Drone Escort System for GNSS Navigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The mass deployment of drones in urban environments faces challenges such as navigation around buildings, collision avoidance, and interference from GNSS signals, which are exacerbated by the need for manual control and the complexity of managing multiple drones, especially in crowded areas where satellite signals are unreliable.
Innovation Solution
An escorting drone system that transmits a customized escort signal to an escorted drone to guide it to desired flight paths, landing zones, or away from no-flight areas, using GNSS or radio frequency control channel signals, allowing for autonomous navigation and collision avoidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual control is used for drone navigation, then control flexibility is improved, but response speed and collision avoidance capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an escort drone as an intermediary between the control operator and the escorted drone. The escort drone receives commands from the operator and transmits them to the escorted drone, enabling faster response times while maintaining operational flexibility. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by decoupling the operator's flexible control inputs from the drone's rapid execution requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct manual mechanical control with an automated escort system that uses signal transmission and autonomous navigation algorithms. The escort drone substitutes the direct operator-drone control link with an automated intermediary system that processes commands and executes them at higher speeds, thereby improving response time while preserving control flexibility through the operator's interface.
2Reliability
If one pilot controls one drone over dedicated radio link, then control reliability is improved, but system cost and complexity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple control functions into a single escort drone that can manage multiple escorted drones simultaneously. Instead of requiring separate dedicated radio links and pilots for each drone, the escort drone consolidates control authority, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliable control through centralized management and coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The escort drone is designed with universal control capabilities that allow it to manage multiple escorted drones using a single radio link. This multi-functional approach enables one escort drone to perform the role of multiple pilots, reducing the number of required communication channels and control systems while maintaining control reliability through standardized protocols and centralized oversight.
3Productivity
If drones navigate in crowded urban environments, then delivery efficiency is improved, but signal reception and interference problems worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The escort drone acts as a signal intermediary that maintains reliable communication links in crowded urban environments. It receives commands from operators and transmits them to escorted drones, ensuring signal reliability even when direct communication is blocked by buildings or interference from other drones. This intermediary approach preserves delivery efficiency while overcoming signal reception challenges.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces reliance on satellite GNSS signals with an escort-based communication system that uses direct radio frequency links between the escort drone and escorted drones. This substitution eliminates dependence on external satellite signals that are blocked by urban structures, ensuring reliable communication and navigation in crowded environments while maintaining high delivery efficiency.
4Productivity
If autonomous navigation is used, then operational cost is reduced, but ability to handle dynamic situations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The escort drone serves as a mediator that bridges autonomous navigation and adaptive control. The escorted drone operates autonomously for routine navigation, reducing operational costs, while the escort drone provides real-time adaptive adjustments when dynamic situations arise. This intermediary system allows the autonomous drone to maintain cost efficiency while gaining enhanced adaptability through the escort's intervention capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The escorted drone performs self-service autonomous navigation for standard operations, reducing the need for continuous manual control and lowering operational costs. When dynamic situations require adaptive responses, the system automatically engages the escort drone for assistance. This self-service approach with on-demand support enables cost-effective autonomous operation while preserving the ability to handle dynamic situations when necessary.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes systems and methods for escorting small unmanned aircraft (herein drones). An escorting drone approaches the escorted drone and transmits to it an escort signal. In an embodiment, the escort signal is a GNSS signal fashioned to be the same as the GNSS signal that would be received by the escorted drone, other than being slightly stronger in signal strength and having slightly altered component delays. In another embodiment, the escort signal is a radio frequency control channel signal. Escorting may be utilized to guide a drone from a preprogrammed point to a docking zone in a droneport; to guide a drone though an urban canyon or inside a building where GNSS signals are not reliably received; to retrieve a drone with which communications has been lost; or to escort a drone to safety out of a no-flight zone such as around an airport.