Mission monitor and controller for autonomous unmanned vehicles

• US 10,502,584 B1
• Filed: 12/12/2018
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OTTO Aero Company
• Original Assignee: Richard Andrew Kruse, Sean Patrick Suiter
• Inventors: Suiter, Sean Patrick, Kruse, Richard Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn, Alex C
• Application Number:
  US16/217,715
• Time in Patent Office: 363 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0085 Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 43/00 Arrangements or adaptations of instruments arrangements of cameras B64D47/08; aeronautical measuring instruments per se G01C
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/10 Rotorcrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/25 Fixed-wing aircraft VTOL aircraft B64U10/20
• 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: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/003 Flight plan management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0078 for monitoring traffic from the aircraft radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91
• 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

Abstract

A system and related method for monitoring the performance of one or more autonomous unmanned aircraft (UA) includes a flight assistant for periodically determining the viability of an aircraft flight command, flight, or mission by comparing expected flight segment configuration and performance against at least actual performance. The flight assistant may trend actual performance as a function of differences in expected position and actual position and determine whether a flight command, flight, or mission may be performed or continued according to a hierarchy of user selectable detected anomalies or safety concerns. The flight assistant may report to an operator, controller, pilot, or monitor a rate of deviation, size of deviation, or change in the rate of deviation in accordance with a hierarchy based at least in part on flight segment, altitude, proximity to people or things.

Claims

1. A flight control sending unit, comprising:

at least one acoustic sensor attached to an aircraft, the acoustic sensor configured to sense an acoustic profile of the aircraft;

and

at least one processor coupled by at least one system bus to the acoustic sensor and to a control system of the aircraft, the processor configured to;

(a) receive the sensed acoustic profile from the acoustic sensor;

(b) receive one or more of a position of the aircraft and an altitude of the aircraft via the system bus;

(c) determine a current flight segment of the aircraft based on the received position and the received altitude;

(d) determine an expected configuration of the aircraft corresponding to the current flight segment;

(e) determine a current configuration of the aircraft based on the sensed acoustic profile;

(f) determine at least one deviation of the current configuration from the expected configuration by comparing the expected configuration and the current configuration;

(g) detect at least one unusual condition associated with the current configuration by comparing the deviation to at least one threshold;

(h) if the at least one unusual condition is detected, generate one or more instructions corresponding to a configuration change, the one or more instructions associated with at least one of a configuration correction and an emergency configuration; and

(i) forward the one or more instructions to the control system.

2. The flight control sending unit of claim 1, wherein the expected configuration includes at least one of an expected position, an expected altitude, and an expected setting associated with at least one component of the aircraft.

3. The flight control sending unit of claim 1, wherein the configuration change includes at least one of:

a change of the heading;

and

a landing of the aircraft.

4. The flight control sending unit of claim 1, wherein the position of the aircraft further comprises an x and y coordinate set conforming to at least one of:

(1) a North American Datum, a North American Vertical Datum, a World Geodetic System, and a European Terrestrial Reference System;

(2) a radial DME from a known fix; and

(3) a triangulation of bearings from a plurality of known fixes.

5. The flight control sending unit of claim 1, wherein the altitude of the aircraft further comprises at least one of an Above Ground Level (AGL) altitude and a Mean Sea Level (MSL) altitude.

6. The flight control sending unit of claim 1, wherein:

at least one of the expected configuration and the current configuration includes a status of a payload carried aboard the aircraft;

and

the configuration change includes a jettison of the payload.

7. The flight control sending unit of claim 1, wherein the current flight segment includes at least one of takeoff, ascent, transition, cruise, descent, approach, and landing.

8. The flight control sending unit of claim 1, wherein the current configuration includes a current energy state of the aircraft.

9. The flight control sending unit of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine one or more of:

a reachable range relative to the position and corresponding to the current energy state;

and

one or more landing sites located within the reachable range.

10. The flight control sending unit of claim 1, wherein:

the one or more landing sites are associated with a hierarchy of one or more nearest landing sites;

and

the emergency configuration is associated with at least one of landing immediately, landing as soon as possible, and landing as soon as practicable.

11. The flight control sending unit of claim 10, wherein the hierarchy of one or more nearest landing sites is associated with one or more of a landing site proximity to the aircraft, a slope, a width, a length, an indicated obstruction, and a proximate facility.

12. The flight control sending unit of claim 1, wherein the aircraft is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), further comprising:

at least one wireless transceiver communicatively coupled by wireless link to a control unit of the aircraft, the control unit located remotely from the aircraft;

the at least one processor configured to;

(1) transmit at least one parameter to the control unit via the wireless link, the at least one parameter including one or more of the position, the altitude, and the acoustic profile;

and

(2) forward to the control system control input received from the control unit, the control input associated with the transmitted parameter.

13. The flight control sending unit of claim 1,

wherein the aircraft is a first aircraft and the processor is further configured to:

receive flight environment information including at least one of traffic data, weather data, wind data, a flight plan of the first aircraft, terrain data, airport data, aircraft data associated with at least one second aircraft, a traffic control signal, a ground-based signal, a space-based signal, and an arrival pattern;

and

detect the at least one unusual condition by comparing the deviation to the at least one threshold based on the flight environment information.

14. The flight control sending unit of claim 13, wherein the configuration change includes at least one of:

a change to the flight plan;

a return of the aircraft to an origin point associated with the flight plan;

and

a landing of the aircraft corresponding to a landing site other than a destination point associated with the flight plan.

15. The flight control sending unit of claim 13, wherein the traffic data further comprise at least one of TCAS, radar, ATC feed, ADS-B, and road traffic.

16. The flight control sending unit of claim 13, wherein the terrain data further comprise at least one of a Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) level 1 set, a DTED level 2 set, and satellite based imagery.

17. The flight control sending unit of claim 13, wherein the airport data further comprise at least one of a runway length, a runway width, a runway lighting, an indication of airport rescue and fire-fighting personnel, a proximal medical facility and a proximal maintenance facility.

18. The flight control sending unit of claim 13, wherein the weather data further comprise at least one of a surface wind, an altitude based wind model, a ceiling, a visibility, a barometric pressure, a braking action, and an illumination.

19. The flight control sending unit of claim 13, wherein the aircraft data further comprise at least one of a configuration of the second aircraft, a possible change in the configuration, a position of a control surface, a performance characteristic, a weight, a pilot flight control input, an autopilot status, an MEL status, a DTED level 1 set, a DTED level 2 set and satellite based imagery.