BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to systems and methods for unmanned vehicle recognition and threat management. More particularly, the systems and methods of the present invention are directed to unmanned vehicle detection, classification and direction finding.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have become readily available in commercial and retail stores. Detailed schematics for their control systems are available from many manufacturers and the internet along with Software Development Kits (SDKs). Rapid modifications are enabled by advancements in various technologies (e.g., 3D printing). UAVs can be modified to deploy dangerous actions and threaten societal securities. For example, UAVs can be modified to deliver dangerous payloads. It is no longer a question of if, it is now a question of when. Thus, it is imperative that organizations and governments take steps to protect critical assets (e.g., ports, power plants), structures (e.g., buildings, stadiums), and personnel and their citizens.

Exemplary US Patent Documents relevant to the prior art include:

U.S. Pat. No. 9,862,489 for “Method and apparatus for drone detection and disablement” by inventor Lee Weinstein et al., filed Feb. 7, 2016, describes a preferred embodiment of a method and apparatus for detection and disablement of an unidentified aerial vehicle (UAV) includes arrays of antenna elements receiving in two modalities (for instance radio frequency (RF) and acoustic modalities, or RF and optical modalities). Signal processing of outputs from multiple antenna arrays locates a potential UAV at specific coordinates within a volume of space under surveillance, and automatically aims video surveillance and a short-range projectile launcher at the UAV, and may automatically fire the projectile launcher to down the UAV.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,858,947 for “Drone detection and classification methods and apparatus” by inventor Brian Hearing et al., filed Nov. 24, 2015, describes a system, method, and apparatus for drone detection and classification. An example method includes receiving a sound signal in a microphone and recording, via a sound card, a digital sound sample of the sound signal, the digital sound sample having a predetermined duration. The method also includes processing, via a processor, the digital sound sample into a feature frequency spectrum. The method further includes applying, via the processor, broad spectrum matching to compare the feature frequency spectrum to at least one drone sound signature stored in a database, the at least one drone sound signature corresponding to a flight characteristic of a drone model. The method moreover includes, conditioned on matching the feature frequency spectrum to one of the drone sound signatures, transmitting, via the processor, an alert.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,767,699 for “System for and method of detecting drones” by inventor John W. Borghese et al., filed May 14, 2015, describes an apparatus and method can provide a warning of a drone or unmanned aerial vehicle in the vicinity of an airport. The apparatus can include at least one antenna directionally disposed at an along the approach or departure path and a detector configured to provide a warning of a presence of sense an unmanned aerial or drone. The warning can be provided in response to a radio frequency signal received by the at least one of the antenna being in a frequency band associated with a transmission frequency for the unmanned aerial vehicle or drone or in a frequency band associated with interaction from receive circuitry of the unmanned aerial vehicle or drone.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,715,009 for “Deterent for unmanned aerial systems” by inventor Dwaine A. Parker et al., filed Dec. 2, 2016, describes a system (100) for providing an integrated multi-sensor detection and countermeasure against commercial unmanned aerial systems/vehicles (44) and includes a detecting element (103,104,105), a tracking element (103,104,105) an identification element (103,104,105) and an interdiction element (102). The detecting element detects an unmanned aerial vehicle in flight in the region of, or approaching, a property, place, event or very important person. The tracking element determines the exact location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The identification/classification element utilizing data from the other elements generates the identification and threat assessment of the UAS. The interdiction element, based on automated algorithms can either direct the unmanned aerial vehicle away from the property, place, event or very important person in a non-destructive manner, or can disable the unmanned aerial vehicle in a destructive manner. The interdiction process may be over ridden by intervention by a System Operator/HiL.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,529,360 for “System and method for detecting and defeating a drone” by inventor Howard Melamed et al., filed Apr. 22, 2015, describes a system for detecting and defeating a drone. The system has a detection antenna array structured and configured to detect the drone and the drone control signal over a 360 degree field relative to the detection antenna array including detecting the directionality of the drone. The system also includes a neutralization system structured and configured in a communicating relation with the detection antenna array. The neutralization system has a transmission antenna structured to transmit an override signal aimed at the direction of the drone, an amplifier configured to boost the gain of the override signal to exceed the signal strength of the drone control signal, and a processing device configured to create and effect the transmission of the override signal. The invention is also directed to a method for detecting and defeating a drone.

U.S. Publication No. 2017/0358103 for “Systems and Methods for Tracking Moving Objects” by inventor Michael Shao et al., filed Jun. 9, 2017, describes systems and methods for tracking moving objects in accordance with embodiments of the invention. In one embodiment of the invention, an object tracking system comprises a processor, a communications interface, and a memory configured to store an object tracking application. The object tracking application configures the processor to receive a sequence of images; estimate and subtract background pixel values from pixels in a sequence of images; compute sets of summed intensity values for different per frame pixel offsets from a sequence of images; identify summed intensity values from a set of summed intensity values exceeding a threshold; cluster identified summed intensity values exceeding the threshold corresponding to single moving objects; and identify a location of at least one moving object in an image based on at least one summed intensity value cluster.

U.S. Publication No. 2017/0261613 for “Counter drone system” by inventor Brian R. Van Voorst, filed Feb. 27, 2017, describes that a counter drone system includes a cueing sensor to detect the presence of an object wherein the cueing sensor cues the presence of a target drone, a long range LIDAR system having a sensor pointed in a direction of the target drone to acquire and track at long range the target drone to provide an accurate location of the target drone wherein once a track is acquired, the motion of the target drone is used to maintain the track of the target drone and a threat detector wherein LIDAR data is provided to the threat detector to determine if the target drone is a threat.

U.S. Publication No. 2017/0261604 for “Intercept drone tasked to location of lidar tracked drone” by inventor Brian Van Voorst, filed Feb. 27, 2017, describes that a system includes a long range LIDAR tracking system to track a target drone and provide detection and tracking information of the target drone; a control system to process the detection and tracking information and provide guidance information to intercept the target drone; and a high powered intercept drone controlled by supervised autonomy, the supervised autonomy provided by processing the detection and tracking information of the target drone and sending guidance information to the intercept drone to direct the intercept drone to the target drone.

U.S. Publication No. 2017/0039413 for “Commercial drone detection” by inventor Gary J. Nadler, filed Aug. 3, 2015, describes one embodiment provides a method of capturing the presence of a drone, including: collecting, using at least one sensor, data associated with an aerial object; analyzing, using a processor, the data to determine at least one characteristic of the aerial object; accessing, in a database, a library of stored characteristics of commercially available drones; determining, based on the analyzing, if the at least one characteristic of the aerial object matches a characteristic of a commercially available drone; and responsive to the determining, generating an indication of a positive match. Other aspects are described and claimed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for unmanned vehicle recognition. In one embodiment, a multiplicity of receivers captures RF data and transmits the RF data to at least one node device. The at least one node device comprises a signal processing engine, a detection engine, a classification engine, and a direction finding engine. The at least one node device is configured with an artificial intelligence algorithm. The detection engine and classification engine are trained to detect and classify signals from unmanned vehicles and their controllers based on processed data from the signal processing engine. The direction finding engine is operable to provide lines of bearing for detected unmanned vehicles. A display and control unit is in network communication with the at least one node device for displaying locations and other related data for the detected unmanned vehicles.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings, as they support the claimed invention.

