UAS Control Circuit No-Fly Zone Detection and Path Planning
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Solution Overview
Problem
In modern retail environments, existing delivery methods face delays and increased costs due to the challenge of navigating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) around no-fly zones, which are not always predefined or known, potentially leading to unauthorized flight paths and safety concerns.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a UAS control system that includes a control circuit capable of detecting no-fly zones using sensors and beacon detection, allowing for real-time adjustment of flight paths to avoid these zones and ensuring safe delivery by obtaining a revised flight path with a detour route, and initiating package delivery when reaching a threshold distance from the intended location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If UAS follows a direct flight path to delivery location, then delivery speed is improved, but UAS may fly into no-fly zones causing safety issues and delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of no-fly zones using sensors and beacon detectors before the UAS commits to a flight path. The control circuit identifies no-fly zones and calculates detour routes in advance, allowing the UAS to maintain efficient delivery speeds while proactively avoiding restricted areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The control circuit continuously monitors sensor data and beacon signals during flight, providing real-time feedback about no-fly zone proximity. When a no-fly zone is detected, the system automatically adjusts the flight path by calculating and implementing detour routes, ensuring safety while minimizing delivery time impact.
2Reliability
If UAS detects and avoids no-fly zones in real-time, then flight safety is improved, but delivery time increases due to detour routes
Solution Approach 1:
The control circuit identifies no-fly zones and pre-calculates optimal detour routes before the UAS needs to execute them. By performing this path planning in advance based on sensor data and beacon signals, the system minimizes the time lost during actual delivery operations while ensuring safety compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight path is made dynamic and adaptive rather than static. The control circuit continuously monitors the environment for no-fly zones and automatically adjusts the route in real-time. This dynamic approach allows the UAS to take efficient detours only when necessary and return to the optimal delivery path as quickly as possible, minimizing overall delivery time.
3Reliability
If UAS uses sensors and beacon detectors to detect no-fly zones, then flight safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control circuit serves multiple functions: it processes sensor data, detects beacon signals, identifies no-fly zones, calculates detour routes, and controls UAS navigation. By making the control circuit multi-functional rather than adding separate dedicated systems for each function, the patent improves flight safety while minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges sensor data processing and beacon detection into a unified control circuit architecture. Rather than having separate independent systems for sensing, detection, and navigation, these functions are integrated into a single control circuit that efficiently handles all tasks, reducing system complexity while maintaining comprehensive no-fly zone avoidance capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments provide a system to identify geographic zones into which unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are inhibited from flying. In some instances, the system detects, while the UAS is in flight and traveling along a flight path to a delivery location where the UAS is scheduled to deliver a package, a no fly zone (NFZ) into which the UAS is to avoid flying; obtains a revised flight path to the delivery location that includes a detour route around the no fly zone; directs the motor controller to control the motors to implement the revised flight path; and detects when the UAS is at a threshold distance from the delivery location and initiate delivery of the package.