Systems and methods for drone tracking of airborne materials
First Claim
1. An unmanned aerial vehicle for monitoring airborne materials in a plume, the vehicle comprising:
- a tracer dispenser that ejects tracer materials;
a sensor that detects;
a substance of interest within a plume, andthe ejected tracer material; and
a control unit in operable communication with the sensor and the tracer, the control unit configured to;
pilot the unmanned aerial vehicle alongside the plume,instruct the tracer dispenser to eject the tracer material into the plume based on the sensor detecting a first concentration of the substance of interest greater than a pre-defined threshold within the plume, wherein one or more properties of the ejected tracer material change in response to the substance of interest within the plume,monitor the ejected tracer materials for which the one or more properties changed in response to the substance of interest within the plume,compute a concentration of the substance of interest in the plume based on information from the sensor detections of the ejected tracer material for which the one or more properties changed in response the substance of interest, andevaluate the computed concentration of the substance of interest based on information from the sensor detections of the ejected tracer material in the plume, the evaluation used to characterize the substance of interest and the plume.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An unmanned aerial vehicle may be used to monitor and/or track airborne material in a plume. The unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to eject a tracer material into the plume. The unmanned aerial vehicle may include a sensor for detecting the tracer material. The sensor may detect the position, the velocity, the concentration, amount reacted, etc. of the tracer material. The unmanned aerial vehicle and/or a remote vehicle or facility may include an electromagnetic radiation emitter to irradiate the tracer material. The sensor may measure the interactions of the electromagnetic radiation with the tracer material. The unmanned aerial vehicle and/or a remote system may determine characteristics of the plume and/or a substance of interest based on measurements by the sensor.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. An unmanned aerial vehicle for monitoring airborne materials in a plume, the vehicle comprising:
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a tracer dispenser that ejects tracer materials; a sensor that detects; a substance of interest within a plume, and the ejected tracer material; and a control unit in operable communication with the sensor and the tracer, the control unit configured to; pilot the unmanned aerial vehicle alongside the plume, instruct the tracer dispenser to eject the tracer material into the plume based on the sensor detecting a first concentration of the substance of interest greater than a pre-defined threshold within the plume, wherein one or more properties of the ejected tracer material change in response to the substance of interest within the plume, monitor the ejected tracer materials for which the one or more properties changed in response to the substance of interest within the plume, compute a concentration of the substance of interest in the plume based on information from the sensor detections of the ejected tracer material for which the one or more properties changed in response the substance of interest, and evaluate the computed concentration of the substance of interest based on information from the sensor detections of the ejected tracer material in the plume, the evaluation used to characterize the substance of interest and the plume. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41)
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21. A method for monitoring airborne materials in a plume, the method comprising:
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piloting an unmanned aerial vehicle alongside a plume; detecting a substance of interest within the plume; instructing the tracer dispenser to eject the tracer material into the plume based on the sensor detecting a concentration of the substance of interest greater than a pre-defined threshold within the plume, wherein one or more properties of the ejected tracer material change in response to the substance of interest within the plume; monitoring the ejected tracer material for which the one or more properties changed in response to the substance of interest within the plume; computing a concentration of the substance of interest in the plume based on information from the sensor detections of the ejected tracer material for which the one or more properties changed in response to the substance of interest; and evaluating the computed concentration of the substance of interest based on information from the sensor detections of the ejected tracer material in the plume, the evaluation used to characterize the substance of interest and the plume. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 38, 39)
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Specification