Motor Control Optimizations For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:

• a motor;
• a motor controller configured to generate a command that controls operation of the motor;
• an operation system comprising a packet transmitter;
• and
• a communication bus connecting the packet transmitter to the motor controller, wherein the packet transmitter is configured to:
• transmit a first data packet from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus;
• determine an amount of latency resulting from transmission of the first data packet over the communication bus;
• determine that the amount of latency exceeds a latency threshold;
• responsive to determining that the amount of latency exceeds the latency threshold, increase a rate at which second data packets are transmitted from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus;
• responsive to determining that the amount of latency exceeds the latency threshold, restrict communications from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus by preventing transmission of non-high-priority data packets from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus;
• and
• transmit the second data packets from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus according to the increased rate and the restricted communications,
• wherein the second data packets are high-priority data packets that include data indicating a system-safety condition of the unmanned aerial vehicle,
• wherein the motor controller is configured to generate the command based on the data indicating the system-safety condition, and
• wherein the motor operates according to the command.

A method performed by an unmanned aerial vehicle, the method comprising:

• transmitting, by a packet transmitter of an operation system of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a first data packet from the operation system to a motor controller of the unmanned aerial vehicle over a communication bus;
• determining, by the unmanned aerial vehicle, an amount of latency resulting from transmission of the first data packet over the communication bus;
• determining, by the unmanned aerial vehicle, that the amount of latency exceeds a latency threshold;
• responsive to determining that the amount of latency exceeds the latency threshold, increasing, by the packet transmitter, a rate at which second data packets are transmitted from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus;
• responsive to determining that the amount of latency exceeds the latency threshold, restricting, by the packet transmitter, communications from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus by preventing transmission of non-high-priority data packets from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus;
• transmitting the second data packets from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus according to the increased rate and the restricted communications, wherein the second data packets are high-priority data packets that include data indicating a system-safety condition of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
• generating, by the motor controller based on the data indicating the system-safety condition, a command that controls operation of a motor of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
• and
• operating the motor according to the command.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of an unmanned aerial vehicle, cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform operations comprising:

• transmitting a first data packet from an operation system of the unmanned aerial vehicle to a motor controller of the unmanned aerial vehicle over a communication bus;
• determining an amount of latency resulting from transmission of the first data packet over the communication bus;
• determining that the amount of latency exceeds a latency threshold;
• responsive to determining that the amount of latency exceeds the latency threshold, increasing a rate at which second data packets are transmitted from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus;
• responsive to determining that the amount of latency exceeds the latency threshold, restricting communications from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus by preventing transmission of non-high-priority data packets from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus;
• transmitting the second data packets from the operation system to the motor controller over the communication bus according to the increased rate and the restricted communications, wherein the second data packets are high-priority data packets that include data indicating a system-safety condition of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
• and
• causing the motor controller to generate, based on the data indicating the system-safety condition, a command that controls operation of a motor of the unmanned aerial vehicle.