IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0729781
(2012-12-28)
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등록번호 |
US-8862403
(2014-10-14)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Piponi, Daniele P.
- Rhodes, Bradley
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출원인 / 주소 |
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대리인 / 주소 |
McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
9 인용 특허 :
18 |
초록
▼
Methods and systems for determining altitudes for a vehicle to travel are provided. In one example, a method comprises receiving information indicating a desired location for a balloon and a time period for traveling to the desired location. A region may include the desired location, and the region
Methods and systems for determining altitudes for a vehicle to travel are provided. In one example, a method comprises receiving information indicating a desired location for a balloon and a time period for traveling to the desired location. A region may include the desired location, and the region can be divided into a plurality of cells. The method may include determining estimated cell locations that can be reached by the balloon over a time interval by following a wind at a given altitude. The method may also include assigning a cost value to each cell based on a proximity of the estimated cell locations to a cell including the desired location. The method may further include determining for each cell an altitude for the balloon to travel based on the assigned cost value, and storing information indicating the cost value and the altitude for the balloon to travel.
대표청구항
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1. A method comprising: a computing device receiving information indicative of a desired location within a region for a vehicle to reside and a time period for the vehicle to travel to the desired location, the region being divided into a plurality of cells;the computing device determining estimated
1. A method comprising: a computing device receiving information indicative of a desired location within a region for a vehicle to reside and a time period for the vehicle to travel to the desired location, the region being divided into a plurality of cells;the computing device determining estimated cell locations that can be reached by the vehicle over a time interval of the time period by following a wind at a given altitude;for the time interval, the computing device assigning a cost value to one or more cells of the plurality of cells based on a proximity of the estimated cell locations to a cell including the desired location and based on a given cost value of the cell for a subsequent time interval;for the time interval, the computing device determining for the one or more cells an altitude for the vehicle to travel based on the assigned cost value for the cell; andthe computing device storing for the time interval in non-transitory data storage coupled to or in communication with the computing device information per cell indicative of the cost value and the altitude for the vehicle to travel. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes a balloon within a data network and is operable to provide data communication via optical or radio-frequency (RF) links. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the time period is divided into a plurality of time intervals and the time interval is one of the plurality of time intervals, wherein the method further comprises: the computing device generating a map for a last time interval of the plurality of time intervals; andthe computing device subsequently generating a map for each remaining time interval of the plurality of time intervals in reverse sequential order. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein a given map for a given time interval includes cost values based on cost values of a given map for a given subsequent time interval. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein a given cost value of cells increases as the proximity of the cells to the cell including the desired location decreases. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the computing device providing an instruction to the vehicle to travel at a given altitude associated with a given time interval and while the vehicle is within a portion of the region designated as a given cell associated with the given altitude. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein a given cost value is based also on an amount of time for the vehicle to reach the desired location. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, for each altitude of a plurality of altitudes, estimated cell locations that can be reached by the vehicle over the time interval of the time period by following a given wind at the given altitude;for each altitude, assigning the cost value to the one or more cells of the plurality of cells based on the proximity of the estimated cell locations to the cell including the desired location and based on the given cost value of the cell for the subsequent time interval;for the one or more cells, determining an altitude of the plurality of altitudes based on the cost value of the cell; andthe computing device storing for the time interval and for the one or more cells in non-transitory data storage coupled to or in communication with the computing device information indicative of the determined altitude of the plurality of altitudes. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the time period is divided into a plurality of time intervals and the time interval is one of the plurality of time intervals, wherein the method further comprises: determining for each time interval of the plurality of time intervals information per cell indicative of a given cost value and an associated altitude for the vehicle to travel. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device determining estimated cell locations that can be reached by the vehicle over the time interval of the time period by following the wind at the given altitude comprises: the computing device receiving information indicative of an estimated wind direction and speed at the given altitude;the computing device estimating a distance and direction that the vehicle would travel based on the estimated wind direction and speed at the given altitude; andthe computing device determining a given cell of the plurality of cells where the vehicle would reside by traveling the estimated distance and direction. 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: the computing device receiving information indicative of estimated wind directions and speeds at a plurality of altitudes for the time interval;the computing device estimating distances and directions that the vehicle would travel based on the estimated wind directions and speeds at each of the plurality of altitudes;the computing device determining cells of the plurality of cells where the vehicle would reside by traveling the estimated distances and directions;the computing device assigning cost values to one or more of the cells of the plurality of cells based on a proximity of the cells to the desired location; andthe computing device selecting a respective altitude of the plurality of altitudes which results in the vehicle traveling to a respective cell based on a cost value of the respective cell. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor assigning the cost value to the one or more cells of the plurality of cells comprises: assigning a first cost value based on the proximity of the estimated cell locations to a cell including the desired location;determining a given cost value of the one or more cells for the subsequent time interval; andcombining the first cost value and the given cost value of the cell for the subsequent time interval so as to provide the cost value of the cell for the time interval. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the time period is divided into a plurality of time intervals and the time interval is one of the plurality of time intervals, wherein the method further comprises: the computing device determining for each time interval of the plurality of time intervals a map including information per cell indicative of a given cost value and an associated altitude for the vehicle to travel;the computing device receiving information indicative of a fleet of vehicles and associated cells for each vehicle representative of a location of each vehicle; andthe computing device determining for each time interval of the plurality of time intervals a respective altitude for each vehicle of the fleet of vehicles to travel based on the map for each time interval. 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the computing device determining a path for the vehicle to travel to the desired location based on selections of respective altitudes for the vehicle to travel within cells of the plurality of cells. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, by the processor, the estimated cell locations that can be reached by the vehicle over the time interval of the time period by following the wind at the given altitude comprises: receiving, from a given vehicle residing at the given altitude, information indicative of an estimated wind direction and speed at the given altitude; andestimating a distance and direction that the vehicle would travel based on the estimated wind direction and speed at the given altitude. 16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising: receiving information indicative of a desired location within a region for a vehicle to reside and a time period for traveling to the desired location, the region being divided into a plurality of cells;determining estimated cell locations that can be reached by the vehicle over a time interval of the time period by following a wind at a given altitude;for the time interval, assigning a cost value to the one or more cells of the plurality of cells based on a proximity of the estimated cell locations to a cell including the desired location and based on a given cost value of the cell for a subsequent time interval;for the time interval, determining for the one or more cells an altitude for the vehicle to travel based on the assigned cost value for the cell; andstoring for the time interval information per cell indicative of the cost value and the altitude for the vehicle to travel. 17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the time period is divided into a plurality of time intervals and the time interval is one of the plurality of time intervals, wherein the functions further comprise: generating a map for a last time interval of the plurality of time intervals; andsubsequently generating a map for each remaining time interval of the plurality of time intervals in reverse sequential order, wherein a given map for a given time interval includes cost values based on cost values of a given map for a given subsequent time interval. 18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the functions further comprise: determining, for each altitude of a plurality of altitudes, estimated cell locations that can be reached by the vehicle over the time interval of the time period by following a given wind at the given altitude;for each altitude, assigning the cost value to the one or more cells of the plurality of cells based on the proximity of the estimated cell locations to the cell including the desired location and based on the given cost value of the cell for the subsequent time interval;for the one or more cells, determining an altitude of the plurality of altitudes based on the cost value of the cell; andstoring for the time interval and for the one or more cells information indicative of the determined altitude of the plurality of altitudes. 19. A system, comprising: at least one processor; anddata storage comprising program instructions executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to perform functions comprising: receiving information indicative of a desired location in a region for a vehicle to reside and a time period for the vehicle to travel to the desired location, the region being divided into a plurality of cells;determining estimated cell locations that can be reached by the vehicle over a time interval of the time period by following a wind at a given altitude;for the time interval, assigning a cost value to the one or more cells of the plurality of cells based on a proximity of the estimated cell locations to a cell including the desired location and based on a given cost value of the cell for a subsequent time interval;for the time interval, determining for the one or more cells an altitude for the vehicle to travel based on the assigned cost value for the cell; andstoring for the time interval information per cell indicative of the cost value and the altitude for the vehicle to travel. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the time period is divided into a plurality of time intervals and the time interval is one of the plurality of time intervals, wherein the functions further comprise: determining for each time interval of the plurality of time intervals a map including information per cell indicative of a given cost value and an associated altitude for the vehicle to travel;receiving information indicative of a fleet of vehicles and associated cells for each vehicle representative of a location of each vehicle;determining for each time interval of the plurality of time intervals a respective altitude for each vehicle of the fleet of vehicles to travel based on the map for each time interval; andproviding a respective instruction to each vehicle of the fleet of vehicles to travel at the respective altitude for the given time interval and while the vehicle is within a portion of the region designated as a given cell associated with the respective altitude.
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