An on-board computer system includes a first neural network trained to receive a video stream of a landing approach, runway data, and aircraft state data and identify environmental landmarks corresponding to components of the runway and environmental obstacles that might interfere with autonomous landing. The on-board computer system also includes a second neural network that receives a flight path vector and a flight director corresponding to vectors based on the aircraft energy state and a desired aircraft flight path respectively. The second neural network determines flight control inputs to bring the flight path vector into conformity with the flight director.

A thruster controller is used in a flying device that has at least two thrusters and a main controller that outputs an instruction value to the thruster for controlling a thrust of the thruster. The thruster controller includes an instruction value obtainer and an instruction value generator. The instruction value obtainer obtains an instruction value that is output from the main controller to the thruster based on an assumption that a propeller pitch is fixed. The instruction value generator outputs, to a pitch changing mechanism of the thruster, a propeller pitch instruction value generated from the obtained instruction value for setting the propeller pitch, and outputs, to a motor, a corrected rotation number instruction value for setting a rotation number of the motor by correcting the instruction value based on the propeller pitch instruction value.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control system includes a first UAV, a second UAV that flies near the first UAV during a flight of the first UAV and is configured to obtain wind information about wind, and flight control means for controlling the flight of the first UAV based on the wind information obtained by the second UAV.

A method is provided for stabilizing an orientation and height of a person or load-carrying multicopter with a plurality of motors, wherein the drive of the individual motors in flight is continuously calculated by a flight control unit and correspondingly prescribed to the motors using control technology, for which purpose, based on a desired torque , of a desired thrust s preferably prescribed by a pilot signal, and of a motor matrix M, the drive of the motors is calculated by a motor allocation algorithm f and provided as a control signal to the motors, wherein the following applies to the drive and the corresponding manipulated motor variables u: u=f(, s, M). The method provides that A) the individual motors are weighted with a preferably diagonally filled matrix P, so that the following applies: u=f(, s, M, P), the motor allocation algorithm calculates the drive u such that the individual motors make an individual contribution to the desired forces and torques and to the thrust s in accordance with the matrix P depending on the weighting; and/or B) zero space orientations with 0=M.Math.u.sub.N that do not generate any torques or thrust, and therefore do not influence the flight movement, are used to drive the motors.

A system and method for predicting aircraft nonlinear instability includes the steps of: (1) a pre-built aircraft state parameters for all possible flight conditions, (2) real time measuring flight parameters to determine aircraft state, (3) calculating the inertial coupling frequencies and periods as well as the nonlinear instability threshold based on the nonlinear instability theory recently developed by the inventor, (4) providing a first warning signal if the threshold is approached, (5) providing a second warning signal if the threshold has been exceeded.

A system and method that function to generate an updated vehicle state based on a previous vehicle state and a set of sensor measurements. The previous vehicle state can be selected from a set of redundant prior vehicle state candidates. The system and method can optionally detect and correct for sensor measurement faults or failures, prior to updating the vehicle state.

A method and device for monitoring and controlling a path of a following aircraft (AC2) with respect to vortices (V1, V2) generated by a leading aircraft (AC1) while both aircraft (AC1, AC2) fly in a formation (F), wherein the device includes a unit for determining, using a vortex transport model, a safety position (PS) at which the following aircraft (AC2) is not subjected to effects of the vortices (V1, V2) generated by the leading aircraft (AC1), a unit for determining, using a vortex signature model, an optimum position (PO) at which the following aircraft (AC2) benefits from at least one (V1) of the vortices (V1, V2), and a control unit for bringing and keeping the following aircraft (AC2) in the safety position (PS) while a predetermined condition(s) is met and otherwise for bringing the following aircraft (AC2) and keeping it in the optimum position (PO).

A system and method for predicting aircraft nonlinear instability includes the steps of: (1) a pre-built aircraft state parameters for all possible flight conditions, (2) real time measuring flight parameters to determine aircraft state, (3) calculating the inertial coupling frequencies and periods as well as the nonlinear instability threshold based on the nonlinear instability theory recently developed by the inventor, (4) providing a first warning signal if the threshold is approached, (5) providing a second warning signal if the threshold has been exceeded.

A process and a machine for improving a performance of a particular model of an aircraft, via expanding a range of airworthy locations for a center of gravity of an aircraft. process comprising augmenting a nose-down moment, for the particular model of the aircraft via addition of an ailevatoron mixer commanding an ailevatoron on each wing to generate a nose-down pitching moment.

A method for managing unbalanced thrusts caused by engine failures in an aircraft provided with a distributed propulsion system, the distributed propulsion system including 2N powertrains (PTi), with N a strictly positive integer and i an integer lying between 1 and 2N inclusive, distributed symmetrically in relation to a plane of symmetry of the aircraft, according to which the power of at least one powertrain belonging to a first side of the plane of symmetry is reduced when a failure occurs in a powertrain belonging to the opposite side, such that the sum of the moments of the thrusts generated by the powertrains in relation to the center of gravity of the aircraft is nil, to within regulatory tolerances.