Retractable UAV Docking Platform for GPS-Denied Pinpoint Landing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing base stations for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are large, mechanically complex, and expensive, and they often rely on accurate GPS positioning, which can fail in GPS-denied environments.
Innovation Solution
A dock platform that enables automated charging, takeoff, landing, and mission planning of UAVs, using visual tracking and control software to perform pinpoint landings on a small target, aided by visual fiducials and a funnel-shaped nest with charging contacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If large base station enclosures are used with complex mechanical methods, then GPS accuracy requirements are reduced, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical alignment systems with visual fiducial markers and computer vision algorithms. The drone uses a camera to detect fiducial markers on the landing pad, calculates its position and orientation through image processing, and autonomously adjusts its flight path to achieve precise landing without mechanical intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces fiducial markers as an intermediary element between the drone's navigation system and the landing pad. These markers serve as a visual reference that mediates the positioning process, allowing the drone to accurately determine its location and orientation relative to the landing target without relying on GPS or complex mechanical systems.
2Reliability
If large base station enclosures are used, then landing area is increased, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces large physical enclosures and mechanical positioning infrastructure with a compact landing pad featuring visual fiducial markers. The complexity is shifted from mechanical infrastructure to software-based visual recognition and navigation algorithms, enabling autonomous operation with minimal physical infrastructure.
3Measurement precision
If GPS positioning is used, then landing precision can be achieved, but system fails in GPS-denied environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces fiducial markers as an intermediary visual reference system that enables positioning independent of GPS. The markers provide a local coordinate system that the drone can detect and use for precise positioning and orientation, allowing operation in GPS-denied environments while maintaining high measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a visual copy of the landing pad's coordinate system through fiducial markers. These markers encode spatial information that the drone's vision system can decode to reconstruct the landing target's position and orientation, enabling accurate navigation without GPS by copying the reference frame visually.
4Extent of automation
If complex mechanical methods are used for battery swapping, then automated service is achieved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical battery swapping systems with a simplified approach where the drone autonomously lands on a landing pad with charging contacts. Electrical contacts on the pad automatically connect with corresponding contacts on the drone's battery compartment, enabling automated recharging without complex mechanical manipulation of the battery itself.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are systems for automated docking of an unmanned aerial vehicle. For example, some systems include a landing surface configured to hold an unmanned aerial vehicle; a box configured to enclose the landing surface in a first arrangement of the dock and expose the landing surface in a second arrangement of the dock; and a retractable arm, wherein the landing surface is positioned at an end of the retractable arm and the retractable arm is configured to extend to move the landing surface outside of the box and contract to pull the landing surface inside of the box.