Magnetic field navigation of unmanned autonomous vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9975634-B2
Application number	US-201615202796-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 6, 2016
Priority date	Jul 6, 2016
Publication date	May 22, 2018
Grant date	May 22, 2018

Abstract

Embodiments include devices and methods for navigating an unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) based on a measured magnetic field vector and strength of a magnetic field emanated from a charging station. A processor of the UAV may navigate to the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength. The processor may determine whether the UAV is substantially aligned with the charging station, and the processor may maneuver the UAV to approach the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength in response to determining that the UAV is substantially aligned with the charging station. Maneuvering the UAV to approach the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength may involve descending to a center of the charging station. The UAV may follow a specified route to and/or away from the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of navigating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
calculating, by a processor of the UAV, a magnetic field vector and strength of a magnetic field emanating from a charging station detected by a magnetic field sensor of the UAV;
navigating, by the processor, the UAV to the charging station using the calculated magnetic field vector and strength;
determining, by the processor, whether the UAV is substantially aligned with a center of the magnetic field; and
maneuvering, by the processor, the UAV to approach the charging station by maintaining the UAV substantially above the center of the magnetic field while descending to the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength in response to determining that the UAV is substantially aligned with the center of the magnetic field.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, by the processor, whether the UAV is substantially aligned with a center of the magnetic field comprises determining, by the processor, whether the UAV is substantially aligned with a center of the charging station.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
recalculating, by the processor, the magnetic field vector and strength in response to determining that the UAV is not substantially aligned with the center of the charging station; and
maneuvering, by the processor, the UAV to approach the charging station using the recalculated magnetic field vector and strength.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein maneuvering, by the processor, the UAV to approach the charging station by maintaining the UAV substantially above the center of the magnetic field while descending to the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength comprises:
descending, by the processor, the UAV to the charging station while maintaining the UAV substantially above a center of the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the processor, whether the UAV is sufficiently proximate to the charging station; and
initiating, by the processor, charging of a power storage of the UAV in response to determining that the UAV is sufficiently proximate to the charging station.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting, by the processor, the magnetic field;
detecting, by the processor, one or more characteristics of the detected magnetic field; and
verifying, by the processor, that the charging station is generating the magnetic field based on the detected one or more characteristics.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein navigating, by the processor, the UAV to the charging station using the calculated magnetic field vector and strength comprises:
obtaining, by the processor, route information defining a specified route for approaching the charging station; and
navigating, by the processor, the UAV along the specified route using the route information and the calculated magnetic field vector and strength.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
navigating, by the processor, the UAV away from the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein navigating, by the processor, the UAV away from the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength comprises:
obtaining, by the processor, route information for a specified route away from the charging station; and
navigating, by the processor, the UAV along the specified route away from the charging station using the route information and the calculated magnetic field vector and strength.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating, by the processor of the UAV, the magnetic field vector and strength of the magnetic field emanating from the charging station comprises:
receiving, by the processor, information from the magnetic field sensor, wherein the magnetic field sensor comprises a first coil, a second coil, and a third coil, wherein each coil is oriented orthogonally to the other two coils; and
calculating, by the processor, the magnetic field vector based on the information received from the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating, by the processor of the UAV, the magnetic field vector and strength of the magnetic field emanating from the charging station comprises:
receiving, by the processor, information from the magnetic field sensor, wherein the magnetic field sensor comprises a first coil, a second coil, and a third coil, wherein at least one of the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil comprises a charging coil of the UAV; and
calculating, by the processor, the magnetic field vector based on the information received from the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating, by the processor of the UAV, the magnetic field vector and strength of the magnetic field emanating from the charging station comprises:
receiving, by the processor, information from the magnetic field sensor, wherein the magnetic field sensor comprises a first coil, a second coil, and a third coil, wherein the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil are oriented substantially in the same plane and wherein each coil is oriented to detect a first magnetic field component of a first plane and a second magnetic field component of one of a second plane and a third plane; and
calculating, by the processor, the magnetic field vector based on the information received from the first coil, the second coil, and the third coil.

13. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
a magnetic field sensor; and
a processor coupled to the magnetic field sensor and configured with processor-executable instructions to:
calculate a magnetic field vector and strength of a magnetic field emanating from a charging station;
navigate the UAV to the charging station using the calculated magnetic field vector and strength;
determine whether the UAV is substantially aligned with a center of the magnetic field; and
maneuver the UAV to approach the charging station by maintaining the UAV substantially above the center of the magnetic field while descending to the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength in response to determining that the UAV is substantially aligned with the center of the magnetic field.

14. The UAV of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to determine whether the UAV is substantially aligned with a center of the charging station.

15. The UAV of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to:
recalculate the magnetic field vector and strength in response to determining that the UAV is not substantially aligned with the center of the charging station; and
maneuver the UAV to approach the charging station using the recalculated magnetic field vector and strength.

16. The UAV of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to maneuver the UAV to approach the charging station by maintaining the UAV substantially above the center of the magnetic field while descending to the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength by descending the UAV to the charging station while maintaining the UAV substantially above a center of the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength.

17. The UAV of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured with processor-executable instructions to:
determi

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Von Novak Iii William Henry
• Maalouf Joseph
• SHEVDE Sumukh

Classifications

• G01S19/14

  specially adapted for specific applications · CPC title

• H04W84/042

  Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems · CPC title

• H04W84/12

  WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] · 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