Rail vehicle and on-board safety drone
A method for evaluating damage and providing passenger assistance in emergency events involving mass transit vehicles (MTVs), especially emergency events occurring in a tunnel, includes: (a) providing, on-board the MTV, at least one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), each UAV including a controller comprising a processor and memory; (b) determining, by the controller of the UVA while on-board the MTV in the tunnel, a change in at least one of the following: an acceleration, positive or negative, greater than a predetermined acceleration, an angle greater than a predetermined angle, a temperature greater than a predetermined temperature, and the presence of particles, gas or both greater than a predetermined concentration; (c) in response to the determining in step (b), the UAV separating from the MTV and becoming airborne within the tunnel; and (d) following step (c), executing, by the UAV, flight movement of the UAV within the tunnel.
1. A method comprising:
(a) determining a mass transit vehicle (MTV) and at least one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) provided on-board the MTV are in a tunnel, each UAV including a controller comprising a processor and memory;
(b) determining, by the controller of the UVA while on-board the MTV in the tunnel, at least one of the following:
an acceleration, positive or negative, greater than a predetermined acceleration,
an angle, positive or negative, greater than a predetermined angle,
a temperature greater than a predetermined temperature, and
the presence of particles, gas or both greater than a predetermined concentration;
(c) in response to the determining in step (b), the UAV separating from the MTV and becoming airborne within the tunnel; and
(d) following step (c), executing, by the UAV, flight movement of the UAV within the tunnel.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes the UAV executing the flight movement autonomously, under a control of an operator positioned outside the tunnel, or partially autonomously and partially under the control of the operator positioned outside the tunnel.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (c) includes the UAV becoming airborne autonomously or in response to a remotely initiated command.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the tunnel includes a local wireless system configured to output wireless signals; and
the UAV includes a sensor for receiving the wireless signals output by the local wireless system and the controller is configured to process the received wireless signals to: determine a spatial position of the UAV in the tunnel, to control the flight movement of the UAV in the tunnel, or both.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein:
the wireless signals comprise one of the following: radio signals, infrared signals, or ultrasound signals; and
the sensor includes an antenna, an infrared detector, or an ultrasound detector for receiving the respective radio signals, infrared signals, or ultrasound signals.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein controlling the flight movement of the UAV in the tunnel includes positioning the UAV proximate an entrance or exit of the tunnel.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the UVA includes, coupled to the controller, one or more accelerometers, each accelerometer configured to output a signal corresponding to the acceleration, the angle, or both; and
the controller is configured to determine, based on the signal output by each accelerometer and one or more values stored in the memory corresponding to the predetermined acceleration, the predetermined angle, or both, the presence of the acceleration greater than the predetermined acceleration, the presence of the angle greater than the predetermined angle, or both.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes the UAV executing the flight movement in response to commands for flight movement received by the UAV from one or more antennas positioned in the tunnel.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the UAV includes at least one of the following:
(i) one or more cameras, wherein for each camera of the UAV, the controller is configured to output via an antenna of the UAV to the one or more antennas positioned in the tunnel, a stream of video images acquired by the camera;
(ii) a radar system configured to output to the controller an indication of a presence of an object;
(iii) an audio speaker coupled to the controller, the controller configured to cause the audio speaker to output an audio signal in response to receiving audio data from the one or more antennas positioned in the tunnel via the antenna of the UAV; and
(iv) a light, wherein the controller is configured to control the on-off state of the light.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the audio signal is an audio message.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the light is an LED.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to output via the antenna of the UAV to the one or more antennas positioned in the tunnel the indication of the presence of the object.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the indication of the presence of the object is output in real-time.
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the one or more cameras include at least one of the following:
an optical video camera configured to output the stream of video images in a human visual spectrum; and
a thermal video camera configured to output the stream of video images in an infrared spectrum.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein each stream of video images is output in real-time.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UAV includes at least one of the following:
one or more accelerometers configured to detect the acceleration, the angle, or both;
a temperature sensor configured to detect temperature; and
a smoke detector configured to detect the presence of particles, gas or both greater than the predetermined concentration.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the MTV includes a plurality of UAVs; and
the plurality of UAVs is configured to execute flight movements in coordination autonomously, or under control of an operator positioned outside the tunnel, or partially autonomously, or partially under the control of the operator positioned outside the tunnel.
18. The method of claim 1 , further including:
(e) following step (d), positioning the at least one UAV proximate a door of the MTV; and
(f) following step (e), and while the at least one UAV is positioned proximate the door of the MTV, outputting, by the UAV, at least one of the following: an audio signal, an audio message, and visible light.
19. The method of claim 1 , further including:
(e) following step (d), positioning the at least one UAV proximate an entrance or exit of the tunnel; and
(f) following step (e), and while the at least one UAV is positioned proximate the entrance or exit of the tunnel, outputting, by the UAV, at least one of the following: an audio signal, an audio message, and visible light.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in step (a), each UAV is included on a vehicle of the MTV between the first and last vehicle of the MTV.
21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UAV is a copter UAV.
22. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (b) further includes determining the presence of a signal initiated manually.