Unmanned aerial vehicle system for inspecting railroad assets
AssigneeBNSF Railway Company
InventorsTodd Graetz, Gary Grissum, Michael Mischke
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aerial system control network, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, and a method provide for inspecting railroad assets using a UAV. The aerial system control network includes a plurality of towers and a ground control system connected to the plurality of towers. The ground control system transmits, via a plurality of communication towers, a flight plan including a rail system and a flight path; receives, via the plurality of communication towers, data while the UAV is in monitoring the rail system; detects an interference along the flight path based on the received data, and adjusts the flight plan based on the interference.
Claims20
An aerial system control network for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for inspecting railroad assets comprising:
- a plurality of towers;
- and
- a ground control system connected to the plurality of towers, the ground control system configured to:
- transmit, via a plurality of communication towers, a flight plan including a rail system and a flight path,
- receive, via the plurality of communication towers, data while the UAV is monitoring the rail system,
- detect an interference along the flight path based on the received data, and
- adjust the flight plan based on the interference.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system for monitoring a rail system, the UAV system comprising:
- a UAV;
- and
- an aerial system control network comprising:
- a plurality of communication towers;
- and
- a ground control system connected to the plurality of towers, the ground control system configured to:
- transmit, via the plurality of communication towers, a flight plan including a rail system and a flight path,
- receive, via the plurality of communication towers, data while the UAV is monitoring the rail system,
- detect an interference along the flight path based on the received data, and
- adjust the flight plan based on the interference.
A method for an aerial system control network of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for inspecting railroad assets, the method comprising:
- transmitting, via a plurality of communication towers, a flight plan including a rail system and a flight path;
- receiving, via the plurality of communication towers, data while the UAV is monitoring the rail system;
- detecting an interference along the flight path based on the received data;
- and
- adjusting the flight plan based on the interference.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.