Unmanned Aircraft Sound Capture With Distance Feedback Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing unmanned aircraft systems struggle to enhance sound recording quality while ensuring the safety of sound sources, as they often fail to effectively manage the positional relationship with the sound source, leading to increased background noise and reduced signal-to-noise ratios.

Innovation Solution

An unmanned aircraft equipped with sensors, including microphones and processors, determines the quality of target sounds and adjusts its position relative to the sound source to optimize the distance and orientation for improved sound recording, ensuring safety by maintaining a predetermined distance and using actuators to enhance microphone sensitivity and noise reduction.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the unmanned aircraft approaches the sound source to improve sound recording quality, then the signal-to-noise ratio is improved, but the safety of the sound source is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesound recording qualityVSAvoidsafety of sound source

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The unmanned aircraft dynamically adjusts its distance from the sound source based on real-time evaluation of sound recording quality and safety conditions. The system transitions between different operational states (approaching, maintaining distance, retreating) to optimize the balance between sound quality and safety, rather than maintaining a fixed position.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system continuously evaluates sound recording quality using multiple sensors (microphones, image sensors) and feeds this information back to the control unit. Based on this feedback, the control unit adjusts the aircraft's position and microphone orientation to improve sound quality while maintaining safety constraints.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Measurement precision

If the unmanned aircraft moves closer to the sound source, then the signal-to-noise ratio is enhanced, but background noise increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesignal-to-noise ratioVSAvoidbackground noise

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses multiple microphones positioned at different locations on the aircraft to capture sound from different directions and distances. By selectively using or combining signals from specific microphones based on their local sound quality characteristics, the system optimizes the signal-to-noise ratio while minimizing background noise contamination.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes operational parameters including microphone selection, microphone orientation angles, and aircraft distance from the sound source. These parameter adjustments are made dynamically to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio by finding the optimal balance between proximity to the sound source and avoidance of background noise.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Measurement precision

If the unmanned aircraft uses multiple sensors and processors to evaluate sound quality and control position, then sound recording quality is enhanced, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesound recording qualityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The control unit serves multiple functions: it processes sound data from microphones, processes image data from image sensors, evaluates sound recording quality, determines positional relationships, and controls aircraft movement and microphone orientation. By making the control unit multi-functional, the system enhances sound recording capability without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system combines multiple sensors (microphones, image sensors) and their processing functions into an integrated evaluation and control system. The control unit merges the processing of acoustic data and visual data to jointly evaluate sound recording quality and control aircraft positioning, reducing the need for separate dedicated systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS11928974B2Unmanned aircraft, information processing method, and recording medium

Publication Date: 2024.03.12 PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO LTD

AI summary

An unmanned aircraft includes: a sensor that includes at least a microphone that generates sound data; and a processor. The processor determines quality of a target sound using the sound data generated by the microphone, obtains a positional relationship between the unmanned aircraft and a sound source of the target sound using data generated by the sensor, and controls movement of the unmanned aircraft to control a distance between the unmanned aircraft and the sound source of the target sound, in accordance with the quality of the target sound and the positional relationship.