Apparatus and Method for Autonomous Landing of an Aerial Vehicle
First Claim
1. A landing pad controller for autonomously landing an aerial vehicle, the landing pad unit comprising:
- a plurality of receiving antennae that receives a localization signal from the aerial vehicle, wherein each of the plurality of receiving antennae receives an instance/version of the localization signal;
a localization calculation processor that determines a precise position of the aerial vehicle based upon a comparison of the localization signal received by each of the plurality of receiving antennae;
a logic controller processor coupled to the localization processor, wherein the logic controller processor determines at least one course direction adjustment based on the precise position and the target landing area; and
a transmitter that send the at least one course adjustment data to the aerial vehicle, wherein the course adjustment data directs the aerial vehicle from the precise position to a target landing area.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method of autonomously landing an aerial vehicle is disclosed herein. In a non-limiting embodiment, the apparatus is a landing pad controller that includes a plurality of receiving antennae, each of which is configured to receive an instance/version of a localization signal from the aerial vehicle. A localization calculation processor determines a precise position of the aerial vehicle based upon a comparison of the localization signal received by each of the plurality of receiving antennae. The landing pad controller also includes a transmitter that sends at least one course direction adjustment to the aerial vehicle, which can be used to direct the aerial vehicle from the precise position to a target landing area.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A landing pad controller for autonomously landing an aerial vehicle, the landing pad unit comprising:
-
a plurality of receiving antennae that receives a localization signal from the aerial vehicle, wherein each of the plurality of receiving antennae receives an instance/version of the localization signal; a localization calculation processor that determines a precise position of the aerial vehicle based upon a comparison of the localization signal received by each of the plurality of receiving antennae; a logic controller processor coupled to the localization processor, wherein the logic controller processor determines at least one course direction adjustment based on the precise position and the target landing area; and a transmitter that send the at least one course adjustment data to the aerial vehicle, wherein the course adjustment data directs the aerial vehicle from the precise position to a target landing area. - View Dependent Claims (2)
-
-
3. An aerial vehicle configured for autonomous landing, the aerial vehicle comprising:
-
a signal generator that generates a localization signal; a localization output antenna that transmits the localization signal to a landing pad controller; a communication interface that receives at least one course adjustment from the landing pad controller; and a flight controller that implements the at least one course adjustment to direct the aerial vehicle from a precise position to a target landing area - View Dependent Claims (4, 5)
-
-
6. A method in a landing pad controller for autonomously landing an aerial vehicle, the method comprising:
-
establishing a communication session with the aerial vehicle; receiving a localization signal from the aerial vehicle; determining a precise position of the aerial vehicle based on the localization signal; generating course adjustment data usable to direct the aerial vehicle from the precise position to a target landing area; and transmitting the course adjustment data to the aerial vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A method in an aerial vehicle for autonomous landing, the method comprising:
-
establishing a communications session with a landing pad controller at a landing location in response to arriving at the landing location; transmitting a localization signal to the landing pad controller; receiving course adjustment data from the landing pad controller, wherein the course adjustment data directs the aerial vehicle from its current location to a target landing area; and landing the aerial vehicle at the target landing area. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification