Aerial display system with marionettes articulated and supported by airborne devices

• US 8,876,571 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2013
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Inventors: Trowbridge, Robert Scott, Stark, James Alexander, Wong, Clifford
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol, Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): RADA, ALEX P
• Application Number:
  US13/768,905
• Publication Number:
  US 20140231590A1
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• US Class Current: 446/84
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 27/12 Helicopters A63H27/04 takes precedence; Flying tops
• CPC Class Codes: A63J 19/00 Puppet, marionette, or shadow shows or theatres
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/13 Flying platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/00 UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/006 in accordance with predefined flight zones, e.g. to avoid prohibited zones
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft

Abstract

A system for performing an aerial display. The system includes a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and a ground control system with a processor executing a fleet manager module and with memory storing a different flight plan for each of the UAVs. The system further includes a marionette with a body and articulatable appendages attached to the body. The body and appendages are supported with tether lines extending between the marionette and the UAVs. Then, during a display time period, the UAVs concurrently execute the flight plans to position and articulate the marionette within a display air space. In some embodiments, the UAVs each is a multicopter, and each of the multicopters includes a local controller operating to move the multicopter through a series of way points defined by the flight plan associated with the multicopter.

Claims

1. A system for providing an aerial display, comprising:

a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); and

a ground control system with a processor executing a fleet manager module and with memory storing a different flight plan for each of the UAVs; and

a marionette with a body and articulatable appendages attached to the body, wherein the body and appendages are supported with tether lines extending between the marionette and the UAVs, wherein, during a show time period, the UAVs concurrently execute the flight plans to position and articulate the marionette within a display air space.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the UAVs each comprises a multicopter.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the multicopters comprises a local controller operating to move the multicopter through a series of way points defined by the flight plan associated with the multicopter.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein, the marionette comprises a plurality of connecting elements each attached to an end of one of the tether lines.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein each of the UAVs is attached via one of the tether lines to only one of the connecting elements.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein each of the UAVs is attached via the tether lines to two or more of the connecting elements.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein each of the UAVs includes a winch assembly for selectively adjusting a length of each of the tether lines to articulate the marionette during the display time period.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein at least some of the connecting elements is coupled to an articulating frame on or within the body or the appendages of the marionette.

9. The system of claim 1, further including a second marionette supported by one or more of the UAVs, wherein the flight plans define flight paths causing the marionettes to be positioned in proximity in the display air space to form a floating superstructure.

10. A flight control method, comprising:

at a plurality of multicopters, receiving a flight plan unique to each of the multicopters from a ground station;

concurrently operating each of the multicopters to execute the flight plans within an air space under control of a local control module executed by a processor; and

during the operating of the multicopters, supporting a string puppet with a body and articulatable appendages attached to the body with the multicopters, whereby the string puppet is supported and articulated in the air space by movement of the multicopters.

11. The method of claim 10, further including:

providing a communications channel between pairs of the multicopters;

with a first one of the multicopters detecting a second one of the multicopters in a predefined space proximal to the first one of the multicopters; and

operating the display payload of the first one of the multicopters in a new manner based on an identity of the second one of the multicopters.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the string puppet comprises a plurality of connecting elements each attached to an end of a tether line extending to one of the multicopters.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the multicopters is attached via the tether lines to two or more of the connecting elements and wherein the method includes selectively adjusting a length of each of the tether lines to articulate the string puppet during the operating of the multicopters step.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising supporting a second string puppet with the multicopters and wherein the operating of the multicopters includes moving the string puppets into adjacent positions to form a floating superstructure movable and articulatable in the air space.

15. An apparatus for use in an aerial display, comprising:

a marionette with a body and articulatable appendages attached to the body with a plurality of connecting elements;

a plurality of UAVs; and

tethering lines extending between the UAVs and the connecting elements, wherein the UAVs have synchronized movement during a show time period through a display air space to support and articulate the marionette to move between at least a first position and a second position.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the UAVs each include local controllers executing flight plans to move each of the UAVs along a predefined flight path to provide the articulation and positioning of the marionette.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the connecting elements are provided on joints or frames of the marionette.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the UAVs is attached to at least two of the tethering lines.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the UAVs include a mechanism for selectively and independently articulating the at least two of the tethering lines.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the marionette comprises a plurality of subcomponents each including one or more of the connecting elements and wherein the subcomponents may be assembled and disassembled in the display air space by movement of the UAVs along predefined flight paths.