Optical Beam Guidance for Drone Landing on Naval Platforms
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drone guidance systems for naval platforms face challenges in ensuring precise landing due to the need for platform knowledge, movement understanding, and GPS availability issues, which can be affected by constellation jumps, multi-paths, or jamming.
Innovation Solution
A guidance system using a range of optical beams of different colors (red, green, yellow) with specific opening angles and flashing periods, integrated with a beam acquisition camera and image analysis means to calculate control commands for automatic piloting, allowing the drone to follow a defined trajectory independently of GPS signals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If GPS-based guidance is used for drone landing, then guidance coverage is extensive, but reliability deteriorates due to constellation jumps, multi-paths, or jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an optical beam system as an intermediary between the platform and drone for guidance. The beams serve as a reliable communication and positioning medium that operates independently of GPS, providing a direct line-of-sight guidance channel that is immune to satellite-based interference and jamming.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the electronic GPS-based guidance system with an optical-mechanical beam system. By using physical optical beams instead of electromagnetic satellite signals, the system achieves immunity to GPS-related issues such as constellation jumps, multi-path effects, and jamming, while maintaining guidance functionality.
2Measurement precision
If optical beam guidance is implemented, then guidance precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple beams and cameras
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the guidance system into segmented optical beams (e.g., red, green, yellow beams representing different trajectory zones) and corresponding camera sensors. Each beam segment corresponds to a specific spatial region, allowing the drone to determine its position and trajectory by detecting which beam segment it receives, thereby achieving precise guidance through systematic division of the guidance space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses different colors for different optical beams (red, green, yellow) to encode trajectory information. The drone's camera detects the color of the received beam to determine its position relative to the ideal trajectory, with each color representing a specific guidance zone. This color-coding system provides intuitive and precise trajectory feedback without requiring complex signal processing.
3Measurement precision
If multiple colored beams are used for trajectory guidance, then trajectory control precision is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic flashing of the optical beams rather than continuous emission. The beams flash at different periods or patterns, allowing the drone to decode both trajectory information and beam identity through the flashing pattern. This periodic action significantly reduces energy consumption compared to continuous beam emission while maintaining precise trajectory guidance capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise and reliable drone guidance and recovery on naval platforms, even in areas with jammed or unavailable GPS, by using an entirely optical system that adapts to platform movement and stabilizes the drone's trajectory, reducing landing duration and oscillations.
Implementation Method 1
a range of optical beams of different colors (red, green, yellow) with specific opening angles
Implementation Method 2
integrated with a beam acquisition camera and image analysis means to calculate control commands
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~6
AI summary
The invention relates to a system for guiding a drone during the approach phase to a platform, in particular a naval platform, with a view to landing same, characterised in that the platform is provided with equipment indicating the angle of descent, emitting an array of optical guide beams onto an angular sector predetermined from the horizontal, and in that the drone is provided with a camera (6) for acquiring the beam and which is connected to an image analysis means (7) and a means (8) for computing command orders sent to an automatic flight means (9) of the drone, in order to prompt the drone to follow the guide beams.