Modular Spherical Drone for Dual-Medium 360 Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current camera drones lack the ability to seamlessly operate in both air and water environments while providing a 360°×360° field of view, and they are not modularly designed for adaptability to different mediums and uses such as real-time exploration and virtual reality applications.
Innovation Solution
A modular, spherical camera drone equipped with thrusters for fluid medium operation, ballast tanks for buoyancy control, and a centralized minicomputer with a digital gyroscope for stabilization, capable of mounting camera-lights at pre-determined angles to achieve 360°×360° views, and can be adapted for both air and water environments with interchangeable propulsion systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a camera drone is designed to operate in both air and water environments, then the adaptability and versatility of the device is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for dual propulsion systems and environmental sealing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dual-propulsion system where the same motor housing can accommodate either propellers for aerial operation or thrusters for underwater operation. The spherical craft body with hermetically sealed compartments serves both air and water environments, allowing a single device to perform multiple functions across different mediums without requiring complete redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The craft is divided into hermetically sealed modular compartments including a spherical body, base unit with ballast tanks, and separately attachable propulsion modules. This segmentation allows independent replacement and configuration of propulsion systems (propellers or thrusters) while maintaining the integrity of the core craft structure, thereby managing complexity through modularity.
2Manufacturing precision
If camera-lights are mounted at pre-determined angles around the spherical craft, then the field of view and imaging capability are improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a spherical craft geometry that naturally accommodates camera-lights mounted at pre-determined angular intervals around the sphere. The curved surface allows uniform distribution of imaging devices in three-dimensional space, achieving comprehensive 360°×360° coverage while the spherical symmetry simplifies the mounting process compared to flat or irregular surfaces.
3Ease of operation
If ballast tanks are equipped for selective filling and emptying, then the ease of operation in water environments is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional fluid control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The ballast tanks are designed to be selectively fillable and emptyable through simple valve mechanisms that allow the operator to control buoyancy without complex automated systems. The tanks can be filled with water to increase weight for sinking or emptied to provide buoyancy for surfacing, enabling self-contained buoyancy management that improves operational ease while maintaining relatively simple system architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A camera drone has an array of eight camera-light units arranged so as to enable capture of photographs and video providing a spherical 360°×360° field of view. Such an expansive field of view enables image capture for use in virtual reality, augmented reality, and similar uses. The camera drone is preferably spherical in shape so as to minimize any obstructions in the expansive field of view. The camera drone is modular with separate but coordinated modules for a main body module, a base module along an equator of the main body, a thruster module, and a camera-light module. The camera drone is also capable of operation in air or water (submersible) having both a tethered and autonomous version.