Drone Mesh Network for Collision Avoidance and Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
As the number of drones increases, managing and tracking each drone becomes increasingly difficult, especially when they are out of primary communication range or in situations like disasters, where traditional methods fail to maintain contact and prevent collisions or locate drones effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a communications network to link drones and a command center, allowing for the sharing of geolocation and status information, establishing ad hoc connections to maintain contact even outside primary communication networks, predicting drone locations, and preventing collisions by identifying unpredictable variables like no-fly zones or disasters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional single-controller tracking methods are used for each drone, then individual drone control is maintained, but management and tracking becomes increasingly difficult as the number of drones increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple drone tracking functions into a centralized system where drones communicate with each other through mesh networking. Instead of each controller independently tracking one drone, the system combines tracking data from multiple drones into a unified management platform, allowing simultaneous monitoring and coordination of entire drone fleets rather than individual units.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a universal tracking platform that can manage multiple drone types and operations simultaneously. The mesh network infrastructure serves multiple functions: location tracking, collision prevention, no-fly zone monitoring, and emergency response coordination, making the system adaptable to various drone applications rather than being dedicated to single-drone control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If drones operate outside primary communication network range, then operational flexibility and coverage area increase, but contact and tracking are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested communication architecture where drones form mesh networks within larger operational areas. When a drone moves outside primary network range, it becomes part of an extended mesh network where other drones act as relay nodes. The communication structure nests multiple layers: direct controller-drone links, drone-to-drone mesh connections, and hierarchical routing through gateway drones that maintain connection to the central system.
Solution Approach 2:
Other drones in the fleet serve as intermediary relay nodes for communication. When a drone operates beyond primary network range, intermediate drones forward data and commands through the mesh network, enabling continued contact and tracking without requiring direct line-of-sight or primary network infrastructure.
3Productivity
If drones operate in dense environments with many units, then mission capability and coverage improve, but collision risk and coordination complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously exchanges location and status information between all drones in real-time through the mesh network. Each drone receives feedback about the positions, velocities, and trajectories of neighboring drones, allowing dynamic adjustment of flight paths to maintain safe separation distances and prevent collisions in dense operational environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary collision detection and route optimization before drones enter potentially conflicting flight paths. By analyzing predicted trajectories and current positions, the system proactively adjusts drone routes and speeds to prevent collisions before they occur, rather than reacting after conflict arises.
4Reliability
If centralized tracking of all drones is implemented, then collision prevention and safety improve, but system complexity and communication requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized tracking function into distributed mesh network nodes. Instead of requiring a complex central server to process all drone data, each drone independently processes and relays information about its local environment. This segmentation distributes the computational and communication burden across multiple simple nodes rather than concentrating complexity in a single system.
Solution Approach 2:
Each drone autonomously performs tracking, collision detection, and route adjustment for itself and its neighbors without requiring complex external control. The mesh network enables drones to self-organize and self-manage their coordination, reducing the need for sophisticated centralized management infrastructure while maintaining safety through distributed intelligence.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for locating unmanned mobile connected objects, such as, but not limited to, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as, but not limited to drones, and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) is disclosed. A command center may be configured to identify current locations of unmanned mobile connected objects, predict future locations of unmanned mobile connected objects, predict and prevent collisions of unmanned mobile connected objects, identify unpredictable variables, such as, but not limited to, plane crashes, disaster areas, cranes interfering with flight paths and no-fly zones and search for unmanned mobile connected objects even if there is no radio signal coverage or in situations when radio signals are inactive, such as during disasters and emergency situations. The system may be configured such that an unmanned mobile connected object may populate a neighboring table with information such as geolocation, cell signal strength, and status, and may be shared with a command center.