Supplementing network coverage with a fleet of autonomous drones

• US 10,321,330 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2018
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zerick, Juliette, Rascle, Jr., Eugene H., Fix, Jeremy
• Primary Examiner(s): Cai, Wayne H
• Application Number:
  US15/910,090
• Publication Number:
  US 20180199210A1
• Time in Patent Office: 466 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18504 Aircraft used as relay or high altitude atmospheric platform
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/26 Cell enhancers or enhancement, e.g. for tunnels, building shadow
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to supplement network coverage with a fleet of autonomous drones are disclosed. Example methods disclosed herein include configuring a first drone with information specifying a size and a target location associated with the coverage area. Disclosed example methods also include, when the first drone reaches the target location, monitoring for communication signals to determine whether a first coverage zone provided by the first drone and a second coverage zone provided by a second drone in a fleet of drones overlap. Disclosed example methods further include autonomously adjusting a position of the first drone to maintain overlapping of the first coverage zone provided by the first drone with the coverage area, but to reduce an amount of overlap of the first coverage zone with the second coverage zone.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

deploying a plurality of drones to a plurality of different locations within a geographic area, each drone of the plurality of drones being deployed to a respective one of the plurality of different locations, wherein the plurality of drones provides wireless network coverage to a plurality of different coverage zones, each drone of the plurality of drones providing coverage to a respective one of the plurality of different coverage zones; and

repositioning one or more of the plurality of drones thus deployed to reduce a coverage overlap between two or more of the plurality of different coverage zones or to reduce one or more coverage holes within the geographic area, wherein the one or more coverage holes correspond to one or more portions of the geographic area not covered by any of the plurality of different coverage zones.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving positioning information and monitored signal strength measurements from the plurality of drones, wherein the repositioning is based on the receiving.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the deploying comprises:

prior to the deploying, determining the geographic area is not currently experiencing a network coverage problem but is expected to experience the network coverage problem at a later time.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

before the repositioning, determining that the coverage overlap exists by;

measuring, with a wireless communications device on a first drone of the plurality of drones, a strength of a signal received from a second drone of the plurality of drones; and

determining the strength of the signal exceeds a predefined threshold value.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the repositioning comprises moving the first drone away from the second drone by a first distance based on a function of the strength of the signal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the moving comprises adjusting a value of the first distance a plurality of times during the moving.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each drone of the plurality of drones carries a portable base station, and wherein the deploying or the repositioning is performed based on a command received from a command center that is remotely located from the plurality of drones.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium including computer readable instructions which, when executed, cause performance of operations, the operations comprising:

determining that a geographic area needs or will need wireless network coverage;

in response to the determining, deploying a plurality of drones to a plurality of different locations within the geographic area, each drone of the plurality of drones being deployed to a respective one of the plurality of different locations, wherein the plurality of drones provides the wireless network coverage to a plurality of different coverage zones, each drone of the plurality of drones providing coverage to a respective one of the plurality of different coverage zones;

determining, after the deploying, that;

a coverage overlap exists between two or more of the plurality of different coverage zones;

or

one or more coverage holes exist within the geographic area, wherein the one or more coverage holes correspond to one or more portions of the geographic area not covered by any of the plurality of different coverage zones; and

adjusting, in response to the determining after the deploying, one or more locations of one or more of the plurality of drones to shrink the coverage overlap or the one or more coverage holes.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving positioning information and monitored signal strength measurements from the plurality of drones, wherein the determining after the deploying is based on the receiving.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the plurality of drones includes a first drone and a second drone, and wherein the operations further comprise:

measuring a strength of a signal communicated between the first drone and the second drone.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the determining that the coverage overlap exists comprises determining that the strength of the signal is greater than a predefined value.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the adjusting comprises moving the first drone and the second drone away from each other by a distance, wherein a value of the distance is correlated with the strength of the signal, and wherein the moving comprises adjusting the value of the distance a plurality of times during the moving.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein:

the plurality of drones each carries a portable base station for implementing a cell of a mobile cellular network; and

the deploying or the adjusting is performed by the plurality of drones or by a command center that is remotely located from the plurality of drones.

14. A system, comprising:

a plurality of drones that are each configured to provide wireless network coverage for a respective coverage zone; and

a command center that is configured to perform operations that include;

generating target locations for deploying the plurality of drones so that the plurality of drones will provide the wireless network coverage for mobile devices in a geographic area;

determining, after the plurality of drones has reached their respective target locations, that;

a coverage overlap exists between the coverage zones provided by at least some of the plurality of drones; and

one or more coverage holes exist within the geographic area; and

causing one or more of the plurality of drones to adjust their respective locations so as to decrease the coverage overlap and the one or more coverage holes.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving positioning information and monitored signal strength measurements from the plurality of drones, wherein the determining is based on the receiving.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

before the generating of the target locations, determining that the geographic area is not currently experiencing a network coverage problem but is expected to experience the network coverage problem at a later time.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the determining that the coverage overlap exists comprises:

measuring, with a wireless communications device on a first drone of the plurality of drones, a strength of a signal received from a second drone of the plurality of drones; and

determining that the coverage overlap exists in response to the strength of the signal exceeding a predefined threshold value.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the causing comprises sending instructions to the first drone to move the first drone away from the second drone by a distance, wherein a value of the distance is dynamically reconfigured a plurality of times as a function of the strength of the signal as the first drone is moved away from the second drone.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of drones each carries a portable base station for implementing a cell of a mobile cellular network.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of drones each includes an unmanned aerial vehicle.