Method and system for identification of landing sites for aerial vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11393192-B2
Application number	US-202016997135-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2020
Priority date	Aug 28, 2019
Publication date	Jul 19, 2022
Grant date	Jul 19, 2022

Abstract

A system and method for identification of a landing site for aerial vehicles are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes processing image data pertaining to a potential site area. The method further includes identifying existing building infrastructure and defining boundaries of the identified existing building infrastructure in the potential site area, based on the processed image data. The method also includes identifying existing road infrastructure adjacent to the boundaries of the identified existing building infrastructure and defining boundaries of the identified existing road infrastructure, based on the processed image data. The method further includes calculating a feasibility score of the existing building infrastructure by analyzing the identified existing building infrastructure and the identified existing road infrastructure. The method further includes outputting the identified existing building infrastructure as a potential landing site for landing aerial vehicles when the calculated feasibility score is above a predetermined threshold score.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for identification of a landing site for aerial vehicles, the method comprising:
processing image data pertaining to a potential site area;
identifying existing building infrastructure and defining boundaries of the identified existing building infrastructure in the potential site area, based on the processed image data;
identifying existing road infrastructure adjacent to the boundaries of the identified existing building infrastructure and defining boundaries of the identified existing road infrastructure, based on the processed image data;
determining an accessibility index of the identified existing road infrastructure based on a relative distance between the identified existing building infrastructure and the identified existing road infrastructure;
determining a connectedness index of the identified existing road infrastructure based on a distance of the identified existing road infrastructure from one or more of nearby transport stations;
determining a quality index of the identified existing road infrastructure based on a physical condition of the identified existing road infrastructure;
determining a traffic index of the identified existing road infrastructure based on an estimation of average traffic on the identified existing road infrastructure over one or more time periods;
calculating a connectivity score for the identified existing road infrastructure based on the determined accessibility index, the connectedness index, the quality index, and the traffic index thereof;
calculating a feasibility score of the existing building infrastructure based on the calculated connectivity score; and
outputting the identified existing building infrastructure as a potential landing site for landing aerial vehicles when the calculated feasibility score of the identified existing building infrastructure is above a predetermined threshold score.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feasibility score of the identified existing building infrastructure is a measure of the identified existing building infrastructure as the landing site to support landing of the aerial vehicles thereon.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a height index based on an estimation of a height of the identified existing building infrastructure;
determining an obstacle index based on an identification of one or more possible obstacles proximal to the identified existing building infrastructure and relative positions thereof with respect to the identified existing building infrastructure for landing the aerial vehicles thereon; and
calculating an absence of obstacles score for the identified existing building infrastructure based on the determined height index and the obstacle index.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the height of the identified existing building infrastructure is estimated by utilizing one or more of information of camera parameters associated with the image data, altitude information associated with the image data, and depth analysis of the identified existing building infrastructure from the image data.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
calculating an electricity availability score for the identified existing building infrastructure based on known uptime of electricity supply to the identified existing building infrastructure.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
calculating an ease of flying score for the identified existing building infrastructure based on at least one of identification of no-fly zones and availability of potential emergency landing sites nearby the identified existing building infrastructure.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
assigning respective weight coefficients to one or more of the calculated connectivity score, the absence of obstacles score, the electricity availability score, and the ease of flying score.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the feasibility score is calculated as a cumulative sum of the calculated connectivity score, the absence of obstacles score, the electricity availability score, and the ease of flying score in consideration of the assigned one or more respective weight coefficients.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the existing building infrastructure is outputted as the potential landing site utilizing real-time image data obtained from the aerial vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a height index based on an estimation of a height of the identified existing building infrastructure;
determining an obstacle index based on an identification of one or more possible obstacles proximal to the identified existing building infrastructure and relative positions thereof with respect to the identified existing building infrastructure for landing the aerial vehicles thereon; and
calculating an absence of obstacles score for the identified existing building infrastructure based on the determined height index and the obstacle index.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
calculating an electricity availability score for the identified existing building infrastructure based on known uptime of electricity supply to the identified existing building infrastructure.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
calculating an ease of flying score for the identified existing building infrastructure based on at least one of identification of no-fly zones and availability of potential emergency landing sites nearby the identified existing building infrastructure.

13. An apparatus for identification of a landing site for aerial vehicles, the apparatus comprising:
one or more processors;
a memory communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the memory is configured with the one or more processors to:
process image data pertaining to a potential site area;
identify existing building infrastructure and define boundaries of the identified existing building infrastructure in the potential site area, based on the processed image data;
identify existing road infrastructure adjacent to the boundaries of the identified existing building infrastructure and define boundaries of the identified existing road infrastructure, based on the processed image data;
determine an accessibility index of the identified existing road infrastructure based on a relative distance between the identified existing building infrastructure and the identified existing road infrastructure;
determine a connectedness index of the identified existing road infrastructure based on a distance of the identified existing road infrastructure from one or more of nearby transport stations;
determine a quality index of the identified existing road infrastructure based on a physical condition of the identified existing road infrastructure;
determine a traffic index of the identified existing road infrastructure based on an estimation of average traffic on the identified existing road infrastructure over one or more time periods;
calculate a connectivity score for the identified existing road infrastructure based on the determined accessibility index, the connectedness index, the quality index, and the traffic index thereof;
calculate a feasibility score of the existing building infrastructure based on the calculated connectivity score; and
output the identified existing building infrastructure as a potential landing site for landing aerial vehicles when the calculated feasibility score of the identified existing building infrastructure is above a predetermined threshold score.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the feasibility score of the

Assignees

• Arrabotu Sheetal Reddy
• Sagar Hrishikesh
• Sudhakaran Vinay
• Yeshwanth Chandan
• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Arrabotu Sheetal Reddy
• Sagar Hrishikesh
• Sudhakaran Vinay
• Yeshwanth Chandan

Classifications

• G06V10/26

  Segmentation of patterns in the image field; Cutting or merging of image elements to establish the pattern region, e.g. clustering-based techniques; Detection of occlusion · CPC title

• G06V10/25

  Determination of region of interest [ROI] or a volume of interest [VOI] · CPC title

• G06V20/176 Primary

  Urban or other man-made structures · CPC title

• G08G5/54

  for approach or landing · CPC title

• G08G5/74

  for monitoring terrain · CPC title