Gesture-Controlled Drone Auto-Positioning for Faster Photo Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional drone user interfaces are not user-friendly, requiring significant effort to position drones for photography or video capture, and small to medium-sized drones have short battery life, limiting the time available for actual capture.
Innovation Solution
An aerial system with a body, lift mechanism, optical system, and processing system that allows users to select operations, detect flight events, control the drone to designated positions, perform actions, and switch to standby mode, enabling intuitive and efficient drone operation without a remote controller.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional remote controller or cell phone is used to control the drone, then the drone can be maneuvered to desired location and camera view angle, but it takes a significant amount of effort and time for the user to position the drone
Solution Approach 1:
The drone is equipped with a gesture recognition system that allows it to autonomously interpret and respond to user gestures, eliminating the need for manual remote control operations. The drone self-positions and self-orients based on detected gestures, making the system serve itself rather than requiring continuous user intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical remote control system with an optical gesture recognition system. Instead of using a remote controller or cell phone to manually maneuver the drone, the system uses cameras and image processing to detect user gestures and automatically translate them into drone flight commands, substituting mechanical control with optical sensing and automated processing.
2Productivity
If the drone is positioned manually using traditional controls, then the desired location and camera view angle can be achieved, but the battery time is consumed significantly during positioning rather than capturing photos and videos
Solution Approach 1:
The drone autonomously executes positioning tasks by interpreting user gestures and automatically navigating to the desired location and orientation. This self-service capability eliminates the manual control phase, allowing the drone to quickly position itself and immediately begin photo or video capture, maximizing productive flight time.
Solution Approach 2:
The gesture recognition system is pre-configured with specific gestures that correspond to common positioning tasks. When a user performs a predefined gesture, the drone has already been prepared to interpret and execute the corresponding flight maneuver, enabling immediate action without manual control setup or adjustment.
3Ease of operation
If a dedicated remote controller or cell phone is used for drone control, then precise control is possible, but the user interface is not user friendly and requires significant effort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the control interface from the physical remote controller or cell phone and integrates it directly into the drone's onboard systems. The gesture recognition camera and processing unit are built into the drone, eliminating the need for external control devices and simplifying the user interaction model to natural gestures.
Solution Approach 2:
The drone's onboard camera system serves multiple functions: it acts as both the primary imaging sensor for photo and video capture and as the gesture recognition sensor for control. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate control devices and simplifies the overall system while maintaining precise control capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
System and method for controlling an aerial system to perform a selected operation using an easy-to-use release and auto-positioning process.