System for remotely-operated systems

• US 9,841,760 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2015
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Safran Electronics & Defense
• Original Assignee: Safran Electronics & Defense
• Inventors: Soulier, Jeremie
• Primary Examiner(s): Kiswanto, Nicholas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bendidi, Rachid
• Application Number:
  US15/324,252
• Publication Number:
  US 20170160739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 888 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/37 Managing security policies for mobile devices or for controlling mobile applications

Abstract

The invention relates to a remote-controlled system comprising: —at least one ground interface (3), from which an operator can control a remote-controlled vehicle; —at least one mission unit (7, 8) in said vehicle; and —a data link between said interface (3) and said mission unit (7, 8). Said system is characterized in that it comprises, on the ground and in the vehicle, security monitoring systems (6, 10) suitable for approving and/or authenticating critical data and/or commands exchanged between the ground and the vehicle and also suitable for verifying the integrity of said data. It is thus possible to use, on the ground as on board the vehicle, interfaces and units with a low level of criticality at the same time as interfaces and units with the highest level of criticality.

Claims

1. A remotely-operated system including:

at least one first interface on a ground from which a remote-operator controls a remotely-operated vehicle,

one second interface on the ground having a higher criticality level than the first interface on the ground,

at least one mission assembly in the remotely-operated vehicle,

a data link between said first and second interfaces and said mission assembly, the remotely-operated system including, on the ground and on-board the remotely-operated vehicle, safety checking systems for signing and/or authenticating critical data and/or commands exchanged between the ground and the remotely-operated vehicle, and/or for checking an integrity of the critical data and/or commands, the safety checking system on the ground for checking consistency between an emitted command data intended for the safety checking system on-board the remotely-operated vehicle and a command return which is transmitted from the remotely-operated vehicle by the mission assembly, and the safety checking system on-board the remotely-operated vehicle is for checking whether the remotely-operated vehicle is maintained in a safety coverage predefined by the ground safety checking system and for triggering a predetermined safety action when this is not the case.

2. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, wherein the safety checking system on the ground is for signing the critical commands emitted by either one of the interfaces intended for the safety checking system on-board the remotely-operated vehicle and for checking the integrity of the state data received from the remotely-operated vehicle.

3. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, wherein the safety checking system on the ground is for copying and controlling emitted command data intended for the safety checking system on-board the remotely-operated vehicle by a mission operator interface of high criticality.

4. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, wherein the safety checking system on-board the remotely-operated vehicle is for authenticating the command data intended for a remotely-operated assembly of high criticality on-board the remotely-operated vehicle and for checking the integrity of said assembly of remotely-operated high criticality on-board the remotely-operated vehicle.

5. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, wherein the safety checking system on-board the remotely-operated vehicle is for checking the temporal validity of the commands from the ground safety checking system.

6. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, wherein the safety checking system on-board the remotely-operated vehicle is for emitting to the ground safety checking system acknowledgments of instructions from a critical assembly on-board the remotely-operated vehicle.

7. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, wherein the safety checking system on-board the remotely-operated vehicle is for signing the controls and statuses issued from a critical assembly on-board the remotely-operated vehicle.

8. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, wherein the safety checking system on the ground is for regularly transmitting authentication requests to the safety checking system on-board the remotely-operated vehicle.

9. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, further including an independent safety data link chain in order to allow triggering of the predetermined safety action from the ground.

10. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, wherein the safety checking system of the remotely-operated vehicle is for receiving a series of simple orders from an air traffic control system.

11. The remotely-operated system according to claim 1, wherein the safety checking system on-board the vehicle is adapted for regularly transmitting authentication requests to the safety checking system on the ground.