THEREOF"

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter is related, to utility field service management in general and more particularly, but not exclusively to an airborne based field service management system and method thereof.

BACKGROUND

Considerable efforts have been made in the recent years to increase the efficiency of reading consumption meters of the type that are standard equipment and usually furnished by utility companies. Basically, the manual system has remained unaltered ever since these meters first came into common use. Previous efforts to eliminate or substantially reduce the high labour input for reading meters have been devoted to systems in which meters are interrogated from a remote station with signals being transmitted via utility power lines, telephone lines and so on. Each such system, however has serious disadvantages, raises unresolved technical complexities or is cost prohibitive. Power lines operate as very large antennas and can receive a large amount of noise. To attenuate this noise, signal cleaning filters must be installed periodically, however these filters are expensive.

Further, in addition to collecting meter readings, process of disconnection or connection must be performed for defaulters or on consumer request through manual system. For ail field service activities visiting a task location is mandatory for a field person, which becomes costly in terms of labour and time. Moreover, due to complexity in field service activities at rural areas, many tasks do not get completed as desired. Therefore, there exists a need for a method and a system for conducting field service activities efficiently without delaying time and incurring huge labour cost. SUMMARY

One or more shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantages are provided through the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relates to an airborne-based field service management system. In one embodiment, the system comprises at least one utility meter, comprising a smart meter component (SMC) retrofittable with the at least one utility meter. The SMC includes at least a first radio frequency (RF) transceiver capable of transmitting meter data information associated with the at least one utility meter. The system further comprises one or more airborne vehicles movable through a predetermined flight path. Each airborne vehicle is configured to perform one or more tasks including transmitting a meter data request signal to the at least one utility meter, receiving the meter data information in response to the meter data request signal and transmitting one of a connect and disconnect signal to the at least one utility meter. The SMC further comprises a controller coupled with the first RF transceiver and a relay switch coupled with the controller to deactivate the operation of the at least one utility meter in response to receipt of a disconnect signal received from the one or more airborne vehicles.

In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for enabling airborne-based field service management. In one embodiment, the method comprises steps of transmitting a meter data request signal by one or more airborne vehicles to the at least one utility meter and receiving the meter data request signal from the one or more airborne vehicles in the at least one utility meter. The method further comprises steps of transmitting meter data information associated with the at least one utility meter by a first radio frequency (RF) transceiver of a smart meter component (SMC) retrofittable with the at least one utility meter. The one or more airborne vehicles receive the meter data information in response to the meter data request signal and transmit a disconnect signal to the at least one utility meter. The at least one utility meter receives the disconnect signal from the one or more airborne vehicles in the at least one utility meter and enable a relay switch of the at least one utility meter to deactivate the operation of the at least one utility meter in response to receiving the disconnect signal. The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features and characteristics of the disclosure are explained herein. The embodiments of the disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 illustrates exemplary architecture of a system for enabling airborne based field service management in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of a field service management system or command center of Figure 1 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figures 3a illustrate exemplary block diagram of a utility meter and Figure 3b illustrate an exemplary block diagram of an airborne vehicle in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a system for enabling airborne vehicle management and base station control in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method of enabling meter reading in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Figure 6 illustrate a flowchart of a method of enabling meter tampering detection and control in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objectives and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure relates to an airborne-based field service management system (FSM) and a method thereof. The FSM comprises airborne vehicles interacting with utility meters and capable of collecting meter readings, connecting/disconnecting the utility meters, determining meter diagnosis, identifying tampering of the utility meters, conducting facility survey/inspection and assistance during disaster management. In one aspect, the utility meters are provided with a retrofittable Smart meter component (SMC) that enables meter reading collection, determines tampering of the utility meter and transmits the tampered status information to the airborne vehicle. The SMC receives a tampering signal from a tampering sensor and disconnect the utility meter. The airborne vehicles transmit the received tampered status information to a centralized field service management system which processes the tampered status information and inform the field service personnel to visit the location and repair the tampered meter.

