G05D1/102

Emergency drone guidance device
11698260 · 2023-07-11 · ·

Techniques are described for configuring a monitoring system to assist users during a detected emergency condition at a property. In some implementations, sensor data from one or more sensors that are located at the property are obtained by a monitoring system that is configured to monitor the property. A determination that there is an emergency condition at the property is made by the monitoring system based on the sensor data, determining. A location of a person inside the property is determined by the monitoring system based on the sensor data. A first path to the person and a second path to guide the person away from the emergency condition are determined by the monitoring system. The first path to the person and the second path to guide the person away from the emergency condition are navigated by a computing device of the monitoring system.

Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft noise signature mitigation
11699350 · 2023-07-11 · ·

Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft can provide opportunities to incorporate aerial transportation into transportation networks for cities and metropolitan areas. However, VTOL aircraft may be noisy. To accommodate this, the aircraft may utilize onboard sensors, offboard sensing, network, and predictive temporal data for noise signature mitigation. By building a composite understanding of real data offboard the aircraft, the aircraft can make adjustments to the way it is flying and verify this against a predicted noise signature (via computational methods) to reduce environmental impact. This might be realized via a change in translative speed, propeller speed, or choices in propulsor usage (e.g., a quiet propulsor vs. a high thrust, noisier propulsor). These noise mitigation actions may also be decided at the network level rather than the vehicle level to balance concerns across a city and relieve computing constraints on the aircraft.

Architecture for monitoring at least one aircraft and associated monitoring method
11699307 · 2023-07-11 · ·

An architecture for monitoring at least one aircraft. The architecture comprises an avionics system configured to generate avionics data during use of the aircraft; a mobile electronic device including an analysis unit configured to convert at least one maintenance operation into operational data; and an alerter configured to display at least one item of monitoring information; and a cloud computing infrastructure. The analysis unit and the alerter are configured to implement a local operating mode and an operating mode connected to the cloud computing infrastructure.

FLIGHT-CAPABLE RAIL-BASED SYSTEM
20230009190 · 2023-01-12 · ·

A flight-capable imaging system includes a set of parallel rails, a power source mounted to the set of parallel rails, an imaging device mounted to the set of parallel rails, an aerial vehicle body mounted to the set of parallel rails, a set of aerial vehicle arms attached to the aerial vehicle body that each include a set of propellers and a motor configured to turn the set of propellers to enable flight of the flight-capable imaging system, and at least one processing module configured to control the flight of the of the flight-capable imaging system based on controlling a motor speed of the motor of each of the set of aerial vehicle arms.

UTILITY VEHICLE

A utility vehicle includes: a travel structure including a front wheel, a rear wheel, a steering structure mounted to the front wheel, and a drive source that drives the front wheel and/or the rear wheel; circuitry that controls the travel structure to effect autonomous travel without manned operation in a given travel area; a route setter that sets a travel route for the autonomous travel; a vehicle location detector that detects a location of the utility vehicle; and a target detector that detects a monitoring target in the travel area. In case that the monitoring target is detected at a location during the autonomous travel, the circuitry stores the location of the monitoring target as history information. The route setter sets a reference point at the location where the monitoring target was detected and sets the travel route based on the reference point.

Mutually exclusive three dimensional flying spaces
11694562 · 2023-07-04 · ·

Boundary information for a three-dimensional (3D) flying space is obtained. An input associated with steering a vehicle is received from an input device and location information associated with the vehicle is received from a location sensor. A control signal for the vehicle is generated based at least in part on the boundary information, the input, and the location information. In the event the input would cause the vehicle to cross the boundary of the 3D flying space if obeyed, the control signal for the vehicle is generated so that the vehicle is prevented from crossing the boundary of the 3D flying space. In response to receiving an indication associated with the vehicle landing, the boundary information is modified so that the 3D flying space includes a landing pathway.

Multi-rotor aircraft and method of controlling same
11693429 · 2023-07-04 · ·

A method of controlling a multi-rotor aircraft (1) including at least five, preferably at least six, lifting rotors (2; R1-R6), each having a first rotation axis which is essentially parallel to a yaw axis (z) of the aircraft (1), and at least one forward propulsion device (3), preferably two forward propulsion devices (P1, P2), the at least one forward propulsion device having at least two rotors (P1_R1, P1_R2, P2_R1, P2_R2) that are arranged coaxially with a second rotation axis which is essentially parallel to a roll axis (x) of the aircraft. The at least one or each of the forward propulsion devices (3, P1, P2) being arranged at a respective distance (+y, −y) from said roll axis (x). The method further includes: using at least one of the rotors of the at least one forward propulsion device to control the aircraft's moment about the yaw and/or roll axes independently from each other.

Vehicle Autonomy Architecture

Systems and methods for controlling aerial vehicles are provided. An aerial vehicle includes a single circuit board with a number of processor devices and a memory including instructions to perform autonomy operations. The autonomy operations include obtaining GNSS data from GNSS assemblies electrically connected to the processor devices, APNT data from APNT assemblies electrically connected to the processor devices, and radar data from the radar assemblies electrically connected to the processor devices. Each of the assemblies are disposed on the same circuit board that includes the number of processor devices. The processor devices determine a vehicle location based on the GNSS data, the APNT data, and the radar data, identify airborne objects based on the radar data, generate a motion plan based on the vehicle location and the identified objects, and initiate a motion of the aerial vehicle based on the vehicle location.

SYSTEM FOR FIXED-PITCH LIFT CONFIGURED FOR USE IN AN ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT
20230002034 · 2023-01-05 · ·

In an aspect, a system for fixed-pitch lift configured for use in an electric aircraft includes a plurality of flight components mechanically coupled thereto, each configured to provide lift to the electric aircraft. The electric aircraft also includes a first pusher mechanically coupled to a first owing of the electric aircraft, wherein the first pusher is configured to provide forward flight to the electric aircraft, a second pusher mechanically coupled to a second wing of the electric aircraft, wherein the second pusher is configured to provide forward flight to the electric aircraft as well, a sensor that is configured to detect vertical lift and forward flight from a pilot control and generate a command datum, as a function of the pilot control, a flight controller which may include a computing device configured to receive the command datum and direct the electric aircraft, as a function of the command datum.

Collision warning using ultra wide band radar

A method of collision warning using broad antenna pattern ultra-wide band (UWB) radar includes emitting a first radar ping from a broad beam UWB antenna and receiving a first return signal identifying an object. A first hemisphere with a first radius is determined for the object. A second ping, second return and second hemisphere is defined for the object. At the intersection of the hemispheres, an object ring is defined. The radius of the object ring is compared with the radius of a collision cylinder (e.g., representing a safe distance around a system or device, such as a drone). The object may be identified as posing a collision threat when the radius of the object ring is smaller than the radius of the collision cylinder.