A personal air vehicle may feature an air module that may be attached to a ground module. The air module may be equipped with exit vanes or vectored engine exhaust to provide redundant control effectors to the cyclic or collective pitch of at least one rotary wing under the control of a control system.

Systems and methods are provided for inflatable air pads for aircraft. One embodiment is an apparatus that includes an air pad affixed to a mount within an interior of an aircraft. The air pad includes a front face, a bladder that is inflatable within the air pad, and sides that constrain the front face of the air pad to extend a uniform distance outward from the mount when the bladder is inflated. The apparatus also includes an inflator that is coupled with the air pad and is configured to inflate the bladder from an undeployed volume to a deployed volume.

Managing a package delivery system deploying an unmanned vehicle including an inflatable unit for reducing package vibration in a transportation vehicle. Package data is received at a computer, and the package data includes package descriptions. Spatial positioning of the packages in the transport space is tracked to determine, spatial positioning changes between the packages in the transport space based on the package data received at the computer and the transport. One or more unmanned vehicles are delivered to the transport space based on the spatial positioning changes in the transport space, and the unmanned vehicles including inflatable units. The inflatable units are deployed in the transport space by inflating the inflatable units at locations in the transport space based on the spatial positioning changes to discourage package movement in the transport space.

A method of making a flame resistant airbag suitable for use in aviation applications is discussed. A flame resistant fabric for the use in the construction of aviation airbags is woven from a high tenacity continuous polyester fiber substrate. A polyurethane coating is applied to the woven fabric, which has been treated with a flame retardant, to impart high pressure permeability resistance to the flame resistant fabric. The resulting fabric complies with Federal Aviation Requirement 25.853 as well as exhibits sufficient high pressure permeability resistance which is measured as a pressure of not less than about 198 kPa after five seconds from an initial inflation and pressurization to about 200 kPa, such as may be encountered in and during an inflation of aviation airbag assemblies.

In one aspect, an example system includes: (i) a base including a bottom surface and a first coupling-point; (ii) a vertically-oriented elongate structure comprising a lower end, an upper end, and an inner channel, wherein the inner channel comprises an upper access-point disposed proximate the upper end, wherein the base is coupled to the elongate structure proximate the lower end; (iii) a deployable cushioning-device coupled to the elongate structure; and (iv) a tether comprising a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion, wherein the first portion is coupled to the first coupling-point, the second portion is coupled to a second coupling-point of the UAV, the third portion extends through the inner channel, the fourth portion extends from the upper access-point to the second coupling-point, and the fourth portion has a length that is less than a distance between the upper access-point and the bottom surface.

A remote piloted aircraft comprising a secondary flight assembly adapted to intervene in case of failure or an emergency of the aircraft, said secondary flight assembly being provided with an additional control unit configured to process flight relevant data and which includes an additional receiver configured to receive commands from the remote pilot by means of a remote control unit, in case of failure or emergency said additional control unit being configured to generate, as a response, an activation command adapted to activate a first device to expel an upper wing placed in a first compartment of the aircraft and to inflate a lower wing housed in a second compartment of the aircraft, and also to generate an interdiction command of the primary propulsion unit, said upper wing being maneuverable by means of a further remote control unit.

Apparatus for controlling vehicle impact absorption systems and related methods are disclosed herein. An example apparatus includes a predictor to generate a prediction of an impact event for a vehicle based on data received from sensors of the vehicle. The example apparatus includes an energy absorption allocator to determine an amount of vehicle energy to be absorbed by a crash protection system of the vehicle upon the impact event. The example apparatus includes a communicator to generate an instruction to activate the crash protection system based on the prediction and the amount of vehicle energy to be absorbed by the crash protection system and transmit the instruction to a controller of the crash protection system.

In one aspect, an example system includes: (i) a base including a bottom surface and a first coupling-point; (ii) a vertically-oriented elongate structure comprising a lower end, an upper end, and an inner channel, wherein the inner channel comprises an upper access-point disposed proximate the upper end, wherein the base is coupled to the elongate structure proximate the lower end; (iii) a deployable cushioning-device coupled to the elongate structure; and (iv) a tether comprising a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion, wherein the first portion is coupled to the first coupling-point, the second portion is coupled to a second coupling-point of the UAV, the third portion extends through the inner channel, the fourth portion extends from the upper access-point to the second coupling-point, and the fourth portion has a length that is less than a distance between the upper access-point and the bottom surface.

To provide a drone with an airbag that can eliminate the danger of the drone injuring a person in the event of the drone crashing mid-flight including during takeoff and landing. The present invention is equipped with an airbag 3 for reducing the impact of a crashed drone 2 colliding with a person. Prior to the drone 2 taking off, the airbag 3 can be inflated by being supplied with gas. Once the drone 2 has taken off and reached a required altitude, the airbag 3 deflates due to the gas being exhausted. When the drone 2 is mid-flight and in danger of crashing, the airbag 2 can be inflated instantly by being supplied with gas. Prior to the drone 2 landing, the airbag 3 can be inflated by being supplied with gas.

An electronic module assembly (EMA) for use in controlling one or more personal restraint systems. A programmed processor within the EMA is configured to determine when a personal restraint system associated with each seat in a vehicle should be deployed. In addition, the programmed processor is configured to perform a diagnostic self-test to determine if the EMA and the personal restraint systems are operational. In one embodiment, results of the diagnostic self-test routine are displayed on a display included on the electronic module assembly. In an alternative embodiment, the results of the diagnostic self-test routine are transmitted via a wireless transceiver to a remote device. The remote device can include a wireless interrogator or can be a remote computer system such as a cabin management computer system.