Figure 1 illustrates exemplary architecture of a system (100) for enabling airborne based field service management in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the system (100) comprises at least a field service management system or command center (102), one or more airborne vehicles (104-1), (104-2), ... (104-N) (collectively referred to as airborne vehicle 104), one or more utility meters (106-

1) , (106-2), ... (106-N) (collectively referred to as utility meter 106), a plurality of base stations (109-1, .. , 109-N) (collectively referred to as base station 109) and a data repository (108) coupled via the network (110). The airborne vehicle (104) may be for example, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system, commonly known as a drone, controlled by a remote control or by on-board computers.

The system also comprises a vehicle controlling device (alternatively referred to as airborne controller) (112) coupled via the network (110) for controlling the airborne vehicle (104) based on commands received from the command center (102). The airborne controller (112) may be for example, a mobile device generally a portable computer or a computing device including the functionality for communicating over the network (110). The airborne controller (112) may be configured with a mobile software application that enables communication with the airborne vehicle (104) to issue commands and with the command center (102) for receiving commands related to field service activities. For example, the mobile device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a handheld game console, or any other suitable portable devices. In one implementation, the airborne controller (112) may be communicatively coupled with the airborne vehicle (104) via communication mechanisms such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Bluetooth ® and so on. In another implementation, the airborne controller (112) is communicatively coupled with the airborne vehicle (104) and issues one or more command signals to the airborne vehicle (104) via the network (110). The network (110) may include, without limitation, a direct interconnection, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, the Intranet etc.

The utility meter (106) comprises a Smart Meter Component (SMC) which is retrofittable to typical utility meter for providing the capability to interact with the airborne vehicle and provide meter related information. As illustrated in Figure 1, the utility meter (106-1) is configured with SMC (114-1), the utility meter (106-2) is configured with SMC (114-

2) , ...and the utility meter (106-N) is configured with SMC 114-N (collectively referred to as SMC 114). Meter related information such as meter readings, current meter status, health information and so on may be updated in the data repository (108).

The data repository (108) may comprise a collection of one or more storage databases capable of storing meter data including meter readings, meter status and bill data for each of the utility meter (106). Further, the data repository (108) may also update the databases with historical meter readings and bill data for future analysis and verification. Furthermore, the data repository (108) also maintains records of utility meter health information, connection/disconnection status, time and other related information. In one embodiment, the data repository (108) may be integrated within the command center (102). In another embodiment, the data repository (108) may be configured as a standalone repository independent of the command center (102).

The command center (102) may be a typical field service management system for providing one or more commands to the airborne vehicle (104) via the airborne controller (112). The command center (102) also communicate with the base stations (109) to make the airborne vehicle (104) available for performing assigned tasks like meter readings, meter diagnosis and so on. The base stations (109) comprise charging platforms (not shown in Figure 1) for powering up the airborne vehicle (104) and making the airborne vehicle (104) available for performing tasks assigned by the command center (102).

In one embodiment, the command center (102) comprises a processor (115), a memory (116), an airborne vehicle management module (A VMM) (118), a meter communication module (MCM) (120) and a meter diagnosis module (MDM) (122). The A VMM (118) enables assignment of tasks to airborne vehicle (104), and monitoring of task completion. The AVMM (118) provides related information of the utility meter (106) like meter identification, meter make, Quick response (QR) code, current meter status, and current meter reading, payment status and so on to the airborne vehicle (104) via communication mechanisms like RF, ZigBee and so on. The MCM (120) enables communication between the utility meter (106) and the airborne vehicle (104) for obtaining the meter data of the utility meter (106) and provide connect/disconnect command based on the obtained meter data. The MDM (122) transmits one or more error messages to the utility meter (106) to determine the health status of the utility meter (106) and provide measures to recover from errors thus determined. As illustrated in Figure 2, the command center (102) comprises the processor (115), the memory (116), an I/O Interface (202), data (204) and modules (206). In one implementation, the data (204) may be stored within the memory (114). In one example, the data (204) may include one or more images (208), meter data (210), command data (212), and other data (214). In one embodiment, the data (204) may be stored in the memory (116) in the form of various data structures. Additionally, the aforementioned data can be organized using data models, such as relational or hierarchical data models. The other data (214) may be also referred to as reference repository for storing recommended implementation approaches as reference data. The other data (214) may also store data, including temporary data and temporary files, generated by the modules (206) for performing the various functions of the command center (102).

