System and method for tracking an object

More than one reissue application has been filed for the reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 11,538,348. The reissue applications are application Ser. No. 18/953,961 (the present application); and application Ser. No. 19/400,355, which is a divisional reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 11,538,348.

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for tracking an object.

Certain prior art systems suffer three main disadvantages: setup location, complexity of components and overall assembly time.

First, a tracking system is rarely set up in proximity to where the received data's final destination. Often, a tracking system goes on top of a nearby mountain or on the roof of the highest nearby building, and the data is routed down to a lower location where the end user ultimately receives the live data. These locations are usually difficult to get to, whether it be hiking up a hillside or climbing up an enclosed ladder. Tracking antennas will always perform better at these types of locations with a higher vantage. If the overall size of the tracking system were to be smaller and more manageable, setup would be simpler and ultimately faster for the end user.

Second, the number of components associated with older and larger tracking systems was a huge source of frustration. There are roughly 60 individual parts including nuts, bolts and critical items like RF cables, feedhorns and a parabolic dish that all break down into multiple pieces.

Finally, overall assembly time was a huge limiting factor, especially in an ever changing environment. By design, MANETs are rapidly deployed to support highly dynamic mission requirements. Current tracking systems take 1 to 2 people roughly 30-45 minutes to set up. This was often unacceptable or unrealistic given mission requirements.

The present disclosure overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a mobile tracking system (MTS) that successfully enables Mobile Ad Hoc Networking (MANET) radios to carry 1 Mbps out to 132 miles. With proper radio settings and a clean RF environment, up to 30 Mbps at 30 miles and 15 Mbps at 60 miles are achievable. Further, the present system is modular and includes as few as 2 pieces out of the box. This provides unparalleled value to an end user. Finally, initialization of the present system takes only approximately 3 minutes to initialize and is fully operational.

Advantageously, the MTS can be lightweight and have a small form factor. The MTS needs only minimal mechanical setup required, can provide automatic heading calculation, and has a radio agnostic, modular design; allowing for hot-swapping of radios in seconds. The MTS can include an integrated Inertial Navigation System (INS), built-in gimbal stabilization, and can be Cursor on Target (CoT) compatible. The MTS can include a web-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) and can be compatible with Single Input, Single Output (SISO) and Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) networks. Further, the MTS need not be static like tracking systems of the prior art. With the INS and Gimbal Stabilization, the MTS has the capability to be used in maritime and vehicular environments without RF degradation or attenuation during pitch and rolls.

One aspect of the disclosure provides a mobile tracking system, comprising: an antenna configured to track an object; a gimbal configured to control at least one of a pan or tilt associated with the antenna; a GPS module configured to identify a position of the mobile tracking system; a processor configured to determine a model type of the gimbal and, responsive to the determined model type, determine one or more gimbal parameters specific to the determined model type.

In one example, the antenna comprises a dish or satellite dish.

In one example, the system further includes a radio.

In one example, the gimbal comprises one of a first gimbal unit or a second gimbal unit, the first gimbal unit having gimbal parameters that are distinct from the second gimbal unit.

In one example, the gimbal parameters are a number of positions per degree.

In one example, the first gimbal unit or the second gimbal unit can be swapped in the mobile tracking system without further user input.

In one example, the system further includes a frame configured to receive at least one of the antenna, gimbal, GPS module, or processor.

In one example, the frame is mounted to a mounting object, comprising at least one of a stationary mounting object or a moving mounting object.

In one example, the object comprises at least one of a helicopter, airplane, or unmanned aerial vehicle.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method of tracking an object using a mobile tracking system, comprising: receiving a position information for an object to be tracked, comprising at least one of GPS coordinate or heading; determining position information for the mobile tracking system, comprising at least one of GPS coordinate or heading corresponding to the mobile tracking system; determining a type of gimbal associated with the mobile tracking system; determining at least one gimbal parameter corresponding to the determined gimbal type; moving an antenna, via the gimbal, based upon the position information for the object, the position information for the mobile tracking system, and the at least one control parameter.

