Unmanned aerial vehicle authorization and geofence envelope determination

摘要

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for unmanned aerial vehicle authorization and geofence envelope determination. One of the methods includes determining, by an electronic system in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), an estimated fuel remaining in the UAV. An estimated fuel consumption of the UAV is determined. Estimated information associated with wind affecting the UAV is determined using information obtained from sensors included in the UAV. Estimated flights times remaining for a current path, and one or more alternative flight paths, are determined using the determined estimated fuel remaining, determined estimated fuel consumption, determined information associated wind, and information describing each flight path. In response to the electronic system determining that the estimated fuel remaining, after completion of the current flight path, would be below a first threshold, an alternative flight path is selected.

主权项

1. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system, comprising:
one or more sensor interfaces; and a computing system comprising one or more computing devices, said computing system programmed to implement:
an estimator engine, the estimator engine configured to:
determine an estimated fuel remaining in the UAV;determine an estimated fuel consumption of the UAV;determine, using information obtained via the one or more sensor interfaces from sensors included in the UAV, estimated information associated with wind affecting the UAV that indicates a direction of the wind;determine estimated flight times remaining for a current flight path that includes a plurality of waypoints, and one or more alternative flight paths that each include one or more of the plurality of waypoints, wherein determining an estimated flight time, for each of the current and alternative flight paths, uses:
the determined estimated fuel remaining,the determined estimated fuel consumption,the information associated with wind, and information describing the current and alternative flight paths; andin response to determining that the estimated fuel remaining, after completion of the current flight path, would be below a threshold, select an alternative flight path that excludes one or more of the plurality of waypoints in a direction of travel substantially against the direction of the wind based on:
a hierarchy of the waypoints included in the current flight path,the determined estimated fuel remaining, the determined estimated fuel consumption, andthe information associated with wind.