Process and system to register and regulate unmanned aerial vehicle operations
First Claim
1. A method of establishing and using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight plan, comprising:
- receiving, by a registration authority (RA) server, a flight plan request comprising a proposed flight plan for a UAV, the UAV having an onboard flight lock that is initially turned on to prevent the UAV from flying;
building, by the RA server, a flight plan trajectory from the flight plan request;
determining, by the RA server, whether the flight plan trajectory conflicts with exclusion zones that restrict operation of the UAV;
sending from the RA server an approved flight plan that is destined for the UAV, the approved flight plan conveying to the UAV an authority to fly in a defined inclusion zone in a defined time window;
receiving, by the UAV, the approved flight plan;
determining, by the UAV, whether the received approved flight plan meets criteria to turn off the flight lock; and
if the criteria are met, by the UAV, turning off the flight lock to enable the UAV to fly.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A registration authority (RA) server registers unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their owners/operators (O/O). A UAV is maintained in a flight lock state until a flight plan request from the O/O is approved by the RA, which sends an key-signed approval to unlock the UAV'"'"'s flight lock. The RA server evaluates a UAV'"'"'s proposed flight plan based on the attributes of the O/O and UAV, the location and time of the requested flight plan, and a set of flight rules and exclusion zones that are developed in view of privacy assurance, security assurance, flight safety assurance, and ground safety assurance. The flight plan key-signed approval supplied to the UAV by the RA server specifies an inclusion zone that corresponds to a flight plan trajectory to be followed. Once in flight, the UAV maintains real-time knowledge of its position and time to ensure its flight remains within the approved inclusion zone.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of establishing and using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight plan, comprising:
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receiving, by a registration authority (RA) server, a flight plan request comprising a proposed flight plan for a UAV, the UAV having an onboard flight lock that is initially turned on to prevent the UAV from flying; building, by the RA server, a flight plan trajectory from the flight plan request; determining, by the RA server, whether the flight plan trajectory conflicts with exclusion zones that restrict operation of the UAV; sending from the RA server an approved flight plan that is destined for the UAV, the approved flight plan conveying to the UAV an authority to fly in a defined inclusion zone in a defined time window; receiving, by the UAV, the approved flight plan; determining, by the UAV, whether the received approved flight plan meets criteria to turn off the flight lock; and if the criteria are met, by the UAV, turning off the flight lock to enable the UAV to fly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for establishing and using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight plan, comprising:
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a UAV having an onboard flight lock that is turned on to prevent the UAV from flying or turned off to enable the UAV to fly, wherein the flight lock is initially turned on; and a registration authority server, including; an interface to receive a flight plan request comprising a proposed flight plan for the UAV; a trajectory building engine to build a flight plan trajectory from the flight plan request; one or more processors to determine whether the flight plan trajectory conflicts with exclusion zones that restrict operation of the UAV; and an interface to send an approved flight plan that is destined for the UAV, the approved flight plan conveying to the UAV an authority to fly in a defined inclusion zone in a defined time window; wherein the UAV is configured to; receive the approved flight plan; determine whether the received approved flight plan meets criteria to turn off the flight lock; and if the criteria are met, turn off the flight lock to enable the UAV to fly. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
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an engine and flight control surfaces; a position, navigation, and time (PNT) module to provide PNT information; a communication interface to receive data; a processor coupled to the flight control surfaces, the PNT module, and the communication interface, and configured to; implement a flight lock that when turned on prevents the UAV from flying and when turned off enables the UAV to fly; initially turn on the flight lock to prevent the UAV from flying; receive, via the communication interface, an approved flight plan conveying authority to fly a UAV in a defined time window in a defined inclusion zone that avoids conflicts with flight path exclusion zones; determine whether the approved flight plan meets criteria to turn off the flight lock; and if the criteria are met, turn off the flight lock to enable the UAV to fly. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification