A method includes causing an aerial vehicle to deploy a tethered component to a particular distance beneath the aerial vehicle by releasing a tether connecting the tethered component to the aerial vehicle. The method also includes obtaining, from a camera connected to the aerial vehicle, image data that represents the tethered component while the tethered component is deployed to the particular distance beneath the aerial vehicle. The method additionally includes determining, based on the image data, a position of the tethered component within the image data. The method further includes determining, based on the position of the tethered component within the image data, a wind vector that represents a wind condition present in an environment of the aerial vehicle. The method yet further includes causing the aerial vehicle to perform an operation based on the wind vector.

A method includes causing an aerial vehicle to deploy a tethered component to a particular distance beneath the aerial vehicle by releasing a tether connecting the tethered component to the aerial vehicle. The method also includes obtaining, from a camera connected to the aerial vehicle, image data that represents the tethered component while the tethered component is deployed to the particular distance beneath the aerial vehicle. The method additionally includes determining, based on the image data, a position of the tethered component within the image data. The method further includes determining, based on the position of the tethered component within the image data, a wind vector that represents a wind condition present in an environment of the aerial vehicle. The method yet further includes causing the aerial vehicle to perform an operation based on the wind vector.

During a vertical landing state, it is decided whether to switch from the vertical landing state to a self adjusting state. The VTOL vehicle includes the flight controller, the rotor, and a fuselage where the rotor is coupled to the fuselage via a vertical connector. If it is so decided, there is a switch from the vertical landing state to the self adjusting state. During the self adjusting state, a control signal for a rotor is generated where the control signal causes: (1) the rotor to rotate during the self adjusting state and (2) the VTOL vehicle to remain in a fixed position during the self adjusting state, in response to the control signal, and independent of docking infrastructure. During a rotors off state, a rotor off control signal is generated for the rotor that causes the rotor to turn off.

Disclosed is an automatic climbing and gliding method of a high altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The disclosed method includes setting a cylindrical virtual flight region so that the high altitude UAV climbs and glides, setting a first target point on an end of a first flight radius which is vertically arranged to form the virtual flight region, setting second to Nth target points at arbitrary second to Nth flight radii sequentially arranged above or below the first flight radius, having the target points have a predetermined plane slope angle, and allowing the UAV to climb along a straight path line sequentially connecting each of the target points.

Wind velocities at positions within an environment are predicted using stochastic models that consider average wind flows at the various positions and calculate random components of the wind flows (e.g., due to gusts) according to autoregressive functions. One or more time series of wind velocity obtained from any sources may be identified, and distribution functions are fit to the time series. A copula or another multivariate cumulative distribution function determined from a correlation matrix and the distribution functions is used to generate coefficients of the autoregressive functions. Wind velocities at the positions are modeled from the average wind flows and the calculated random components. Decisions on safety or reliability of aerial vehicles for performing missions within the environment are determined from the wind velocities.

The embodiment of this present disclosure provides a control method of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hovering in tunnel, which comprises the following steps: acquiring hovering information of hovering position of UAV; acquiring the position information of the current position of the UAV; determining flight parameters based on hovering information and position information. The flight parameters are used to control the UAV to move from the current position to the hovering position.