Drone Path Estimator for Authorized Airspace Boundary Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
It is challenging for off-board drone pilots to maintain drones within authorized airspace boundaries due to limited visibility and real-time navigation assistance.
Innovation Solution
A path estimator method that determines and displays the drone's speed, location, and navigation data to predict its future path, using stored models and sensors to visualize the drone's position relative to airspace boundaries, allowing pilots to adjust the drone's path in real-time to avoid boundary crossings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If real-time path prediction and visualization are implemented, then pilot awareness of drone position relative to boundaries is improved, but system complexity and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations of the drone's future position by computing the predicted path based on current speed, heading, and boundary data before the drone actually reaches critical locations. This allows the pilot to see ahead potential boundary violations and take preventive action, reducing information loss about future positional risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a simplified graphical copy or representation of the drone's predicted path and boundary relationships on the user interface. Instead of providing raw coordinate data, it generates visual symbols showing the drone icon, predicted trajectory, and boundary lines, making complex spatial information easily comprehensible to the pilot.
2Reliability
If continuous monitoring and prediction of drone position are performed, then boundary violation prevention is improved, but computational energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs partial monitoring by focusing computational resources only on predicting whether the drone will cross boundary lines, rather than continuously calculating complete positional trajectories. It determines boundary violation risk by comparing predicted future position against boundary coordinates, reducing unnecessary computations while maintaining reliable violation detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The path estimator system uses the drone's own already-collected navigation data (speed, heading, position) to perform self-prediction of its future path. By utilizing existing sensor data and the drone's own motion characteristics, the system avoids needing additional external monitoring infrastructure, reducing overall system energy consumption while maintaining reliable boundary monitoring.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for helping to keep a drone within an authorized airspace. This method involves displaying several symbols on a display of a path estimator comprising: i) displaying an aircraft symbol showing a current position of the drone in relation to the authorized airspace; ii) displaying a boundary symbol showing a boundary of the authorized airspace in a position in relation to the aircraft symbol representative of a position of the boundary in relation to the current position of the drone; and iii) determining a geometry and displaying a path symbol showing a predicted path of the drone without changing values of an item of speed data and an item of navigation data, the geometry of the path symbol being based at least on the value of the item of speed data and the value of the item of navigation data.