The modules (206) may include, for example, the A VMM (118), the MCM (120), the MDM (122), a base station control module (BSCM) (216) and a disaster management module (218). The modules (206) may also comprise other modules (220) to perform various miscellaneous functionalities of the command center (102). It will be appreciated that such aforementioned modules may be represented as a single module or a combination of different modules. The modules (206) may be implemented in the form of software, hardware and/or firmware.

The utility meter (106), as illustrated in Figure 3a, comprises the SMC (114) and a meter tampering sensor (310) fixed adjacent to meter seal screws (not shown) that seals the utility meter (106) and communicatively coupled with the SMC (114). The SMC (114) comprises a controller (302), a first RF transceiver (304), a relay switch (306), a wireless communication module (308) and a memory (310). The first RF transceiver (304) enables two-way communication for the utility meter (106) with the airborne vehicle (104). The controller (302) is communicatively coupled with the meter tampering sensor (310) and configured to receive tampering signal from the meter tampering sensor (310) and accordingly energize the relay switch (306) to disconnect the utility meter (106). The relay switch (306) is used to disconnect the utility meter (106) when the seal tampering is detected by the meter tampering sensor (310). Further, the controller (302) also receives a connect/disconnect command from the airborne vehicle (104) when the command center (102) wants to disconnect for defaulters or wants to connect the utility meter (106) and accordingly configure the relay switch (306) as per the received command. The memory (310) stores relevant operations of the relay switch (306) and the command received from the airborne vehicle (104) along with the operating condition of the relay switch (306).

The airborne vehicle (104) as illustrated in Figure 3b, comprises an image capturing device (320) or image sensor, a navigation system (322), a controller (324), a memory

(325) coupled with the controller (324). The image capturing device (320) may be for example, one of a typical camera, a thermal camera or combination of both. The image capturing device (320) captures normal images, thermal images, collected meter data and transmits to the command center (102) or the airborne controller (112). The navigation system (322) is used for geographical location tracking with coordinates and to enable navigation of the airborne vehicle (104) on a predetermined flight path. The image capturing device (320) also records the flight path of the airborne vehicle (104) and transmits the captured flight path to the airborne controller (112) or the command center (102). All images, collected meter data, meter information, and navigation or flight path are stored in the memory (325) before sent to the airborne controller (112) or the command center (102). The airborne vehicle (104) also comprises an airborne component

(326) retrofit with the airborne vehicle (104). The airborne component (326) comprises a second RF transceiver (328) and a communication module (330). The second RF transceiver (328) enables two-way communication for the airborne vehicle (104) with the utility meter (106). The communication module (330) comprises a GPRS component and/or a ZigBee component to enable communication with the airborne controller (112) and the command center (102).

In operation, the AVMM (118) is configured to allocate one or more tasks to the airborne vehicle (104) and communicate with the base station (109) to determine the availability of the airborne vehicle (104). As illustrated in Figure 4, the base station (109) comprises one or more landing and charging platform or stations for powering up the airborne vehicle (104). In one example, the one or more landing and charging platform (404-1), (404-2) ... (404-N) may be stationary platform or a movable charging platform. The base station (109) determines availability of the airborne vehicle (104) and transmits the availability status to the AVMM (118). The AVMM (118) receives the availability status from the base station (109) and accordingly assigns one or more tasks to the airborne vehicle (104). The AVMM (118) enables updating the memory (325) of the airborne vehicle (104) with predetermined flight path and location coordinates that the airborne vehicle (104) must navigate to accomplish the one or more tasks, and with meter information such as meter id, meter make to determine the utility meter (106) of the assigned task and conduct the actions as scheduled with the determined utility meter (106). Upon updating the airborne vehicle (104) with the required information, the airborne vehicle (104) controlled by the airborne controller (112) navigates on the predetermined flight path stored in the memory (325) of the airborne vehicle (104). The navigation system (322) enables the airborne vehicle (104) to navigate through the predetermined flight path. The image capturing device (320) captures the flight path and transmits to the airborne controller (112) for monitoring visually and controlling the navigation of the airborne vehicle (104). If any obstacle is observed during the flight path, the corresponding image will be transmitted to the airborne controller (112) or the command center (102) for determining alternate route path, if required. The airborne vehicle (104) will pass each utility meter (106) as per the predetermined flight path and communicates with each utility meter (106) to obtain meter related information.

