Drone Explosive Arming Logic Using Sensor-Based Flight Criteria
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safe arming devices for ordnance in artillery do not apply to explosives in drones, posing a hazard to people working near defensive drones due to their limited flight time and potential for accidental detonation.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for safely arming a drone with an explosive device that includes sensors to measure acceleration, position, and environmental conditions, processors to determine arming criteria, and an arming device to transition between safe and armed states, ensuring detonation only occurs when predetermined conditions are met.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If defensive drones are armed with explosives to defend against intruding aircraft, then the ability to intercept and disable threats is improved, but the hazard to people working near the drones increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary arming actions by sensing predetermined conditions (such as intruding aircraft detection) before detonation occurs. The arming device is activated in advance based on sensor input, transitioning from a safe unarmed state to an armed state only when threat conditions are met, thus preventing accidental detonation while maintaining interception capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors environmental conditions through sensors and uses this feedback to control the arming device. The feedback loop ensures that the explosive device remains unarmed during normal operations and only arms when specific threat conditions are detected, thereby reducing hazard to personnel while maintaining defensive capability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the explosive device is kept in a safe unarmed state during shipping and handling, then the hazard to people is reduced, but the time to arm the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arming device is pre-configured in a safe state during shipping and handling, with all necessary components (detonation signal system, sensors, arming device) already in place but inactive. When the drone reaches its operational position and threat conditions are detected, the system quickly transitions to the armed state through predetermined arming criteria, minimizing the time loss between safe storage and active deployment.
3Reliability
If multiple arming criteria are required to ensure safe detonation, then the reliability of controlled detonation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arming system is segmented into distinct functional components: sensors for detecting conditions, a processing unit for evaluating arming criteria, and an arming device for controlling the detonation path. Each component performs a specific function, making the complex multi-criteria arming system manageable and reliable through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The arming device acts as an intermediary between the detonation signal system and the explosive device. It receives detonation signals and intermediates them through a controlled path that only allows signal transmission when predetermined arming criteria are met, thereby ensuring reliable controlled detonation while managing system complexity through a dedicated control interface.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided for safe arming a flying machine that carries an explosive device. Once armed, the flying machine can provide air defense against a target (e.g., an unwanted aircraft) by using the explosive device to kinetically intercept the unwanted aircraft. The flying machine can include an explosive device, an arming device, and one or more sensors (e.g., a 9-axis inertial measurement unit). By processing the sensor data, the flying machine determines whether arming criteria have been satisfied (e.g., the flying machine has attained a desired altitude or undergone a specified pattern of accelerations), and when the arming criteria are satisfied the flying machine arms the explosive device by completing a detonation path. If the explosive device is not detonated, the system returns to a safe state before the flying machine back to its origin.