UAV Flight Termination Control via Redundant Communication Links
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAVs) are unable to guarantee the triggering of a flight termination procedure when the communication link used for sending control commands is malfunctioning or not operative, posing a safety risk.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system with terminator units that provide an alternative communication link to trigger a flight termination procedure, allowing the automatic drive system to communicate with UAVs without relying on the primary communication link, ensuring safe termination even if the primary link is malfunctioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the automatic drive system uses the same wireless communication link for both control commands and flight termination triggering, then the communication system is simple, but the reliability of flight termination triggering deteriorates when the communication link malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The communication system is segmented into two independent channels: a first wireless communication link for control commands and a second wireless communication link for flight termination triggering. This segmentation allows each link to serve its specific function independently, ensuring that malfunction of the control link does not prevent flight termination triggering.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary communication mechanism by using a dedicated second wireless communication link that acts as a mediator specifically for flight termination signals. This intermediary channel ensures that critical safety commands can be transmitted through an alternative path when the primary control link fails.
2Reliability
If a dedicated alternative communication link is implemented for flight termination triggering, then the reliability of flight termination triggering improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different functional qualities to different communication links: the first link is optimized for control commands while the second link is specifically configured for flight termination triggering. This localized functional differentiation ensures high reliability for critical operations without requiring complete redundancy of the entire communication system.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system is provided, comprising: - an automatic drive system (105) connected to a communication network (112) and configured to drive flying unmanned autonomous vehicles (ID(i)) by exchanging messages and commands with said unmanned autonomous vehicles (ID(i)) exploiting a communication link (CH1) between said communication network (112) and unmanned autonomous vehicles (ID(i)); - a terminator network (200) different from said communication network (112), said terminator network (200) comprising terminator units (T(j)) deployed across a geographic area, each terminator unit (T(j)) being configured to exchange messages and commands with unmanned autonomous vehicles (ID(i)) located in a respective terminator unit coverage area (CA(j)) within said geographic area through a first additional communication link (CH3), each terminator unit (T(j)) being configured to send flight termination commands (FTC(ID(i)) to selected unmanned autonomous vehicles (ID(i)) through said first additional communication link (CH3), each unmanned autonomous vehicle (ID(i)) being configured to carry out a flight termination procedure in response to the reception of the termination command, said first additional communication link (CH3) being different from said communication link (CH1).