System and method for placement of sensors through use of unmanned aerial vehicles

• US 9,454,907 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2015
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: David Mauer, Usman Hafeez
• Original Assignee: David Mauer, Usman Hafeez
• Inventors: Hafeez, Usman, Mauer, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): RINK, RYAN J
• Application Number:
  US14/716,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20160232794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 497 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/00 Type of UAV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/13 Flying platforms
• 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: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/104 involving a plurality of aircrafts, e.g. formation flying traffic control systems for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0043 Traffic management of multiple aircrafts from the ground G08G5/003 takes precedence; data processing specially designed for resource management, e.g. scheduling or allocating time, human or machine resources G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft

Abstract

The invention is directed toward a system and method for placing, activating, and testing sensors. The system comprises one or more server computers, one or more communication hubs, one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, and one or more sensors. The method comprises the steps of receiving geographic sensor placement locations, receiving sensor parameters, determining the geographic location of sensors, respectively sending location query signals to the unmanned aerial vehicles, respectively receiving location reply signals from the unmanned aerial vehicles, and calculating a geographic flight path for the unmanned aerial vehicles. The method also comprises calculating mission objectives and the energy needs of the unmanned aerial vehicles to complete the mission objectives. The method then determines the most efficient combination of unmanned aerial vehicles to complete the mission objectives and assigns the tasks to the unmanned aerial vehicles. The unmanned aerial vehicles place, activate, and test the sensors.

Claims

1. A computerized method for remotely controlling one or more unmanned aerial vehicles comprising:

performing operations by a computer system comprising one or more transceivers, one or more microprocessors, and one or more nonvolatile memory units, said one or more nonvolatile memory units storing instructions which when executed by said one or more microprocessors cause the computer system to perform operations comprising;

receiving one or more geographic sensor placement locations;

receiving one or more sensor parameters;

wherein said one or more sensor parameters is selected from the group consisting of;

a type of sensor desired for placement, a duration of placement of a sensor, and an environmental attribute to be measured by a sensor;

determining the geographic location of one or more sensors

wherein said one or more sensors have one or more attributes consistent with said one or more received sensor parameters;

wherein said one or more sensors are configured to be carried by said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

respectively sending, via said one or more transceivers, one or more location query signals to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

respectively receiving, via said one or more transceivers, one or more location reply signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

calculating a geographic flight path for said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

wherein said flight path includes said geographic locations of said one or more sensors and said geographic sensor placement locations;

receiving a live video signal from an unmanned aerial vehicle;

generating a display of said live video signal;

receiving a user input indicating a precise placement location of a sensor at said geographic sensor placement location, said precise placement location being displayed as a part of said live video signal; and

transmitting said user input indicating a precise placement location to an unmanned aerial vehicle;

performing operations by one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, each of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles comprising a flight means, one or more transceivers, one or more microprocessors and one or more nonvolatile memory units, said one or more nonvolatile memory units storing instructions which when executed by said one or more microprocessors cause the one or more aerial vehicles to perform operations comprising;

respectively receiving, via said one or more transceivers, a location query signal;

respectively determining the geographic location of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles; and

respectively sending, via said one or more transceivers, a location reply signal to said computer system

generating a live video signal via a camera incorporated in said unmanned aerial vehicle;

transmitting said live video signal to said computer system;

receiving a user input indicating a precise placement location for a sensor at said geographic sensor placement location;

determining a distance from the location of said unmanned aerial vehicle to said precise placement location; and

placing, by said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, one or more sensors at said precise placement location at said geographic sensor placement location.

2. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

calculating by said computer system, one or more mission objectives

wherein said one or more mission objectives comprise placement of said one or more sensors at said one or more geographic sensor placement locations and executing flight along said geographic flight path; and

calculating by said computer system, the energy needs of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles required for executing said one or more mission objectives.

3. The method as in claim 2 further comprising:

respectively sending, via said one or more transceivers of said computer system, one or more power query signals to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

respectively receiving, via said one or more transceivers of said computer system, one or more power reply signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles

said power reply signals indicating the respectively stored power supply on each respective unmanned aerial vehicle; and

determining by said computer system, whether said power supply on each respective unmanned aerial vehicle is sufficient to perform said calculated one or more mission objectives;

performing operations by said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, each of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles further comprising a power source, said operations comprising;

respectively receiving, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, said power query signal;

respectively determining an amount of energy stored in said power source of each of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles; and

respectively sending, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, a power reply signal.

4. The method as in claim 3 further comprising:

establishing by said computer system, a preferred distance from said geographic flight path;

determining by said computer system, the geographic position of one or more unmanned aerial vehicles within said preferred distance from said geographic flight path; and

determining by said computer system, the geographic position of one or more sensors within said preferred distance from said geographic flight path.

