DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates in general to a method and system for fetching flight parameters from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Over the past decade, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being significantly used in wide variety of sectors for example, civilian or military applications, cargo transport, agriculture, surveillance, etc. Typically, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is wirelessly controlled by a ground control station (GCS). Further, modern communication technologies facilitate a wireless link and/or bidirectional communication between the UAV and the GCS. To that effect, real-time data exchange (e.g., telemetry data about the status of the UAV, control and commands, flight parameters, etc.) between the GCS and the UAV is possible.
[0003] However, in some instances, the data transmission between the GCS and the UAV may be attenuated i.e., experience data packet drops due to the loss of the wireless links. In this scenario, the GCS may reattempt the request for obtaining data from the UAV in order to enable synchronization between them. In one case, the GCS may request the whole set of data including all the flight parameters from the UAV. However, requesting the whole set of data causes redundancy in receipt of the parameters that are not required (or already received via the latest communication between the GCS and the UAV). In another case, the GCS may attempt to request each of the parameters individually from the UAV. However, requesting the parameters individually at each instance (for e.g., during data packet loss) is cumbersome, time-consuming, and reduces the throughput of the whole data transfer.
[0004] Additionally, obtaining the data (or parameters) from the UAV depends on several factors such as the form of data structures used for storing the parameters in the UAV, and the like. Most commonly the parameters are stored in the form of linked list data structures in order to optimize storage in the UAV. However, the parameter fetching operation is initiated from the starting node of the linked list data structures at each instance in order to retrieve the parameter from a random memory location in the linked list data structures. Also, fetching the parameters individually from the random memory location of the linked list data structures leads to increased turn-around time.
[0005] Therefore, there is a need for optimizing the fetching of parameters from the UAV and reducing the parameters’ synchronization time between the GCS and the UAV.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below.
[0007] Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention a method performed by a ground control station (GCS) for obtaining a plurality of flight parameters from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed. The method includes determining one or more flight parameters to be fetched from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based at least on a current state of the plurality of flight parameters associated with the UAV. The method includes creating a bitmap message request for obtaining the one or more flight parameters from the UAV. The bitmap message request includes a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of the plurality of flight parameters. Further, the method includes transmitting the bitmap message request to the UAV via a GCS radio module associated with the GCS. The method includes operating a timer circuit associated with the GCS for a predefined time for monitoring the receipt of a response from the UAV. The method further includes validating the one or more flight parameters received in the response being transmitted from the UAV within the predefined time, for enabling synchronization between the UAV and the GCS.
[0008] Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention a communication system associated with a ground control station (GCS) is disclosed. The communication system includes a GCS radio module, a memory storing executable instructions, and a control circuitry configured to execute the stored instructions to cause the communication system to at least determine one or more flight parameters to be fetched from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based at least on a current state of the plurality of flight parameters associated with the UAV. The communication system is caused to create a bitmap message request for obtaining the one or more flight parameters from the UAV. The bitmap message request includes a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of the plurality of flight parameters. Further, the communication system is caused to transmit the bitmap message request to the UAV via the GCS radio module. The communication system is caused to operate a timer circuit associated with the GCS for a predefined time for monitoring the receipt of a response from the UAV. The communication system is further caused to validate the one or more flight parameters received in the response being transmitted from the UAV within the predefined time, for enabling synchronization between the UAV and the GCS.
[0009] Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention a method performed by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for transmitting a plurality of flight parameters to a ground control station (GCS) is disclosed. The method includes receiving a bitmap message request from the GCS. The bitmap message request includes a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of the plurality of flight parameters. The method includes accessing the one or more flight parameters requested indicated in the bitmap message request from a storage medium associated with the UAV. Further, the method includes generating a response appended with the one or more flight parameters indicated in the bitmap message request. The method includes transmitting the response appended with the one or more flight parameters to the UAV via a UAV radio module associated with the UAV. The method further includes facilitating synchronization of the UAV with the GCS in response to receipt of an acknowledgement signal from the GCS.
[0010] Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention a communication system associated with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed. The communication system includes a UAV radio module, a memory storing executable instructions, and a control circuitry configured to execute the stored instructions to cause the communication system to at least receive a bitmap message request from the GCS (104). The bitmap message request includes a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of a plurality of flight parameters. The communication system is caused to access the one or more flight parameters requested indicated in the bitmap message request from a storage medium associated with the UAV. Further, the communication system is caused to generate a response appended with the one or more flight parameters indicated in the bitmap message request. The communication system is caused to transmit the response appended with the one or more flight parameters to the UAV via the UAV radio module. The communication system is further caused to facilitate synchronization of the UAV with the GCS in response to receipt of an acknowledgement signal from the GCS.
[0011] Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0012] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and modules.
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified block diagram representation of an environment, in which at least some embodiments of the present invention can be implemented;
[0014] FIGS. 2A and 2B, collectively, represent flowcharts depicting operations executed for facilitating data exchange between an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a ground control station (GCS), in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified block diagram representation of a communication system associated with the GCS, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified block diagram representation of a communication system associated with the UAV, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting a method performed by the GCS for obtaining a plurality of flight parameters from the UAV, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0018] FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting a method performed by the UAV for transmitting the plurality of flight parameters to the GCS, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative methods embodying the principles of the present invention. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details. One skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments of the present invention, some of which are described below, may be incorporated into several systems.
[0021] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0022] References in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mean that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
[0023] It should be noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present invention. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for explanatory purposes to help the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0024] Various embodiments of the present invention are further described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6.
[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified block diagram representation of an environment (100), in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Although the environment (100) is depicted to include one or few components, modules or devices arranged in a particular arrangement in the present invention, it should not be taken to limit the scope of the present invention. The environment (100) includes an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (102) (generally referred to as “drones”) and a ground control station (GCS) (104). It is understood that the unmanned aerial vehicle (102) can be controlled either autonomously by onboard circuitry system or remotely operated in runtime by providing instructions (or control and commands) from the GCS.
[0026] In particular, the tasks such as monitoring and controlling the UAV in real-time involve the use of several data types obtained from telemetry and payload subsystems, along with the commands to be sent from the GCS to control the UAV. As such, the environment (100) includes a communication system for enabling a wireless communication channel between the UAV and the GCS. This facilitates real-time communication and distributed data exchange between the UAV and the GCS. (104). As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system includes one or more components such as, but not limited to, a first communication network (108a) and a second communication network (108b) associated with the UAV (102) and the GCS (104), respectively.
[0027] Further, the first communication network (108a) includes a first communication channel (110a) and a UAV radio module (112a). The second communication network (108b) includes a second communication channel (110b) and a GCS radio module (112b). It is to be noted that the first and second communication channels (110a), (110b) correspond to a communication protocol that facilitates a bidirectional wireless communication between the UAV (102) and the GCS (104). Some non-limiting examples of the communication protocols used in the environment (100) may be Micro Aerial Vehicle Link (MAVLink), Uncomplicated Application-level Vehicular Computing and Networking (UAVCan), Uranus Link, and the like. Preferably, MAVLink communication protocol is being used as the first and second communication channels (110a), (110b) in the present invention.
[0028] Generally, MAVLink communication protocol is a lightweight networking protocol and offers binary serialization approach. Further, MAVLink communication protocol defines at least 18 message types for establishing a reliable data exchange between the UAV (102) and the GCS (104). In an embodiment, the message types defined by the MAVLink protocol establish encoding of parameters such as architecture types, flight characteristics, and commands (e.g., autopilot mode, commands for servo, etc.).
[0029] During use, the GCS (104) needs to synchronize itself with the present state of a plurality of flight parameters of the UAV (102) prior to logically attempting to update the parameter states. As explained above, the second communication channel (110b) provides a unique message type (or MAVLink messages) for allowing the GCS (104) to transmit a parameter fetching request to the UAV (102). The MAVLink messages are typically transmitted as data packets between the GCS (104) and the UAV (102). Generally, the MAVLink protocol renders a packet length ranging between 8 bytes (for no payload) to 263 bytes (with a full payload). As an example, the structure of the MAVLink data packet is shown below for reference:
STX LEN SEQ SYS COMP MSG PAYLOAD CKA CKB

[0030] It is to be noted that the MAVLink message is sent bytewise over the communication channel (i.e., the second communication channel (110b)), followed by a checksum for error correction. In other words, the MAVLink message facilitates the GCS (104) to transmit a parameter fetching request in the form of a bitmap (i.e., bitmap message request). The bitmap message contains the request for only the parameters that are required by the GCS (104). Particularly, the bitmap message request includes a bitmap with each bit indicating the numerical index of the parameter as stored in a storage medium (106) associated with the UAV (102). Thereafter, the GCS radio module (112b) routes the bitmap message request to the UAV (102) via the second communication channel (110b). The GCS radio module (112b) transmits the bitmap message request in the form of radio signals to the UAV (102). The process of generating and transmitting the parameter fetching request by the GCS (104) is explained with reference to FIG. 2A.
[0031] Upon receipt of the parameter fetching request, the UAV (102) is configured to process the bitmap contained in the parameter fetching request. More specifically, the bitmap message request is received at the UAV (102) via the UAV radio module (112a). The UAV radio module (112a) is configured to convert the radio signals received from the GCS radio module (112b) into electronic signals. Thereafter, the bitmap message request in the form of the electronic signals is transmitted to the UAV (102) via the first communication channel (110a). Further, the UAV (102) is configured to access the parameters indicated in the bitmap message request from the storage medium (106) associated with the UAV (102).
[0032] Typically, the storage medium (106) associated with the UAV (102) is configured to store the plurality of flight parameters in the form of arrays. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the array renders a plurality of elements, where each element is configured to store individual flight parameter and location of each of the elements in the array is associated with a numerical index. In an embodiment, an exemplary array representation of the parameters is shown below for reference:
A B C D E F G H
Elements

