120 results about "Mission plan" patented technology

The present invention relates to a reduced scale industrial helicopter, with an integrated automatic flight control system, that includes core autopilot functions, GPS management, and full-function navigation systems. The autopilot technology includes rapid launch capability, real-time in-flight switching between one or more of a) remote control, b) autopilot-directed, c) ground station controlled, and d) home modes, and is upgradeable. The helicopter is used for high or low altitude surveillance, and can handle various payloads, including photographic missions. The helicopter may include onboard batteries and / or a unique battery unit disposed beneath the helicopter, and includes autonomous features such as automatic takeoff, automatic landing, safety return to home base, and predetermined mission plans.

Systems and methods are disclosed for generating a digital flight path within complex mission boundaries. In particular, in one or more embodiments, systems and methods generate flight legs that traverse a target site within mission boundaries. Moreover, one or more embodiments include systems and methods that utilize linking algorithms to connect the generated flight legs into a flight path. Moreover, one or more embodiments include systems and methods that generate a mission plan based on the flight path. In one or more embodiments, the generated mission plan enables a UAV to traverse a flight area within mission boundaries and capture aerial images with regard to the target site.

A system collaboratively and autonomously plans and controls a team of unmanned vehicles within an environment. A mission planning component creates a mission plan for a plurality of members of the team of unmanned vehicles. The mission planning component creates a task plan for each member based on the mission plan. A collaboration component assigns members to the team and roles for the assigned members. The collaboration component updates membership and roles of the members based on the changing situation of the environment. A situational awareness component evaluates the changing situation of the environment based on information from the assigned members of the team. A contingency management component monitors the changing situation of the environment. The contingency management component monitors changes of capabilities of the assigned members of the team and execution of the mission plan and task plans. The contingency management component determines whether to update any of the group consisting of the mission plan and the task plans. A vehicle management component controls movement of each assigned member based on the task plan of each assigned member.

The present invention provides a distributed agent-based computer infrastructure configured to manage a mission of an unmanned vehicle that includes generating a mission plan and executing the mission plan. The computer infrastructure comprises an operator interface component, an autonomous mission management component and a vehicle systems interface component. The autonomous mission management component comprises agents configured for receiving information from an operator, for generating a mission plan from the received information including a path to be traveled, and for monitoring execution of the mission plan.

A method and system that facilitates operation of autonomous equipment by providing a mission planner to maintain line-of-sight contact between a plurality of coordinated machines, including a method for maintaining line-of-sight (LoS) communication between a plurality of machines that creates a mission plan for a work site that includes a path plan for each of the plurality of machines that maintains the line-of-sight communication between the plurality of machines by taking into account a topography for the work site; and loads the path plan for each respective one of the plurality of machines into each respective one of the plurality of machines, wherein the path plan specifies a machine travel path for each respective one of the plurality of machines.

A method for operating a powered system, the method including determining whether a mission plan of the powered system is correct to satisfy at least one mission objective of the powered system, if not, updating information used to establish the mission plan, revising the mission plan based on the updated information to satisfy the at least one mission objective, and operating the powered system based on the revised mission plan. A system and a computer software code for operating a powered system are also disclosed.

Disclosed is an underwater vehicle that can be operated as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) or as an autonomous vehicle (AUV). The underwater vehicle has a tether, which may be a fiberoptic cable, that connects the vehicle to a control console. The underwater vehicle has vertical and lateral thrusters, pitch and yaw control fins, and a propulsor, all of which may be used in an ROV-mode when the underwater vehicle is operating at slow speeds. The underwater vehicle may also be operated in a AUV-mode when operating at higher speeds. The operator may switch the vehicle between ROV-mode and AUV-mode. The underwater vehicle also has a fail-safe mode, in which the vehicle may navigate according to a pre-loaded mission plan if the tether is severed.

A method for dividing a field into zones with similar crop attributes and developing a mission plan for steering the harvester to selectively harvest crops based on one or more of the attributes. The attributes include protein level, starch level, oil level, sugar content, moisture level, digestible nutrient level, or any other crop characteristic of interest. The method can be applied to selectively harvest and / or segregate according to attribute any crop, including grains such as wheat, corn, or beans, fruits such as grapes, and forage crops. Directed crop sampling provides absolute value and variance information for segregated batches of harvested crop.

Systems and methods are disclosed for generating a digital flight path within complex mission boundaries. In particular, in one or more embodiments, systems and methods generate flight legs that traverse a target site within mission boundaries. Moreover, one or more embodiments include systems and methods that utilize linking algorithms to connect the generated flight legs into a flight path. Moreover, one or more embodiments include systems and methods that generate a mission plan based on the flight path. In one or more embodiments, the generated mission plan enables a UAV to traverse a flight area within mission boundaries and capture aerial images with regard to the target site. Furthermore, in one or more embodiments, systems and methods capture digital aerial images of vertical surfaces of a structure by generating a reference surface and flight legs corresponding to the reference surface.

In one embodiment, a method for controlling one or more autonomous agricultural vehicles includes generating a number of mission plans for the one or more autonomous agricultural vehicles, determining a plan value for each of the number of mission plans, selecting a mission plan with the highest plan value, and executing the selected mission plan to control the one or more autonomous agricultural vehicles.

A method for dividing a field into zones with similar crop attributes and developing a mission plan for steering the harvester to selectively harvest crops based on one or more of the attributes. The attributes include protein level, starch level, oil level, sugar content, moisture level, digestible nutrient level, or any other crop characteristic of interest. The method can be applied to selectively harvest and / or segregate according to attribute any crop, including grains such as wheat, corn, or beans, fruits such as grapes, and forage crops. Directed crop sampling provides absolute value and variance information for segregated batches of harvested crop.

A system collaboratively and autonomously plans and controls a team of vehicles having subsystems within an environment. The system includes a mission management component, a communication component, a payload controller component, and an automatic target recognition component. The mission management component plans and executes a mission plan of the team and plans and executes tasks of the vehicles. The communication component plans communication and networking for the team. The communication component manages quality of service for the team. The communication component directs communication subsystems for the team and for the vehicles. The payload controller component directs and executes sensor subsystems for the team and for the vehicles. The automatic target recognition component processes and fuses information from the sensor subsystems and from the vehicles for use by the mission management component.

An apparatus and method for control of at least one of a plurality of semiautonomous marine vessels are provided. The system includes a control station with a communications system for network communication with marine vessels, and provides diagnostics and control for control and monitoring of the marine vessels, according to a mission plan.

A system collaboratively and autonomously plans and controls a team of unmanned vehicles within an environment. A mission planning component creates a mission plan for a plurality of members of the team of unmanned vehicles. The mission planning component creates a task plan for each member based on the mission plan. A collaboration component assigns members to the team and roles for the assigned members. The collaboration component updates membership and roles of the members based on the changing situation of the environment. A situational awareness component evaluates the changing situation of the environment based on information from the assigned members of the team. A contingency management component monitors the changing situation of the environment. The contingency management component monitors changes of capabilities of the assigned members of the team and execution of the mission plan and task plans. The contingency management component determines whether to update any of the group consisting of the mission plan and the task plans. A vehicle management component controls movement of each assigned member based on the task plan of each assigned member.

The invention relates to a multi-unmanned aerial vehicle cooperative formation flying management system and method. The multi-unmanned aerial vehicle cooperative formation flying management system comprises a mission planning module, a route planning module, a formation assembly module, a formation maintenance module and a formation reconstruction module, wherein the mission planning module is used for setting a mission type for unmanned aerial vehicle cooperative formation, and the mission type comprises a cooperative patrolling mission, a cooperative detection mission, a cooperative target searching mission and a cooperative target tracking mission; the route planning module is used for generating a flying route in the process of executing the mission for multi-unmanned aerial vehicles;the formation assembly module is used for controlling the multi-unmanned aerial vehicles to reach respective assembly points and controlling the multi-unmanned aerial vehicles to return respective start points; the formation maintenance module is used for controlling the multi-unmanned aerial vehicle cooperative formation to maintain fixed flying formations; and the formation reconstruction moduleis used for reconstructing geometric formations of the multi-unmanned aerial vehicle. A formation flying management decision, the route planning and formation control of the multi-unmanned aerial vehicle in complex environments and special conditions of incomplete communication, dynamic topology and the like are realized, the mission execution efficiency and effect of the multi-unmanned aerial vehicle are improved, and the management is safe and reliable.

The present invention provides a MKV interceptor including multiple kill vehicles with autonomous management capability and kinematic reach to prosecute a large threat extent. Each KV can self-manage its own KV deployment and target engagement for a determined target volume assigned by a designated master KV. At least one KV is master capable of managing the post-separation of all of the KVs without requiring updates to the mission plan post-separation. The autonomous capability and increased kinematic reach provides for a more efficient use of boosters and more effective engagement of the threat.

The present invention relates to a reduced scale industrial helicopter, with an integrated automatic flight control system, that includes core autopilot functions, GPS management, and full-function navigation systems. The autopilot technology includes rapid launch capability, real-time in-flight switching between one or more of a) remote control, b) autopilot-directed, c) ground station controlled, and d) home modes, and is upgradeable. The helicopter is used for high or low altitude surveillance, and can handle various payloads, including photographic missions. The helicopter may include onboard batteries and / or a unique battery unit disposed beneath the helicopter, and includes autonomous features such as automatic takeoff, automatic landing, safety return to home base, and predetermined mission plans.

A system controls a team of vehicles. The system includes a plan dependency identifier, a contingency monitor, and an alert formulator. The plan dependency identifier analyzes a mission plan and identifies mission constraints of the mission plan. The contingency monitor continuously reviews execution of the mission plan for violations of the mission constraints. The alert formulator determines whether a part of the mission plan is threatened by a violation of one of the mission constraints.

A system predictively determines data transmitted within a wireless network in accordance with a mission plan and changes to the mission plan. The system includes a first team member and a second team member. The first team member includes a first module for evaluating the changes to the mission plan encountered by the first team member and determining whether to transmit information of the change to the second team member. The first team member further includes a second module containing rules for evaluating changes to the mission plan encountered by the first team member. The first module utilizes the rules of the second module to predictively alter the mission plan.

A method for determining a mission plan for a powered system having at least one primary power generating unit when a desired parameter of the mission plan unobtainable and / or exceeds a predefined limit, the method includes identifying a desired parameter prior to creating a mission plan which may be unobtainable and / or in violation of a predefined limit, and notifying an operator of the powered system and / or a remote monitoring facility of the desired parameter.

Systems (100) and methods (2100) for identifying, deterring and / or delaying malicious attacks being waged on a Computer Network (“CN”). The methods involve implementing a Mission Plan (“MP”) at a first Network Node (“NN”). MP (1900, 1902) specifies that: a first IDentity Parameter (“IDP”) for a second NN has numerous possible values associated therewith; and at least two possible values are to be used in communications to and from the second NN in different timeslots of a time frame (2020-2026). At the first NN, a value for the first IDP, which is contained in a received packet, is compared with the possible values specified in MP to determine if the value is a “correct” value for a current timeslot. If it is determined that the value is not “correct” for the current timeslot, then the first NN performs actions to identify, deter or delay a possible malicious attack on CN.

A method for determining when to request a revised mission plan from a computer-readable instruction that when executed by a processor cause the processor to generate a mission plan for a powered system, the method including identifying whether at least one revised mission plan request is a mandatory mission plan request, an optional mission plan request, and / or a confirmation required mission plan request which may replace a current mission plan.

