METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONFIGURABLE AND SCALABLE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES AND SYSTEMS

• US 20170021946A1
• Filed: 07/11/2016
• Published: 01/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Limitless Computing, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Limitless Computing, Inc.
• Inventors: WELLER, ERRIN T., FRANKLIN, JEFFREY B.
• Granted Patent: US 10,115,048 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/10 Manufacturing or assembling aircraft, e.g. jigs therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/60 Testing or inspecting aircraft components or systems
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/14 with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/24 for use as flying displays, e.g. advertising or billboards
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/35 for science, e.g. meteorology
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft

Abstract

An unmanned aircraft system (UAS) making use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for more than one task. The inventors discovered that an improved UAS could be provided by combining one or more of these three elements: (1) hot-swappable modular kits (e.g., a plurality of components useful in UAVs to perform particular user-selectable tasks); (2) an interconnection mechanism for each component with identification protocols that provides both a physical and a data connection; and (3) an intelligent system that interprets the identification protocols and determines the configuration for a selected task, error checking, airworthiness, and calibration. The system and associated methods for the task based drone configuration and verification reduces the possibility of task failure by an operator.

Claims

1. An unmanned aircraft system (UAS), comprising:

an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV);

a processor running a UAS design module;

a user input device receiving user input indicating a selected task;

a display device operated by the processor to display an identifier for a UAS module determined by the UAS design module for performing the selected task;

a connector associated with the UAS module; and

the UAS module communicatively coupled to the UAV via the connector.

2. The UAS of claim 1, wherein the UAS module includes memory storing module data including an identifier of the connector and a location on the UAV for positioning the connector.

3. The UAS of claim 1, wherein the UAS module includes memory storing module data including one or more of:

an identifier of the UAS module, weight of the UAS module, power consumption by the UAS module, sensors included in the UAS module, number and location of connectors for attaching the UAS module to the UAV, lift provided by the UAS module, power provided by the UAS module, and mounting location for the UAS module to the UAV.

4. The UAS of claim 1, wherein the UAS module includes memory storing module data including identification of the UAS module and wherein the UAS design module verifies that the UAS module is communicatively coupled to the UAV via the connector via communications with the UAS module via the connector based on the identification in the memory.

5. The UAS of claim 1, wherein the UAS design module determines a second UAS module for performing the selected task, the second UAS module including module data in memory, wherein the module data for the UAS module and the second UAS module further includes a module weight and a module-provided lift.

6. The UAS of claim 5, wherein the processor further runs an autocalibration module to determine whether the module-provide lift of the UAS module and the second UAS module is greater at least than the weight of the UAS module and the second UAS module and if not to display an error message on the display device.

7. The UAS of claim 1, wherein the UAS design module determines a second UAS module for performing the selected task, the second UAS module including module data in memory, wherein the module data for the UAS module and the second UAS module further includes a power consumption value and a power provided value.

8. The UAS of claim 7, wherein the processor further runs an autocalibration module to determine whether a summation of the power provided values exceeds a summation of the power consumption values and if not to display an error message on the display device.

9. The UAS of claim 1, wherein the UAS module comprises one or more components from the group of:

a camera, a sensor, a navigation element, a processor, a wireless communication element, memory, persistent memory storing module data, a power source, a UAV fuselage, a payload, a stabilization element, a thrust element, a lift element, a display device, and a flight control device.

10. The UAS of claim 1, wherein the UAS design module is adapted to determine a range for the UAV with the UAS module based on module data stored in memory of the UAS module and wherein the processor operates the display device to display the determined range.

11. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:

a body with a processor;

a first hardware module;

a second hardware module differing from the first hardware module;

a first connector for communicatively coupling the first hardware module with the processor at a first location on the body; and

a second connector for communicatively coupling the second hardware module with the processor at a second location on the body.

12. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the first and second hardware modules include memory storing module data that includes at least one value from the group of:

a module identifier, module weight, module power consumption, included sensors, number and location of connectors for attaching to the body, provided lift, and provided power.

13. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the first and second hardware modules comprise differing sets of one or more components selected from the group of:

a camera, a sensor, a navigation element, a processor, a wireless communication element, memory, persistent memory storing module data, a power source, a UAV fuselage, a payload, a stabilization element, a thrust element, a lift element, a display device, and a flight control device.

14. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the first and second connectors are adapted to provide detachable coupling of the first and second hardware modules to the body of the UAV.

15. A method of fabricating a UAV, comprising:

with an input device, receiving user input selecting a task for the UAV;

with a processor, determining a set of hardware modules for performing the task;

displaying on a display device the set of hardware modules, wherein each of the hardware modules includes memory storing a module identifier, a connector identification, and a connection location; and

based on communications with the hardware modules via the connectors, determining whether all of the hardware modules have been communicatively coupled to the UAV.

16. The method of claim 15, further including, when the determining of whether all the hardware modules have been coupled fails, displaying an error indication on the display device.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the hardware modules comprises one or more components selected from the group consisting of:

a camera, a sensor, a navigation element, a processor, a wireless communication element, memory, persistent memory storing module data, a power source, a UAV fuselage, a payload, a stabilization element, a thrust element, a lift element, a display device, and a flight control device.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the memory of each of the hardware modules stores a module weight and a module-provided lift, and wherein the processor determines whether a summation of the module-provide lifts is greater than a summation of the module weights and, if not, displays an error message on the display device.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the memory of each of the hardware modules stores a power consumption value and a power provided value, and wherein the processor determines whether a summation of the power provided values exceeds a summation of the power consumption values and, if not, displays an error message on the display device.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the processor determines a range for the UAV based on module data for each of the hardware modules stored in memory of the hardware modules and wherein the processor operates the display device to display the determined range.