle velocity and maneuverability, then collision prediction accuracy is improved, but processing power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates and stores maneuverability parameters and collision spheroid characteristics for different vehicle states. When collision prediction is needed, the system retrieves and combines these pre-computed values rather than performing complex real-time calculations, reducing processing power requirements
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are described herein for predicting collisions between uncrewed vehicles and preventing those collisions. A collision prevention system may generate collision spheroids for a multitude of uncrewed vehicles. Those collision spheroids may represent a plurality of three-dimensional points around each uncrewed vehicle. When the collision prevention system determines that collision spheroids corresponding to two uncrewed vehicles intersect, the collision prevention system may determine that a collision is imminent and may attempt to prevent the collision by causing one or both uncrewed vehicles to change velocity.