Drone-Based Wireless Beacon Search for Remote Phone Location
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals in remote areas without cellular voice or data connectivity face challenges in seeking assistance, as their mobile devices quickly drain battery when constantly searching for connections, rendering them useless for communication or localization.
Innovation Solution
Mobile phones can operate in a beacon mode, transmitting periodic signals that can be detected by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with wireless communication systems, which use air-to-ground tethers for charging and follow predetermined flight patterns to locate the device, thereby extending battery life and improving search efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mobile devices constantly search for cellular connections in remote areas, then communication capability is maintained, but battery life is quickly depleted
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device operates in beacon mode, transmitting periodic signals instead of continuously searching for cellular connections. This periodic transmission maintains the ability to be located while significantly reducing power consumption compared to constant connection searching.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of UAVs (drones) equipped with wireless communication systems that detect beacon signals from mobile devices. This intermediary approach allows the device to remain locatable without requiring active cellular connection, thus preserving battery life while maintaining communication capability through the beacon-UAV interface.
2Measurement precision
If UAVs continuously search for wireless devices, then location accuracy is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV operates by detecting periodic beacon signals transmitted by mobile devices. Instead of continuous searching, the UAV can listen for these periodic signals and determine device location when signals are detected, reducing energy consumption while maintaining location accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile device itself provides the signal that enables its location to be detected. By transmitting its own beacon signal, the device makes itself detectable without requiring active probing or continuous scanning by the UAV, thereby reducing the energy burden on the UAV's search operations.
3Duration of action of moving object
If beacon mode is used to extend battery life, then power consumption is reduced, but signal detection range is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the search from a ground-based two-dimensional plane to a three-dimensional aerial space. UAVs operating in the air dimension can detect beacon signals from greater distances and overcome ground obstacles that limit terrestrial detection range, thus expanding the effective signal detection area while the device remains in low-power beacon mode.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method effectively locates individuals in need by reducing battery drain on both phones and UAVs, ensuring continuous operation and increasing the chances of finding lost or missing persons in areas with limited communication infrastructure.
Implementation Method 1
The power system may be configured to receive power via the air-to-ground tether
Implementation Method 2
operating the wireless communication system to wirelessly receive, from the wireless communication device, an identifier of the wireless communication device
Data Source
AI summary
An unmanned aerial vehicle may include a flight system, a wireless communication system, a processor, and a power system having a battery and a battery charging port. The power system may be operable to power the flight system, the wireless communication system, and the processor. The processor may be configured to operate the flight system to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle from a ground position to an in-air position while the battery charging port is attached to an air-to-ground tether, trigger a release of the air-to-ground tether from the battery charging port after determining the unmanned aerial vehicle has reached the in-air position and the battery is charged, and operate the flight system to execute a flight pattern while operating the wireless communication system to search for a wireless communication device.