A method includes dispatching a drone to a site. The drone includes audio/visual equipment. The method includes logging a plurality of timestamped locations of the drone and receiving, from the audio/visual equipment, site data captured by an on-site operator of the audio/visual equipment. The method includes correlating a portion of the site data with at least one of the timestamped locations of the drone.

A system and method for a providing a dynamic backhaul. In one example, the system includes a self-positionable wireless device (for example, a drone) including a dual-band radio configured to establish a wireless connection between the self-positionable wireless device and a wireless system. The dual-band radio initiates a narrowband wireless link with the wireless system via a first narrowband antenna of the self-positionable wireless device and a second narrowband antenna of the wireless system. A navigation system generates location, velocity and error estimate of the self-positionable wireless device. The location is transmitted to the wireless system using the narrowband wireless link. The self-positionable wireless device receives via the narrowband wireless link location, velocity and error estimate of the wireless system. The self-positionable wireless device establishes a directional broadband wireless link with the wireless system using the location, velocity and error estimate of the self-positionable wireless system and the wireless system.

Phased array radar systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are disclosed. A disclosed example radar apparatus for a small UAVs includes a transmitter to transmit a transmit signal in the X-band, a receive phased array including at least two receive antennas, wherein the receive phased array provides a field-of-view of at least 100 degrees in a first direction and at least 20 degrees in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a first processor programmed to determine a location of an object based on an output from each of the at least two antennas, a second processor programmed to perform collision avoidance based on the location of the object, and a mount to mechanically couple the radar apparatus to the UAV.

Using power line rights of way for UAV routing provides a direct, uninterrupted, aerially clear path to the vast majority of lots and buildings from nearby substations and generating stations. Segmenting or separating the UAV traffic by airframe glide ratio improves safety for people on the ground and utilization of the limited airspace. Further segmenting UAV traffic by airframe speed and size allows greater traffic throughput.

A protection system for a classroom or other space to protect against a terrorist. The system includes a fixed control unit and a mobile control unit. The fixed control unit contains a hanger for drones to be launched against the terrorist. The fixed control unit also includes data storage units, a computer, a computer program and a memory, power storage units, a sighting laser for obtaining location information about the terrorist and an etching laser for marking the terrorist, an optics system for receiving visual information, and a telecommunication unit to send and receive information. The mobile control unit is worn by a protecting person in the space and includes some of the same components as the fixed control unit. It also has a local aiming system that includes for example a rifle type sight. The drone is a self-contained, self-propelled robotic flying vehicle that can be very small or even the size of a mouse. It has a mag-lev engine, electrical storage units and an aeronautically shaped body.

Disclosed is a system and method for reducing the total latency for transferring a frame from the low latency camera system mounted on an aerial vehicle to the display of the remote controller. The method includes reducing the latency through each of the modules of the system, i.e. through a camera module, an encoder module, a wireless interface transmission, wireless interface receiver module, a decoder module and a display module. To reduce the latency across the modules, methods such as overclocking the image processor, pipelining the frame, squashing the processed frame, using a fast hardware encoder that can perform slice based encoding, tuning the wireless medium using queue sizing, queue flushing, bitrate feedback, physical medium rate feedback, dynamic encoder parameter tuning and wireless radio parameter adjustment, using a fast hardware decoder that can perform slice based decoding and overclocking the display module are used.

According to the present invention there is provided a drone (1) comprising one or more propellers (2) and one or more actuators (3) for actuating said one or more propellers (2) to generating a thrust force which enables the drone (1) to fly; a controller (4) which is configured such that it can control the flight of the drone (1), wherein the controller (4) comprises a memory (6) having stored therein a plurality of predefined sets of positions which define a virtual rail which can be used to guide the flight of the drone (1) so that the drone can avoid collision with an subject; and wherein the controller further comprises a mathematical model (7) of the drone; wherein the controller (4) is configured to control the flight of the drone by performing at least the following steps, (a) approximating lag error based on the position of the drone (1) measured by a sensor (5) and the virtual rail, wherein the lag error is the distance between a point along the virtual rail which is closest to the drone (1) and an estimate of said point along the virtual rail which is closest to the drone (1); (b) approximating a contour error based on the position of the drone (1) as measured by a sensor (5) and the virtual rail, wherein the contour error is the distance between a point along the virtual rail which is closest to the drone (1) and the position of the drone (1); (c) defining a cost function which comprises at least said approximation of the lag error and said approximation of the contour error; (d) minimizing the defined cost function, while also respecting at least limitations of the drone which are defined in said mathematical model, to determine a plurality of control inputs over a predefined time period into the future, and (e) applying the first control input only to the one or more actuators (3). There is further provided a corresponding method for controlling the flight of a drone.

Example implementations relate to a method of dynamically updating a transport task of a UAV. The method includes receiving, at a transport-provider computing system, an item provider request for transportation of a plurality of packages from a loading location at a given future time. The method also includes assigning, by the transport-provider computing system, a respective transport task to each of a plurality of UAVs, where the respective transport task comprises an instruction to deploy to the loading location to pick up one or more of the plurality of packages. Further, the method includes identifying, by the transport-provider system, a first package while or after a first UAV picks up the first package. Yet further, the method includes based on the identifying of the first package, providing, by the transport-provider system, a task update to the first UAV to update the respective transport task of the first UAV.

In some implementations, a UAV flight system can dynamically adjust UAV flight operations based on radio frequency (RF) signal data. For example, the flight system can determine an initial flight plan for inspecting a RF transmitter and configure a UAV to perform an aerial inspection of the RF transmitter. Once airborne, the UAV can collect RF signal data and the flight system can automatically adjust the flight plan to avoid RF signal interference and/or damage to the UAV based on the collected RF signal data. In some implementations, the UAV can collect RF signal data and generate a three-dimensional received signal strength map that describes the received signal strength at various locations within a volumetric area around the RF transmitter. In some implementations, the UAV can collect RF signal data and determine whether a RF signal transmitter is properly aligned.

Systems, apparatuses, and method may provide unmanned aerial system communication. A method performed by at least one processor included in an unmanned aerial system (UAS) includes: transmitting, to a UAS Service Supplier (USS) implemented on at least one server, a first registration request to register a first remote identification (RID) corresponding to the UAS with the USS; receiving, from the USS, an indication that the first RID is a duplicate RID that is registered with the USS; determining, based on the first RID, a second RID corresponding to the UAS; and transmitting, to the USS, a second registration request to register the second RID.