A flying body that can more reliably be made to hover at a desired position includes a determiner that determines whether to make the flying body hover, an image capturer that captures a periphery of the flying body, a recorder that records an image captured by the image capturer, and a stop controller that, if it is determined to make the flying body hover, stops the flying body in the air using the image recorded in the recorder and an image captured during flight.

A control device, non-transitory computer readable medium, and method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which acquires an allowable noise level identified on the basis of at least one of a time when the UAV is flying, an altitude at which the UAV is flying, an area where the UAV is flying, and weather in an airspace in which the UAV is flying; and controls flight of the UAV on the basis of the allowable noise level.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for an unmanned aerial system inspection system. One of the methods is performed by a UAV and includes receiving, by the UAV, flight information describing a job to perform an inspection of a rooftop. A particular altitude is ascended to, and an inspection of the rooftop is performed including obtaining sensor information describing the rooftop. Location information identifying a damaged area of the rooftop is received. The damaged area of the rooftop is traveled to. An inspection of the damaged area of the rooftop is performed including obtaining detailed sensor information describing the damaged area. A safe landing location is traveled to.

In one embodiment, a method is performed by a computer system in an aircraft. The method includes receiving an advance indication of a take-off or landing event to be executed by the aircraft in proximity to a landing area such that the landing area includes an arrangement of a plurality of emitters of electromagnetic radiation. The method further includes, responsive to the receiving, detecting, via a sensor in communication with the computer system, emission states of at least some of the plurality of emitters. In addition, the method includes transforming the detected emission states into an instruction set for the take-off or landing event. The method also includes initiating monitoring of the aircraft relative to the instruction set as the aircraft executes the take-off or landing event in proximity to the landing area.

A method for an automated aircraft landing analysis including: receiving one or more aircraft landing performance parameters for one or more landing phases; determining a landing performance deviation for each of the one or more landing phases in response to the one or more aircraft landing performance parameters; identifying at least one of a system fault, a failure, and a pilot error that could have led to the landing performance deviations for each of the one or more landing phases; developing a fault tree for the landing performance deviations for each of the one or more landing phases; identifying measurable parameters, calculable parameters, inferable parameters, or observable parameters within the fault tree; converting the fault tree into a high level reasoning model using a standard inference methodology; performing a root cause analysis; identifying a root cause of the landing performance deviation; and displaying the root cause of landing performance deviation.

In an example, a method of generating flight paths for navigating an aircraft is provided. The method includes hovering the aircraft at a predetermined hover point. The predetermined hover point corresponds to a first takeoff waypoint of a first trajectory of the aircraft. The method includes scanning at least a portion of a first flight path of the first trajectory. The method includes determining that an obstacle obstructs the first flight path of the first trajectory. The first flight path begins at the first takeoff waypoint. The method includes determining a second takeoff waypoint. Determining the second takeoff waypoint includes assigning the first flight path to begin at the second takeoff waypoint. The method includes changing the first flight path of the first trajectory in accordance with the second takeoff waypoint, thereby forming a second flight path of a second trajectory. The method includes causing the aircraft to follow the second flight path of the second trajectory from the second takeoff waypoint.

Detection means of an unmanned aerial vehicle control system is configured to detect an object existing at a location at which at least one of landing or takeoff of an unmanned aerial vehicle is to be performed. Type identification means is configured to identify a type of the object based on a result of detection by the detection means. Restriction means is configured to restrict at least one of landing or takeoff of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the type identified by the type identification means.

Systems and methods for enabling consistent smooth takeoffs and landings of vertical and/or short-runway takeoff and landing aircraft at sites with gusty conditions. The system includes a network of wind measurement stations deployed around the perimeter of a takeoff/landing site for spatio-temporally characterizing wind fluctuations (e.g., wind gusts) that enter a volume of airspace overlying the site, data processing means for deriving information about the fluctuations from the wind measurements, communication means for transmitting disturbance information to the aircraft, and a flight control system onboard the aircraft that is configured to use the disturbance information to control the aircraft in a manner that compensates for the fluctuations. The wind measurement units may include laser Doppler anemometers, sound detection and ranging systems or other devices capable of simultaneous spatially and temporally resolved wind measurements.

In one embodiment, a method is performed by a computer system in an aircraft. The method includes receiving an advance indication of a take-off or landing event to be executed by the aircraft in proximity to a landing area such that the landing area includes an arrangement of a plurality of emitters of electromagnetic radiation. The method further includes, responsive to the receiving, detecting, via a sensor in communication with the computer system, emission states of at least some of the plurality of emitters. In addition, the method includes transforming the detected emission states into an instruction set for the take-off or landing event. The method also includes initiating monitoring of the aircraft relative to the instruction set as the aircraft executes the take-off or landing event in proximity to the landing area.

The drone implemented border patrol solution is projected to be more effective at preventing successful border penetrations over very long distances than any attempted solution. It requires functionally zero infrastructure investment. It can be deployed in six months or less and it costs less than $100,000 a mile to implement (vs. 15 million a mile for a physical wall, or 4 million a mile for a virtual fence (a 97% price reduction)).