Autonomous Drone Takeoff Unlocking With Face Position Verification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous drones face challenges in safely taking off without crashing into people or objects due to limited visibility and power constraints, and excessive winds can disrupt their flight plans, posing safety and retrieval issues.
Innovation Solution
The autonomous drone system employs a two-phase process for takeoff, ensuring the user's face is correctly positioned within the camera's field of view and at a safe distance, and includes wind detection and correction mechanisms to adjust flight plans based on wind severity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the autonomous drone performs comprehensive safety checks including face detection and positioning verification before takeoff, then the safety of takeoff is improved, but the time required for takeoff preparation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs face detection, positioning verification, and safety checks automatically before the takeoff button is pressed. The processor verifies that a human face is detected in the camera field of view and confirms proper positioning distance, completing safety validations in advance so that takeoff can proceed immediately after user confirmation without additional delay
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous drone uses its own camera and processor to perform self-verification of takeoff conditions. The system automatically detects faces, calculates positioning distance, and determines safety status without requiring external equipment or manual verification, enabling rapid automated safety checks that minimize preparation time while ensuring reliability
2Ease of operation
If the autonomous drone operates with limited power and size constraints, then the portability and ease of use are improved, but the ability to detect and respond to environmental hazards such as excessive wind is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous drone uses its existing camera system for multiple purposes: primary function for capturing images/videos and secondary function for detecting environmental hazards by analyzing scene changes, object movement, and visual cues that indicate wind conditions. This multi-functional use of the camera eliminates the need for separate specialized sensors, maintaining portability while enabling hazard detection
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors environmental conditions by processing visual data from the camera and compares it against safe operating parameters. When excessive wind or other hazards are detected through image analysis, the system provides feedback to adjust flight plans or alert the user, enabling a compact drone to respond to environmental conditions using its existing sensing and processing capabilities
3Reliability
If the autonomous drone implements a two-phase takeoff process with face positioning verification, then the safety during takeoff is improved, but the complexity of the takeoff procedure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The camera field of view serves as an intermediary reference frame for verifying face positioning. The system uses the visible boundary of the camera view to automatically determine if the face is at the correct distance and angle for safe takeoff, eliminating the need for complex manual measurement tools or multiple sensor arrays while maintaining safety verification
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, computer readable medium and methods for unlocking an autonomous drone are disclosed. Example methods include receiving an indication of a selection of a fly instruction, capturing an image using an image capturing device of the autonomous drone, processing the image to determine whether a face is present in the image, and if the face is present in the image, taking off. The face has to be within a predetermined distance of the autonomous drone. This ensures that the face is likely from the person that selected the fly instruction and ensures that the autonomous drone is far enough away from the face that the autonomous drone will not crash into the face on take-off. In some examples, the autonomous drone determines whether the autonomous drone is sitting on a hand before taking off. The autonomous drone uses a position of the face to determine an initial flight plan.