In one embodiment, the MCM (120) enables communication between the utility meter (106) and the airborne vehicle (104) for obtaining the meter data of the utility meter (106) and provide connect/disconnect command based on the obtained meter data. The airborne vehicle (104) establishes communication with the utility meter (104) via the first RF transceiver (304) and the second RF transceiver (328). The controller (324) of the airborne vehicle (106) transmits a meter data request signal to the utility meter (106). As illustrated in block (502) of method (500), the utility meter (106) receives a meter data request signal from the airborne vehicle (104). In response to receiving the meter data request signal, the controller (302) of the utility meter (106) retrieves the meter data (210) including outage information, load information, event logs and so on stored in the memory (310) and transmits the retrieved meter data (210) to the airborne vehicle (104) as illustrated in block (504). Meter data (210) may include for example, the meter id, QR code and so on.

The controller (324) receives the meter data (210), updates the memory (325) with the received meter data (210) and transmits the received meter data (210) to the command center (102). The MCM (120) receives the meter data (210) and processes the received meter data (210) to provide a connect/disconnect command to the airborne vehicle (104) based on the received meter data (210). As illustrated in block (506), the airborne vehicle (106) receives a connect or a disconnect command from the MCM (120) via the communication module (330) and transmits the received connect or disconnect command to the utility meter (104) via the RF transceiver (328). The controller (302) receives the connect or disconnect command from the airborne vehicle (106) and operates the relay switch (306) accordingly as illustrated in block (508). In one example, the controller (302) receives a disconnect command from the airborne vehicle (106) and energize the relay switch (306) to disable the utility meter (104). In another example, the controller (302) receives a connect command from the airborne vehicle (106) and energize the relay switch (306) to active the utility meter (104).

In another embodiment, the meter tampering sensor (310) of the utility meter (106) detects tampering of the utility meter (104) based on determination of removal of the meter seal screws and transmits a tampering signal to the controller (302). The controller (302) receives the tampering signal from the meter tampering sensor (310) as illustrated in block (602) and operates the relay switch (306) by energizing to set in OFF position, thereby disconnecting the utility meter (104) as illustrated in block (604). The controller (302) also transmits the current meter disabled status information in response to meter data request signal from the airborne vehicle (104) as illustrated in block (606). The controller (324) transmits the received meter disabled status information to the command center (102) via the communication module (330) as illustrated in block (608). The MCM (120) receives the meter disabled status information from the airborne vehicle (104) and transmits a disconnect command to the airborne vehicle (104) via the communication module. The connect or the disconnect command are being stored as command data (212) in the command center (102). The command center (102) enables a field service personnel to visit the location of the utility meter (106) and reconnect the utility meter (106).

Further, the command center (102) enables meter diagnosis to determine the health status of the utility meter (104). In one embodiment, the MDM (122) configures the utility meter (106) with one or more predetermined error messages indicating the health status of the utility meter (106) and provide measures to recover from errors thus determined. In one embodiment, the MDM (122) predefines the one or more error messages and configures the predefined error messages in the SMC (114). The utility meter (106) receives the meter data request signal and transmits an error message based on the current health status of the utility meter (106). The MDM (122) receives the error message from the utility meter (106) and determines appropriate measures or actions to rectify the health status of the utility meter (106) based on the received error message.

