Control of a toy flying toy plane comprises providing the plane having a motor and propeller and a separate remote controller for use by a player of the toy. The plane includes a flexible, foldable wing and a fuselage below the wing. The fuselage supports at least one propulsion unit and the fuselage is removably locatable relative to the wing. A signal is sent from a transmitter with the toy to the controller. A variation in intensity of the received signal to the toy being from the controller. The controller transmits a signal to the toy according to the desired action of the player and thereby to cause the flying toy to move as required.

A method, apparatus and system for extended wireless communication include an airborne platform including at least one antenna to pick up and radiate wireless signals, a platform controller to control the altitude and attitude of the airborne platform, and a communication payload. In an embodiment, the communication payload includes at least two transponders to establish wireless links and a controller having a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. In some embodiments, the memory has stored therein instructions executable by the processor to cause the airborne communication system to elevate the airborne platform to an altitude at which wireless connectivity is able to be established with a first wireless network, establish a first wireless link to the first wireless network, establish a second wireless link, and relay data between the first wireless link and the second wireless link.

A sunshade device and management system for mitigating the effects of climate change to help reduce the risk of extinction of plants, animals, and humans. The sunshade device has a canopy, which will collapse when lifted into the atmosphere by lifting devices, and open when the lifting devices are turned down or off, to provide shade. The canopy is preferably formed of a flexible lightweight solar panel film containing solar cells, which charge a battery power system which operates electrically powered propeller-driven lifting devices attached to a central portion of the canopy. The sunshade management device controls the lifting devices to manage the sunshade device elevation, angle and geolocation. The sunshade management device is provided with artificial intelligence and machine learning whereby it is able to make determinations regarding sunshade device takeoff and shutdown, and positioning of the elevation and angle of the canopy relative to the ground below, to maximize the shade effects of the canopy.

Methods and associated systems and apparatus for generating a three-dimensional (3D) flight path for a moveable platform such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are disclosed herein. The method includes receiving a set of 3D information associated with a virtual reality environment and receiving a plurality of virtual locations in the virtual reality environment. For individual virtual locations, the system receives a corresponding action item. The system then generates a 3D path based on at least one of the set of 3D information, the plurality of virtual locations, and the plurality of action items. The system then generates a set of images associated with the 3D path and then visually presents the same to an operator via a virtual reality device. The system enables the operator to adjust the 3D path via the virtual reality device.

A method, preferably including: sampling inputs, determining aircraft conditions, and/or acting based on the aircraft conditions. A method, preferably including: sampling inputs, determining input reliability, determining guidance, and/or controlling aircraft operation. A method, preferably including: operating the vehicle, planning for contingencies, detecting undesired flight conditions, and/or reacting to undesired flight conditions. A system, preferably an aircraft such as a rotorcraft, configured to implement the method.

A method, preferably including: sampling inputs, determining aircraft conditions, and/or acting based on the aircraft conditions. A method, preferably including: sampling inputs, determining input reliability, determining guidance, and/or controlling aircraft operation. A method, preferably including: operating the vehicle, planning for contingencies, detecting undesired flight conditions, and/or reacting to undesired flight conditions. A system, preferably an aircraft such as a rotorcraft, configured to implement the method.

An underwater communications network may include spaced apart nodes on a bottom of a body of water. The underwater communications network may also include fiber optic cabling connecting the spaced apart nodes. Each node may include a frame, a node short-range navigation device carried by the frame, and an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) carried by the frame after delivering a fiber optic cable along a navigation path from an adjacent node. The UUV may be configured to cooperate with the node short-range navigation device during an end portion of the navigation path adjacent the frame.

A live flaw detection system for a multi-bundled conductor splicing sleeve and an application method thereof are disclosed. The system includes an upper apparatus and a lower apparatus, where the upper apparatus includes an unmanned aerial vehicle and an industrial X-ray machine, and a laser sensor, and the lower apparatus includes a press plate frame apparatus, vertical screw slide table modules, a horizontal screw slide table module, a projection imager, and a linear retractable apparatus. The unmanned aerial vehicle functions as a power apparatus that controls the system to be online or offline, the industrial X-ray machine is configured to perform ray flaw detection on each splicing sleeve, the laser sensor is configured to guide the unmanned aerial vehicle to land the lower apparatus on splicing sleeves accurately, and the press plate frame apparatus is configured to fixedly clamp the splicing sleeves.

A method for guiding an autonomous aircraft, the aircraft includes an automatic pilot, a plurality of sensors and an imaging unit, the aircraft being configured to fly over a geographic zone comprising overflight prohibited zones, the guidance method can advantageously comprise a phase of real flight of the autonomous aircraft by using a given guidance law, comprising the following steps: determining a current state of the autonomous aircraft; determining an optimum action to be executed by using a neural network receiving the current state; determining a plurality of control instructions compatible with the guidance law based on the optimum action to be executed; transmitting to the automatic pilot the plurality of control instructions, which provides a new state of the autonomous aircraft.

A method for guiding an autonomous aircraft, the aircraft includes an automatic pilot, a plurality of sensors and an imaging unit, the aircraft being configured to fly over a geographic zone comprising overflight prohibited zones, the guidance method can advantageously comprise a phase of real flight of the autonomous aircraft by using a given guidance law, comprising the following steps: determining a current state of the autonomous aircraft; determining an optimum action to be executed by using a neural network receiving the current state; determining a plurality of control instructions compatible with the guidance law based on the optimum action to be executed; transmitting to the automatic pilot the plurality of control instructions, which provides a new state of the autonomous aircraft.