Methods and systems for inspecting insulated equipment for corrosion under insulation are provided. The system includes an autonomous unmanned vehicle having aerial and ground locomotive capabilities. The vehicle includes an infrared detector and a pulsed eddy current sensor. In the method, infrared waves emitted from the equipment are detected along the equipment with the infrared detector. Using the infrared detector, at least one image of an inner surface of the equipment is developed based on the detected infrared waves. At least one area that is susceptible to corrosion is determined based on the at least one image. The susceptible area is inspected with the pulsed eddy current sensor, which induces an eddy current in the inner wall of the equipment. Based on a rate of the decay in strength of the eddy current, it is determined whether corrosion exists at the susceptible area using a processor configured by code.

According to an aspect, a system in an aircraft includes a vehicle management system (VMS) and a load control system (LCS). The LCS includes an LCS processor operable to receive and transmit a plurality of data and load management commands to one or more of: the VMS and a load control interface. The LCS processor is further operable to interact with one or more of: the VMS, one or more LCS sensors, and a load capturing interface of the aircraft to execute the load management commands as a sequence of one or more load management subcommands. The load capturing interface is operable to capture and release an external load relative to the aircraft using a load capture device. The LCS processor is also operable to report a status of execution of the load management commands to the VMS and the load control interface.

According to an aspect of the invention, a method of optimal safe landing area determination for an aircraft includes accessing a probabilistic safe landing area map that includes a plurality of probabilistic indicators of safe landing areas for the aircraft. A processing subsystem that includes one or more processing resources generates a list of candidate safe landing areas based on the probabilistic safe landing area map and one or more constraints. At least two of the candidate safe landing areas are provided to a path planner. The list of candidate safe landing areas is ranked based on results from the path planner indicating an estimated cost to reach each of the candidate safe landing areas. Based on the ranking, an indicator of an optimal safe landing area is output as a desired landing location for the aircraft.

A driving control device for a remote controlled helicopter includes an rpm detection unit that detects an rpm of a main rotor, a gyro sensor that detects angular velocities of control axes including roll, pitch and yaw axes, and a control unit that generates a control signal of a control actuator for controlling movements of the control axes based on the angular velocities detected by the gyro sensor and a steering signal sent from a transmitter. The control unit has information on the gyro sensitivities of the control axes and information on a set rpm of the main rotor which are preset for each of the flight states of the remote controlled helicopter, and corrects the gyro sensitivities based on a difference between the set rpm corresponding to a selected flight state among the flight states and an rpm of the main rotor detected by the rpm detection unit.

Techniques are described for configuring a monitoring system to assist users during a detected emergency condition at a property. In some implementations, sensor data from one or more sensors that are located at the property are obtained by a monitoring system that is configured to monitor the property. A determination that there is an emergency condition at the property is made by the monitoring system based on the sensor data, determining. A location of a person inside the property is determined by the monitoring system based on the sensor data. A first path to the person and a second path to guide the person away from the emergency condition are determined by the monitoring system. The first path to the person and the second path to guide the person away from the emergency condition are navigated by a computing device of the monitoring system.

A portable drone port that is portable and disposed on a landing surface for a drone includes a covering section configured to cover the landing surface and provided with markers of different sizes. The covering section includes a restraining section configured to restrain, on the covering section, the drone that lands on the covering section. The restraining section is hook-and-loop fasteners including a hook-and-loop fastener on one side disposed on the covering section and a hook-and-loop fastener on the other side disposed on the drone and configured to join to the hook-and-loop fastener on the one side.

A portable drone port that is portable and disposed on a landing surface for a drone includes a covering section configured to cover the landing surface and provided with markers of different sizes. The covering section includes a restraining section configured to restrain, on the covering section, the drone that lands on the covering section. The restraining section is hook-and-loop fasteners including a hook-and-loop fastener on one side disposed on the covering section and a hook-and-loop fastener on the other side disposed on the drone and configured to join to the hook-and-loop fastener on the one side.

An aircraft-based object manipulation system and methods are provided herein. The system includes an airframe capable of flight. A plurality of sensors configured to identify a physical characteristic of an object. An object manipulation system is configured to adjust a position the object, and to secure the object to the airframe. A processor communicatively configured to control operation of the object manipulation system based on information from the plurality of sensors.

An improved vehicle with superior performance and reliability. The vehicle, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, is capable of vertical takeoff and landing, uses three swashless, variable-pitch vertical lift main rotors with a yaw tail rotor system. Two rear main rotors are optionally tiltrotors, which pivot to increase forward speed without the increased coefficient of drag inherent in tilting the entire vehicle. The three main rotors are positioned in an equilateral triangular configuration, improving balance, increasing load-bearing strength, and making it more compact in size. Movements are controlled through changes in pitch of the rotors, allowing the motors to maintain constant governed rotations per minute, maximizing drivetrain efficiency. Vehicle configurations disclosed herein allow for smaller vehicle size with greater performance than prior art vehicles.

An unmanned helicopter platform includes a fuselage, a tail coupled with the fuselage, a payload rail coupled with and extending along the fuselage and a main rotor assembly coupled with the fuselage. The tail includes a tail rotor and a tail rotor motor. The main rotor assembly includes a main rotor having an axis of rotation and a main rotor motor. The payload rail allows mechanical connection of payloads to the fuselage and positioning of the payloads such that a center of gravity of the payloads is alignable with the axis of rotation. A system for controlling the unmanned helicopter includes a processor and a memory for providing instructions to the processor. The processor can receive a task, dynamically determine a route for the task and autonomously perform the task including flying along at least part of the route. The route is based on the task, geography and terrain.