Systems and methods for restricting drone airspace access

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9552736-B2
Application number	US-201514608426-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 29, 2015
Priority date	Jan 29, 2015
Publication date	Jan 24, 2017
Grant date	Jan 24, 2017

Abstract

Methods, systems and devices are disclosed for providing access to a restricted area for a drone by a beacon device. Beacon signals including access information associated with access for the restricted area may be transmitted by the beacon device. The beacon device may receive one or more access parameters for the drone. The beacon device may compare the received one or more access parameters for the drone to the access information for the restricted area. The beacon device may determine clearance for the drone to access the restricted area based on comparing the one or more access parameter for the drone and the access information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for providing access for a drone to an area of restricted air space (“restricted area”) by a beacon device, comprising:
transmitting, by the beacon device, beacon signals including access information associated with the drone accessing the restricted area;
receiving, by the beacon device, one or more access parameters associated with the drone;
determining, by the beacon device, a clearance for the drone to access the restricted area based on comparing the received one or more access parameters associated with the drone and the access information transmitted in the beacon signals; and
transmitting a signal from the beacon device to the drone indicating the determined clearance for accessing the restricted area, comprises:
transmitting an access approved notification from the beacon device to the drone when the determined clearance permits the drone access to the restricted area; and
transmitting an access denied notification from the beacon device to the drone when the determined clearance does not permit the drone access to the restricted area, wherein the access denied notification includes information for the drone to take a corrective action.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting, by the beacon device, beacon signals including access information associated with the drone accessing the restricted area comprises receiving, by the beacon device from a server, at least the access information associated with the restricted area.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving, by the beacon device, one or more access parameters associated with the drone comprises receiving, by the beacon device, at least the one or more access parameters from a server associated with the drone.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information for the drone to take the corrective action comprises at least one of: an instruction to land in or move to a designated area; an instruction to proceed along a designated flight path to avoid the restricted area; an instruction to return to a designated location; an instruction to prevent takeoff; an instruction to revert control of the drone to a third party; an instruction to restrict usage of the drone while in the restricted area; or an instruction to wait for a period of time.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beacon signals define a boundary profile of the restricted area.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the access information comprises additional information including one or more of: boundary information; time-based access restriction information; restriction level information; suggested route information; suggested corrective action information; suggested alternative route information; use restriction information; or toll payment information.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, by the beacon device, the clearance for the drone to access the restricted area based on comparing the received one or more access parameters for the drone and the access information transmitted in the beacon signals comprises:
receiving, by the beacon device, toll payment information from the drone; and
processing, by the beacon device, the toll payment information,
wherein transmitting the signal from the beacon device to the drone indicating the determined clearance for accessing the restricted area comprises transmitting a signal from the beacon device to the drone permitting access to the restricted area in response to successful processing of a toll payment.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein processing, by the beacon device, the toll payment information comprises:
forwarding, by the beacon device, the toll payment information to a server; and
receiving, by the beacon device from the server, a processing result of the toll payment information processing performed in the server.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more access parameters associated with the drone comprises at least one of a drone access level, a drone toll payment, a drone identification, a drone authentication, or a drone capability.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the access information comprises conditional access restrictions.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the conditional access restrictions comprise at least one of: a drone access level restriction; a drone toll payment restriction; a time-based restriction; a drone identification restriction; a drone authentication restriction; a drone use restriction; a drone speed restriction; or a drone altitude restriction.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
determining, by the beacon device, the clearance for the drone to access the restricted area based on comparing the received one or more access parameters associated with the drone and the access information transmitted in the beacon signals comprises determining, by the beacon device, a clearance for the drone to access the restricted area based on comparing a drone access level included in the received one or more access parameters associated with the drone with a drone access level restriction included in the access information; and
transmitting the signal from the beacon device to the drone indicating the determined clearance for accessing the restricted area, comprises:
transmitting an access approved notification from the beacon device to the drone when the determined clearance permits the drone access to the restricted area based on the comparison indicating the drone access level is equal to or higher than the drone access level restriction; and
transmitting an access denied notification from the beacon device to the drone when the determined clearance denies the drone access to the restricted area based on the comparison indicating the drone access level is lower than the drone access level restriction.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more access parameters associated with the drone comprise a conditional access level that is based on one or more of a capability of the drone, a qualification of the drone, an identity of an operator of the drone, a qualification of the operator of the drone, an experience level of the operator of the drone, or a maintenance history of the drone.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more access parameters associated with the drone comprise a conditional access level that is based on both an access level assigned to the drone and to an access level assigned to an operator of the drone.

15. A method for obtaining access by a drone to an area of restricted air space (“restricted area”), comprising:
receiving, by the drone, beacon signals from a beacon device associated with the restricted area, the beacon signals including access information associated with the restricted area;
comparing, by the drone, the received access information for the restricted area to one or more access parameters for the drone;
accessing the restricted area by the drone based on a result of comparing the received access information and the one or more access parameters for the drone; and
taking corrective action when the received access information does not permit the drone access to the restricted area based on the one or more access parameters for the drone.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein comparing, by the drone, the received access information for the restricted area to one or more access parameters for the drone comprises receiving, from a server associated with the drone, the result of comparing the received access information and the one or more access parameters for the drone performed in the server associated with the drone.

17. The method of claim 15 , whe

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Taveira Michael Franco

Classifications

• B64U2201/104

  using satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. GPS · CPC title

• G01S5/011

  Identifying the radio environment · CPC title

• G01S19/485

  whereby the further system is an optical system or imaging system · CPC title

• G08G5/006 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• H04W48/04

  based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction, speed · CPC title