Virtual Wall Mapping For Aerial Vehicle Navigation
An unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”), the UAV includes an electronic speed controller and a flight controller. The electric speed controller is interfaced with thrust motors of the UAV. The flight controller configured to: determine a geographic location and a velocity of the UAV, the velocity includes a first component and a second component. The flight controller is configured to determine a distance between the geographic location of the UAV and a closest segment of a no-fly zone. The flight controller is configured to determine a zone of deceleration, the zone of deceleration comprising: a distal section and a proximal section. The flight controller in response to the UAV crossing a switch point, located at an intersection of the distal section and the proximal section, changing a deceleration rate of the UAV from a first deceleration rate to a second deceleration rate by adjusting the electric speed controller and the thrust motors.
1 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”), the UAV comprising:
an electric speed controller interfaced with thrust motors of the UAV; and
a flight controller configured to:
determine a geographic location and a velocity of the UAV, wherein the velocity includes a first component and a second component;
determine a distance between the geographic location of the UAV and a closest segment of a no-fly zone;
determine a zone of deceleration, the zone of deceleration comprising a distal section and a proximal section; and
in response to the UAV crossing a switch point located at an intersection of the distal section and the proximal section, changing a deceleration rate of the UAV from a first deceleration rate to a second deceleration rate by the electric speed controller adjusting the thrust motors.
2 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the first deceleration rate and the second deceleration rate are determined by a maximum velocity of the UAV being multiplied by a scaling factor that varies depending on a point along the zone of deceleration that the UAV is located.
3 . The UAV of claim 2 , wherein the scaling factor linearly decreases from 1 to 0 as the UAV approaches the no-fly zone.
4 . The UAV of claim 3 , wherein a trajectory of the UAV is linear as the UAV approaches the switch point so that a magnitude of the velocity of the set point of the UAV decreases while a direction of the UAV remains constant.
5 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the distal section and the proximal section extend parallel to one another along the no-fly zone.
6 . The UAV of claim 1 , further comprising:
a camera; and
a gimbal connecting the camera to the UAV.
7 . The UAV of claim 6 , further comprising:
a gimbal interface located between the gimbal and the UAV and directly connected to the UAV.
8 . The UAV of claim 7 , wherein the gimbal interface is in communication with the flight controller and the gimbal interface relays data to a gimbal controller that controls the gimbal and the camera.
9 . A system comprising:
a flight controller comprising:
a virtual wall behavior engine configured to:
determine a no-fly zone; and
determine a zone of deceleration comprising a distal section, a proximal section, and a switch point located at an intersection of the distal section and the proximal section;
a navigation engine configured to:
determine a location and a velocity of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV),
wherein the velocity includes a first component and a second component; and
identify a state of the UAV in real time; and
a distance evaluation engine configured to:
determine a distance between the location of the UAV and a closest segment of the no-fly zone; and
change a rate of deceleration from a first deceleration rate to a second deceleration rate as the UAV crosses the switch point based on the location and the velocity.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the proximal section and the distal section extend parallel to one another.
11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the navigation engine receives instructions from the virtual wall behavior engine and changes a speed, a direction, or a trajectory of the UAV, and
wherein instructions from the virtual wall behavior engine override conflicting commands from a user interface.
12 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising:
a no-fly zone database that stores information regarding all no-fly zones (NFZs) in a specified geographic area.
13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the no-fly zone database stores coordinates of the specified geographic area so that the distance evaluation engine and the navigation engine control the UAV within the coordinates.
14 . The UAV of claim 9 , wherein the first deceleration rate and the second deceleration rate are determined by a maximum velocity of the UAV being multiplied by a scaling factor that varies depending on a location within the zone of deceleration where the UAV is located.
15 . The UAV of claim 14 , wherein the scaling factor linearly decreases from 1 to 0 as the UAV approaches the no-fly zone.
16 . An electronic control system comprising:
a flight controller in communication with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and that includes instructions regarding a location, a speed, and a trajectory of the UAV;
an electronic speed controller (ESC) in communication with one or more thrust motors of the UAV and configured to control a speed and a thrust of the one or more thrust motors;
a sensor subsystem comprising a navigation engine to determine a location and orientation of the UAV;
a virtual wall behavior engine configured to:
determine a no-fly zone, and
determine a zone of deceleration comprising a distal section, a proximal section, and a switch point located at an intersection of the distal section and the proximal section; and
a power subsystem configured to manage power supplied to the one or more thrust motors so that a rate of deceleration is changed from a first deceleration rate to a second deceleration rate as the UAV crosses the switch point.
17 . The electronic control system of claim 16 , wherein the first deceleration rate and the second deceleration rate are determined by a velocity of the UAV being multiplied by a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor varies depending on the location of the UAV as the UAV moves along the zone of deceleration.
18 . The electronic control system of claim 17 , wherein the scaling factor linearly decreases from 1 to 0 as the UAV approaches the no-fly zone, and wherein a trajectory of the UAV is linear as the UAV approaches the switch point so that a magnitude of a velocity of the UAV decreases while a direction of the UAV remains constant.
19 . The electronic control system of claim 16 , further comprising:
a no-fly zone database within the flight controller, wherein the no-fly zone database includes geographic coordinates and locations that allows the UAV to avoid specified locations within a geographic area.
20 . The electronic control system of claim 19 , wherein the no-fly zone database is in communication with a server so that the no-fly zone is updatable in real time.