Embodiments of the present invention disclose an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control method and a terminal. The method includes: determining, by a terminal before the terminal is connected to any UAV, location information of at least one waypoint according to a first setting operation of a user, and determining a flight path according to the location information of the at least one waypoint; storing, by the terminal, the flight path into a path record of a path database; and invoking, by the terminal after the terminal establishes a connection to a UAV, a first path record associated with the UAV from the path database, and sending the first path record to the UAV, to control the UAV to fly according to information in the first path record. The embodiments of the present invention can improve efficiency of a UAV in obtaining a flight path, and reduce power consumption of the UAV when no flight course task is executed.

Embodiments of the present invention disclose an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control method and a terminal. The method includes: determining, by a terminal before the terminal is connected to any UAV, location information of at least one waypoint according to a first setting operation of a user, and determining a flight path according to the location information of the at least one waypoint; storing, by the terminal, the flight path into a path record of a path database; and invoking, by the terminal after the terminal establishes a connection to a UAV, a first path record associated with the UAV from the path database, and sending the first path record to the UAV, to control the UAV to fly according to information in the first path record. The embodiments of the present invention can improve efficiency of a UAV in obtaining a flight path, and reduce power consumption of the UAV when no flight course task is executed.

A valve assembly for use with an unmanned aerial vehicle is provided and includes an inlet tube, a shuttle, a base plate, a screw assembly, and a spacer block. The shuttle is partially disposed within the inlet tube and is configured to be placed in a first position where the shuttle abuts the inlet tube and a second position where the outer surface is disposed in spaced relation to the inlet tube. The base plate extends between a first end portion that defines a cavity therein and a second end portion. The screw assembly is disposed within the cavity of the base plate and is coupled to a portion of the shuttle. The spacer block is interposed between the second end portion of the inlet tube and the first end portion of the base plate and is configured to maintain the inlet tube and the base plate in spaced relation.

An aeronautical apparatus is disclosed that has two pairs of wings: an aft pair and a fore pair. Each wing has a thrust-angle motor. An assembly is coupled to each thrust-angle motor. Assemblies coupled to the fore wings have a propeller motor with a propeller and a landing element which is a wheel or a landing foot. When in forward flight, the propeller rotational axis is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage and the landing element is pointing toward the aft of the aeronautical apparatus to limit the drag presented by the landing element. When in vertical flight or hovering, the propeller rotational axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal and transverse axes of the fuselage and the landing element is deployed downward to facilitate landing.

A method of operating an electrically powered rotorcraft of the type having a fuselage and a set of N rotors driven by a set of electric motors and coupled to the fuselage, N?4, under a failure condition preventing ordinary operation of the rotorcraft. The method includes entering a failsafe mode of operation wherein autorotation of at least four of the rotors is enabled. The method also includes using electrical braking associated with a selected group of the rotors to control pitch, roll and yaw of the rotorcraft.

An agricultural navigation system and method for an autonomous vehicle (AV) is described. The agricultural navigation system includes a system controller, a localization module associated with the system controller, and an environmental sensor. The system controller determines an AV positional pose that identifies the location of the AV. The system controller determines a relative body frame of reference (RBF) that is associated with the AV positional pose. The environmental sensor detects an asset feature in the AV environment. The asset feature includes an agricultural asset feature having a crop row. The system controller identifies at least one asset feature frame (AFF) that includes a coordinate system originating at the asset feature. The localization module determines the AV positional pose in the coordinate system of the AFF. The system controller transforms the AV positional pose from the RBF coordinate system to the coordinate system of the AFF.

A control unit (150) of a flying body includes a reference information acquisition unit (151), a surrounding information acquisition unit (152), and a position determination unit (153). The reference information acquisition unit (151) acquires reference map information being three-dimensional map information of an area in which a flying body is to be flown. The surrounding information acquisition unit (152) acquires surrounding information indicating a three-dimensional shape around the flying body. The surrounding information is generated by, for example, a sensor mounted on the flying body. The position determination unit (153) determines a three-dimensional position of the flying body in the reference map information by using the reference map information and the surrounding information.

A control unit (150) of a flying body includes a reference information acquisition unit (151), a surrounding information acquisition unit (152), and a position determination unit (153). The reference information acquisition unit (151) acquires reference map information being three-dimensional map information of an area in which a flying body is to be flown. The surrounding information acquisition unit (152) acquires surrounding information indicating a three-dimensional shape around the flying body. The surrounding information is generated by, for example, a sensor mounted on the flying body. The position determination unit (153) determines a three-dimensional position of the flying body in the reference map information by using the reference map information and the surrounding information.

This disclosure describes a method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The steps of controlling include acquiring images with an image capture device of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The steps include analyzing the images to determine navigation information of the UAV with a vision-based navigation system. The steps include tracking a position of the UAV with the vision-based navigation system. The steps include controlling rotors of the UAV to prevent deviations in movement from a desired flight path or position of the UAV. The steps include limiting travel or flight of the UAV to a physical region determined by the desired flight path.

The present invention discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle and a method for controlling a gimbal thereof. The method for controlling a gimbal includes: generating, by a flight control system, a yaw angular speed instruction of the unmanned aerial vehicle; and controlling, by a gimbal control system, a yaw axis motor of the gimbal according to the yaw angular speed instruction of the unmanned aerial vehicle. In the present invention, the yaw axis motor of the gimbal is jointly controlled by the flight control system and the gimbal control system, so that advantages of high-precision control and quick response of the gimbal control system are maximized. The advantages are used for compensating for deficiencies of the flight control system in yaw control, thereby improving the stability of a yaw channel of the gimbal, and completely resolving frame freezing of an aerial video when the unmanned aerial vehicle yaws at a low speed.