System and method for situational awareness, vehicle control, and/or contingency planning

• US 10,242,580 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2018
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SkyRyse, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SkyRyse, Inc.
• Inventors: Groden, Mark, Adler, Mitch, Reeves, Jonathan, Harell, Nur, Ward, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Hilgendorf, Dale W
• Application Number:
  US16/044,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20190031330A1
• Time in Patent Office: 244 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/16 actuated automatically, e.g. responsive to gust detectors
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/57 automatic or condition responsive, e.g. responsive to rotor speed, torque or thrust
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 17/80 in association with aircraft, e.g. for braking thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 19/02 Rotary-wing parachutes
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0085 Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 25/00 Emergency apparatus or devices, not otherwise provided for parachutes B64D17/00, B64D19/00; jettisoning of fuel tanks or fuel per se B64D37/00; specially adapted for protection against criminal attack, e.g. anti-hijacking systems B64D45/0015 ; safety belts or body harnesses in general A62B35/00; safety belts or body harnesses for land vehicles B60R22/00; jettisonable parts of fuselage facilitating emergency escape B64C
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 with safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0072 to counteract a motor failure
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/105 specially adapted for unpowered flight, e.g. glider, parachuting, forced landing parachutes per se B64D17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/106 Change initiated in response to external conditions, e.g. avoidance of elevated terrain or of no-fly zones
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/46 Control of position or course in three dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0056 in an emergency situation, e.g. hijacking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0086 for monitoring terrain radar or analogous systems specially adapted for terrain avoidance G01S13/935
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0091 for monitoring atmospheric conditions radar or analogous systems specially adapted for meteorological use G01S13/95; meteorology G01W
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/025 Navigation or guidance aids radar or analogous systems specially adapted for landing purposes G01S13/913

Abstract

A method, preferably including: sampling inputs, determining aircraft conditions, and/or acting based on the aircraft conditions. A method, preferably including: sampling inputs, determining input reliability, determining guidance, and/or controlling aircraft operation. A method, preferably including: operating the vehicle, planning for contingencies, detecting undesired flight conditions, and/or reacting to undesired flight conditions. A system, preferably an aircraft such as a rotorcraft, configured implement the method.

Claims

1. A method of aircraft operation, comprising:

flying an aircraft in a normal flight mode, comprising;

at a first sensor of the aircraft, sampling a first set of flight data, wherein the first set of flight data is indicative of an undesired aircraft trajectory; and

at a processor of the aircraft, autonomously controlling the aircraft to fly based on the first set of flight data;

while flying the aircraft in the normal flight mode, sampling a dataset at a second sensor of the aircraft, the dataset indicative of an undesired condition associated with a flight control element of the aircraft, wherein the flight control element is a flight control surface, wherein the second sensor is a flight control surface position sensor associated with the flight control surface;

determining that the first set of flight data is consistent with the undesired condition, wherein the undesired condition is associated with an actuation failure of the flight control surface;

based on the dataset, determining that the flight control element is in the undesired condition; and

in response to determining that the flight control element is in the undesired condition and determining that the first set of flight data is consistent with the undesired condition, landing the aircraft, comprising;

determining an emergency landing location;

at the first sensor, sampling a second set of flight data; and

at the processor, autonomously controlling the aircraft to land at the emergency landing location based on the second set of flight data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the aircraft contains a living human.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the aircraft does not contain and does not receive control inputs from a licensed pilot.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second sensor comprises a camera.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second sensor comprises a time-of-flight sensor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the actuation failure causes a directional bias during aircraft flight; and

the emergency landing location is determined based on the directional bias.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the aircraft is a rotorcraft;

the undesired condition comprises failure of a propulsion mechanism of the aircraft; and

autonomously controlling the aircraft to land at the emergency landing location comprises autonomously controlling the aircraft to perform an autorotation maneuver.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the aircraft comprises an airframe, a rotor rotationally coupled to the airframe about a rotor axis, and a parachute mechanically coupled to the airframe; and

autonomously controlling the aircraft to land at the emergency landing location comprises deploying the parachute in a parachute anchoring mode.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein autonomously controlling the aircraft to land at the emergency landing location further comprises:

after deploying the parachute in the parachute anchoring mode, determining a parachute mode transition trigger; and

in response to determining the parachute mode transition trigger, controlling the parachute to transition from the parachute anchoring mode ta second parachute anchoring mode different from the parachute anchoring mode.

10. A method of aircraft operation, comprising:

autonomously flying an aircraft in a normal flight mode;

while autonomously flying the aircraft in the normal flight mode;

sampling a first dataset at a first sensor of a first sensor type, the first dataset indicative of an undesired condition associated with a flight control element of the aircraft, wherein the undesired condition comprises an undesired vibration, wherein the first sensor is an audio sensor, and wherein the first dataset comprises audio data indicative of the undesired vibration; and

sampling a second dataset at a second sensor of a second sensor type different than the first sensor type, the second dataset indicative of the undesired condition;

based on the first and second datasets, determining that the flight control element is in the undesired condition; and

in response to determining that the flight control element is in the undesired condition, flying the aircraft in a modified mode, comprising;

sampling a set of flight data;

at a processor of the aircraft, determining a modified flight plan based on the undesired condition; and

at the processor, autonomously controlling the aircraft to fly based on the modified flight plan and the set of flight data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second sensor is an accelerometer.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the aircraft is a rotorcraft comprising a rotor; and

the undesired vibration is associated with the rotor.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the undesired vibration is associated with a structural member of the aircraft.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein:

determining the modified flight plan comprises determining an emergency landing location; and

autonomously controlling the aircraft to fly based on the modified flight plan and the set of flight data comprises autonomously controlling the aircraft to land at the emergency landing location based on the set of flight data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the aircraft is a rotorcraft; and

autonomously controlling the aircraft to land at the emergency landing location comprises autonomously controlling the aircraft to perform an autorotation maneuver.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the aircraft contains a living human.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein:

autonomously flying the aircraft in the normal flight mode comprises autonomously flying the aircraft based on a flight plan associated with a planned destination;

determining the modified flight plan comprises determining a modified destination different than the planned destination; and

autonomously controlling the aircraft to fly based on the modified flight plan and the set of flight data comprises autonomously controlling the aircraft to land at the modified destination.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein:

autonomously flying the aircraft in the normal flight mode comprises flying the aircraft at a first speed; and

the modified mode is a conservative mode, wherein, while flying the aircraft in the conservative mode, the aircraft does not exceed a second speed less than the first speed.