It sounds very cool to send express by UAV, but there are many challenges in its implementation, especially the UAV"s endurance ability has become the most critical link restricting its development. Recently, the United States has exposed a new patent called multifunctional UAV transfer station system and method, which uses LED street lights as UAV transfer station.
Wisdom Street Lamp as UAV Transfer Station Faces Many Challenges
In recent years, the application of UAVs has been greatly explored under the booming tide of UAVs. From the initial aerial photography, to the line patrol, to the current hot express service, UAVs are penetrating into all walks of life at an alarming speed, and into the lives of ordinary people.
It sounds very cool to send express by UAV, but there are many challenges in its implementation, especially the UAV"s endurance ability has become the most critical link restricting its development.
Recently, in order to solve this problem, the United States has exposed a new patent named multifunctional UAV transfer station system and method. LED street lights will be used as UAV transfer station to provide assistance for UAV"s continuation. This "marriage" links the two unrelated industries of UAV and lighting.
Patents show that UAV transfer stations can charge or refuel the UAV for further flight, take and place packages, communicate with control systems, reset navigation systems or wait for further instructions, and temporarily avoid risks in bad weather.
Not to mention whether the UAV "Air Express" service can really be realized, since talking about the lighting industry, first give an analysis of the feasibility of street lights as UAV transfer station.
Smart Light Pole -- "Airport"
On the main road of the city, there is a street lamp every 30-50 meters, which is evenly arranged. As the densest urban infrastructure, street lamp pole is the most suitable tool for UAV"s lifting and landing "airport". Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) needs to be recharged. Street lamp has the natural advantage of being "live". It only needs to add charging facilities on the original lamp pole. It does not need to open new public resources to build charging equipment, which subtracts the project of laying pipelines and greatly reduces the comprehensive cost of construction.
Speaking of street lamp charging, in fact, as early as 2015, Shanghai piloted the first domestic road smart lamp pole project, which integrates charging pile, WIFI, emergency help, multimedia information screen and other functions to charge electric vehicles, realize WIFI Internet access, emergency help, air quality detection, smart security and so on. Among them, street lamp charging technology for electric vehicles will also lay a good foundation for UAV charging. Although smart lamp pole has not been popularized nationwide, smart lamp pole has reserved the possibility for more functions.
At the same time, the integrative functions of intelligent street lamp pole can also be linked. For example, the surveillance camera can dynamically monitor the UAV transfer station, transmit the transfer station pictures back to the console to monitor the UAV"s operation status; the multimedia display screen can display the UAV"s lift and delivery information in real time; and the use of the 4 G micro-base station and control system. Integrated communication; LED can also provide lighting guidance.
In addition, it can also access weather, environmental monitoring and other sensors to provide meteorological analysis for UAVs and provide shelter in extreme weather for a long time.
Intelligent Control System-Command Tower
In addition to smart lamp pole, as an important carrier of smart city construction, street lamp will play a greater role in the construction of UAV transfer station. Through the city street lamp as the port of the Internet of Things, intelligent lighting control system will achieve the "command" of UAV.