Using predicted movement to maintain optical-communication lock with nearby balloon
First Claim
1. A balloon, comprising:
- an optical-communication component, wherein the optical-communication component has a pointing axis, and wherein the optical-communication component is operable to communicate with a correspondent balloon via a free-space optical link;
a radio frequency (RF) communication system, wherein the RF communication system is operable to communicate with the correspondent balloon via an RF link;
a pointing mechanism configured to adjust the pointing axis;
a camera configured to acquire images of the correspondent balloon; and
a controller, wherein the controller is configured to (i) determine a predicted relative location of the correspondent balloon based on the images and on data received from the correspondent balloon via the RF link and (ii) control the pointing mechanism to adjust the pointing axis based on the predicted relative location, to maintain the free-space optical link with the correspondent balloon.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A balloon may include an optical-communication component, which may have a pointing axis. A pointing mechanism could be configured to adjust the pointing axis. The optical-communication component could be operable to communicate with a correspondent balloon via a free-space optical link. For example, the optical-communication component could include an optical receiver, transmitter, or transceiver. A controller could be configured to determine a predicted relative location of the correspondent balloon. The controller may control the pointing mechanism to adjust the pointing axis of the optical-communication component based on the predicted relative location so as to maintain the free-space optical link with the correspondent balloon.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A balloon, comprising:
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an optical-communication component, wherein the optical-communication component has a pointing axis, and wherein the optical-communication component is operable to communicate with a correspondent balloon via a free-space optical link; a radio frequency (RF) communication system, wherein the RF communication system is operable to communicate with the correspondent balloon via an RF link; a pointing mechanism configured to adjust the pointing axis; a camera configured to acquire images of the correspondent balloon; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to (i) determine a predicted relative location of the correspondent balloon based on the images and on data received from the correspondent balloon via the RF link and (ii) control the pointing mechanism to adjust the pointing axis based on the predicted relative location, to maintain the free-space optical link with the correspondent balloon. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method, comprising:
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determining a location of a first balloon, wherein the first balloon comprises an optical-communication component that is configured to communicate with a second balloon via a free-space optical link; acquiring images of the second balloon; receiving data from the second balloon via a radio frequency (RF) link; determining a predicted location of the second balloon relative to the location of the first balloon based on data including the images of the second balloon and data received from the second balloon via the RF link; and controlling a pointing mechanism to adjust a pointing axis of the optical-communication component in the first balloon based on the predicted location, to maintain the free-space optical link with the second balloon. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:
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determining a location of a first balloon, wherein the first balloon comprises an optical communication component that is configured to communicate with a second balloon via a free-space optical link; acquiring images of the second balloon; receiving data from the second balloon via a radio frequency (RF) link; determining a predicted location of the second balloon relative to the location of the first balloon based on data including the images of the second balloon and the data received from the second balloon via the RF link; and controlling a pointing mechanism to adjust a pointing axis of an optical-communication component in the first balloon based on the predicted location, to maintain the free-space optical link with the second balloon. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification