Software-defined multi-mode ultra-wideband radar for autonomous vertical take-off and landing of small unmanned aerial systems
First Claim
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1. A system comprising:
- an aircraft having a plurality of wing unit propellers for vertical takeoff and landing;
a control system included in the aircraft for controlling flight of the aircraft autonomously and receiving additional control inputs from an operator at a remote location;
an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar imaging system, wherein the UWB radar imaging system is carried by the aircraft; and
wherein;
the control system is configured to perform an autonomous landing pattern by autonomously flying the aircraft, guided by a pre-defined pattern, over a selected area while the UWB radar imaging system gathers information from the selected area;
the control system is configured to decide, based on whether multiple reflections are observed by the UWB radar imaging system, as indicated by adjacent sample values of reflected power not being closer together than a pre-determined amount, or a single reflection, as indicated by adjacent sample values of reflected power being closer together than the pre-determined amount, dominates the observation of the UWB radar imaging system, whether a platform is suitable for landing; and
a telemetry system carried by the aircraft for providing information from the UWB radar imaging system to the remote location for surveillance of the selected area.
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Abstract
A small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) is used for aerial and on the ground surveillance while an operator of the sUAS, or other personnel, remain at a safe distance. The sUAS system can perform an autonomous landing and can be operated at an extended, e.g., greater than 100 meters, standoff from the detection apparatus and potential harm. The sUAS may be implemented as an easy-to-operate, small vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with a set of optical, thermal, and chemical detection modules for performing aerial surveillance and ground surveillance after landing.
53 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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an aircraft having a plurality of wing unit propellers for vertical takeoff and landing; a control system included in the aircraft for controlling flight of the aircraft autonomously and receiving additional control inputs from an operator at a remote location; an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar imaging system, wherein the UWB radar imaging system is carried by the aircraft; and
wherein;the control system is configured to perform an autonomous landing pattern by autonomously flying the aircraft, guided by a pre-defined pattern, over a selected area while the UWB radar imaging system gathers information from the selected area; the control system is configured to decide, based on whether multiple reflections are observed by the UWB radar imaging system, as indicated by adjacent sample values of reflected power not being closer together than a pre-determined amount, or a single reflection, as indicated by adjacent sample values of reflected power being closer together than the pre-determined amount, dominates the observation of the UWB radar imaging system, whether a platform is suitable for landing; and a telemetry system carried by the aircraft for providing information from the UWB radar imaging system to the remote location for surveillance of the selected area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method comprising:
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controlling, autonomously and additionally by receiving control inputs from an operator at a remote location, an aircraft having a plurality of wing unit propellers for vertical takeoff and landing; operating an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar imaging system for gathering information from a selected area, wherein the UWB radar imaging system is carried by the aircraft; and performing an autonomous landing pattern, by the aircraft, by autonomously flying the aircraft, guided by a pre-defined pattern, over the selected area and gathering information from the selected area with the UWB radar imaging system; comparing at least one pair of adjacent sample values of reflected power to determine if the values are closer together than a pre-determined amount; deciding, based on whether multiple reflections are observed by the UWB radar imaging system, as indicated by the compared adjacent sample values of reflected power not being closer together than the pre-determined amount, or a single reflection, as indicated by the compared adjacent sample values of reflected power being closer together than the pre-determined amount, dominates the observation of the UWB radar imaging system, whether a platform is suitable for landing; and providing information from the UWB radar imaging system to the remote location, using a telemetry system carried by the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification