A robotic vehicle has legs and propellers to enable it to walk, fly, and or swim.

A flying vehicle that is one of a passenger drone and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) includes a plurality of rotors disposed to a body and configured for flight; a processing device any of integrated with, disposed on, and associated with the body; wireless interfaces including hardware and antennas any of integrated with, disposed on, and associated with the body; and a control apparatus communicatively coupled to the processing device, wherein the control apparatus is configured to provide an interface between the wireless interfaces and an air traffic control system for control and/or monitoring of the flying vehicle by the air traffic control system.

A flying driving vehicle having a body, a driving interface coupled to the body configured to enable the body to drive on a surface, and one or more driving actuators configured to provide power to the driving interface, a set of propellers coupled to the body, where the propellers' movement keeps the vehicle in place when the surface is in slope, and a controller for controlling the speed of the driving interface, a rotation speed of the set of propellers and a magnitude and direction of thrust applied by the set of propellers.

A flying driving vehicle having a body, a driving interface coupled to the body configured to enable the body to drive on a surface, and one or more driving actuators configured to provide power to the driving interface, a set of propellers coupled to the body, where the propellers' movement keeps the vehicle in place when the surface is in slope, and a controller for controlling the speed of the driving interface, a rotation speed of the set of propellers and a magnitude and direction of thrust applied by the set of propellers.

Systems and methods include UAVs that serve to assist carrier personnel by reducing the physical demands of the transportation and delivery process. A UAV generally includes a UAV chassis including an upper portion, a plurality of propulsion members configured to provide lift to the UAV chassis, and a parcel carrier configured for being selectively coupled to and removed from the UAV chassis. UAV support mechanisms are utilized to load and unload parcel carriers to the UAV chassis, and the UAV lands on and takes off from the UAV support mechanism to deliver parcels to a serviceable point. The UAV includes computing entities that interface with different systems and computing entities to send and receive various types of information.

The present application discloses an apparatus capable of walking and flight. This apparatus includes a central section supported by a plurality of limbs, wherein a distal end of each of the plurality of limbs defines a contact surface. These limbs are configured to generate a walking-type motion in which the contact surfaces of the limbs cooperate with an environmental surface in a manner sufficient to propel the central section relative the environmental surface. The apparatus further includes a motor operably coupled to at least one limb of the plurality of limbs, wherein the motor is drivingly coupled to a propeller, and wherein the motor and propeller are configured to propel the central section in flight.

In some embodiments, methods and systems are provided that provide for the recharging of UAVs having a low battery while the UAVs are in-flight. The system monitors battery status of the UAVs when the UAVs are performing a flight mission, detects when the battery power of a UAV is depleted such that a battery recharge is needed, determines which battery charging source to deploy to recharge the UAV while the UAV is airborne, and facilitates the coupling of the UAV and the charging source such that the battery of the UAV is recharged, which enables the UAV to continue its flight mission while being coupled to the charging source.

The present application discloses an apparatus capable of walking and flight. This apparatus includes a central section supported by a plurality of limbs, wherein a distal end of each of the plurality of limbs defines a contact surface. These limbs are configured to generate a walking-type motion in which the contact surfaces of the limbs cooperate with an environmental surface in a manner sufficient to propel the central section relative the environmental surface. The apparatus further includes a motor operably coupled to at least one limb of the plurality of limbs, wherein the motor is drivingly coupled to a propeller, and wherein the motor and propeller are configured to propel the central section in flight.

A robotic vehicle has legs and propellers to enable it to walk, fly, and or swim.

Walking VTOL vehicles and related systems and methods are disclosed. A representative system can include one or more vertical thrust propulsion systems for providing vertical thrust for the vehicle, one or more horizontal thrust propulsion systems for providing horizontal thrust for the vehicle, and leg elements that are rotatable between a first configuration in which each leg element extends downwardly and a second configuration different from the first configuration. A representative method of operating a vehicle includes using vertical thrust to raise the vehicle upward, rotating a leg element forward, lowering the vehicle, and then rotating the leg element rearward to propel the vehicle forward.