UAV Geofence Envelope and Flight Path Selection Under Fuel and Wind Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Regulatory agencies face challenges in ensuring the airworthiness and safety of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for flight operations over populated regions, requiring extensive documentation and risk assessments to obtain authorization, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
Innovation Solution
A system that automatically determines risks associated with UAV flight operations by analyzing performance characteristics, generating risk assessments, and creating flight authorization requests for regulatory agencies, including contingency plans and geofence envelope management, using a cloud-based system to quickly and accurately allocate flight paths and geofences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual risk assessment and authorization processes are used for UAV flight operations, then regulatory agencies can ensure airworthiness and safety through thorough documentation review, but the process becomes time-consuming and prone to errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated self-assessment of risk factors by the UAV operator through electronic forms and checklists, automatically generating risk assessments and authorization requests without requiring extensive manual review by regulatory agencies, thus reducing authorization time while maintaining safety standards
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary risk assessments and safety checks automatically before flight operations begin, pre-evaluating multiple risk factors and generating authorization requests in advance, which streamlines the regulatory approval process and reduces delays
2Reliability
If comprehensive risk assessments and documentation are required for UAV authorization, then safety and airworthiness can be ensured, but the complexity of the process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The authorization process is divided into discrete modular steps including electronic checklists, risk factor evaluations, and automated assessments, allowing comprehensive safety verification while simplifying the overall process through structured breakdown of complex requirements into manageable segments
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides automated feedback mechanisms that guide operators through the authorization process, dynamically adjusting requirements based on risk assessments and providing real-time guidance to reduce process complexity while maintaining thorough safety evaluation
3Productivity
If automated systems are used to generate flight authorization requests and manage geofence envelopes, then the speed and accuracy of processing increases, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system performs multiple functions including risk assessment, authorization request generation, geofence envelope determination, and flight path allocation through a single integrated platform, increasing processing speed and accuracy while consolidating system complexity into one unified system rather than multiple separate systems
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for unmanned aerial vehicle authorization and geofence envelope determination. One of the methods includes determining, by an electronic system in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), an estimated fuel remaining in the UAV. An estimated fuel consumption of the UAV is determined. Estimated information associated with wind affecting the UAV is determined using information obtained from sensors included in the UAV. Estimated flights times remaining for a current path, and one or more alternative flight paths, are determined using the determined estimated fuel remaining, determined estimated fuel consumption, determined information associated wind, and information describing each flight path. In response to the electronic system determining that the estimated fuel remaining, after completion of the current flight path, would be below a first threshold, an alternative flight path is selected.