Secure remote operation and actuation of unmanned aerial vehicles

• US 9,760,072 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2017
• Issued: 09/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hall Labs, LLC
• Original Assignee: Craig Boswell, David R. Hall, Mark Hall
• Inventors: Hall, David R., Hall, Mark, Boswell, Craig
• Primary Examiner(s): Neyzari, Ali
• Application Number:
  US15/412,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20170144757A1
• Time in Patent Office: 232 Days
• Field of Search: 340 522
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/10 Rotorcrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/14 with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 20/87 Mounting of imaging devices, e.g. mounting of gimbals
• 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 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/20 Rotors; Rotor supports
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/31 generated by photovoltaics
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/32 generated by fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/34 In-flight charging photovoltaics B64U50/31
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 60/50 with landing legs
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0027 involving a plurality of vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling fleet control of land vehicles from a control room G05D1/0297; traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00; for marine craft G08G3/00; for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/008 Alarm setting and unsetting, i.e. arming or disarming of the security system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/42 Transmitting or receiving remote control signals via a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 : Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2816 : Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station; in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/28 : Restricting access to network management systems or functions, e.g. using authorisation function to access network configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 : involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 : for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/007 : with remote control systems remote control in general G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 : Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 : Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 : Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A secure remote operation and actuation system is described herein. The system may comprise one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, a remote input receptor, and a network. In some embodiments, the unmanned aerial vehicles form a collective remote unmanned aerial vehicle. The remote input receptor may comprise a user interface for receiving user inputs from a user. The network may comprise a combination of computer systems interconnected by telecommunications equipment or cables allowing information to be exchanged. The network may also comprise a network device for obtaining the user inputs from the remote input receptor. One or more acceptable inputs may be stored on the network. In the present invention, the network device obtains the user inputs from the remote input receptor while the user is using the user interface and then the network compares the user inputs to the acceptable inputs.

Claims

1. A secure remote operation and actuation system, comprising:

one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

a remote input receptor comprising a user interface that receives one or more user inputs from a user; and

a cloud-based network storing one or more acceptable inputs and comprising a network device that obtains the one or more user inputs from the remote input receptor,

wherein the network device obtains the one or more user inputs from the remote input receptor while the user is using the user interface,

wherein the cloud-based network compares the one or more user inputs to the one or more acceptable inputs and wherein, as the one or more user inputs are found acceptable, the cloud-based network performs an operation corresponding to the one or more unmanned aerial vehicles.

2. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 1, wherein the one or more acceptable inputs comprise one or more authorization codes authorizing the operation corresponding to the one or more unmanned aerial vehicles.

3. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 2, wherein the one or more user inputs comprise a user code corresponding to one or more of the authorization codes.

4. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 1, wherein the one or more user inputs comprise one or more instructions for the operation.

5. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 4, wherein the instructions comprise delivery instructions for a payload.

6. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 5, wherein the delivery instructions comprise a payload pick-up location.

7. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 5, wherein the delivery instructions comprise a payload drop-off location.

8. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 7, wherein the payload drop-off location comprises an enclosure having an access barrier, and wherein the delivery instructions further comprise instructions for delivering the payload past the access barrier and into the enclosure.

9. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 8, wherein the access barrier comprises a wireless actuation mechanism, and wherein the delivery instructions comprise a radio frequency transmission profile corresponding to the wireless actuation mechanism, wherein the radio frequency transmission profile comprises one or more of ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or sub-1 GHz frequency communication.

10. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 8, wherein the access barrier comprises a wireless locking mechanism, and wherein the delivery instructions comprise a radio frequency transmission profile corresponding to the wireless locking mechanism, wherein the radio frequency transmission profile comprises one or more of ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or sub-1 GHz frequency communication.

11. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 5, wherein the delivery instructions comprise one or more of a payload weight, a payload shape, or one or more payload length dimensions.

12. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 1, comprising two or more unmanned aerial vehicles.

13. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 12, wherein the two or more unmanned aerial vehicles are joined to form a collective unmanned aerial vehicle.

14. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise instructions for an unmanned aerial vehicle relay.

15. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 14, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle relay instructions comprise instructions for in-flight exchanging of one or more current unmanned aerial vehicles with one or more new unmanned aerial vehicles.

16. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 14, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle relay instructions comprise:

coupling one or more support unmanned aerial vehicles to the one or more current unmanned aerial vehicles in-flight;

removing one or more depleted energy storage cartridges corresponding to the one or more current unmanned aerial vehicles in-flight; and

replacing one or more charged energy storage cartridges on the one or more unmanned aerial vehicles in-flight.

17. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 14, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle relay instructions comprise recharging one or more depleted energy storage cartridges corresponding to the one or more unmanned aerial vehicles in-flight.

18. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 1, wherein the operation comprises real-time directional steering of the one or more unmanned aerial vehicles from the remote input receptor via the cloud-based network.

19. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 1, wherein the operation comprises real-time monitoring of a secured enclosure.

20. The secure remote operation and actuation system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more unmanned aerial vehicles comprises a wireless transmitter, wherein the wireless transmitter communicates using one or more of ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or sub-1 GHz frequency communication.