Managing detected obstructions in air traffic control systems for unmanned aerial vehicles

1. A static obstruction detection and management method comprising:

in an Air Traffic Control (ATC) system for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), receiving UAV data from a plurality of UAVs related to static obstructions;

in the ATC system, receiving external data from one or more external sources related to the static obstructions;

in the ATC system, analyzing the UAV data and the external data to populate and manage an obstruction database of the static obstructions; and

in the ATC system, transmitting obstruction instructions to the plurality of UAVs based on analyzing the obstruction database with their flight plan.

2. The static obstruction detection and management method of claim 1 , wherein the obstruction database comprises a plurality of data structures each defining a no fly zone of location coordinates based on the analyzing.

3. The static obstruction detection and management method of claim 2 , wherein the data structures define one of a cylinder and a rectangle sized to cover an associated obstruction and with associated location coordinates.

4. The static obstruction detection and management method of claim 2 , wherein the data structures each comprise a time to remove parameter defining either a temporary or a permanent obstruction.

5. The static obstruction detection and management method of claim 1 , wherein one of the UAV data and the external data is used to first detect an obstruction and enter the obstruction in the obstruction database and the other of the UAV data and the external data is used to verify the obstruction in the obstruction database.

6. The static obstruction detection and management method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting instructions to one or more UAVs to obtain additional information to populate and manage the obstruction database.

7. The static obstruction detection and management method of claim 1 , further comprising:

managing one or more of emergency landing locations, recharging locations, and landing locations for the plurality of UAVs based on the obstruction database.

8. The static obstruction detection and management method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of UAVs fly under about 1000′ and the obstructions are based thereon.

9. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) air traffic control and monitoring system for static obstruction detection and management, the system comprising:

a network interface and one or more processors communicatively coupled to one another; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to:

receive UAV data from a plurality of UAVs related to static obstructions via the network interface;

receive external data from one or more external sources related to the static obstructions via the network interface;

analyze the UAV data and the external data to populate and manage an obstruction database of the static obstructions; and

transmit obstruction instructions to the plurality of UAVs based on analyzing the obstruction database with their flight plan via the network interface.

10. The UAV air traffic control and monitoring system of claim 9 , wherein the obstruction database comprises a plurality of data structures each defining a no fly zone of location coordinates based on the analyzing.

11. The UAV air traffic control and monitoring system of claim 10 , wherein the data structures define one of a cylinder and a rectangle sized to cover an associated obstruction and with associated location coordinates.

12. The UAV air traffic control and monitoring system of claim 10 , wherein the data structures each comprise a time to remove parameter defining either a temporary or a permanent obstruction.

13. The UAV air traffic control and monitoring system of claim 9 , wherein one of the UAV data and the external data is used to first detect an obstruction and enter the obstruction in the obstruction database and the other of the UAV data and the external data is used to verify the obstruction in the obstruction database.

14. The UAV air traffic control and monitoring system of claim 9 , wherein the memory storing instructions that, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

transmit instructions to one or more UAVs to obtain additional information to populate and manage the obstruction database.

15. The UAV air traffic control and monitoring system of claim 9 , wherein the memory storing instructions that, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

manage one or more of emergency landing locations, recharging locations, and landing locations for the plurality of UAVs based on the obstruction database.

16. The UAV air traffic control and monitoring system of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of UAVs fly under about 1000′ and the obstructions are based thereon.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform steps of:

receiving UAV data from a plurality of UAVs related to static obstructions;

receiving external data from one or more external sources related to the static obstructions;

analyzing the UAV data and the external data to populate and manage an obstruction database of the static obstructions; and

transmitting obstruction instructions to the plurality of UAVs based on analyzing the obstruction database with their flight plan.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the obstruction database comprises a plurality of data structures each defining a no fly zone of location coordinates based on the analyzing.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the data structures define one of a cylinder and a rectangle sized to cover an associated obstruction and with associated location coordinates.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the data structures each comprise a time to remove parameter defining either a temporary or a permanent obstruction.