A system ensures safety and security of teams of collaborative autonomous unmanned vehicles in executing a mission plan. The system includes a plurality of components, a first device, a second device, and a third device. The plurality of components perform situation analysis, mission planning, mission replanning, mission plan execution, and collaboration between the autonomous unmanned vehicles. The first device identifies safety critical components of the plurality of components. The second device identifies security sensitive components of the plurality of components. The third device isolates the safety critical components from contamination by other components of the plurality of components. The third device isolates security sensitive data from contaminating non-security sensitive components of the plurality of components.

A method and apparatus for filtering data communications in a dynamic computer network is disclosed. The method includes receiving a data packet that includes a plurality of identity parameters. The data packet is filtered by comparing the plurality of identity parameters to a set of filtering rules. The filtering rules allow the data packet into the network if a set of said identity parameters have been pseudorandomly transformed to specify false identity parameters and those false identity parameters are within a set of currently allowed false identity parameters determined based on a mission plan.

A system ensures safety and security of teams of collaborative autonomous unmanned vehicles in executing a mission plan. The system includes a plurality of components, a first device, a second device, and a third device. The plurality of components perform situation analysis, mission planning, mission replanning, mission plan execution, and collaboration between the autonomous unmanned vehicles. The first device identifies safety critical components of the plurality of components. The second device identifies security sensitive components of the plurality of components. The third device isolates the safety critical components from contamination by other components of the plurality of components. The third device isolates security sensitive data from contaminating non-security sensitive components of the plurality of components.

The invention relates to an imaging satellite autonomous mission planning algorithm based on receding horizon control. According to the invention, research is conducted for the imaging satellite autonomous mission planning problem, an autonomous mission planning frame based on the RHC strategy is established, the optimization method of the rolling construction mission planning subproblem is described, and an imaging satellite autonomous mission planning heuristic algorithm based on the RHC strategy is provided. In the experimental analysis, through the contrast experiment of different problem scales and different RHC strategy parameters, the RHC-based heuristic algorithm provided in the invention is verified to be effective for the imaging satellite autonomous mission planning problem, the planning while executing strategy of the algorithm has the advantage of good robustness for dynamic missions that may occur in an earth observation network at any time, so the contradiction between the real-time performance and the optimality in the imaging satellite autonomous mission planning problem can be well solved.

A system predictively allocates bandwidth within a wireless network in accordance with a mission plan. The system includes a first team member and a second team member. The first team member predicts subsequent communication demand by the second team member in accordance with the mission plan. The second team member predicts subsequent communication demand by the first team member in accordance with the mission plan. The first team member is allocated a bandwidth commensurate with a predicted need of the first team member and a predicted need of the second team member. The second team member being allocated a bandwidth commensurate with a predicted need of the first team member and the second team member.

Systems and methods are disclosed for managing energy of a UAV during flight. In particular, the disclosed systems and methods assist in safely returning a UAV to ground while reducing diversionary time for providing energy to the UAV. In one or more embodiments, the disclosed systems and methods calculate a measure of remaining energy with regard to a UAV flying a mission plan and a measure of landing energy needed to travel to a landing station. The disclosed systems and methods can select a transition point from a mission plan and route leading from the mission plan to the landing station by comparing the calculated measure of remaining energy and the calculated measure of landing energy. Moreover, the disclosed system and methods can modify a mission plan to include the selected transition point and route.

Systems (100) and methods (1400) for enterprise mission management of a Computer Network (“CN”). The methods involve configuring CN to operate in accordance with a first Mission Plan (“MP”) specifying a manner in which an assigned value for a first IDentity Parameter (“IDP”) is to be dynamically modified by a first node of CN; detecting a trigger event which indicates that a new MP needs to be implemented within CN; obtaining a second MP that specifies a manner in which an assigned value for a second IDP is to be dynamically modified by a second node of CN; determining if any conflicts exist between operations of the second node defined by the second MP and operations of the first node defined by the first MP; and configuring operations of CN to further operate in accordance with the second MP if it is determined that no conflict exists.