Innovative Safety Features in Drones for Safer Operation

Intelligent method and system for managing battery electricity in drones to prevent accidents and improve battery utilization. It calculates the required electricity to land or return based on current position, and if battery is low, prompts or automatically triggers landing or return. This provides real-time, intelligent protection rather than fixed voltage thresholds.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) landing and takeoff control system that balances safety and flexibility by allowing restricted landings and takeoffs based on object type and position. The system uses onboard sensors to detect objects near the landing/takeoff zone. It identifies object type (static vs moving) and restrictions are applied based on that. For example, landing is allowed if the object is a package that can be moved. Restrictions are further refined based on UAV flight mode, distance, user presence, etc.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can release a warning alarm device when it detects an abnormality that may cause a crash. The UAV monitors its flight, and when it senses an impending failure, it detaches and deploys an alarm device to warn people on the ground. The alarm device can have a parachute to slow its descent and stay airborne while sounding an alarm or displaying a warning message. This provides a way to alert people below about an imminent UAV crash so they can evacuate the area.

Reducing damage to the environment when an aerial vehicle crashes by adapting the vehicle's actions based on the surrounding environment. The vehicle monitors its surroundings and determines the risk to the environment from the vehicle and its load crashing. Based on this risk assessment, the vehicle takes actions to mitigate damage in the event of a crash, such as releasing the load, ejecting the load, lowering the load, emergency landing, decomposing the vehicle, or releasing fuel. The goal is to minimize harm to people and objects near the vehicle if it crashes.

A moving body, like a drone, that autonomously moves in an environment estimates a safety degree for continuing motion based on external information and its own history. It uses environmental data to assess potential collisions and dynamic object risks. If safety is high, it moves. If low, it stops or detours. This allows autonomous vehicles to avoid dangerous situations and safely navigate complex environments.

Allowing a user to control an unmanned aircraft during a fall using an image of the falling position captured by the aircraft. The system displays the falling position image, generates a control command based on the image, and transmits it to the aircraft to control its movement during the fall. This enables the user to steer the falling aircraft based on the visual feedback instead of relying on self-sustaining control. The system estimates the falling position from flight data and sensor readings.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system that warns people below when the UAV is in trouble. The system has an onboard device that can detach and descend separately from the UAV. If the UAV encounters a critical situation where it cannot continue flight, the detachable device is released to warn people below. The device can have features like parachutes, lights, sirens, banners, or smoke to make people notice. This allows quicker warning compared to increasing UAV alarms at high altitude. The detachable device can also have its own power source and electronics.

Detecting and intercepting drones using a networked system with multiple sensors and counter drones. The system receives potential drone sightings from sensors, fuses the data to confirm if it's a threat drone, and then sends interception instructions to nearby counter drones. This allows collaborative detection and response against drones using distributed sensors and mobile interceptors. The system can also provide services like renewing energy supplies to the counter drones. It allows flexible response strategies like destroying drones outside protected areas.

Controller for autonomous drones with a simplified, intuitive interface for non-expert users. The controller has an on-screen map, route, and emergency button. It displays the drone's location on the map. The emergency button sends commands like hovering and stopping the drone. This allows quick, intuitive response in emergencies without complex controls.

Using wireless network location services to manage unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a UTM framework. Instead of relying on UAVs to transmit their GPS locations, the UAV Traffic Management (UTM) system requests location monitoring from the network operator's location services. This allows the UTM to receive accurate and reliable location data when the UAV enters restricted areas or deviates from flight plans. It also reduces network traffic as the UAVs don't have to transmit location continuously.

System for avoiding crashes of multiple drones by prioritizing crash risk mitigation for a specific drone over other drones. The system repeatedly acquires flight status of multiple drones and when a drone's status indicates imminent crash risk, it processes that drone's flight status with higher priority compared to other drones. This allows quicker crash avoidance actions for the at-risk drone compared to other drones.

Intelligent system for managing flight restrictions for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that provides smart decision-making assistance to UAV operators about where and when to fly. The system uses authentication, financial information, and flight parameters to grant or deny permission for UAVs to fly in restricted areas. It also monitors UAV activity in restricted zones and can charge fees or tolls for violations. The system can release temporary restrictions with authentication and allow customized flight parameters. It enables autonomous, accountable UAV flight regulation.

Drone system with improved safety for autonomous chemical spraying in agriculture. The system has states like takeoff diagnosis, flight planning confirmation, environment check, and position verification to ensure drone readiness before takeoff. It also prevents chemical leakage during diagnosis and refills if needed. This allows a foolproof system where the drone won't fly unless properly configured and environment checked.

An electronic remote control system for drones that prevents unauthorized flight by detecting boundary risks and guiding drones back. The system has a processing unit that analyzes drone status, remote commands, and flight zone limits to detect potential boundary breaches. If a breach is detected, the system performs actions like guiding the drone back or landing it. This allows proactive intervention instead of relying solely on onboard geofencing modules that trigger automatic drone loss.

A system and method to improve safety of drones by enabling operator validation of critical commands before execution on the drone. The system has a drone with an onboard entity and a remote control entity connected to a human interface. The operator selects commands for sending to the drone. The drone receives the commands, generates a response message, and sends it back. The control entity displays the response to the operator who can validate or reject it. Only validated commands are executed by the drone. This adds an extra step of verification to prevent erroneous or malicious commands from causing catastrophic drone failures.

Protecting unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from ground threats during package delivery by detaching the payload if contact is imminent. The UAV has sensors to detect threats like animals or people below. If it can't avoid the threat, it releases the package or cargo to prevent capture or damage. This provides an additional defense mechanism when the UAV is near the ground during delivery.

Facilitating safe emergency landings of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by predicting and mitigating landing risks. The system involves analyzing UAV flight routes prior to deployment to determine emergency landing locations. During flight, the UAV monitors status inputs to determine if it can't continue. If so, it alters the route to an alternative landing site with lower collateral damage. This proactive approach reduces injury and property damage compared to uncontrolled crashes.

Targeted flight restricted regions for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that take into account characteristics of the region and the UAV. The regions are generated based on the location and functional parameters of notable features within the region, like airports or private property. When a UAV enters one of these regions, it triggers flight response measures like landing, returning, or holding position. This allows more precise and flexible flight restrictions tailored to the specifics of each area.

A flight control system for preventing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from flying outside a permitted area. The system uses onboard sensors to detect if the UAV is deviating from the permitted area. If deviation is detected, it forcibly lands or causes the UAV to fall to prevent further deviation. This ensures the UAV doesn't fly outside the permitted area even if sensors fail or environmental factors make normal flight impossible.

Protecting objects and drones from damage during uncontrolled impacts using a drone damage avoidance system. The system detects when a drone is at risk of colliding with an object at high speed due to loss of power, navigation failure, etc. It then activates a protection system that reorients the drone and deploys a parachute before impact. This reduces forces on both the object and drone compared to a direct collision.