An available work storage unit stores machinery/equipment on which an unmanned aircraft is to carry out work, and work content which can be carried out on the machinery/equipment. A work content acquisition unit acquires machinery/equipment on which work is to be carried out and work content to be carried out by the unmanned aircraft. A flight plan creation unit determines identification information regarding the machinery/equipment acquired by the work content acquisition unit and a work location for the unmanned aircraft on the basis of the work content, and creates a flight plan for carrying out work at the determined work location.

The present disclosure relates to a detection method and system for an underground space by joint use of fixed sensors and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) movement detection. The detection system includes underground space sensor nodes and an underground space UAV. The underground space sensor nodes are configured to perform fixed monitoring based on an adaptive optimal layout strategy for an underground structural space. The underground space UAV is configured to calculate a first virtual force, and realize movement detection by means of a virtual force-guided path planning algorithm. The underground space UAV is configured to calculate the first virtual force based on the electronic telescopic anti-collision bars, a second virtual force based on a static perception probability and a third virtual force based on structural evolution knowledge, and realize a fixed node-guided UAV flight detection mode by means of the virtual force-guided path planning algorithm.

Systems and methods are provided for determining obstacle-free paths of an areal vehicle in a warehouse and for determining shortcuts to be generated in the warehouse to increase the number of obstacle-free paths available to the areal vehicle. The systems and methods include predicting at least one location of an inventory moving device in the warehouse based on the status of received inventory moving tasks, and determining an obstacle-free path of an aerial vehicle to a desired location in the warehouse based on the predicted at least one location of the inventory moving device. The systems and methods also include receiving inventory validation tasks in a warehouse comprising a plurality of storage racks, requesting, based on the received inventory validation tasks, a shortcut to be generated in a storage rack of the plurality of storage racks to provide a path segment for performing the inventory validation task.

The invention relates to a for controlling a light source, the method using (a) at least one pose estimate of a camera configured to capture one or more images of a scene of interest which comprises at least one landmark, as said light source is operated to emit light which illuminates said scene of interest, (b) a landmark map comprising at least 3D location information of a plurality of landmarks comprising the at least one landmark in the scene of interest, (c) an illumination model describing a relationship between an emission illumination power and a reflection illumination power, wherein said emission illumination power is the power of light emitted by the light source to illuminate said scene of interest, and said reflection illumination power is the illumination power of light reflected by one or more landmarks in said scene of interest and received by the camera, wherein the method comprises the following steps: (1) determining, for at least one of the plurality of landmarks, at least one emission illumination power of light to be emitted by the light source, and an illumination time during which the light source should be operated to emit light which has an emission illumination power which is equal to the at least one emission illumination power, using (i) the at least one pose estimate of the camera, (ii) the 3D location information of the at least one of the plurality of landmarks, (iii) the illumination model; and (2) operating the light source to emit light which has an emission illumination power which is equal to the at least one emission illumination power, for a time period which is equal to the determined illumination time course; and (3) updating the illumination model parameters, wherein the illumination model parameters which are updated comprise reflectivity parameters of at least one landmark.

An aerial vehicle configured for operation within indoor spaces has a meshed construction with a housing defined by upper and lower sections having meshes provided above and below propellers and motors of the aerial vehicle. The aerial vehicle also includes a suite of sensors such as LIDAR sensors, time-of-flight sensors, cameras, ultrasonic sensors, or others. Meshes of the upper and lower sections include central openings along with spokes and concentric rings provided about the central openings. Meshes of the lower section have substantially larger central openings than meshes of the upper section, but feature more dense spokes or concentric rings beneath tips of the rotating propellers, which may be hinged or foldable in nature. Data captured by sensors of the aerial vehicle may be utilized for any purpose, such as to generate environment maps of an indoor space, or to monitor the indoor space for adverse conditions or events.

A system and method for detecting and counting objects in a warehouse environment is disclosed. The system may receive sensor data indicative of a warehouse environment. The method includes generating, based on the sensor data, a reconstruction of the warehouse environment, The reconstruction can include one or more slots comprising a plurality of objects. The method includes determining, based on the reconstruction, a number of occluded objects. The method includes determining, based on the reconstruction and the number of occluded objects, a total number of objects within each slot of the one or more slots.

A drone docking station for an aerial drone is provided. The drone docking station includes a platform and a drone positioning device. The platform includes a drone landing area. The drone positioning device is disposed on the platform. The drone positioning device includes a sidewall disposed around the drone landing area and a flange extending from the sidewall. The flange includes a first end coupled to the sidewall and a second end distal thereto. The flange extends from the sidewall at a first angle. Methods for securing the drone docking station to a warehouse rack are also provided.

A system for inspecting features of an airframe, the system including a feature inspection device configured to measure an aspect of a first feature and a tracking subsystem configured to determine a position of the feature inspection device when the feature inspection device measures the aspect of the first feature. The system is configured to determine a position of the first feature on the airframe via the feature inspection device and the tracking subsystem, the determination of the position of the first feature being independent from the measurement of the aspect of the first feature.

An aerial vehicle configured for operating within indoor or outdoor spaces is equipped with acoustic sensors for detecting reflections of sound, or echoes, from objects. Distances and bearings to such objects may be calculated based on such echoes. The echoes may be reflections of sound actively emitted by the aerial vehicle, such as by a speaker, or sound radiating from operating components aboard the aerial vehicle, such as rotating motors or propellers. The echoes may be captured by multiple sensors such as microphones provided around the aerial vehicle and used to calculate distances or bearings to the objects, such as by trilateration, triangulation, or in any other manner. Such distances or bearings may also be utilized along with distances or bearings determined from cameras, range sensors, or other systems, and used to generate a navigation map of the space, or compared to a navigation map generated for that space.

Systems and methods are provided for determining obstacle-free paths of an areal vehicle in a warehouse and for determining shortcuts to be generated in the warehouse to increase the number of obstacle-free paths available to the areal vehicle. The systems and methods include predicting at least one location of an inventory moving device in the warehouse based on the status of received inventory moving tasks, and determining an obstacle-free path of an aerial vehicle to a desired location in the warehouse based on the predicted at least one location of the inventory moving device. The systems and methods also include receiving inventory validation tasks in a warehouse comprising a plurality of storage racks, requesting, based on the received inventory validation tasks, a shortcut to be generated in a storage rack of the plurality of storage racks to provide a path segment for performing the inventory validation task.