DESC:FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and more specifically to integration of UAVs with existing facilities of emergency response station, and operation of such UAVs in autonomous mode in support of emergency response operations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)/Unmanned Aerial Surveillance Systems (UAS)/Drones (commonly and together referred to as UAV hereinafter) are, as the name suggests, unmanned aerial vehicles that can be adapted/deployed in multiple roles. These systems were initially deployed essentially for military operations such as for intelligence gathering and monitoring. However, realizing their potential for versatility, they have been adapted for multiple roles such as crop fertilization, weather/environmental monitoring, traffic monitoring and control, etc. However, use of UAV in urban areas is still very limited. Furthermore, UAVs that are currently available/used for emergency response supports, for example firefighting support applications, can only be used and deployed on site and have to be carried along with response vehicle(for example fire truck) or separate support vehicle. Such an implementation along with many other restrictions/constraints in the current designs drastically restricts utilization of existing architectures, and limits full exploitation of the potential and capabilities of UAVs, in emergency response operations, for example in firefighting and firefighting support operations.
[0004] Emergency response resources at any emergency response station are stretched because of the requirement for investigation of all emergency call or alarms. For example, firefighting resources at any fire station are stretched because of the requirement for investigation of all fire alarms/reports as to whether such reports/alarms subsequently turn out to be false. Facts and data available in published sources show that false alarm is a big nuisance in a lot of developed/developing nations, and huge losses are incurred in the process of addressing such false alarms. As per reports, 21.31% of all calls to Fire Service were found to be false alarms. In case of Automatic Fire Alarm Systems, 73 fire alarm activations out of 6117 were recorded/classified as malicious. Out of this,11.46% of false alarms could be identified as false alarm during questioning. However, calls from Automatic Fire Alarm Systems that turned out to be actual fire accounted for only 2.86% of all Automatic Fire Alarm calls.
[0005] U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0205845 for “System and Method for Extinguishing Wildfires” by Hoffman, published on Aug. 20, 2009, shows a UAV loaded onto a transport aircraft and carried near a fire area, at which point the UAV is launched and releases fire extinguishing or fire retardant material from the UAV onto the fire or anticipated fire path. U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,353 for “Airborne Vehicle for Firefighting” by Setzer, issued on Oct. 17, 2006, shows an airborne vehicle equipped with an extinguishant container that is deployed and detonated over fire. U.S. Pat. No. 7,836,965 for “Method and Device for Controlling and/or Putting Out Fires” by Korenkov et al., shows a container with fire-extinguishing agent that is launched toward a fire from an airplane. Though, these applications discloses engagement of UAVs in firefighting operations, it has been observed that much of the resources are engaged and have to be in the field, and hence don’t issues relating to false alarm and unnecessary movement of emergency response teams or resources.
[0006] There is therefore a need to develop a system and method that can provide for integration of UAV with existing emergency response resources, specifically fire stations/firefighting resources, to allow for full exploitation of UAV potential/capability in emergency response operations.
[0007] All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
[0008] In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or dimensions of items, and so forth, used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the invention are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable. The numerical values presented in some embodiments of the invention may contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.
[0009] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[00010] The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention.
[00011] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all Markush groups used in the appended claims.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[00012] It is an object of the present disclosure to incorporate a system and method thereof that seamlessly integrates UAV with existing emergency response resources, for examplefire station resources, to support day to day emergency response operations.
[00013] It is another object of the present disclosure to incorporate a system and method thereof that can allow for autonomous UAV operations in support of emergency response operations.
[00014] It is an object of the present disclosure to incorporate a system and method thereof that can allow for manual UAV operations in support of emergency response operations.
[00015] It is an object of the present disclosure to incorporate a system and method thereof that links emergency notification system with UAV deployment system to ensure that any emergency alarm signal triggers autonomous deployment of UAV.
[00016] It is an object of the present disclosure to use UAV to address the false fire alarm issue.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[00017] The present disclosure mainly relates to integration and exploitation of UAV capabilities for emergency response operations, for example firefighting operations. Although embodiments of the present disclosure has been explained with relation to use of UAV for firefighting operations, one should appreciate that the proposed system of the present disclosure can be used with any other unmanned vehicle such as Unmanned Surveillance Vehicles (USA) or Drones, etc., for any emergency response operations, all of which are completely within the scope of the present disclosure.
[00018] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a UAV integrated firefighting system, wherein the system can include a fire reporting mechanism that is operatively coupled with a fire station to report incident of fire from a remote location. The fire station of the system can include a ground control station (GCS) having an integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel, one or more fire brigade(s)/truck(s) with portable UAV controllers, and a UAV base station with one or more UAV(s).
[00019] In an aspect, the system can receive a fire incident signal from a remote location, dispatch at-least one UAV from plurality of UAVs to fire site for which the fire incident signal were received to confirm presence of fire incident and report live status from the fire site, and plan coordinated movement of remaining UAVs of plurality of UAVs and firefighting resources and firefighting operators to the fire site, based on the confirmation of presence of fire incident and the reported live feed. The live status can include information comprising of live video/image feed, number of people inside building that is under fire, extent of damage caused, potential fire situation/attributes, among other like configured features. In an exemplary implementation, the fire incident signal can include location of the fire site.
[00020] In an aspect, fire reporting mechanism through which fire incident signal is reported can include but are limited to, an observers reporting a fire incident signal from any part of the city. In an exemplary implementation, the observer(s) can be configured to provide exact or approximate location of fire site. In another aspect, fire reporting mechanism can include an automatic fire alarm system that can be installed/configured at/near various locations and buildings and structures, wherein such fire alarm systems can sense a fire incident at site and send an fore incident signal (also referred interchangeably as automatic fire alarm trigger signal). In an exemplary implementation, incident signal can be received bya ground control station (GCS) of a fire station that can be operatively coupled with say an integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel that can be configured to dispatch the at-least one UAV and enable coordinated movement of remaining UAVs of plurality of UAVs and firefighting resources and firefighting operators to the fire site. .
