Patent ID: 11955020
Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  B  H | IPC B  G  H

Claim 5:
6. A method comprising:
determining a planned flight path for a drone;
transmitting the planned flight path to a public database for publishing in a manner wherein at least one waypoint along the planned flight path is omitted because it is indicative of a location that is associated with a non-public or non-pedestrian area, thereby allowing the drone to maintain anonymity when transmitting the planned flight path;
transmitting the planned flight path in a drone safety message to an infrastructure roadside unit (RSU), wherein the RSU is a stoplight or a streetlight;
relaying the drone safety message from the RSU to a first connected vehicle and a mobile device of a pedestrian when the drone is within a predetermined distance of the RSU, thereby allowing the first connected vehicle and the mobile device to be apprised of a current position of the drone, even when the mobile device does not have access to the published planned flight path;
determining a proximity of the drone to the pedestrian based on a transmission sent from the mobile device to the drone;
determining, based on the current position of the drone and the planned flight path, that the drone is over a public roadway;
receiving vehicle safety messages from the first connected vehicle;
altering the planned flight path to avoid flying over an area where the first connected vehicle is present such that the drone hovers and waits for the first connected vehicle to clear the public roadway before crossing the public roadway;
responsive to determining that an emergency condition for the drone is occurring,
turning on a camera of the drone to capture images or video of the public roadway as the drone passes near the public roadway; and
storing the images or video of the public roadway in a distributed ledger as drone operating evidence as proof that the first connected vehicle was not under the drone as it passed over the public roadway.