Underground Drone Routing via Entry-Exit Passageway Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones poses safety risks and noise pollution concerns, leading to potential opposition from the public and regulatory challenges for service providers and manufacturers, necessitating alternative operation methods that minimize impacts on populated areas.
Innovation Solution
A system for mapping and routing drones through underground and interior passageways, using geographic databases to determine entry and exit points and generate routes, thereby avoiding conventional above-ground airspace and associated risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If drones operate in above-ground airspace, then drone delivery and transportation services can be provided, but safety risks and noise pollution increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions drone operations from the conventional above-ground aerial dimension to the underground subsurface dimension. By routing drones through underground passageways, tunnels, and interior spaces, the system eliminates conflicts with above-ground pedestrian traffic and reduces noise pollution in populated areas while maintaining drone service capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a geographic database as an intermediary system that maps and manages underground passageway networks. This database serves as a mediator between drone operations and underground infrastructure, enabling safe route planning through entry and exit points while preventing conflicts with subsurface activities.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If drones are routed through underground passageways, then safety risks and noise pollution are reduced, but route planning complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary mapping and characterization of underground passageways before drone operations. The geographic database pre-stores information about entry points, exit points, and passageway characteristics, enabling efficient route planning without real-time complexity. This advance preparation eliminates the need for complex real-time navigation decisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The geographic database automatically manages route planning by querying pre-stored underground passageway data. The system serves itself by using its own stored geographic information to generate routes, eliminating the need for external complex navigation systems or real-time human intervention in route calculation.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is provided for mapping underground and/or interior passageways for drone routing. The approach, for example, involves determining location data for entry points, exit points, or a combination thereof to the underground and/or interior passageways. The entry points facilitate an entry of a drone into the plurality of underground and/or interior passageways, and the exit points facilitate an exit of the drone from the plurality of passageways. The approach also involves associating the location data with a geographic database. The geographic database further includes digital map data representing the plurality of underground passageways and is used to determine a route through the underground and/or interior passageways for the drone.