UAV Flight Direction Control Without Magnetic Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with malfunctioning or absent magnetic sensors cannot accurately determine their heading direction, leading to failures in automated flight functions due to reliance on magnetic sensors for navigation.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a control method that utilizes positioning sensors and inertia sensors to determine the correspondence between a local and global coordinate system, allowing the UAV to adjust its flight direction without relying on magnetic data, by collecting sensing data during movement and calculating the unit flight direction in both coordinate systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the UAV relies on magnetic sensors for navigation, then the automated flight function can operate with simple positioning, but the system fails when the magnetic sensor is malfunctioning or disturbed by external magnetic fields
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines positioning sensor data (GPS coordinates) with inertia sensor data (accelerometer, gyroscope) to create a integrated navigation solution that replaces magnetic sensor dependency. The controller fuses data from multiple sensors to determine flight direction and update attitude, achieving reliable navigation without relying on magnetic fields.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary computational process that calculates flight direction based on changes in positioning coordinates over time. This computational intermediary translates positioning data into directional information, eliminating the need for direct magnetic sensor input while maintaining navigation accuracy.
2Reliability
If the UAV uses positioning sensors and inertia sensors without magnetic sensors, then the system becomes more reliable in magnetic interference environments, but the complexity of determining coordinate system correspondence increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by collecting inertia sensor data during specific flight phases (takeoff, level flight, landing) to pre-establish the correspondence between body coordinate system and navigation coordinate system. This preliminary calibration stored in memory eliminates the need for complex real-time calculations during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own inertia sensors and positioning sensors to self-determine the coordinate system correspondence through automated calculation processes. The controller independently computes the transformation relationships using data from onboard sensors without requiring external magnetic reference, making the system self-sufficient.
3Measurement precision
If the UAV collects sensing data during movement to determine flight direction, then accurate navigation without magnetic sensors is achieved, but the processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent continuously collects positioning and inertia sensor data throughout flight operations, maintaining an ongoing stream of measurements. This continuous data collection allows the system to constantly update flight direction calculations without requiring interruptive calibration procedures, reducing overall processing time while maintaining precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling a movable object is described. The method may include controlling the movable object to move with a variable speed along one or more directions; collecting sensing data from one or more sensors onboard the movable object during the movement along the one or more directions, wherein the one or more sensors do not include a magnetic sensor; and determining a correspondence between a local coordinate system and a global coordinate system based on the sensing data.