SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONDUCTING A DRONE RACE OR GAME

• US 20180036632A1
• Filed: 08/02/2017
• Published: 02/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Onpoynt Unmanned Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Onpoynt Unmanned Systems LLC
• Inventors: Poynter, Rebecca Noah, Poynter, Ronald J.
• Granted Patent: US 10,525,332 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2435 using a video camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2439 the input being a code, e.g. ID
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/14 Racing games, traffic games, or obstacle games characterised by figures moved by action of the players racing games using dice A63F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/24 Electric games; Games using electronic circuits not otherwise provided for video games A63F13/00; computerized gaming systems G07F17/32
• 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: A63K 1/00 Race-courses; Race-tracks
• CPC Class Codes: A63K 3/00 Equipment or accessories for racing or riding sports training equipment for animals A01K15/02
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/00 UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/05 for sports or gaming, e.g. drone racing
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• 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: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• 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: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/38 Transmitter circuitry for the transmission of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method of conducting a drone race or game in a contained area is disclosed herein. The system may also include cameras attached to the drones and the video feed from the camera is transmitted to a computing device used to control the drone and to display the video feed. The system may also use computing devices and monitors to display the video feeds from the cameras attached to the drones. The system may also be configured as a game with information points.

Claims

1. A system for conducting a drone race or game in a contained area, comprising:

a plurality of sensor readers attached to a plurality of obstacle structures;

a plurality of drones, wherein each drone comprises a camera and a radio transmitter connected to the camera;

a plurality of computing devices, wherein each computing device comprises a graphical user interface and corresponds to one of the plurality of drones to control the drone;

a web server connected to a communication network, and to the plurality of computing devices via the communication network; and

wherein each of the plurality of sensor readers sends a customized timestamp to the web server in response to an indication by at least one sensor reader of the plurality of sensor readers that at least one of the plurality of drones is detected by at least one sensor reader of the plurality of sensor readers in response to at least one of detecting by the at least one sensor reader a change in an amplitude of a transmitted signal of the radio transmitter and detecting by the at least one sensor reader a temporarily attached sensor attached to the at least one drone of the plurality of drones.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the camera of each of the plurality of drones transmits a video feed to a corresponding computing device via the web server.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the temporarily attached sensor of a set of the plurality of drones is a tracking tag and a set of the plurality of sensor readers are able to detect and read the tracking tag.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the temporarily attached sensor of a set of the plurality of drones is a QR code and a set of the plurality of sensor readers are able to detect and read the QR code.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of cameras overlooking the drone race, wherein the web server is configured to receive a plurality of video feeds from the plurality of cameras overlooking the drone race.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the web server determines a race position of each of the plurality of drones using the customized timestamp.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a leader board coprocessor configured to map a plurality of locations of the plurality of sensor readers of a race course in response to detection by the plurality of sensor readers of the change in the amplitude of the transmitted signal of the radio transmitter.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of FPV goggles, each corresponding and connected to one of the plurality of drones, wherein each FPV goggle of the plurality of FPV goggles receives and displays a video feed from the camera of the drone.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising the graphical user interface generating a dynamic graphical view of the drone race, wherein the graphical user interface calculates a position of each of the plurality of drones.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a leader board coprocessor configured to remove the drone from a leader board in response to a sensor reader of the plurality of sensor readers not detecting the drone within an elapsed period of time.

11. A method of conducting a drone race or game in a contained area, comprising:

attaching a sensor to each of a plurality of drones;

calibrating a plurality of sensor readers to detect the sensor;

calibrating each of the plurality of drones to correspond to a computing device;

transmitting a customized timestamp to a web server; and

determining a position of each of the plurality of drones.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor is a wireless tracking tag and the plurality of sensor readers are configured to detect and read the wireless tracking tag.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor is a QR code and the plurality of sensor readers are configured to detect and read the QR code.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein a set of the plurality of drones uses location services and transmits a location to the web server for determining a position of the set of the plurality of drones.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

routing a received transmission from a plurality of video cameras overlooking the drone race to at least one graphical display.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

generating a dynamic graphical map comprising the drone race depicted in a three-dimensional view and generating locations of the plurality of drones superimposed on the dynamic graphical map.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor is a radio transmitter associated with a camera attached to at least one drone of the plurality of drones and emitting a transmitted signal and the plurality of sensor readers are configured to detect a change of amplitude of the transmitted signal.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

generating a leader board display for display on a graphical user interface, wherein the leader board display comprises a plurality of received transmissions from a plurality of video cameras, and position information for each of the plurality of drones, and

wherein the leader board display further comprises a dynamic graphical map that updates map positions of graphical representations of the plurality of drones.

19. A leader board coprocessor of a race server of a drone race system comprising:

a drone classification engine configured to receive a self-reported classification data from a first drone via a first sensor transmitting the self-reported classification data to a sensor reader of the drone race system;

wherein the drone classification engine directs a leader board generator to display the first drone within a first drone class;

a race channel controller configured to transmit a leader board object to a network for distribution to at least one of a race site computing device and a remote computing device;

a drone instantiator configured to instantiate a second drone for insertion into the leader board object in response to detecting by the sensor reader the second drone; and

a timing engine configured to time a race of the first drone and the second drone, in response to ascertaining an at least one amplitude peak of a first transmitted signal of the first drone by the sensor reader and an at least one amplitude peak of a second transmitted signal of the second drone by the sensor reader.

20. The leader board coprocessor of a race server of a drone race system according to claim 19, further comprising wherein the race channel controller is further configured to transmit the leader board object to the network for distribution to at least one social media account wherein the leader board object is configured to update the at least one social media account with an event data, wherein the event data is shareable.