Dual-Mode Relay Sensor Placement for Obstructed Surveillance Links
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous communication systems struggle to dynamically and remotely deploy relay sensors in changing hostile environments, particularly due to obstructions and the need for pre-planned installations, which hinders effective communication and intelligence gathering.
Innovation Solution
A communication system comprising a movable tractor with a relay sensor dispensing mechanism and a drone that can retrieve and redeploy relay sensors, allowing for dynamic and tractable deployment within hostile environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If relay sensors are preinstalled in hostile environments, then communication coverage is established, but the system cannot adapt to changing conditions and obstructions
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static preinstalled relay sensors to dynamic mobile relay sensors that can move autonomously through hostile environments. The mobile relays navigate obstacles and reposition themselves to maintain communication coverage as conditions change, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and deployment complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Mobile relay sensors autonomously navigate and deploy themselves without requiring preinstallation planning or manual placement. The relays self-manage their positioning and communication routing, eliminating the need for complex predeployment while maintaining adaptability to changing environmental conditions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If drone delivers relay sensors to hostile environments, then deployment flexibility is improved, but payload capacity and battery life limit the number of sensors that can be delivered
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the relay sensor delivery function between two components: a ground vehicle that transports large quantities of relay sensors close to the hostile environment, and a drone that performs precise final delivery. This segmentation allows the ground vehicle to carry bulk sensors while the drone maintains its payload capacity for accurate placement.
Solution Approach 2:
A ground vehicle acts as an intermediary between the sensor stockpile and the drone. The ground vehicle brings relay sensors close to the deployment area, reducing the distance the drone must travel and allowing more sensors to be delivered within the drone's battery life constraints.
3Productivity
If drone retrieves relay sensors from stockpile and delivers to successive locations, then deployment is possible, but increased travel time exhausts drone battery life
Solution Approach 1:
The ground vehicle performs preliminary action by transporting relay sensors close to the hostile environment before the drone begins its delivery missions. This prepositioning of sensors reduces the travel distance required by the drone, extending its operational capacity and allowing more sensors to be deployed within battery constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The ground vehicle serves as an intermediary that bridges the stockpile and the drone delivery system. By establishing a forward cache of relay sensors near the deployment area, the ground vehicle enables the drone to perform shorter, more efficient delivery trips, thereby extending overall system productivity within battery life limitations.
4Reliability
If walls and obstructions block line of sight communications, then communication is degraded or lost, but wired systems are infeasible due to sabotage risk
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses mobile relay sensors that can physically move to maintain line-of-sight communication paths through hostile environments. Rather than relying on fixed infrastructure that can be sabotaged or static positions blocked by obstructions, the mobile relays dynamically reposition themselves to preserve wireless communication reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication system for sending surveillance signals in a hostile environment to an operator. The communication system comprises a plurality of relay sensors to transceive collected data between sequential relay sensors and ultimately to an operator. The communication system has a tractor for dispensing plural relay sensors throughout the hostile environment. The sensors may be dispensed by an elevator to a position where a relay sensor can be retrieved by a drone for placement to maintain line of sight communication. And relay sensors can be dispensed directly from the tractor to the ground or water. Direct dispensing of the relay sensors can occur through a hole in tractor or off a ramp.