Unmanned Aircraft Flight Planning With Obstacle-Aware Path Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current unmanned aircraft systems lack the ability to automatically detect and avoid obstacles in flight paths with minimal user involvement, necessitating the development of systems that can generate and execute flight plans that exclude obstacles for precise and comprehensive image capture.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a hardware processor with a controller that generates and executes flight plans by loading imagery maps, predicting obstacles, and modifying the flight path to avoid collisions, allowing for automated obstacle detection and avoidance with minimal user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If automated obstacle detection and avoidance is implemented, then user involvement is reduced to minimal levels, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-generating multiple possible flight paths and pre-identifying obstacles in the operational area before the actual flight mission begins. This allows the complex processing to be done in advance, reducing real-time computational requirements and user involvement during actual operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing system is segmented into distinct functional modules: flight path generation module, obstacle identification module, and path selection module. Each module handles specific tasks independently, making the overall complex system more manageable and easier to implement with minimal user involvement.
2Manufacturing precision
If flight plans are generated to capture comprehensive images, then image coverage is improved, but flight time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts flight path parameters such as altitude, speed, and imaging angles during flight execution. By optimizing these parameters in real-time based on the pre-planned comprehensive coverage requirements, the system achieves precise structure modeling while minimizing unnecessary flight time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes key flight parameters including altitude height, flight speed, and camera angles to optimize the balance between image capture quality and flight duration. By systematically varying these parameters within optimal ranges, comprehensive imaging is achieved without excessive time loss.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for mission planning and flight automation for an unmanned aircraft comprising generating an aerial imagery map of a capture area; generating a flight plan based on criteria for capturing images used to create a model of a feature present in the images; comparing the generated aerial imagery map with the generated flight plan; determining whether there is a possible collision between an obstacle associated with the generated aerial imagery map and the unmanned aircraft along a flight path of the generated flight plan; and executing, based on the determination, the generated flight plan.