Autonomous control of unmanned aerial vehicles

1. An autonomous control system for an unmanned aerial vehicle, the autonomous control system comprising:

a first control mode component configured to generate a first command to provide a first autonomous control mode for the unmanned aerial vehicle;

a second control mode component configured to generate a second command to provide a second autonomous control mode for the unmanned aerial vehicle; and

an intelligence synthesizer configured to resolve functional conflicts between the first and second autonomous control modes.

2. The autonomous control system of claim 1 , and further comprising:

a control mode selection component for responding to an operator control mode selection input by transitioning between the first and second autonomous control modes.

3. The autonomous control system of claim 1 , and further comprising:

an autopilot system configured to process at least one of the first and second commands.

4. The autonomous control system of claim 3 , and further comprising:

a vehicle control component configured to actuate control devices of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on process commands received from the autopilot system.

5. The autonomous control system of claim 3 , wherein the first and second commands comprise directionally descriptive control commands generated in response to command inputs.

6. The autonomous control system of claim 1 , wherein the intelligence synthesizer is configured to prioritize commands from a plurality of control mode components.

7. The autonomous control system of claim 1 , wherein the control system provides variable levels of autonomy control.

8. The autonomous control system of claim 7 , wherein the variable levels include a fully autonomous mode, a semi-autonomous mode, and a manual mode.

9. The autonomous control system of claim 7 , wherein the first and second autonomous control modes provide different levels of autonomy.

10. The autonomous control system of claim 7 , wherein the intelligence synthesizer is configured to manage which level of autonomy is allocated to each of a plurality of functions.

11. The autonomous control system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second autonomous control modes comprises at least one of:

a route following mode of control;

a ground collision avoidance mode of control;

an air collision avoidance mode of control;

a line-of-sight-slave mode of control;

a loiter pattern mode of control;

a programmed maneuvers mode of control; and

a target tracking mode of control.

12. A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving a first operator input that corresponds to a first autonomous control mode;

receiving a second operator input that corresponds to a second autonomous control mode;

determining that a conflict exists between the first and second autonomous control modes; and

generating a control output based on the determination that a conflict exists.

13. The method of claim 12 , and further comprising:

determining that the second autonomous control mode has priority over the first autonomous control mode; and

in response to the determination, transitioning to the second autonomous control mode.

14. The method of claim 13 , and further comprising:

transitioning back to the first autonomous control mode upon completion of the second autonomous control mode.

15. The method of claim 12 , and further comprising:

determining that the first autonomous control mode has priority over the second autonomous control mode; and

in response to the determination, delaying transition to the second autonomous control mode.

16. The method of claim 15 , and further comprising:

transitioning to the second autonomous control mode upon completion of the first autonomous control mode.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein each of the first and second autonomous control modes comprises at least one of:

a route following mode of control;

a ground collision avoidance mode of control;

an air collision avoidance mode of control;

a line-of-sight-slave mode of control;

a loiter pattern mode of control;

a programmed maneuvers mode of control; and

a target tracking mode of control.

18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first and second autonomous control modes provide different levels of autonomous control of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first autonomous control mode provides one of a fully autonomous mode, a semi-autonomous mode, and a manual mode.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the second autonomous control mode provides another of a fully autonomous mode, a semi-autonomous mode, and a manual mode.