UAV Mission Cue Control for Adaptive Flight and Data Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) face challenges in dynamically adjusting data gathering operations based on environmental cues during missions, leading to inefficient data collection and storage, as existing systems lack the ability to adaptively respond to changing mission requirements and environmental conditions.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an unmanned aerial vehicle system equipped with processors that execute pre-defined travel and data acquisition instructions, allowing for the detection of mission cues such as pre-defined image and sensor data characteristics, enabling the UAV to interrupt and adjust its flight path and data collection operations to perform sub-missions based on detected cues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the UAV continuously collects and stores large amounts of data during the mission, then the data coverage is comprehensive, but the storage capacity is exceeded and transmission efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the relevant data that meets predefined criteria from the large volume of collected data. The processor identifies and selects specific data points matching mission cues, extracting only necessary information for storage and transmission, thereby reducing overall data volume while maintaining data quality
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different data collection strategies to different spatial and temporal regions. High-data collection modes are activated only in areas or time periods where mission cues are detected, while low-data modes are used elsewhere, creating locally optimized data quality rather than uniform collection
2Stability of the object's composition
If the UAV follows a pre-defined flight path, then the mission structure is organized, but the ability to respond to environmental changes is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The flight path transitions from a static pre-defined trajectory to a dynamic route that adapts in real-time. The processor continuously monitors sensor data for mission cues and dynamically modifies flight parameters including path, altitude, and speed, allowing the mission structure to evolve based on environmental conditions while maintaining overall mission objectives
3Quantity of substance
If the UAV collects data at a high rate throughout the mission, then the data completeness is improved, but the energy consumption and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The data collection operates in periodic cycles rather than continuously. The system alternates between active data collection phases when mission cues are present and inactive phases when cues are absent, creating a rhythmic pattern of high and low data collection rates that reduces overall energy consumption while capturing essential information
Data Source
AI summary
An unmanned aerial vehicle includes a camera, one or more sensors, memory storing first instructions that define an overall mission, and memory storing one or more mission cues. The vehicle further includes one or more processors configured to execute a first part of the first instructions to perform a first part of the overall mission. The processors are configured to process at least one of the image data and the sensor data to detect a presence of at least one of the mission cues. The processors are configured to, in response to detecting a mission cue, interrupting execution of the first instructions and executing second instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first sub-mission of the overall mission. The processors are configured to after executing the second instructions, performing a second part of the overall mission by executing a second part of the first instructions.