Systems and methods for drone management
AssigneeVerizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
InventorsX, David A. Newell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system includes a storage facility configured to store drones. The system may also include at least one robotic element configured to move the drones to and from the storage facility and a conveyor configured to move the drones to a launching area. The at least one robotic element may include an articulating arm configured to move a first drone from the storage facility to the conveyor, in response to identifying that the first drone is selected for a flight.
Claims20
A system, comprising:
- a storage facility configured to store a plurality of drones placed on a plurality of carrier platforms;
- at least one robotic element including an articulating arm that includes an engagement member configured to interface with a receiving member of the carrier platforms upon which to move the plurality of drones to and from the storage facility, an inspection station, and a conveyor of the system;
- the inspection station including at least one camera configured to capture a plurality of images or video data of a first drone to be used to determine whether the first drone is eligible for assignment to a scheduled flight mission;
- and
- the conveyor configured to move the first drone to a launching area upon a determination that the first drone is eligible for the assignment.
A method, comprising:
- storing a plurality of drones in a storage facility, wherein the plurality of drones are placed on a plurality of carrier platforms;
- selecting a first one of the plurality of drones for assignment to a scheduled flight mission;
- moving, via at least one robotic element including an articulating arm, the first drone from the storage facility to a conveyor, by inserting an end of the articulating arm into an opening in a first one of a plurality of carrier platforms on which the first drone is placed, to enable the end to engage the first platform and move the first platform carrying the first drone;
- and
- moving, via a conveyor, the first drone from the storage facility to a launching area.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
- monitor a plurality of drones in a storage facility, wherein the plurality of drones are placed on a plurality of carrier platforms;
- instruct at least one robotic element including an articulating arm to move a first one of the plurality of drones from the storage facility to an inspection station;
- inspect, via images from at least one camera, the first drone prior to assignment to a scheduled flight mission;
- determine, based on the images, whether the first drone is eligible for assignment to the scheduled flight mission;
- and
- instruct, the at least one robotic element, to move the first drone from the inspection station to the conveyor, in response to determining that the first drone is eligible for assignment to the scheduled flight mission, by inserting an end of the articulating arm into an opening in a first one of a plurality of carrier platforms on which the first drone is placed, to enable the end to engage the first platform and move the first platform carrying the first drone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.