Systems and methods for taking, processing, retrieving, and/or displaying images from unmanned aerial vehicles are disclosed, including an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising: an image capture device; and a controller configured to: determine a flight plan of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the flight plan configured such that the unmanned aerial vehicle and fields of view of the image capture device are restricted to a geographic area within boundaries of a geographic location identified by coordinates of the geographic location; execute the flight plan; and capture, with the image capture device, one or more aerial images restricted to fields of view within the boundaries of the geographic location while executing the flight plan, such that items outside of the boundaries are not captured in the one or more aerial images.

An emergency vision system includes a housing; an inflatable main enclosure having an inflated state and a deflated state, the main enclosure in the deflated state is disposed in the housing, the main enclosure in the inflated state is configured to be stationarily disposed between a user and a source of information required to be seen by the user during a smoke emergency; and a movable hand-held enclosure having an inflated state and a deflated state, the hand-held enclosure in the deflated state is disposed in the housing, the hand-held enclosure in the inflated state is configured to be used by the user to view a second source of information not visible through the main inflatable enclosure.

In an embodiment an unmanned aerial vehicle comprises a central body and a plurality of support structures extending outwards from the central body. Each support structure supports a rotor blade assembly and is provided with one or more deformable portions. The rotor blade assembly defines a rotational axis of one or more rotor blades associated with the rotor blade assembly.

A control device including at least one control member for measuring an acceleration of an aircraft, for generating an inflation order, and for transmitting the inflation order to an inflation member, the inflation member serving to inflate at least one inflatable safety bag, the control device, the inflation member and the inflatable bag being arranged together on a single seat of the aircraft. Such a control device includes at least one readying system connected to the at least one control member, the readying system comprising: at least a first sensor suitable for continuously measuring a first current acceleration of the aircraft relative to at least one axis; and at least one switch that is controllable as a function of the first current acceleration of the aircraft as measured by the first sensor.

A solar power panel failure search and detect system to search and detect malfunctioning or failed sites of a solar power panel. A search unit is installed in a remotely controllable aerial vehicle. The search unit maintains a constant distance between a solar panel and a failure detector, and maintains the failure detector at an optimum angle. A control unit controls a flight path and a flight angle of the aerial vehicle and controls/regulates an angle of the failure detector, a receiver, a processor, and the search unit. The search unit has an angle sensor, the failure detector, an angle adjuster and an imaging device. The control unit has a transmitter to transmit the search result data.

An aircraft emergency power unit (EPU) includes a battery powered subsystem that replaces toxic hydrazine fuel use. The battery of the battery powered subsystem is utilized to supply power to an aircraft electrical system in the event of a failure of the EPU turbine-powered generator. The battery of the battery powered subsystem is also utilized to supply power to an electric hydraulic motor pump in the event of a failure of the EPU turbine-powered hydraulic pump (or to augment the output of the EPU-turbine-powered hydraulic pump). The battery of the battery powered subsystem is capable of simultaneously powering the electrical system and the electric hydraulic motor pump or of powering either one of the electrical system and electric hydraulic motor pump independently based upon aircraft fault conditions. Intermittent operation of the electrical system and/or the electric hydraulic motor pump in an intermittent fashion on an as-needed basis is also possible.

The disclosure refers to a propeller blade for an aircraft engine that includes an airbag system contained inside the blade and comprising at least one bag and at least one gas generator, the at least one gas generator in fluid communication with at least one bag for inflating the bag, a detecting system for detecting a rupture of a part of the blade, a trigger for activating the at least one gas generator when the rupture is detected by the detecting system, and the blade skin being configured for allowing the at least one bag to pass through the blade skin for being expanded outside the blade upon the bag inflation by the gas generator.

An impact mitigation system for an aircraft and method of deploying the impact mitigation system is disclosed. A state parameter of the aircraft is obtained. The state parameter is used with an aircraft performance model to determine an acceleration capability of the aircraft. A trajectory of the aircraft is predicted using the state parameter of the aircraft and the acceleration capability of the aircraft. A location of an object with respect to the aircraft is determined and the impact mitigation system is deployed when the predicted trajectory indicates a contact with the object at a predicted contact velocity higher than a threshold velocity at a future time.

An airbag system includes a VTOL aircraft fuselage having an airbag compartment defined within the fuselage. A protective cover defines a portion of the exterior surface of the fuselage. The protective cover encloses at least a portion of the airbag compartment. An airbag is folded within the airbag compartment secured to a point on the fuselage. A method for deploying an airbag in an aircraft includes sending a signal to a gas generator to inflate at least one airbag secured within an airbag compartment within a fuselage of an aircraft. The method includes jettisoning off a protective cover from the airbag compartment. The method includes inflating the airbag with the gas generator to extend outside of the airbag compartment to attenuate forces and cushion the aircraft upon ground impact.

Vehicle occupant restraint systems that include a compact, web-mounted airbag that can be deployed during a crash event are described herein. In some embodiments, the web (e.g., a shoulder belt) passes through the stowed airbag during normal use and, when the airbag inflates and deploys, the airbag extends along the length of the web (for example, along the entire length, or at least most of the length, of the web) to protect the occupant. In some embodiments, the restraint systems include shoulder belts having first and second overlapping web portions, and when the airbag inflates and deploys, the airbag extends along the length of the first web portion between the first web portion and the second web portion.