Patent Application
20180348760
The disclosed subject matter relates to a system for tracking and reporting changes to or on a parcel of land. Particularly, the present disclosed subject matter relates to one or more sensors, either stationary or mounted on unmanned vehicles, and software which controls the sensors and vehicles as well as analyzes the data from these sensors.
A variety of methods and systems are known for providing one-time images, sensor maps, and other data about land and its contents at narrow moments in time. Examples include photographs taken by spacecraft and manned aircraft, hand-held radiometer measurements, and data obtained by individual visits by unmanned vehicles.
Such conventional methods and systems generally have been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, most land managers and ers are more interests d in the changes that occur to their land and its contents over time,rather than that land's specific state at one given time. For instance, farmers want to see the onset and growth of disease or pests, and detect increases and decreases in the soil moisture levels of their fields. Construction managers want to see the state of their site reparation and construction. Forest anagers want to see the arrival of disease, physical damage or fire. Ranchers want to monitor the number, location, and health of animals in their fields over time. Homeowners' associations want to identify new modifications to houses or yards. Military planners want to detect and track move ents of supplies, units and equipment in the local area and detect booby traps or improvised explosive devices.
As evident from the related art, conventional methods do not satisfy the above potential users, because they take ‘snapshots’ in time, rather than monitoring and identifying changes.
There thus remains a need for an efficient and economic method and system for effectively monitoring changes in land and its contents over time.
The purpose and advantages of the disclosed subject matter will be set forth in and apparent from the description that follows, as well as will be learned by practice of the disclosed subject matter. Additional advantages of the disclosed subject matter will be realized and attained by the methods and systems particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well as from the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the disclosed subject matter, as embodied and broadly described, the disclosed subject matter includes a method and system for monitoring land in order to track and report changes to that land. The invention uses some set of sensors attached to stationary mounts and/or unmanned vehicles to gather relevant information about the target land parcel. Network software gathers the data collected by these sensors and stores, processes, and analyzes it to identify and report on changes to the land parcel.
The disclosed subject matter also includes a system comprising multiple unmanned vehicles with sensors onboard, ltiple fixed sensors, and network based software, whereir the software is used to automatically control the vehicles, their onboard sensors, and the fixed sensors so as to obtain data on a parcel of land, and the network software stores and processes data from the sensors to detect, identify, and automatically report changes to that land.
The disclosed subject matter also includes a system where the above-mentioned sensors are mounted on poles, vehicles, or other stationary or mobile equipment.
The disclosed subject matter further includes a system where sensors are mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), unmanned ground vehicles(UGV), or unmanned underwater vehicles(UUV), and where these unmanned vehicles can be permanently stored in one or more enclosures which may protect the vehicles from environmental damage.
The disclosed subject matter further includes a system where the sensors are visible, multi spectral, or infraredinfraredimaging cameras, chemical detectors, magnetometers, radiation detectors, or 3D scanning sensors such as Lidar, Radar, or acoustic sensors.
The disclosed subject matter further includes a system where the data from the sensors is transmitted to the network software using wireless or wired networks.
The disclosed subject matter further includes a system where the network software controls how frequently and/or where the sensors gather data, including a system where ground traffic, local sensor data, local weather conditions measured via sensors or communicated via a network, or Air Traffic Control information is used by the network software to automatically determine which vehicles should be deployed and/or at what times.
The disclosed subject matter further includes any system where the parcel of land being monitored is a golf course, farm, sports field, park or construction site.
The disclosed subject matter further includes a system where the sensors and vehicles are controlled so as to take data at the exact same times of day, each day.
The disclosed subject matter further includes a system where visible, infrared, or multispectral cameras are used to measure plant canopy temperature, detect the presence of disease or pests in plants, and/or measure soil moisture.
The disclosed subject matter further includes a system where the vehicle enclosure(s) automatically refuel or recharge the vehicle propulsion systems or download sensor data for processing after each vehicle has entered the enclosure.
The disclosed subject matter further includes a system where each vehicle's sensors can be automatically swapped while the vehicle is inside the enclosure.
The disclosed subject matter further includes a system where data is processed, analyzed and stored on distributed processing units in each enclosure, and a system where these processing units are connected via a network.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the disclosed subject matter claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, are included to illustrate and provide a further understanding of the method and system of the disclosed subject matter. Together with the description, the drawings serve to explain the principles of the disclosed subject matter.
A detailed description of various aspects, features, and embodiments of the subject matter described herein is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described below. The drawings are illustrative and are not necessarily drawn to scale, with some components and features being exaggerated for clarity. The drawings illustrate various aspects and features of the present subject matter and may illustrate one or more embodiment(s) or example(s) of the present subject matter in whole or in part.
Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The method and corresponding steps of the disclosed subject matter will be described in conjunction with the detailed description of the system.
The methods and systems presented herein may be used for automatic change detection. The disclosed subject matter is particularly suited for identifying changes in vegetation over time using a variety of sensors mounted on autonomous vehicles and/or fixed mounts.
