UAV Sensor Coordination with Human Operator Inputs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current UAV systems lack the ability to effectively incorporate human sensor inputs and intelligence for improved situational awareness and cooperative control, leading to inefficient target monitoring and tracking on the battlefield.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that enables multiple UAVs to communicate and coordinate with ground personnel through a secondary computing device, allowing for the selection and prioritization of targets, and adjusting flight paths and sensor orientations to continuously image selected targets, maximizing the number of targets monitored while optimizing tracking performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple UAVs are deployed to monitor targets, then the coverage area and number of detectable targets increase, but the system complexity and coordination requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple UAV sensors and human operator inputs into a unified collaborative network. The system merges data from multiple UAVs and integrates it with human intelligence inputs through a common processing framework, allowing coordinated monitoring of multiple targets without proportionally increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a universal platform that handles both autonomous UAV operations and human operator inputs through a single integrated architecture. The collaborative schema supports multiple functions including target detection, human input integration, and coordinated control, reducing the need for separate specialized systems
2Measurement precision
If UAVs operate autonomously without human input, then response speed increases, but situational awareness and judgment accuracy decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback loops where human operators provide situational awareness inputs that are continuously fed back to the UAV control system. This feedback mechanism allows UAVs to maintain autonomous operation while incorporating human judgment, improving measurement precision without significant time loss
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing layer that efficiently translates and integrates human operator inputs into actionable commands for UAVs. This intermediary schema reduces the time overhead of human involvement by preprocessing and structuring human inputs before they reach the autonomous control system
3Measurement precision
If human operators directly control UAVs, then situational awareness improves, but operator vigilance and response time deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements partial human involvement where operators provide targeted inputs only when their judgment adds value, rather than continuously controlling all UAV functions. This partial action approach maintains operator vigilance by keeping them engaged in critical decision-making while avoiding the fatigue associated with continuous direct control
Solution Approach 2:
The UAV system maintains self-service autonomous operation for routine tasks while selectively incorporating human inputs. The system serves itself by autonomously processing sensor data and executing commands, only seeking human input when complex judgment is required, thereby preserving both accuracy and response speed
Data Source
AI summary
The foregoing is directed, in one embodiment, to a system for optimizing the continuous monitoring of targets by a collection of mobile sensor platforms comprising a plurality of mobile sensor platforms equipped with a processor, at least one imaging device and a communication device, wherein in the processor of each of the mobile sensor platforms is configured, though code executing therein, to communicate with the other plurality of mobile sensor platforms in order to assign each member of the plurality to obtain image data of a member of a set of targets in response to the receipt of target selection data, and a remote computing device configured to receive imaging data from one or more of the plurality of the mobile sensors and generate a target selection data for transmission to the plurality of mobile sensor platforms.