UAV Control via Server-Mediated Media Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unskilled users face difficulties in taking high-quality aerial photographs with UAVs due to the need for sophisticated camera control and piloting techniques, and UAVs are cumbersome for long-term travel, making them less portable.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device that connects via a wireless network to UAVs, allowing users to select and control specific functions through a computing device, including obtaining location information, identifying media functions, and transmitting control signals for the UAVs to perform selected tasks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If unskilled users operate UAVs directly, then they can control the device, but they cannot take high-quality aerial photographs due to lack of piloting skills and camera control knowledge
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between the user and the UAV. The server receives user input, determines appropriate flight parameters and camera settings, and transmits control commands to the UAV. This mediator handles the complex piloting and camera control tasks, allowing unskilled users to achieve high-quality aerial photographs without needing to master UAV operation techniques.
2Reliability
If users carry UAVs for long-term travel, then they can perform aerial photography tasks, but the heavy and bulky devices create portability difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the core control intelligence from the UAV and places it on a server. The UAV itself is reduced to a simpler platform that executes commands received from the server. This extraction allows users to access aerial photography capabilities through the server without necessarily carrying a full-featured UAV, or to use a lighter UAV model since the sophisticated control algorithms reside externally on the server rather than requiring a heavy onboard computer.
3Manufacturing precision
If UAVs are equipped with sophisticated camera control systems, then high-quality aerial photographs can be taken, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as an intermediary that handles all complex camera control logic. Instead of embedding sophisticated camera control systems in the UAV, the server receives user photography requests, determines optimal camera parameters (shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length), and transmits these settings to the UAV's camera. This externalizes the complexity while maintaining high-quality photo output.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical complexity of onboard camera control systems with a software-based solution running on a server. The complex decision-making algorithms for camera parameter selection are implemented as software applications on the server, which then transmit simplified control commands to the UAV. This substitution of mechanical/electronic complexity with software processing achieves high-precision camera control without increasing physical device complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system, devices and method are disclosed herein. The system may include a network interface, a memory, the two devices and a processor, which implements the method. The method may include receiving by a first device a location of a second device through the network interface, retrieving by the second device a plurality of media related to the received location, transmitting by the second device the plurality of media to the first device through the network interface, in response to receiving a selection of one of the plurality of media, transmit, through the network interface, transmitting by the first device control information for controlling a particular UAV selected from the plurality of UAVs based on corresponding with the selected one of the plurality of media to the second device.