An apparatus in which electric power is generated for an electrical load from differentials in electric field strengths within a vicinity of powerlines includes: a plurality of electrodes separated and electrically insulated from one another for enabling differentials in voltage resulting from differentials in electric field strength experienced there at; and electrical components electrically connected therewith and configurable to establish one or more electric circuits whereby voltage differentials cause a current to flow through the established electric circuit for powering the electrical load. Preferably, the apparatus includes a control assembly having one or more voltage-detector components configured to detect relative voltages of the electrodes; and a processor enabled to configure—based on the detected voltages and based on voltage and electric current specifications for powering the electrical load—one or more of the electrical components to establish an electric circuit for powering the electrical load.

A UAV in which electric power is generated for an electric load from differentials in electric field strengths within a vicinity of powerlines includes: a plurality of electrodes separated and electrically insulated from one another for enabling differentials in voltage resulting from differentials in electric field strength experienced thereat; and electrical components electrically connected therewith and configurable to establish one or more electric circuits whereby voltage differentials causes a current to flow through the established electric circuit for powering an electric load. Preferably, the UAV includes a control assembly having one or more voltage-detector components configured to detect relative voltages of the electrodes; and a processor enabled to configure—based on the detected voltages and based on voltage and electric current specifications for powering the electric load—one or more of the electrical components to establish an electric circuit for powering the electric load.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a charging station for charging of a UAV within a vicinity of powerlines includes an interface for electric coupling with the UAV for charging of a rechargeable battery of the UAV; a power supply having first and second electrodes separated and electrically insulated from each other for enabling a differential in voltage at the first and second electrodes resulting from a differential in electric field strength experienced at the first and second electrodes when within the vicinity of the powerlines; and electrical components electrically connected with the first and second electrodes and configured to establish a circuit with the rechargeable battery of the UAV when electronically coupled with the interface. The differential in voltage between the first and second electrodes causes electric current to flow through the electric circuit for charging the battery of the UAV.

Method for managing the energy in a system for verifying the inflation pressure of the tires of an aircraft, consisting in measuring, by a pressure sensor, at least one inflation pressure of each of the tires, obtaining a unique identification data relating to each of the tires, and sending via the wireless communication link the measurements and data thus collected to a processing unit disposed in or out of the aircraft for them to be available to a pilot or a maintenance operator, the step of sending the measurements and data being carried out in an acyclic manner as a function of a trigger signal given by a motion detector that detects the motion of the wheels of the aircraft as long as the speed is lower than a predetermined maximum speed.

An apparatus and method for performing optical caliper measurements remotely, including an unmanned aerial vehicle, a camera attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle, and an optical caliper measurement tool attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle, where the optical caliper measurement tool includes a mount, a laser source attached to the mount, and a beam splitter attached to the mount, where the laser source is configured to direct a laser beam through the beam splitter to split the laser beam into two parallel laser beams separated by a fixed distance.

A system and method for an aircraft includes a low profile pneumatic sensing system and an acoustic sensing system. The low profile pneumatic sensing system includes a pneumatic sensor positioned to sense first sensed data of an airflow about an exterior of the aircraft and does not extend beyond a boundary layer of the aircraft. The first sensed data is used to determine first air data parameters. The acoustic sensing system is configured to emit acoustic signals about the exterior of the aircraft and sense the acoustic signals as second sensed data. The second sensed data is used to determine second air data parameters.

A rotorcraft is described and includes an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor mounted to the rotorcraft, the IMU sensor oriented relative to the rotorcraft such that a roll attitude of the rotorcraft occurs about a Z-axis and has a range of 90 degrees, a pitch attitude of the rotorcraft occurs about an X-axis and has a range of 180 degrees, and a yaw attitude of the rotorcraft occurs about a Y-axis and has a range of 180 degrees.

An aircraft probe includes a base, a strut that extends from the base, at least one port, and an electronics assembly insertable into the strut and removable from the strut. The electronics assembly includes at least one pressure sensor that is pneumatically connected to the at least one port to sense a first pressure when in the inserted position.

A method includes controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to collect and forward information pertaining to a forestry worksite area. The UAV is controlled to fly to a first location and capture image information at the first location. The UAV is also controlled to fly to a second location, establish a communication connection between the UAV and a communication system at the second location, and send the captured image information to the communication system via the established connection. In another example, the UAV uploads (e.g., sends) the data to a communication system (e.g., computing device operated by an operator), and the uploaded data is further sent to a remote computing system (e.g., a forestry analysis system).

An estimation system includes a module for measuring a current angle of attack and current flight parameters of the aircraft, a module for estimating a current lift coefficient of the aircraft from the current flight parameters and from a mass of the aircraft, a module for estimating an angle of attack for a zero lift from the current angle of attack, from the current lift coefficient and from a slope of an affine part of at least one theoretical curve describing a lift coefficient of the aircraft as a function of an angle of attack, a module for estimating the current position of the flaps of the aircraft from the angle of attack for a zero lift and a module for sending the current position of the flaps to a user device.