UAV Maintenance of Remote IoT Devices Through Autonomous Battery Service
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Solution Overview
Problem
The maintenance of remote IoT devices is challenging due to their remote and often inaccessible locations, posing occupational and environmental hazards for humans performing tasks like battery replacement, data backup, and debugging, especially in harsh terrains.
Innovation Solution
The Drone-Based Administration of Remotely Located Instruments and Gadgets (DARLING) system uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with detachable charging units and AI predictive maintenance to autonomously perform maintenance tasks, including battery replacement, data transfer, and positioning of remote devices, without the need for human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If human operators perform maintenance tasks on remote IoT devices, then maintenance can be performed, but occupational and environmental hazards increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) as an intermediary between the maintenance operator and the remote IoT device. The drone carries a robotic arm with gripper to physically interact with the device for battery replacement, eliminating the need for human operators to directly access hazardous remote locations while maintaining full maintenance capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the human mechanical system with an automated robotic system mounted on the drone. The robotic arm and gripper mechanically perform battery removal and insertion tasks that would otherwise require human hands, substituting human physical presence with automated mechanical action in hazardous environments
2Adaptability or versatility
If remote devices are placed in inaccessible locations, then device deployment flexibility increases, but maintenance difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions maintenance access from ground-based three-dimensional navigation to aerial three-dimensional space. The drone approaches the remote device from aerial dimensions, allowing maintenance of devices located in terrains that are inaccessible from the ground, such as mountain peaks, treetops, or difficult-to-reach structures
Solution Approach 2:
The drone serves as a mobile intermediary platform that bridges the gap between maintenance facilities and remotely located devices. It carries necessary maintenance components (batteries, tools) and performs operations at the device location without requiring human travel to inaccessible areas
3Ease of repair
If battery replacement is performed manually at remote devices, then battery can be replaced, but time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the remote IoT device to receive battery replacement service autonomously without human intervention. The drone independently navigates to the device, the robotic arm autonomously performs battery removal and insertion, and the system manages the entire process remotely, allowing the device to be serviced on-demand without scheduling human technician visits
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes various embodiments of systems, apparatuses, and methods for drone-based administration of remotely located devices. One such method comprises deploying an unmanned aerial vehicle from a base station, wherein the base station assigns a maintenance order to the unmanned aerial vehicle for servicing of a remote device, traveling, by the unmanned aerial vehicle, to the location of the remote device, authenticating, by the unmanned aerial vehicle, a valid identification of the remote device; upon the remote device being authenticated by the unmanned aerial vehicle, servicing the remote device by at least charging a power supply of the remote device and transferring contents of a device log to the unmanned aerial vehicle; and after completing the servicing of the remote device; returning to the base station and transferring contents of the device log to the base station.