LOCAL NETWORK FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS EXCHANGE OF DATA BETWEEN A DRONE AND A PLURALITY OF USER TERMINALS

• US 20170374636A1
• Filed: 06/23/2017
• Published: 12/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Parrot Drones
• Original Assignee: Parrot Drones
• Inventors: TEXIER, Nicolas
• Granted Patent: US 9,961,658 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 27/12 Helicopters A63H27/04 takes precedence; Flying tops
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 30/04 using wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 47/08 Arrangements of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/14 with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• 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: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0038 by providing the operator with simple or augmented images from one or more cameras located onboard the vehicle, e.g. tele-operation images analyzed by a computer and used for automatic navigation G05D1/0246
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/005 Multiple registrations, e.g. multihoming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements

Abstract

A primary user terminal is interfaced with the drone so as to constitute a local network of the infrastructure type, where the drone is configured as an access point (AP) and the primary user terminal is configured as a mobile station. The primary user terminal comprises an adaptive software program able i) to generate piloting and control instructions to be transmitted to the drone, and ii) to establish a connection to the local network and to register the primary user terminal into a registration table of the drone. The network further comprises at least one secondary user terminal with an applicative software program adapted to establish a connection to the local network and to register the secondary user terminal into the registration table of the drone with a hierarchized management of the rights with respect to the primary terminal.

Claims

1. A local network for the exchange of data between a drone and a plurality of similar user terminals able to establish successively, in an undifferentiated manner, a connection to the local network and to be registered into a registration table of the drone, said data comprising drone piloting and control instructions and/or a video stream, network, wherein:

the drone comprises;

piloting circuits operating as a function of said piloting and control instructions;

an on-board video camera delivering the video stream;

a wireless emitter/receiver; and

a network management software program comprising said table for the registration of one or more remote terminals,

the local network is a hierarchized network between;

a primary user terminal having rights allowing it to send piloting and control instructions to the drone, and comprising;

a wireless emitter/receiver interfaced with the emitter/receiver of the drone;

a network management software program; and

an applicative software program able i) to generate said piloting and control instructions to be transmitted to the drone, and ii) to control the network management software program to establish a connection to the local network and to register the primary user terminal into the registration table of the drone, and

at least one passive, secondary user terminal, comprising;

a wireless emitter/receiver interfaced with the emitter/receiver of the drone;

a network management software program; and

an applicative software program able to control the network management software program to establish a connection to the local network and to register the secondary user terminal into the registration table of the drone,

and in that the network includes designation means, able to designate as the primary user terminal one of said similar user terminals, and as secondary user terminals all the other similar user terminals.

2. The local network of claim 1, wherein the network is a local network of the infrastructure type, where the drone is configured as an access point and the primary user terminal and the at least one secondary user terminal are configured as mobile stations, the network management software program of the drone being a network access point software program, and the respective management software programs of the primary user terminal and of the at least one secondary user terminal being network mobile station management software programs.

3. The network of claim 2, wherein the local network is a non-modified WiFi network of the infrastructure type according to IEEE 802.11.

4. The local network of claim 1, wherein the applicative software program of the secondary user terminal is an applicative software program unable to generate piloting and control instructions to be transmitted to the drone.

5. The local network of claim 1, wherein the primary user terminal and/or the secondary user terminal are able to generate terminal sensor (GPS) information to be transmitted to the drone.

6. The local network of claim 5, wherein said terminal sensor (GPS) information comprises a geolocation of the terminal in a terrestrial reference system.

7. The local network of claim 1, wherein the designation means are means implemented by the network access point management software program of the drone.

8. The local network of claim 1, wherein the designation means are means able to designate as the primary user terminal the user terminal that, chronologically, first connects to the local network and is registered into the registration table of the drone.

9. The local network of claim 1, wherein the designation means are means able to recognize a user terminal whose applicative software program is a specific applicative software program, different from the applicative software programs of the other user terminals, and to designate this user terminal as a primary user terminal.

10. The local network of claim 1, wherein the designation means are means able to recognize a user terminal associated with a predetermined user-specific identifier, or with a predetermined terminal-specific identifier, and to designate as the primary user terminal the so-recognized user terminal.