US 11,720,832 B2
Hierarchical mission management
Emad William Saad, Renton, WA (US); John Lyle Vian, Renton, WA (US); Ryan James Meuth, Phoenix, AZ (US); and Donald C. Wunsch, II, Rolla, MO (US)
Assigned to THE BOEING COMPANY, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed by THE BOEING COMPANY, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Jun. 17, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/903,696.
Application 16/903,696 is a division of application No. 12/573,392, filed on Oct. 5, 2009.
Prior Publication US 2020/0334593 A1, Oct. 22, 2020
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G06Q 10/06 (2023.01); G06Q 50/30 (2012.01); G06Q 10/0631 (2023.01); G06Q 10/067 (2023.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01); B64F 5/60 (2017.01)
CPC G06Q 10/06 (2013.01) [B64F 5/60 (2017.01); G05D 1/0088 (2013.01); G06Q 10/067 (2013.01); G06Q 10/06311 (2013.01); G06Q 10/06316 (2013.01); G06Q 50/30 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
20. A system for hierarchical mission management, the system comprising:
mission planners, including one or more processors, associated with agent groups including one or more agents, wherein the one or more agents are one or both of robots or machines, the mission planners configured to, by the one or more processors, plan missions and allocate resources for the missions, and the agent groups configured to execute the missions planned by the mission planners, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to generate control commands based on monitored sensor data and a mission plan, and transmit the control commands to one or both of the robots or the machines to implement the missions via physical paths and derivative control commands, wherein each of the mission planners comprises:
an arbitrator configured to generate the mission plan for the one or more agents in an associated agent group, the mission plan having tasks, wherein the mission plan is for a first maintenance operation, wherein the tasks include inspection of fluid leaks in the aircraft, wherein the arbitrator receives information from the number of sensors associated with the one or more agents, wherein the one or more sensors include a camera configured to acquire an image of the aircraft with respect to the fluid leaks using ultraviolet light to detect the fluid, wherein the arbitrator is further configured to monitor the one or more agents executing the tasks;
a task allocator configured to allocate the tasks to the one or more agents; and
a path planner configured to plan the physical paths associated with the tasks allocated to the one or more agents, wherein the physical paths are related to the aircraft, wherein the one or more agents are configured to receive the physical paths related to the aircraft;
a hierarchy specification including maintenance of an aircraft, and defining hierarchical levels associated with the mission planners and the agent groups, a description of the one or more agents, and an associated hierarchy level assigned to each of the one or more agents;
a data processing system configured to execute the mission planners;
one or more databases storing a mission specification, wherein the mission planners receive the mission specification from the one or more databases, wherein the mission specification is for maintenance of the aircraft; and
a communication system configured to provide communication between the mission planners.