|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 | 10875648 | Loading structure with tether guide for unmanned aerial vehicle | A payload loading system is disclosed. The payload loading system includes a UAV and a loading structure. A retractable tether is coupled to a payload coupling apparatus at a distal end and the UAV at a proximate end. A payload is loaded to the UAV by coupling the payload to the payload coupling apparatus. The loading structure of the payload loading system includes a landing platform and a tether guide. The tether guide is coupled to the landing platform and directs the tether as the UAV approaches and travels across at least a portion of the landing platform such that the payload coupling apparatus arrives at a target location. The payload is loaded to the payload coupling apparatus while the payload coupling apparatus is within the target location. | Jim Schmalzried (San Jose, CA), Jesse Blake (Sunnyvale, CA), Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA), Evan Twyford (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-06-11 | 2020-12-29 | B64D1/22, G06Q10/08, B64C39/02 | 16/005288 |
| 2 | 10872534 | Aerial vehicle inspection path planning | Structure inspections are performed with a high resolution by first performing a modeling flight path at a relatively high altitude over the structure. Images are gathered during the modeling flight path and are used to generate a three dimensional model of the structure. From the three dimensional model a lower altitude closer inspection flight path is defined and executed. | Robert Parker Clark (Palo Alto, CA) | Kespry, Inc. (Menlo Park, CA) | 2017-11-01 | 2020-12-22 | G08G5/00, G06T17/05, G06K9/00, B64C39/02 | 15/800898 |
| 3 | 10869004 | Shooting method controlling movement of unmanned aerial robot in unmanned aerial system and apparatus for supporting same | A unmanned aerial vehicle system which includes a unmanned aerial robot, a unmanned aerial robot station, and a base station to control a movement of the unmanned aerial robot is provided. The unmanned aerial robot photographs an area of a predetermined range using a camera in a state of being seated on the unmanned aerial robot station, photographs a set path while flying along the set path according to a preset condition, and transmits information on a photographed image to the base station. The base station transmits control information instructing a specific operation to the unmanned aerial robot based on the information on the photographed image, and the unmanned aerial robot station can charges a battery of the unmanned aerial robot through a charging pad when the unmanned aerial robot is seated on the unmanned aerial robot station. | Yuseung Jeong (Seoul, KR), Nakyeong Kim (Seoul, KR), Jeongkyo Seo (Seoul, KR), Sanghak Lee (Seoul, KR) | Lg Electronics Inc. (Seoul, KR) | 2019-09-11 | 2020-12-15 | H04N5/232, H04N7/18, B64C39/02, B64F1/36, H02J7/02, H04W84/04 | 16/567782 |
| 4 | 10868611 | Network capacity management | An example embodiment may involve flying, by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , to a geographical location, where a wireless router is at the geographical location. The example embodiment may also involve detecting, by the UAV, a wireless coverage area defined by the wireless router. The example embodiment may also involve accessing, by the UAV, the wireless coverage area using a network identifier and a password. The example embodiment may also involve establishing, by the UAV, a backhaul link to a data network. The example embodiment may also involve transmitting, by the UAV, a notification to a client device served by the wireless coverage area, where the notification indicates that the UAV is a default gateway for the wireless coverage area. The example embodiment may also involve exchanging, by the UAV, data transmissions between (i) the client device, and (ii) one or more other devices accessible via the data network. | David Vos (Mountain View, CA), Andrew Patton (Mountain View, CA), Sean Mullaney (Mountain View, CA), Behnam Motazed (Mountain View, CA), Siegfried Zerweckh (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2019-12-10 | 2020-12-15 | H04B7/185, H04W24/02, H04W84/00, H04W84/04 | 16/708948 |
| 5 | 10856542 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system for deterring avian species from sensitive areas | Systems and methods for deterring avian species from approaching a sensitive area. A determination is made that a bird is approaching a sensitive area. A predefined flight path is selected from a plurality of predefined flight paths based on the determination that the bird is approaching the sensitive area. Each of the predefined flight paths of the plurality of predefined flight paths is configured to avoid objects within the sensitive area. An unmanned aerial vehicle is instructed to traverse the predefined flight path that has been selected. | Eric D. Schwartz (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), David C. Niebch (Port Saint Lucie, FL) | Florida Power & Light Company (Juno Beach, FL) | 2017-11-30 | 2020-12-08 | A01M29/06, B64C39/02, G05D1/00, G05D1/08 | 15/827576 |
| 6 | 10853755 | Interactive transport services provided by unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments relate to a client-facing application for interacting with a transport service that transports items via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An example graphic interface may allow a user to order items to specific delivery areas associated with their larger delivery location, and may dynamically provide status updates and other functionality during the process of fulfilling a UAV transport request. | Jonathan Lesser (Mountain View, CA), Michael Bauerly (Mountain View, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Mountain View, CA), May Cheng (Mountain View, CA), Rue Song (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2019-09-24 | 2020-12-01 | G06Q10/08, G01C21/16, G06F3/0484, G06F3/0482, B64D1/08, B64C39/02, B64D47/08 | 16/580767 |
| 7 | 10850838 | UAV battery form factor and insertion/ejection methodologies | The present disclosure is related to unmanned aerial vehicles or drones that have a capability of quickly swapping batteries. This may be accomplished even as the drone continues to fly. A drone consistent with the present disclosure may drop one battery and pickup another using an attachment mechanism. Attachment mechanisms of the present disclosure may include electro-magnets, mechanical actuators, pins, or hooks. Systems consistent with the present disclosure may also include locations where replacement batteries may be provided to aircraft via actuation devices coupled to a physical location. | Dennis Dale Castleman (Fremont, CA), Ruxin Chen (Redwood City, CA), Frank Zhao (San Mateo, CA), Glenn Black (San Mateo, CA) | Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Tokyo, JP) | 2016-12-29 | 2020-12-01 | B64C39/00, B64C39/02 | 15/394473 |
| 8 | 10845498 | Drone-based electromagnetics for early detection of shallow drilling hazards | The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, an unmanned aerial vehicle system includes a first loop airframe structure having a transmitter loop antenna and defining a plane, a second loop airframe structure having a receiver loop antenna having a diameter smaller than the transmitter loop antenna and oriented substantially parallel to the plane, a plurality of vertical thrusters configured to provide lift substantially perpendicular to the plane and elevate the system above a ground surface, at least one lateral thruster configured to provide thrust substantially parallel to the plane, a controller affixed configured to control the plurality of vertical thrusters and the lateral thruster, and an electromagnetic sensing system (such as ground-penetrating radar) configured to transmit electromagnetic signals using the transmitter loop antenna and receive secondary electromagnetic signals of secondary eddy currents caused by interactions between the EM signals and underground geological structures. | Daniele Colombo (Dhahran, SA), Ersan Turkoglu (Dhahran, SA), Gary W. McNeice (Dhahran, SA) | Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Dhahran, SA) | 2018-11-06 | 2020-11-24 | G01V3/08, G01V3/17, B64C39/02, G01S13/88 | 16/182123 |
| 9 | 10810891 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and system having the same and method for searching for route of unmanned aerial vehicle | A route searching system includes: an unmanned aerial vehicle, and a control center configured to search for a shortest route based on information on a departure point and a destination received from the unmanned aerial vehicle, and configured to select a final route based on a first similarity between the shortest route and a vehicle riding route. | Chang Woo Chun (Anyang-Si, KR) | Hyundai Motor Company (Seoul, KR), Kia Motors Corporation (Seoul KR) | 2018-09-10 | 2020-10-20 | G08G5/06, G05D1/10, G01C21/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/00, G05D1/04, G08G5/00 | 16/126149 |
| 10 | 10809370 | Angular velocity sensing using arrays of antennas | Various techniques are provided to efficiently detect the position and angular velocity of an object relative to a compact radar system including a transmitter antenna array and a receiver antenna array. In one example, a method includes repeatedly scanning a transmitter antenna array and a receiver antenna array of an object sensing system through a plurality of designated transmitter and receiver channels over a period of time to generate a time series of measured channel responses corresponding to each one of the designated channels, determining a time series of directional vectors to or from an object scanned by at least one of the designated channels, and/or a corresponding time series of average phase differences, based, at least in part, on the time series of measured channel responses, and determining an angular velocity of the object from the time series of directional vectors and/or the corresponding time series of average phase differences. | Sanghoek Kim (Suwon, Gyunggi-do, KR), Stephen Bennett (San Jose, CA), Ricky Keangpo Ho (San Jose, CA), Shi Cheng (Hillsboro, OR), Sohrab Emami (Hillsboro, OR), Ou Yang (Hillsboro, OR) | Qualcomm Incorporated (San Diego, CA) | 2016-07-22 | 2020-10-20 | G01S13/58, G08G5/00, H04L29/08, G05D1/10, B64D47/08, H04B7/04, G01S13/02, G01S13/00, G01S13/42, G01S13/88, G01S13/82, B64C39/02, H04W4/02, G05D1/00 | 15/745382 |
| 11 | 10807715 | Method for automatic drone package pickup | A payload retrieval apparatus including a structure having an outwardly facing portion, a payload support member adapted for having a payload positioned thereon, one or more magnets or a metal positioned on or within the outwardly facing portion of the structure adapted to magnetically engage one or more magnets or a metal positioned on a payload retriever attached to a tether suspended from a UAV, wherein when the payload is positioned on the payload support member, the payload support member is movable to position a handle of the payload adjacent the one or more magnets or the metal on or within the outwardly facing portion of the structure. | Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-05-22 | 2020-10-20 | B64D1/22, B64C39/02 | 15/986616 |
