US 10,820,574 B2Granted

Specialized contextual drones for virtual fences

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorsMichael S. Gordon, James Robert Kozloski, Ashish Kundu, Clifford A. Pickover

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Abstract

Techniques for drone device control are provided. In one example, a computer-implemented method comprises establishing, by a plurality of drone devices respectively operatively coupled to processors and coordinating with one other, a defined region of a defined coordinate space of a geographic area, wherein the defined region is associated with an animal. The computer-implemented method also comprises monitoring, by the plurality of drone devices, a physical relationship between the animal and the defined region. The computer-implemented method can also comprise, in response to identifying that the physical relationship between the animal and the defined region fails to meet a criterion, performing, by the plurality of drone devices, a pattern of operations selected to alter the physical relationship between the animal and the defined region to satisfy the criterion.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method, comprising:

analyzing, by a plurality of drone devices respectively operatively coupled to processors, a physical environment of a geographic area in which one or more animals are located to generate respective environment information about the physical environment, wherein the analysis is performed using respective instruments of drone devices of the plurality of drone devices;
selecting, by a drone device of the plurality of drone devices based on the respective environment information received by the drone device from other drone devices of the plurality of drone devices via a communication network, a defined region, of a defined coordinate space of the geographic area, that surrounds the one or more animals, where the defined region is selected to mitigate at least one risk of the physical environment to the one or more animals, wherein the selecting comprises:
determining a water feature of the physical environment based on the respective environment information,
determining a capability of the one or more animals with respect to the one or more animals interacting with the water feature in relation to the at least one risk to the one or more animals, and
including a portion of the water feature in the defined region that is selected based on the determined capability of the one or more animals in relation to the portion of the water feature;
communicating, by the drone device via the communication network, data indicating the defined region to the other drone device;
maintaining, by the plurality of drone devices based on the data indicating the defined region, a virtual fence around the defined region;
and
monitoring, by the plurality of drone devices, respective physical relationships between the one or more animals and the defined region.

6 more elements

A computer program product for managing one or more virtual boundaries of a defined region, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a drone device to cause the drone device to:

analyze, using at least one instrument of the drone device, a physical environment of a geographic area in which one or more animals are located to generate environment information about the physical environment;
receive, via at least one communication link from at least one other drone device, respective other environment information about the physical environment generated by the at least one other drone device;
select, based on the environment information and the respective other environment information, a defined region, of a coordinate space of the geographic area, that surrounds the one or more animals, wherein the defined region is selected to mitigate at least one risk of the physical environment to the one or more animals, wherein the selection of the defined region comprises:
determine a water feature of the physical environment based on the environment information and the respective environment information,
determine a capability of the one or more animals with respect to the one or more animals interacting with the water feature in relation to the at least one risk to the one or more animals, and
include a portion of the water feature in the define region that is chosen based on the determined capability of the one or more animals in relation to the portion of the water feature;
monitor, with the at least one other drone device, one or more virtual boundaries of the defined region;
determine a violation associated with the one or more virtual boundaries of the defined region based on the monitoring;
determine one or more actions to perform by the drone device and the at least one other drone device to continue to monitor the one or more virtual boundaries of the defined region and mitigate the violation associated with the one or more virtual boundaries of the defined region;
and
perform, via communication of data indicating the one or more actions using the at least one communication link with the at least one other drone device, the one or more actions.

8 more elements

A drone device, comprising:

a memory that stores computer executable components;
and
a processor that executes the computer executable components stored in the memory, wherein the computer executable components comprise:
a boundary component that:
analyzes, using at least one instrument of the drone device, a physical environment of a geographic area in which one or more animals are located to generate environment information about the physical environment;
selects, based on the environment information, a defined region, of a coordinate space of the geographic area, that surrounds the one or more animals, wherein the defined region is selected to mitigate at least one risk of the physical environment to the one or more animals, wherein the selection of the defined region comprises:
determine a water feature of the physical environment based on the environment information and the respective environment information,
determine a capability of the one or more animals with respect to the one or more animals interacting with the water feature in relation to the at least one risk to the one or more animals, and
include a portion of the water feature in the define region that is chosen based on the determined capability of the one or more animals in relation to the portion of the water feature;
a monitoring component that determines, based on information related to maintaining the defined region exchanged with at least one other drone device, whether a violation associated with a virtual boundary of the defined region has occurred;
and
a violation response component that determines an action to be performed by the drone device to mitigate the violation.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.