Multi-Level UAV Landing Beacon for Reliable Visual Recognition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in generating high-reliability beacons for guiding unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to accurately land, particularly due to issues like pattern staining, external environment interference, and improper design of pattern areas.
Innovation Solution
A beacon generation method that creates a beacon with a first-level pattern and superposed second-level and third-level patterns, where the area of each subsequent level is progressively smaller, ensuring clear visual differentiation and recognition by UAVs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single-level beacon pattern is used, then the beacon structure is simple, but the recognition reliability is low due to staining and environmental interference
Solution Approach 1:
The beacon pattern is segmented into multiple hierarchical levels (first-level, second-level, and third-level patterns) with different areas. Each level provides redundant recognition information, so that if one level is stained or obscured, the UAV can still recognize the beacon using other levels. This segmentation approach directly resolves the contradiction by improving reliability through multi-level redundancy while maintaining a structured but manageable pattern design.
Solution Approach 2:
The beacon employs a nested structure where second-level patterns are superposed on the first-level pattern, and third-level patterns are superposed on second-level patterns. The nested design allows the UAV to recognize beacons at different scales and distances, with larger outer patterns visible from farther away and smaller inner patterns providing precise recognition closer to the landing site. This nesting principle improves reliability without excessive structural complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If multi-level patterns with different areas are used, then the landing accuracy is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the beacon pattern are designed with different qualities and functions. The first-level pattern has the largest area for distant recognition, the second-level pattern has intermediate area for mid-range recognition, and the third-level pattern has the smallest area for close-range precise alignment. Each level's local characteristics are optimized for its specific recognition distance, improving overall landing accuracy while allowing flexible manufacturing approaches for each zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The beacon utilizes parameter changes in pattern area across different levels to enable recognition at multiple distances. By systematically varying the area parameter (largest for first-level, intermediate for second-level, smallest for third-level), the beacon provides scalable recognition information. This parameter-based design improves manufacturing ease compared to complex geometric variations, as area scaling is simpler to fabricate than changing pattern shapes or configurations.
3Reliability
If the area ratio between patterns is not properly controlled, then the beacon is easy to manufacture, but the UAV misrecognition rate increases
Solution Approach 1:
The beacon design pre-establishes specific area ratio relationships between patterns to prevent misrecognition before the UAV approaches. The first-level pattern area is designed to be 9-36 times the second-level pattern area, and the second-level pattern area is 3-9 times the third-level pattern area. These preliminary area ratio specifications ensure that the UAV's vision system can reliably distinguish between different pattern levels even under varying lighting and distance conditions, improving recognition accuracy without requiring complex real-time adjustments.
Data Source
AI summary
This application discloses a beacon for guiding landing of an unmanned aerial vehicle. The beacon includes at least three levels of patterns: one first-level pattern and at least one second-level pattern, where the at least one second-level pattern is superposed above the first-level pattern, and an area of the second-level pattern is less than that of the first-level pattern.