5. The method as in claim 4 further comprising:

generating by said computer system, a list of one or more unmanned aerial vehicles within said preferred distance of said geographic flight path.

6. The method as in claim 5 further comprising:

selecting by said computer system, one or more unmanned aerial vehicles from said generated list.

7. The method as in claim 6 further comprising:

selecting by said computer system, one or more sensors accessible to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles from said generated list; and

creating by said computer system, one or more mission objectives for placement of said one or more selected sensors at said one or more geographic sensor placement locations.

8. The method as in claim 7 further comprising:

assigning by said computer system, said one or more mission objectives to said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles;

generating by said computer system, one or more sets of instructions, wherein said one or more sets of instructions comprise one or more tasks required for execution of said one or more mission objectives by said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles;

transferring, via said one or more transceivers of said computer system, said one or more sets of instructions to said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles;

receiving, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles selected by said computer system, said one or more sets of instructions.

9. The method as in claim 8 further comprising:

executing by said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles selected by said computer system, said one or more sets of instructions.

10. The method as in claim 9 further comprising:

sending, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, one or more sensor activation signals to said one or more sensors;

sending, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, one or more operational verification signals to said one or more sensors;

receiving, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, one or more confirmation signals from said one or more sensors;

transmitting, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, said one or more confirmation signals to said computer system;

performing operations by said one or more sensors, said one or more sensors comprising one or more transceivers, one or more microprocessors, and one or more nonvolatile memory units, said one or more nonvolatile memory units storing instructions which when executed by said one or more microprocessors cause the one or more sensors to perform operations comprising;

receiving one or more sensor activation signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

activating the sensor operations in response to receiving said one or more sensor activation signals;

receiving one or more operational verification signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

determining that said one or more said sensors is functioning properly; and

sending one or more confirmation signals to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles if said one or more sensors is functioning properly.

11. A method for remotely controlling one or more unmanned aerial vehicles comprising:

receiving one or more geographic sensor placement locations;

receiving one or more sensor parameters

wherein said one or more sensor parameters is selected from the group consisting of;

a type of sensor desired for placement, a duration of placement of a sensor, and an environmental attribute to be measured by a sensor;

determining the geographic location of one or more sensors

wherein said one or more sensors have one or more attributes consistent with said one or more received sensor parameters;

wherein said one or more sensors are configured to be carried by said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

respectively sending one or more location query signals to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

respectively receiving one or more location reply signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

calculating a geographic flight path for said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles

wherein said flight path includes said geographic locations of said one or more sensors and said geographic sensor placement locations;

calculating one or more mission objectives

wherein said one or more mission objectives comprises placement of said one or more sensors at said one or more geographic sensor placement locations and executing flight along said geographic flight path;

calculating the energy needs of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles required for executing said one or more mission objectives;

determining whether the respective power supply on each of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles is sufficient to perform said calculated one or more mission objectives independently or collectively;

selecting one or more unmanned aerial vehicles having, independently or collectively, sufficient power supply to perform said calculated one or more mission objectives;

assigning said one or more mission objectives to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

generating one or more sets of instructions, wherein said one or more sets of instructions comprises one or more tasks required for execution of said one or more mission objectives by said one or more selected aerial vehicles;

transferring said one or more sets of instructions to said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles;

executing, by said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles, said one or more sets of instructions

placing, by said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles, one or more sensors;

sending, by said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles, one or more sensor activation signals to said one or more sensors;

receiving, by said one or more sensors, one or more sensor activation signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

activating, by said one or more sensors, sensor operations in response to receiving said one or more sensor activation signals;

sending, by said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles, one or more operational verification signals to said one or more sensors;

receiving, by said one or more sensors, one or more operational verification signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

determining, by said one or more sensors, that said one or more said sensors is functioning properly;

sending, by said one or more sensors, one or more confirmation signals to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles if said one or more sensors is functioning properly;

receiving, by said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles, one or more confirmation signals from said one or more sensors; and

transmitting, by said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles, said one or more confirmation signals to a computer system.

12. The method as in claim 11 further comprising:

generating a live video signal via a camera incorporated in said unmanned aerial vehicle;

transmitting said live video signal to said computer system;

receiving a live video signal from an unmanned aerial vehicle;

generating a display of said live video signal;

receiving a user input indicating a precise placement location of a sensor at said geographic sensor placement location, said precise placement location being displayed as a part of said live video signal,

transmitting said user input indicating a precise placement location to an unmanned aerial vehicle;

determining, by said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, a distance from the location of said unmanned aerial vehicle to said precise placement location;

placing, by said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, one or more sensors at said precise placement location at said geographic sensor placement location.

