DJI’s Answer to EM Interference: No Touching

Straight from the depths of ‘duh’, comes this peculiar patent application for separation of electromagnetic interference-causing flight controllers and sensitive sensors that would be useless if in proximity of EM interference.

DJI proposes to distance the guts of the controller from the sensor between 3 cm and up to 50 cm away, even if that means putting the sensor on a mast (or an “extension member”). According to the application, “operation of navigational, surveillance or remote sensing sensors can be affected by interference from the electrical components, thereby reducing the reliability of such UAVs. […] A method is provided for reducing interference experienced by a sensor susceptible to the interference from one or more electrical components of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).”

Not only electromagnetic interference is targeted for elimination, but magnetic interference as well for “sensors adapted to measure magnetic fields such as magnetometers, compass, and the like. To reduce the interference experienced by such “interference-susceptible” sensors, the interference-generating electrical components can be positioned inside a cavity of a UAV formed by the inner surface of the body of the UAV. The interference-susceptible sensor or sensors can be positioned outside the cavity. In some embodiments, the sensors can be located on an extension member of the UAV.”

Claim 1 is broad, and I will be very surprised if it does not get chopped down a little during prosecution.

Claim 1: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:

• a housing comprising an outer surface and an inner surface that forms a cavity;
• one or more electrical components disposed inside the cavity and adapted to control operation of the UAV;
• and a sensor located outside the housing, operation of the sensor being susceptible to interference caused by the one or more electrical components.

Title: “UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AND OPERATIONS THEREOF”

US Patent Application No: 20140131510

Filed (PCT-CN): Nov 13, 2013

Published: May 15, 2014