Drone flight operations
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for sending a flight plan for execution by a drone, where the flight plan is adapted to a flight controller of the drone. Receiving flight data from the drone while the drone is executing the flight plan. Determining a modification to the flight plan based on the flight data received from the drone. Sending the modification to the flight plan to the drone while the drone is executing the flight plan, such that the drone executes the flight plan as modified by the modification.
1. A computer-implemented method for configuring an autonomous drone landing device (ADLD), the method being executed by one or more processors and comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors, sensor data that represents airspace above an ADLD, orientation data that indicates an orientation of a landing pad associated with an ADLD, and location data that indicates a geographic location of the ADLD;
determining, by the one or more processors, attributes to define a drone approach corridor based on the sensor data, the orientation data, and the location data;
registering the ADLD with a drone control platform;
determining, based on the orientation data, that the landing pad is not properly oriented for a drone to land on the landing pad; and
in response to determining that the landing pad is not properly oriented, alerting a user that the landing pad is not properly oriented.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the drone approach corridor extends from a drone highway to the landing pad associated with the ADLD.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data is one or more images of the airspace.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, based on the sensor data, that the airspace above the ADLD is obstructed; and
in response to determining that the airspace above the ADLD is obstructed, alerting a user that the airspace above the ADLD is obstructed.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein alerting the user that the airspace above the ADLD is obstructed comprises providing, for display on a user computing device, a notification that the airspace above the ADLD is obstructed and instructions for the user to relocate the ADLD.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the notification includes a graphical representation of a location of the obstruction with respect to the ADLD and a direction for the user to move the ADLD away from the obstruction.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein alerting the user that the airspace above the ADLD is obstructed comprises activating an indicator on the ADLD to notify the user that the airspace above the ADLD is obstructed and to indicate a direction in which to move the ADLD away from the obstruction.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein alerting the user that the landing pad is not properly oriented comprises providing, for display on a user computing device, a notification that the landing pad is not properly oriented and instructions for the user to correct the orientation of the landing pad.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the notification includes a graphical representation of a present orientation of the landing pad and a corrected orientation for the landing pad to guide the user in correcting the orientation of the landing pad.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein alerting the user that the landing pad is not properly oriented comprises activating an indicator on the ADLD to notify the user that the landing pad is not properly oriented and to indicate a direction in which to move ADLD in order to correct the orientation of the landing pad.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein registering the ADLD with a drone control platform comprises sending, to the drone control platform, data identifying the ADLD and data defining the drone approach corridor associated with the ADLD.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after registering the ADLD, sending signals from the ADLD to the drone control platform that indicate that the ADLD is functioning properly.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after registering the ADLD:
determining that the airspace above the ADLD; and
in response to determining that the airspace above the ADLD is obstructed, sending a notification to the drone control platform indicating that at least a portion of the drone approach corridor associated with the ADLD is unavailable for drones to enter.
14. A computer-implemented method for coordinating a drone approach to a landing site with an autonomous drone landing device (ADLD), the method being executed by one or more processors and comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication that a drone has entered an airspace associated with an ADLD, the airspace being defined, in part, by a boundary;
receiving, by the one or more processors, first data from a sensor of the ADLD that is configured to monitor the airspace associated with the ADLD;
receiving, by the one or more processors, orientation data that indicates an orientation of a landing pad associated with an ADLD and location data that indicates a geographic location of the ADLD;
determining, by the one or more processors and based on the first data, a position of the drone with respect to the boundary of the airspace associated with the ADLD;
communicating, by the one or more processors, second data to the drone to guide the drone's flight within the airspace based on the determined position of the drone with respect to the boundary of the airspace;
determining, based on the orientation data, that the landing pad is not properly oriented for a drone to land on the landing pad; and
in response to determining that the landing pad is not properly oriented, alerting a user that the landing pad is not properly oriented.
15. An autonomous drone landing device (ADLD) comprising:
one or more processors;
a data store coupled to the one or more processors having instructions stored thereon for execution by the one or more processors;
a sensor coupled to the one or more processors, and configured to monitor airspace above the ADLD;
a warning device coupled to the one or more processors, and configured to alert bystanders of an approaching drone; and
one or more communication interfaces coupled to the one or more processors, and configured to communicate with a drone control platform and a drone, and
wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors perform operations comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors, orientation data that indicates an orientation of a landing pad associated with an ADLD;
determining, based on the orientation data, that the landing pad is not properly oriented for a drone to land on the landing pad; and
in response to determining that the landing pad is not properly oriented, alerting a user that the landing pad is not properly oriented.
16. The ADLD of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving, by the one or more processors, sensor data that represents airspace above an ADLD and location data that indicates a geographic location of the ADLD;
determining, by the one or more processors, attributes to define a drone approach corridor based on the sensor data, the orientation data, and the location data; and
registering the ADLD with a drone control platform.
17. The ADLD of claim 16 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication that a drone has entered an airspace associated with an ADLD, the airspace being defined, in part, by a boundary;
receiving, by the one or more processors, first data from a sensor of the ADLD that is configured to monitor the airspace associated with the ADLD;
determining, by the one or more processors and based on the first data, a position of the drone with respect to the boundary of the airspace associated with the ADLD; and
communicating, by the one or more processors, second data to the drone to guide the drone's flight within the airspace based on the determined position of the drone with respect to the boundary of the airspace.
18. The ADLD of claim 16 comprising a landing pad coupled to the ADLD, wherein the landing pad comprises a drone charging station.
19. The ADLD of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving, by the one or more processors, sensor data that represents airspace above an ADLD, orientation data that indicates an orientation of a landing pad associated with an ADLD, and location data that indicates a geographic location of the ADLD;
determining, by the one or more processors, attributes to define a drone approach corridor based on the sensor data, the orientation data, and the location data;
registering the ADLD with a drone control platform;
receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication that a drone has entered an airspace associated with an ADLD, the airspace being defined, in part, by a boundary;
receiving, by the one or more processors, first data from a sensor of the ADLD that is configured to monitor the airspace associated with the ADLD;
determining, by the one or more processors and based on the first data, a position of the drone with respect to the boundary of the airspace associated with the ADLD; and
communicating, by the one or more processors, second data to the drone to guide the drone's flight within the airspace based on the determined position of the drone with respect to the boundary of the airspace.