UAV Electronic Speed Controllers with Distributed Arbitration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are vulnerable to failure if the arbiter fails, as they rely on a single data transmission path to the electronic speed controller, leading to potential operational failures and increased safety risks and design costs.
Innovation Solution
The UAV design includes at least two controllers and two electronic speed controllers, allowing direct data acquisition and selection of optimal control data for motor rotation speed, with redundancy to ensure continuous operation even if one controller fails, by determining compliance with desirable values and selecting data closest to standard values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If an arbiter is employed to determine optimal control data and communicate with electronic speed controllers, then control data optimality is improved, but system reliability deteriorates because the entire system fails if the arbiter fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized arbiter function into distributed arbitration capabilities across multiple electronic speed controllers. Each controller independently receives data from multiple controllers and performs local optimization decisions, eliminating the single point of failure while maintaining control data optimality through distributed intelligent selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements redundant data transmission paths and backup arbitration mechanisms before failures occur. Multiple controllers transmit data simultaneously to multiple electronic speed controllers, ensuring that if one arbitration path fails, alternative paths are already in place to maintain system operation.
2Measurement precision
If a single data transmission path through an arbiter is used, then control data optimality is ensured, but safety risks increase due to potential single-point failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables each electronic speed controller to independently evaluate and select optimal control data from multiple sources based on local conditions and data quality assessment. This distributed local decision-making eliminates single-point failures while maintaining control data quality through adaptive local optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces multiple intermediary controllers that can mediate data transmission between sensor inputs and electronic speed controllers. These intermediary controllers provide alternative data paths and can filter or validate data, reducing safety risks while maintaining control data quality through layered mediation.
3Measurement precision
If an arbiter system with multiple controllers is implemented, then control precision is improved, but design cost increases due to system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs electronic speed controllers to perform multiple functions: they receive data from multiple controllers, evaluate data quality, perform local arbitration, and control motors. This multi-functionality reduces the need for dedicated arbiter hardware, simplifying system design while maintaining control precision through integrated intelligent controllers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the arbiter function with the electronic speed controller functions, combining data arbitration, processing, and motor control into unified controller units. This integration reduces system complexity by eliminating separate arbiter components while maintaining control precision through combined intelligent processing.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising at least two controllers, at least two electronic speed controllers and at least two motors, wherein: the at least two electronic speed controllers are electrically connected with the at least two controllers to obtain at least two sets of control data respectively from the at least two controllers, select optimal control data from the at least two sets of control data, and control a rotation speed of the corresponding motor according to the optimal control data. The present invention further discloses a data processing method of an unmanned aerial vehicle. The electronic speed controllers of the present invention may be able to receive data directly from the controllers and select the optimal control data for controlling the rotation speed of the motors, thereby effectively reducing design costs and safety risks.