Apparatus and method of harvesting airborne moisture

• US 10,434,451 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2017
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nant Holdings IP, LLC (NantWorks, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nant Holdings IP, LLC (NantWorks, LLC)
• Inventors: Witchey, Nicholas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed, Masud
• Application Number:
  US15/660,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20190030475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 804 Days
• Field of Search: 1 1, 701 26
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/0031 with collecting, draining means
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/02 Particle separators, e.g. dust precipitators, having hollow filters made of flexible material
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/265 by refrigeration (condensation)
• CPC Class Codes: B64B 1/40 Balloons B64B1/58 takes precedence; toy balloons A63H27/10
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 1/22 Taking-up articles from earth's surface
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/16 with five or more distinct rotor axes, e.g. octocopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/30 Lighter-than-air aircraft, e.g. aerostatic aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/35 for science, e.g. meteorology
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/40 for agriculture or forestry operations
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/45 for releasing liquids or powders in-flight, e.g. crop-dusting
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: E03B 3/28 from humid air condensing of vapours in general B01D5/00; dehumidification of air for air-conditioning F24F3/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/42 Global feature extraction by analysis of the whole pattern, e.g. using frequency domain transformations or autocorrelation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/44 Local feature extraction by analysis of parts of the pattern, e.g. by detecting edges, contours, loops, corners, strokes or intersections; Connectivity analysis, e.g. of connected components
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/13 Satellite images
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/17 taken from planes or by drones
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18502 Airborne stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 20/00 Water conservation; Efficient water supply; Efficient water use

Abstract

An apparatus for use in harvesting airborne moisture includes an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a woven mesh, supported by the UAV, for collecting liquid droplets upon contact with a fog bank, a camera, a processor, a non-transitory, tangible computer readable memory storing software instructions executable by the processor, a fog identification engine, and a flight controller on board the UAV. The fog identification engine is executable on the processor according to the software instructions and is configurable to capture a digital image via the camera, detect an absence of features in the digital image, and identify a fog bank as a function of the absence of features in the digital image. The flight controller directs the UAV to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine.

Claims

1. An apparatus for use in harvesting airborne moisture comprising:

an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV);

a woven mesh, supported by the UAV, for collecting liquid droplets upon contact with a fog bank;

a camera;

a processor;

a weight sensor;

a non-transitory, tangible computer readable memory storing software instructions executable by the processor;

a fog identification engine executable on the processor according to the software instructions and that is configurable to capture a digital image via the camera, detect an absence of features in the digital image, and identify a fog bank as a function of the absence of features in the digital image; and

a flight controller, on board the UAV, for directing the UAV to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine and for directing the UAV to deliver collected moisture in response to an output signal of the weight sensor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the camera, the processor, and the memory are on board the UAV.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:

a communications interface, on board the UAV, for transmitting a signal indicating a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine to a stationary hub external to the UAV and receiving a flight control signal from the hub;

wherein the flight controller directs the UAV to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine in response to receipt of a flight control signal by the communications interface.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the camera, the processor, and the memory are part of a stationary hub external to the UAV.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising:

a communications interface, on board the UAV, for receiving a flight control signal from the hub;

wherein the flight controller directs the UAV to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine in response to receipt of a flight control signal by the communications interface.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a communications interface, on board the UAV, for transmitting a signal indicating an output of the weight sensor to a stationary hub external to the UAV and receiving a flight control signal from the hub;

wherein the flight controller directs the UAV to deliver moisture collected by the woven mesh in response to receipt of a flight control signal by the communications interface.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the flight controller directs the UAV to move to a delivery location in response to an output of the weight sensor.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein, in response to an output of the weight sensor, the flight controller directs the UAV to execute a delivery maneuver designed to free liquid droplets collected by the woven mesh.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the flight controller directs the UAV to detach the woven mesh from the UAV in response to an output of the weight sensor.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the woven mesh is shaped like an inverted cone.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the UAV comprises a balloon structure.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the balloon structure has a surface including grooves or bumps designed to promote collection of liquid droplets.

13. An apparatus for use in harvesting airborne moisture comprising:

a first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV);

a woven mesh, supported by the first UAV, for collecting liquid droplets upon contact with a fog bank;

a weight sensor on board the first UAV;

a second UAV;

a camera on board the second UAV;

a processor on board the second UAV;

a non-transitory, tangible computer readable memory storing software instructions executable by the processor, the memory being on board the second UAV;

a fog identification engine executable on the processor according to the software instructions and that is configurable to capture a digital image via the camera, detect an absence of features in the digital image, and identify a fog bank as a function of the absence of features in the digital image; and

a flight controller, on board the first UAV, for directing the first UAV to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine and for directing the first UAV to deliver collected moisture in response to an output signal of the weight sensor.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising:

a second UAV communications interface, on board the second UAV, for transmitting a signal indicating a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine to a stationary hub external to the first UAV and the second UAV; and

a first UAV communications interface, on board the first UAV, for receiving a flight control signal from the hub;

wherein the flight controller directs the first UAV to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine in response to receipt of a flight control signal by the first UAV communications interface.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising:

a second UAV communications interface, on board the second UAV, for transmitting a flight control signal to the first UAV for directing the first UAV to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine; and

a first UAV communications interface, on board the first UAV, for receiving a flight control signal from the second UAV;

wherein the flight controller directs the first UAV to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine in response to receipt of a flight control signal by the first UAV communications interface.

16. An apparatus for use in harvesting airborne moisture comprising:

a camera;

a processor;

a weight sensor;

a non-transitory, tangible computer readable memory storing software instructions executable by the processor;

a fog identification engine executable on the processor according to the software instructions and that is configurable to capture a digital image via the camera, detect an absence of features in the digital image, and identify a fog bank as a function of the absence of features in the digital image;

a retractable woven mesh for collecting liquid droplets upon contact with a fog bank; and

a controller for directing the retractable woven mesh to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine and for directing the retractable woven mesh to deliver collected moisture in response to an output signal of the weight sensor.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the camera, the processor, and the memory are on board an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); and

the retractable woven mesh and the controller are part of a stationary hub external to the UAV.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

a UAV communications interface, on board the UAV, for transmitting a signal indicating a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine to the hub; and

a hub communications interface for receiving a signal from the UAV;

wherein the controller directs the retractable woven mesh to enter a fog bank identified by the fog identification engine in response to receipt of a signal by the hub communications interface.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the retractable woven mesh is substantially planar and is retractable in a direction parallel to the plane.