System and method for adaptive y-axis power usage and non-linear battery usage for unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with action camera system
First Claim
1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
- an airframe;
one or more rotors fixed to the airframe;
one or more motors coupled to the one or more rotors, the one or more motors configured to articulate the one or more rotors at one or more rotor speeds;
an attitude control system coupled to the one or more motors, the attitude control system configured to determine the one or more rotor speeds;
at least one tracking component, the at least one tracking component including at least one of(1) a camera configured to capture at least one image associated with a subject, the UAV configured to follow the at least one subject at a predetermined orientation based on the at least one image;
(2) an image processor configured to generate at least one image stream based on the at least one image; and
(3) a first transceiver configured to establish a wireless link with a communications device carried by the at least one subject;
at least one power source having a charge level;
a power monitor coupled to the at least one power source, the power monitor configured to determine the at least one charge level;
a power management system coupled to the power monitor and configured to(1) receive the at least one charge level from the power monitor;
(2) determine whether the at least one charge level is below a first threshold;
(3) if the at least one charge level is below the first threshold, adjust the distribution of power from the at least one power source to one or more of the attitude control system and the one or more tracking components based on the at least one charge level.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for power management aboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configured to follow a subject based on images captured by an onboard camera includes a power monitor that determines if available power from the UAV'"'"'s onboard batteries has dropped below predetermined thresholds. If a low power level is detected, the power management system may divert power from non-essential systems to the attitude control system to keeping the UAV aloft. If a critical power level is detected, the power management system may shut down other UAV subsystems so that the attitude control system can safely land the UAV. The power management system may send an alert to a smartphone or other device carried by the subject. Position sensors of the subject'"'"'s device may be used to interpolate the position of the UAV based on the subject'"'"'s own position for recovery of the UAV.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
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an airframe; one or more rotors fixed to the airframe; one or more motors coupled to the one or more rotors, the one or more motors configured to articulate the one or more rotors at one or more rotor speeds; an attitude control system coupled to the one or more motors, the attitude control system configured to determine the one or more rotor speeds; at least one tracking component, the at least one tracking component including at least one of (1) a camera configured to capture at least one image associated with a subject, the UAV configured to follow the at least one subject at a predetermined orientation based on the at least one image; (2) an image processor configured to generate at least one image stream based on the at least one image; and (3) a first transceiver configured to establish a wireless link with a communications device carried by the at least one subject; at least one power source having a charge level; a power monitor coupled to the at least one power source, the power monitor configured to determine the at least one charge level; a power management system coupled to the power monitor and configured to (1) receive the at least one charge level from the power monitor; (2) determine whether the at least one charge level is below a first threshold; (3) if the at least one charge level is below the first threshold, adjust the distribution of power from the at least one power source to one or more of the attitude control system and the one or more tracking components based on the at least one charge level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system for tracking at least one subject, the system comprising:
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at least one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the at least one UAV including an airframe; one or more rotors fixed to the airframe; one or more motors coupled to the one or more rotors, the one or more motors configured to articulate the one or more rotors at one or more rotor speeds; an attitude control system coupled to the one or more motors, the attitude control system configured to determine the one or more rotor speeds; at least one tracking component, the at least one tracking component including at least one of (1) a camera configured to capture at least one image associated with the at least one subject, the UAV configured to follow the at least one subject at a predetermined orientation based on the at least one image; (2) an image processor configured to generate at least one image stream based on the at least one image; and (3) a first transceiver configured to establish a wireless link with a communications device carried by the at least one subject; at least one power source having a charge level; a power monitor coupled to the at least one power source, the power monitor configured to determine the at least one charge level; at least one power management system coupled to the power monitor and configured to
1) receive the at least one charge level from the power monitor and
2) based on the at least one charge level, distribute power from the at least one power source to one or more of the attitude control system and the at least one tracking component;the at least one communications device including at least one position sensor configured to determine a first position of the at least one subject; a clock configured to associate a time with the at least one first position; at least one processor configured to generate one or more timestamps, each timestamp of the one or more timestamps including at least a first position and a time associated with the first position; a memory configured to store the at least one timestamp; a second transceiver configured to transmit the at least one timestamp to the at least one UAV via the wireless link; the at least one processor further configured to
1) determine the at least one orientation;
2) transmit the at least one orientation to the at least one UAV via the wireless link; andat least one display unit. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for power management aboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configured to follow at least one subject, the method comprising:
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determining whether a charge level of at least one power source of the UAV is below a first threshold; and if the at least one charge level is below the first threshold, adjusting the distribution of power from the at least one power source to at least one of an attitude control system of the UAV and a subsystem of the UAV; generating at least one first alert associated with the first threshold; and transmitting the at least one first alert to a communications device of the at least one subject via a first transceiver of the UAV. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification