On-Board UAV Retrieval for Distressed Aircraft Location and Data Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manned aerial vehicles (MAVs) often experience distress situations leading to loss or crash due to pilot disorientation, equipment failure, or environmental factors, resulting in delayed or unsuccessful rescue efforts and lack of critical data retrieval.
Innovation Solution
An on-board emergency remote assistance and data retrievable system utilizing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) integrated with the MAV to automatically locate, track, and provide assistance, including accessing flight data, audio, video, and image recordings, and employing AI for autonomous control and object detection, enabling remote activation and communication with a command center.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an on-board emergency system with UAV is integrated into the MAV, then the reliability of locating distressed MAVs and retrieving data is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates a UAV system within the MAV structure, where the UAV is nested inside the MAV fuselage and can be deployed outward. The UAV contains its own propulsion system, cameras, and sensors within its compact airframe, creating a nested configuration that improves reliability while managing complexity through hierarchical integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated UAV system serves multiple functions: it acts as an emergency deployment vehicle for search and rescue, a data collection platform with multiple sensors (cameras, LIDAR, gas detectors), and a communication relay. This multi-functionality justifies the added complexity by providing comprehensive emergency capabilities in a single integrated system.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors and AI systems are added to the UAV, then the measurement precision and detection capability are improved, but the weight of the moving object increases
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV is equipped with a selective array of sensors based on the specific emergency scenario. Not all sensors operate simultaneously or at full capacity - the system activates only the necessary detection capabilities needed for the current situation, reducing the effective weight burden while maintaining high measurement precision when required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical search and detection methods with AI-based image recognition, LIDAR scanning, and sensor fusion algorithms. These electronic and computational systems provide superior detection precision with lighter weight compared to mechanical search equipment, as the AI processing occurs onboard the UAV rather than requiring heavy ground-based analysis infrastructure.
3Loss of time
If the UAV is deployed automatically in distress situations, then the response time is reduced, but the extent of automation increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV system is pre-configured and pre-positioned within the MAV before flight. Emergency deployment protocols and AI detection algorithms are pre-loaded and ready for immediate activation. When distress is detected through sensor triggers or pilot input, the UAV launches automatically without requiring complex real-time decision-making, reducing response time while keeping automation manageable through pre-programmed sequences.
4Loss of information
If real-time data transmission from distressed MAV is enabled, then the loss of information is reduced, but the use of energy by the moving object increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system transmits data in periodic bursts rather than continuous streams. The UAV collects information from sensors and the distressed MAV using stored energy reserves, then transmits accumulated data packets when energy permits or when strategic communication windows are available. This periodic transmission reduces overall energy consumption while ensuring critical information is conveyed without complete real-time continuous transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an on-board emergency remote assistance and data retrievable system configured to download and retrieve image, audio and video information from the inside and outside of a manned aerial vehicle (MAV) using an on-board unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), while the MAV is either in the air or crashed. The UAV system including at least one drone in coordination with a remote station to automatically locate a distressed MAV while in operation, to track it and provide assistance when possible, wherein the drone being integrated into the MAV. The system of the present invention conclusively prevents the lost or disappearance, and crash of the manned aerial vehicle without a trace.