Unmanned aerial vehicle recovery system

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle is provided, including a primary operation system in communication with a primary state estimator. The primary operation system is configured to operate the unmanned aerial vehicle based in part on the primary state estimator. The vehicle includes a flight failure recovery system in communication with a recovery state estimator and the primary operation system. The flight failure recovery system is configured to determine, at a first time, that flight failure has occurred. The flight failure recovery system is configured to determine a suitable second time to generate a deploy signal for a parachute based at least in part on one or more signals from the recovery state estimator. There is a delay between the first time and the suitable second time. An intelligent emergency parachute deployment system for, and a method for flight failure recovery of an unmanned aerial vehicle are also provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
 a primary operation system in communication with a primary state estimator, the primary operation system being configured to operate the unmanned aerial vehicle based in part on the primary state estimator; and   a flight failure recovery system in communication with a recovery state estimator and the primary operation system, the flight failure recovery system being configured to:
 determine, at a first time, that flight failure has occurred, and 
 determine a suitable second time to generate a deploy signal for a parachute based at least in part on one or more signals from the recovery state estimator, wherein there is a delay between the first time and the suitable second time. 
   
     
     
         2 . The unmanned aerial vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the flight failure recovery system comprises the parachute. 
     
     
         3 . The unmanned aerial vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the primary operation system is further configured to generate a recovery command signal indicating flight failure, and the flight failure recovery system is configured to receive the recovery command signal from the primary operation system. 
     
     
         4 . The unmanned aerial vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the flight failure recovery system is further configured to:
 evaluate primary operation system status based at least in part on one or more signals from the recovery state estimator; and   generate the deploy signal based at least in part on the primary operation system status.   
     
     
         5 . The unmanned aerial vehicle of  claim 4 , wherein the flight failure recovery system is further configured to evaluate primary operation system status based at least in part on one or more signals received from the primary operation system. 
     
     
         6 . The unmanned aerial vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein each of the primary state estimator and the recovery state estimator comprises an inertial measurement unit (IMU). 
     
     
         7 . The unmanned aerial vehicle of  claim 3 , wherein the flight failure recovery system is further configured to determine the suitable second time for generating the deploy signal based at least in part on one or more of:
 the altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle;   the velocity of the unmanned aerial vehicle; and   the attitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle.   
     
     
         8 . The unmanned aerial vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein the suitable second time is determined based at least in part on the attitude of the aerial vehicle system determined from a gyroscope signal from the recovery state estimator. 
     
     
         9 . The unmanned aerial vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein the flight failure recovery system is further configured to determine whether to generate the deployment signal at the suitable second time. 
     
     
         10 . The unmanned aerial vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the flight failure recovery system is further configured to send one or more signals to the primary operation system to control at least part of the primary operation system. 
     
     
         11 . An intelligent emergency parachute deployment system for an unmanned aerial vehicle, the system comprising:
 a dedicated inertial measurement unit (IMU) comprising a gyroscope and an accelerometer; and   a processor coupled to the dedicated IMU, the parachute deployment system, and a primary operation system for the unmanned aerial vehicle, the processor configured to:
 determine, at a first time, that flight failure has occurred, and 
 determine a suitable second time to generate a deploy signal for a parachute based at least in part on one or more signals from the dedicated IMU, wherein there is a delay between the first time and the suitable second time. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to further utilize an altitude, a velocity, and an attitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle to determine the suitable second time to generate the deploy signal. 
     
     
         13 . A method for flight failure recovery of an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
 determining, at a first time, that flight failure has occurred utilizing at least one of:
 a first processor coupled to a primary state estimator comprising a primary inertial measurement unit (IMU), which includes one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and a barometer, and 
 a second processor coupled to a recovery state estimator comprising a recovery inertial measurement unit (IMU), which includes one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and a barometer; 
   measuring status parameters of the unmanned aerial vehicle, utilizing at least the recovery state estimator, after the determining that flight failure has occurred;   determining a suitable second time to generate a flight failure recovery signal based at least in part on one or more of the status parameters from the recovery state estimator, wherein there is a delay between the first time and the suitable second time; and   deploying a descent mechanism based at least in part on generation of the flight failure recovery signal.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the status parameters comprise one or more of attitude, altitude, and velocity of the unmanned aerial vehicle. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the descent mechanism comprises a parachute. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , comprising generating a first signal upon determining that flight failure has occurred, and subsequently generating the flight failure recovery signal to deploy the descent mechanism. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the first signal is generated by the first processor, and the second signal is generated by the second processor. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , comprising:
 evaluating primary operation system status based at least in part on one or more signals from the recovery state estimator; and   generating the deploy signal based at least in part on the primary operation system status.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , comprising evaluating primary operation system status based at least in part on one or more signals received from the primary operation system. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , comprising determining whether to generate the deploy signal at the suitable second time.