Search

JP-2026514360-A - A hierarchical method for managing the airspace of large drone swarms.

JP2026514360AJP 2026514360 AJP2026514360 AJP 2026514360AJP-2026514360-A

Abstract

A method for coordinating drones flying within divided airspace includes the steps of transmitting a patrol command to each drone in a set of airlift drones within divided airspace, wherein the divided airspace includes a ceiling altitude, a floor altitude, and mutually exclusive horizontal layers having at least one transition layer, and these layers include multiple sectors, and the patrol command includes the steps of directing the drones into a flight path within a sector, transmitting a first transition command to a first drone, which commands the first drone to move from the first drone's sector to the transition space layer and from the transition space layer out of the divided airspace, and transmitting a second transition command to a second drone, which commands the second transition command to move from outside the divided airspace to the transition space layer and from the transition space layer back to the first drone's sector.

Inventors

  • タイリス モンテ オードロニス

Assignees

  • テンペスト ドローンワークス インコーポレイテッド

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20240322
Priority Date
20230322

Claims (14)

  1. A method for coordinating drones flying within divided airspace, A step of transmitting a patrol command to each drone in a set of airlift drones within the divided space, wherein the divided airspace includes a ceiling altitude and a floor altitude, and a plurality of mutually exclusive horizontal layers having at least one transitional layer, the horizontal layers include a plurality of sectors, and the patrol command to each of the drones directs the drone into a flight path within one of the sectors within the divided airspace. A step of transmitting a first transfer command to a first drone of the set of air transport drones, wherein the first transfer command commands the first drone to move from the sector of the first drone to the transfer space layer and to leave the divided airspace from the transfer space layer. A method comprising the step of transmitting a second transfer command to a second drone other than the aforementioned pair of air transport drones, wherein the second transfer command commands the second drone to move from outside the divided airspace to a transfer space layer, and from the transfer space layer to the sector from which the first drone exited.
  2. The steps include launching each drone in the aforementioned set of air transport drones, The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting an initialization command to the drone instructing the drone to navigate to the sector assigned to the drone.
  3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of instructing each of the drones to capture sensor data using onboard sensors while patrolling the sector of the drones.
  4. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the drones includes a visible light camera, and at least one of the drones includes an infrared camera.
  5. The method according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the drones includes a lidar sensor.
  6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the shape and size of the sectors in the horizontal layer are uniform.
  7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the shape and size of the sectors in the horizontal layer are not uniform.
  8. The method according to claim 1, wherein up to two of the drones are assigned to any of the sectors.
  9. The method according to claim 8, wherein any two of the drones within a single sector are assigned different altitudes.
  10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the drone in the horizontal layer has sensors of the same type.
  11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting an updated patrol order to at least one of the drones, wherein the updated patrol order instructs the drone to move to a different sector and patrol that sector.
  12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting an updated patrol order to at least one of the drones, wherein the updated patrol order results in a change in the shape of at least one of the sectors within the divided airspace.
  13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first transition command instructs the first drone to reach one altitude within the transition layer.
  14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second transition command instructs the second drone to reach one altitude within the transition layer.

Description

Cross-reference to related applications: This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/491694, title of invention, “Layer Approach to Managing Airspace of Large Groups of Drones,” filed March 22, 2023, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) (United States Patent Act (35 Title, Section 119(e))), filed by Tyris Monte Audronis, and the disclosure of this U.S. Provisional Patent Application is expressly incorporated herein by reference to its entirety. Background: Unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are a type of vehicle that can be operated, or not operated, without a human on board and directly driving it. These vehicles can be navigated remotely (e.g., by a human operator/pilot) or autonomously (e.g., using sensors and/or navigation programs). Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) (but not limited to these) can be designed for different environments. Drones can utilize a variety of sensors, including (but not limited to) cameras, infrared (thermal) sensors, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), sonar, and others. At high vantage points, UAVs with onboard sensors can often collect data over a larger area and with less interference from obstacles than ground-based UAVs. Drones for gathering information over large areas are particularly useful during emergencies and disasters. With little to no direct human direction, these drones can acquire visual and other information at high speed and effectiveness, enhancing planning and adjustments by responders. This diagram shows a system for collecting sensor data from a drone, according to one embodiment of the present invention.This diagram conceptually illustrates a computer system that can be used in a command center according to an embodiment of the present invention.This figure shows an example of airspace according to one embodiment of the present invention.This figure shows the process of deploying a drone into an airspace sector according to an embodiment of the present invention.This diagram illustrates the process of replacing a drone by transferring it outside of its sector.This diagram shows the placement and flight plans of several different drones across multiple sectors, with the first layer of the airspace having a floor of 75 feet (22.86 m) and a ceiling of 150 feet (45.72 m).The diagrams show several different drone deployments and flight plans across multiple sectors. Figure 7A shows an example where two drones patrol a long rectangular sector within the first layer at 100 feet (30.48 m), and Figure 7B shows the flight paths to which the drones are assigned in response to sensor triggers.This diagram shows the deployment and flight plans of several different drones across multiple sectors, illustrating an example where three drones patrol different sectors within a single layer. System for Controlling Sensor Data from Drones Figure 1 shows a system 100 for collecting sensor data from drones according to one embodiment of the present invention, the system 100 includes one or more drones 102, 104, and 106, a drone command center 110, a data center 112, and one or more client devices 108 and 110. In the illustrated embodiment, these entities can communicate over a wide area network 101 such as the Internet. Drones may include, but are not limited to, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) adapted to different environments. Each drone may include at least one sensor. Sensors may include, but are not limited to, cameras, infrared (temperature) sensors, LiDAR (light detection and ranging), sonar, olfactory/particle sensors, auditory sensors, etc. Additional embodiments of the present invention may include cameras and/or other types of sensors 114 that are not mounted on the drone. These sensors can be fixed in place and may have associated GPS (Global Positioning System) circuits or systems that identify their location. For example, a camera or sensor may have a built-in GPS tracker or be mounted on another system that includes GPS (e.g., a structure or stationary vehicle). Some fixed camera systems may include, for example, a public wildfire monitoring system. The drone command center 110 may include control interfaces for drones. In some embodiments of the present invention, each drone has a control interface associated with itself, for example, Pixhawk Cube®. The drone command center 110 may also have one or more computer systems that can coordinate controller interfaces, run 3D (three-dimensional) visualization software applications (e.g., game engines) for the virtual environment, and/or generate information about one or more client devices 108 and 110 for the user interface to display the virtual environment. Processes that can be performed in the drone command center 110 include those further described below. The data center 112 may