A tethered aerial vehicle, connected to an anchorage system in the ground level through a cord, comprising a pair of fixed wings; and a drive assembly. The drive assembly comprises at least two actuators configured to tilt the axle of the propellers. The fixed wings define a center hole located close to a gravitational center of the aerial vehicle. Within the edges of the center hole located close to the gravitational center of the aerial vehicle is a gimbal anchored to the fixed wings' structure. The drive assembly is located within the edges of the center hole and attached to the gimbal in a manner that the gimbal interfaces the connection between the fixed wings and the drive assembly. The drive assembly comprises of at least two propellers mounted on the same axle (“coaxial propellers”) driven by a counter-rotating motor. The coaxial propellers are configured to rotate in opposite directions with respect to each other.

A tether management system is disclosed. The tether management system includes a spool, a tension sensor, a controller and a moveable pulley. The spool is rotatable to reel in and reel out a tether. The tension sensor measures a tension of the tether. The controller receives a desired tension of the tether and controls the rotation of the spool to reel in and reel out the tether based on a difference between a measured tension from the tension sensor and the desired tension of the tether. The moveable pulley is disposed to engage tether between the spool and the tension sensor. The moveable pulley being able to be biased and moveable along a linear path to adjust a tension of the tether when the tension of the tether deviates from the desired tension. A method for managing tether is also disclosed.

A drone may receive power from mobile base station equipment via an air-to-ground power feed during flight, which allows the drone to remain in flight for longer periods of time than relying on battery power alone. The air-to-ground power feed may be included in a tether that includes multiple air-to-ground power feeds or communication feeds. In some cases, the drone is powered by an on-board power system during takeoff and landing sequences to avoid damage to the tether or the drone and/or signal interference within the tether. In some cases, the drone may follow flight patterns during takeoff and landing sequences to avoid damage to the tether or the drone and/or signal interference within the tether.

An electrical power supply system for a tethered small unmanned aerial vehicle has a ground station (1) connected to a universal aerial power supply (13) by a tether (10). The universal aerial power supply is capable of installation into the battery dock of a conventional free flying small unmanned aerial vehicle to deliver power to the small unmanned aerial vehicle systems during flight. The universal aerial power supply is compatible with a range of different small unmanned aerial vehicles and a range of classes of small unmanned aerial vehicles.

The present disclosure relates to a remote sensing system, comprising: an air towable housing for carrying one or more sensors, the air towable housing and/or a comprising at least a first pulley.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system for maintaining roadway personnel safety includes a monitoring device configured to be worn by a user and to provide a notification, a UAV including a sensor configured to sense a signal indicating a railway condition and/or a railway event, and a ground station configured to house the UAV when the UAV is not in use. The ground station is further configured to be mounted on a train or vehicle. The system further includes a processor and a memory that contains instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the system to selectively deploy the UAV from the ground station when the ground station is supported on the train or the vehicle, receive the signal from the sensor, detect the railway condition and/or the railway event based on the received signal, and transmit the notification to the monitoring device based on the based on the sensed signal.

An aircraft has a supporting structure and a shell that can be filled with a gas and which is tensioned by the supporting structure. The supporting structure includes a plurality of rod or tube-shaped sections which define a circular, oval or polygonal main clamping plane for the shell.

A microwave-based radio system for realising a precise landing approach (MLS), characterised in that an azimuth antenna transmitter and/or an elevation signal transmitter and/or a DME transmitter, and preferably all three said transmitters, are placed aboard an unmanned aerial vehicle, and in particular on a drone. The object of the disclosure is also a method for realising a precise landing approach using such a system.

An unmanned aerial signal relay includes an unmanned aerial vehicle, including a communication relay unit and at least one antenna, communicatively connected to the communication relay unit; a tether comprising at least two wires and at least one fiber optic cable, the wires and cable communicatively connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle; and a surface support system comprising a spool physically connected to the tether and a ground-based receiver communicatively connected to the at least one fiber optic cable, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is powered by electrical energy provided by the at least two wires, and wherein the communication relay unit is configured to relay signals received from the at least one antenna via the fiber optic cable to the ground-based receiver. Various systems and methods related to an unmanned aerial signal relay are also described.

In various embodiments, the present disclosure relates to robot systems configured to operate on a cell tower to inspect, install, reconfigure, and repair cellular equipment. The present disclosure provides a robot for performing audit tasks of cell towers. The robot includes a body portion configured to hold various electronic components of the robot including monitoring equipment disposed thereon, one or more arms extending from the body portion adapted to manipulate components of a cell tower and to facilitate movement of the robot on the cell tower, one or more winches, and wireless interfaces adapted to allow wireless control of the robot. The robot is configured to be controlled by one of a user in a remote location, a user at the cell tower site, and autonomously via direct programing.