Process and System to Register and Regulate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operations

• US 20170372617A1
• Filed: 08/11/2017
• Published: 12/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: BRUNO, Ronald, KELLER, James Mathew, RAMSEY, Christian
• Application Number:
  US15/675,407
• Publication Number:
  US 20170372617A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 19/00 Aircraft control not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/00 UAVs characterised by their flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/005 with correlation of navigation data from several sources, e.g. map or contour matching G01C21/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3826 Terrain data
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/02 Control of position or course in two dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/042 specially adapted for aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/00 Traffic control systems for aircraft , e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
• 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 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0056 in an emergency situation, e.g. hijacking
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0086 for monitoring terrain radar or analogous systems specially adapted for terrain avoidance G01S13/935
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0091 for monitoring atmospheric conditions radar or analogous systems specially adapted for meteorological use G01S13/95; meteorology G01W
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/025 : Navigation or guidance aids radar or analogous systems specially adapted for landing purposes G01S13/913
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/04 : Anti-collision systems

Abstract

A registration authority (RA) server registers unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their owners/operators (O/O). A UAV is maintained in a flight lock state until a flight plan request from the O/O is approved by the RA, which sends an key-signed approval to unlock the UAV'"'"'s flight lock. The RA server evaluates a UAV'"'"'s proposed flight plan based on the attributes of the O/O and UAV, the location and time of the requested flight plan, and a set of flight rules and exclusion zones that are developed in view of privacy assurance, security assurance, flight safety assurance, and ground safety assurance. The flight plan key-signed approval supplied to the UAV by the RA server specifies an inclusion zone that corresponds to a flight plan trajectory to be followed. Once in flight, the UAV maintains real-time knowledge of its position and time to ensure its flight remains within the approved inclusion zone.

Claims

1. A method of authorizing flight operations of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:

sending, from a UAV operator device, an authorization request message to an authorization system over a network, the authorization request message comprising UAV operator identification information and proposed flight information including a time and location of a proposed flight; and

receiving, at the UAV operator device, an automated notification message from the authorization system, the automated notification message indicating authorization to conduct UAV flight operations in accordance with the proposed flight information in response to comparing the proposed flight information to stored flight restriction data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling automated UAV flight operations in accordance with the time and location of the proposed flight.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein enabling automated UAV flight operations comprises sending a message from the UAV operator device to the UAV.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the automated notification message comprises receiving the automated notification message at a cellular receiver of the UAV.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the UAV operator device is integrated into or mountable on the UAV, and receiving the automated notification message comprises receiving the automated notification message at the UAV.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the proposed flight information includes altitude information for comparison with altitude restrictions specified by the flight restriction data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the time of the proposed flight in the proposed flight information comprises a proposed time window.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein automated notification message indicates authorization to conduct UAV flight operations in accordance with the proposed flight information in response to comparing the proposed flight information with at least one of:

safety restrictions, flight plans of other airborne objects, terrain and obstacles, or privacy restrictions.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the automated notification message from the authorization system, includes receiving the automated notification message indicating no authorization to conduct UAV flight operations in accordance with the proposed flight information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the automated notification message includes proposed alternative flight information that would meet requirements of the stored flight restriction data.

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

an engine and flight control surfaces;

a position, navigation, and time (PNT) module to provide PNT information;

a wireless communication interface to receive data; and

a processor coupled to the flight control surfaces, the PNT module, and the communication interface, and configured to receive, via the communication interface, a notification message conveying authority, from an authority system, to fly the UAV in a defined time and location.

12. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the wireless communication interface is a cellular transceiver.

13. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the wireless communication interface is capable of communicating with a wireless phone of an operator of the UAV.

14. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the UAV receives the notification message from a wireless phone of an operator of the UAV.

15. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the UAV receives the notification message from the authority system.

16. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the defined time comprises a time window.

17. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the defined location is an inclusion zone that avoids conflicts with flight path exclusion zones.

18. The UAV of claim 17, wherein the inclusion zone includes an altitude boundary.

19. The UAV of claim 17, wherein the flight path exclusion zones include airspace constraints based on at least one of:

safety restrictions, flight plans of other airborne objects, terrain and obstacles, and privacy restrictions.

20. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the wireless communication interface is configured to transmit an authorization request message to an authorization system over a network, the authorization request message comprising UAV operator identification information and proposed flight information including a time and location of a proposed flight.