Device and method for autonomous management of a drone

An intelligent device for autonomous navigation of a drone, said drone comprising at least one motor suitable for allowing an in-flight movement of said drone, said intelligent device comprising a control unit arranged, in use, to be connected to said or each at least one motor in order to control navigation of said drone, said control unit being also arranged to:

• communicate with a remote-control station by a wireless connection;
• acquire a mission route γ that said drone is arranged to follow to reach a desired destination, said mission route γ being defined by means of coordinates xm(t), ym(t), zm(t) with respect to a reference system S(x,y,z);
• periodically acquire values xd, yd, zd corresponding to components of a spatial position of said drone with respect to said reference system S(x,y,z);
• periodically acquire values vx, vy, vz corresponding to components of a speed of said drone with respect to said reference system S(x,y,z);
• periodically acquire values ax, ay, az corresponding to components of an acceleration of said drone with respect to said reference system S(x,y,z);
• said control unit being also arranged to:
• check a status of said wireless connection with said remote-control station, in an event that at least one of the following conditions occurs:
• at time t*, xd>xm(t*)+dx and/or yd>ym(t*)+dy and/or zd>zm(t*)+dz;
• vx>v*z and/or vy>v*y and/or vz>v*z;
• ax>a*z and/or ay>a*z and/or az>a*z;
• where dx, dy, dz, v*z, v*y, v*z, a*x, a*y, a*z are predetermined values;
• in an event that said wireless connection is active, send an alarm signal to said remote-control station and wait a response time tr;
• in an event that said wireless connection is not active or in an event that there is no response from said remote-control station within said response time tr, activate an emergency navigation mode wherein said control unit is arranged to:
• acquire a value Eres corresponding to an energy available on board of said drone;
• calculate a value Emis corresponding to an energy required by said drone to reach said desired destination following said mission route γ;
• in an event that Eres≥kmis*Emis, where kmis is a coefficient greater than or equal to 1, control the navigation of said drone along said mission route γ;
• in an event that Eres<kmis*Emis, control the navigation of said drone along a route alternative to said mission route γ to bring said drone to perform a safe landing;
• wherein, in the event that Eres<kmis*Emis, said control unit is also arranged to:
• carry out an estimate of a speed of a wind acting along a plurality of routes γi alternative to said mission route γ and able to allow said drone to reach said desired destination;
• calculate, for each route γi, a value Emisi corresponding to an energy required by said drone to reach said desired destination following said route γi;
• identify a lower value E*mis between said energy values Emisi, said lower value E*mis being associated with a route γ*;
• in an event that Eres≥kmis*E*mis, control the navigation of said drone along said route γ* up to said desired destination.