Drone flight optimization using drone-to-drone permissioning

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11183071-B2
Application number	US-201816118578-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2018
Priority date	Aug 31, 2018
Publication date	Nov 23, 2021
Grant date	Nov 23, 2021

Abstract

Provided are embodiments drone flight optimization using drone to drone permissioning. The embodiments include determining a potential route for a first drone, and broadcasting the potential route to one or more drones of a network of drones. The embodiments also include receiving path information and routing condition information associated with the potential route from the one or more drones of the network of drones, and updating the potential route of the first drone based at least in part on the path information and routing condition information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for drone flight optimization using drone to drone permissioning, the computer-implemented method comprising:
determining a potential route for a first drone, wherein the first drone comprises one or more sensors to guide the first drone to a destination during flight, wherein at least one of the one or more sensors include a global positioning system (GPS);
broadcasting the potential route to one or more drones of a network of drones;
receiving path information and routing condition information associated with the potential route from the one or more drones of the network of drones responsive to the broadcasted potential route, wherein the routing condition information comprises at least one of the destination, a travel path, elevation information, obstruction information, and weather condition information, wherein the routing condition information is subject to a decay value factor;
updating the potential route of the first drone based at least in part on the path information and the routing condition information;
determining whether connectivity between the first drone and a central controller exists during the flight;
responsive to determining there is no connectivity, performing drone-to-drone communication to a cluster of drones of the network of drones to guide the first drone to the destination, wherein at least one drone of the cluster of drones maintains connectivity to the central controller;
reducing power to the GPS of the first drone that is operational during the flight to optimize battery usage;
detecting a failure of the GPS of the first drone during the flight;
responsive to detecting the failure of the GPS of the first drone, transmitting a distressed signal to one or more drones in proximity of the first drone and switching off the failed GPS of the first drone in the event of the failure; and
responsive to receiving a response to the distressed signal from a drone of the one or more drones in proximity of the first drone, guiding the first drone to a safe landing zone using the drone-to-drone communication.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the path information comprises at least one of historical path information or real-time path information.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the drone-to-drone communication establishes the network of drones based at least in part on receiving broadcasted information from the one or more drones in proximity of the first drone.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting the routing condition information associated with the potential route.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising broadcasting, by the first drone, the routing condition information and the updated potential route information to the one or more drones of the network of drones.

6. A system for implementing drone flight optimization using drone-to-drone permissioning, the system comprising:
a storage medium, the storage medium being coupled to a processor;
the processor configured to:
determine a potential route for a first drone, wherein the first drone comprises one or more sensors to guide the first drone to a destination during flight, wherein at least one of the one or more sensors include a global positioning system (GPS);
broadcast the potential route to one or more drones of a network of drones;
receive path information and routing condition information associated with the potential route from the one or more drones of the network of drones responsive to the broadcasted potential route, wherein the routing condition information comprises at least one of the destination, a travel path, elevation information, obstruction information, and weather condition information, and wherein the path information comprises at least one of historical path information or real-time path information, wherein the routing condition information is subject to a decay value factor;
update the potential route of the first drone based at least in part on the path information and the routing condition information;
determine whether connectivity between the first drone and a central controller exists during the flight;
responsive to determining there is no connectivity, perform drone-to-drone communication to a cluster of drones of the network of drones to guide the first drone to the destination, wherein at least one drone of the cluster of drones maintains connectivity to the central controller;
reduce power to the GPS of the first drone that is operational during the flight to optimize battery usage;
detect a failure of the GPS of the first drone;
responsive to detecting the failure of the GPS of the first drone, transmit a distressed signal to one or more drones in proximity of the first drone and switch off the failed GPS of the first drone in the event of the failure; and
responsive to receiving a response to the distressed signal from a drone of the one or more drones in proximity of the first drone, guide the first drone to a safe landing zone using the drone-to-drone communication.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the drone-to-drone communication establishes the network of drones based at least in part on receiving broadcasted information from the one or more drones in proximity of the first drone.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to detect the routing condition information associated with the potential route, and broadcast, by the first drone, the routing condition information and the updated potential route information to the one or more drones of the network of drones.

9. A computer program product for performing drone flight optimization using drone-to-drone permissioning, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to:
determine a potential route for a first drone, wherein the first drone comprises one or more sensors to guide the first drone to a destination during flight, wherein at least one of the one or more sensors include a global positioning system (GPS);
broadcast the potential route to one or more drones of a network of drones;
receive path information and routing condition information associated with the potential route from the one or more drones of the network of drones responsive to the broadcasted potential route, wherein the routing condition information comprises at least one of the destination, a travel path, elevation information, obstruction information, and weather condition information, and wherein the path information comprises at least one of historical path information or real-time path information, wherein the routing condition information is subject to a decay value factor;
update the potential route of the first drone based at least in part on the path information and the routing condition information;
determine whether connectivity between the first drone and a central controller exists during the flight;
responsive to determining there is no connectivity, perform drone-to-drone communication to a cluster of drones of the network of drones to guide the first drone to the destination, wherein at least one drone of the cluster of drones maintains connectivity to the central controller;
reduce power to the GPS of the first drone that is operational during the flight to optimize battery usage;
detect a failure of the GPS of the first drone during the flight;
responsive to detecting the failure of the GPS of the first drone, transmit a distressed signal to one or more drones in proximity of the first drone and switch

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Delaney Mark
• Ward Brett
• Restrepo Conde Melissa
• Green William J

Classifications

• B64U2201/10

  autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS] · CPC title

• G08G5/57

  for unmanned aircraft · CPC title

• G08G5/55

  for a single aircraft · CPC title

• G08G5/34

  for flight plan modification · CPC title

• G08G5/21

  located onboard the aircraft · CPC title