Autonomous system for taking moving images from a drone, with target tracking and improved target location

• Main Authors: Chevalley, Laure, Leurent, Edouard
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 18.06.2019
• Subjects: AEROPLANES; AIRCRAFT; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSIONTRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; CONTROLLING; COSMONAUTICS; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLYING SUITS; HELICOPTERS; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; PARACHUTES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; REGULATING; SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES; TESTING; TRANSPORTING

The displacements of the drone are defined by piloting commands to take moving images of a target carrying the ground station. The system comprises means for adjusting the sight angle of the camera during the displacements of the drone and of the target, so that the images are centerd to the target, and means for generating flying instructions so that the distance between drone and target fulfills determined rules, these means being based on a determination of the GPS geographical position of the target with respect to the GPS geographical position of the drone, and of the angular position of the target with respect to a main axis of the drone. These means are also based on the analysis of a non-geographical signal produced by the target and received by the drone. The system allows freeing from the uncertainty of the GPS systems equipping this type of device.