AUTONOMOUS MISSION ACTION ALTERATION

• US 20180350244A1
• Filed: 08/07/2018
• Published: 12/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Firmatek Software LLC
• Original Assignee: Kespry, Inc.
• Inventors: Clark, Robert Parker
• Granted Patent: US 10,540,901 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 31/06 actuated automatically
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/10 Rotorcrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/32 for cartography or topography
• 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 30/20 Rotors; Rotor supports
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/13 using external fans or propellers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 7/04 involving a vehicle which moves along the profile to be traced
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/17 taken from planes or by drones
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/176 Urban or other man-made structures
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• 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 5/0069 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: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 : Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle includes a camera, one or more sensors, memory storing first instructions that define an overall mission, and memory storing one or more mission cues. The vehicle further includes one or more processors configured to execute a first part of the first instructions to perform a first part of the overall mission. The processors are configured to process at least one of the image data and the sensor data to detect a presence of at least one of the mission cues. The processors are configured to, in response to detecting a mission cue, interrupting execution of the first instructions and executing second instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first sub-mission of the overall mission. The processors are configured to after executing the second instructions, performing a second part of the overall mission by executing a second part of the first instructions.

Claims

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:

a camera configured to generate image data;

one or more sensors configured to generate sensor data;

memory storing first travel and data acquisition instructions that define an overall mission for the unmanned aerial vehicle;

memory storing one or more mission cues comprising one or more pre-defined image data characteristics and/or sensor data characteristics; and

one or more processors configured to;

execute a first part of the first travel and data acquisition instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first part of the overall mission;

process at least one of the image data and the sensor data to detect a presence of at least one of the mission cues;

in response to detecting a mission cue, interrupting execution of the first travel and data acquisition instructions and executing second travel and data acquisition instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first sub-mission of the overall mission; and

after executing the second travel and data acquisition instructions, performing a second part of the overall mission by executing a second part of the first travel and data acquisition instructions.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the image data and the sensor data processed to detect the presence of the at least one of the mission cues is generated during the first part of the first travel and data acquisition instructions.

3. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the mission cue comprises a change in estimated topology along at least a portion of a flight path of the overall mission.

4. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 3, wherein interrupting execution of the first travel and data acquisition instructions and executing the second travel and data acquisition instructions comprises changing a rate at which photographic images are generated and/or processed.

5. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 4, wherein the change in estimated topology indicates the unmanned aerial vehicle approaching a structure, and changing the rate comprises increasing the rate at which photographic images are generated and/or processed.

6. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 4, wherein the change in estimated topology indicates the unmanned aerial vehicle receding from a structure, and changing the rate comprises decreasing the rate at which photographic images are generated and/or processed.

7. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 3, wherein interrupting execution of the first travel and data acquisition instructions and executing the second travel and data acquisition instructions comprises changing a velocity of the unmanned aerial vehicle based at least in part on the changed topology.

8. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 7, wherein changing the velocity comprises reducing speed.

9. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the sensor data comprise distance data between the unmanned aerial vehicle and one or more structures.

10. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to generate the second travel and data acquisition instructions in response to detecting the mission cue.

11. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first travel and data acquisition instructions include instructions to hover in a pre-defined location and take at least one photographic image with the camera while the unmanned aerial vehicle is hovering in the pre-defined location.

12. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 11, wherein the second travel and data acquisition instructions include instructions to move from the pre-defined location in a direction the same as or derived from a direction the camera is pointing when the at least one photographic image is taken while the unmanned aerial vehicle is hovering at the pre-defined location.

13. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 11, wherein the one or more sensors comprise a distance detector, and the second travel and data acquisition instructions include instructions to move from the pre-defined location by an amount that is based at least in part on an output of the distance detector.

14. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 11, wherein the one or more sensors comprise a location detector, and the second travel and data acquisition instructions include instructions to move from the pre-defined location to a second different location, wherein the second different location is based at least in part on an output of the location detector.

15. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 11, wherein the first sub-mission of the overall mission, defined by the second travel and data acquisition instructions, begins and ends at the pre-defined location.

16. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first sub-mission of the overall mission, defined by the second travel and data acquisition instructions, consists essentially of flying the unmanned aerial vehicle along two linear path segments.

17. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the second travel and data acquisition instructions cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to travel toward the detected mission cue.

18. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein at least one of the mission cues comprises at least one of a roof of a structure having storm damage, a bridge truss joint, a bridge truss joint bolt, a bridge truss joint bolt having rust thereon.

19. An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:

a plurality of sensors configured to generate sensor data;

memory storing first flight plan and sensor operation instructions that define an overall mission for the unmanned aerial vehicle;

memory storing one or more pre-defined sensor data characteristics corresponding to one or more mission cues; and

one or more processors configured to;

execute a first part of the first flight plan and sensor operation instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first part of the overall mission;

detect a presence of at least one of the pre-defined sensor data characteristics in the sensor data, generated during execution of the first part of the overall mission;

in response to the detecting, interrupting execution of the first flight plan and sensor operation instructions and executing second flight plan and sensor operation instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first sub-mission of the overall mission; and

after executing the second flight plan and sensor operation instructions, performing a second part of the overall mission by executing a second part of the first flight plan and sensor operation instructions.

20. In an unmanned aerial vehicle, a method of gathering data comprising:

executing a first part of first travel and data acquisition instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first part of an overall mission;

generating at least one photographic image utilizing a camera and sensor data utilizing at least one sensor during the first part of the overall mission;

processing at least one of the photographic image and the sensor data to detect a presence of at least one mission cue characterized by one or more pre-defined image data characteristics and/or sensor data characteristics;

in response to detecting a mission cue, interrupting execution of the first travel and data acquisition instructions and executing second travel and data acquisition instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first sub-mission of the overall mission; and

after executing the second travel and data acquisition instructions, performing a second part of the overall mission by executing a second part of the first travel and data acquisition instructions.