Pre-positioning aerial drones

• US 9,773,419 B1
• Filed: 03/24/2016
• Issued: 09/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gordon, Michael S., Kozloski, James R., Kundu, Ashish, Malkin, Peter K., Pickover, Clifford A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US15/079,127
• Publication Number:
  US 20170278408A1
• Time in Patent Office: 551 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/00 UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• 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 50/20 Transmission of mechanical power to rotors or propellers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06314 Calendaring for a resource
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0078 for monitoring traffic from the aircraft radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91

Abstract

A method, system, and/or computer program product pre-positions an aerial drone for a user. A model of a user is used as a basis for predicting a future task to be performed by the user at a future time and at a particular location. One or more processors identify sensor data that will be required by the user in order to perform the future task at the future time and at the particular location, where the sensor data is generated by one or more sensors on the aerial drone. A transmitter then transmits a signal to the aerial drone to pre-position the aerial drone at the particular location before the future time.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, a model of a user;

predicting, by one or more processors, a future task to be performed by the user at a future time and at a particular location based on the model of the user;

identifying, by one or more processors, sensor data that will be required by the user in order to perform the future task at the future time and at the particular location, wherein the sensor data is generated by one or more sensors on an aerial drone;

transmitting, by a transmitter, a signal to the aerial drone to pre-position the aerial drone at the particular location before the future time;

retrieving, by one or more processors, a record of past activities of the user, wherein the past activities exclude use of any aerial drone; and

generating, by one or more processors, the model of the user based on the record of past activities of the user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating, by one or more processors, the model of the user based on an entry in an electronic calendar.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

establishing, by one or more processors, a bi-directional feed of information between the aerial drone and the electronic calendar; and

modifying, by one or more processors, the entry in the electronic calendar based on the sensor data received from the one or more sensors in the aerial drone.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

establishing, by one or more processors, a bi-directional feed of information between the aerial drone and the electronic calendar; and

modifying, by one or more processors, operations of the aerial drone based on the entry in the electronic calendar.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, biometric data from a biometric sensor that is monitoring the user; and

generating, by one or more processors, the model of the user based on the biometric data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the aerial drone is a first aerial drone, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining, by one or more processors, a first position and a second position at which the user will perform a first future activity and a second future activity, wherein the second future activity is predicted to be performed by the user at a second time that is subsequent to a first time at which the first future activity is predicted to be performed by the user;

pre-positioning, by one or more processors, the first aerial drone at the first position at the first time; and

pre-positioning, by one or more processors, a second aerial drone at the second position at the second time.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

predicting, by one or more processors, a set of sensor data that will be requested by the user based on the model of the user;

ranking, by one or more processors, each sensor data from the set of sensor data based on the model of the user;

presenting, by one or more processors, a ranked set of sensor data that is available to the user in real time from one or more aerial drones;

receiving, by one or more processors, a sensor data selection from a computer being used by the user, wherein the sensor data selection selects one or more of the ranked set of sensor data, and wherein a selected sensor data is generated by a particular aerial drone; and

directing, by one or more processors, the selected sensor data to be transmitted from a transmitter on the particular aerial drone to the computer being used by the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the aerial drone is a first aerial drone, wherein the first aerial drone is from a set of multiple aerial drones, and wherein the method further comprises:

presenting, by one or more processors, a list of the multiple aerial drones to the user;

receiving, by one or more processors, a selection from the list by the user, wherein the selection identifies a particular aerial drone from the multiple aerial drones on the list; and

in response to receiving the selection, establishing, by one or more processors, a bidirectional communication session between the particular aerial drone and a user computer used by the user, wherein the bidirectional communication comprises sensor data going from the particular aerial drone to the user computer, and wherein the bidirectional communication session further comprises instructions from the user computer to the aerial drone to reposition the aerial drone based on the sensor data received from the aerial drone.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the aerial drone is a first aerial drone from a set of multiple aerial drones that are available to the user, wherein each of the multiple aerial drones has a unique type of sensor that differs from other sensors on other aerial drones from the set of multiple aerial drones that are available to the user, and wherein the method further comprises:

presenting, by one or more processors, a list describing a sensor type of each unique sensor on one or more of the multiple aerial drones that are available to the user;

receiving, by one or more processors, a selection of a particular sensor type by the user, wherein the particular sensor type describes a particular sensor on a particular aerial drone from the multiple aerial drones; and

in response to receiving the selection of the particular sensor type from the user, repositioning, by one or more processors, the particular aerial drone to the particular location at which the future task is to be performed by the user.

