Unmanned aerial vehicle management system

• US 9,747,808 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2016
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zipline International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Zipline International Inc.
• Inventors: Chambers, Andrew, Wade, Bryan, Drula, Catalin, Halley, David, Napolskikh, Igor, Wyrobek, Keenan, Rinaudo, Keller, Brake, Nicholas, Oksenhorn, Ryan, Patterson, Ryan, Hetzler, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH-STEWART, DEMETRA R
• Application Number:
  US15/150,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20160253908A1
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/00 UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/20 for use as communications relays, e.g. high-altitude platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/31 for surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/64 for parcel delivery or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/1064 specially adapted for avoiding collisions with other aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 Routing methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/003 Flight plan management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/006 in accordance with predefined flight zones, e.g. to avoid prohibited zones
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft

Abstract

An Unmanned Aerial System configured to receive a request from a user and fulfill that request using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The Unmanned Aerial System selects a distribution center that is within range of the user, and deploys a suitable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to fulfill the request from that distribution center. The Unmanned Aerial System is configured to provide real-time information about the flight route to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle during its flight, and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is configured to dynamically update its mission based on information received from the Unmanned Aerial System.

Claims

1. A system for fulfilling a request from a user, comprising:

a first computer server comprising a database storing a skymap, the skymap comprising a plurality of flight corridors from a first distribution center to a destination site;

a second computer server comprising an inventory management system associated with a second distribution center different than the first distribution center, the inventory management system configured to;

track an inventory of unmanned aerial vehicles at the second distribution center; and

send a request for additional unmanned aerial vehicles for the second distribution center when a number of unmanned aerial vehicles in the inventory falls below a threshold level; and

an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a mission planner configured to;

receive the skymap and the destination site;

determine a route from a location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the destination site and back to the first distribution center using a subset of the plurality of flight corridors;

navigate the unmanned aerial vehicle along the route;

while navigating the unmanned aerial vehicle along the route, receive the request for the additional unmanned aerial vehicles for the second distribution center; and

navigate to the second distribution center.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mission planner of the unmanned aerial vehicle is further configured to:

receive weather data from an information source; and

modify the route based on wind information in the weather data and a direction the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computer server is configured to:

receive terrain data for a geographic area;

generate a displayable representation of the geographic area;

send the displayable representation of the geographic area to a remote client device operated by a user; and

receive at least one route refinement selection from the remote client device operated by the user.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the mission planner of the unmanned aerial vehicle is further configured to:

receive route information based on the at least one route refinement selection; and

determine the route from the location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the destination site based on the route information.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein:

the route refinement selection corresponds to a selection, by the user, of a point on the displayable representation of the geographic area; and

the mission planner of the unmanned aerial vehicle is further configured to refine a position of the destination site based on the route information.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein:

the route refinement selection comprises a trajectory; and

determining the route from the location to the destination site comprises incorporating the trajectory into a flight path.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first computer server is configured to validate the route refinement selection to ensure that an error will not be introduced into the route.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein validating the route refinement selection comprises checking the route refinement selection against the received terrain data.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein checking the route refinement selection against the received terrain data further comprises checking that a geometry of the route refinement selection does not intersect geometries of objects or terrain in the terrain data.

10. In an unmanned aerial vehicle, a method for determining a route, comprising:

receiving a skymap and a destination site, the skymap comprising a plurality of flight corridors;

determining a route from a location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the destination site using a subset of the plurality of flight corridors;

manipulating flight control surfaces of the unmanned aerial vehicle during flight to navigate the unmanned aerial vehicle along the route;

while navigating the unmanned aerial vehicle along the route, receiving a request from a computer server to reroute to a distribution center determined to have a number of unmanned aerial vehicles below a threshold inventory level; and

navigating to the distribution center.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving weather data from an information source; and

modifying the route based on wind information in the weather data and a direction the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving at least one route refinement selection that originated from a remote client device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the operation of determining the route comprises determining the route based on the route refinement selection.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the route refinement selection corresponds to a selection, by a user, of a point on a displayable representation of a geographic area; and

the operation of determining the route comprises refining a position of the destination site based on the route refinement selection.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the route refinement selection comprises a trajectory; and

the operation of determining the route comprises incorporating the trajectory into a flight path.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising validating the route refinement selection to ensure that an error will not be introduced into the route.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the operation of validating the route refinement selection comprises checking the route refinement selection against terrain data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the operation of checking the route refinement selection against the received terrain data comprises checking that a geometry of the route refinement selection does not intersect geometries of objects or terrain in the terrain data.

19. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the computer server is a first computer server; and

the skymap and the destination site is sent from a second computer server different from the first computer server.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein, when determining the route, the unmanned aerial vehicle excludes from the route any flight corridors determined to intersect a no-fly zone.