METHOD, SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS FOR CONTROL OF UNMANNED VEHICLES

1 .- 19 . (canceled)

20 . An unmanned vehicle for deployment in an environment, the unmanned vehicle comprising a processor and at least one sensor in communication with the processor, the processor configured to:

operate the unmanned vehicle to travel in a region of the environment;

determine an operational constraint associated with the region, wherein the operational constraint comprises (i) class identifier data that identifies a restriction within the region of the environment, and (ii) property data defining an operation of the unmanned vehicle within the region;

collect sensor data, via the at least one sensor, in association with the region;

compare the sensor data to the operational constraint;

in response determining a mismatch between the sensor data and the operational constraint, update the operational constraint based on the sensor data; and

adjust operation of the unmanned vehicle based on the updated operational constraint.

21 . The unmanned vehicle of claim 20 , further comprising a memory in communication with the processor, wherein the memory stores a cache of operational constraints, and updating the operational constraint based on the sensor data comprises the processor being configured to update the operational constraint stored in the cache.

22 . The unmanned vehicle of claim 21 , further comprising a communication interface, and wherein updating the operational constraint based on the sensor data in response to determining the mismatch further comprises the processor being configured to:

transmit, using the communication interface via a network, a request to a computing device to update the operational constraint based on the sensor data.

23 . The unmanned vehicle of claim 20 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises one or more of a barcode scanner, a laser-based sensing device, a camera, or a location sensor.

24 . The unmanned vehicle of claim 20 , wherein the at least one sensor is configured to measure a height of surrounding objects.

25 . The unmanned vehicle of claim 24 , wherein the class identifier in the operational constraint indicates a height-restricted zone including a maximum vehicle height clearance, and the processor is configured to:

measure, via the at least one sensor, a height clearance in the region;

determine a mismatch between the maximum vehicle height clearance in the operational constraint and the measured height clearance; and

in response to determining the mismatch, update the operational constraint by updating the class identifier to include a new maximum vehicle height clearance corresponding to the measured height clearance.

26 . The unmanned vehicle of claim 25 , wherein the vehicle is travelling along a path that intersects the region, and in response to updating the class identifier in the operational constraint, the processor is further configured to:

determine that a height of the vehicle is greater than the new maximum vehicle height clearance in the updated operational constraint;

generate an updated path that avoids the region of the environment; and

adjust operation of the unmanned vehicle by controlling the unmanned vehicle to follow the updated path.

27 . The unmanned vehicle of claim 26 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate the path and the updated path in order to complete a task.

28 . The unmanned vehicle of claim 20 , wherein the region is at least one of an area or a volume within the environment.

29 . A method for operating an unmanned vehicle deployed in an environment, the method comprising:

operating, via a processor of the unmanned vehicle, the unmanned vehicle to travel in a region of the environment;

determining, via the processor, an operational constraint associated with the region, wherein the operational constraint comprises (i) class identifier data that identifies a restriction within the region of the environment, and (ii) property data defining an operation of the unmanned vehicle within the region;

collecting, via at least one sensor of the unmanned vehicle coupled to the processor, sensor data in association with the region;

comparing the sensor data to the operational constraint;

in response determining a mismatch between the sensor data and the operational constraint, updating the operational constraint based on the sensor data; and

adjusting, via the processor, operation of the unmanned vehicle based on the updated operational constraint.

30 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the unmanned vehicle further comprises a memory in communication with the processor, and the method further comprises:

storing, in the memory, a cache of operational constraints; and

updating the operational constraint stored in the cache.

31 . The method of claim 30 , wherein the unmanned vehicle further comprises a communication interface in communication with the processor, and in response to determining the mismatch, the method further comprises:

transmitting, via a network using the communication interface, a request to a computing device to update the operational constraint based on the sensor data.

32 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises one or more of a barcode scanner, a laser-based sensing device, a camera, or location sensors.

33 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the at least one sensor is configured to measure a height of surrounding objects.

34 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the class identifier of the operational constraint comprises a height-restricted zone that includes a maximum vehicle height clearance, and the method further comprises:

measuring, via the at least one sensor, a height clearance in the region;

determining a mismatch between the maximum vehicle height clearance in the operational constraint and the measured height clearance; and

in response to determining the mismatch, updating the operational constraint by updating the class identifier to include a new maximum vehicle height clearance corresponding to the measured height clearance.

35 . The method of claim 34 , wherein operating the unmanned vehicle to travel in a region of the environment comprises controlling the unmanned vehicle to follow a path that intersects the region.

36 . The method of claim 35 , wherein in response to updating the class identifier included the operational constraint, the method further comprises:

determining that a height of the vehicle is greater than the new maximum vehicle height clearance in the updated operational constraint;

generating an updated path for the vehicle that avoids the region of the environment; and

adjusting operation of the unmanned vehicle by controlling the unmanned vehicle to follow the updated path.

37 . The method of claim 29 , further comprising:

generating the path and the updated path in order to complete a task.

38 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the region is at least one of an area or a volume within the environment.

39 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions for execution by a processor of an unmanned vehicle for causing the unmanned vehicle to perform a method, the method comprising:

operating the unmanned vehicle to travel in a region of the environment;

determining an operational constraint associated with the region, wherein the operational constraint comprises (i) class identifier data that identifies a restriction within the region of the environment, and (ii) property data defining an operation of the unmanned vehicle within the region;

collecting, via at least one sensor of the unmanned vehicle, sensor data in association with the region;

comparing the sensor data to the operational constraint;

in response determining a mismatch between the sensor data and the operational constraint, updating the operational constraint based on the sensor data; and

adjusting operation of the unmanned vehicle based on the updated operational constraint.