In one example, the gimbal comprises one of a first gimbal unit or a second gimbal unit, the first gimbal unit having gimbal parameters that are distinct from the second gimbal unit.

In one example, the gimbal parameters are a number of positions per degree.

In one example, the mobile tracking system is mounted to a moving object.

In one example, the method further includes swapping the first gimbal unit with the second gimbal unit without further user input to the mobile tracking system.

In one example, the object comprises at least one of a helicopter, airplane, or unmanned aerial vehicle.

is a perspective view of systemfor tracking an object(also referred to as a target node) according to one or more aspects of the disclosure.

As shown, the mobile tracking system (MTS)can include one or more subcomponents, such as an antenna, a main computer, a frame, a GPS module, an optional radio mountand gimbal.

The antenna, main computer, GPS module, optional radio mount (not shown) capable of attaching to optional radio mount, and/or gimbalcan be attached permanently, semi-permanently, removably, directly, or indirectly to a frame, with the frame having one or more mounting bracketsa for mounting the system, such as to a moving mounting object (e.g., moving vehicle), stationary mounting object (stationary vehicle), etc. The framecan be made of a polymer, a metal, or any combination thereof. The systemoverall can weigh approximately 40 pounds and have a height of approximately 24 inches to 48 inches.

The antennacan be any type of antenna (e.g., satellite dish or dish) capable of tracking an object, such as a MIMO 18 dBi 2.4 GHz.

The main computercan include a processor, a memory, and any other components typically present in general purpose computers. The memory may store information accessible by the processor, such as instructions that may be executed by the processor or data that may be retrieved, manipulated, or stored by the processor. In one example, the processor and memory can within the same main computer, while in other examples it is understood that the processor and memory may respectively comprise one or more processors and/or memories that may or may not be stored in the same physical housing. As used herein the terms “process” and/or “processor” and/or “procedure” and/or “subsystem” should be taken broadly to include a variety of electronic hardware and/or software based functions and components. Moreover, a depicted process or processor can be combined with other processes and/or processors or divided into various sub-processes or processors. Such sub-processes and/or sub— processors can be variously combined according to embodiments herein. Likewise, it is expressly contemplated that any function, process, processor and/or subsystem herein can be implemented using electronic hardware, software consisting of a non-transitory computer-readable medium of program instructions, or a combination of hardware and software.

The GPS modulecan be any type of module capable of identifying GPS coordinates, heading information, speed, velocity, and/or acceleration of the MTS itself.

The radio (not shown) can be mounted to radio mounting location. The radio can be any type of radio capable of two-way communication, such as a Silvus SC4200 Radio, TrellisWare Radio, Wave Relay MPU5 Radio. In some examples, the radio can be provided by the user and is considered an optional component of the MTS.

The gimbal subsystemcan be any type of pan/tilt sub-unit capable of moving the antenna. For example, the subsystemcan be the PTU-D48 E-Series or PTU-D300 E-Series sold by FLIR®.

The objectcan be any type of aircraft that is desired to be tracked, such as an airplane, helicopter, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), etc.

is a block diagramof a mobile tracking system (MTS)according to one or more aspects of the disclosure.

As depicted, the systemcan receive power from a power input, which may or may not be considered part of the overall system. The power inputcan be an AC or DC power input, and in one example can be a 9-36V DC power input. In some examples, the input power can be 12-36 VDC and in one example, can be 30 VDC.

The systemcan include one or more voltage regulators,, with regulatorbeing a 12 VDC regulator and regulatorbeing a 28 VCD regulator. The regulatorsandcan respectively connect to a double pole single throw (DPST) relay, which can provide power to one or more components of the system, such as GPS system(e.g., GPS module), computer(e.g., main computer), network switch, pan/tilt module, and/or radio(e.g., radio).

is a flow chartdepicting initialization of one or more subsystems according to one or more aspects of the disclosure. The processes or procedures depicted incan be performed or executed by main computer.

