Collision avoidance system and method for unmanned aircraft
First Claim
1. A method for providing collision protection in an aircraft, the method comprising:
- receiving a sensor input from a sensor positioned on the aircraft and operatively coupled with a processor, wherein the sensor is configured to identify obstacles within a field of view;
receiving a pilot command stream from a pilot;
identifying an obstacle within the field of view based at least in part on said sensor input;
determining a region from a plurality of regions within the field of view in which the obstacle is positioned, wherein the region is determined based at least in part on the sensor input;
setting a control input as a function of the region determined from the plurality of regions;
inputting the control inputs to a proportional-derivative (PD) controller to generate control data;
generating, via the processor, a control command stream as a function of the control data; and
comparing, via the processor, the control command stream to the pilot command stream to determine whether the pilot command stream from the pilot is safe.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An obstacle-avoidance system for a vehicle, the obstacle-avoidance system may comprise: a communication device; a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors configured to detect collision threats within a predetermined distance of the vehicle; and a processor. The processor may communicatively couple to the communication device and the plurality of sensors and configured to receive navigation commands being communicated to a control system via said communication device. The processor may also receive, from at least one of said plurality of sensors, obstruction data reflecting the position of an obstruction. Using the obstruction data, the processor identifies a direction for avoiding said obstruction. In response, the processor may output, via said communication device, a command to said control system causing the vehicle to travel in said flight direction. Using the obstruction data, the processor may further perform a landing assist module, a three-region collision protection function with pilot override, and/or a target-filtering function.
73 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for providing collision protection in an aircraft, the method comprising:
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receiving a sensor input from a sensor positioned on the aircraft and operatively coupled with a processor, wherein the sensor is configured to identify obstacles within a field of view; receiving a pilot command stream from a pilot; identifying an obstacle within the field of view based at least in part on said sensor input; determining a region from a plurality of regions within the field of view in which the obstacle is positioned, wherein the region is determined based at least in part on the sensor input; setting a control input as a function of the region determined from the plurality of regions; inputting the control inputs to a proportional-derivative (PD) controller to generate control data; generating, via the processor, a control command stream as a function of the control data; and comparing, via the processor, the control command stream to the pilot command stream to determine whether the pilot command stream from the pilot is safe. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A navigation system for providing collision protection in an aircraft, the navigation system comprising:
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a sensor configured to couple to the aircraft and to identify obstacles within a field of view; a processor operatively coupled with the sensor and a memory device, wherein the processor is configured to receive a pilot command stream from a pilot, wherein the processor is further configured to; identify an obstacle within the field of view based at least in part on a sensor input from said sensor; determine a region from a plurality of regions within the field of view in which the obstacle is positioned, wherein the region is determined based at least in part on the sensor input; set a control input as a function of the region determined from the plurality of regions; input the control inputs to a proportional-derivative (PD) controller to generate control data; generate, via the processor, a control command stream as a function of the control data; and compare, via the processor, the control command stream to the pilot command stream to determine whether the pilot command stream from the pilot is safe. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification