Parrot

Parrott

Parrot Drones

Michael Rischmuller

Francois Callou

Laure Chevalley

Frederic D'Haeyer

Etienne Caldichoury

François Callou

Frédéric D'Haeyer

The drone () comprises an onboard video camera () picking up a sequence of images to be transmitted to a remote control. The user selects an exposure mode such as forward or sideways, panoramic or boom plane, tracking, defining a trajectory to be transmitted to the drone. Corresponding setpoint values are generated and applied to a processing subsystem controlling the motors of the drone. Once the drone is stabilized on the prescribed trajectory (), the exposure by the video camera () is activated and the trajectory is stabilized by an open loop control avoiding the oscillations inherent in a servocontrol with feedback loop.

Method for piloting a rotary wing drone for taking an exposure through an onboard camera with minimization of the disturbing movements

The drone comprises: a vertical-view camera () pointing downward to pick up images of a scene of the ground overflown by the drone; gyrometer, magnetometer and accelerometer sensors (); and an altimeter (). Navigation means determine position coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the drone in an absolute coordinate system linked to the ground. These means are autonomous, operating without reception of external signals. They include image analysis means, adapted to derive a position signal from an analysis of known predetermined patterns (), present in the scene picked up by the camera, and they implement a predictive-filter estimator () incorporating a representation of a dynamic model of the drone, with as an input the position signal, a horizontal speed signal, linear and rotational acceleration signals, and an altitude signal.

Rotary-wing drone comprising autonomous means for determining a position in an absolute coordinate system linked to the ground

This method controls the drone in order to flip through a complete turn about its roll axis or its pitching axis. It comprises the steps of: a) controlling its motors simultaneously so as to impart a prior upward vertical thrust impulse to the drone; b) applying different and non-servo-controlled commands to the motors so as to produce rotation of the drone about the axis of rotation of the flip, from an initial angular position to a predetermined intermediate angular position; and then c) applying individual control to the motors, servo-controlled to a reference target trajectory, so as to finish off the rotation of the drone through one complete turn about the axis of rotation, progressively from the intermediate angular position with a non-zero angular velocity to a final angular position with a zero angular velocity.

Method of dynamically controlling the attitude of a drone in order to execute a flip type maneuver automatically

The respective motors of the drone () can be controlled to rotate at different speeds in order to pilot the drone both in attitude and speed. A remote control appliance produces a command to turn along a curvilinear path, this command comprising a left or right turning direction parameter and a parameter that defines the radius of curvature of the turn. The drone receives said command and acquires instantaneous measurements of linear velocity components, of angles of inclination, and of angular speeds of the drone. On the basis of the received command and the acquired measurements, setpoint values are generated for a control loop for controlling motors of the drone, these setpoint values controlling horizontal linear speed and inclination of the drone relative to a frame of reference associated with the ground so as to cause the drone to follow curvilinear path (C) at predetermined tangential speed (u).

Growing community of inventors

Aix-en-Provence, France

Michael Rischmuller