A method for controlling a aircraft with a plurality of drive units, in particular a plurality of electrical drive units, and a controller for flight control. At least one lateral control signal is entered into the controller for flight control in order to initiate a lateral movement of the aircraft. The significant point is that a speed (V) of the aircraft is ascertained through a speed estimation (6) and, depending on the estimated airspeed (V), a commanded roll angle (?.sub.C) and a commanded pitch angle (?.sub.c), a rate of turn ({dot over (?)}) is calculated. The lateral movement is automatically initiated with the calculated rate of turn ({dot over (?)}) through input of the lateral control signal.

The method can include: sampling sensor measurements, extracting features from the sensor measurements, identifying a landing site based on the extracted features, determining a confidence score based on the extracted features and landing site features, and controlling the aircraft. The method functions to provide terrain relative navigation during approach to be used for aircraft control; the method can additionally function to establish an aircraft position estimate to be used for controlling the aircraft.

A method for controlling an overdetermined system with multiple actuators, for example an aircraft (1) with multiple propulsion units (3). The actuators perform at least one primary task and at least one non-primary task, including: a) determining a pseudo-control command u.sub.p?.sup.p based on a physical model of the system, which command represents the torques (L, M, N) and a total thrust force (F) acting on the system, b) determining a control matrix D, D?.sup.p?k according to u.sub.p=Du, where u.sub.1=D.sup.?1u.sub.pu.sub.1?.sup.k represents a control command for the actuators to perform the primary task, c) projecting the non-primary task into the null space N(D) of the primary task, so that Du.sub.2=0 if u.sub.2u.sub.2?.sup.k represents a control command for the actuators to perform the non-primary task, and d) providing the control commands from b) and c) to the actuators. In this way, the solution of the primary task is not adversely affected by the non-primary task or its solution.

A control method includes generating, through a processor, route data of a route, instructing the movable object to execute the route data, detecting an execution status of the movable object, in response to detecting that the movable object is in a route recovery state, controlling the movable object in the route recovery state to resume the execution of the route according to a starting position. The starting position includes at least one of a waypoint of the plurality of waypoints before an interruption, a position determined according to a flight position recorded at a time of the interruption, or a user-designated waypoint.

A control method includes generating, through a processor, route data of a route, instructing the movable object to execute the route data, detecting an execution status of the movable object, in response to detecting that the movable object is in a route recovery state, controlling the movable object in the route recovery state to resume the execution of the route according to a starting position. The starting position includes at least one of a waypoint of the plurality of waypoints before an interruption, a position determined according to a flight position recorded at a time of the interruption, or a user-designated waypoint.

An unmanned aerial vehicle that delivers a package includes a plurality of rotary wings, a plurality of first motors, a main body, a connector, a movable block, and a processor. When the connector is connected to a rail, the processor sets a rotation rate of the plurality of first motors to a rotation rate that is lower than a minimum rotation rate necessary for floating and higher than a minimum rotation rate necessary for propulsion along the rail. Furthermore, the processor causes the movable block to increase the angle formed by the normal direction of an imaginary plane containing the plurality of rotary wings relative to a support direction of the connector.

A multi-rotor aircraft includes a fuselage, a propulsion engine coupled to the fuselage that generates thrust to propel the aircraft along a first vector during forward flight, and rotors coupled to the fuselage, each rotor comprising blades, each rotor coupled to a motor, and each motor configured to supply power to and draw power from the coupled rotor. The aircraft includes a flight control system configured to control the motors coupled to the rotors in a power managed regime in which a net electrical power, consisting of a sum of the power being supplied to or drawn from each rotor by its motor, is maintained within a range determined by a feedback control system of the flight control system. The flight control system can also be leveraged to adjust rotor control inputs to modify at least one of thrust, roll, pitch, or yaw of the multi-rotor aircraft.

There is provided a marking positioning device for an elevator which is capable of easily performing marking at a designated position inside a hoistway. The marking positioning device for an elevator includes a body portion that flies inside the hoistway of an elevator, a detecting unit provided at the body portion and configured to detect a position of the body portion inside the hoistway, a measuring unit provided at the body portion and configured to measure a three-dimensional shape inside the hoistway, a marking unit provided at the body portion and configured to perform marking, and a control unit provided at the body portion and configured to control flight of the body portion on the basis of the position detected by the detecting unit so that a position of marking by the marking unit is located at a designated position set in the three-dimensional shape measured by the measuring unit.

A method for determining a maneuvering reserve in an aircraft having a number of propulsion units, preferably a multirotor VTOL aircraft, most preferably an aircraft with electrically operated drive units for the rotors, including the steps: a) Determining a control vector, ?, for the aircraft, ?=(L M N F).sup.T, the components of which represent control torques of the aircraft around the roll axis, L, the pitch axis, M, and the yaw axis, N, and a total thrust, F, b) Approximating an existing four-dimensional control volume, D, of the aircraft by a four-dimensional ellipsoid, E, the axes of which represent the control torques, L, M, N, of the aircraft and the total thrust, F, c) Determining a normalized control vector, ?.sub.ind=(L.sub.ind M.sub.ind N.sub.ind F.sub.ind).sup.T for the aircraft, using axis dimensions, L.sub.max, M.sub.max, N.sub.max, F.sub.max, of the ellipsoid, in particular semi-axis dimensions of the ellipsoid; and d) Outputting at least the normalized control vector, ?.sub.ind, for determining a permissible flight maneuver in at least one dimension of the four-dimensional control volume.

A controller includes a control unit. The control unit is configured to detect a state of at least one point, and determine depending on the detected state whether or not to include, in a flight route of a flying object transporting a package, a position above the at least one point as a passing point for the flying object to pass.