UAV Flight Formation Control for Filming Moving Objects
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in flight formations struggle to effectively film moving objects, as they require complex adjustments of flight paths and camera orientations, which can be demanding on hardware and software, and often fail to maintain safety distances, limiting their use for recording large or moving objects.
Innovation Solution
A flight formation control unit coordinates the flight control units and camera orientations in real time to maintain the spatial arrangement of UAVs and camera axes relative to the object, enabling the use of commercially available drones and cameras for recording moving objects, and allowing for advanced recording methods like 'spatial flow motion' and 'bullet time' effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If flight paths and camera orientations are permanently adjusted to film moving objects, then recording capability is improved, but hardware and software demands increase excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the control task into two segments: a flight formation control unit that manages the spatial arrangement and movement of multiple UAVs, and individual camera control units that handle only camera orientation and recording. This segmentation allows each component to be simpler while the coordinated system achieves complex recording capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight formation control unit acts as an intermediary that coordinates between the moving object and the camera systems. It receives position information about the object and translates it into coordinated flight path adjustments for multiple UAVs, eliminating the need for complex individual camera control systems.
2Reliability
If safety distances are maintained in relation to objects and other aerial vehicles, then safety is improved, but recording flexibility and coverage are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple UAVs into a coordinated flight formation where they operate as a unified recording system. By maintaining safety distances between UAVs and the object while coordinating their movements, the system achieves both safety and flexible recording coverage that would be impossible for a single UAV.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from single-UAV three-dimensional recording to multi-UAV formation recording, adding the dimension of spatial distribution. Multiple UAVs positioned at different locations and angles around the object provide comprehensive coverage while maintaining safety distances, effectively using spatial arrangement as an additional degree of freedom.
3Device complexity
If a fixed camera arrangement is used in a studio setting, then system simplicity is maintained, but the ability to record large or moving objects is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the static camera arrangement of traditional studios with dynamic UAVs that can move and adjust their positions in flight. The flight formation control unit coordinates these movements to maintain optimal recording positions relative to moving objects, providing both simplicity and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the key parameter from fixed spatial coordinates to dynamic relative positioning. Instead of cameras mounted at fixed locations in a studio, the UAVs maintain predetermined spatial relationships to each other while moving as a formation to track and record objects, allowing the recording system to adapt to any object size or movement pattern.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for controlling at least two unmanned aerial vehicles in a flight formation, wherein each aerial vehicle has a flight control unit for controlling the flight path of the aerial vehicle and a camera that may be rotated by an orientation means about one axis, wherein in the system there is provided a flight formation control unit for the wireless communication with the aerial vehicles. The flight formation control unit is configured to control the flight control units and the orientation means during a recording of a moving object that will be filmed so that a spatial arrangement of the aerial vehicles in relation to the object and the orientation of the optical axis of each camera in relation to the object and/or in relation to the orientation(s) of the optical axis/axes of the other camera(s) is substantially maintained and optionally adjusted substantially in real time.