[00021] In yet another aspect, co-ordinates of the fire site location can be automatically transferred to UAV(s) and/or to firefighting resources, like one or more identified fire brigade(s). In an exemplary implementation, UAVs can be pre-configured with commands for initiating coordinated deployment. In another implementation, orders/command for deployment of the UAVs and/or the fire brigade(s) can be manually/automatically issued directly through the GCS of the fire station. In an aspect, the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel can be configured remotely from the fire station or the GCS. The integrated fire control and UAV deployment system can be configured to first receive the fire alarm trigger signal and process the same before sending it to the GCS. One should appreciate that the proposed architecture is completely exemplary, and any other architecture/configuration can be implemented to receive fire incident signal from one or more means ata fire station or part thereof. For instance, GCS may or may not include the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel. Similarly, in another instance, the base station may not form part of the fire station, and can be located at different locations for better accessibility/geographical spread.
[00022] In yet another aspect, co-ordinates of the fire site can be transferred manually through the GCS to the UAV(s) and/or to the fire brigade(s). In another aspect, UAV can take off from a UAV Base Station based on the instructions received from the GCS (and/or from the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel), and fly to afire site in an autonomous mode after receipt of fire site location co-ordinates while the designated fire brigade(s) along with fire fighters can move by road towards the fire site location for firefighting and firefighting support operations.
[00023] In an aspect, integration of firefighting facilities of fire station with GCS and the UAVs can allow fire site location/information/intimation data received along with a fire incident signal to be automatically and simultaneously transferred to the fire station and/or to the GCS of the fire station, enabling immediate and autonomous deployment of the UAV. In such scenario, UAV can automatically fly to the designated fire site location and confirm if it is a false alarm or hover/loiter around the designated fire site location and provide real time status to all concerned and wait for arrival of further firefighters.
[00024] Upon arrival of firefighters at the fire site, operational control of the UAV can be taken over by local firefighter and the UAVs can continue to support the local firefighters by providing continuous and live video feed. In another aspect, the operational control of the UAV can be handed over by UAV ground control station to local firefighters, and UAV can then be operated by local firefighter through respective and/or a common portable UAV controller. In another aspect, UAV can be so programmed that it can take shortest or most optimal flight route to designated fire site. In another aspect, both the GCS as well as the fire trucks can view the status of the fire situations that can include, but is not limited to, videos/images of the feed received from the camera of the deployed UAVs, people inside the building that is under fire, extent of damage caused, potential fire situation/attributes, among other like configured features.
[00025] Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferredembodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[00026] The diagrams are for illustration only, which thus is not a limitation of the present disclosure, and wherein:
[00027] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary architecture of UAV Integrated Firefighting system of the present disclosure in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[00028] FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary functional modules of a ground control station of a fire station in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[00029] FIG. 2B illustrates exemplary functional modules of a portable UAV controller in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[00030] FIGs. 3A-3C illustrate exemplary UAV deployment scenario of UAV Integrated Firefighting system of the present disclosure.
[00031] FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary schematics of UAV system of UAV Integrated Firefighting system of the present disclosure.
[00032] FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary schematics of UAV components of the present disclosure.
[00033] FIG. 6A and 6B illustrates exemplary schematics of modes of base station of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[00034] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.
[00035] Embodiments of the present invention include various steps, which will be described below. The steps may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, and firmware and/or by human operators.
[00036] Embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a computer program product, which may include a machine-readable storage medium tangibly embodying thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) toperform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tape, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, such as ROMs, PROMs, random access memories (RAMs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions (e.g., computer programming code, such as software or firmware).
[00037] Various methods described herein may be practiced by combining one or more machine-readable storage media containing the code according to the present invention with appropriate standard computer hardware to execute the code contained therein. An apparatus for practicing various embodiments of the present invention may involve one or more computers (or one or more processors within a single computer) and storage systems containing or having network access to computer program(s) coded in accordance with various methods described herein, and the method steps of the invention could be accomplished by modules, routines, subroutines, or subparts of a computer program product.
[00038] If the specification states a component or feature “may”, “can”, “could”, or “might” be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have the characteristic.
[00039] One should appreciate that, although in the present disclosure, UAV integrated firefighting systemhas been described with respect to a UAV integrated with firefighting facilities/resources of an existing fire station, the same is only an exemplary embodiment that has been incorporated merely to illustrate the proposed system in an exemplary manner, and that any other purpose or function for which explained structure or configuration can be used, is well covered within the scope of the present disclosure.
[00040] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, all statements herein reciting embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure).
[00041] Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the like represent conceptual views or processes illustrating systems and methods embodying this invention. The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing associated software. Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the entity implementing this invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplary hardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systems described herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are not intended to be limited to any particular named element.
[00042] The present disclosure mainly relates to integration and exploitation of UAV capabilities for emergency response operations, for example firefighting operations. Although embodiments of the present disclosure has been explained with relation to use of UAV for firefighting operations, one should appreciate that the proposed system of the present disclosure can be used with any other unmanned vehicle such as Unmanned Surveillance Vehicles (USV) or Drones, etc., for any emergency response operations, all of which are completely within the scope of the present disclosure. In another aspect, the present disclosure can also be used with any fire station irrespective of its location as long as facilities, architecture, infrastructure, and arrangements exist for integrating the UAV with the facilities of that fire station.
[00043] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a UAV integrated firefighting system, wherein the system can include a fire reporting mechanism that is operatively coupled with a fire station to report incident of fire from a remote location. The fire station of the system can include a ground control station (GCS) having an integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel, one or more fire brigade(s)/truck(s) with portable UAV controllers, and a UAV base station with one or more UAV(s).
[00044] In an aspect, the system can receive a fire incident signal from a remote location, dispatch at-least one UAV from plurality of UAVs to fire site for which the fire incident signal were received to confirm presence of fire incident and report live status from the fire site, and plan coordinated movement of remaining UAVs of plurality of UAVs and firefighting resources and firefighting operators to the fire site, based on the confirmation of presence of fire incident and the reported live feed. The live status can include information comprising of live video/image feed, number of people inside building that is under fire, extent of damage caused, potential fire situation/attributes, among other like configured features. In an exemplary implementation, the fire incident signal can include location of the fire site.
[00045] In an aspect, fire reporting mechanism through which fire incident signal is reported can include but are limited to, an observers reporting a fire incident signal from any part of the city. In an exemplary implementation, the observer(s) can be configured to provide exact or approximate location of fire site. In another aspect, fire reporting mechanism can include an automatic fire alarm system that can be installed/configured at/near various locations and buildings and structures, wherein such fire alarm systems can sense a fire incident at site and send an fore incident signal (also referred interchangeably as automatic fire alarm trigger signal). In an exemplary implementation, incident signal can be received by a ground control station (GCS) of a fire station that can be operatively coupled with say an integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel that can be configured to dispatch the at-least one UAV and enable coordinated movement of remaining UAVs of plurality of UAVs and firefighting resources and firefighting operators to the fire site. .
[00046] In yet another aspect, co-ordinates of the fire site location can be automatically transferred to UAV(s) and/or to firefighting resources, like one or more identified fire brigade(s). In an exemplary implementation, UAVs can be pre-configured with commands for initiating coordinated deployment. In another implementation, orders/command for deployment of the UAVs and/or the fire brigade(s) can be manually/automatically issued directly through the GCS of the fire station. In an aspect, the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel can be configured remotely from the fire station or the GCS. The integrated fire control and UAV deployment system can be configured to first receive the fire alarm trigger signal and process the same before sending it to the GCS. One should appreciate that the proposed architecture is completely exemplary, and any other architecture/configuration can be implemented to receive fire incident signal from one or more means at a fire station or part thereof. For instance, GCS may or may not include the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel. Similarly, in another instance, the base station may not form part of the fire station, and can be located at different locations for better accessibility/geographical spread.
[00047] In yet another aspect, co-ordinates of the fire site can be transferred manually through the GCS to the UAV(s) and/orto the fire brigade(s). In another aspect, UAV can take off from a UAV Base Station based on the instructions received from the GCS (and/or from the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel), and fly to a fire site in an autonomous mode after receipt of fire site location co-ordinates while the designated fire brigade(s) along with fire fighters can move by road towards the fire site location for firefighting and firefighting support operations.
[00048] In an aspect, integration of firefighting facilities of fire station with GCS and the UAVs can allow fire site location/information/intimation data received along with a fire incident signal to be automatically and simultaneously transferred to the fire station and/or to the GCS of the fire station, enabling immediate and autonomous deployment of the UAV. In such scenario, UAV can automatically fly to the designated fire site location and confirm if it is a false alarm or hover/loiter around the designated fire site location and provide real time status to all concerned and wait for arrival of further firefighters.
[00049] Upon arrival of firefighters at the fire site, operational control of the UAV can be taken over by local firefighter and the UAVs can continue to support the local firefighters by providing continuous and live video feed. In another aspect, the operational control of the UAV can be handed over by UAV ground control station to local firefighters, and UAV can then be operated by local firefighter through respective and/or a common portable UAV controller. In another aspect, UAV can be so programmed that it can take shortest or most optimal flight route to designated fire site. In another aspect, both the GCS as well as the fire trucks can view the status of the fire situations that can include, but is not limited to, videos/images of the feed received from the camera of the deployed UAVs, people inside the building that is under fire, extent of damage caused, potential fire situation/attributes, among other like configured features.
[00050] In an aspect, UAV can be any UAV having Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) features and capability for hovering and loitering over designated location. In another aspect, UAV can be a unicopter, a multicopter, a transition aircraft or any other aircraft that has VTOL capability. In an aspect, UAV can be remotely controllable over a radio link, wherein such radio link can operate between 2-5 GHz frequency over an IP link. In another aspect, radio link for remote control of UAV can operate over 2.4 GHz frequencies. In another aspect, radio link can be used by UAV for transmitting video to Fire Station, UAV Ground Control Station and Portable UAV Control Station and also to receive control commands. In another aspect, separate radio links can be provided for reception of control commands and transmission of video data.
[00051] In another embodiment, UAV can be configured with suitable sensors to capture the image of fire site or any other designated location. In an aspect such sensors can consist of video and still camera(s), thermal imagers, IR sensors, Electro Optical sights and/or gimbal systems. In another aspect, sensors of UAV can be housed inside a turret and mounted on a stabilized platform. In another embodiment, UAV can be configured with an autopilot and GPS receiver for autonomous navigation and control. In another aspect, UAV can be configured with a transponder to allow for UAV monitoring during operations.
[00052] In another embodiment, power system of UAV can be configured with electronic speed control system, motors, rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries and onboard battery charging systems. In another aspect, UAV power system can take input from autopilot for control of motors.
[00053] In another embodiment, GCS can be a computing device that can allow any operator to program and control UAV. In another aspect, GCS can allow live video feed from deployed UAVs to be presented on the display of the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel, for instance, and to assess and continuously monitor the fire site area or any other area of concern. In another aspect, GCS can be in communication with any or a combination of fire station, portable UAV controller, and with the deployed UAVs through the radio link at all times of firefighting operations.
[00054] In another embodiment, portable UAV controller can be any portable computing device such as tablet, laptop, mobile phone etc. that can allow any firefighter to control UAV operations as and when authorized by UAV Ground Control Station. In another aspect, the controller can allow live feed from UAV to be received at the controller to assess and continuously monitor the fire site area or any other area of concern. In another aspect, the controller can allow for firefighter to be in communication with the fire station, UAV GCS, and the deployed UAVs through the radio link at all times of firefighting operations.
[00055] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary architecture of UAV Integrated Firefighting system of the present disclosure in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a UAV integrated firefighting system 100, wherein the system 100 can include a fire reporting mechanism 102 that can be operatively coupled with a fire station 106 having a ground control station (GCS) 108, which in turn comprises, for instance, an integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel 110, one or more fire brigade(s)/truck(s) 112 with portable controllers 114 for UAVs, and a UAV base station 116 with one or more UAV(s) 118.
[00056] In an aspect, fire reporting mechanism 102 of the present disclosure can include a means using which a fire incident can be reported, wherein such means can include but are limited to, an observer 104-1 reporting a fire incident from any part of the city, wherein the observer(s) 104-1 can includeexact or approximate location of the fire site with fire incident signal . In another aspect, fire reporting mechanism 102 can include an automatic fire alarm system104-2 that can be installed/configured at/near various locations and buildings and structures, wherein such fire alarm systems 104-2 can sense a fire incident at a site and send an automatic fire incident signal to aground control station (GCS) 108 of a fire station 106 that can be operatively coupled with say an integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel 110, wherein such a fire alarm signal can include the co-ordinates for the exact location of the fire site. In yet another aspect, co-ordinates of the fire site location can be automatically transferred to the UAV 118 and/or to one or more identified fire brigade(s) 112 and orders/command for deployment of the UAV 118 and/or the fire brigade(s) 112 can be manually/automatically issued directly through the GCS 108 of the fire station 106. . The operational control of the UAV 118 can be handed over by UAV ground control station 120 to local firefighters, and UAV 118 can then be operated by local firefighter through respective and/or a common portable UAV controller114.
[00057] In an aspect, the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel110 can be configured remotely from the fire station 106/GCS108, and can be configured to first receive/process the fire alarm trigger signal and process the same before sending it to the GCS 108. One should appreciate that the proposed architecture is completely exemplary, and any other architecture/configuration can be implemented to receive fire notifications from one or more means into a fire station or part thereof. For instance, GCS 108 may or may not include the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel 110. Similarly, in another instance, the base station 116 may not form part of the fire station 108, and can be located at different locations for better accessibility/geographical spread.
[00058] In yet another aspect, co-ordinates of the fire site can be transferred manually through the GCS108 to the UAV(s)118and/or to the fire brigade(s) 112. In another aspect, UAV 118 can take off from a UAV base station116 based on the instructions received from the GCS 108 (and/or from the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel that may or may not form part thereof), and fly to the fire site in an autonomous mode after receipt of fire site location co-ordinates while the designated fire brigade(s) 112 along with fire fighters can move by road towards the identified fire site for firefighting and firefighting support operations.
[00059] In an aspect, integration of firefighting facilities of fire station with UAV GCS 108and the UAV(s) 118 can allow fire site location/information/intimation data received through a fire alarm trigger to be automatically and simultaneously transferred to the fire station and/or to the GCS108 of the fire station 106, enabling immediate and autonomous deployment of the UAV 118. In such scenario, UAV 118 can automatically fly from Point A to the designated fire site location Point B and confirm if it is a false alarm or hover/loiter around the designated fire site location Point B and provide real time status to all concerned and wait for arrival of further firefighters. Upon arrival of firefighters at the fire site, operational control of the UAV 118 can be taken over by the local firefighter, and UAV 118 can continue to support the local firefighters by providing continuous and live video/image feed along with other desired sensor/location information. In another aspect, operational control of the UAV 118 can be handed over by UAV GCS to local firefighters, and UAV can then be operated by local firefighter through respective and/or a common portable UAV controller 114. In another aspect, UAV 118 can be so programmed that it can take shortest or most optimal flight route to designated fire site. In another aspect, both the GCS 108 as well as the fire trucks 112 can view the status of the fire situations that can include, but is not limited to, videos/images of the feed received from the camera of the deployed UAVs 118, people inside the building that is under fire, extent of damage caused, potential fire situation/attributes, among other like configured features.
[00060] In an aspect, UAV 118 can be any UAV having vertical takeoff and landing features and capability for hovering and loitering over designated location. In another aspect, UAV 118 can be a unicopter, a multicopter, a transition aircraft or any other aircraft that has VTOL capability. In an aspect, UAV 118 can be remotely controllable over a radio link, wherein such radio link can operate between 2-5 GHz frequency over an IP link. In another aspect, radio link for remote control of UAV 118 can operate over 2.4 GHz frequency. In another aspect, radio link can be used by UAV 118for transmitting video to fire Station, UAV GCS and portable UAV controller, and also to receive control commands. In another aspect, separate radio links can be provided for reception of control commands and transmission of video data.
[00061] In another embodiment, UAV can be configured with suitable sensors to capture the image of fire site or any other designated location. In an aspect such sensors can consist of video and still camera(s), thermal imagers, IR sensors, Electro Optical sights and/or gimbal systems. In another aspect, sensors of UAV 118 can be housed inside a turret and mounted on a stabilized platform. In another embodiment, UAV can be configured with an autopilot and GPS receiver for autonomous navigation and control. In another aspect, UAV can be configured with a transponder to allow for UAV monitoring during operations.
[00062] In another embodiment, power system of UAV can be configured with electronic speed control system, motors, rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries and onboard battery charging systems. In another aspect, UAV power system can take input from autopilot for control of motors.
[00063] In another embodiment, GCS 108 can be a computing device that can allow any operator to program and control UAV 118. In another aspect, GCS 108 can allow live video feed from deployed UAVs118 to be presented on the display of the integrated fire control and UAV deployment panel 110, for instance, and to assess and continuously monitor the fire site area or any other area of concern. In another aspect, GCS 108 can be in communication with any or a combination of fire station 106, portable UAV controller114, and with the deployed UAVs118 through the radio link at all times of firefighting operations.
[00064] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, portable UAV controller 114 can be any portable computing device such as tablet, laptop, mobile phone etc. that can allow any firefighter to control UAV operations as and when authorized by the GCS. In another aspect, the controller 114 can allow live feed from UAV 118 to be received at the controller 114 to assess and continuously monitor the fire site area or any other area of concern. In another aspect, the controller 114 can allow for firefighter to be in communication with the fire station, UAV GCS, and the deployed UAVs through the radio link at all times of firefighting operations.
[00065] According to one embodiment, the present disclosure addresses the issue of false alarm detection and reporting, wherein with the proposed disclosure, a local fire station would have a UAV base station on their site. When a fire is reported over a phone or by an automated fire alarm panel, a UAV operator can send a UAV autonomously from the fire station to quickly assess the situation at the location. Meanwhile the team of firefighters would prepare and move out with a fire truck to the location. The UAV would give firefighters a firsthand prospective of the affected site over a video feed both to the fire station and also inside the fire truck.
[00066] The present disclosure also enables visual assistance on site such that once a UAV has reached location; the UAV can hover over the area and would be ready to take other commands from either the ground station at the fire station or the local handheld controller available inside the fire truck. The firefighters would be able to see both visual and thermal video over the live video feed from the UAV.
[00067] In an aspect, one of the objectives of the proposed system is to assist fire fighters in their day to day operations related to fire safety. The proposed system reduces stress on the fire department by giving a firsthand visual of the affected site without the absolute necessity of the fire department crew having to reach the site to assess the situation. The proposed UAV based firefighting system enables reaching the target location much faster, and gives an overview of the situation if the alarm is a false one, although the fire department may still reach the site but would probably go there with a smaller crew or in a much comfortable manner so as to avoid any accidents/mishaps on the roads. In an aspect, the proposed system can include a manual deployment system, wherein a person sitting on the GCS device can program the UAV to fly to a specific location where a fire has been reported such that the UAV autonomously reached over the target location and starts to loiter or hover over the area to receive further commands from the ground station operator or from the hand held portable control station/UAV controller. In an alternate embodiment, the system can include an automated deployment system, which can work as an extension of the existing fire incident signal systems currently in service in a lot of places in cities around the world, wherein such notification system are currently linked to their closest fire department and report any fire alarm trigger by a sensor automatically to the fire department with information about their location. With the proposed disclosure, fire notification system can be linked with the drone/UAV deployment system, where the UAV can be pre-programmed with location information of these sites. Any alarm trigger can also trigger the corresponding location deployment for the UAV. The UAV can automatically fly to the triggered location instantly, and can continue to loiter/hover over the designated location. Later the fire fighter can take control over the UAV to command it to take further actions.
[00068] In an aspect, base station 116 can be a platform where UAV(s) 118can be placed and be ready for deployment. The base station can also incorporate a wireless charging pad to keep UAV’s batteries charged, wherein the base station can also have a housing that can protect the UAV from environmental factors. There can also be a small landing pad that would be placed on the cabin of the fire truck. In case of low battery, the drone can automatically land on top of the vehicles cabin and be ready for a battery swap for further flight and operations if necessary.
[00069] In an aspect, the UAV 118 can be developed by a heat resisting composite material, and can be configured in one or more modes such as in autopilot mode for control and autonomous navigation. UAV can further include gimbal/video processing, which can be a system that houses thermal camera, video camera, and turret that can stabilize the camera in flight and also enable to control it. In addition, UAV can include a power system, which can include electronic speed controls, motors, battery, and onboard charging system, and be configured to take input from the autopilot to control all the motors. It can also be responsible for charging the battery whenit’s kept at the base station. In another aspect, the UAV 118 can include a radio link/communication means, which can connect the UAV with other UAVs 118, GCS 108, and the portable controller 114.
[00070] FIG. 2A illustrates exemplary functional modules 200 of a ground control station of a fire station in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, ground control station (GCS) of the present disclosure can include a fire incident signal receive module 202, a fire incident signal based UAV deployment module 204, a deployed UAV communication module 206, a live status based firefighting resource deployment module 208, and a UAV control module 210.
[00071] In an aspect, GCS, which can, in an embodiment, form part of the fire station and in another embodiment can be remotely located, can be configured to receive, through the fire incident signal receive module 202, a fire incident signal from a person/observer or automatically from a trigger fire alarm indicating the estimated/accurate location of the fire. Such notification receipt can also automatically triggera fire alarm in fire station intimating all units and firefighters about a fire alarm.
[00072] In an aspect, fire incident signal based UAV deployment module204 can be configured to, based on the received fire incident signal, deploy one or more UAVs (positioned in a base station of the fire station) from the plurality of UAVs towards the location of the fire site by setting in the co-ordinates of the fire site into the control system of the UAV’s. The UAV’s can be configured/implemented such that they take the shortest possible aerial route to the fire location. In an aspect, the deployment of the UAVs can be performed by the GCS, wherein the GCS can be a computer that can allow the UAV operator to not only program and control the UAV but also provide live feed from the UAV to the operator to control and assess the extent of figure in the affected area.
[00073] In another aspect, deployed UAV communication module 206 can be configured to enable communication to take place between the GCS and the UAVs, wherein the UAV’s can share live video feed, indicate heat properties associated with the fire in context, confirm if the fire alarm was false, indicate the type/extent/gravity/parameters of the fire in context, share exact location coordinates, number of people inside the building, type of rescue plan that should be taken, among other like information. Such communication can take place using radio communication or any other form of wireless communication.
[00074] In yet another aspect, live status based firefighting resource deployment module208 can be configured to enable the GCS to deploy one or more fire trucks/brigades towards the fire location. In one exemplary implementation, such fire trucks/brigades can be deployed only once a confirmation that the fire alarm is not false is received from the deployed UAVs. In another implementation however, the fire trucks/brigades can always be deployed sooner the fire incident signal is received by the fire station/GCS, wherein the fire trucks/brigades can be associated with a portable UAV controller (which can be configured in the form factor of for instance a mobile phone, smart phone, tablet PC, among other like computing devices or can be an embedded controller on board) that can enable a fire fighter to communicate with the deployed UAVs to view the current status of the fire on the display of the controller, view of the video/image feed being received from the UAVs, control the direction/location/attributes of the UAV, gather additional information based on the sensors that are deployed in the UAV’s, among any other information.
[00075] In an aspect, the UAV control module 210 can be configure to enable the fire station/GCS and/or the fire fighters to control the operation/movement/sensor activation-deactivation, of the one or more deployed UAVs. In an exemplary implementation, once the fire brigades are deployed, control of the deployed UAVs can shift from the GCS to the fire fighters who have access to the portable UAV controllers to control the operation of the UAVs.
[00076] FIG. 2B illustrates exemplary functional modules 230 of a UAV in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to one embodiment, UAV can include a fire incident signal receive module 232, a UAV deployment module 234, a control instruction based UAV management module 236, a ground control station communication module 238, and a portable UAV controller communication module 240.
[00077] In an aspect, fire incident signal receive module 232 can be configured to enable the UAV to receive a fire incident signal either directly from the observer/user/automated fire alarm trigger or from the ground control station (GCS) of the fire station. Such notification can be received in any format/configuration, based on which, using the UAV deployment module 234, the UAV can be deployed to the location coordinates mentioned in the fire incident signal . Such deployment can involve computation of the shortest aerial distance from the base station where the UAV is deployed to the location where the fire is reported to have occurred. Such deployment can either be done automatically sooner the fire instructions/alarm is received by the UAV, or can be done manually by a specific/explicit trigger from the GCS.
[00078] In another aspect, control instruction based UAV management module 236 can be configured to enable control/management of the deployed UAVs by, for instance, the ground control station by means of one or more control instructions, wherein the control station can activate/de-activate one or more sensors of the deployed UAVs and can also control their movement, angle, height, rotation, speed, among other like attributes so that accurate/desired information about the fire situation can be retrieved.
[00079] In yet another aspect, ground control station communication module 238 and portable UAV controller communication module 240 can be configured to enable communication of the deployed UAVs with the GCS and the portable UAV controller (that is with the firefighter) respectively. Such communication can be bi-directional and enable the deployed UAVs to send/receive data/instructions for management thereof. In an aspect, portable UAV controller can be a touch-enable device having a display that enables the firefighter to view of the live feed (video or image) being transmitted by the deployed UAV using radio communication, along with other information relating to the fire in context such the damage caused, extent of damage possible, possible rescue strategies, temperature/pressure conditions, success rate in rescue operation, among any other desired/configured information. In an aspect, UAV sensors/elements can include video and still cameras, IR cameras and sensors, thermal imagers, Electro optical sites, GPS systems, among other components.
[00080] According to one embodiment, communication between portable UAV controller and/or the GCS with the deployed UAVs can be through RF based communication links that can be established between UAV, Fire Station, Fire Brigade and all other units participating in the firefighting operations. In an aspect, such communication can be on a secured communication channel operating between 2-5 GHz frequency range. In another aspect, such communication can be RF IP based communication link. Portable controller based UAV communication can also be used for receiving live video feed from all sensors fitted on UAV and for continuously monitoring the fire site and wherein such assessment can also consists of assessing whether or not the fire alarm is false or not. In an aspect, such communication can be established through any communication link. In an exemplary implementation, communication between the UAVs and the GCS can be enable through WiFi or wireless WAN, or cellular radio network.
[00081] In an aspect, portable controller can be used to control UAV during its flight to fire site or when it is operating/hovering/loitering near the fire site, wherein such control can include directing the UAV to send video feed from different directions or going around the building and giving a complete picture of the fire site. In another aspect, portable UAV controller communication module 240 can be configured to enable transfer of UAV operational control from GCS to the portable UAV controller, wherein handing over of such operational control can allow local firefighter to control UAV through the controller. In an exemplary implementation, the controller can be any one of an on-board microcontroller configured to receive command from the GCS, a mobile phone, a PDA, a tablet or a remote control unit.
[00082] In an aspect, GCS can be any computing device that can allow any operator to program and control UAV. In another aspect, the GCS can allow live video feed from UAV to be received at the GCS to enable the GCS to assess and continuously monitor the fire site area or any other area of concern. In another aspect, GCS can be configured to be in communication with the fire station, the portable UAV controller, and with the deployed/non-deployed UAVs through a radio link at all times of firefighting operations.
[00083] In an aspect, portable UAV controller can allow a local firefighter to control and operate UAV, and can allow the local firefighter operating UAV to communicate through, say a secured communication link, with the GCS, and also allow for receipt of live video feed from UAV sensors. In an aspect, such communication can be on a secured communication channel operating between 2-5 GHz frequency range. In another aspect, such communication can be RF IP based communication link. Controller can allow for transfer of operational control of one or more UAVs, to and fro, between GCS and the portable UAV controller.
[00084] In an aspect, the portable UAV controller can be configured as part of a fire brigade and from where it can be dismantled as and when required for handheld operation control of UAV. In another aspect, the portable controller can be any portable computing device such as a smart phone, laptop, tablet, or any other such device.
[00085] FIGs. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate exemplary UAV and Fire Brigade(s) deployment scenario 300, 340, and 360 respectively, at different stages of firefighting operations, of the present disclosure, wherein interaction between various units involved in firefighting operations right from the receipt of fire alarm trigger at fire station and till firefighting units deployed for firefighting operations arrive at fire site for tackling the fire. As shown in deployment scenario 300, the firefighting activities can be initiated at fire station 302 on receipt of fire alarm trigger from fire site location 312. The fire alarm trigger can be received through a phone callby any observer or by public raising a fire alarm or any other such means, wherein the fire alarm trigger may or may not include exact location details of fire site. In another aspect, fire alarm trigger signal can be received at fire station 302 through an automatic fire alarm system that can be installed at fire site location 312, wherein such fire alarm trigger signal can include precise and exact location co-ordinates/details of the fire site location 312.
[00086] In an aspect, in case the fire alarm trigger signal includes location co-ordinates of the fire site location at312, the same can be transferred directly to UAV 308 and fire brigade station 304, wherein the UAV 308 and the designated fire brigade304 can be deployed automatically for firefighting operations at fire site location312. Identified fire brigade 304 can start travelling by the road towards the location 312 and can also, in an embodiment, carry a portable UAV controller 310. In case the fire alarm signal does not contain the location/co-ordinates of fire site location 312, necessary action can be taken to establish the location co-ordinates/details of fire site location312, and the coordinates can be manually inputted into UAV308 through UAV GCS 306 (as explained above), and the UAV 308 can then be deployed for fire site location 312. Upon deployment, the UAV 308 can fly by the shortest route, in autonomous mode, to the location312, whereas the fire brigade 304 can also start moving to the location 312 by road. During the initial phase, communication can be established between fire station 302, UAV 308, and the fire brigade 304 using radio link. In another aspect, sensors onboard the UAV 308 can be switched ON/OFF, and movement/flight/direction/speed/attribute of the UAV can be controlled by the GCS 306 as the UAV 308 flies towards the location 312.
[00087] FIG. 3B illustrates deployment scenario 340 wherein UAV 308 has arrived at the location312 and has started sending live video to all units participating in firefighting operations, namely, the fire station 302, the GCS 306, and the fire brigade 304. Based on the live video feed received from UAV 308 by the participating unit, fire alarm may be classified as False,in which case the UAV 308 and the fire brigade 304 can be ordered to immediately return to their respective base stations. It can also be appreciated that though UAV 308 has reached the location 312, brigade 304 is still far from the location312 as its movement can be slower/restricted by longer distance and prevailing traffic conditions.
[00088] FIG. 3C illustrates an alternate deployment scenario 360 wherein based on live video feed received from UAV 308, the fire alarm has been found to be correct. Live video feed data from the UAV 308 can be used by firefighting personnel in brigade 304 to start planning their firefighting strategy. Same feed can also be used at fire station 302 to continuously assess the firefighting status and plan whether the deployed forces can be reduced or need to be augmented or if any other resources are required for firefighting or medical support. UAV GCS 306 can control UAV 308 and/or direct it to different positions/ or give live video feed from specific sensors to get a better and complete picture of the fire.
[00089] In another aspect, upon arrival of brigade 304 at the location 312, operational control of the UAV 308 can be handed over to local firefighter who can then control the UAV 308 through the portable UAV controller 310. On completion of firefighting operations, all units participating in firefighting operations, namely, UAV 308 and the fire brigade 304 can return to their base station/ fire station 302. In another aspect, brigade 304 can be provided with requisite facility to enable the UAV 308 to land on the brigade 304 top, wherein the expended batteries of the UAV 308 can be swapped with charged batteries.
[00090] FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary schematics of components of the proposed UAV integrated firefighting system 400 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein these elements/components include a UAV 402, a portable UAV controller 424, a UAV Base Station 432, and a GCS 438. Exemplary UAV onboard system 402 can include sensor(s) 404, an autopilot 406, a battery and power distribution system 408, a video processor 410, a radio link 412, a GPS receiver 414, an electronic speed control system 416, motors 418, video camera 420, and a thermal camera 422.
[00091] In an aspect, UAV 402 can include fire monitoring sensors that can include video and still camera(s), thermal imagers, IR sensors, electro optical sights and/or gimbal systems. In another aspect, fire monitoringsensors of UAV 402 can be housed inside a turret and mounted on a stabilized platform. In another aspect, UAV can be configured with an autopilot 406 and a GPS receiver 414 for autonomous navigation and control. In another aspect, UAV 402 can be configured with a transponder to allow for UAV monitoring during operations.
[00092] In another aspect, power system of the UAV 402 can be configured with electronic speed control system 416, motors 418, rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries and onboard battery charging systems 408. In another aspect, UAV power system 408 can take input from autopilot 406 for control of motors 418.
[00093] In another embodiment, portable UAV controller 424 can be configured in any computing device such as a mobile phone as an application, or in a tablet PC, laptop, among other like devices, which can allow any firefighter to control UAV operations as and when authorized by UAV GCS. In another aspect, ground control application/software 428 can be resident on a portable computing device 426, wherein such ground control software 428 can allow portable computing device 426 to control UAV. In another aspect, portable computing device 426 can also be configured with a radio link to receive live video feed as and when transmitted from UAV sensors404 and also communicate with all units participating in firefighting operations.
[00094] In another aspect, portable UAV controller 424 can allow live feed from UAV 402 to be received at the controller 424 to assess and continuously monitor the fire site area or any other area of concern. In another aspect, the controller 424 can allow for firefighter to be in communication with fire station, UAV GCS, and UAV through the radio link at all times of firefighting operations.
[00095] In another embodiment, UAV GCS 438 can be any computing device/ computer device 444 that can allow an operator to program and control the UAV402 of the present disclosure. In another aspect, the system 444 of the GCS 438 can be configured with a ground control application/software 442 that can allow the GCS 438 to control and operate the UAV 402 of the present disclosure. In another aspect, the system 444 can be coupled with video and flight log recorder 440, wherein video and flight data received from the UAV 402 can be recorded for subsequent analysis, training and record. In another aspect, GCS 438 can be configured with a radio link 446 to receive live video feed as and when transmitted from the UAV 402, and also communicate with all units participating in firefighting operations.
[00096] In another embodiment, UAV base station 432 can be configured with a wireless charging facility 434 wherein wireless charging facility 434 can allow for wireless charging of UAV batteries. In another aspect, UAV base station 432 can also be configured with wired battery charging facilities or with both wired and wireless battery charging facilities. In another aspect, UAV base station 432 can be configured with a protective housing facility 436, wherein the protective housing facility 436 can be used for parking/storage of UAV during its non-deployment phase, and wherein such protective housing facility 436 can protect the UAV from exposure to adverse environment. In one of the embodiment, protective housing refers for the box that would open automatically when a take-off command is received from the ground station. It will open automatically after a takeoff command has been sent to it. In an embodiment, the base station refers to as the entire assembly which would house the UAV, UAV/ drone charging plate and telemetry (Communication radio to send and receive signals to and fro with the UAV).
[00097] FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary schematics of components setup of the proposed UAV 500 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the UAV 500 can include set of propellers 502, a thermal camera 504, a video camera 506, set of motors 508, a control radio 510, a set of electronic speed controllers (ESCs) 512, a GPS and a magnetometer device 514, a wireless battery charger 516, an autopilot 518, a battery 520, and a telemetry and video downlink 522.
[00098] In an exemplary embodiment, drone can include 4 set of propellers and each set of propeller include 3 propellers. Alternatively, any number of set of propellers and number of propellers in each set may be used, as known to person ordinary skill in the art. Propellers convert rotational motion into thrust thereby UAV flies in air path.
[00099] In an aspect, the thermal camera 504 and the video camera 506 are also employed. The thermal camera 504 is employed to allow firefighters to look different areas of heat. The video camera 506 is employed to perform live recording of fire situation and transmit it to remote location.
[000100] In an aspect, set of motors 508 are employed to energize the propellers so that UAV can be reached at a fire spot. In an embodiment, any number of motors may be employed as known to person ordinary skill in the art. The motors 508 convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. In an embodiment, any motor can be used for energizing propeller including but not limited to, AC motors, DC motors and the like, and the like, as known person ordinary skill in the art.
[000101] In an aspect, a control radio 508 is configured to control the communication between UAV and a remote station. UAV works according to the received commands from remote station. In an embodiment, the electronic speed controller (ESC) 512 varies electric motor’s speed, direction of rotation and also acts as a dynamic brake. In an embodiment, any mechanism including but not limited to ESC 512, and the like, as known person ordinary skill in the artcan be used to vary speed, direction of motion of the electric motor.
[000102] In an aspect, the GPS and a magnetometer device 514 are used. GPS is used to track the location or coordinates of the drone. Based on the location/coordinates, UAV flying path/turns on the way can be controlled. In an embodiment, a power source in configured to provide power to different UAV components such as motors. Power source including but not limited to the wireless battery charger 516, and the like, as known person ordinary skill in the art can be utilized. Alternatively, additional battery 520 may also be employed to provide power to different UAV components.
[000103] In an aspect, UAV power system can take input from autopilot 518 for control of motors. Further, a telemetry and video downlink 522 are utilized. Telemetry is used to gather all data from the fire spot and sends it to remote location for appropriate action such as sending commands to UAV based on current situation, recording of data for later use. Video downlink is used to download the video feeds of fire spot transmitted by UAV. These video feeds can be downloaded in real-time. Alternatively, video feeds can be downloaded in a periodic fashion to the electronic devices operationally coupled with example fire brigades, trucks etc.
[000104] FIG. 6A, 6B illustrate another exemplary schematics of the proposed base station in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The base station works in two modes: close mode and open mode. Fig 6A illustrates that base station 600 is in close mode and UAV is in wireless charging mode via a charging mechanism such as charger. Fig.6B illustrates base station 650 is in open mode. In this mode, UAV is ready to take off for reaching to the fire spot. A wireless charging plate is also utilized to charge the UAV and later on utilize charging to drive the motors for flying UAV. In one of the embodiment, wireless charging can be performed in both modes, closed mode as well as open mode.
[000105] In an exemplary implementation, the base station for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can include a wireless charging plate, an enclosure, a power plug and a wireless antenna. In an exemplary implementation, the base station can be configured to operate in closed mode (as shown in FIG. 6A) to secure a UAV placed on the wireless charging plate while keeping the enclosure closed and charge the UAV by power received through the power plug, and operate in open mode (as shown in FIG. 6B) to enable deployment of the UAV on receipt of a wireless command over the wireless antenna by opening the enclosure.
[000106] While embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the invention is not limited to these embodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as described in the claim.
[000107] In the foregoing description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, to avoid obscuring the present invention.
[000108] Some portions of the detailed description have been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.
[000109] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “computing”, “comparing”, “determining”, “adjusting”, “applying”, “creating”, “ranking,” “classifying,” or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
[000110] Certain embodiments of the present invention also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be constructed for the intended purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.
[000111] It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description. The scope of the invention should therefore be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
,CLAIMS:1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) integrated firefighting system, the system comprising:
a fire incident signal receive module configured at a remote computing device to receive fire incident signal from a remote location, wherein the fire incident signal comprises location of a fire site;
a fire incident signal based UAV deployment module configured at the remote computing device to deploy at-least one UAV of plurality of UAVs toward the fire site based on received fire incident signal;
a deployed UAV communication module configured to enable communication of live status by the at-lest one UAV from the fire site to the remote computing device;
a live status based firefighting resource deployment module configured, at the remote computing device, to deploy firefighting resources in coordinated manner for the fire site based on the live status.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises an UAV control module configured to enable control of each of the plurality of UAVs through respective controller by any or combination of the remote computing device, and an onsite person.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to control any or combination of operation, movement, activation-deactivation of one or more sensors deployed on-board a UAV.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller is any one of an on-board microcontroller, a mobile phone, a PDA, a tablet or a remote control unit.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the live status comprises any or a combination of live video feed, heat properties associated with fire at the fire site, confirmation of fire incident, indication of type of fire, indication of extent of fire, gravity of fire, exact location coordinates, indication of number of people inside fire area.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the fire resources are deployed based on the confirmation of fire incident received from the live status.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication between the plurality UAVs and the remote computing device is enabled through any or combination of RF based communication, WiFi, and cellular radio network.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the firefighting resources are any or combination of one or more fire brigade(s), remaining UAVs of the plurality of UAVs, and firefighting persons.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at-least one UAV is configured to take shortest route toward the fire site.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein a UAV of the plurality of UAV comprises one or more fire monitoring sensor(s), an autopilot controller, a battery and power distribution system, a video processor, a radio link, a GPS receiver, an electronic speed control system, motors video camera, and a thermal camera.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the UAV is wirelessly recharged once placed on a base station.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the base station is configured to operate in closed mode in which the UAV is placed inside an enclosure and an open mode to enable the UAV to be deployed by opening the enclosure, wherein the open mode is enabled on receiving the fire incident signal at the base station.
13. A base station for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising of:
a wireless charging plate;
an enclosure;
a power plug; and
a wireless antenna;
characterized in that, the base station is configured to
operate in closed mode to secure a UAV placed on the wireless charging plate while keeping the enclosure closed and charge the UAV by power received through the power plug, and
operate in open mode to enable deployment of the UAV on receipt of a wireless command over the wireless antenna by opening the enclosure.