COUNTER DRONE SYSTEM

• US 20170261613A1
• Filed: 02/27/2017
• Published: 09/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Raytheon BBN Technlogies Corp. (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon BBN Technlogies Corp. (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Van Voorst, Brian R.
• Application Number:
  US15/443,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20170261613A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/13 Flying platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/00 UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/15 for conventional or electronic warfare
• 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: B64U 30/20 Rotors; Rotor supports
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 11/02 Anti-aircraft or anti-guided missile or anti-torpedo defence installations or systems cartridges or missiles for producing smoke or for dispensing radar chaff or infrared material F42B5/15, F42B12/48, F42B12/70; informative reference: details of radar or sonar systems G01S7/00; jamming or electronic countermeasures G01S7/38, G01S7/495, H04K3/00
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 13/0006 Ballistically deployed systems for restraining persons or animals, e.g. ballistically deployed nets
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/04 Systems determining the presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/66 Tracking systems using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/87 Combinations of systems using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/933 of aircraft or spacecraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/495 Counter-measures or counter-counter-measures using electronic or electro-optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/51 Display arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 : involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/106 : Change initiated in response to external conditions, e.g. avoidance of elevated terrain or of no-fly zones
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/12 : Target-seeking control
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 : Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/13 : Satellite images
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/17 : taken from planes or by drones
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/07 : Target detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 : located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 : specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0082 : for monitoring traffic from a ground station radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

A counter drone system includes a cueing sensor to detect the presence of an object wherein the cueing sensor cues the presence of a target drone, a long range LIDAR system having a sensor pointed in a direction of the target drone to acquire and track at long range the target drone to provide an accurate location of the target drone wherein once a track is acquired, the motion of the target drone is used to maintain the track of the target drone and a threat detector wherein LIDAR data is provided to the threat detector to determine if the target drone is a threat.

Claims

1. A counter drone system comprising:

a cueing sensor to detect the presence of an obj ect wherein the cueing sensor cues the presence of a target drone;

a long range LIDAR system having a sensor pointed in a direction of the target drone to acquire and track at long range the target drone to provide an accurate location of the target drone wherein once a track is acquired, the motion of the target drone is used to maintain the track of the target drone; and

a threat detector wherein LIDAR data is provided to the threat detector to determine if the target drone is a threat.

2. The counter drone system as recited in claim 1 comprising a semi-autonomous response planner system with inputs from the threat detector and an operator to determine countermeasures appropriate for the cued target drone.

3. The counter drone system as recited in claim 1 wherein the cueing sensor comprises a LIDAR to cue the presence of the target drone but not a high resolution location of the target drone.

4. The counter drone system as recited in claim 1 wherein the long range LIDAR system comprises a LIDAR tracking sensor to acquire and track at long range the target drone to provide an accurate location in response to the cueing sensor detecting the initial presence of the target drone.

5. The counter drone system as recited in claim 1 wherein the cueing sensor is a line scanning LIDAR.

6. The system as recited in claim 2 wherein a break in the light fence provides initial vector information to a tracking sensor.

7. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of three dimensional line-scanner LIDAR sensors provide an initial detection of an object and triggers a long range sensor to acquire and track the object detected by at least one of the plurality of three dimensional line-scanner LIDAR sensors.

8. The counter drone system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a camera to be aimed toward the target drone to get further information about the target drone.

9. The counter drone system as recited in claim 1 wherein the cueing sensor is selected from one of a LIDAR sensor, an acoustic sensor, a radar sensor or an infrared sensor.

10. The counter drone system as recited in claim 1 wherein the LIDAR sensor is selected from one of a flash LIDAR sensor, a Geiger mode LIDAR sensor or a line scanning LIDAR sensor.

11. The counter drone system as recited in claim 1 wherein the threat detector comprises:

a target identifier for target recognition with an image of the target drone; and

a display to display the image of the target drone to an operator.

12. The counter drone system as recited in claim 2 wherein the semi-autonomous response planner system provides raw lidar data to a human operator.

13. The counter drone system as recited in claim 2 wherein the semi-autonomous response planner system comprises a planning module to plan an intercept course for an intercept drone to the target drone.

14. A method comprising:

detecting a presence of a target drone using a cueing sensor;

acquiring, in response to initial data from the cuing sensor, a target drone and then tracking the target drone using a long range LIDAR system to provide an accurate location of the target drone and to maintain the track of the target drone; and

providing LIDAR data to a threat detector to determine if the target drone is a threat.

15. The method as recited in claim 14 comprising determining appropriate countermeasures using a semi-autonomous response planner system with inputs from the threat detector and an operator to determine countermeasures appropriate for the cued target drone.

16. The method as recited in claim 14 comprising aiming a camera toward the target drone to get further information about the target drone.

17. The method as recited in claim 14 comprising providing raw lidar data to a human operator for analysis by the operator.

18. The method as recited in claim 14 comprising planning an intercept course for an intercept drone to the target drone.

19. The method as recited in claim 14 wherein the cueing sensor comprises a LIDAR to cue the presence of the target drone but not a high resolution location of the target drone.

20. An system, comprising circuitry configured to:

detect a presence of a target drone using a cueing sensor;

acquire, in response to initial data from the cuing sensor, a target drone and then track the target drone using a long range LIDAR system to provide an accurate location of the target drone and to maintain the track of the target drone;

provide LIDAR data to a threat detector to determine if the target drone is a threat; and

.

determine appropriate countermeasures using a semi-autonomous response planner system with inputs from the threat detector and an operator to determine countermeasures appropriate for the cued target drone.