A flight data aggregation system for a plurality of aircraft includes one or more portable electronic devices in electronic communication with one or more central computers. The one or more portable electronic devices each monitor flight data from a corresponding aircraft. The one or more portable electronic devices analyze the flight data in real-time to determine an insight event indicating an incident of significance is presently occurring upon the corresponding aircraft. Each central computer includes one or more processors and a memory coupled to the one or more processors. The central computers are caused to receive the flight data collected during the insight event from an individual portable electronic device. The central computers determine overall flight data patterns based on the flight data collected during the insight event received from the individual portable electronic device and historical data stored in the one or more databases.

The subject matter of this specification can be implemented in, among other things, systems and methods that enable lidar devices capable of detecting and processing multiple optical modes present in a beam reflected from a target object. Different received optical modes can be spatially separated and electronic signals can be generated that are representative of a coherence information contained in various optical modes. Multiple generated electronic signals can be amplified, phase-shifted, mixed, etc., to identify signals, individually or in a combination, that can be used for identification of a range and velocity of the target object with the highest accuracy.

A light detection and ranging system can have a controller connected to a plurality of light energy emitters arranged as a solid-state optical phase array. The controller can be configured to adjust an optical element to change a light beam angle from at least one light energy emitter of the plurality of light energy emitters. The optical element can be physically separated from, and positioned downrange from, the plurality of light energy emitters.

Techniques involve releasing and/or capturing a fixed-wing aircraft using an aerial vehicle with VTOL capabilities while the fixed-wing aircraft is in flight. For example, the VTOL aerial vehicle may take off vertically while carrying the fixed-wing aircraft and then fly horizontally before releasing the fixed-wing aircraft. Upon release, the fixed-wing aircraft flies independently to perform a mission (e.g., surveillance, payload delivery, combinations thereof, etc.). After the fixed-wing aircraft has completed its mission, the VTOL aerial vehicle may capture the fixed-wing aircraft while both are in flight, and then land together vertically. Such operation enables the fixed-wing aircraft to vertically take off and/or land while avoiding certain drawbacks associated with a conventional VTOL kit such as being burdened by weight and drag from the VTOL kit's rotors/propellers, mounting hardware, etc. during a mission which otherwise would limit the fixed-wing aircraft's maximum airspeed, ceiling, payload capacity, endurance, and so on.

Techniques for realizing compound semiconductor (CS) optoelectronic devices on silicon (Si) substrates for vehicle applications are disclosed. The integration platform is based on heteroepitaxy of CS materials and device structures on Si by direct heteroepitaxy on planar Si substrates or by selective area heteroepitaxy on dielectric patterned Si substrates. Following deposition of the CS device structures, device fabrication steps can be carried out using Si complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication techniques to enable large-volume manufacturing. The integration platform can enable manufacturing of optoelectronic devices including photodetector arrays for image sensors and vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays. Such devices can be used in various applications including light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems for vehicle apparatuses such as automobiles, boats, airplanes, and drones, and for other perception applications such as industrial vision, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Disclosed are an anti-collision system and method for an aircraft and an aircraft including the anti-collision system. The anti-collision system includes: a sensor data processing unit configured to process data received from a plurality of sensors to detect objects around the aircraft, and output a result about detected objects; a safeguarding box building unit configured to generate, based on an aircraft geometry database, a three-dimensional safeguarding box for the aircraft; and a risk assessment unit configured to calculate relative distances between detected objects and the aircraft, and determine whether there is a collision risk between the aircraft and an object, among the detected objects, located in the safeguarding box or to be entering into the safeguarding box, wherein the system is configured to output an alarm or a warning when there is the collision risk.

Techniques for realizing compound semiconductor (CS) optoelectronic devices on silicon (Si) substrates for vehicle applications are disclosed. The integration platform is based on heteroepitaxy of CS materials and device structures on Si by direct heteroepitaxy on planar Si substrates or by selective area heteroepitaxy on dielectric patterned Si substrates. Following deposition of the CS device structures, device fabrication steps can be carried out using Si complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication techniques to enable large-volume manufacturing. The integration platform can enable manufacturing of optoelectronic devices including photodetector arrays for image sensors and vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays. Such devices can be used in various applications including light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems for vehicle apparatuses such as automobiles, boats, airplanes, and drones, and for other perception applications such as industrial vision, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Techniques for realizing compound semiconductor (CS) optoelectronic devices on silicon (Si) substrates for vehicle applications are disclosed. The integration platform is based on heteroepitaxy of CS materials and device structures on Si by direct heteroepitaxy on planar Si substrates or by selective area heteroepitaxy on dielectric patterned Si substrates. Following deposition of the CS device structures, device fabrication steps can be carried out using Si complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication techniques to enable large-volume manufacturing. The integration platform can enable manufacturing of optoelectronic devices including photodetector arrays for image sensors and vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays. Such devices can be used in various applications including light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems for vehicle apparatuses such as automobiles, boats, airplanes, and drones, and for other perception applications such as industrial vision, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

A distance measuring device includes a pulsed laser source, a light receiving unit and a computing module. The pulsed laser source emits a laser pulse to a target in accordance with a predetermined period. The light receiving unit has a photon receiving type of light receiving element that receives incident light and outputs a binary pulse, and the binary pulse is used to indicate whether a photon receiving event occurs. The computing module is configured to receive the binary pulse and determine whether an inter-period coincidence event occurs, and the inter-period coincidence event is defined by detecting a plurality of photon receiving events exceeding a predetermined count, on relative positions in a predetermined period number of the predetermined periods. If the calculation module determines that the inter-period coincidence event occurs, a distance of the target is calculated according to time information related to the inter-period coincidence event.

A distance measuring device includes a pulsed laser source, a light receiving unit and a computing module. The pulsed laser source emits a laser pulse to a target in accordance with a predetermined period. The light receiving unit has a photon receiving type of light receiving element that receives incident light and outputs a binary pulse, and the binary pulse is used to indicate whether a photon receiving event occurs. The computing module is configured to receive the binary pulse and determine whether an inter-period coincidence event occurs, and the inter-period coincidence event is defined by detecting a plurality of photon receiving events exceeding a predetermined count, on relative positions in a predetermined period number of the predetermined periods. If the calculation module determines that the inter-period coincidence event occurs, a distance of the target is calculated according to time information related to the inter-period coincidence event.