This invention relates to an automatic method for releasing and guiding rescue and life-saving appliances that implement the method, implemented by a computer located in the command tower (202) of the vessel (200), that receives and processes in real time the geographical position data of a person overboard (101) in response to an emergency signal received by the aerial (3), sends a signal activating and releasing the Unmanned Surface Vehicle - USV - (1), launching it onto the water, and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle - UAV - (4),launching it into the air.

A deployable device mountable on a carrier vehicle and configured to collect situation awareness data. The deployable device includes at least one recorder device configured to collect situation awareness data. The deployable device is capable of being ejected from the carrier vehicle and can be configured to operate as a vehicle and/or be towed by the carrier vehicle. The deployable device can continue collection of situation awareness data after being ejected.

Many different types of systems are utilized or tasks are performed in a marine environment. The present invention provides various configurations of unmanned vehicles, or drones, that can be operated and/or controlled for such systems or tasks. One or more unmanned vehicles can be integrated with a dedicated marine electronic device of a marine vessel for autonomous control and operation. Additionally or alternatively, the unmanned vehicle can be manually remote operated during use in the marine environment. Such unmanned vehicles can be utilized in many different marine environment systems or tasks, including, for example, navigation, sonar, radar, search and rescue, video streaming, alert functionality, among many others. However, as contemplated by the present invention, the marine environment provides many unique challenges that may be accounted for with operation and control of an unmanned vehicle.

A base module may be used to receive and house one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) via one or more cavities. The base module receives commands from a manager device and identifies a flight plan that allows a UAV to execute the received commands. The base module transfers the flight plan to the UAV and frees the UAV. Once the UAV returns, the base module once again receives it. The base module then receives sensor data from the UAV from one or more sensors onboard the UAV, and optionally receives additional information describing its flight and identifying success or failure of the flight plan. The base module transmits the sensor data and optionally the additional information to a storage medium locally or remotely accessible by the manager device.

A rotary wing vehicle includes a body structure having an elongated tubular backbone or core, and a counter-rotating coaxial rotor system having rotors with each rotor having a separate motor to drive the rotors about a common rotor axis of rotation. The rotor system is used to move the rotary wing vehicle in directional flight.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control method includes a takeoff process, a following process and a landing process, wherein the takeoff process includes the following steps: unlocking the UAV, and detecting the current horizontal position of the UAV in the horizontal direction and the current altitude of the UAV in the vertical direction; determining whether the current horizontal position and the current altitude meet takeoff criteria, and controlling the UAV to bounce off and enter into a takeoff state if the determination result is positive. The system provided by the present disclosure employs the above-mentioned method to control a UAV. The method and system provided by the present disclosure meet three functional requirements for a UAV on a moving base platform, namely, stable takeoff, following process and accurate landing, thus decrease the difficulties in the use of a UAV on a moving platform.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launch and recovery is disclosed. A disclosed example apparatus for recovering a UAV includes a base to be mounted to a recovery vehicle, a flexible arm extending from the base to pivot therefrom, the arm having a first end at the base and a second end opposite the first end, the arm to move to counteract a movement of the recovery vehicle, and a coupler mounted on or proximate the second end of the arm, the coupler to be releasably coupled to the UAV.

A control system includes a base device to be mounted on a mobile object, an aerial vehicle, a cable including a power supply cable for supplying electric power from the mobile object to the aerial vehicle and connecting the base device with the aerial vehicle, and a control device that controls flight of the aerial vehicle. The control device controls the aerial vehicle so that a relative altitude of the aerial vehicle with respect to the mobile object matches a target relative altitude. This control system optimizes an altitude of the aerial vehicle in accordance with the mobile object.

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.

Flight based marine object search, detection and identification systems and related techniques include an unmanned aerial system (UAS) having a flight platform configured to execute a search path to search for an underwater object, an imaging system comprising image capture components configured to generate a stream of images corresponding to a field of view of the UAS, and a logic device associated with the UAS and configured to analyze the stream of images using a marine video analysis (MVA) system to detect a region of interest comprising an underwater object, identify an underwater object in the detected region of interest, and notify a mobile structure of the identified object.