For purpose of explanation and illustration, and not limitation, an exemplary embodiment of the system in accordance with the disclosed subject matter is shown in
As shown in
Sensors such as, but not limited to, visible imagers, infrared or multispectral imagers, chemical detectors, radiation detectors, and/or magnetometers are mounted to vehicles (110) and (120), and/or permanent fixtures (170) and (180), on the land parcel (130). Different or multiple sensors can be placed on different vehicles and fixtures. Sensors can operate during daylight hours, nighttime hours, or both.
Sensors are mounted to rigid fixtures (170) and (180) and can rotate and/or change elevation to monitor land close to them. Multiple sensors can be mounted to one fixture. A mounting fixture can be purpose-built for sensor mounting, or be an existing structure such as a house or a fence. Fixed sensors can transmit data to network software using satellite, cellular, or other wireless networks, or via a wired connection.
Sensors mounted to unmanned aerial vehicles (110) and/or unmanned ground vehicles (120) survey part or all of the parcel of land (130) as the vehicle they are mounted to steers a path over the parcel.
Unmanned vehicles (110) and (120) can be stored inside environmentally protective enclosures (150) and (160), depart the enclosures in order to steer the desired survey path, then travel back inside the enclosures to be stored until it is time to perform another survey. One enclosure can store multiple unmanned vehicles. Enclosures can function as mounting fixtures for sensors in addition to their vehicle storage function.
Unmanned Vehicles (110) and (120) can directly transmit data back to the network software using satellite, cellular, or other wireless networks. Alternately, once they are back inside enclosures (150) and (160), the vehicles can transfer the data obtained to the enclosures, which can be capable of transmitting the data back to the network software either wirelessly or via a wired connection.
Enclosures (150) and (160) can include the capability to recharge or refuel unmanned vehicles (110) and (120) while they are stored. Enclosures can include the capability to swap out sensors on the vehicles.
Enclosures (150) and (160) can include the capability to store data obtained by sensors on unmanned vehicles (110) and (120), as well as the capability to process and analyze that data. Enclosures can be networked together to jointly store, process, and analyze sensor data.
Network software (140) can use data previously taken from fixed and mobile sensors, as well as outside data such as weather services, ground traffic reports or air traffic control, to plan fixed and mobile sensor data gathering.
In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosed subject matter, shown in
In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosed subject matter, data from fixed sensors can be used by network software to plan when mobile vehicles begin surveys of land, what sensors they should carry to survey that land, and where they should travel.
In a specific example of this embodiment shown in
In another specific example of this embodiment, a rain gauge could be used by network software to determine when it is safe for a UAV to fly, i.e. wait until rain ends before commanding a UAV to take off.
In another specific example of this embodiment, a wind sensor (anemometer) could be used by network software to determine if winds are too high for a UAV to fly, and command an autonomous ground vehicle to immediately perform a less extensive survey instead.
In another specific example of this embodiment, light sensors could be used by network software to determine if the light levels are sufficiently high for UAV-based cameras to be able to take high-quality images, and command that UAV when to take off.
In another specific example of this embodiment, simple motion sensors could be used by network software to make sure that no people are on a plot of land so that it is safe for an autonomous vehicle to survey that plot of land on the ground or from the air.
In another specific example of this embodiment, fixed radiation or chemical sensors could be used by network software to create a flight path for a UAV or UGV that investigates the presence of radiation or harmful chemicals more thoroughly than fixed sensors can.
In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosed subject matter, data from fixed sensors and/or sensors on mobile vehicles can be combined by network software to provide immediate and more useful information to a land owner.
In a specific example of this embodiment, shown in
In another specific example of this embodiment, image data from UGV's driving underneath canopies and UAV's flying above canopies can be combined to estimate yield from fruit or nut trees, grape vines, or other crops. Centralized network software controls the movements and routes of the UGV and UAV, optimizing the times that they take their measurements based on weather, light levels, and shadowing. That software also commands more frequent imaging as harvesting time approaches.
In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosed subject matter, A UAV carrying both visible and near-IR imaging cameras could use images from those cameras to create NDVI maps to monitor the health of crops on a farm, and network software could then roughly estimate potential plant yields using an algorithm combining that health data and plant shadow lengths (to approximate plant height). Once the yield estimate reached a certain point, the network software could command that the UAV's cameras be swapped out for a LIDAR, which the UAV would fly with and use to survey plant heights more precisely.
While the disclosed subject matter is described herein in terms of certain preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and improvements may be made to the disclosed subject matter without departing from the scope thereof. Moreover, although individual features of one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter may be discussed herein or shown in the drawings of the one embodiment and not in other embodiments, it should be apparent that individual features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment or features from a plurality of embodiments.
In addition to the specific embodiments claimed below, the disclosed subject matter is also directed to other embodiments having any other possible combination of the dependent features claimed below and those disclosed above. As such, the particular features presented in the dependent claims and disclosed above can be combined with each other in other manners within the scope of the disclosed subject matter such that the disclosed subject matter should be recognized as also specifically directed to other embodiments having any other possible combinations. Thus, the foregoing description of specific embodiments of the disclosed subject matter has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed subject matter to those embodiments disclosed.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the method and system of the disclosed subject matter without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosed subject matter. Thus, it is intended that the disclosed subject matter include modifications and variations that are within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
This Application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Application 62/323,572 filed on May 31, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