| 12 | 10807497 | Managing power of aerial vehicles | Systems and methods for managing power of an aerial vehicle, an illustrative system including an aerial vehicle including a power storage module and at least one component, and a computing device communicatively coupled to the aerial vehicle, the computing device including a processor and a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to receive data indicating a state of charge of the power storage module, receive data indicating a rate of power consumption of the at least one component, generate, based on at least one of the state of charge of the power storage module or the rate of power consumption of the at least one component, a power command to switch the at least one component to a power-saving state, and transmit the power command to the aerial vehicle. | Jacob B. Roberts (San Francisco, CA), Salvatore J. Candido (Mountain View, CA) | Loon Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2019-09-16 | 2020-10-20 | H02J7/00, B60L58/12, B60L8/00 | 16/571515 |
| 13 | 10800546 | Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and system and method for capture of threat UAVs | An apparatus for use as part of, or attached to, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to intercept and entangle a threat unmanned aerial vehicle, includes a flight and payload control system for controlling power to the UAV and for controlling maneuvering of the UAV. A host-side mount may be coupled to the UAV and is in communication with the flight and payload control system. A payload-side mount is removably attached to the host-side mount and includes a power interface and a control interface between the payload-side mount and the host-side mount. A counter-UAV system is coupled to the payload-side mount and includes a deployable chute net having a cross-sectional area sized for intercepting and entangling the threat unmanned aerial vehicle, and a deployment mechanism for mounting to the unmanned aerial vehicle. | James C. Kilian (Tyngsborough, MA), Brede J. Wegener (Cambridge, MA), Eric Wharton (Hopkinton, MA), David R. Gavelek (Bedford, MA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2018-02-19 | 2020-10-13 | B64F1/02, B64C25/68, B64C39/02 | 15/898850 |
| 14 | 10795010 | Systems and methods for detecting, tracking and identifying small unmanned systems such as drones | A system for providing integrated detection and countermeasures against unmanned aerial vehicles include a detecting element, a location determining element and an interdiction element. The detecting element detects an unmanned aerial vehicle in flight in the region of, or approaching, a property, place, event or very important person. The location determining element determines the exact location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The interdiction element can either direct the unmanned aerial vehicle away from the property, place, event or very important person in a non-destructive manner, or can cause disable the unmanned aerial vehicle in a destructive manner. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2019-03-22 | 2020-10-06 | G01S13/06, F41H13/00, G01S7/38, G01S7/02, G01S13/86, G01S13/42, G01S7/41, G01S13/933, G01S3/782, G01S13/88, G01S13/91, F41H11/02 | 16/362285 |
| 15 | 10793403 | Method of actively controlling winch swing via modulated uptake and release | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including a winch system, wherein the winch system includes a single winch line, wherein a payload is suspended from a first end of the winch line, and the winch system is controllable to vary the rate of ascent of the payload to the UAV, and a control system including a processor and program instructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium and executable by the processor to control the winch, the control system configured to (a) receive data regarding oscillations of the payload, and (b) operate the winch system to vary a retraction rate of the winch line to damp oscillations of the payload during ascent of the payload to the UAV. | Joshua John Bialkowski (San Mateo, CA), John Roberts (Mountain View, CA), Abraham Bachrach (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-04-17 | 2020-10-06 | B66D1/48, G05D1/08, B66C13/06, B64C39/02, B64D1/22 | 15/955388 |
| 16 | 10793287 | Method for controlling warning lights of an unmanned aerial vehicle and a system for application thereof | A method for controlling the warning lights of an unmanned aerial vehicle, in a system, in which one or more light modules are connected to a controller (1) , which controller (1) is also connected via a communication interface (5) to a decision subsystem (6) adapted to receive an activation signal from a delivery module (7, 8, 9, 10) providing the activation signal, which method comprises the following steps: a) delivery of the activation signal by the delivery module (7, 8, 9, 10) providing the activation signal to the decision subsystem (6) , b) generation of a request to turn the warning lights (4) on or off by the decision subsystem (6) based on the activation signal, and transfer of this request via the interface (5) to the controller (1) , c) turning the warning lights (4) on or off by the controller (1) according to the request received in step b) . The invention comprises also a system for application of this method. | Rafal Osypiuk (Szczecin, PL), Mateusz Spychala (Szczecin, PL) | Aerobits Sp. Z O.O. (Szczecin, PL) | 2018-04-13 | 2020-10-06 | B64D47/02, B64C39/02, H05B47/105, G08G5/00, G08G5/04, B60Q1/52, B64D47/06, H05B47/11 | 15/953340 |
| 17 | 10793274 | Payload coupling apparatus for UAV and method of delivering a payload | A payload coupling apparatus is provided including a housing, wherein the housing is adapted for attachment to a first end of a tether, a slot extending downwardly from an outer surface of the housing towards a center of the housing thereby forming a lower tip on the housing beneath the slot, and wherein the slot is adapted to receive a handle of a payload. A method of delivering a payload using the payload coupling apparatus is also provided. | Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA), Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-22 | 2020-10-06 | B64D1/22, B64C39/02, B64D1/12, G06Q10/08 | 15/389074 |
| 18 | 10793272 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and techniques for securing a payload to the UAV in a desired orientation | An unmanned aerial vehicle system is provided including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having a fuselage, a tether having a first end secured to a winch system positioned in the UAV and a second end secured to a payload coupling apparatus, a payload coupling apparatus receptacle positioned in the fuselage of the UAV, a payload having a handle, wherein the handle of the payload is positioned within a slot in the payload coupling apparatus. A method of securing a payload to a UAV is also provided. | Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA), Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA), Zhefei Li (Mountain View, CA), Kyle Liske (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-22 | 2020-10-06 | B64D1/12, G06Q10/08, B64D1/22, B64C39/02 | 15/389138 |
| 19 | 10783478 | Unmanned aerial vehicle delivery system | Disclosed are systems, mediums, and methods of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) delivery system. The system controls and manages UAVs for delivering packages. The system receives a drop off location for a package and instructs a UAV to navigate to the drop off location with the package. The system notifies a recipient of the package delivery through a device of the recipient, and in response to receiving one or more responses to the notification, causes the UAV to allow access to the package being delivered. | Todd Murray Studnicka (San Jose, CA) | Paypal, Inc. (San Jose, CA) | 2016-03-30 | 2020-09-22 | G06Q10/08, G06Q20/26, G06Q20/42, G06Q20/32, G06Q20/40, G06Q20/38, G06Q20/20, B64C39/02 | 15/084919 |
| 20 | 10782706 | Aircraft derived spread spectrum landing system | The present disclosure provides a spread spectrum landing system with a low probability of intercept altimeter that is in communication with a plurality of asymmetrically placed antennas or transponders near a landing area. The low probability of intercept altimeter acts as a secondary system in the event that a primary landing system for the mobile platform is denied or otherwise inoperable. The low probability of intercept altimeter cycles through unique pseudo noise (PN) codes to determine a line of sight relative to each antenna or transponder. A single algorithm or process determines and ranges the platform relative to the transponders to effectuate the landing of the platform. | David M. Cooper (New York, NY), Dominick J. Gasparri (West Milford, NJ), Andrew Hunton (Nutley, NY), Joel D. Reiss (Bloomfield, NJ) | Bae Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. (Nashua, NH) | 2018-01-29 | 2020-09-22 | G05D1/06, G08G5/02, B64F1/18, G08G5/00, G01S5/02, B63B35/50, B64F1/00, H01Q1/34 | 15/882351 |
| 21 | 10752355 | Systems and methods for operating drones in response to an incident | A response drone for detecting incidents within a coverage area including multiple zones is provided. With customer permission or affirmative consent, the drone may be programmed to (1) detect (or receive an indication of) triggering activity associated with one of the zones, (2) determine or receive a navigation path to that zone, (3) travel to that zone based upon the determined navigation path, (4) collect sensor data using drone-mounted sensors, and (5) transmit the collected sensor data to a user computing device associated with the coverage area for review. The response drone may be an autonomous drone in wireless communication with a smart home controller that detects triggering activity associated with an insurance-related event (e.g., fire) . The autonomous drone may automatically deploy to mitigate damage to insured assets (e.g., a home or personal belongings) . The autonomous drone data may be used for subsequent insurance claim handling and/or damage estimation. | Bryan Flick (Bloomington, IL) | State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, IL) | 2018-10-19 | 2020-08-25 | B64C39/02, G06Q40/08, G05D1/10, G08G5/00 | 16/165003 |
| 22 | 10752354 | Remote control for implementing image processing, unmanned aircraft system and image processing method for unmanned aerial vehicle | The present application discloses a remote control for implementing image processing, including a remote control controller, an image transmission unit and a data transmission unit, and further including: a system processor, connected to the remote control controller and the image transmission unit to process an image transmitted by the image transmission unit, and a display unit, connected to the system processor to display or edit the image processed by the system processor, where the remote control controller exchanges system data with the system processor, to implement function operations of the remote control, and the image transmission unit sends image data obtained from an unmanned aerial vehicle to the system processor, to display or edit the image data on the display unit connected to the system processor. The remote control completes real-time display or editing of aerial videos while operating an aerial vehicle, thereby greatly improving user's operation experience and convenience. | Changnan Cheng (Guangdong, CN), Qinhui Gui (Guangdong, CN), Qingxiong Lai (Guangdong, CN), Huihua Zhang (Guangdong, CN), Yintao Huang (Guangdong, CN), Shuai Wang (Guangdong, CN) | Autel Robotics Co., Ltd. (Shenzhen, Guangdong, CN) | 2018-02-01 | 2020-08-25 | B64C39/02, H04N7/18, G05D1/00, G05D1/10, G06F3/041 | 15/886157 |
