Vehicle-Launched Drone Tracking Beyond Sensor Range
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Police vehicles equipped with electronic devices struggle to track suspects who leave the detection range of sensors, as they move into areas inaccessible to the vehicle's sensors, such as buildings or crowded spaces.
Innovation Solution
Deploying an aerial drone from the vehicle to track the suspect based on determined trajectory and location data, allowing the drone to fly to the target's location and maintain proximity, even if the target enters inaccessible areas, and optionally spraying ink for improved detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If police vehicles use ground-based sensors to track suspects, then tracking is effective within detection range, but tracking is lost when suspects move to inaccessible areas like buildings or crowded spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from ground-based vehicle sensors to aerial drone sensors, changing the detection dimension from 2D ground level to 3D aerial space. This enables surveillance of suspects who flee into buildings or crowded areas by providing overhead detection capability that ground sensors cannot achieve.
Solution Approach 2:
The drone acts as an intermediary between the police vehicle and the suspect. When the suspect departs from vehicle detection range, the drone is deployed as a mobile detection platform to bridge the gap and maintain continuous tracking, transferring the detection function from the stationary vehicle to the mobile aerial platform.
2Area of stationary object
If police vehicles deploy aerial drones to track suspects in inaccessible areas, then tracking coverage is extended beyond vehicle sensor range, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the police vehicle detection system with the drone detection system into an integrated tracking system. The vehicle sensors and drone sensors work together as a unified system, with the drone being deployed from and controlled by the vehicle, combining ground-based and aerial detection capabilities into one cohesive platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static ground-based detection platform to a dynamic system that can deploy mobile aerial sensors. The drone can be launched and retrieved by the vehicle, changing the detection configuration from fixed to mobile, thereby extending coverage area while managing complexity through automated deployment sequences.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer is programmed to determine a trajectory of a moving target based on data from one or more vehicle sensors. The computer is programmed to deploy an aerial drone from the vehicle to track the moving target based on the determined trajectory.