Drone Auto-Positioning for Faster Photo and Video Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional drone user interfaces are not user-friendly, requiring significant effort to position drones for photography or video capture, and small to medium-sized drones have short battery life, limiting the time available for actual capture.
Innovation Solution
An aerial system with a body, lift mechanism, optical system, and processing system that allows users to select operations, detect flight events, control the drone to designated positions, perform actions, and switch to standby mode, enabling intuitive and efficient drone operation without a remote controller.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional remote controller or cell phone is used to control the drone, then the user can capture photos or videos, but it takes significant effort and time to position the drone to desired location and camera view angle
Solution Approach 1:
The drone performs self-positioning and self-capture operations automatically. The processing system detects flight events and automatically controls the aerial system to move to designated positions and perform predefined actions without requiring continuous manual control input from the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-positions the drone to desired locations and pre-adjusts camera view angles before the actual photo or video capture is needed. This preliminary positioning reduces the time required during the actual capture moment.
2Productivity
If small/medium size drone is used, then the drone is portable and easy to operate, but the battery time is short typically in the range of 5-20 mins
Solution Approach 1:
The drone automatically manages its own operations including takeoff, positioning, capture actions, and landing without requiring continuous user intervention. This automation maximizes the productive capture time within the limited battery window by eliminating setup and positioning delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous useful action by automatically transitioning between flight phases (takeoff → positioning → capture → retrieval) without idle periods. The drone remains in productive states throughout its flight duration, maximizing the utilization of limited battery time.
3Productivity
If automated operations are implemented, then the positioning speed and capture efficiency are improved, but the device complexity increases with processing system, sensors, and actuation mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The processing system performs multiple functions including detecting flight events, determining designated positions, controlling movement, triggering capture actions, and managing flight modes. This multi-functionality consolidates what could be separate complex subsystems into a single integrated processing unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the control functions into an integrated automated processing system that combines flight management, position calculation, and capture triggering. This consolidation reduces overall system complexity compared to having separate dedicated systems for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides an aerial system, comprising: a body; a lift mechanism coupled to the body; an optical system coupled to the body; and a computer system having at least one processor and at least one memory comprising first program instructions. When the first program instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the at least one processor may be configured to: receive a target operation, the target operation associated with a flight trajectory and a predefined action performed by the optical system and execute the target operation.