A drone includes a drone main body and a parachute module. The parachute module includes a base, a housing, an inflatable material, a parachute, and an inflating device. The base is disposed on the drone main body. The housing covers the base to form a containing space therebetween. The inflatable material is disposed on the base and furled in the containing space. The parachute is connected to the inflatable material and the housing and is furled in the containing space. The inflating device is disposed on the base and connected to the inflatable material. When the inflating device inflates the inflatable material, the inflatable material expands and strikes the housing, so that the housing is separated from the drone main body, so as to increase a distance between the parachute and the drone main body and deploy the parachute. In addition, a control method of the drone is also provided.

A system including a drone, a wire and a docking station allowing the autonomous landing of the drone in degraded conditions. The docking station including a landing platform. The landing procedure includes stopping the automatic position control of the drone, producing a motor thrust higher than the weight of the drone, the automatic control of the attitude of the drone, and pulling upon the wire in order to bring the drone back to the platform. This system makes emergency landings possible, or landings under violent winds, or when the docking station is in movement on a vehicle, reducing material breakage.

Provided is a drone with an airbag with which it is possible to prevent the danger of injuring a person when a crashed drone collides with the person. A first airbag 11 is provided in a state surrounding a drone 9 within the horizontal plane. The first airbag 11 is held by a first holding part 10 provided on a central mounting part 2. The first airbag 11 is installed in the first holding part 10 in a folded state, the first airbag 11 being inflatable so as to project outward by gas being supplied. The first airbag 11 is capable of expanding before impacting another object such as a person and surrounding the drone 9 in the horizontal plane.

Rescue parachute deployment systems (RPDSs) and related techniques are provided to improve the safety and operational flexibility of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). An RPDS includes a canopy assembly, a rotor guard disposed at least partially about the canopy assembly and configured to protect the canopy assembly from rotor strike damage as the canopy assembly is launched through a rotor plane of the UAV, and an ejector assembly configured to deploy the rotor guard into and the canopy assembly through a rotor plane of the UAV. The RPDS may also include a logic device coupled to and/or integrated with the ejector assembly and/or the UAV that is configured to determine a rescue parachute launch condition is active and to control the ejector assembly to deploy the canopy assembly through the rotor plane of the UAV.

Rescue parachute deployment systems (RPDSs) and related techniques are provided to improve the safety and operational flexibility of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). An RPDS includes a canopy assembly, a rotor guard disposed at least partially about the canopy assembly and configured to protect the canopy assembly from rotor strike damage as the canopy assembly is launched through a rotor plane of the UAV, and an ejector assembly configured to deploy the rotor guard into and the canopy assembly through a rotor plane of the UAV. The RPDS may also include a logic device coupled to and/or integrated with the ejector assembly and/or the UAV that is configured to determine a rescue parachute launch condition is active and to control the ejector assembly to deploy the canopy assembly through the rotor plane of the UAV.

A device is provided for preventing a parachute from being damaged. A parachute device (4) includes a flying body (43) including a parachute (400), a parachute accommodation section (40) configured to accommodate the parachute, at least one flying body (43) connected to the parachute, an ejection section (41) having a tube shape and configured to hold the flying body and to eject the held flying body, a gas generating device (60) configured to generate gas, and an extrusion member (42) capable of being at least partially inserted into the ejection section, the extrusion member being configured to extrude the flying body from the ejection section due to receiving pressure of the gas generated from the gas generating device.

A device is provided for preventing a parachute from being damaged. A parachute device (4) includes a flying body (43) including a parachute (400), a parachute accommodation section (40) configured to accommodate the parachute, at least one flying body (43) connected to the parachute, an ejection section (41) having a tube shape and configured to hold the flying body and to eject the held flying body, a gas generating device (60) configured to generate gas, and an extrusion member (42) capable of being at least partially inserted into the ejection section, the extrusion member being configured to extrude the flying body from the ejection section due to receiving pressure of the gas generated from the gas generating device.

Methods and apparatus to recover unmanned aerial vehicles with kites are disclosed. A disclosed example apparatus includes a tether line to be supported by a kite at a distal end thereof, and a release to deploy and expand a parafoil from at least one of the tether line or the kite in response to the aircraft contacting the tether line.

A method, computer system, and a drone for in-flight drone structure modification are provided. A first sensor of a drone may detect damage to a first arm of the drone during a flight of the drone. In response to the detecting the damage, the damaged first arm of the drone may be detached via a computer of the drone and during the flight of the drone.

To improve safety during a fall of a flying apparatus, a flying apparatus (1) according to a representative embodiment of the present application includes a body unit (2), a lift-force generating part (3) that is connected to the body unit and generates a lift force, a flight control part (14) that controls the lift-force generating part, an abnormality detecting part (15) that detects an abnormality during flight, a parachute device (4) including a parachute (41, 41A) and a parachute accommodating part (42) that accommodates the parachute, and a fall control part (16) that ejects the parachute from the parachute accommodating part according to the detection of the abnormality by the abnormality detecting part.