Index 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Wherein,
- A to H are exemplary flight parameters stored in corresponding element blocks in the storage medium of the UAV, and
- 0 to 7 represent the numerical index of the location of the elements.
[0033] Further, the numerical index value associated with the location of each of the elements storing the flight parameters may be communicated with the GCS (104) for parameter retrieval operation. To that effect, the GCS (104) generates the bitmap message request by providing the binary inputs to the corresponding numerical index of the required parameters that are to be relayed from the UAV (102). The UAV (102) identifies the requested parameters from the storage medium (106) based on the binary inputs allocated to the corresponding numerical index of the requested parameters indicated in the bitmap message request. Thereafter, the UAV (102) relays the requested parameters to the GCS (104).
[0034] Additionally, in some instances, there may be packet loss while relaying the parameters from the UAV (102) to the GCS (104). Upon receipt of the parameters, the GCS (104) validates the parameters received from the UAV (102) to identify the packet loss. In case of determining the packet loss, the GCS (104) creates a new bitmap message request including only the numerical indexes of the missing parameters and routes the new bitmap message request to the UAV (102) which will be explained with reference to FIG. 2B.
[0035] FIGS. 2A and 2B, collectively, represent flowcharts depicting operations executed for facilitating data exchange between the UAV (102) and the GCS (104), in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 2A, a flowchart (200) for creating and transmitting a bitmap message request is illustrated. The operations depicted in the flowchart (200) may be executed by the GCS (104). The sequence of operations of the flow chart (200) may not to be necessarily executed in the same order as they are presented. Further, one or more operations may be grouped together and performed in form of a single step, or one operation may have several sub-steps that may be performed in parallel or in sequential manner. The flowchart (200) starts at operation (202).
[0037] At operation (202), the GCS (104) is configured to decide the parameters that need to be fetched from the UAV (102) in order to enable synchronization between the GCS (104) and the UAV (102). In one example, the pilot operating the GCS (104) may access the current state of the parameters such as, altitude, lift and drag of the UAV (102), prior to changing the position of the UAV (102) within the maximum operating range defined between the GCS (104) and the UAV (102). In this scenario, the GCS (104) is configured to identify the flight parameters (the altitude, lift and drag) that are to be fetched from the UAV (102). In particular, the GCS identifies the corresponding bit allocated to the one or more flight parameters to be fetched from the UAV (102) based at least on the index associated with each of the plurality of flight parameters.
[0038] At operation (204), a bitmap message request is created by the GCS (104). The GCS (104) creates the bitmap message request for the one or more flight parameters (e.g., altitude, lift and drag) with access to the index of the location of the parameters stored in the UAV (102). Particularly, the GCS (104) assigns binary inputs to the corresponding numerical index of the bits allocated to the parameters in the bitmap message request. For example, a parameter which is needed for synchronization, the particular bit in the bitmap message request is set to 1. Thereafter, the GCS (104) transmits the bitmap message request to the UAV (102) through the GCS radio module (112b) as explained above (see, operation (206)).
[0039] At operation (208), a timer circuit (not shown in figures) associated with the GCS (104) is turned on upon transmitting the bitmap message request to the UAV (102).
[0040] At operation (210), the GCS (104) continuously checks the timer circuit (not shown in figures) for monitoring the receipt of a response from the UAV (102). More specifically, the timer circuit is set to operate for a predefined time period (e.g., 2 sec) upon transmitting the bitmap message request. The predefined time period corresponds to a response time of the UAV (102) for relaying the current state of the parameters that were requested by the GCS (104). Upon the expiry of the predefined time, the operation (212) is performed. In one example scenario, if the response from the UAV (102) is received prior to expiry of the predefined time, the GCS (104) may stop the timer circuit and execute operation (212).
[0041] At operation (212), the GCS (104) checks if all the parameters requested in the bitmap message request are received in the response transmitted by the UAV (102). In one scenario, if all the parameters are received from the UAV (102), then operation (214) is performed. At operation (214), the GCS (104) transmits an acknowledgement signal to the UAV for indicating the receipt of the requested parameters. In other words, the acknowledgment signal may indicate successful synchronization between the UAV (102) and the GCS (104). In another scenario, if some of the parameters may be determined to be missing based on validation of the response received from the UAV. In this scenario, the GCS creates a new bitmap message request including the missing parameters and routes the new bitmap message request to the UAV as explained above.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 2B, a flowchart (220) for relaying the parameters requested in the bitmap message request from the UAV (102) to the GCS (104) is illustrated. The operations depicted in the flowchart (220) may be executed by the UAV (102). The sequence of operations of the flow chart (220) may not to be necessarily executed in the same order as they are presented. Further, one or more operations may be grouped together and performed in form of a single step, or one operation may have several sub-steps that may be performed in parallel or in sequential manner. The flowchart (220) starts at operation (222).
[0043] At operation (222), the UAV (102) receives the bitmap message request from the GCS (104) via the first communication network (108a).
[0044] At operation (224), the UAV (102) processes the bitmap message request. In an embodiment, the processing steps performed by the UAV (102) may include decoding the bitmap message request.
[0045] At operation (226), the UAV (102) accesses the numerical index of the parameters indicated in the bitmap message request. More specifically, the UAV (102) directly maps the numerical index of each of the requested parameters indicated in the bitmap message request to the numerical index of the parameters stored in the storage medium (106).
[0046] At operation (228), the UAV (102) transmits a response appended with the requested parameters to the GCS (104).
[0047] Further, the UAV (102) checks if all the parameters are relayed to the GCS (104). It is to be noted that the GCS (104) is configured to decode the data packet (or the response) received from the UAV (102). Furthermore, the GCS (104) may perform validation of the response to monitor packet loss detection. The validation involves verification of checksum values of the MAVLink messages. Generally, altered or lost data packets will result in a checksum failure. If the checksum validation is successful (i.e., all the parameters are received at the GCS (104)), the GCS (104) transmits the acknowledgement signal to the UAV (102). Upon receiving the acknowledgement signal by the UAV (102), the process ends.
[0048] Further, in case of data packet loss, the GCS (104) transmits a new bitmap message request to the UAV (102) by indicating the corresponding numerical index value of the parameters that were lost during data exchange. In this scenario, the UAV (102) reiterates the operations (222)-(228) in response to receipt of the new bitmap message request initiated by the GCS for relaying the requested parameters in the new bitmap message request to the GCS (104). In an embodiment, if the packet loss rate appears to be significant, the UAV (102) may be commanded to return to launch or at least reduce the operating range.
[0049] FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified block diagram representation of a communication system (300) associated with the GCS (104), in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that the communication system (300) as illustrated and hereinafter described is merely illustrative, therefore it should not be taken to limit the scope of the present invention. Further, the components of the communication system (300) provided herein may not be exhaustive, and the system (300) may include more or fewer components than that of depicted in FIG. 3. Further, two or more components may be embodied in one single component, and/or one component may be configured using multiple sub-components to perform the desired functionalities. Some components of the communication system (300) may be configured using hardware elements, software elements, firmware elements, and/or a combination thereof.
[0050] In an embodiment, the communication system (300) may include a control circuitry (302). The control circuitry (302) may include one or more processors capable of executing machine executable instructions to perform one or more operations pertaining to the GCS (104). The communication system (300) may include a memory (304). In an embodiment, the memory (304) is capable of storing machine-executable instructions. The memory (304) may include volatile or non-volatile memories, or a combination thereof. For example, the memory (304) may be a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), flash memory, a hard disk, or any other storage medium.
[0051] Further, the control circuitry (302) is capable of executing the machine executable instructions to perform the functions described herein. In an embodiment, the control circuitry (302) may be implemented as a multi-core processor, a single core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-core processors and one or more single core processors. For example, the control circuitry (302) may be embodied as one or more of various processing devices, such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or the like.
[0052] The control circuitry (302) may transmit or receive data packets to or from a remote device (310) via a GCS radio module (306). In particular, the control circuitry (302) transmits/receives the data packets to/from the remote device (310) through a communication channel (e.g., the second communication channel (110b)) via the GCS radio module (306). The remote device (310) may be an unmanned aerial vehicle (e.g., the UAV (102)). Further, the data packets, information related to the current state of the parameters in the data packets, etc., may be stored in storage medium (308). Some examples of the storage medium (308) may include a database, a hard drive, etc. Furthermore, the one or more operations performed by the GCS (104) including the communication system (300) are explained with reference to FIG. 1 to FIGS. 2A and 2B, therefore they are not reiterated for the sake of brevity.
[0053] FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified block diagram representation of a communication system (400) associated with the UAV (102), in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that the communication system (400) as illustrated and hereinafter described is merely illustrative, therefore it should not be taken to limit the scope of the present invention. Further, the components of the communication system (300) provided herein may not be exhaustive, and the system (400) may include more or fewer components than that of depicted in FIG. 4. Further, two or more components may be embodied in one single component, and/or one component may be configured using multiple sub-components to perform the desired functionalities. Some components of the communication system (400) may be configured using hardware elements, software elements, firmware elements, and/or a combination thereof.
[0054] In an embodiment, the communication system (400) may include a control circuitry (402). The control circuitry (402) may include one or more processors capable of executing machine executable instructions to perform one or more operations pertaining to the UAV (102). The communication system (400) may include a memory (404). In an embodiment, the memory (404) is capable of storing machine-executable instructions. The memory (404) may include volatile or non-volatile memories, or a combination thereof. For example, the memory (404) may be a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), flash memory, a hard disk, or any other storage medium.
[0055] Further, the control circuitry (402) is capable of executing the machine executable instructions to perform the functions described herein. In an embodiment, the control circuitry (402) may be implemented as a multi-core processor, a single core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-core processors and one or more single core processors. For example, the control circuitry (402) may be embodied as one or more of various processing devices, such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or the like.
[0056] The control circuitry (402) may transmit or receive data packets to or from a remote device (410) via a UAV radio module (406). In particular, the control circuitry (402) transmits/receives the data packets to/from the remote device (410) through a communication channel (e.g., the first communication channel (110a)) via the UAV radio module (406). The remote device (410) may be a ground control station (e.g., the GCS (104)). Further, the data packets, information related to the current state of the flight parameters in the data packets, etc., may be stored in storage medium (408). The storage medium (408) is accessed for retrieving the current state of the flight parameters that are requested in the parameter fetching request as explained with reference to FIG. 2B. Some examples of the storage medium (408) may include a database, a hard drive, or any other storage device. Furthermore, the one or more operations performed by the UAV (102) including the communication system (400) are explained with reference to FIG. 1 to FIGS. 2A and 2B, therefore they are not reiterated for the sake of brevity.
[0057] FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting a method (500) performed by the GCS (104) for obtaining flight parameters from the UAV (102), in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method (500) depicted in the flowchart may be executed by the communication system (300) or the GCS (104). The method (500) starts at operation (502).
[0058] At operation (502), the method (500) includes determining one or more flight parameters to be fetched from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (102) based at least on a current state of the plurality of flight parameters associated with the UAV (102).
[0059] At operation (504), the method (500) includes creating a bitmap message request for obtaining the one or more flight parameters from the UAV (102). The bitmap message request includes a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of the plurality of flight parameters.
[0060] At operation (506), the method (500) includes transmitting the bitmap message request to the UAV (102) via the GCS radio module (112b; 306) associated with the GCS (104).
[0061] At operation (508), the method (500) includes upon transmitting the bitmap message request, operating a timer circuit associated with the GCS (104) for a predefined time for monitoring the receipt of a response from the UAV (102).
[0062] At operation (510), the method (500) includes validating the one or more flight parameters received in the response being transmitted from the UAV (102) within the predefined time, for enabling synchronization between the UAV (102) and the GCS (104). Further, the one or more operations performed by the GCS (104) including the communication system (300) are explained with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, therefore they are not reiterated for the sake of brevity.
[0063] FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting a method (600) performed by the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (102) for transmitting flight parameters to the ground control station (GCS) (104), in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method (600) depicted in the flowchart may be executed by the communication system (400) or the UAV (102). The method (600) starts at operation (602).
[0064] At operation (602), the method (600) includes receiving a bitmap message request from the GCS (104). The bitmap message request includes a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of the flight parameters.
[0065] At operation (604), the method (600) includes accessing the one or more flight parameters requested indicated in the bitmap message request from the storage medium (106; 408) associated with the UAV (102).
[0066] At operation (606), the method (600) includes generating a response appended with the one or more flight parameters indicated in the bitmap message request.
[0067] At operation (608), the method (600) includes transmitting the response appended with the one or more flight parameters to the UAV (102) via the UAV radio module (112a; 406) associated with the UAV (102).
[0068] At operation (610), the method (600) includes facilitating synchronization of the UAV (102) with the GCS (104) in response to receipt of an acknowledgement signal from the GCS (104). Further, the one or more operations performed by the UAV (102) including the communication system (400) are explained with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, therefore they are not reiterated for the sake of brevity.
ADVANTAGES
[0069] In an advantageous aspect, an improved communication system of the present invention provides faster retrieval of the flight parameters associated with the UAV.
[0070] In another advantageous aspect, the MAVLink communication protocol used in the present invention uses a sequence number (SEQ) for each packet as a safety mechanism to monitor packet loss detection.
[0071] In an embodiment, the improved communication system of the present invention provides reduced parameter synchronization time especially during more lossy connections.
[0072] The foregoing description of the invention has been set merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the substance of the invention may occur to person skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the invention.

