Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Decision-Making

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016357192-A1
Application number	US-201514732409-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 5, 2015
Priority date	Jun 5, 2015
Publication date	Dec 8, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method and apparatus for autonomously managing operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle. Sensor data is received by a computer system located onboard the unmanned aerial vehicle. The sensor data is processed by the computer system to generate information of interest related to at least one target, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is out of a communications range of a control station. A number of actions to be performed is identified by the computer system based on the information of interest related to the at least one target, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is out of the communications range of the control station.

First claim

1 . A method comprising:
receiving, by a computer system located onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle, sensor data; processing, by the computer system, the sensor data to generate information of interest related to at least one target, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside a communications range of a control station; and identifying, by the computer system, a number of actions to be performed based on the information of interest related to the at least one target, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside the communications range of the control station.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein processing the sensor data comprises:
performing, by the computer system autonomously, an imaging system performance evaluation for a number of imaging systems using the sensor data, wherein the sensor data includes at least one of imaging data generated by the number of imaging systems and system data about the number of imaging systems.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein identifying the number of actions comprises:
identifying, by the computer system autonomously, the number of actions to be performed based on the imaging system performance evaluation and decision-making information stored in a data storage.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein processing the sensor data comprises:
performing, by the computer system autonomously, a vehicle evaluation for the unmanned aerial vehicle using the sensor data, data received from a number of vehicle systems onboard the unmanned aerial vehicle, and tolerance information for a number of operational parameters for the unmanned aerial vehicle, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside the communications range of the control station.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein processing the sensor data further comprises:
detecting, by the computer system autonomously, a set of anomalies based on the vehicle evaluation, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside the communications range of the control station.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein identifying the number of actions comprises:
identifying, by the computer system autonomously, the number of actions to be performed based on the set of anomalies detected, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside the communications range of the control station.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the number of actions comprises:
retrieving, by the computer system, safety standards information stored in a database implemented on the computer system; and identifying, by the computer system autonomously, the number of actions to be performed based on the information of interest related to the at least one target and the safety standards information, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside the communications range of the control station.

8 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving from the control station, prior to the unmanned aerial vehicle going outside the communications range of the control station, a set of preselected options from which at least one of the number of actions is to be selected.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein processing the sensor data comprises:
performing, by the computer system autonomously, a mission performance evaluation for the unmanned aerial vehicle with respect to a current flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein performing the mission performance evaluation comprises:
performing, by the computer system autonomously, the mission performance evaluation using at least one of safety standards information, information about a detection of any anomalies that affect safety of the unmanned aerial vehicle, information about terrain, information about no-fly zones, information about dynamics of the unmanned aerial vehicle, weather information, or information about other aerial vehicles near a current location of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein identifying the number of actions comprises:
determining, by the computer system autonomously, whether a contingency flight path is needed based on the mission performance evaluation; and
generating, by the computer system autonomously, the contingency flight path, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside communications range of the control station.

12 . A method for autonomously managing operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle, the method comprising:
identifying, by a computer system located onboard the unmanned aerial vehicle, information related to at least one target, wherein the information is based on data that is received from at least one of a sensor system, a target detector, a target tracker, or a number of vehicle systems implemented onboard the unmanned aerial vehicle; evaluating, by the computer system autonomously, the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle and a performance of a mission of the unmanned aerial vehicle using the information, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside a communications range of a control station; and identifying, by the computer system autonomously, a number of actions to be performed based on evaluation of the operation of and the performance of the mission of the unmanned aerial vehicle, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside the communications range of the control station.

13 . The method of claim 12 further comprising:
generating, by the computer system autonomously, a number of commands for performing the number of actions, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is outside the communications range of the control station.

14 . The method of claim 12 further comprising:
transmitting, by the computer system autonomously, at least one of the information received or information of interest generated based on the evaluation of the operation of and the mission of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the control station, when the unmanned aerial enters within the communications range of the control station.

15 . An apparatus comprising:
a sensor system that is located onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle and that generates sensor data; and a computer system that is located onboard the unmanned aerial vehicle and that receives the sensor data, processes the sensor data to generate information of interest related to at least one target, and identifies a number of actions to be performed based on the information of interest related to the at least one target, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is located outside a communications range of a control station.

16 . The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising:
the unmanned aerial vehicle.

17 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the computer system is configured to autonomously process the sensor data and identify the number of actions to be performed autonomously, while the unmanned aerial vehicle is located outside the communications range of the control station.

18 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the computer system comprises:
an autonomy interface that autonomously checks the information of interest for reliability.

19 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the computer system comprises:
an anomaly manager that autonomously performs a vehicle evaluation for the unmanned aerial vehicle, identifies a set of anomalies based on the vehicle evaluation, and identifies the number of actions to be performed based on the set of anomalies identified.

20 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the sensor system includes a number of imaging systems and wherein the computer system comprises:
an adaptive sensor controller that auton

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Mcgrew James Statelar
• Vian John Lyle

Classifications

• B64U2201/20

  Remote controls · CPC title

• B64U2201/10

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

• B64C2201/141

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B64C39/024

  of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV · CPC title

• G05D1/0088 Primary

  characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours (using knowledge based models G06N5/00) · CPC title