| 23 | 10752334 | Collapsible and rapidly-deployable unmanned aerial vehicle | A collapsible unmanned aerial vehicle has: a cylindrical structural body, a plurality of deployable mechanisms laterally distributed about the cylindrical structural body, a control unit, a portable power source, each of the plurality of deployable mechanisms comprising a lift-generating device, a pliable pylon and an actuation mechanism, the cylindrical structural body being terminally mounted to the pliable pylon, the lift-generating device being terminally mounted to the pliable pylon, the actuation mechanism being operatively integrated along the pliable pylon, the pliable pylon being selectively configured to be radially straightened from the cylindrical structural body and to arcuately collapsed into the cylindrical structural body via the actuation mechanism, the control unit and the portable power source each being electrically connected to the actuation mechanism, the control unit and the portable power source being mounted within the cylindrical structural body, and the portable power source being electrically connected to the control unit. | Edward Chow (Brea, CA) | --- | 2017-10-02 | 2020-08-25 | B64C11/28, B64F1/06, B64C39/02, B64C27/08, B64C1/30, F41F1/00, F42B10/16, F42B15/01, F41F3/042 | 15/723134 |
| 24 | 10739451 | Systems and methods for detecting, tracking and identifying small unmanned systems such as drones | A system for providing integrated detection and countermeasures against unmanned aerial vehicles include a detecting element, a location determining element and an interdiction element. The detecting element detects an unmanned aerial vehicle in flight in the region of, or approaching, a property, place, event or very important person. The location determining element determines the exact location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The interdiction element can either direct the unmanned aerial vehicle away from the property, place, event or very important person in a non-destructive manner, or can cause disable the unmanned aerial vehicle in a destructive manner. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2020-05-05 | 2020-08-11 | G01S13/06, G01S3/782, F41H11/02, G01S13/42, G01S13/91, G01S13/933, G01S13/88, F41H13/00, G01S7/38, G01S7/02, G01S13/86, G01S7/41 | 16/867145 |
| 25 | 10723456 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system having multi-rotor type rotary wing | The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle system having a multi-rotor type rotary wing. The unmanned aerial vehicle system having a multi-rotor type rotary wing includes a first unmanned aerial vehicle, at least one second unmanned aerial vehicle, and a bridge that connects the first unmanned aerial vehicle and the at least one second unmanned aerial vehicle to be separable from each other, wherein the at least one second unmanned aerial vehicle is moveable by the first unmanned aerial vehicle in a state where the at least one second unmanned aerial vehicle is coupled to the first unmanned aerial vehicle by the bridge without being driven, and the at least one second unmanned aerial vehicle is separable from the first unmanned aerial vehicle which is in flight. | Taikjin Lee (Seoul, KR), Suk Woo Nam (Seoul, KR), Chang Won Yoon (Seoul, KR), Hyun Seo Park (Seoul, KR), Young Min Jhon (Seoul, KR), Seok Lee (Seoul, KR), Min-Jun Choi (Seoul, KR) | Korea Institute of Science and Technology (Seoul, KR) | 2016-12-12 | 2020-07-28 | B64D5/00, B64C39/02 | 15/375590 |
| 26 | 10717529 | Unmanned aerial vehicle liquid transport, method and system using same | A method for transporting liquid with a UAV transport that includes docking the UAV transport with a first station and supplying the UAV transport with liquid from the first station. The UAV transport undocks from the first station and flies to the vicinity of a second station. The UAV transport docks with the second station and delivers at least a portion of the liquid to the second station. A UAV for use therewith and a method for maintaining a feed tray at the second station are provided. | John M Russo (Carmel Valley, CA) | Whole Life Living Llc (Cedar Park, TX) | 2017-10-30 | 2020-07-21 | B64D1/16, B64C39/02, B64F1/32, A01K53/00, A01K59/00, B64D1/22 | 15/797874 |
| 27 | 10710746 | Ground station and tether for unmanned aerial vehicles | An unmanned aerial vehicle system includes a ground station including a case, a power supply housed in the case, and a tether having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end. The first end of the tether is coupled to the case. The unmanned aerial vehicle system also includes a module including smart battery authentication circuitry configured to be coupled to the second end of the tether. The module is configured to be connected to an unmanned aerial vehicle. The smart battery authentication circuitry enables the unmanned aerial vehicle to receive power from the power supply housed in the case when the module is connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle. | Manuel Lombardini (South Pasadena, CA), Joseph Koehler (South Pasadena, CA), Rashad Moarref (South Pasadena, CA) | Stabilis Inc. (South Pasadena, CA) | 2017-07-28 | 2020-07-14 | B64F3/02, B64C39/02, B60L9/00 | 15/663238 |
| 28 | 10710722 | Payload-release device position tracking | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that includes a retractable payload delivery system. The payload delivery system can lower a payload to the ground using a delivery device that secures the payload during descent and releases the payload upon reaching the ground. The location of the delivery device can be determined as it is lowered to the ground using image tracking. The UAV can include an imaging system that captures image data of the suspended delivery device and identifies image coordinates of the delivery device, and the image coordinates can then be mapped to a location. The UAV may also be configured to account for any deviations from a planned path of descent in real time to effect accurate delivery locations of released payloads. | James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-11-20 | 2020-07-14 | B64D1/12, G05D1/00, G05D1/04, B64C39/02, B64D1/22 | 15/818621 |
| 29 | 10710720 | Apparatuses for releasing a payload from an aerial tether | Described herein are apparatuses for passively releasing a payload of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . An example apparatus may include, among other features, (i) a housing, (ii) a swing arm coupled to the housing, wherein the swing arm is operable to toggle between an open position and a closed position, (iii) a spring mechanism adapted to exert a force on the swing arm from the open position toward the closed position, (iv) a receiving system of a UAV adapted to receive the housing, wherein the receiving system causes the swing arm to be arranged in the open position, and (v) a spool operable to unwind and wind a tether coupled to the housing, wherein unwinding the tether causes a descent of the housing from the receiving system, and wherein winding the tether causes an ascent of the housing to the receiving system. | Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA), Zhefei Li (Sunnyvale, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2019-05-06 | 2020-07-14 | B64D1/02, B64D1/12, B64C39/02, B64D3/00, B64D9/00 | 16/404090 |
| 30 | 10691142 | Anticipatory dispatch of UAVs to pre-staging locations | An example method involves determining an expected demand level for a first type of a plurality of types of transport tasks for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) , the first type of transport tasks associated with a first payload type. Each of the UAVs is physically reconfigurable between at least a first and a second configuration corresponding to the first payload type and a second payload type, respectively. The method also involves determining based on the expected demand level for the first type of transport tasks, (i) a first number of UAVs having the first configuration and (ii) a second number of UAVs having the second configuration. The method further involves, at or near a time corresponding to the expected demand level, providing one or more UAVs to perform the transport tasks, including at least the first number of UAVs. | Jesse Blake (Sunnyvale, CA), James Schmalzried (San Jose, CA), Scott Velez (Mountain View, CA), Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), Matthew Nubbe (Santa Clara, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-12-21 | 2020-06-23 | G05D1/10, G06Q50/30, G06Q10/08, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G06Q10/06 | 15/851693 |
| 31 | 10689113 | Active position control of tethered hook | An example system includes an aerial vehicle, a sensor, and a winch system. The winch system includes a tether disposed on a spool, a motor operable to apply a torque to the tether, and a payload coupling apparatus coupled to the tether and configured to mechanically couple to a payload. The system also includes a repositioning apparatus configured to reposition the payload coupling apparatus in at least a horizontal direction. A control system is configured to control the aerial vehicle to deploy the payload coupling apparatus by unwinding the tether from the spool, receive, while the aerial vehicle hovers above the payload and from the sensor, data indicative of a position of the payload coupling apparatus in relation to the payload, and reposition, using the repositioning apparatus and based on the data, the payload coupling apparatus in the horizontal direction to mechanically couple to the payload. | Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA), Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA), Adam Woodworth (San Jose, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-12-21 | 2020-06-23 | B64D1/22, B66C1/42, G05D1/00, B66D1/12, B64C39/02 | 15/851654 |
| 32 | 10689095 | Fiber sheet stacked rotor design | A rotor unit is disclosed. The rotor unit includes a hub and a stacked rotor blade. The hub is configured to rotate about an axis in a first rotation direction. The stacked rotor blade is rotatable about the axis and further includes a first blade element and a second blade element. The first blade element has a first leading edge and the second blade element has a second leading edge. The blade elements are arranged in a stacked configuration. A leading edge of the stacked rotor blade is formed by at least a portion of the first leading edge of the first blade element as well as at least as portion of the second leading edge of the second blade element. In some embodiments, the rotor unit is coupled to an unmanned aerial vehicle. | Siegfried Zerweckh (Berkeley, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-12-19 | 2020-06-23 | B64F5/10, B64C27/473, B64C11/22, B64C11/48, B32B1/00, B64C39/02 | 15/847515 |