10. A computer program product comprising one or more computer readable storage mediums, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage mediums, the stored program instructions comprising:

program instructions to receive a model of a user;

program instructions to predict a future task to be performed by the user at a future time and at a particular location based on the model of the user;

program instructions to identify sensor data that will be required by the user in order to perform the future task at the future time and at the particular location, wherein the sensor data is generated by one or more sensors on an aerial drone;

program instructions to transmit, from a transmitter, a signal to the aerial drone to pre-position the aerial drone at the particular location before the future time;

program instructions to create the model of the user based on an entry in an electronic calendar;

program instructions to establish a bi-directional feed of information between the aerial drone and the electronic calendar; and

program instructions to modify the entry in the electronic calendar based on the sensor data received from the one or more sensors in the aerial drone.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising:

program instructions to modify operations of the aerial drone based on the entry in the electronic calendar.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising:

program instructions to receive biometric data from a biometric sensor that is monitoring the user; and

program instructions to generate the model of the user based on the biometric data.

13. A computer system comprising one or more processors, one or more computer readable memories, and one or more computer readable storage mediums, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage mediums for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, the stored program instructions comprising:

program instructions to receive a model of a user;

program instructions to predict a future task to be performed by the user at a future time and at a particular location based on the model of the user;

program instructions to identify sensor data that will be required by the user in order to perform the future task at the future time and at the particular location, wherein the sensor data is generated by one or more sensors on an aerial drone;

program instructions to transmit, via a transmitter, a signal to the aerial drone to pre-position the aerial drone at the particular location before the future time;

program instructions to retrieve a record of past activities of the user, wherein the past activities exclude use of any aerial drone; and

program instructions to generate the model of the user based on the record of past activities of the user.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the aerial drone is a first aerial drone, and wherein the computer system further comprises:

program instructions to determine a first position and a second position at which the user will perform a first future activity and a second future activity, wherein the second future activity is predicted to be performed by the user at a second time that is subsequent to a first time at which the first future activity is predicted to be performed by the user;

program instructions to pre-position the first aerial drone at the first position at the first time; and

program instructions to pre-position a second aerial drone at the second position at the second time.

15. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising:

program instructions to predict a set of sensor data that will be requested by the user based on the model of the user;

program instructions to rank each sensor data from the set of sensor data based on the model of the user;

program instructions to present a ranked set of sensor data that is available to the user in real time from one or more aerial drones;

program instructions to receive a sensor data selection from a computer being used by the user, wherein the sensor data selection selects one or more of the ranked set of sensor data, and wherein a selected sensor data is generated by a particular aerial drone; and

program instructions to direct the selected sensor data to be transmitted from a transmitter on the particular aerial drone to the computer being used by the user.

16. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the aerial drone is a first aerial drone from a set of multiple aerial drones that are available to the user, wherein each of the multiple aerial drones has a unique type of sensor that differs from other sensors on other aerial drones from the set of multiple aerial drones, and wherein the computer system further comprises:

program instructions to present a list describing a sensor type of each unique sensor from one or more of the multiple aerial drones that are available to the user;

program instructions to receive a selection of a particular sensor type by the user, wherein the particular sensor type describes a particular sensor on a particular aerial drone from the set of multiple aerial drones; and

program instructions to, in response to receiving the selection of the particular sensor type, reposition the particular aerial drone to the particular location at which the future task is to be performed by the user.