Method and System for Autonomous Tracking of a Mobile Target by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

• US 20090187299A1
• Filed: 01/23/2008
• Published: 07/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Lommel, Peter, Fregene, Kingsley OC
• Granted Patent: US 7,970,507 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target

Abstract

This invention provides a system and method for autonomously tracking a moving target from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with a variety of airframe and sensor payload capabilities so that the target remains within the vehicle'"'"'s sensor field of view regardless of the specific target motion patterns. The invention uses information about target location, UAV platform type and states, sensor payload capability, and ratio of target-to-UAV speeds to select from a suite of sub-algorithms, each of which generates desired platform positions (in form of waypoints) and/or sensor orientation commands to keep the target in view.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying at least one coordinate of a footprint of a sensor tracking a target, wherein the sensor is equipped on an unmanned aerial vehicle;

determining if the target will leave the field of view of the sensor; and

causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly in a track mode that keeps the target in the field of view of the sensor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the track mode comprises a straight following of the target.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the track mode comprises flying in the shape of a sinusoid.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the track mode comprises flying orbits around the target.

5. The method of claim 3, further wherein the orbits may be adjusted.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the track mode comprises flying to at least one waypoint.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the orbits are adjusted if the target increases speed.

8. The method of claim 1, when the track mode is based at least on the rate of speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the rate of speed of the target

9. A system comprising:

a communication interface;

a processing unit;

data storage; and

program logic stored in the data storage and executable by the processing unit to (i) identify at least one coordinate of a footprint of a sensor tracking a target, wherein the sensor is equipped on an unmanned aerial vehicle;

(ii) determine if the target will leave the field of view of the sensor; and

(iii) cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly in a track mode that keeps the target in the field of view of the sensor

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the track mode comprises a straight following of the target.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the track mode comprises flying in the shape of a sinusoid.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the track mode comprises flying orbits around the target.

13. The system of claim 10, further wherein the orbits may be adjusted.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the track mode comprises flying to at least one waypoint.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the program logic is further executable to adjust the orbits if the target increases speed.

16. The system of claim 9, when the program logic is arranged to determine the track mode based at least on the rate of speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the rate of speed of the target.

17. A method comprising:

determining a position of a target relative to the center of a sensor footprint;

determining the distance from the center of the sensor footprint to a side of the sensor footprint that is closest to the target;

determining the rate of speed of the target;

determining the rate of speed of an unmanned aerial vehicle; and

causing an unmanned aerial vehicle to fly in a track mode in which the target will remain within the field of view of the sensor based at least on the rate of speed of the target and the rate of speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly at a height in which the target will remain in the field of view of the sensor.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly to at least one waypoint.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein causing the aerial vehicle to fly in a track mode is further based on the stall speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle.