Methods and systems for cooperative operation and configuration of aerially-mobile devices

• US 10,351,240 B1
• Filed: 12/29/2016
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wing Aviation LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wing Aviation LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Sills, Maxwell Andrew, Wetherbee, Ian, Gordon, Robert Samuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Melton, Todd M
• Application Number:
  US15/394,531
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/00 Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations specially adapted for captive aircraft B64F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/13 Flying platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/25 Fixed-wing aircraft VTOL aircraft B64U10/20
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/30 Lighter-than-air aircraft, e.g. aerostatic aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/21 for providing Internet access
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/64 for parcel delivery or retrieval
• 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: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/20 Rotors; Rotor supports
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/30 Supply or distribution of electrical power
• 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 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/104 involving a plurality of aircrafts, e.g. formation flying traffic control systems for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service

Abstract

Methods and systems for autonomous device reconfiguration are described herein. A system may include aerially-mobile devices each configured to perform a respective end-use function and carry out a portion of a reconfiguration operation, which involves arranging the one or more aerially-mobile devices according to a device configuration. A given device configuration may specify spatial locations within an environment corresponding to the aerially-mobile devices. The system may also include a control system configured to facilitate a reconfiguration operation by executing instructions including: (i) determining, for each aerially-mobile device, a respective spatial location associated with a particular device configuration; (ii) detecting a triggering event indicative of an instruction to arrange aerially-mobile devices according to the particular device configuration; and (iii) responsive to the detection of the triggering event, causing each aerially-mobile device to begin flying to its respective spatial location associated with the particular configuration.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of aerially-mobile devices each configured to (i) perform a respective end-use function from a plurality of end-use functions comprising at least a first and a second end-use functions, and (ii) carry out a portion of a reconfiguration operation, wherein the reconfiguration operation includes arranging the plurality of aerially-mobile devices according to a device configuration, wherein the device configuration specifies a plurality of spatial locations within an home environment and a functionality to be provided via an aerially-mobile device landed at each of the spatial locations in the home environment, wherein the first and second end-use functions correspond to a first and a second of the spatial locations; and

a control system comprising a processor and a data storage, the data storage containing instructions comprising;

assigning, for at least a first and a second of the aerially-mobile devices, a respective spatial location associated with the device configuration, wherein the first and second aerially mobile devices are assigned to a first and a second spatial location in the home environment, respectively; and

causing the first and second aerial vehicles to fly to and land at the first and second spatial locations in the home environment, respectively, such that the first and the second aerially-mobile devices are arranged to provide the first and second end-use functions while landed at the first and second spatial locations, respectively.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more docking stations located at the respective spatial locations.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein a given aerially-mobile device includes a power terminal, wherein a given docking station includes electrical contacts that electrically couple to the power terminal, and wherein the given docking station is configured to supply power to the given aerially-mobile device via the electrical contacts.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein a given aerially-mobile device includes a wireless power receiver, wherein a given docking station includes a wireless power transmitter that magnetically couples with the wireless power receiver, and wherein the given docking station is configured to supply power to the given aerially-mobile device via the wireless power transmitter.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more wireless power transmitters situated within the environment, wherein the first aerially-mobile device includes a wireless power receiver configured to magnetically couple with a given wireless power transmitter when the first aerially-mobile device is within a threshold distance from the given wireless power transmitter.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein causing the first aerially-mobile device to fly to the first spatial location comprises:

prior to the first aerially-mobile device arriving at the first spatial location, causing the first aerial vehicle to fly to a location that is within the threshold distance from a particular wireless power transmitter of the one or more wireless power transmitters.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein causing the first aerially-mobile device to fly to the first spatial location comprises receiving a user input indicative of a command to begin execution of the reconfiguration operation.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining, by a computing device, a device configuration indicative of an arrangement of a plurality of aerially-mobile devices within a environment, wherein the device configuration specifies a plurality of spatial locations within the environment and a respective end-use function from a plurality of end-use functions to be provided via an aerially-mobile device landed at each spatial location for each aerially-mobile device within the environment, wherein the plurality of end-use functions comprises a first and a second end-use function corresponding to a first and a second of the spatial locations, respectively;

receiving an input indicative of an instruction to arrange the plurality of aerial vehicles according to the device configuration;

responsive to receiving the input;

assigning a first and a second of the aerially-mobile devices to a first and a second of the spatial locations in the environment, respectively; and

causing the first and second aerial vehicles to fly to and land at the first and second spatial locations in the environment, respectively, such that the first and the second aerially-mobile devices are arranged to provide the first and second end-use functions while landed at the first and second spatial locations, respectively.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein determining the device configuration comprises:

receiving a goal indicative of a desired property of a system that includes the plurality of aerially-mobile devices;

receiving one or more constraints indicative of configuration limitations for the plurality of aerially-mobile devices; and

based on the goal and the one or more constraints, determining the device configuration as a device configuration that satisfactorily accomplishes the goal and complies with the one or more constraints.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the goal specifies a threshold level of the desired property, and wherein the goal is satisfactorily accomplished when the device configuration has a level of the desired property that exceeds the threshold level.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the constraints include geometric boundaries of the environment.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the constraints include one or more predetermined spatial locations that the plurality of aerially-mobile devices are limited to land on.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, based at least on a geometry of the environment and present spatial locations of the plurality of aerially-mobile devices, a flight plan that includes, for each of the aerially-mobile devices, (i) a trajectory representative of a flight path for the aerially-mobile device to fly along and (ii) a relative time with respect to a reference time at which to begin flight, wherein the flight plan is determined to avoid collisions among the plurality of aerially-mobile devices during flight.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the first and second spatial locations correspond to a first and a second docking station, respectively.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the device configuration also specifies an operational parameter for the first aerially-mobile device, wherein the operational parameter is indicative of a manner in which the first aerial vehicle carries out the first end-use function, and wherein the method further comprises:

configuring the first aerially-mobile device based on the operational parameter specified by the device configuration.