System and method for controlling and communicating with a vehicle

• US 7,418,317 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2006
• Issued: 08/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AAI Corporation (Textron Inc)
• Original Assignee: AAI Corporation (Textron Inc)
• Inventors: Cosgrove, Allen F. Jr., Floyd, David D., Clark, W. Andrew, Chelden, Wayne H., Woodbury, Michael E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli; Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US11/326,452
• Publication Number:
  US 20060271248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/1
• 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: H04L 2012/4028 the transportation system being an aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a software core controller for facilitating communication between a UAV control system, a UAV, and other peripheral devices used to control or to determine the status of the UAV. Different UAVs, control systems, and peripheral devices may require that data be transmitted and received according to their own particular specifications, such as a particular data rate and a particular format. The software core controller may be configurable to interface with these devices using the devices'"'"' interfaces. The interfaces may be specified by the devices'"'"' interface control documents (ICDs). The ICDs may be used to configure the software core controller upon initialization. The software core controller may asynchronously receive and provide data at the data rate specified in the various ICDs. The software core controller may support a plurality of different physical interfaces in order to communicate with different control systems, UAVs, and peripheral devices.

Claims

1. A software system architecture for communications between a vehicle and at least one external device, the software system architecture comprising:

a real-time control database;

a controller adapted to communicate data with the vehicle and the external device via a physical medium in a format defined by a vehicle interface and an external device interface, respectively, the controller adapted to store the data in the real-time control database; and

a control database to store the vehicle interface and the external device interface, the controller being configured based on the interfaces stored in the control database whereby the controller is abstracted from the physical medium.

2. The system architecture of claim 1, wherein the data includes control and status commands, the controller adapted to store the control and status commands received from the vehicle and the external device in the control database and to retrieve the control and status commands to be sent to the vehicle and the external device from the control database.

3. The system architecture of claim 1, wherein the controller further comprises a respective incoming message queue for each external device, the respective incoming message queues adapted to receive and store data from the corresponding external device.

4. The system architecture of claim 3, wherein the controller is adapted to check the incoming message queues for new data at predetermined time intervals and to retrieve the new data.

5. The system architecture of claim 4, further comprising a respective message controller for each external device and vehicle, controller adapted to provide the data from the incoming message queues to the respective message controller, each respective message controller is adapted to communicate with the real-time control database to store and retrieve the data.

6. The system architecture of claim 1, further comprising a message manager adapted to provide outgoing messages compliant with the respective interface definitions to the external device and vehicle.

7. The system architecture of claim 6, further comprising a storage for the outgoing messages.

8. The system architecture of claim 7, wherein the storage further comprises an outgoing message queue for each external device, the message manager adapted to place data on the outgoing message queues for the respective vehicle or external device.

9. The system architecture of claim 8, wherein the message manager is adapted to receive the data for the outgoing message from the real-time control database via a corresponding message controller.

10. The system architecture of claim 9, wherein the controller is adapted to provide a message ID for new data and a frame number to the message manager and the message manager sends the outgoing message based on at least one of the message ID or the frame number.

11. The system architecture of claim 1, wherein the controller and the real-time control database are configurable based on interface definitions for the vehicle and the external devices.

12. A method for communicating with a vehicle system, comprising:

receiving a interface definition;

creating software code constructs based on the interface definition;

compiling the software code constructs as part of the vehicle control system; and

running the compiled software code constructs to communicate with the vehicle system.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

populating a off-line database with the interface definition;

creating a text file from the off-line database; and

creating the source code constructs based on the text files.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the interface definition includes at least one of a data type, a data format, a data range, a conversion function, and a communication protocol parameter.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising defining data items in a real-time control database based on the software code constructs.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the real-time control database comprises a plurality of data items, wherein a single data item is associated with a plurality of external devices.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising defining a message controller based on the software code constructs.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising converting the interface definition to a magnetic format.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising configuring a controller based on the interface definition.

20. A communication and control method, comprising:

receiving data from a plurality of devices, the devices having different interface definitions;

storing the data in a real-time control database;

checking the real-time control database at predefined time intervals for data;

retrieving the data from the real-time control database;

interpreting the data based on the interface definition for the device;

obtaining a message ID from the data;

determining a time based on the number of elapsed time intervals;

creating a message controller for each of the plurality of devices; and

sending a message to at least one of the plurality of devices based on the message ID or the time.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the real time control database comprises a respective incoming message queue for each external device.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising receiving and storing data from the corresponding external device on the respective incoming message queues.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising placing data on the outgoing message queues for the respective vehicle or external device.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the real time control database further comprises an outgoing message queue for each external device.