UAV Intersection Routing Using Ground Sensors to Avoid Traffic
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current drone technologies face restrictions due to laws governing flight paths, particularly over civilians and moving vehicles, and struggle with object recognition at night, limiting their operational effectiveness in providing services like delivery and traffic optimization.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for controlling UAV routes by detecting vehicles and persons through communication with mobile devices and infrastructure, using sensors and navigation systems to adjust flight paths and speed profiles to avoid populated areas, ensuring safe navigation and compliance with regulations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If object recognition is used to recognize objects to avoid persons and vehicles, then the drone can comply with flight restrictions, but the drone must fly low to the ground which makes object recognition more difficult at night
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of ground-based sensors (cameras, LIDAR, radar) and communication infrastructure that detect persons and vehicles, then relay this information to the drone via a network. This intermediary detection system solves the problem of night-time object recognition by using active sensing technologies that don't rely on visible light, allowing the drone to maintain higher altitudes while still complying with flight restrictions.
2Reliability
If the drone flies low to the ground for object recognition, then it can identify persons and vehicles, but it reduces operational efficiency and increases risk
Solution Approach 1:
By using ground-based sensor networks as intermediaries to perform the detection function, the drone is freed from the constraint of flying low. The ground infrastructure handles the computationally intensive and safety-critical detection tasks, allowing the drone to maintain optimal cruising altitudes for efficient delivery operations while still achieving high detection accuracy through the distributed sensor network.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the drone's own mechanical object recognition system (cameras and processors on the drone) with a distributed ground-based sensor network. This substitution allows the drone to focus on navigation and delivery tasks while the ground infrastructure handles detection, improving overall system efficiency and reducing the drone's operational burden.
3Reliability
If strict laws regarding drone flight are enforced, then safety is improved, but the ability to provide services like delivery and traffic optimization is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal ground-based detection and communication infrastructure that serves multiple functions: detecting persons and vehicles for safety compliance, providing navigation aids for efficient routing, and enabling various drone services including delivery and traffic optimization. This multi-functional system allows strict safety laws to be enforced while simultaneously enabling diverse service applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where ground sensors detect environmental conditions and communicate real-time information to the drone, which adjusts its flight path and speed accordingly. This feedback mechanism enables the drone to operate safely within legal constraints while efficiently providing services, as the real-time information allows dynamic adaptation to changing conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides systems and methods for controlling an intersection of a route of a UAV. The systems and methods provide detection of vehicles and persons in (or predicted to enter) an area of the intersection and provide a signal to the UAV so that the UAV can avoid flying over vehicles and persons.