| 33 | 10683195 | Methods and systems for detecting and resolving failure events when raising and lowering a payload | Described herein are methods and systems for detecting and correcting errors when picking up and lowering a payload coupled to a tether of a winch system arranged on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . for example, the winch system may include a motor for winding and unwinding the tether from a spool, and the UAV's control system may control the motor to lower the tether and monitor an electric current supplied to the motor to determine whether a payload has detached from the tether. This process of lowering the tether and monitoring the motor current may be repeated up to a predetermined number of times, at which point the control system may operate the motor to detach the tether from the spool, leaving both the tether and the payload behind. | Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA), Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-05-11 | 2020-06-16 | B64C39/00, B66D1/60, B66D1/12, B64C39/02, B64D1/22 | 15/977908 |
| 34 | 10683102 | Home station for unmanned aerial vehicle | Described herein are apparatuses that provided various features related to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An example apparatus may include, among other features, (i) a launch system for a UAV, (ii) a landing feature that is arranged on the apparatus so as to receive the UAV when the UAV returns from a flight, and (iii) a mechanical battery-replacement system that is configured to (a) remove a first battery from the UAV, and (b) after removal of the first battery, install a second battery in the UAV. | Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA), Parsa Dormiani (San Mateo, CA), Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Sean Mullaney (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2019-02-20 | 2020-06-16 | B64F1/00, B64F1/18, B64C39/02, B64F1/02, B64F1/04 | 16/280476 |
| 35 | 10683091 | Aerodynamic tote package | A tote package including a middle section that forms a bottom portion, a first side section connecting the first side section and the middle section, wherein the first side section creates a first side portion of the tote package that tapers upwardly from the bottom portion to a top portion of the tote package, and a second side section that is opposite of the that connecting the second side section and the middle section, wherein the second side section creates a second side portion of the tote package that tapers upwardly from the bottom portion to the top portion of the top portion of the tote package, a handle positioned on the top portion of the tote package, wherein the middle section, first side section, and second side section intersect to create a tapered front portion of the tote package that extends beyond the bottom portion. | Clark Sopper (Redwood City, CA), Matthew Day (Oakland, CA), Adam Woodworth (Santa Clara, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2019-04-11 | 2020-06-16 | B64D1/08, B65D5/20, B65D5/18, B65D5/24, B65D81/00, B65D5/42, B64C39/02, B65D5/468 | 16/381811 |
| 36 | 10679368 | Methods and apparatus to reduce depth map size in collision avoidance systems | Methods and apparatus to reduce a depth map size for use in a collision avoidance system are described herein. Examples described herein may be implemented in an unmanned aerial vehicle. An example unmanned aerial vehicle includes a depth sensor to generate a first depth map. The first depth map includes a plurality of pixels having respective distance values. The unmanned aerial vehicle also includes a depth map modifier to divide the plurality of pixels into blocks of pixels and generate a second depth map having fewer pixels than the first depth map based on distance values of the pixels in the blocks of pixels. The unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a collision avoidance system to analyze the second depth map. | Daniel Pohl (Puchheim, DE), Markus Achtelik (Deutsch, DE) | Intel Ip Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2017-12-21 | 2020-06-09 | G06T7/55, G08G5/04, H04N19/176, G06T7/73, G06T3/40, B64C39/02 | 15/851127 |
| 37 | 10678267 | Method and system for providing route of unmanned air vehicle | A method and a system for establishing a route of an unmanned aerial vehicle are provided. The method includes identifying an object from surface scanning data and shaping a space, which facilitates autonomous flight, as a layer, collecting surface image data for a flight path from the shaped layer, and analyzing a change in image resolution according to a distance from the object through the collected surface image data and extracting an altitude value on a flight route. | Young-Kuk Ham (Suwon-si, KR), Tae Kyu Han (Seoul, KR) | Thinkware Corporation (Seongnam-si, KR) | 2018-08-21 | 2020-06-09 | B64C39/02, G01S17/89, G05D1/00, G05D1/10, G01S17/933, G08G5/00, G08G5/02, G01S17/86, G01C5/00 | 16/107886 |
| 38 | 10675547 | Systems and methods for incorporating pneumatic robotic systems into structures | A system may include a virtual reality system configured to present one or more virtual objects via an electronic display. The system may also include one or more inflatable objects that correspond to the one or more virtual objects, such that the one or more inflatable objects matches one or more shapes of the one or more virtual objects. The system may also include a processor configured to cause at least one of the one or more inflatable objects to inflate based on feedback from the virtual reality system. | Robert Cortelyou (Orlando, FL), Ross Osterman (Orlando, FL), Justin Schwartz (Orlando, FL), Amanda Zielkowski (Orlando, FL), Caitlin A. Correll (Orlando, FL), Darrin Hughes (Orlando, FL), Anisha Vyas (Orlando, FL) | Universal City Studios Llc (Universal City, CA) | 2019-05-31 | 2020-06-09 | A63G21/18, A63G21/14, A63G31/12, A63G31/16, A63G27/00, A63G7/00, A63G3/00, G09B9/06, A63B71/06, A63G31/00, G06F30/20 | 16/428079 |
| 39 | 10674549 | Method and apparatus for networking unmanned aerial vehicle and system for controlling unmanned aerial vehicle | The present application provides a method and an apparatus for networking an unmanned aerial vehicle and a system for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method for networking an unmanned aerial vehicle includes: generating a service set identifier and a password, sending the generated service set identifier and password to a control end by means of short-distance wireless communication, judging the status of a connection to the control end, when the connection is disconnected, returning to the step of generating a service set identifier and a password, where the service set identifier and the password that are generated each time are both different from the previously generated service set identifier and password, and when the connection is not disconnected, continuing to judge the status of the connection to the control end. | Kui Li (Guangdong, CN) | Autel Robotics Co., Ltd. (Shenzhen, CN) | 2018-01-23 | 2020-06-02 | G06F15/16, H04W76/11, H04W12/00, H04W12/08, H04W12/06, H04W76/10, H04W4/80, G05D1/00, G05D1/10, H04W84/12 | 15/877944 |
| 40 | 10670696 | Drone threat assessment | A system for providing integrated detection and deterrence against an unmanned vehicle including but not limited to aerial technology unmanned systems using a detection element, a tracking element, an identification element and an interdiction or deterrent element. Elements contain sensors that observe real time quantifiable data regarding the object of interest to create an assessment of risk or threat to a protected area of interest. This assessment may be based e.g., on data mining of internal and external data sources. The deterrent element selects from a variable menu of possible deterrent actions. Though designed for autonomous action, a Human in the Loop may override the automated system solutions. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2018-11-08 | 2020-06-02 | G01S7/38, G01S7/02, F41H11/02, G01S13/66, G01S13/86, F41H13/00, G01S13/88, G01S3/782, G01S7/41, G01S13/42, G01S13/91, G01S13/933 | 16/183935 |
| 41 | 10669025 | Systems and methods for operating drones in response to an incident | A response system may be provided. The response system may include a security system and an autonomous drone. The security system includes a security sensor and a controller. The drone includes a processor, a memory in communication with the processor, and a drone sensor. The processor may be programmed to link the drone to the controller, build a virtual navigation map of the coverage area based, at least in part, upon initial sensor data stored by the drone, determine that the coverage area is unoccupied, deploy the drone from a docking station, control movement of the drone within the coverage area based upon the virtual navigation map, collect drone sensor data of the coverage area using the drone sensor, and/or analyze the collected drone sensor data to identify an abnormal condition within the coverage area, the abnormal condition including at least one of damage or theft occurring within the coverage area. | Bryan Flick (Bloomington, IL) | State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, IL) | 2018-11-27 | 2020-06-02 | B64C39/02, G05D1/00, G05D1/10, H04L29/08, G06Q40/08 | 16/201128 |
| 42 | 10668997 | Unmanned aerial vehicle search and rescue system | A search and rescue drone system includes a buoyant body member, a frame attached to the buoyant body member for carrying a motor and propeller, and an electronic array including a camera, GPS, an EPIRB radio distress beacon, and a transmitter/receiver for remote control flying the drone and communicating with an operator. The search and rescue drone may be flown manually, or may have some autonomous flight and locator capabilities. for example, in one embodiment, the search and rescue drone may be programmed to simply fly to the location of an electronic wearable device, like a bracelet, that is worn by a man overboard. In another embodiment, the search and rescue drone includes a basket, harness, or other means for actually recovering a swimmer in distress, and flying that person back to safety on a ship or on shore. | Thomas Lawrence Moses (Greenville, SC), Merrill Stuart Ross (New Lebanon, NY) | --- | 2018-07-25 | 2020-06-02 | B63C9/01, B64C39/02, B64D47/04, B64D47/08, B63C9/22, B64F1/36, B63C9/00 | 16/045137 |
| 43 | 10668394 | Systems and methods for incorporating pneumatic robotic systems into amusement park attractions | A system may include an inflatable assembly having a plurality of members. The system may also include a plurality of sensors disposed at a plurality of positions inside or around the inflatable assembly, such that the plurality of sensors may acquire data related to a shape of the inflatable assembly. The system also includes one or more valves, each configured to direct a fluid into a corresponding member of the plurality of members of the inflatable assembly. The system also includes a processor that adjusts positions of the one or more valves to cause the fluid to be directed into the corresponding member of the plurality of members of the inflatable assembly based on the data and a desired shape of the inflatable assembly. | Robert Cortelyou (Orlando, FL), Ross Osterman (Orlando, FL), Justin Schwartz (Orlando, FL), Amanda Zielkowski (Orlando, FL), Caitlin A. Correll (Orlando, FL), Darrin Hughes (Orlando, FL), Anisha Vyas (Orlando, FL) | Universal City Studios Llc (Universal City, CA) | 2019-06-10 | 2020-06-02 | A63G21/18, A63G27/00, A63G7/00, A63G3/00, A63G31/16, A63B71/06, A63G31/00, A63G21/14, A63G31/12, G09B9/06, G06F30/20 | 16/436556 |
