Method and apparatus for controlling an unmanned aircraft

• US 10,168,695 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2016
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Barnickel, Donald J., Beattie, Jr., James Gordon, Liu, Ken, Barzegar, Farhad, Gerszberg, Irwin, Bogdan, Pamela A. M., Pimm, Brandon, Willis, III, Thomas M., Britz, David M., Henry, Paul Shala, Bennett, Robert, Zarsky, Dorothy
• Primary Examiner(s): Badii, Behrang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Testardi, David A
• Application Number:
  US15/371,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20180157250A1
• Time in Patent Office: 755 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0011 associated with a remote control arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0033 by having the operator tracking the vehicle either by direct line of sight or via one or more cameras located remotely from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0077 using redundant signals or controls
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/20 for optimising the interference level
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, wirelessly receiving first control signals that are received directly from a remote control device according to user input at the remote control device, adjusting a flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the first control signals, wirelessly receiving second control signals that are received from a network device where the second control signals are not sourced by the remote control device, and adjusting the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the second control signals. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

wirelessly receiving, at a processing system of an unmanned aircraft and via a wireless receiver of the unmanned aircraft, first control signals that generated by a remote control device responsive to user input at the remote control device;

adjusting, by the processing system, a flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the first control signals;

wirelessly receiving, at the processing system and via the wireless receiver, second control signals that are generated by a network device of a cellular network, wherein the second control signals are not generated by the remote control device;

adjusting, by the processing system, the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the second control signals responsive to a determination that the first control signals are no longer being received by the processing system;

wirelessly receiving, at the processing system and via the wireless receiver, third control signals that are generated by the remote control device responsive to other user input at the remote control device; and

adjusting, by the processing system, the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the third control signals to position the unmanned aircraft in proximity to a transmission medium, wherein the unmanned aircraft includes a carrying system that releasably carries a communication device, and wherein a positioning of the communication device in the proximity of the transmission medium enables the communication device to be physically connected on the transmission medium to receive power via an inductive coupling.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting, by the processing system, the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the third control signals causing the unmanned aircraft to be positioned in proximity to a target area;

wirelessly receiving a group of test signals when the unmanned aircraft is in proximity to the target area, wherein the group of test signals is transmitted from different locations.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining a radio frequency (RF) parameter associated with each of the group of test signals resulting in RF parameters; and

providing the RF parameters to a server that enables the server to generate placement information indicative of a particular position for the communication device to be positioned with respect to the target area, wherein the placement information is generated based on the RF parameters.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the providing the RF parameters to the server comprises transmitting information representative of the RF parameters to the server via the cellular network.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

storing the RF parameters in a storage device of the unmanned aircraft, wherein the providing the RF parameters to the server occurs when the unmanned aircraft returns from the flight and when the unmanned aircraft is positioned within a Faraday cage.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second control signals are received by the network device from the remote control device, and wherein the network device comprises a transmitter of a base station.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a dielectric antenna of the communication device receives the second control signals directly from the remote control device, wherein the network device receives the second control signals from the communication device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the communication device transmits the second control signals to the network device by electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of the transmission medium, wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate without requiring an electrical return path, and wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the second control signals comprises flying the unmanned aircraft within a transmitting range of the remote control device, wherein the second control signals are not sourced by the remote control device.

10. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system of an unmanned aircraft, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:

receiving, via a wireless receiver, first control signals directly from a remote control device according to user input at the remote control device;

adjusting a flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the first control signals;

receiving, via the wireless receiver, second control signals from a network device, wherein the second control signals are not sourced by the remote control device; and

adjusting the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the second control signals causing the unmanned aircraft to fly within a transmitting range of the remote control device;

receiving data signals representative of radio frequency (RF) parameters, wherein the data signals are transmitted by the unmanned aircraft, wherein the RF parameters are associated with a group of test signals received by the unmanned aircraft when the unmanned aircraft is in proximity to a target area, wherein the group of test signals is transmitted from different locations; and

generating placement information indicative of a particular position for a communication device to be positioned with respect to the target area, wherein the placement information is generated based on the RF parameters.

11. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

monitoring receipt by the processing system of the first control signals from the remote control device, wherein the adjusting the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the second control signals is responsive to a determination that the first control signals are no longer being received by the processing system.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the network device comprises a transmitter of a base station of a cellular network, and wherein the operations further comprise:

responsive to the unmanned aircraft flying within the transmitting range of the remote control device, wirelessly receiving third control signals that are received directly from the remote control device according to other user input at the remote control device; and

adjusting the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the third control signals.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the adjusting the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the third control signals causes the unmanned aircraft to be positioned in proximity to a transmission medium, wherein the unmanned aircraft includes a carrying system that releasably carries the communication device, and wherein a positioning of the communication device in the proximity of the transmission medium enables the communication device to be physically connected on the transmission medium and enables the communication device to provide communications.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the network device comprises a dielectric antenna of the communication device, and wherein the communication device is physically connected with a transmission medium.

15. A method comprising:

determining, by a processing system comprising a processor, whether an unmanned aircraft is registered with a network that includes the processing system;

determining, by the processing system, whether the unmanned aircraft is receiving first control signals being sourced by a remote control device;

responsive to a registration of the unmanned aircraft with the network and responsive to a determination that the unmanned aircraft is not receiving the first control signals, wirelessly transmitting, by a transmitter of the network in communication with the processing system and to the unmanned aircraft, second control signals, wherein the second control signals cause a flight of the unmanned aircraft to be adjusted;

receiving, by the processing system, data signals representative of radio frequency (RF) parameters, wherein the data signals are transmitted by the unmanned aircraft, wherein the RF parameters are associated with a group of test signals received by the unmanned aircraft when the unmanned aircraft is in proximity to a target area, wherein the group of test signals is transmitted from different locations; and

generating placement information indicative of a particular position for a communication device to be positioned with respect to the target area, wherein the placement information is generated based on the RF parameters.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the network is a cellular network, wherein the transmitter is part of a base station, wherein the second control signals are not sourced by the remote control device, and wherein the second control signals cause the flight of the unmanned aircraft to be adjusted causing the unmanned aircraft to fly within a transmitting range of the remote control device.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving, by the processing system via a receiver of the network, the second control signals from the remote control device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the network is a cellular network, wherein the transmitter is part of a base station, wherein the receiver is part of the communication device including a dielectric antenna, wherein the communication device is physically connected with a transmission medium, wherein the communication device transmits the second control signals towards the base station by electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of the transmission medium.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate without requiring an electrical return path, and wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the transmitter is connected with a dielectric antenna that enables the wirelessly transmitting of the second control signals.