REMOTE SENSING CALIBRATION, VALIDATION, AND SIGNATURE CHARACTERIZATION FROM UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS

• US 20170219376A1
• Filed: 02/02/2017
• Published: 08/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Geothinktank LLC
• Original Assignee: Geothinktank LLC
• Inventors: PADULA, Francis, PEARLMAN, Aaron
• Granted Patent: US 10,641,616 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64G 1/1014 Navigation satellites
• CPC Class Codes: B64G 1/1021 Earth observation satellites
• CPC Class Codes: B64G 3/00 Observing or tracking cosmonautic vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3661 Guidance output on an external device, e.g. car radio
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/00 Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/00 Beacons or beacon systems transmitting signals having a characteristic or characteristics capable of being detected by non-directional receivers and defining directions, positions, or position lines fixed relatively to the beacon transmitters; Receivers co-operating therewith position fixing by co-ordinating a plurality of determinations of direction or position lines G01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target

Abstract

A method, computer program product and system where a processor(s) configures sensor(s) on an unmanned aircraft system, to capture data related to a surface of a defined geographic area. The processor(s) navigate the unmanned aircraft system in a repeatable defined travel path proximate to the defined geographic area, such that the sensor(s) capture surface data related to the defined geographic area during the navigating, wherein a position of the unmanned aircraft system in the travel path is within a satellite view geometry of a satellite. The processor(s) maintain the unmanned aircraft system at a distance from the surface at which atmosphere does not obscure the data and obtain the data collected by the sensor(s). The processor(s) compares the data collected by the sensor(s) to data collected by one or more instruments on the satellite related to the defined geographic area to determine is the instrument(s) of the satellite are calibrated.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

configuring, by one or more processors, over a communications connection, a first one or more sensors on an unmanned aircraft system, to capture data related to a surface of a defined geographic area, wherein the data comprises one or more of;

near surface directional observations or hemispheric directional observations;

navigating, by the one or more processors, the unmanned aircraft system in a repeatable defined travel path proximate to the defined geographic area, such that the one or more sensors capture surface data related to the defined geographic area during the navigating, wherein a position of the unmanned aircraft system in the flight path is within a remote sensing instruments view geometry;

maintaining, by the one or more processors, the unmanned aircraft system at a distance from the surface at which atmosphere does not obscure the data;

obtaining, by the one or more processors, the data collected by the one or more sensors;

comparing, by the one or more processors, the data collected by the one or more sensors to data collected by one or more instruments on the remote sensing system related to the defined geographic area; and

based on the data from the one or more sensors matching the data collected by the one or more instruments of the remote sensing system, within a predefined tolerance, determining the calibration of one or more instruments of the remote sensing system.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining, by the one or more processors, a pre-mission flight plan of the satellite; and

determining, by the one or more processors, the flight path into which to deploy the unmanned aircraft system, based on the pre-mission flight plan.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein spectral channels of the one or more sensors match spectral channels of the one or more instruments to be assessed.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, where a first sensor of the one or more sensors is an upward viewing sensor and a second sensor of the one or more sensors is a downward viewing sensor.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the first sensor obtains data by observing total incoming energy in a hemisphere above the defined geographic area.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the second sensor obtains data by observing outgoing surface energy of the pre-defined geographic area at a given view angle.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

modifying, by the one or more processors, the second sensor to collect data at multiple view angles.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the first sensor measures total incoming optical energy in a hemisphere over the defined geographic area;

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the second measures reflected energy in a direction of interest from the surface.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the distance from the surface is one to twenty meters above the surface.

11. (canceled)

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising:

obtaining, by the one or more processors, a pre-mission flight plan of the satellite; and

determining, by the one or more processors, the flight path into which to deploy the unmanned aircraft system, based on the pre-mission flight plan.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein spectral channels of the one or more sensors match spectral channels of the one or more instruments.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, where a first sensor of the one or more sensors is an upward viewing sensor and a second sensor of the one or more sensors is a downward viewing sensor.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the first sensor obtains data by observing total incoming energy in a hemisphere above the defined geographic area.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the second sensor obtains data by observing outgoing surface energy of the pre-defined geographic area at a given view angle.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising:

modifying, by the one or more processors, the second sensor to collect data at multiple view angles.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the first sensor measures total incoming optical energy in a hemisphere over the defined geographic area;

19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the second measures reflected energy in a direction of interest from the surface.

11-1. A computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium readable by one or more processors and storing instructions for execution by the one or more processors for performing a method comprising;

configuring, by the one or more processors, over a communications connection, a first one or more sensors on an unmanned aircraft system, to capture data related to a surface of a defined geographic area, wherein the data comprises one or more of;

near surface directional observations or hemispheric directional observations;

navigating, by the one or more processors, the unmanned aircraft system in a repeatable defined travel path proximate to the defined geographic area, such that the one or more sensors capture surface data related to the defined geographic area during the navigating, wherein a position of the unmanned aircraft system in the travel path is within a satellite view geometry of a satellite;

maintaining, by the one or more processors, the unmanned aircraft system at a distance from the surface at which atmosphere does not obscure the data;

obtaining, by the one or more processors, the data collected by the one or more sensors;

comparing, by the one or more processors, the data collected by the one or more sensors to data collected by one or more instruments on the satellite related to the defined geographic area; and

based on the data from the one or more sensors matching the data collected by the one or more instruments of the satellite, within a predefined tolerance, determining that the one or more instruments of the satellite are calibrated.

20. A system comprising:

a memory;

one or more processors in communication with the memory;

a first one or more sensors and a second one or more sensors in communication with the one or more processors over a wireless communications connection; and

program instructions executable by the one or more processors via the memory to perform a method, the method comprising;

configuring, by the one or more processors, over a communications connection, a first one or more sensors on an unmanned aircraft system, to capture data related to a surface of a defined geographic area, wherein the data comprises one or more of;

near surface directional observations or hemispheric directional observations;

navigating, by the one or more processors, the unmanned aircraft system in a repeatable defined travel path proximate to the defined geographic area, such that the one or more sensors capture surface data related to the defined geographic area during the navigating, wherein a position of the unmanned aircraft system in the travel path is within a satellite view geometry of a satellite;

maintaining, by the one or more processors, the unmanned aircraft system at a distance from the surface at which atmosphere does not obscure the data;

obtaining, by the one or more processors, the data collected by the one or more sensors;

comparing, by the one or more processors, the data collected by the one or more sensors to data collected by one or more instruments on the satellite related to the defined geographic area; and

based on the data from the one or more sensors matching the data collected by the one or more instruments of the satellite, within a predefined tolerance, determining that the one or more instruments of the satellite are calibrated.