An agricultural method includes providing a positive air pressure chamber to prevent outside contaminants from entering the chamber; growing crops in a plurality of cells in the chamber, each cell having multi-grow benches or levels, each cell further having connectors to vertical hoists for vertical movements in the chamber; maintaining pre-set temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, watering and lighting levels to achieve predetermined plant growth; using motorized transport rails to deliver benches for operations including seeding, harvesting, grow media recovery, and bench wash; dispensing seeds in the cell with a mechanical seeder coupled to the transport rails; growing the crops with computer controlled nutrients, light and air level; and harvesting the crops and delivering the harvested crop at a selected outlet of the chamber.

Provided is an aerial vehicle, including: a package carrier including a plurality of vertical members being changeable in relative positions in a horizontal direction and surrounding a package in the horizontal direction to prevent falling of the package. A plurality of rotary wings are changeable in relative positions in the horizontal direction. The relative positions of the plurality of vertical members and the relative positions of the plurality of rotary wings are changeable. The package carrier is changed in shape in the horizontal direction in accordance with the relative positions of the plurality of vertical members. The change in the relative positions of the plurality of rotary wings is in conjunction with the shape of the package carrier.

An automatic apparatus used for installing a goods delivery terminal comprising a plurality of transporting modules, the transporting module is provided with a first guide rail. The automatic apparatus comprises a sliding assembly. After the transporting modules are joined and installed, the sliding assembly can slide upwards or downwards along the first guide rails from a side of one transporting module to a side of another transporting module. The automatic apparatus further comprises a holding component, a moving mechanism and an operating assembly. The holding component is used for holding the transporting module. After the sliding assembly slides to a position at or near the top portion of installed transporting module, the moving mechanism is used for moving the transporting module to be installed to a position right above the installed transporting module. The operating assembly is used for enabling and/or disabling fixed connection of the adjacent transporting modules.

A drone docking station for a vehicle includes: a transfer device configured to have a cargo loaded on a drone or to vertically move the cargo transferred by the drone; a guide device including a guide panel provided on a roof of the vehicle and connected to an upper end portion of the transfer device to have the drone accommodated on an upper portion of the guide panel, wherein the guide panel is disposed to surround the transfer device and provided to move inward or outward or to be rotated around a center portion of the transfer device; and a control unit electrically connected to the guide device and configured to rotate or move the guide panel so that the drone corresponds to the cargo positioned in the transfer device when the drone is accommodated on the guide panel.

A communication system for sending surveillance signals in a hostile environment to an operator. The communication system comprises a plurality of relay sensors to transceive collected data between sequential relay sensors and ultimately to an operator. The communication system has a tractor for dispensing plural relay sensors throughout the hostile environment. The sensors may be dispensed by an elevator to a position where a relay sensor can be retrieved by a drone for placement to maintain line of sight communication. And relay sensors can be dispensed directly from the tractor to the ground or water. Direct dispensing of the relay sensors can occur through a hole in tractor or off a ramp.

A delivery management server includes: a control module for searching for a plurality of delivery locations located on a navigation route among the navigation information and transmitting the searched delivery locations, when order information and navigation information of goods are received; and a determination module for determining an assembly point to receive goods loaded in an unmanned cargo aircraft according to the order information and an unmanned delivery robot to receive the goods from the assembly point and deliver them to the delivery location to receive the goods from the assembly point and deliver the same to the delivery location, so that the goods can be delivered to the delivery location within the estimated arrival time, when the delivery location selected by the user among the plurality of delivery locations and the estimated arrival time of the vehicle to the selected delivery location are received.

A central management server includes a determination module determining a landable local delivery hub among a plurality of local delivery hubs located within a preset radius centered around a destination, when a location information request for the landable local delivery hub is received from an unmanned cargo aircraft; and a control module configured to transmit a landing command including the location information of the determined landable local delivery hub to the unmanned cargo aircraft, and transmit a task execution command to cause the unmanned cargo aircraft to deliver goods to the destination. The determination module determines the landable local delivery hub, based on a combination of an expected landing standby period of the unmanned cargo aircraft, an expected battery consumption amount of the unmanned cargo aircraft, an expected delivery period of the unmanned delivery robot, and an expected battery consumption amount of the unmanned delivery robot.

A tailsitter aircraft includes an airframe having first and second wings with first and second pylons extending therebetween, a thrust array attached to the airframe, payloads and payload saddle assemblies coupled to the pylons each configured to secure a respective payload. The thrust array includes propulsion assemblies configured to transition the airframe between a forward flight orientation for wing-borne lift and a VTOL orientation for thrust-borne lift. Each payload saddle assembly includes a latch assembly and a retainer configured to secure the respective payload against a respective pylon. A latch assembly is movable between various positions including an open position and a closed position and is configured to secure the respective payload in the closed position and release the respective payload in the open position. Each latch assembly is configured to move from the closed position to the open position to release the respective payload in the VTOL orientation.

A method for transporting a rescue device from an aerial vehicle to a person to be rescued includes launching an unmanned aerial vehicle from the aerial vehicle having an end portion releasable attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle via a first connection and a second connection. The method further includes enabling the person to be rescued to reach the end portion of the rescue device. and determining whether the end portion of the rescue device is released from the first connection. If the rescue device is released determining at the unmanned aerial vehicle whether the person to be rescued is safely attached to the rescue device. If so, the method comprises either releasing the rescue device from the second connection, or deactivating the unmanned aerial vehicle such that the unmanned aerial vehicle remains attached to the rescue device via the second connection.

A system performs a control method to launch an unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV. The control method includes calculating a selected altitude, relative to a reference level, for launching the UAV, operating a lifting arrangement to vertically elevate the UAV to the selected altitude, and causing the UAV to be launched from the selected altitude. Elevating the UAV may improve the performance of the UAV in terms of range, power consumption, ability to carry payload, transit time to destination, etc. The selected altitude may be calculated as a function of parameter data representing any of the UAV, the lifting arrangement, or surrounding conditions. An apparatus is further provided to determine an optimal location of the system in relation to a plurality of destinations of UAVs to be elevated by the system.