Control of an unmanned aerial vehicle through multi-touch interactive visualization
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in flight over a physical environment based on multi-touch gesture inputs applied to an interactive visualization of the physical environment, the method comprising:
- causing display, via a touch screen display device, of a view of the physical environment, the view centered on a point of reference in the physical environment, the view of the physical environment including;
video captured by an image captured device coupled to the UAV; and
a rendering of a three-dimensional (3D) model indicative of a first pose of a virtual camera relative to the point of reference;
receiving, via the touch screen display device, a multi-touch gesture indicative of a request to change the pose of the virtual camera;
dynamically updating, as the multi-touch gesture is received, the rendering of the 3D model to be indicative of a second pose of the virtual camera relative to the point of reference; and
generating, based on the received multi-touch gesture, control commands configured to cause the UAV to autonomously maneuver such that video captured by the image captured device coupled to the UAV corresponds with the second pose of the virtual camera;
wherein the displayed view of the physical environment remains centered on the point of reference as the UAV autonomously maneuvers.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems are described for new paradigms for user interaction with an unmanned aerial vehicle (referred to as a flying digital assistant or FDA) using a portable multifunction device (PMD) such as smart phone. In some embodiments, a magic wand user interaction paradigm is described for intuitive control of an FDA using a PMD. In other embodiments, methods for scripting a shot are described.
54 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in flight over a physical environment based on multi-touch gesture inputs applied to an interactive visualization of the physical environment, the method comprising:
-
causing display, via a touch screen display device, of a view of the physical environment, the view centered on a point of reference in the physical environment, the view of the physical environment including; video captured by an image captured device coupled to the UAV; and a rendering of a three-dimensional (3D) model indicative of a first pose of a virtual camera relative to the point of reference; receiving, via the touch screen display device, a multi-touch gesture indicative of a request to change the pose of the virtual camera; dynamically updating, as the multi-touch gesture is received, the rendering of the 3D model to be indicative of a second pose of the virtual camera relative to the point of reference; and generating, based on the received multi-touch gesture, control commands configured to cause the UAV to autonomously maneuver such that video captured by the image captured device coupled to the UAV corresponds with the second pose of the virtual camera; wherein the displayed view of the physical environment remains centered on the point of reference as the UAV autonomously maneuvers.
-
-
2. A method comprising:
-
causing display, via a touch screen display device, of a view of a physical environment from a first position relative to a point of reference, the view based at least in part on data gathered by sensors onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in flight over the physical environment at the first position; receiving, via the touch screen display device, a touch gesture input indicative of a request to adjust the displayed view of the physical environment; generating control commands configured to cause the UAV to autonomously fly to a second position relative to the point of reference based on the received touch gesture input; and dynamically updating display of the view of the physical environment as the UAV autonomously flies from the first position to the second position. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A system for controlling an image capture by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based on multitouch gestures, the system comprising:
-
a touch screen display; one or more processors; and one or more memory units having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to; cause display, via the touch screen display, of a view of a physical environment from a first position relative to a point of reference, the view based at least in part on data gathered by sensors onboard the UAV in flight over the physical environment at the first position; receive, via the touch screen display, a multi-touch touch gesture input indicative of a request to adjust the displayed view of the physical environment; generate control commands configured to cause the UAV to autonomously fly to a second position relative to the point of reference based on the received multi-touch gesture input; and dynamically update display of the view of the physical environment from the first position to the second position.
-
-
22. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon which when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to:
-
cause display, via a touch screen display device, of a view of a physical environment from a first position relative to a point of reference, the view based at least in part on data gathered by sensors onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in flight over the physical environment at the first position; receive, via the touch screen display device, a multitouch touch gesture input indicative of a request to adjust the displayed view of the physical environment; generate control commands configured to cause the UAV to autonomously fly to a second position relative to the point of reference based on the received multitouch touch gesture input; and dynamically update display of the view of the physical environment from the first position to the second position.
-
Specification