Systems, devices, and methods for: an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); at least one sensorless motor of the UAV, the at least one sensorless motor comprising a set of windings and a rotor; at least one propeller connected to the at least one sensorless motor; a microcontroller in communication with the at least one sensorless motor, wherein the microcontroller is configured to: determine a rotation rate of the at least one propeller; determine a rotation direction of the at least one propeller; provide an output to stop the at least one propeller if at least one of: the determined rotation rate is not a desired rotation rate and the determined rotation direction is not a desired rotation direction; and provide an output to start the at least one propeller if the at least one propeller is stopped at the desired rotation rate and the desired rotation direction.

A system for fighting fires has a source of fire-retardant material, a delivery hose connected to the source has a delivery nozzle at an end, and an end effector carrying the delivery hose proximate the nozzle. The end effector has controllable thrusters, an imaging device, and control circuitry including a display monitor, the control circuitry providing commands controlling actuators varying thrust and direction of the thrusters, and a valve in the delivery nozzle. With the delivery hose deployed, images from the end effector are transmitted to the control circuitry and displayed on the display monitor, and an operator viewing the images on the display monitor uses the command inputs to maneuver the end effector, carrying the nozzle at the end of the delivery hose to a position proximate an active fire, and opens the valve on the nozzle, delivering fire retardant material from the nozzle onto the fire.

A system for fighting fires has a source of fire-retardant material, a delivery hose connected to the source has a delivery nozzle at an end, and an end effector carrying the delivery hose proximate the nozzle. The end effector has controllable thrusters, an imaging device, and control circuitry including a display monitor, the control circuitry providing commands controlling actuators varying thrust and direction of the thrusters, and a valve in the delivery nozzle. With the delivery hose deployed, images from the end effector are transmitted to the control circuitry and displayed on the display monitor, and an operator viewing the images on the display monitor uses the command inputs to maneuver the end effector, carrying the nozzle at the end of the delivery hose to a position proximate an active fire, and opens the valve on the nozzle, delivering fire retardant material from the nozzle onto the fire.

We describe an aircraft design, which is capable of vertical takeoff and landing and also high-speed cruise on a fixed wing. The aircraft comprises a fuselage with a probe-deployment mechanism, which deploys a sample-gathering probe, located at a front end of the fuselage. A main wing is coupled to a middle section of the fuselage, wherein a right motor and right propeller are coupled to a right side of the main wing, and a left motor and left propeller are coupled to a left side of the main wing. The right and left propellers are angled with respect to the fuselage enabling the aircraft to pitch up to a vertical-takeoff mode and pitch down a horizontal-cruising mode. A pitch motor and pitch propeller are located at the rear end of the fuselage, wherein the pitch propeller is angled to provide substantially vertical thrust to control a pitch of the fuselage.

A pull cord type turning mechanism for a butterfly-inspired flapping-wing aerial robot includes a motor, a cord reel, a cord reel gear, a potentiometer gear, a potentiometer, a control module, and a power supply. The control module is connected to the motor and the potentiometer. A rotary shaft of the motor is connected to the cord reel, the cord reel is coaxially connected to the cord reel gear, the cord reel gear is meshed with the potentiometer gear, and the potentiometer gear is connected to a rotary shaft of the potentiometer. The cord reel gear is provided with two cord grooves and two pull cords. One ends of the two pull cords are fixed in the two cord grooves, respectively, and the other ends thereof are fixed at the tips of front wings of two sides of the butterfly-inspired flapping-wing aerial robot, respectively.

Methods and apparatus are provided for allocating tasks to be performed by one or more autonomous vehicles to achieve a mission objective. Generally, a task allocation system identifies a final task associated with a given mission objective, identifies predecessor tasks necessary to complete the final task, generates one or more candidate tasks sequences to accomplish the mission objective, generates a task allocation tree based on the candidate task sequences, and searches the task allocation tree to find a task allocation plan that meets a predetermined selection criteria (e.g., lowest cost). Based on the task allocation plan, the task allocation system determines a task execution plan and generates control data for controlling one or more autonomous vehicles to complete the task execution plan.

A multirotor aircraft 10 that is adapted for vertical take-off and landing, comprising a fuselage, a thrust producing units assembly that is provided for producing thrust in operation, and a forward-swept wing that comprises a portside half wing and a starboard side half wing. Each one of the portside and starboard side half wings comprises an inboard section that is connected to the fuselage and an outboard section that forms a wing tip. The inboard sections of the portside and starboard side half wings form a central wing region. The portside and starboard side half wings are respectively connected in the region of their wing tips to an associated outboard wing pod that supports at least two non-tiltably mounted thrust producing units of the thrust producing units assembly.

In one embodiment, a remote controller for a vehicle includes at least one control element for controlling operation of at least one aspect of the vehicle when the vehicle is in a remote-control mode; an actuator connected the at least one control element for controlling a position of the at least one control element when the vehicle is in an autonomous operations mode; and a processing system for receiving a first control signal from the vehicle indicative of a state of operation of the vehicle. In operation, the processing system generates a second control signal to the actuator to cause the actuator to control a position of the control element such that it corresponds to and indicates the state of operation of the vehicle.

Methods and apparatus to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by kites are disclosed. An example apparatus to deploy a UAV includes a tether line to support the UAV, a tensioner operatively coupled to the tether line, and a kite operatively coupled to the tether line to support the tether line for deployment of the UAV.

A long-distance drone having a main body, a left hind wing, a right hind wing, a left forewing, and a right forewing. There is a left linear support connecting the left forewing to the left hind wing, and a right linear support connecting the right forewing to the right hind wing. A plurality of propellers are disposed on the left and the right linear supports.