,CLAIMS:
1. A method (500) performed by a ground control station (GCS) (104) for obtaining a plurality of flight parameters from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (102), comprising:
determining (502) one or more flight parameters to be fetched from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (102) based at least on a current state of the plurality of flight parameters associated with the UAV (102);
creating (504) a bitmap message request for obtaining the one or more flight parameters from the UAV (102), the bitmap message request comprising a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of the plurality of flight parameters;
transmitting (506) the bitmap message request to the UAV (102) via a GCS radio module (112b; 306) associated with the GCS (104);
upon transmitting the bitmap message request, operating (508) a timer circuit associated with the GCS (104) for a predefined time for monitoring the receipt of a response from the UAV (102); and
validating (510) the one or more flight parameters received in the response being transmitted from the UAV (102) within the predefined time, for enabling synchronization between the UAV (102) and the GCS (104).

2. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
identifying the corresponding bit allocated to the one or more flight parameters to be fetched from the UAV (102) based at least on the index associated with each of the plurality of flight parameters; and
assigning binary inputs to the corresponding bit allocated to the one or flight more parameters to be fetched from the UAV (102).

3. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
updating the current state of the one or more flight parameters based at least on successful validation of the one or more flight parameters received in the response transmitted from the UAV (102) within the predefined time, wherein the predefined time corresponds to a response time of the UAV (102); and
transmitting an acknowledgement signal to the UAV (102) indicating successful synchronization between the UAV (102) and GCS (104).

4. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein validation of the response is performed to identify packet loss during wireless communication of the response between the UAV (102) and the GCS (104).

5. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bitmap message request corresponds to a MAVLink data packet.

6. A communication system (300) associated with a ground control station (GCS) (104), comprising:
a GCS radio module (306);
a memory (304) storing executable instructions; and
a control circuitry (302) configured to execute the stored instructions to cause the communication system (300) to at least:
determine (502) one or more flight parameters to be fetched from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (102) based at least on a current state of a plurality of flight parameters associated with the UAV (102),
create (504) a bitmap message request for obtaining the one or more flight parameters from the UAV (102), the bitmap message request comprising a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of the plurality of flight parameters,
transmit (506) the bitmap message request to the UAV (102) via the GCS radio module (306),
upon transmitting the bitmap message request, operate (508) a timer circuit associated with the GCS (104) for a predefined time for monitoring the receipt of a response from the UAV (102), and
validate (510) the one or more flight parameters received in the response being transmitted from the UAV (102) within the predefined time, for enabling synchronization between the UAV (102) and the GCS (104).

7. A method (600) performed by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (102) for transmitting a plurality of flight parameters to a ground control station (GCS) (104), comprising:
receiving (602) a bitmap message request from the GCS (104), the bitmap message request comprising a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of the plurality of flight parameters;
accessing (604) the one or more flight parameters indicated in the bitmap message request from a storage medium associated with the UAV (102);
generating (606) a response appended with the one or more flight parameters indicated in the bitmap message request;
transmitting (608) the response appended with the one or more flight parameters to the UAV (102) via a UAV radio module (112a; 406) associated with the UAV (102); and
facilitating (610) synchronization of the UAV (102) with the GCS (104) in response to receipt of an acknowledgement signal from the GCS (104).

8. The method (600) as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:
identifying the index of corresponding bit of each of the one or more flight parameters indicated in the bitmap message request based on binary inputs assigned to the corresponding bit of each of the one or more flight parameters; and
retrieving the one or more flight parameters based on mapping the index of each of the one or more flight parameters to an index of the plurality of flight parameters stored in the storage medium (106; 308).

9. The method (600) as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:
receiving an acknowledgement signal from the GCS (104) upon successful validation of the one or more flight parameters transmitted in the response to the GCS (104), thus enabling successful synchronization of the UAV (102) and the GCS (104).

10. The method (600) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the bitmap message request corresponds to a MAVLink data packet.

11. A communication system (400) associated with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (102), comprising:
a UAV radio module (406);
a memory (404) storing executable instructions; and
a control circuitry (402) configured to execute the stored instructions to cause the communication system (400) to at least:
receive (602) a bitmap message request from the GCS (104), the bitmap message request comprising a bitmap with each bit indicating an index for each of the plurality of flight parameters,
access (604) the one or more flight parameters requested indicated in the bitmap message request from a storage medium (408) associated with the UAV (102),
generate (606) a response appended with the one or more flight parameters indicated in the bitmap message request,
transmit (608) the response appended with the one or more flight parameters to the UAV (102) via the UAV radio module (406), and
facilitate (610) synchronization of the UAV (102) with the GCS (104) in response to receipt of an acknowledgement signal from the GCS (104).