13. A computerized method for remotely controlling one or more unmanned aerial vehicles comprising:

performing operations by a computer system comprising one or more transceivers, one or more microprocessors, and one or more nonvolatile memory units, said one or more nonvolatile memory units storing instructions which when executed by said one or more microprocessors cause the computer system to perform operations comprising

receiving one or more geographic sensor placement locations;

receiving one or more sensor parameters

wherein said one or more sensor parameters is selected from the group consisting of;

a type of sensor desired for placement, a duration of placement of a sensor, and an environmental attribute to be measured by the sensor;

determining the geographic location of one or more sensors

wherein said one or more sensors have one or more attributes consistent with said one or more received sensor parameters;

wherein said one or more sensors are configured to be carried by one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

respectively sending, via said one or more transceivers, one or more location query signals to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

respectively receiving, via said one or more transceivers, one or more location reply signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

calculating a geographic flight path for said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles

wherein said flight path includes said geographic locations of said one or more sensors and said geographic sensor placement locations;

performing operations by one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, each of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles comprising a flight means, one or more transceivers, one or more microprocessors and one or more nonvolatile memory units, said one or more nonvolatile memory units storing instructions which when executed by said one or more microprocessors cause the one or more aerial vehicles to perform operations comprising

respectively receiving, via said one or more transceivers, a location query signal;

respectively determining the geographic location of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

respectively sending, via said one or more transceivers, a location reply signal to said computer system;

sending, via said one or more transceivers, one or more sensor activation signals to said one or more sensors;

sending, via said one or more transceivers, one or more operational verification signals to said one or more sensors;

receiving, via said one or more transceivers, one or more confirmation signals from said one or more sensors;

transmitting, via said one or more transceivers, said one or more confirmation signals to said computer;

performing operations by said one or more sensors, said one or more sensors comprising one or more transceivers, one or more microprocessors, and one or more nonvolatile memory units, said one or more nonvolatile memory units storing instructions which when executed by said one or more microprocessors cause the one or more sensors to perform operations comprising

receiving one or more sensor activation signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

activating the sensor operations in response to receiving said one or more sensor activation signals;

receiving one or more operational verification signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

determining that said one or more said sensors is functioning properly; and

sending one or more confirmation signals to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles if said one or more sensors is functioning properly.

14. The method as in claim 13 further comprising

calculating by said computer system, one or more mission objectives

wherein said one or more mission objective comprise placement of said one or more sensors at said one or more geographic sensor placement locations and executing flight along said geographic flight path;

and

calculating by said computer system, the energy needs of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles required for executing said one or more mission objectives.

15. The method as in claim 14 further comprising

respectively sending, via said one or more transceivers of said computer system, one or more power query signals to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

respectively receiving, via said one or more transceivers of said computer system, one or more power reply signals from said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles;

said power reply signals indicating the respectively stored power supply on each respective unmanned aerial vehicle;

determining by said computer system, whether said power supply on each respective unmanned aerial vehicle is sufficient to perform said calculated one or more mission objectives;

performing operations by said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, each of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles further comprising a power source, said operations comprising;

respectively receiving, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, said power query signal;

respectively determining the amount of energy stored in said power source of each of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles; and

respectively sending, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles, a power reply signal.

16. The method as in claim 15 further comprising:

establishing by said computer system, a preferred distance from said geographic flight path;

determining by said computer system, the geographic position of one or more unmanned aerial vehicles within said preferred distance from said geographic flight path; and

determining by said computer system, the geographic position of one or more sensors within said preferred distance from said geographic flight path.

17. The method as in claim 16 further comprising:

generating by said computer system, a list of one or more unmanned aerial vehicles within said preferred distance of said geographic flight path.

18. The method as in claim 17 further comprising:

selecting by said computer system, one or more unmanned aerial vehicles from said generated list.

19. The method as in claim 18 further comprising

selecting by said computer system, one or more sensors accessible to said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles from said generated list;

and

creating by said computer system, one or more mission objectives for placement of said one or more selected sensors at said one or more geographic sensor placement locations.

20. The method as in claim 19 further comprising

assigning by said computer system, said one or more mission objectives to said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles;

generating by said computer system, one or more sets of instructions, wherein said sets of instructions comprises one or more tasks required for execution of said one or more mission objectives by said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles;

transferring, via said one or more transceivers of said computer system, said one or more sets of instructions to said one or more selected unmanned aerial vehicles;

receiving, via said one or more transceivers of said one or more unmanned aerial vehicles selected by said computer system, said one or more sets of instructions; and

executing said one or more sets of instructions.