Relay Drone Network for Extended Communication Range
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drone communication systems face challenges in maintaining efficient and reliable data relay between base stations and working drones, especially over long distances and in environments with obstacles, leading to signal loss and reduced operational range.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a relay drone system that maintains a line of sight with both the base station and the working drone, using directional antennas to boost communication signals and compensate for signal power loss, and can dynamically adjust its position to ensure continuous communication links, even when the base station and working drone are out of direct sight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a direct communication link is used between base station and working drone, then the system complexity is low, but the communication range is limited by line of sight requirements and obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces relay drones as intermediary devices between the base station and working drone. These relay drones establish communication hops that extend the overall communication range beyond direct line of sight limitations, effectively acting as mediators to transmit signals over longer distances through multiple segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication path is segmented into multiple hops between base station, relay drones, and working drone. Instead of requiring a single direct link, the system divides the communication journey into manageable segments, each maintaining line of sight, thereby extending total range while keeping individual link complexity low.
2Length of stationary object
If relay drones are deployed to extend communication range, then the operational range is extended, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Relay drones serve as mobile intermediary nodes that dynamically extend the communication network. By deploying these intermediaries only when needed for range extension, the system achieves extended operational distance while managing complexity through conditional deployment rather than permanent infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The relay drone system is dynamic rather than static. Relay drones can be deployed, repositioned, and retired based on real-time communication needs, allowing the system to adapt its complexity level to match the required communication distance, thereby optimizing the trade-off between range and complexity.
3Reliability
If the relay drone remains close to the base station, then the line of sight with base station is maintained, but the ability to relay signals to distant working drones is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The relay drone operates in three-dimensional airspace, utilizing vertical and lateral dimensions to maintain line of sight with the base station while simultaneously relaying signals to working drones at different positions. By exploiting the third dimension (altitude), the relay drone can stay within visual range of the base station while extending coverage to distant drones through strategic positioning.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for a network of relay drones utilized as a set of relays or linkages between a base station and a working drone controlled by the base station. The relay drones in the network may augment a communication link or communication signal between the base station and working drone. Relay drones may augment the communication link by acting as nodes that relay communication between the base station and the working drone by boosting the communication signal at each node to compensate for loss of signal power over a traveled distance and/or providing a path with a direct line of sight between the base station and working drone. Directional antennas may be utilized when a direct line of sight is established, which may improve communication signal efficacy when compared with omnidirectional antennas.