Unmanned aerial vehicle data services

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10073449-B1
Application number	US-201414547038-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Nov 18, 2014
Priority date	Nov 18, 2014
Publication date	Sep 11, 2018
Grant date	Sep 11, 2018

Abstract

Techniques for using an aerial vehicle to provide a data service are provided. For example, information about a request for the data service is accessed. The request is sent to a provider computing device and identifies a user computing device to receive the data service. The provider computing device is configured to provide the data service. A location associated with providing the data service is determined based on the request. The aerial vehicle is flown to the location. The aerial vehicle includes a computing system configured to provide a portion of the data service. Based on detecting that the aerial vehicle is within a range of the location, the aerial vehicle provides the portion of the data service to the user computing device by using, for example, the computing system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
accessing, by a computing system of a first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a client request indicating a location, a time frame, and a data storage service to store data at a service provider computing device of a service provider, the location associated with a client computing device storing the data for a client, the data storage service associated with a data center of the service provider, wherein:
(a) the first UAV is selected for deployment from a fleet of UAVs having different capabilities based at least in part on a distance between the first UAV and the location, the time frame, and an availability of the first UAV relative to a second UAV from the fleet, and
(b) the first UAV is deployed to the location associated with the client computing device based at least in part on a token associated with the client request, wherein the token has an expiration date, the token is generated by a computer system of the service provider based at least in part on the time frame from the client request, and the token is distributed by the computer of the service provider to the first UAV, the client computing device, and the service provider computing device based at least in part on the client request to store the data;

managing, by the computing system, a propulsion system of the first UAV to fly the first UAV to the location of the client computing device;
establishing, by the computing system, a communication with the client computing device based at least in part on detecting that the first UAV is within a first range of the location of the client computing device and on an authentication of the client computing device, wherein the authentication is based at least in part on the token and the expiration date;
repositioning, by the computing system, the first UAV from the first range to within a second range of the location of the client computing device, the repositioning comprising measuring a first bandwidth of the communication at the first range and a second bandwidth of the communication at the second range and determining that the second bandwidth is larger than the first bandwidth;
receiving, by the computing system, the data from the client computing device while the first UAV is at the second range;
storing, by the computing system, the data on a data storage space of the first UAV, the data encrypted with a key from the token;
managing, by the computing system, the propulsion system of the first UAV to fly the first UAV to another location associated with the service provider computing device;
establishing, by the computing system, another communication with the service provider computing device based at least in part on flying the first UAV to the other location and on another authentication according to the token; and
transmitting, by the computing system, the data from the data storage space of the first UAV to the service provider computing device based at least in part on the other communication.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the communication with the client computing device comprises detecting a type of a connection to the client computing device and setting up the communication over the connection based at least in part on the type of the connection.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting at least a portion of the data to another UAV, the transmission causing the other UAV to provide the at least a portion of the data to a computing resource associated with the service provider computing device.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a user interface configured to receive the client request and to display a status associated with responding to the client request, wherein the status comprises an indication of one or more of: an identifier of the first UAV or a flight status of the first UAV.

5. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing system of an aerial vehicle, configure the computing system to perform operations comprising:
accessing information indicative of a client request for a data service at a location and during a time frame, the data service to be provided from a provider computing device of a provider to a user computing device of a client, the client having a client account associated with a data center of the provider;
causing the aerial vehicle to fly to the location, wherein the aerial vehicle is configured to provide a portion of the data service on behalf of the provider computing device, wherein:
(a) the aerial vehicle is selected to fly to the location based at least in part on a distance between the aerial vehicle and the location, the time frame, and an availability of the aerial vehicle, and
(b) the aerial vehicle is deployed to the location based at least in part on a token associated with the client request, wherein the token has an expiration based at least in part on the time frame and the token is distributed to the aerial vehicle, the user computing device, and the provider computing device based at least in part on the client request;

detecting that the aerial vehicle is within a first range of the location;
causing the aerial vehicle to establish a communication with the user computing device based at least in part on the aerial vehicle being within the first range and on an authentication of the user computing device, wherein the authentication is based at least in part on the token;
causing the aerial vehicle to reposition from the first range to within a second range of the location by at least measuring a first bandwidth of the communication at the first range and a second bandwidth of the communication at the second range and determining that the second bandwidth is larger than the first bandwidth; and
causing the aerial vehicle to provide the portion of the data service to the user computing device based at least in part on the aerial vehicle being at the second range and on an encryption key from the token.

6. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 5 , wherein the client request comprises one or more of: the location, the time frame for the data service, or the type of the data service.

7. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 6 , wherein causing the aerial vehicle to provide the portion of the data service comprises:
receiving data from the user computing device,
storing the data on a storage device of the aerial vehicle,
determining another location associated with the provider computing device,
causing the aerial vehicle to fly to the other location, and
sending the data from the storage device to the provider computing device based at least in part on the aerial vehicle arriving at the other location.

8. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 5 , wherein causing the aerial vehicle to provide the portion of the data service comprises receiving data from the user computing device, and transmitting the data to the provider computing device, wherein the data is protected with the encryption key.

9. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 5 , wherein the authentication of the user computing device is based at least in part on a user credential associated with a user of the user computing device and on a session credential associated with the client request.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 5 , wherein the portion of the data service comprises:
storing data received from the user computing device on a

Assignees

• Amazon Tech Inc

Inventors

• Sait Abdul Sathar

Classifications

• H04L67/02

  based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP] · CPC title

• H04L63/0442

  wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30) · CPC title

• H04W12/06

  Authentication · CPC title

• H04W84/18

  Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks · CPC title

• H04L63/0876

  based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint · CPC title