Autonomous UV Navigation on Communication Link Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned vehicles (UVs) may encounter situations where their communication link with the ground station is intentionally or unintentionally deactivated or becomes unreachable, necessitating autonomous navigation capabilities to ensure continued operation and mission success.
Innovation Solution
A distributed navigational and computation system for UVs, comprising a processor, communication interface, and non-transitory memory device with machine-readable instructions, enables the UV to autonomously navigate upon detecting a link-free trigger event, utilizing AI capabilities for decision-making and sensor data analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If UVs are remotely controlled from ground station, then operational control and monitoring are improved, but operational reliability deteriorates when communication link fails
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-programming autonomous navigation capabilities and mission parameters into the UV before deployment. When communication link fails, the UV executes pre-planned missions or returns to home location without real-time control, ensuring operational reliability during link failure while maintaining ease of operation during normal conditions.
2Reliability
If UVs operate entirely autonomously, then operational reliability during link failure is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to reduced remote control capability
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the degree of autonomy based on communication link status. During normal operation, the UV operates in remote-controlled mode for ease of operation. When link failure is detected, the system transitions to autonomous mode to maintain reliability, creating a dynamic control architecture that optimizes both ease of operation and reliability under different conditions.
3Reliability
If UVs have full autonomous navigation capability, then operational reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous navigation system is segmented into modular functional components: communication interface for link monitoring, sensor modules for environmental perception, processor for decision-making, and actuation systems for execution. This segmentation allows the system to achieve full autonomous capability while managing complexity through modular design, where each component can be independently developed and tested.
Data Source
AI summary
An unmanned vehicle (UV) navigation system is provided. The UV navigation system comprises a processor, a communication interface for communicating with a remote station, and a non-transitory memory device storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to navigate the UV. The processor is configured to receive data from sensors, camera or data line for UV processor analysis, determine that a link-free trigger event has occurred, and autonomously navigate the UV in response to the trigger event.