Unmanned aerial vehicle and methods for controlling same

摘要

One variation of a method for imaging an area of interest includes: within a user interface, receiving a selection for a set of interest points on a digital map of a physical area and receiving a selection for a resolution of a geospatial map; identifying a ground area corresponding to the set of interest points for imaging during a mission; generating a flight path over the ground area for execution by an unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission; setting an altitude for the unmanned aerial vehicle along the flight path based on the selection for the resolution of the geospatial map and an optical system arranged within the unmanned aerial vehicle; setting a geospatial accuracy requirement for the mission based on the selection for the mission type; and assembling a set of images captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission into the geospatial map.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
at an unmanned aerial vehicle:
downloading a first flight path from a remote computer system via a cellular network;uploading data from the first flight path to an autopilot module arranged in the unmanned aerial vehicle for execution by the unmanned aerial vehicle during a mission;during the mission, transmitting telemetry data to the remote computer system over Internet communication protocol via the cellular network;during the mission, downloading a second flight path from the remote computer system via the cellular network; andduring the mission, uploading data from the second flight path, in replacement of the first flight path, to the autopilot module for execution by the unmanned aerial vehicle.