Blockdepicts the MTS Operating System (OS) initialization. At this stage, the MTS OS associated with the main computeris initialized.

Blockdepicts the MTS Main System Initialization. At this stage, the MTS Main System is initialized.

Blockdepicts the MTS Sub-system initialization, which can occur in one or more stages as described below. In this stage, one or more of the subsystems of the MTS can be initialized, simultaneously or in any time/order sequence.

At blockdepicts gimbal subsystem initialization. The gimbal subsystem is stored on the main computerand communicates with the gimbal, for example one or more of the FLIR D48E and the FLIR D300E. This subsystem communicates with the gimbalover an IP socket.

At this stage, the gimbal control subsystem undergoes an initialization sequence to initialize the settings that are appropriate for the systemto operate with the gimbal. The MTS firmware (e.g., main computer) determines which gimbal deviceis attached (D48E or D300E), then sets the appropriate speed and acceleration values before doing a short initialization test sequence. The determination of which gimbal device is attached can be via receipt of a data packet from the gimbalincluding information relating to device/model in response to a unit type query. If the D3003 is present, parameter initialization occurs at. If the D48E is present, parameter initialization occurs at.

There are several control parameters that are unique to each type of gimbal unit for the MTS to function properly. For example, the D300E is a larger unit designed for lifting a larger antenna unit. This means that there are more positions per degree on the D300E than on the D48E. In this regard, a command from pan/tilt module via gimbal subsystem to pan and/or tilt the antennavia gimbalshould be based upon the particular control parameters corresponding to the gimbal. For a command to pan by 1 degree would equate to a predetermined number of movement positions for the D300 that is different from the D48E, with the positions for the D300 being greater than the D48E.

Many other parameters can be set appropriately as well to control speed, acceleration, and automatic stabilization. The main computerdetermines the different parameters required to move the antennathe same physical degrees, both horizontal and vertical, despite the different physical sizes of the units.

Ator, movement initialization can occur. In this regard, a command is issued to the gimbalto pan and/or tilt. If such movement is successful, then the gimbal control subsystem can continue to the main system loop.

After the initialization test is complete, the gimbal control subsystem waits for commands to be received from the main system loop. Any time a new tracked node position or initial coordinate position is found, a message is sent to this sub-system to move the gimbalin a manner consistent with the specific gimbal control parameters.

The calculations to determine the position of the gimbal are done in the main program (main thread), so this subsystem need only receive a value for the pan and tilt position. The pan position is a value between −180 degrees to 180 degrees (converted to a position value) that sets the horizontal position.

The tilt position is a value between 0 degrees and −90 degrees. 0 degrees corresponds to a position that is straight up, while a position of −90 degrees corresponds to a position that is level with the ground. The subsystem receives a command and sends the information to the gimbal to move the system.

Blockdepicts GPS Receiver subsystem initialization. This subsystem receives information from the attached GPS receiverto identify where the MTS is located on earth and its current heading. The subsystem is designed to open a socket to the GPS receiverand receive a NMEA stream. This subsystem then parses out the information from the NMEA stream to determine the latitude, longitude, altitude and heading of the MTS.

This position information is then sent to the main threadand is used to determine where to point the Gimbalas described in the section above. This subsystem parses a standard NMEA stream so if the GPS receive was switched out for another, it should still work assuming the devices follows the NMEA protocol.

Blockdepicts COT receiver subsystem initialization. This subsystem is designed to receive multicast packets that are sent to a particular address on the network that the MTS system is attached to. For example, the COT Receiver is a procedure executed the main program. It is a sub-system that communicates back to the main thread via a message queue. The MTS firmware can be configured to a multicast address and port. This multicast configuration should be the configuration of the radio attached to the tracked node that is set to send out a COT packets. Since this subsystem is designed to receive information over a multicast address, it most likely will receive COT information from multiple devices on the network. It is designed to store the information from all of the devices, but single out and send information for a particular device (or node) up to the main program. This address can be considered as the IP address of the tracked node.