Managing power of aerial vehicles

Abstract

Systems and methods for managing power of an aerial vehicle, an illustrative system including an aerial vehicle including a power storage module and at least one component, and a computing device communicatively coupled to the aerial vehicle, the computing device including a processor and a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to receive data indicating a state of charge of the power storage module, receive data indicating a rate of power consumption of the at least one component, generate, based on at least one of the state of charge of the power storage module or the rate of power consumption of the at least one component, a power command to switch the at least one component to a power-saving state, and transmit the power command to the aerial vehicle.

1 . An unmanned aerial vehicle, the vehicle comprising:
 a power storage module;   an air-gas altitude control system (ACS) comprising an altitude controller;   a transceiver configured to communicate data, by a wireless communication link, between the unmanned aerial vehicle and a computing device located remotely from the unmanned aerial vehicle; and   a power plant configured to control distribution of power to a flight equipment and other equipment in response to a power command,   wherein the transceiver is configured to receive, by way of the wireless communication link, a command from the computing device,   wherein the ACS is configured to initiate a descent when the command comprises a descend command.   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate data by a satellite communication link. 
     
     
         3 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the power command comprises a low-power mode command configured to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to enter the low-power mode. 
     
     
         4 . The vehicle of  claim 3 , wherein causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to enter the low-power mode comprises switching, by the power plant, all components of the other equipment to a power-saving state. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the power command comprises a power-saving command directed at one or more particular components of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the power-saving command configured to cause the power plant to switch the one or more particular components to a power-saving state. 
     
     
         6 . The vehicle of  claim 5 , wherein the power plant is further configured to switch on the flight equipment and the other equipment in the absence of a low-power mode command and a power-saving command. 
     
     
         7 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the flight equipment comprises one, or a combination, of the ACS, the power plant, communications equipment, the power storage module, a power generation module, and a heater. 
     
     
         8 . A method for managing power of an unmanned aerial vehicle, the method comprising:
 receiving, by a transceiver, a command from a computing device;   determining whether the command comprises a descend command;   determining whether the command comprises a power command; and   communicating the power command to a power plant configured to control distribution of power to a flight equipment and other equipment in response to a power command,   wherein the power command comprises a normal operating mode command or one or both of a low-power mode command configured to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to enter the low-power mode and a power-saving command directed at one or more particular components of the flight equipment and the other equipment.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising, in response to determining the command comprises a descend command, causing an air-gas altitude control system (ACS) to initiate descent. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising switching off, by the power plant, the other equipment. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising, in response to determining the command comprises the low-power mode command, causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to enter a low-power mode. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein entering the low-power mode comprises switching, by the power plant, all components of the other equipment to a power-saving state. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising, in response to determining the command comprises the power-saving command directed at one or more particular components of the flight equipment and the other equipment, causing the power plant to switch the one or more particular components to a power-saving state. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising, in response to determining the command comprises the normal operating mode command, causing the power plant to switch on and provide power to all components of the flight equipment and the other equipment. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the computing device is located remotely from the unmanned aerial vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the computing device is configured to generate the command based on an expected amount of power needed to provide power to at least one component of the unmanned aerial vehicle for a predetermined amount of time and one or both of a state of charge of a power storage module onboard the unmanned aerial vehicle or a rate of power consumption of the at least one component. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a computing device to implement a method for managing power of an unmanned aerial vehicle, the method comprising:
 receiving, by a transceiver, a command from a computing device;   determining whether the command comprises a descend command;   determining whether the command comprises a power command; and   communicating the power command to a power plant configured to control distribution of power to a flight equipment and other equipment in response to a power command,   wherein the power command comprises one or both of a low-power mode command configured to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to enter the low-power mode and a power-saving command directed at one or more particular components of the flight equipment and the other equipment.