Polygon shaped flight-restriction zones

• US 10,586,463 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2017
• Issued: 03/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (d/b/a DJI) (iFlight Technology Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (d/b/a DJI) (iFlight Technology Company Limited)
• Inventors: Xu, Xinan, Yu, Yun, Lin, Canlong, Chen, Xi, Wang, Mingyu, Song, Jianyu
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Application Number:
  US15/699,359
• Publication Number:
  US 20170372618A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 47/08 Arrangements of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/10 Rotorcrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• 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: G05D 1/0214 in accordance with safety or protection criteria, e.g. avoiding hazardous areas monitoring the location of vehicles within a certain area, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas, in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/13
• 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: G08G 5/0004 Transmission of traffic-related information to or from an aircraft airborne radio transmission systems in general H04B7/185; airborne wireless networks H04W84/06
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/006 in accordance with predefined flight zones, e.g. to avoid prohibited zones
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0082 for monitoring traffic from a ground station radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices are provided for generating flight restriction zones associated with flight response measures. The flight restriction zones may be generated with one or more flight restriction strips. Flight response measures for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may be directed based on a location and/or movement characteristic of the UAV relative to the one or more flight restriction strips. Different flight-response measures may be taken based on various parameters.

Claims

1. A method for supporting flight restriction, comprising:

generating, with aid of one or more processors, a flight-restriction zone using one or more flight-restriction strips,

wherein the one or more flight-restriction strips require an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to take one or more flight response measures based on at least one of an assessed location or a movement characteristic of the UAV relative to the one or more flight-restriction strips, wherein each of the one or more flight-restriction strips configured to have a minimum width defined to avoid the UAV from encroaching in the flight-restriction zone at times of flying at a full flight speed into the flight-restriction zone followed by a sudden brake, deceleration or reverse acceleration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each flight-restriction strip is defined using a geometric shape and a width of the flight-restriction strip is defined to ensure that the UAV does not encroach into the flight-restriction zone.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the geometric shape is an area encompassed by a first circle and a second circle and lines running tangent to the first circle and the second circle.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first circle and the second circle have the same radius.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein a radius of the first circle and a radius of the second circle are defined based on a width of each flight-restriction strip.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the width of the flight-restriction strip is larger than the minimum width.

7. The method of claims 1, wherein the one or more flight-restriction strips overlap one another at ends of the one or more flight restriction strips to enclose a flight-restriction zone.

8. The method of claims 7, wherein an end of an individual flight restriction strip comprises the first circle or the second circle.

9. The method of claims 7, wherein:

the flight-restriction zone is shaped as a polygon, and

the one or more flight-restriction strips form a border of the polygon and fill in the polygon.

10. The method of claims 7, wherein the UAV is configured to enter or exit a flight-restriction zone through one or more selected flight-restriction strips from a plurality of flight-restriction strips representing the flight-restriction zone.

11. The method of claims 1, wherein:

the flight-restriction zone requires the UAV to take a flight response measure based on the assessed location or the movement characteristic of the UAV relative to the flight restriction zone, and

the assessed location of the UAV relative to the flight-restriction zone is based on at least one of;

whether the location of the UAV is within a region surrounded by the one or more flight-restriction strips forming a border of the region, or

a recursive analysis of whether the location of the UAV is within one or more flight-restriction strips that fill the flight-restriction zone.

12. An apparatus for supporting flight restriction, comprising one or more controllers running on one or more processors, individually or collectively, configured to:

generate a flight-restriction zone using one or more flight-restriction strips,

wherein the one or more flight-restriction strips require an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to take one or more flight response measures based on at least one of an assessed location or a movement characteristic of the UAV relative to the one or more flight-response strips, wherein each of the one or more flight-restriction strips configured to have a minimum width defined to avoid the UAV from encroaching in the flight-restriction zone at times of flying at a full flight speed into the flight-restriction zone followed by a sudden brake, deceleration or reverse acceleration.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each flight-restriction strip is defined using a geometric shape and a width of the flight-restriction strip is defined to ensure that the UAV does not encroach into the flight-restriction zone.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the width of the flight-restriction strip is larger than the minimum width.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the geometric shape is an area encompassed by a first circle and a second circle and lines running tangent to the first circle and the second circle.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first circle and the second circle have the same radius.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a radius of the first circle and a radius of the second circle are defined based on a width of each flight-restriction strip.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the one or more flight-restriction strips overlap one another at ends of the one or more flight restriction strips to enclose a flight-restriction zone.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein an end of an individual flight restriction strip comprises the first circle or the second circle.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein:

the flight-restriction zone is shaped as a polygon, and

the one or more flight-restriction strips form a border of the polygon and fill in the polygon.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the UAV is configured to enter or exit a flight-restriction zone through one or more selected flight-restriction strips from a plurality of flight-restriction strips representing the flight-restriction zone.

22. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein:

the flight-restriction zone requires the UAV to take a flight response measure based on the assessed location or the movement characteristic of the UAV relative to the flight restriction zone, and

the assessed location of the UAV relative to the flight-restriction zone is based on at least one of;

whether the location of the UAV is within a region surrounded by the one or more flight-restriction strips forming a border of the region, or

a recursive analysis of whether the location of the UAV is within one or more flight-restriction strips that fill the flight-restriction zone.