ADAPTIVE COMMUNICATION MODE SWITCHING

• US 20150230150A1
• Filed: 02/21/2014
• Published: 08/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• 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: Wang, Tao, Wang, Mingyu, You, Zhongqian
• Application Number:
  US14/186,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20150230150A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18502 Airborne stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18508 with satellite system used as relay, i.e. aeronautical mobile satellite service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/12 based on transmission quality or channel quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices

Abstract

Systems, method, and devices are provided for transmitting data. In one aspect, a method includes providing a plurality of communication modules, each of the plurality of communication modules configured to transmit data using a different communication method; establishing, with the plurality of communication modules, a plurality of simultaneous respective communication links to a remote terminal; selecting, based on a switching criterion, at least one of the plurality of simultaneous respective communication links to be used to transmit data; and transmitting data via said at least one of the plurality of simultaneous respective communication links selected based on the switching criterion.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting data, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of communication modules, each of the plurality of communication modules configured to transmit data using a different communication method;

establishing, with the plurality of communication modules, a plurality of simultaneous respective communication links to a remote terminal;

calculating whether one or more characteristics of each of the plurality of simultaneous respective communication links meets a switching criterion;

selecting, based on the switching criterion, at least one of the plurality of simultaneous respective communication links to be used to transmit data; and

transmitting data via said at least one of the plurality of simultaneous respective communication links selected based on the switching criterion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of communication modules are carried by a movable object.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the movable object is an unmanned aerial vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the simultaneous respective communication links is established between one of the plurality of communication modules and one of a plurality of corresponding communication modules of the remote terminal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a maximum communication distance of at least one of the different communication methods is within the range of 0.5 km to 20 km.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the different communication methods does not require line of sight to operate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the different communication methods comprises a direct communication method.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the direct communication method comprises one of the following:

WiFi, WiMAX, or coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (COFDM).

9. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the different communication methods comprises an indirect communication method.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the indirect communication method comprises communication via a mobile phone network.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the mobile phone network is a 3G or 4G network.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the indirect communication method utilizes forward error correction.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching criterion is based on signal strength of signals received by at least one of the plurality of communication modules.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching criterion is based on signal quality of signals received by at least one of the plurality of communication modules.

15. A data-transmitting apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of communication modules each configured to transmit data to a remote terminal using a different communication method, wherein a plurality of simultaneous respective communication links are established between the plurality of communication modules and the remote terminal;

one or more processors configured to;

(i) calculate whether one or more characteristics of each of the simultaneous respective communication links meets a switching criterion; and

(ii) select, based on the switching criterion, at least one of the plurality of simultaneous respective communication links to be used to transmit data; and

a controller configured output control signals causing data transmission to occur via said at least one of the plurality of simultaneous respective communication links selected based on the switching criterion.

16. A method for transmitting images from a movable object, the method comprising:

providing the movable object comprising a first communication module configured to transmit image data using a first communication method and a second communication module configured to transmit image data using a second communication method different from the first communication method;

obtaining image data with the movable object;

performing calculations, based on a switching criterion, in order to select at least one of the first communication module or the second communication module to be used to transmit the image data; and

transmitting the image data using said at least one of the first communication module or the second communication module selected based on the switching criterion.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the movable object is an unmanned aerial vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein at least one of the first communication method or the second communication method does not require line of sight to operate.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein a maximum communication distance of the first communication method is smaller than a maximum communication distance of the second communication method.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the first communication method comprises a direct communication method.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the direct communication method comprises one of the following:

WiFi, WiMAX, or coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (COFDM).

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the second communication method comprises an indirect communication method.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the indirect communication method comprises communication via a mobile phone network.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the mobile phone network is a 3G or 4G network.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the indirect communication method utilizes forward error correction.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein the switching criterion is based on signal strength of signals received by at least one of the first communication module or the second communication module.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein the switching criterion is based on signal quality of signals received by at least one of the first communication module or the second communication module.

28. The method of claim 16, wherein the image data is transmitted to a terminal remote from the movable object.

29. The method of claim 16, wherein the movable object comprises one or more image sensors and the image data is generated by the one or more image sensors.

30. The method of claim 16, wherein the image data is generated by one or more image sensors provided separately from the movable object.