UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20160253908A1
• Filed: 05/09/2016
• Published: 09/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zipline International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Zipline International Inc.
• Inventors: Chambers, Andrew, Drula, Catalin, Halley, David, Napolskikh, Igor, Wyrobek, Keenan, Rinaudo, Keller, Brake, Nicholas, Oksenhorn, Ryan, Patterson, Ryan, Hetzler, William, Wade, Bryan
• Granted Patent: US 9,747,808 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/00 UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/20 for use as communications relays, e.g. high-altitude platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/31 for surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/64 for parcel delivery or retrieval
• 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: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/1064 specially adapted for avoiding collisions with other aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 Routing methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/003 Flight plan management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• 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

Abstract

An Unmanned Aerial System configured to receive a request from a user and fulfill that request using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The Unmanned Aerial System selects a distribution center that is within range of the user, and deploys a suitable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to fulfill the request from that distribution center. The Unmanned Aerial System is configured to provide real-time information about the flight route to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle during its flight, and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is configured to dynamically update its mission based on information received from the Unmanned Aerial System.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A system for fulfilling a request from a user, comprising:

a computer server, the computer server comprising a database storing a skymap, the skymap comprising a plurality of flight corridors; and

an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a mission planner configured to;

receive the skymap and a goal location;

compute traversal costs for the plurality of flight corridors;

determine a route from a location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the goal location using a subset of the plurality of flight corridors that minimizes a total traversal cost; and

navigate the unmanned aerial vehicle along the route.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the mission planner of the unmanned aerial vehicle is further configured to:

receive weather data from an information source;

update a traversal cost for at least one of the plurality of flight corridors based on wind information in the weather data and a direction the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying; and

determine a new route from a new location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the goal location based on the traversal costs of the plurality of flight corridors including the updated traversal cost of the at least one of the plurality of flight corridors.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the new location is located along the route.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer server is configured to:

receive terrain data for a geographic area;

generate a displayable representation of the geographic area;

send the displayable representation of the geographic area to a remote client device operated by a user; and

receive at least one route refinement selection from the remote client device operated by the user.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the mission planner of the unmanned aerial vehicle is further configured to:

receive route information based on the at least one route refinement selection; and

determine the route from the location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the goal location based on the route information.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein:

the route refinement selection corresponds to a selection, by the user, of a point on the displayable representation of the geographic area; and

the mission planner of the unmanned aerial vehicle is further configured to refine a position of the goal location based on the route information.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein:

the route refinement selection comprises a trajectory; and

determining the route from the location to the goal location comprises incorporating the trajectory into a flight path.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the computer server is configured to validate the route refinement selection to ensure that an error will not be introduced into the route.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein validating the route refinement selection comprises checking the route refinement selection against the received terrain data.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein checking the route refinement selection against the received terrain data further comprises checking that a geometry of the route refinement selection does not intersect geometries of objects or terrain in the terrain data.

31. In an unmanned aerial vehicle, a method for determining a route, comprising:

receiving a skymap and a goal location, the skymap comprising a plurality of flight corridors;

computing traversal costs for the plurality of flight corridors;

determining a route from a location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the goal location using a subset of the plurality of flight corridors that minimizes a total traversal cost; and

manipulating flight control surfaces of the unmanned aerial vehicle during flight to navigate the unmanned aerial vehicle along the route.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

receiving weather data from an information source;

updating a traversal cost for at least one of the plurality of flight corridors based on wind information in the weather data and a direction the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying; and

determining a new route from a new location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the goal location based on the traversal costs of the plurality of flight corridors including the updated traversal cost of the at least one of the plurality of flight corridors.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the new location is located along the route.

34. The method of claim 31, further comprising receiving at least one route refinement selection that originated from a remote client device.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the operation of determining the route comprises determining the route based on the route refinement selection.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein:

the route refinement selection corresponds to a selection, by a user, of a point on a displayable representation of a geographic area; and

the operation of determining the route comprises refining a position of the goal location based on the route refinement selection.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein:

the route refinement selection comprises a trajectory; and

the operation of determining the route comprises incorporating the trajectory into a flight path.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the operation of validating the route refinement selection comprises checking the route refinement selection against terrain data.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the operation of checking the route refinement selection against the received terrain data comprises checking that a geometry of the route refinement selection does not intersect geometries of objects or terrain in the terrain data.