Control of UAV

• US 8,886,368 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2013
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flir Unmanned Aerial Systems AS (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Prox Dynamics AS (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Muren, Petter, Paulsen, Dag Henning
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIE, WAE LENNY
• Application Number:
  US13/749,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20140142784A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 244/175, 244/190, 244/76.R, 244/180, 701/16, 701/2, 701/3, 701/301, 455/556.1
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 19/00 Aircraft control not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00
• 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: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence

Abstract

The present invention discloses a control stick for controlling an UAV formed by a bar with buttons on the bar head and a GUI displaying airplane like icons providing feedback of current steering control status of a UAV.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an aircraft with a remote control having at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons, the method comprising:

displaying a speed indicator including an aircraft symbol and one or more directional speed symbols positioned relative to the aircraft symbol, the aircraft symbol being shaped to indicate a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis passing through an origin of the aircraft symbol and a forward direction of the aircraft, the one or more directional speed symbols being positioned on the longitudinal axis of the aircraft symbol, on the lateral axis of the aircraft symbol, or between the longitudinal axis of the aircraft symbol and the lateral axis of the aircraft symbol, the number of directional speed symbols and position relative to the aircraft symbol depending on a current steering control status; and

when pushing one of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons, adding or removing one of the directional speed symbols,

the directional speed being stepwise shifted by at least one of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons on the remote control.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more directional speed symbols are bars and the aircraft symbol is an airplane symbol seen from above where an airplane nose on the plane symbol indicates the forward direction of the aircraft.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein a push on a first button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a speed shift in the forward direction of the aircraft, a push on a second button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a speed shift in a backward direction of the aircraft, the bars being positioned on the longitudinal axis of the aircraft symbol at a distance to the origin of the aircraft symbol, and a directional speed of the aircraft being represented by the distance of the one or more bars from the origin of the aircraft symbol, with the directional speed of the aircraft increasing with the distance of the one or more bars from the origin of the aircraft symbol.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein a push on a first button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a speed shift in a left direction of the aircraft, a push on a second button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a speed shift in a right direction of the aircraft, the bars being positioned on the lateral axis of the aircraft symbol at a distance to the origin of the aircraft symbol, and a directional speed of the aircraft being represented by the distance of the one or more bars from the origin of the aircraft symbol, with the directional speed of the aircraft increasing with the distance of the one or more bars from the origin of the aircraft symbol.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein a push on a first button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a rotational speed shift in a clockwise direction of the aircraft, a push on a second button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a rotational speed shift in a counterclockwise direction of the aircraft, the bars being positioned between the lateral axis of the aircraft symbol and the longitudinal axis of the aircraft symbol.

6. A remote control for controlling an aircraft, comprising:

a control stick with at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons adjusted to stepwise shifting a directional speed;

a graphical user interface configured to indicate a steering control status of an aircraft by displaying a speed indicator including an aircraft symbol and one or more directional speed symbols positioned relative to the aircraft symbol, the aircraft symbol being shaped to indicate a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis each passing through an origin of the aircraft symbol and a forward direction of the aircraft,

the graphical user interface further configured to display the one or more directional speed symbols positioned on the longitudinal axis, on the lateral axis, or between the longitudinal axis and the lateral axis, a number of the one or more directional speed symbols being displayed and the position of the one or more directional speed symbols relative to the aircraft symbol being dependent on a current steering control status, and the graphical user interface further configured to add or remove one of the one or more directional speed symbols when one of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons is activated.

7. The remote control according to claim 6, wherein the one or more directional speed symbols is a bar and the aircraft symbol is an airplane symbol seen from above where an airplane nose on the plane symbol indicates the forward direction of the aircraft.

8. The remote control according to claim 7, wherein a push on a first button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a speed shift in the forward direction of the aircraft, a push on a second button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a speed shift in a backward direction of the aircraft, the bars being positioned on the longitudinal axis of the aircraft symbol at a distance to the origin of the aircraft symbol, and a directional speed of the aircraft being represented by the distance of the one or more bars from the origin of the aircraft symbol, with the directional speed of the aircraft increasing with the distance of the one or more bars from the origin of the aircraft symbol.

9. The remote control according to claim 7, wherein a push on a first button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a speed shift in a left direction of the aircraft, a push on a second button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a speed shift in a right direction of the aircraft, the bars being positioned on the lateral axis of the aircraft symbol at a distance to the origin of the aircraft symbol, and the directional speed of the aircraft being represented by the distance of the one or more bars from the origin of the aircraft symbol, with the directional speed of the aircraft increasing with the distance of the one or more bars from the origin of the aircraft symbol.

10. The remote control according to claim 6, wherein a push on a first button of the at least one pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a rotational speed shift in a clockwise direction of the aircraft, a push on a second button of the pair of opposite effecting buttons generates a rotational speed shift in a counterclockwise direction of the aircraft, the bars being positioned between the lateral axis of the aircraft symbol and the longitudinal axes axis of the aircraft symbol.