| 44 | 10668393 | Systems and methods for incorporating pneumatic robotic systems into inflatable objects | An inflatable assembly may include a housing that has a plurality of adjustment inflatables that may form a range of shapes at different levels of inflation. The inflatable may also include one or more sensors disposed on the housing and one or more valves disposed in the housing. The valves are controllable and configured to direct fluid flow into the plurality of adjustment inflatables. The assembly may also include a processor that receives data from the one or more sensors disposed on the housing and adjust one or more positions of the one or more valves based on the data to control fluid flow into one or more of the plurality of adjustment inflatables. | Robert Cortelyou (Orlando, FL), Ross Osterman (Orlando, FL), Justin Schwartz (Orlando, FL), Amanda Zielkowski (Orlando, FL), Caitlin A. Correll (Orlando, FL), Darrin Hughes (Orlando, FL), Anisha Vyas (Orlando, FL) | Universal City Studios Llc (Universal City, CA) | 2019-03-27 | 2020-06-02 | A63G31/12, A63B71/06, A63G31/00, A63G21/14, A63G21/18, G09B9/06, A63G27/00, A63G7/00, A63G3/00, A63G31/16, G06F30/20, A63G21/00 | 16/366844 |
| 45 | 10665112 | Method and system for teaming manned and unmanned aerial vehicles | A method of teaming a manned aerial vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle includes inputting to a controller in a manned vehicle coordinates for an area of interest, plotting a course to the area of interest in a navigation computer operatively connected to the controller, identifying one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) near the area of interest, communicating to a ground controller rendezvous coordinates for one of the one or more UAVs, and negotiating a control hand-off of the one of the one or more UAVs from the ground controller to the controller. | Cherry Cwalina (San Diego, CA), Gary Howland (Stratford, CT), Luca F. Bertuccelli (West Hartford, CT), Margaret M. Lampazzi (Oxford, CT), Robert Pupalaikis (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), Thomas Guido (Stormville, NY), James S. Magson (North Haven, CT), John G. Schoenfeld (Plantsville, CT) | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Stratford, CT) | 2015-12-15 | 2020-05-26 | G08G5/00 | 15/534305 |
| 46 | 10649469 | Indoor mapping and modular control for UAVs and other autonomous vehicles, and associated systems and methods | Indoor mapping and modular control for UAVs and other autonomous vehicles, and associated systems and methods. A representative unmanned aerial vehicle system includes a body, a propulsion system carried by the body, a sensor system carried by the body, and a controller carried at least in part by the body and operatively coupled to the propulsion system and the sensor system. The controller is programmed with instructions that, when executed, operate in a first autonomous mode and a second autonomous mode. In the first autonomous mode, the instructions autonomously direct the propulsion system to convey the body along a first route within an indoor environment. While the body travels along the first route, the instructions receive inputs from the sensor system corresponding to features of the indoor environment. The features are stored as part of a 3-D map. In the second autonomous mode, the instructions direct the propulsion system to convey the body along a second route within the indoor environment, based at least in part on the 3-D map, and direct performance of an operation on the second route. | Renato Fernando Salas-Moreno (Seattle, WA), Carlos Rafael Sanchez (Seattle, WA), Jonathan David Lenoff (Seattle, WA) | Vtrus Inc. (Seattle, WA) | 2018-01-19 | 2020-05-12 | G05D1/00, G01C21/00, B64D47/08, B64C39/02, G05D1/10, G01C21/20 | 15/875347 |
| 47 | 10647425 | Interactive transport services provided by unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments relate to a client-facing application for interacting with a transport service that transports items via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An example graphic interface may allow a user to order items to specific delivery areas associated with their larger delivery location, and may dynamically provide status updates and other functionality during the process of fulfilling an aerial vehicle transport request. | Jonathan Lesser (Mountain View, CA), Michael Bauerly (Mountain View, CA), May Cheng (Mountain View, CA), Rue Song (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2019-02-20 | 2020-05-12 | B64D45/00, G01C23/00, B64C39/02, G06Q10/02, G06Q50/30, G06Q50/28, G06F3/0488, G06F3/0481, G06Q10/08 | 16/280448 |
| 48 | 10644384 | Zero weight airborne antenna with near perfect radiation efficiency utilizing conductive airframe elements and method | An aircraft includes a fuselage assembly including a first elongated structural member formed of electrically conductive material, at least one wing assembly including a second structural member formed of electrically conductive material, at least one horizontal stabilizer assembly including a third structural member formed of electrically conductive material, and at least one vertical stabilizer assembly including a fourth structural member formed of electrically conductive material. The wing assembly, the horizontal stabilizer, and the vertical stabilizer are each interconnected with the fuselage assembly in a flight configuration normal to the fuselage. The first, second, third and fourth structural members are electrically insulated from one another. An electronic communication device within the aircraft is configurable for selective electrical interconnection of two or more of said structural members to form a dipole or monopole type transmitting/receiving antenna. | Tayfun Ozdemir (Ann Arbor, MI), Christopher N. Davis (Ann Arbor, MI) | Virtual Em Inc. (N/A) | 2019-09-25 | 2020-05-05 | H01Q9/40, H01Q1/52, H01Q1/28, H01Q9/28 | 16/582400 |
| 49 | 10630082 | Power communication to regulate charge of unmanned aerial vehicle | In an embodiment, an apparatus includes a plurality of electrical contacts, wherein first and second electrical contacts of the plurality of electrical contacts electrically couple with a charging device, one or more rechargeable batteries configured to be charged from power received, via the first and second electrical contacts, from the charging device, and circuitry configured to obtain battery state information associated with the one or more rechargeable batteries during charging of the one or more rechargeable batteries and generate battery charge rate data based on the battery state information. At least one of the first and second electrical contacts is configured to transmit the battery charge rate data to the charging device, and the battery charge rate data is configured to be used by the charging device to regulate charging of the one or more rechargeable batteries. | Kaiwen Gu (Sunnyvale, CA), Matthew Nubbe (Sunnyvale, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-11-06 | 2020-04-21 | H01M10/46, B60L53/31, H02J7/00, B64F1/36, B60L53/60 | 16/182397 |
| 50 | 10627386 | System for monitoring crops and soil conditions | According to an aspect, a system for monitoring crops and soil conditions below a crop canopy includes a retractable boom assembly adapted to be coupled to an unmanned aerial vehicle. Further according to this aspect, the boom assembly includes an actuator and an elongate probe is coupled to the retractable boom assembly. Still further, the system includes a controller for maneuvering the elongate probe below the crop canopy while the boom assembly is extended by the actuator. | Orlando Saez (Chicago, IL), Tim Golly (Lakeville, MN), Todd Golly (Winnebago, MN) | Aker Technologies, Inc. (Chicago, IL) | 2017-10-12 | 2020-04-21 | G01N33/24, B64D47/00, G01N33/00, B64C39/02, A01B79/00, G01N33/02 | 15/782806 |
| 51 | 10625843 | Energy dispersion plug for UAV | An energy dispersion plug for use in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes a blunt head section, a wedge section, and a rim section. The blunt head section has an outer side for receiving an impact force and an inner side opposite the outer side. The wedge section has a base end and a distal end opposite the base end. The wedge section extends at the base end from the inner side of the blunt head section towards the distal end and the distal end has a smaller cross-sectional area than the base end. The wedge section is shaped and sized to fit into an open end of a hollow structural member of the UAV and to transfer impact energy incident upon the blunt head section into the hollow structural member to shatter the hollow structural member into fragments. | Stephen Benson (San Carlos, CA), Adam Woodworth (San Jose, CA), Michael Nowakowski (Santa Clara, CA), James Schmalzried (San Jose, CA), Adem Rudin (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-11-16 | 2020-04-21 | B64C1/06, B64C39/02, B64C27/26, B64C29/00 | 15/815428 |
| 52 | 10622845 | Non-Gaussian beamforming for wireless power transfer optimization | System and methods are described herein for providing wireless power to a target device, such as a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a vehicle, robot, or an unmanned aerial vehicle or system (UAV) or (UAS) . A tunable multi-element transmitter may transmit electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to the target device using any of a wide variety of frequency bands. A location determination subsystem and/or range determination subsystem may determine a relative location, orientation, and/or rotation of the target device. for a target device within a distance range for which a smallest achievable waist of the Gaussian beam of the EMR at an operational frequency is smaller than the multi-element EMR receiver of the target device, a non-Gaussian beamform may be determined to increase efficiency, decrease overheating, reduce spillover, increase total power output of rectenna receivers on the target device, or achieve another target power delivery goal. | Daniel Arnitz (Seattle, WA), Jeffrey A. Bowers (Bellevue, WA), Joseph A. Hagerty (Seattle, WA), Russell J. Hannigan (Sammamish, WA), Guy S. Lipworth (Seattle, WA), David R. Nash (Arlington, WA), Matthew S. Reynolds (Seattle, WA), Clarence T. Tegreene (Mercer Island, WA), Yaroslav A. Urzhumov (Bellevue, WA) | Searete Llc (Bellevue, WA) | 2017-12-05 | 2020-04-14 | H02J50/70, H01Q5/335, H01Q15/00, B64C39/02, H01Q1/24, H01Q1/28, H02J50/23, H04W52/28, H02J50/27, H02J50/90, H02J50/80, H01Q3/24 | 15/832612 |
| 53 | 10613209 | Wireless control of unmanned aerial vehicle with distance ranging and channel sensing | Various techniques are provided to efficiently detect the position and angular velocity of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of a UAV system including a transmitter antenna array and a receiver antenna array. In one example, a method includes establishing a wireless link between a UAV controller and a UAV using at least one transmitter antenna array and/or at least one receiver antenna array, communicating link state data corresponding to the established wireless link over the established wireless link, generating UAV operational data based, at least in part, on the link state data, wherein the UAV operational data is configured to control operation of the UAV, and controlling operation of the UAV using the UAV operational data. | Sohrab Emami (Hillsboro, OR), Keangpo Ricky Ho (Hillsboro, OR), Ou Yang (Hillsboro, OR), Sanghoek Kim (Hillsboro, OR), Shi Cheng (Hillsboro, OR), Stephen Bennett (Hillsboro, OR) | Qualcomm Incorporated (San Diego, CA) | 2016-07-29 | 2020-04-07 | H04W40/00, G01S13/00, G01S13/42, G01S13/88, G01S13/82, G05D1/00, G08G5/00, H04W4/02, B64C39/02, G01S13/58, H04L29/08, G05D1/10, B64D47/08, H04B7/04, G01S13/02 | 15/224431 |
| 54 | 10611474 | Unmanned aerial vehicle data management | A secure chain of data blocks is maintained at a given computing node, wherein the given computing node is part of a set of computing nodes in a distributed network of computing nodes, and wherein each of the set of computing nodes maintains the secure chain of data blocks. The secure chain of data blocks maintained at each computing node comprises one or more data blocks that respectively represent one or more transactions associated with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . At least one data block is added to the secure chain of data blocks maintained at the given computing node in response to determining that transaction data associated with the at least one data block is valid. | Abhishek Kumar (Elmsford, NY), Ashish Kundu (Elmsford, NY), Clifford A. Pickover (Yorktown Heights, NY), Komminist Weldemariam (Nairobi, KE) | International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY) | 2017-03-20 | 2020-04-07 | H04L29/06, B64C39/02, H04W4/029, H04L9/32, H04W4/44 | 15/463147 |
| 55 | 10604252 | Landing and payload loading structures | An example UAV landing structure includes a landing platform for a UAV, a cavity within the landing platform, and a track that runs along the landing platform and at least a part of the cavity. The UAV may include a winch system that includes a tether that may be coupled to a payload. Furthermore, the cavity may be aligned over a predetermined target location. The cavity may be sized to allow the winch system to pass a tethered payload through the cavity. The track may guide the UAV to a docked position over the cavity as the UAV moves along the landing platform. When the UAV is in the docked position, a payload may be loaded to or unloaded from the UAV through the cavity. | Jesse Blake (Sunnyvale, CA), Jim Schmalzried (San Jose, CA), Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA), Michael Simonian (San Francisco, CA), Sindre Klepp (San Francisco, CA), Stephen Benson (San Carlos, CA), Adam Woodworth (San Jose, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-11-22 | 2020-03-31 | B64C39/02 | 15/358935 |
| 56 | 10604245 | Rotor units having asymmetric rotor blades | An aerial vehicle is provided including rotor units connected to the aerial vehicle, and a control system configured to operate at least one of the rotor units. The rotor unit includes rotor blades, wherein each rotor blade includes a surface area, and wherein an asymmetric parameter is defined, at least in part, by the relationship between the surface areas of the rotor blades. The value of the asymmetric parameter is selected such that the operation of the rotor unit: (i) moves the rotor blades such that each rotor blade produces a respective vortex and (ii) the respective vortices cause the rotor unit to produce a sound output having an energy distribution defined, at least in part, by a set of frequencies, wherein the set of frequencies includes a fundamental frequency, one or more harmonic frequencies, and one or more non-harmonic frequencies having a respective strength greater than a threshold strength. | Giulia Pantalone (San Francisco, CA), Adam Woodworth (Santa Clara, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-30 | 2020-03-31 | B64C27/46, B64C27/08, B64C39/02, B64C27/467, B64C27/32 | 15/396399 |
| 57 | 10602064 | Photographing method and photographing device of unmanned aerial vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle, and ground control device | A photographing method and a photographing device of an unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a ground control device are provided. The method includes steps of: receiving a photographing instruction of the unmanned aerial vehicle, selecting a photographing model of the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the photographing model includes a photographing object and a photographing mode of the unmanned aerial vehicle which are correlated with each other, when the photographing object corresponding to the photographing model of the unmanned aerial vehicle is identified to exist in a captured image, adopting the photographing mode correlated to the photographing object of the unmanned aerial vehicle, for adjusting a flight condition of the unmanned aerial vehicle and for photographing the photographing object of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The present invention enables the unmanned aerial vehicle to automatically capture image data of ideal effect. | Yu Tian (Jiangsu, CN), Wenyan Jiang (Jiangsu, CN) | Haoxiang Electric Energy (Kunshan), Co., Ltd. (Kunshan, Jiangsu, CN) | 2018-05-27 | 2020-03-24 | H04N5/00, G05D1/00, H04N5/232, B64C39/02 | 15/990635 |
| 58 | 10599145 | Systems and methods for determining preferences for flight control settings of an unmanned aerial vehicle | Consumption information associated with a user consuming video segments may be obtained. The consumption information may define user engagement during a video segment and/or user response to the video segment. Sets of flight control settings associated with capture of the video segments may be obtained. The flight control settings may define aspects of a flight control subsystem for the unmanned aerial vehicle and/or a sensor control subsystem for the unmanned aerial vehicle. The preferences for the flight control settings of the unmanned aerial vehicle may be determined based upon the first set and the second set of flight control settings. Instructions may be transmitted to the unmanned aerial vehicle. The instructions may include the determined preferences for the flight control settings and being configured to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to adjust the flight control settings to the determined preferences. | Pablo Lema (Burlingame, CA), Shu Ching Ip (Cupertino, CA) | Gopro, Inc. (San Mateo, CA) | 2017-12-04 | 2020-03-24 | G05D1/00, H04N21/25, B64C39/02 | 15/830849 |
| 59 | 10599139 | Systems and methods for adjusting flight control of an unmanned aerial vehicle | A first pattern associated with a performer may be recognized based upon visual information. A sensor carried by an unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to generate output signals conveying the visual information. A first distance may be determined between the first pattern and the unmanned aerial vehicle. A second pattern associated with a performee may be recognized based upon the visual information. A second distance may be determined between the second pattern and the unmanned aerial vehicle. Flight control may be adjusted based upon the first distance and the second distance. A flight control subsystem may be configured to provide the flight control for the unmanned aerial vehicle. | Pablo Lema (Burlington, CA), Shu Ching Ip (Cupertino, CA) | Gopro, Inc. (San Mateo, CA) | 2017-11-08 | 2020-03-24 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G06K9/00, G05D1/10, B64D47/08 | 15/807399 |
| 60 | 10587124 | Mobile hybrid transmit/receive node for near-field wireless power delivery | A system and method for a mobile hybrid transmitter/receiver (TX/RX) node for wireless resonant power delivery is disclosed. A hybrid TX/RX can be configured to travel to remote, wirelessly-powerable receivers and deliver power to them wirelessly. A hybrid TX/RX device can include a transmitter component (TX) , a receiver (RX) component, and a power store for storing power for supply to remote receivers. The TX/RX device can be configured in an autonomous unmanned vehicle operational to travel between a fixed source transmitter devices and one or more specified locations that may be host to one or more remote receivers. In the location of the one or more remote receivers, the TX component may function to wirelessly transfer power from the power store to the one or more remote receivers. In the location of the fixed source transmitter device, RX component can be configured to receive power via wireless power transfer, and to use the received power to at least partially replenish the power store. | Richard Wayne DeVaul (Mountain View, CA), Brian John Adolf (Mountain View, CA), Raj B. Apte (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-10-01 | 2020-03-10 | H02J5/00, H02J7/02, H02J50/80, H02J50/05, B64C39/02, H02J50/12, H02J7/00 | 16/148479 |
| 61 | 10586464 | Unmanned aerial vehicles | Various systems, methods, for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are disclosed. In one aspect, UAVs operation in an area may be managed and organized by UAV corridors, which can be defined ways for the operation and movement of UAVs. UAV corridors may be supported by infrastructures and/or systems supported UAVs operations. Support infrastructures may include support systems such as resupply stations and landing pads. Support systems may include communication UAVs and/or stations for providing communications and/or other services, such as aerial traffic services, to UAV with limited communication capabilities. Further support systems may include flight management services for guiding UAVs with limited navigation capabilities as well as tracking and/or supporting unknown or malfunctioning UAVs. | Dennis J. Dupray (Golden, CO), Frederick W. LeBlanc (Coconut Creek, FL) | --- | 2016-07-29 | 2020-03-10 | G08G5/00, G05D1/10, B64C39/02, H04B7/185, H04W88/04 | 15/224497 |
| 62 | 10585441 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system and method with environmental sensing | An aerial system and method of operating an aerial system is provided. The aerial system includes a body, a lift mechanism, a processing system, a camera, and a sensor module. The lift mechanism is coupled to the body and configured to controllably provide lift and/or thrust. The processing system is configured to control the lift mechanism to provide flight to the aerial system. The camera is coupled to the body and is configured to obtain images of an environment proximate the aerial system. The sensor module is coupled to the body and includes an emitter and a receiver. The receiver is configured to sense data related to an ambient environment associated with the aerial system. The processing system controls a controllable parameter of the lift mechanism or the emitter as a function of the sensed data. | Yusen Qin (Zhejiang, CN), Tong Zhang (Zhejiang, CN), Mengqiu Wang (Zhejiang, CN) | Hangzhou Zero Zero Technology Co., Ltd. (HangZhou, CN) | 2018-10-24 | 2020-03-10 | G05D1/10, B64D47/08, H04N7/18, B64D45/04, G05D1/00, H04N5/225, B64D47/02, B64C39/02, G01S17/89, G01S17/08, G01S13/08, G01S15/08, G01S13/93, G01S13/88, G01S13/86, G01S15/02, G01S17/933, G01S17/02, G01S15/93 | 16/169284 |
| 63 | 10580311 | UAV group charging based on demand for UAV service | Example embodiments can help to more efficiently charge unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a plurality of UAVs that provide delivery services. An example method includes: determining demand data indicating demand for item-transport services by the plurality of UAVs during a period of time, determining battery state information for the plurality of UAVs, wherein the battery state information is based at least in part on individual battery state information for each of two or more of the UAVs, based at least in part on (a) the demand data for item-transport services by the plurality of UAVs, and (b) the battery state information for the fleet of UAVs, determining respective charge-rate profiles for one or more of the UAVs, and sending instructions to cause respective batteries of the one or more of the UAVs to be charged according to the respectively determined charge-rate profiles. | Jim Schmalzried (San Jose, CA), Jesse Blake (Sunnyvale, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-10-26 | 2020-03-03 | H02J7/00, G06Q10/06, B60L53/36, G06Q10/08, B60L53/64, G06Q10/04, B60L53/68, B60L53/67, B64C39/02, G05D1/10, G08G5/00, B60L53/65, B60L58/12 | 15/794925 |
| 64 | 10578398 | Drone deployment apparatus for accommodating aircraft fuselages | The present invention is capable of containing, transporting, and deploying a plurality of kinetic energy impact drones capable of aerial navigation and swarm formations. The apparatus has a circular profile to accommodate fitting within the inherently circular profile of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) fuselage as well as to allow high rate of drone deployment. | Michael Sean Bradbury (Eagle, CO) | Michael S. Bradbury (Eagle, CO) | 2018-10-22 | 2020-03-03 | F41F3/065, B64D7/08, B64C39/02 | 16/166835 |
| 65 | 10577105 | Package loading mechanism | A payload retrieval apparatus including an extending member having an upper end and a lower end, a channel having a first end and a second end, the channel coupled to the extending member, a first tether engager that extends in a first direction from the first end of the channel section, and a payload holder positioned near the second end of the channel and is adapted to secure a payload. | Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-02-19 | 2020-03-03 | B64D1/22, B64C39/02 | 15/899214 |
| 66 | 10559145 | Systems and methods for providing behavioral based intention detection | Systems and methods for providing behavioral based intention detection. Based on behavioral measurements of a user associated with an access request to a protected resource, systems and methods are provided for generating an access decision indicating whether the user access request is accepted based on a determined potential intention of the user and a motivation score. The systems and methods may receive, from a movement detection sensor, stimulus-based micromovement data representing head micromovement upon the user being presented with a target stimulus associated with the potential intention and determine, based on the stimulus-based micromovement data, a stimulated frequency of the head micromovement pattern associated with the user being presented with the target stimulus. The systems and methods may determine whether the user has the potential intention based at least on a baseline frequency and the stimulated frequency of the head micromovement pattern. | Abdulaziz Mohammed Almehmadi (Mississauga, CA) | --- | 2019-07-17 | 2020-02-11 | G06N5/04, G07C9/00, G06F3/01 | 16/514470 |
| 67 | 10546505 | Systems and methods for providing emergency alerts at emergency landing areas of unmanned aerial vehicles | In some embodiments, methods and systems are provided that provide for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) experiencing emergency landings and providing emergency alerts to the predicted emergency landing locations of the UAV. Each UAV includes sensors configured to detect at least one status input associated with the UAV during flight along its flight route. Each UAV analyzes the status inputs while in flight in order to predict an emergency landing location where the UAV would land if unable to fly due to an emergency condition. The UAV is configured to transmit an alert signal to electronic devices proximate the predicted emergency landing location to notify users of the electronic devices that the unmanned aerial vehicle is going to experience an emergency landing at the predicted emergency landing location. | David C. Winkle (Bella Vista, AR), John J. O'Brien (Farmington, AR), Donald R. High (Noel, MO), Todd D. Mattingly (Bentonville, AR) | Walmart Apollo, Llc (Bentonville, AR) | 2019-01-25 | 2020-01-28 | G08G5/00 | 16/258104 |
| 68 | 10540901 | Autonomous mission action alteration | An unmanned aerial vehicle includes a camera, one or more sensors, memory storing first instructions that define an overall mission, and memory storing one or more mission cues. The vehicle further includes one or more processors configured to execute a first part of the first instructions to perform a first part of the overall mission. The processors are configured to process at least one of the image data and the sensor data to detect a presence of at least one of the mission cues. The processors are configured to, in response to detecting a mission cue, interrupting execution of the first instructions and executing second instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first sub-mission of the overall mission. The processors are configured to after executing the second instructions, performing a second part of the overall mission by executing a second part of the first instructions. | Robert Parker Clark (Palo Alto, CA) | Kespry Inc. (Menlo Park, CA) | 2018-08-07 | 2020-01-21 | G01C7/04, G05D1/00, G08G5/00, H04N7/18, G06K9/00, B64C39/02, B64D31/06 | 16/056911 |
| 69 | 10535986 | Tethered unmanned aerial vehicle system | Example dynamically adjustable tether systems are described herein. An example tether system for use with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may include a base and a vertically-oriented elongate structure having an adjustable height. for instance, the elongate structure may include a lower end, and an upper end. The elongate structure may also couple to the base proximate the lower end. The system may further include a tether that extends from a first coupling-point positioned proximate the upper end of the elongate structure to a second coupling-point positioned on the UAV and a computing system configured for performing a set of acts, such as detecting a change in height of the elongate structure, and causing the tether to be reconfigured within the tether system based on the detected change in height of the elongate structure. | Hank J. Hundemer (Bellevue, KY) | Tribune Broadcasting Company, Llc (Chicago, IL) | 2017-01-25 | 2020-01-14 | H02G11/02, B64C39/02, B60P7/06, B60P3/11, E04H12/18, B65H75/42, B65H75/44 | 15/415777 |
| 70 | 10521665 | Tracking a vehicle using an unmanned aerial vehicle | Tracking an object using an unmanned aerial vehicle is disclosed. A plurality of images showing the object is received from a camera of the unmanned aerial vehicle. A first static characteristic, a second static characteristic, a first dynamic characteristic, and a second dynamic characteristic of the object are determined. The second static characteristic is compared to the first static characteristic, and the second dynamic characteristic is compared to the first dynamic characteristic. It is determined that the second static characteristic is approximately equal to the first static characteristic, and that the second dynamic characteristic is approximately equal to the first dynamic characteristic. Finally, it is determined that the object is moving. | Steven David Nerayoff (Great Neck, NY), Thompson S. Wong (West Vancouver, CA) | Cloudparc, Inc. (Great Neck, NY) | 2017-12-20 | 2019-12-31 | G01C23/00, G08G1/017, G06K9/00, G06T7/73, G06T7/246, G08G1/052, G06T7/32, G08G5/00, B64C39/02, G06Q50/26, H04N7/18, H04N5/232, G07B15/02, G07B15/00, G08G1/14, G08G1/133, G08G1/056, G05D1/00, G05D1/10, G06Q30/02, G06Q20/02, G06Q20/14, G06Q30/04, G06K9/18, G06K9/32, G06K9/62 | 15/849530 |
| 71 | 10518892 | Motor mounting for an unmanned aerial system | Systems and methods for mounting a motor to a receiving device of a UAS are disclosed herein. The motor may include a number of protruding elements, each protruding element including a shank segment having a first diameter and a head segment having a second diameter that is larger than the first diameter. The receiving device may include a base configured to couple the receiving device to the UAS, a first sidewall extending upwardly from a first side of the base, and a second sidewall extending upwardly from a second side of the base. Both the first and second sidewalls may include at least one receptacle. The head segment of each protruding element may be configured to interlock with one or more of the receptacles of the first sidewall or the second sidewall when the protruding elements are inserted between the first sidewall and the second sidewall of the receiving device. | Raymond Gradwohl (Saratoga, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-09-05 | 2019-12-31 | B64D27/26, B64C39/02, H02K5/04, F16M11/04, B64F5/40, G01C21/00, F16B2/24, B64C29/02 | 15/695156 |
| 72 | 10516473 | Network capacity management | An example embodiment may involve flying, by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , to a geographical location, where a wireless router is at the geographical location. The example embodiment may also involve detecting, by the UAV, a wireless coverage area defined by the wireless router. The example embodiment may also involve accessing, by the UAV, the wireless coverage area using a network identifier and a password. The example embodiment may also involve establishing, by the UAV, a backhaul link to a data network. The example embodiment may also involve transmitting, by the UAV, a notification to a client device served by the wireless coverage area, where the notification indicates that the UAV is a default gateway for the wireless coverage area. The example embodiment may also involve exchanging, by the UAV, data transmissions between (i) the client device, and (ii) one or more other devices accessible via the data network. | David Vos (Mountain View, CA), Andrew Patton (Mountain View, CA), Sean Mullaney (Mountain View, CA), Behnam Motazed (Mountain View, CA), Siegfried Zerweckh (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2019-03-20 | 2019-12-24 | H04W84/00, H04B7/185 | 16/359532 |
