Aerial vehicle system
First Claim
1. A system for maneuvering a payload in an air space constrained by one or more obstacles, the system comprising:
- a first aerial vehicle defining a plurality of flight characteristics and having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the first aerial vehicle;
a second aerial vehicle configured to carry the payload, the second aerial vehicle defining a plurality of flight characteristics and having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the second aerial vehicle;
a first sensor system carried by one of the first and second aerial vehicles, the sensor system coupled to the processor in the one of the first and second aerial vehicles that is carrying the first sensor system, the sensor configured to gather data about obstacles in the air space and to develop data about flight characteristics of at least one of the first and second aerial vehicles, the sensor system configured to provide the data to the processor to which the sensor system is coupled;
a ground station having a flight control processor configured to maintain a first dataset about obstacles in the air space and a second dataset about flight characteristics of the first and second aerial vehicles;
a first tether segment coupling the ground station to the first aerial vehicle;
a second tether segment coupling the second aerial vehicle to the first aerial vehicle.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system is provided for maneuvering a payload in an air space constrained by one or more obstacles, and may include first and second aerial vehicles coupled by a tether to a ground station. Sensor systems and processors in the ground station and aerial vehicles may track obstacles and the tether'"'"'s and the vehicles'"'"' positions and attitude to maneuver the payload and the tether to carry out a mission. The sensor system may include airborne cameras providing data for a scene reconstruction process and simultaneous mapping of obstacles and localization of aerial vehicles relative to the obstacles. The aerial vehicles may include a frame formed substantially of a composite material for preventing contact of the rotors with the tether segments.
48 Citations
74 Claims
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1. A system for maneuvering a payload in an air space constrained by one or more obstacles, the system comprising:
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a first aerial vehicle defining a plurality of flight characteristics and having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the first aerial vehicle; a second aerial vehicle configured to carry the payload, the second aerial vehicle defining a plurality of flight characteristics and having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the second aerial vehicle; a first sensor system carried by one of the first and second aerial vehicles, the sensor system coupled to the processor in the one of the first and second aerial vehicles that is carrying the first sensor system, the sensor configured to gather data about obstacles in the air space and to develop data about flight characteristics of at least one of the first and second aerial vehicles, the sensor system configured to provide the data to the processor to which the sensor system is coupled; a ground station having a flight control processor configured to maintain a first dataset about obstacles in the air space and a second dataset about flight characteristics of the first and second aerial vehicles; a first tether segment coupling the ground station to the first aerial vehicle; a second tether segment coupling the second aerial vehicle to the first aerial vehicle. - 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 tethered aerial vehicle system comprising:
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a ground station; an aerial vehicle including a plurality of spaced-apart rotors, each rotor configured to spin about a substantially vertical axis during flight of the aerial vehicle, wherein the substantially vertical axes are spaced apart from one another; a tether segment coupling the ground station to the aerial vehicle; the aerial vehicle further including a frame with a structure for preventing contact of the rotors with the tether segment, the frame defining a plurality of corners and a plurality of substantially straight outer edges interconnecting the corners, and wherein each rotor is located adjacent a corner. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system for maneuvering a payload in an air space constrained by one or more obstacles, the system comprising:
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a first aerial vehicle defining a plurality of flight characteristics and having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the first aerial vehicle; a second aerial vehicle configured to carry the payload, the second aerial vehicle defining a plurality of flight characteristics and having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the second aerial vehicle; a first sensor system carried by one of the first and second aerial vehicles, the sensor system coupled to the processor in the one of the first and second aerial vehicles that is carrying the first sensor system, the sensor configured to gather data about obstacles in the air space and to develop data about flight characteristics of at least one of the first and second aerial vehicles, the sensor system configured to provide the data to the processor to which the sensor system is coupled; a ground station having a flight control processor configured to maintain a first dataset about obstacles in the air space and a second dataset about flight characteristics of the first and second aerial vehicles; a first tether segment coupling the ground station to the first aerial vehicle; a second tether segment coupling the second aerial vehicle to the first aerial vehicle; and wherein at least one of the aerial vehicles further includes a plurality of spaced-apart rotors, the rotors configured to spin about a substantially vertical axis during flight of the aerial vehicle, the aerial vehicle further including a frame with a structure for preventing contact of the rotors with the tether segments. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A system for maneuvering a payload in an air space constrained by one or more obstacles, the system comprising:
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an aerial vehicle defining an airframe and configured to carry the payload, the aerial vehicle having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the aerial vehicle; a sensor system carried by the aerial vehicle, the sensor system coupled to the processor in the aerial vehicle, the sensor system including a plurality of cameras pointing outward from the airframe, the cameras configured to gather data about obstacles in the air space and to provide the data to the processor, and further wherein the processor receives the data from the cameras and processes the data using a scene reconstruction process. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A tethered aerial vehicle system comprising:
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a ground station; an aerial vehicle including a plurality of spaced-apart rotors, the rotors configured to spin about a substantially vertical axis during flight of the aerial vehicle, the aerial vehicle further including a frame; a stand-off joint coupled to the frame of the aerial vehicle; a tether segment coupled between the ground station and the stand-off joint. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69)
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70. An aerial vehicle system comprising:
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an aerial vehicle including a plurality of spaced-apart rotors, the rotors configured to spin about a substantially vertical axis during flight of the aerial vehicle, the aerial vehicle further including a frame; a stand-off joint coupled to the frame of the aerial vehicle, the stand-off joint defining a proximal end adjacent the frame and a distal end; and a payload coupled to the stand-off joint adjacent the distal end. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72)
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73. A system for maneuvering a payload in an air space constrained by one or more obstacles, the system comprising:
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an aerial vehicle defining an airframe and configured to carry the payload, the aerial vehicle defining a plurality of flight characteristics and having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the aerial vehicle; a sensor system carried by the aerial vehicle, the sensor system coupled to the processor in the aerial vehicle, the sensor system configured to gather data about obstacles in the air space and to provide the data to the processor in the aerial vehicle, and wherein the processor in the aerial vehicle calculates a cost function based on the flight characteristics of the aerial vehicle and the obstacles in the air space; a ground station having a flight control processor; a tether coupling the ground station to the aerial vehicle, and wherein the aerial vehicle communicates with the ground station, the processor in the aerial vehicle providing the cost function to the flight control processor in the ground station and further wherein the flight control processor is configured to optimize the cost function for control of the aerial vehicle.
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74. A system for maneuvering a payload in an air space constrained by one or more obstacles, the system comprising:
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a first aerial vehicle defining a plurality of flight characteristics and having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the first aerial vehicle; a second aerial vehicle configured to carry the payload, the second aerial vehicle defining a plurality of flight characteristics and having a processor for handling data about the flight characteristics of the second aerial vehicle; a ground station having a flight control processor configured to maintain a first dataset about obstacles in the air space and a second dataset about flight characteristics of the first and second aerial vehicles; a first tether segment coupling the ground station to the first aerial vehicle; a second tether segment coupling the second aerial vehicle to the first aerial vehicle; a first sensor system carried by one of the first and second aerial vehicles, the sensor system coupled to the processor in the one of the first and second aerial vehicles that is carrying the first sensor system, the sensor configured to gather data about obstacles in the air space and to develop data about flight characteristics of at least one of the first and second aerial vehicles, the sensor system configured to provide the data to the processor to which the sensor system is coupled, and wherein the processor calculates a cost function based on the flight characteristics of the aerial vehicle and the obstacles in the air space and provides the cost function to the flight control processor in the ground station, and further wherein the flight control processor is configured to optimize the cost function for control of at least one of the aerial vehicles.
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Specification