Sensor-based detection of landing zones

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10472086-B2
Application number	US-201715463430-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2017
Priority date	Mar 31, 2016
Publication date	Nov 12, 2019
Grant date	Nov 12, 2019

Abstract

A method of detecting a landing zone includes scanning an area using a sensor system to obtain data of the area. One or more markings are identified from the data. The one or more markings are verified as corresponding to an intended landing zone.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of detecting a landing zone, comprising:
scanning, using a sensor system, an area to obtain data of the area;
identifying, using a processor, one or more markings from the data, wherein the one or more markings include a runway number identified through optical character recognition;
verifying, using the processor, the one or more markings as corresponding to an intended landing zone by comparing the identified runway number with a runway number received from a flight control tower; and
autonomously landing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the intended landing zone using the verified one or more markings.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein scanning the area includes using a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system configured to emit an optical beam to obtain point cloud data of the area based on a returned portion of the optical beam, and filtering the point cloud data based on intensity of the returned portion of the optical beam.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the LIDAR system includes a laser and an optical sensor and the area corresponds to one of a helipad and a runway.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the point cloud data is obtained as a continuous stream of points including intensity information for the scanned area.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the filtering the point cloud data includes searching for points that are higher in intensity than neighboring points.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the filtering includes performing edge detection on the point cloud data.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein identifying the one or more markings includes running filtered points through a template matching algorithm comparing the one or more markings against one or more templates stored in a database.

8. The method of claim 1 , further including communicating the intended landing zone to at least one of a flight control system and a flight controller.

9. A system for detecting a landing zone, comprising:
wherein the system is operatively connected to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); and
wherein the system comprises:
a processor operatively connected to one or more sensors and configured to perform machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the UAV to:
scan an area using the one or more sensors to obtain data of the area;
identify one or more markings from the data, wherein the one or more markings include a runway number identified through optical character recognition; and
verify the one or more markings as corresponding to an intended landing zone by comparing the identified runway number with a runway number received from a flight control tower;
wherein the UAV autonomously lands at the intended landing zone using the verified one or more markings.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more sensors include a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system having a laser and an optical sensor mounted on the UAV, the LIDAR system configured to emit an optical beam to obtain point cloud data of the area based on a returned portion of the optical beam.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the system is further configured to filter the point cloud data based on an intensity of the returned portion of the optical beam.

12. The system of claim 11 , further including a database operatively connected to the processor, wherein identifying the one or more markings includes running filtered points through a template matching algorithm comparing the one or more markings against one or more templates stored in the database.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the area corresponds to a runway.

14. The system of claim 9 , further including a flight control system configured to receive information relating to the intended landing zone.

Assignees

• Sikorsky Aircraft Corp

Inventors

• Mcneill William

Classifications

• G01S17/42

  Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates (indirect measurement G01S17/46) · CPC title

• G01S17/89

  for mapping or imaging · CPC title

• G01S7/4808

  Evaluating distance, position or velocity data · CPC title

• B64F1/18

  Visual or acoustic landing aids · CPC title

• G06F7/02

  Comparing digital values (G06F7/06, {G06F7/22,} G06F7/38 take precedence) · CPC title