Furthermore, the command center (102) enables tracking, monitoring and surveying field activities. In one embodiment, the airborne vehicle (106) is loaded with predetermined flight path and task details from a cloud server or from the command center (102). The airborne vehicle (106) navigate to the destined location coordinates, and accomplish the task thus allocated. In one example, if the task is related to inspection or detection of assets like identifying the leakages in pipe lines or transmission lines, the image capturing device (320) of the airborne vehicle (104) captures thermal images of the identified leakages and transfer the captured image data to the command center (102) or the airborne controller (102) used by a field technician. If the task is large area survey activity, the image capturing device (320) of the airborne vehicle (104) captures the images (208) and transfer the captured images (208) to the command center (102).

The disaster management module (218) assess damages caused to the infrastructure such as water lines, roadways, bridges, oil and gas pipelines, power plants and transmission lines by severe weather events, earthquakes, sabotage and other manmade disasters. In addition, the disaster management module (218) also deliver needed supplies to make infrastructure repairs or temporarily bypass damaged infrastructure by delivering supplies like required tools, food and water directly. The airborne controller (112) comprising a mobile application enables sending a material request to the command center (102). The command center (102) and the base stations control module (216) load the airborne vehicle (104) with the desired materials and navigation path to reach the destined location for delivering the desired materials. The weight of the desired materials will be determined based on the predetermined lift weight capacity of the airborne vehicle (104). The airborne vehicle (104) also captures the images of disaster affected areas where human reach is impossible and transmits the captured images to the command center (102) for further analysis and recovery actions.

Thus, the present disclosure increases operational efficiency, improves customer services, improves employee safety and revenue by reducing data collection cost, quickly responding to the field service activities and quickly gathering critical information in real time, and providing insight information to organisation decision makers. Advantages of the Present Invention

Embodiment of the present invention relates to an airborne-based field service management for managing field activities like meter data collection, tracking, surveying and monitoring field activities using airborne vehicle without involving manual labour. The present disclosure enables method of capturing meter reading, meter status, event logs, meter diagnosis, mal practice cases like hooking etc. Further, the present disclosure enables identification of seal tampering or breaking the meter, meter glass broken and perform disconnection and reconnection process with minimum human intervention.

The present disclosure also enables the airborne vehicle and the utility meter to communicate with each other and with command center/airborne controller using various communication modes such as RF, GPRS, WIFI, Bluetooth, ZigBee and so on. The present disclosure also enables inspection activities like assets and infrastructure inspection, water reservoir levels and so on by image processing the images captured by the airborne vehicle. The present disclosure also enables detection of leakages in transmission lines, Pipe lines etc. using thermal image capturing process and conducts monitoring activities like street light monitoring, Crowd monitoring etc. using thermal camera and normal camera. Embodiment of the present disclosure also enable identifying the location for tools and materials and executes supply and deliver of the requested tools and materials to the identified location.

As described above, the modules, amongst other things, include routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures, which perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The modules may also be implemented as, signal processor(s), state machine(s), logic circuitries, and/or any other device or component that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Further, the modules can be implemented by one or more hardware components, by computer-readable instructions executed by a processing unit, or by a combination thereof. As used herein, the term module refers to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. The illustrated steps are set out to explain the exemplary embodiments shown, and it should be anticipated that ongoing technological development will change the manner in which particular functions are performed. These examples are presented herein for purposes of illustration, and not limitation. Further, the boundaries of the functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternative boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed. Alternatives (including equivalents, extensions, variations, deviations, etc., of those described herein) will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein. Such alternatives fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments. Also, the words "comprising," "having," "containing," and "including," and other similar forms are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Furthermore, one or more computer-readable storage media may be utilized in implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. A computer-readable storage medium refers to any type of physical memory on which information or data readable by a processor may be stored. Thus, a computer-readable storage medium may store instructions for execution by one or more processors, including instructions for causing the processor(s) to perform steps or stages consistent with the embodiments described herein. The term "computer-readable medium" should be understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves and transient signals, i.e., are non-transitory. Examples include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, hard drives, CD ROMs, DVDs, flash drives, disks, and any other known physical storage media.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.