According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for operating a multicopter experiencing a failure during flight, the multicopter comprising a body, and at least four effectors attached to the body, each operable to produce both a torque and a thrust force which can cause the multicopter to fly when not experiencing said failure. The method may comprise the step of identifying a failure wherein the failure affects the torque and/or thrust force produced by an effector, and in response to identifying a failure carrying out the following steps, (1) computing an estimate of the orientation of a primary axis of said body with respect to a predefined reference frame, wherein said primary axis is an axis about which said multicopter rotates when flying, (2) computing an estimate of the angular velocity of said multicopter, (3) controlling one or more of said at least four effectors based on said estimate of the orientation of the primary axis of said body with respect to said predefined reference frame and said estimate of the angular velocity of the multicopter. The step of controlling one or more of said at least four effectors may be performed such that (a) said one or more effectors collectively produce a torque along said primary axis and a torque perpendicular to said primary axis, wherein (i) the torque along said primary axis causes said multicopter to rotate about said primary axis, and (ii) the torque perpendicular to said primary axis causes said multicopter to move such that the orientation of said primary axis converges to a target orientation with respect to said predefined reference frame, and (b) such that said one or more effectors individually produce a thrust force along said primary axis.

A management system comprises a movement management unit that communicates via a communication device with a plurality of moving bodies including an autonomous moving body provided with an autonomous control unit for moving autonomously, and that manages the movement of the plurality of moving bodies. The movement management unit comprises a priority/subordination determination unit that determines the degree of priority/subordination relating to the respective movements of the plurality of moving bodies on the basis of individual information of the moving bodies. The autonomous moving body comprises: a priority/subordination comparison unit that compares another priority/subordination degree, which is a degree of priority/subordination determined by the priority/subordination determination unit for another moving body that is a moving body, from among the plurality of moving bodies, different from the autonomous moving body, and the host priority/subordination degree, which is a degree of priority/subordination determined by the priority/subordination determination unit for the autonomous moving body; or a priority/subordination reception unit that receives the comparison results of the host priority/subordination degree and the other priority/subordination degree obtained by comparisons by the moving body management unit.

A portable computerized device for an aircraft control system includes an input system for inputting commands, a device display for displaying information on the computerized device, a processor, a wireless communication module, and a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions, the computer executable instructions configured to cause the processor to perform a method. The method can include detecting whether the portable computerized device is in a cockpit state such that the portable computerized device is in and/or docked to an aircraft cockpit or if the portable computerized device is in a remote state such that the portable computerized device is not in an aircraft cockpit or is not docked to an aircraft cockpit. If the portable computerized device is determined to be in a remote state, the method includes operating the remote device in a remote mode. If the portable computerized device is determined to be in a cockpit state, the method includes operating the device in a local mode.

A system for testing a plurality of electrical circuits includes a first remote cooperative testing device including a testing component and a first transceiver and a second remote cooperative testing device including a conductive component and a second transceiver. In response to receiving instructions from a remote computing device, the first remote cooperative testing device locates a first electrical circuit and a second electrical circuit and selectively positions the testing component to electrically couple a first portion of the first electrical circuit to a first portion of the second electrical circuit at a first node, and the second remote cooperative testing device selectively positions the conductive component to electrically couple a second portion of the first electrical circuit to a second portion of the second electrical circuit at a second node, thereby forming a testing circuit between the first node and the second node.

An unmanned vehicle including a vehicle body, a propulsion system, a maneuvering system, a vehicle control system, a buoyancy control system, a sensor system, and at least one power supply is disclosed. The propulsion system, maneuvering system, vehicle control system, buoyancy control system, sensor system, and power supply are carried by the vehicle body. The sensor system includes a sensor adapted to detect an item of interest and provide an item of interest signal to the vehicle control system. The vehicle control system is adapted to receive the item of interest signal, identify an item of interest classification and provide a classification signal. The classification signal is determined by the item of interest classification and is utilized by the propulsion system, maneuvering system, vehicle control system, or buoyancy control system to avoid physical, electrical, acoustic, or thermal detection of the unmanned vehicle by the item of interest.

A remotely-controlled (RC) and/or autonomously operated inspection device, such as a ground vehicle or drone, may capture one or more sets of imaging data indicative of at least a portion of an automotive vehicle, such as all or a portion of the undercarriage. The one or more sets of imaging data may be analyzed based upon data indicative of at least one of vehicle damage or a vehicle defect being shown in the one or more sets of imaging data. Based upon the analyzing of the one or more sets of imaging data, damage to the vehicle or a defect of the vehicle may be identified. The identified damage or defect may be compared to a claimed damage or defect to determine whether the claimed damage or defect occurred.

A terminal that controls an unmanned flying device equipped with an imaging function, the terminal comprising: a function of acquiring information for setting a first operation of the unmanned flying device so that an object is imaged; a function of acquiring an image acquired as a result of the unmanned flying device performing the first operation from the unmanned flying device; a function of using the image to receive a designation of a part of the object from a user; and a function of setting a second operation of the unmanned flying device so that an image of the designated part of the object that is more detailed than the image of the designated part of the object acquired in the first operation is acquired.

A technique for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes monitoring a sensed airspeed of the UAV, obtaining a commanded speed for the UAV, wherein the commanded speed representing a command to fly the UAV at a given speed relative to an airmass or to Earth, and when the commanded speed is greater than the sensed airspeed, using the commanded speed in lieu of the sensed airspeed to inform flight control decisions of the UAV.

A lighter-than-air toy drone having at least one balloon that is inflated with a lift gas. The drone has a first conduit progresses along a first axis and a second conduit that progresses along a perpendicular second axis. At least one motorized propeller is provided that can selectively moving air through the first conduit and the second conduit to propel the drone. The motorized propeller can also generate a gyroscopic force that acts to rotate said at least one balloon for directional steering.

Aerial vehicle sensor calibration systems and methods are provided herein. An example method includes determining a jarring event, determining when a drone is level relative to an aerial vehicle platform of a vehicle, the vehicle having a calibration controller, determining when the vehicle is level relative to a subordinate surface, and transmitting a signal to a drone controller by the calibration controller to calibrate a gyroscope or an accelerometer of the drone.