Waypoint navigation
First Claim
1. A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle from a control station by means of a wireless command link, involving:
- flight control in an autonomous mode wherein the vehicle flies according to a primary route defined by a first set of predefined waypoints,flight control in a manual mode wherein the vehicle flies according to a primary route defined by control commands received via the wireless command link, andfunctional monitoring of a set of flight control parameters in both the autonomous mode and the manual mode, wherein if, in any of the modes, at least one of the flight control parameters falls outside an acceptable range a major alarm condition is activated, the method involves flying the vehicle according to an emergency route defined by a second set of predefined waypoints, wherein the set of flight control parameters including at least one engine parameter, the method comprising;
activating a major alarm condition with respect to an engine failure in case at least one of the at least one engine parameter decreases below a threshold value, and in such case,the emergency route involves flying the vehicle to an air space above a termination waypoint on the ground at which it is estimated that the vehicle'"'"'s flight may be ended without injuring any personnel or causing uncontrolled material damages.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to remote control of an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, (100) from a control station (110) by means of a wireless command link (115). The UAV (100) may be controlled in an autonomous mode wherein it flies according to a primary route (R1, R1′) defined by a first set of predefined waypoints (WP1–WP8, IP). The UAV (100) may also be controlled in a manual mode wherein it flies according to an alternative primary route (R1′) defined in real-time by control commands received via the wireless command link (115). Flight control parameters are monitored in both modes, and in case a major alarm condition occurs, the UAV (100) is controlled to follow an emergency route (R2′) defined by a second set of predefined waypoints (HP1–HP7, TP1–TP9, IP). Particularly, a major alarm condition is activated if an engine failure is detected. Then, the emergency route (R2′) involves flying the UAV (100) to an air space above a termination waypoint (TP9) on the ground at which it is estimated that the vehicle'"'"'s (100) flight may be ended without injuring any personnel or causing uncontrolled material damages.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle from a control station by means of a wireless command link, involving:
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flight control in an autonomous mode wherein the vehicle flies according to a primary route defined by a first set of predefined waypoints, flight control in a manual mode wherein the vehicle flies according to a primary route defined by control commands received via the wireless command link, and functional monitoring of a set of flight control parameters in both the autonomous mode and the manual mode, wherein if, in any of the modes, at least one of the flight control parameters falls outside an acceptable range a major alarm condition is activated, the method involves flying the vehicle according to an emergency route defined by a second set of predefined waypoints, wherein the set of flight control parameters including at least one engine parameter, the method comprising; activating a major alarm condition with respect to an engine failure in case at least one of the at least one engine parameter decreases below a threshold value, and in such case, the emergency route involves flying the vehicle to an air space above a termination waypoint on the ground at which it is estimated that the vehicle'"'"'s flight may be ended without injuring any personnel or causing uncontrolled material damages. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An unmanned aerial vehicle controllable from a control station by means of a wireless command link comprising
an on-board flight control system including: -
an autonomous control sub-system adapted to control the vehicle to fly according to a primary route defined by a first set of predefined waypoints, and a manual control sub-system adapted to receive commands from the control station via the wireless command link, and control the vehicle to fly according to a primary route defined by the commands from the control station, and a functional monitoring system adapted to monitor a set of flight control parameters, and in case at least one of the flight control parameters falls outside an acceptable range, set a major alarm condition and initiate a flight of the vehicle according to an emergency route defined by a second set of predefined waypoints, wherein the set of flight control parameters includes at least one engine parameter, and the functional monitoring system is adapted to, in case at least one of the at least one engine parameter decreases below a threshold value, set an alarm condition with respect to an engine failure, and fly the vehicle according to the emergency route to an air space above a termination waypoint on the ground at which it is estimated that the vehicle'"'"'s flight may be ended without injuring any personnel or causing uncontrolled material damages. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification