Methods and Systems for Sharing an Airspace Wide Unmanned Aircraft System Database Across a Plurality of Service Suppliers

Abstract

Described herein is a system comprising (a) a UAS registry including a plurality of UAS accounts each including owner information data and a unique UAS identifier, (b) a plurality of UAS registration computing systems operable to create UAS accounts for the UAS registry, (c) a plurality of USS computing systems that each provide service to one of a plurality of service areas within an airspace, wherein each USS computing system is operable to: (i) receive, from UAS operators, operation data for UASs operating in the service area served by the USS computing system, (ii) receive, from the other USS computing systems for the airspace, operation data for UASs operating in the other service areas served the other USS computing systems, (iii) combine the operation data received from the UAS operators for the corresponding service area, with the operation data received from the other USS computing systems for the other service areas in the airspace, to maintain an airspace-wide UAS database, and (iv) provide a publicly accessible application interface for obtaining airspace data based on the UAS database.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) registry comprising a plurality of UAS accounts, wherein each UAS account comprises (a) owner information data and (b) a unique UAS identifier;   a plurality of UAS registration computing systems operable to create UAS accounts for the UAS registry and control access to the plurality UAS accounts via an authentication process;   a plurality of UAS service supplier (USS) computing systems that each provide service to one of a plurality of service areas within an airspace, wherein each USS computing system is operable to:
 (a) receive, from UAS operators, operation data for UASs operating in the service area served by the USS computing system, wherein the received operation data identifies data for each UAS with a unique UAS identifier assigned to the UAS; 
 (b) receive, from the other USS computing systems for the airspace, operation data for UASs operating in the other service areas served the other USS computing systems, wherein the operation data for the other service areas identifies data for each UAS with a unique UAS identifier assigned to the UAS; 
 (c) combine (i) the operation data received from the UAS operators for the corresponding service area, with (ii) the operation data received from the other USS computing systems for the other service areas in the airspace, to maintain an airspace-wide UAS database, wherein the UAS database identifies operation data for each UAS comprising the unique UAS identifier assigned to the UAS; and 
 (d) provide a publicly accessible application interface for obtaining airspace data based on the UAS database. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each USS computing system is further operable to provide the operation data received from UAS operators for UASs operating in its service area to the USS computing systems. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each USS comprises or is communicatively coupled to one or more detection systems for obtaining information relating to operation of UASs in its service area. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein each USS computing system is further operable to:
 compare the information relating to operation of a given UAS received from the one or more detection systems with the operation data received from the UAS operator for the given UAS; and   based on the comparison, determine whether the given UAS is operating in accordance with one or more airspace parameters.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein each USS computing system is further operable to:
 in response to a determination that the given UAS is not operating in accordance with the operation data received from the UAS operator, transmitting an alert to the UAS operator associated with the given UAS.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the owner information data comprises personally identifiable information provided by the owner of a UAS during registration of the UAS. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the UAS registry requires periodic verification of the owner information data to maintain registration of a UAS. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of UAS registration computing systems federate UAS account data between themselves and the UAS registry. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein operation data for UASs operating in the service area served by the USS computing system comprises a location of the UAS, an altitude of the UAS, and a time of day. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the publicly accessible application interface comprises a public map displaying a location of one or more UASs operating in the airspace. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the publicly accessible application interface is configured to receive a user input selecting a given UAS of the one or more UASs operating in the airspace, and responsively display a unique UAS identifier associated with the UAS on the application interface. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the unique UAS identifier comprises a globally unique, human-readable identifier used to publicly identify an operating UAS that is traceable to a given owner through the UAS registry. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein owner information is not received by the USS computing system, such that a given UAS is only identifiable by the USS computing system via the unique UAS identifier. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein operation data is shared between the plurality of USS computing systems over Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each USS computing system is further operable to:
 delete the operation data for the UASs after a predetermined period of time.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each USS computing system is further operable to:
 receive an indication of a location and an altitude of a UAS at a time of day;   transmit the location of the UAS, the altitude of the UAS, and the time of day to the UAS database, wherein the UAS database includes location, altitude, and time of day data for a plurality of authenticated UASs;   in response to a determination that the UAS is one of the plurality of authenticated UASs, determine whether or not the UAS is authorized to be present at the location.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein determining whether or not the UAS is authorized to be present at the location comprises comparing the unique UAS identifier of the UAS with a unique UAS identifier whitelist, wherein the unique UAS identifier whitelist comprises a list of one or more unique UAS identifiers associated with one or more UASs that are authorized to operate at the location. 
     
     
         18 . A method operable by a plurality of UAS service supplier (USS) computing systems that each provide service to one of a plurality of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) service areas within an airspace, the method comprising:
 receiving, from UAS operators, operation data for UASs operating in the service area served by the USS computing system, wherein the received operation data identifies data for each UAS with a unique UAS identifier assigned to the UAS;   receiving, from the other USS computing systems for the airspace, operation data for UASs operating in the other service areas served the other USS computing systems, wherein the operation data for the other service areas identifies data for each UAS with a unique UAS identifier assigned to the UAS;   combining (i) the operation data received from the UAS operators for the corresponding service area, with (ii) the operation data received from the other USS computing systems for the other service areas in the airspace, to maintain an airspace-wide UAS database, wherein the UAS database identifies operation data for each UAS comprising the unique UAS identifier assigned to the UAS; and   providing a publicly accessible application interface for obtaining airspace data based on the UAS database.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the publicly accessible application interface comprises a public map displaying a location of one or more UASs operating in the airspace. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the publicly accessible application interface is configured to receive a user input selecting a given UAS of the one or more UASs operating in the airspace, and responsively display a unique UAS identifier associated with the UAS on the application interface.