Bilateral transition of control communication for control of mobile craft
First Claim
1. A method for managing control communication between a controller and a mobile craft, to facilitate control of the mobile craft by the controller, wherein the controller includes a respective cellular radio and a respective short-range radio, and wherein the mobile craft also includes a respective cellular radio and a respective short-range radio, the method comprising:
- the controller and mobile craft engaging in direct short-range wireless communication with each other via a short-range wireless link between their respective short-range radios, wherein, through the direct short-range wireless communication, the controller controls the mobile craft;
the controller and mobile craft each independently detecting threshold degradation of the short-range wireless link and each responding to the detecting of threshold degradation by (i) using its respective cellular radio to acquire a respective cellular wireless connection and (ii) engaging in respective communication, via its acquired respective cellular wireless connection, with a control server; and
the control server bridging the respective communication of the controller with the respective communication of the mobile craft, to enable the controller to continue controlling the mobile craft, wherein controlling the mobile craft comprises controlling movement of the mobile craft.
6 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a method and system to help facilitate continued control of a mobile craft in a situation where the wireless link between the controller and mobile craft degrades. In accordance with the disclosure, the controller and mobile craft will each independently detect threshold degradation of their direct wireless link and will each respond to its detecting of the threshold degradation by acquiring a cellular wireless connection with a cellular radio access network and communicating via its acquired cellular wireless connection with a network-based control server. The control server will then automatically bridge together its communication with the controller and its communication with the mobile craft so as to enable the controller to continue controlling the mobile craft.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for managing control communication between a controller and a mobile craft, to facilitate control of the mobile craft by the controller, wherein the controller includes a respective cellular radio and a respective short-range radio, and wherein the mobile craft also includes a respective cellular radio and a respective short-range radio, the method comprising:
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the controller and mobile craft engaging in direct short-range wireless communication with each other via a short-range wireless link between their respective short-range radios, wherein, through the direct short-range wireless communication, the controller controls the mobile craft; the controller and mobile craft each independently detecting threshold degradation of the short-range wireless link and each responding to the detecting of threshold degradation by (i) using its respective cellular radio to acquire a respective cellular wireless connection and (ii) engaging in respective communication, via its acquired respective cellular wireless connection, with a control server; and the control server bridging the respective communication of the controller with the respective communication of the mobile craft, to enable the controller to continue controlling the mobile craft, wherein controlling the mobile craft comprises controlling movement of the mobile craft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for managing control communication between a controller and a mobile craft, to facilitate control of the mobile craft by the controller, wherein the controller includes a respective cellular radio and a respective short-range radio, and wherein the mobile craft also includes a respective cellular radio and a respective short-range radio, the method comprising:
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the controller and mobile craft engaging in direct short-range wireless communication with each other via a short-range wireless link between their respective short-range radios, wherein, through the direct short-range wireless communication, the controller controls the mobile craft; the controller and mobile craft each independently detecting threshold degradation of the short-range wireless link and each responding to the detecting of threshold degradation by (i) powering on its respective cellular wireless radio, (ii) using its respective powered-on cellular radio to acquire a respective cellular wireless connection and (iii) engaging in respective communication, via its acquired respective cellular wireless connection, with a control server on a packet-switched network; and the control server determining that the controller is authorized to control the mobile craft, and, in response to the determining, the control server forwarding to the mobile craft one or more control-directives that the control server receives from the controller, the one or more control-directives controlling operation of the mobile craft, wherein operation of the mobile craft comprises movement of the mobile craft. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for managing control communication between a controller and a mobile craft, to facilitate control of the mobile craft by the controller, wherein the controller includes a respective cellular radio and a respective short-range radio, and wherein the mobile craft also includes a respective cellular radio and a respective short-range radio, the method comprising:
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providing the controller and mobile craft, wherein the controller and mobile craft are each configured to engage in direct short-range wireless communication with each other via a short-range wireless link between their respective short-range radios, wherein, through the direct short-range wireless communication, the controller controls the mobile craft; and operating a control server for automatically bridging control communications between the controller and the mobile craft, wherein the controller and mobile craft are each configured to independently detect threshold degradation of the short-range wireless link and to each respond to the detecting of threshold degradation by (i) using its respective cellular radio to acquire a respective cellular wireless connection and (ii) engaging in respective communication, via its acquired respective cellular wireless connection, with the control server, and wherein the control server is configured to automatically determine that the controller is authorized to control the mobile craft, and, in response to the determining, to forward to the mobile craft one or more control-directives that the control server receives from the controller, the one or more control-directives controlling operation of the mobile craft, wherein operation of the mobile craft comprises movement of the mobile craft.
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Specification