UAV Package Descent Sway Mitigation via Tether Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) face challenges in delivering packages efficiently due to sway or swing during descent, which can result in packages being delivered outside intended areas or contacting obstacles, especially when landing is not possible.
Innovation Solution
The use of various methods such as winch mechanisms, tether wrapping around packages to introduce rotations, and rip-strip mechanisms to control the descent and mitigate sway, along with closed-loop systems that monitor package position and tension to modulate the descent rate, ensuring packages are delivered accurately and safely without requiring the UAV to land.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a package is dropped from a UAV at a particular height, then delivery speed is improved, but delivery precision deteriorates due to sway and swing during descent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic control of the descent rate through winch mechanisms that actively adjust the lowering speed of the package. The system transitions from static dropping to dynamic controlled descent, where the descent rate is modulated in real-time based on detected sway conditions, thereby maintaining delivery precision while enabling faster overall delivery times.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements closed-loop feedback control by monitoring package position and tension during descent, then using this information to adjust the descent rate. Sensors detect sway and swing conditions, and this feedback is used to modulate the winch mechanism's operation, creating a self-correcting system that maintains precision despite the challenges of aerial delivery.
2Productivity
If the descent rate of a package is increased to improve delivery efficiency, then delivery time is reduced, but sway and swing are exacerbated causing packages to be delivered outside intended areas
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the descent rate rather than using a fixed high speed. The winch mechanism allows the package to descend faster when conditions permit, then slows descent when sway detection indicates risk of inaccuracy, optimizing the balance between efficiency and reliability throughout the descent profile.
Solution Approach 2:
The system takes preliminary action by detecting sway conditions early in the descent and adjusting the descent rate before the package can swing too far from the intended delivery point. This preventive adjustment prevents the exacerbation of sway rather than attempting to correct it after the fact.
3Manufacturing precision
If a UAV lands to deliver a package, then delivery precision is improved, but operational complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the landing requirement from the delivery process by implementing controlled aerial release mechanisms. The package is released and lowered from the UAV while both remain airborne, eliminating the need for the UAV to land. This separates the package delivery function from the UAV's landing operation, reducing operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The winch and tether system serves as an intermediary mechanism between the UAV and the package during delivery. This intermediary allows controlled transfer of the package from the UAV to the ground without requiring the UAV itself to contact the ground, simplifying the operational sequence while maintaining precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
These methods effectively convert sideways potential energy into downward kinetic energy, reducing sway and ensuring packages are delivered within designated areas, enhancing safety and precision in aerial delivery operations.
Implementation Method 1
winch mechanisms... to control the descent and mitigate sway
Implementation Method 2
tether wrapping around packages to introduce rotations... convert sideways potential energy into downward kinetic energy
Implementation Method 3
rip-strip mechanisms to control the descent and mitigate sway
Implementation Method 4
closed-loop systems that monitor package position and tension to modulate the descent rate
Implementation Method 5
These methods effectively convert sideways potential energy into downward kinetic energy, reducing sway
Data Source
AI summary
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can deliver a package to a delivery destination. Packages delivered by a UAV may be lowered towards the ground while the UAV continues to fly rather than the UAV landing on the ground and releasing the package. Packages may sway during lowering as a result of wind or movement of the UAV. By modulating a rate of descent of a package, a package sway may mitigated. The lowering mechanism includes wrapping a tether in various directions around the package such that the package rotates in a first and second direction as the package descends. Additionally, a rip-strip lowering mechanism that separates under tension to lower the package and a rappel mechanism that slides the package down a tether may be used. Accordingly, the tether can control a descent of the package assembly.