Tethered Drone Base Station Data Formatting for Evidence Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tethered surveillance drone systems face challenges in efficiently auditing events and storing data, particularly in ensuring continuity of evidence and secure transmission of sensor data from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to external repositories.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that includes a base station mounted on an anchor vehicle, communicatively coupled with a UAV via a tether, which receives and formats sensor data, transmits control signals, and securely stores and transmits data to external evidence repositories, complying with standards for continuity of evidence through encryption and metadata inclusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensor data is transmitted in real-time to external repositories, then data integrity and continuity of evidence is improved, but data security and transmission reliability deteriorate due to potential interception or corruption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by encrypting sensor data at the source (UAV or base station) before transmission occurs. This pre-encryption ensures that even if data is intercepted during transmission, it remains secure. The formatting process including encryption and metadata addition happens in advance of transmission to external repositories, maintaining both continuity of evidence and security.
Solution Approach 2:
The base station acts as an intermediary between the UAV and external repositories. It receives raw sensor data, formats it with encryption and metadata, and then transmits the formatted data. This intermediary processing layer ensures data integrity through proper formatting while maintaining security through encryption, resolving the contradiction between reliable transmission and security.
2Loss of information
If all sensor data is stored in external repositories, then data availability for auditing is improved, but system complexity and storage requirements deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary portions of sensor data for external storage after formatting. The base station processes raw data, extracts relevant information, adds required metadata, and transmits only the formatted essential data to external repositories. This reduces the storage burden while maintaining data availability for auditing purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates formatted copies of sensor data with embedded metadata and encryption before transmission. These formatted copies are stored externally while the original raw data can remain at the source. This copying approach ensures data availability for auditing without requiring complex distributed storage systems.
3Reliability
If data is formatted with encryption and metadata before transmission, then evidence integrity is improved, but processing time and energy consumption deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs formatting, encryption, and metadata addition as preliminary actions at the base station before data is transmitted to external repositories. By completing these energy-intensive processing tasks before transmission rather than during or after, the system ensures evidence integrity while managing energy consumption efficiently at a centralized location rather than distributed across multiple devices.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the UAV transitions between docked and aerial configurations frequently, then operational flexibility is improved, but mechanical wear and system reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV automatically transitions between docked and aerial configurations based on operational needs detected by the base station or UAV itself. This self-service capability allows frequent configuration changes without manual intervention, improving operational flexibility while the automated systems monitor and manage mechanical stress to maintain reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, the disclosure provides a method of event auditing. The method of event auditing includes receiving sensor data at a base station from a sensor of an unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”), transmitting a controls signal to the UAV based on the sensor data, communicatively coupling the base station with an external evidenced repository, formatting a portion of the sensor data, and transmitting the formatted sensor data to the external evidence repository. In some embodiments, the base station is mounted to an anchor vehicle. In some embodiments, the UAV is communicatively coupled with the base station via a tether. In some embodiments, the formatting the sensor data includes formatting a second portion of sensor data to generate formatted sensor data based, at least in part, on an identity of the external evidence repository.