| 73 | 10514710 | Unmanned aerial vehicle alignment system | Herein is disclosed an unmanned aerial vehicle alignment system comprising one or more image sensors, configured to obtain an image of a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles and provide to one or more processors image data corresponding to the obtained image, one or more processors, configured to detect from the image data image positions of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, derive a target position based on a relationship between an image position and a target alignment, and determine an adjustment instruction to direct an unmanned aerial vehicle toward the target position. | Daniel Pohl (Puchheim, DE), Daniel Gurdan (Germering, DE), Roman Schick (Krailing, DE), Tim Ranft (Fuerstenfeldbruck, DE) | Intel Ip Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) | 2017-09-27 | 2019-12-24 | G05D1/12, B64D47/02, B64C39/02, G08G5/00, G05D1/10, G09F21/06, B64D47/08 | 15/716628 |
| 74 | 10511091 | Dynamic beam steering for unmanned aerial vehicles | Various embodiments include methods for dynamic antenna steering on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . The methods may include orienting an antenna on the UAV towards a serving ground station based on the UAV's position, orienting the antenna towards a neighboring ground station when it is time to conduct signal measurements of the neighboring ground station, conducting the signal measurements while orienting the antenna towards the neighboring ground station, and reorienting the antenna towards the serving ground station. Methods further include orienting a ground station antenna towards a UAV by obtaining a position of the UAV, calculating a vector between the position of the UAVs and the ground station, determining a direction to steer a beam based on the calculated vector, and steering the beam to the determined direction for the UAV. | Edward Harrison Teague (San Diego, CA) | Qualcomm Incorporated (San Diego, CA) | 2016-12-22 | 2019-12-17 | H01Q3/00, H01Q3/08, B64D43/00, H04B7/185, B64C39/02, H01Q3/34 | 15/388234 |
| 75 | 10507914 | Spooler for unmanned aerial vehicle system | In an aspect, in general, a spooling apparatus includes a filament feeding mechanism for deploying and retracting filament from the spooling apparatus to an aerial vehicle, an exit geometry sensor for sensing an exit geometry of the filament from the spooling apparatus, and a controller for controlling the feeding mechanism to feed and retract the filament based on the exit geometry. | Jason S. Walker (Medford, MA), John W. Ware (Brookline, MA), Samuel A. Johnson (Loveland, CO), Andrew M. Shein (Winchester, MA) | Flir Detection, Inc. (Stillwater, OK) | 2016-02-11 | 2019-12-17 | B64C39/02, B64D47/08, H02G11/02, B64F3/00 | 15/041211 |
| 76 | 10501185 | UAV-mounted dispersant device with electronic triggering mechanism | An accessory for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising a baseplate that is attached to the UAV unmanned aerial vehicle, at least one dispersant canister that is removably attached to the baseplate, a radio frequency receiver, an auxiliary circuit board, at least one battery, first and second wire pairs that supply electrical current from the auxiliary circuit board, a protective housing, and a radio frequency transmitter that is in communication with the radio frequency receiver. In alternate embodiments, the invention further comprises an electric match, linear solenoid, or electric primer. | Michael Todd Kramer (Casper, WY) | --- | 2017-01-13 | 2019-12-10 | B64D1/16, B05B13/00, B65D83/26, F42B12/46, F41H9/06, A62C3/02 | 15/406438 |
| 77 | 10494121 | Tethered unmanned aerial vehicle system | In one aspect, an example system includes: (i) a base including a bottom surface and a first coupling-point, (ii) a vertically-oriented elongate structure comprising a lower end, an upper end, and an inner channel, wherein the inner channel comprises an upper access-point disposed proximate the upper end, wherein the base is coupled to the elongate structure proximate the lower end, (iii) a deployable cushioning-device coupled to the elongate structure, and (iv) a tether comprising a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion, wherein the first portion is coupled to the first coupling-point, the second portion is coupled to a second coupling-point of the UAV, the third portion extends through the inner channel, the fourth portion extends from the upper access-point to the second coupling-point, and the fourth portion has a length that is less than a distance between the upper access-point and the bottom surface. | Hank J. Hundemer (Bellevue, KY) | Tribune Boradcasting Company, Llc (Chicago, IL) | 2018-10-23 | 2019-12-03 | B64F1/02, B64C39/02, B64F3/00 | 16/168352 |
| 78 | 10494093 | Multimode unmanned aerial vehicle | A system comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configured to transition from a terminal homing mode to a target search mode, responsive to an uplink signal and/or an autonomous determination of scene change. | Carlos Thomas Miralles (Burbank, CA) | Aerovironment, Inc. (Simi Valley, CA) | 2018-08-31 | 2019-12-03 | B64C15/00, B64C39/00 | 16/119872 |
| 79 | 10478841 | Modular sprayer system for heavy-lift unmanned aerial vehicles | A modular sprayer system for use with heavy-lift unmanned aerial vehicles includes a liquid storage tank for receiving and storing any type of agricultural products. A mounting unit is located along the top of the tank and includes hardware for securing the system to a UAV. Skid-type landing gear is permanently secured to the outside of the tank, and an electric pump is disposed within the tank. The location of the pump dampens movement of fluid within the tank during flight. One or more elongated booms are in fluid communication with the pump and terminate into dispensing units having one or more nozzles for releasing the fluid. A control unit is in electrical communication with one or both of the UAV to which the system is secured and a system operator. A tank level sensor and imaging systems are communicatively linked with the control unit. | Benjamin Harris (Casselberry, FL) | Harris Aerial Llc (Casselberry, FL) | 2017-11-21 | 2019-11-19 | B05B9/00, A01C23/04, B05B12/08, H04N7/18, B64D1/18, A01M7/00, B05B12/12, G01S17/88, B64C1/06, B05B9/04, B64C25/52, A01C23/00, B64C39/02, G01S17/02, B05B15/65, B05B1/16 | 15/819756 |
| 80 | 10477178 | High-speed and tunable scene reconstruction systems and methods using stereo imagery | A tunable and iterative stereo mapping technique is provided, capable of identifying disparities at or substantially faster than real-time (e.g., frame-rate of 120 Hz) . The method includes identifying a plurality of points in an image, determining disparity values for each of the points in the image and generating a piece-wise planar mesh based on the points and their respective disparity values. A disparity interpolation can be performed on candidate planes using estimated plane parameters for the candidate planes and a disparity image can be generated having a plurality of regions based on the disparity interpolation. Multiple iterations can be performed until the image is reconstructed with an appropriate resolution based on predetermined thresholds. The thresholds can be modified to provide a tunable system by changing the threshold values to either increase a resolution of a final reconstructed image and/or increase a computation speed of the tunable and iterative stereo mapping technique. | John Joseph Leonard (Newton, MA), Sudeep Pillai (Cambridge, MA) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) | 2017-06-29 | 2019-11-12 | G06K9/32, H04N13/111, G06T17/20, H04N13/239, G06T7/593, H04N13/00 | 15/637499 |
| 81 | 10468758 | Zero weight airborne antenna with near perfect radiation efficiency utilizing conductive airframe elements and method | An aircraft includes a fuselage assembly including a first elongated structural member formed of electrically conductive material, at least one wing assembly including a second structural member formed of electrically conductive material, at least one horizontal stabilizer assembly including a third structural member formed of electrically conductive material, and at least one vertical stabilizer assembly including a fourth structural member formed of electrically conductive material. The wing assembly, the horizontal stabilizer, and the vertical stabilizer are each interconnected with the fuselage assembly in a flight configuration normal to the fuselage. The first, second, third and fourth structural members are electrically insulated from one another. An electronic communication device within the aircraft is configurable for selective electrical interconnection of two or more of said structural members to form a dipole or monopole type transmitting/receiving antenna. | Tayfun Ozdemir (Ann Arbor, MI), Christopher N. Davis (Ann Arbor, MI) | Virtual Em Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI) | 2018-05-07 | 2019-11-05 | H01Q1/28, H01Q1/52, H01Q9/28, H01Q9/40 | 15/973448 |
| 82 | 10467578 | Methods and systems for requesting and displaying UAV information | Described herein are methods and systems that help facilitate the summoning and loading of a pickup and delivery unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . In particular, a computing system may display a graphical interface including an interface feature that indicates UAV assignments. That computing system may receive a message including a UAV identifier that identifies a particular UAV assigned to a particular item based on a UAV-assignment request for the particular item. and the computing system may use the received UAV identifier as a basis for displaying, on the graphical interface, (i) a graphical identifier of the particular UAV assigned to the particular item based on the UAV-assignment request for the particular item and (ii) a graphical identifier of the particular item. | Luke Barrington (Mountain View, CA), Jonathan Lesser (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-05-08 | 2019-11-05 | G06Q10/08, B64D1/22, B64C39/02, G06Q50/28 | 15/588915 |
| 83 | 10460279 | Interactive transport services provided by unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments relate to a client-facing application for interacting with a transport service that transports items via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An example graphic interface may allow a user to order items to specific delivery areas associated with their larger delivery location, and may dynamically provide status updates and other functionality during the process of fulfilling a UAV transport request. | Jonathan Lesser (Mountain View, CA), Michael Bauerly (Mountain View, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Mountain View, CA), May Cheng (Mountain View, CA), Rue Song (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-06-28 | 2019-10-29 | G06Q10/08, B64D1/08, B64C39/02, G01C21/16, G06F3/0484, G06F3/0482, B64D47/08 | 15/195607 |
| 84 | 10456696 | Systems and methods for customizing amusement park attraction experiences using pneumatic robotic systems | A system may include a housing that may hold a body of water, an inflatable assembly disposed within the body of water, and a processor. The processor may receive an indication related to a speed of a flow of the body of water and send a signal to at least one valve coupled between the inflatable assembly and a fluid source in response to the indication. The signal may cause the at least one valve to fluidly couple the inflatable assembly to the fluid source to cause the inflatable assembly to expand to an inflated configuration. | Robert Cortelyou (Orlando, FL), Ross Osterman (Orlando, FL), Justin Schwartz (Orlando, FL), Amanda Zielkowski (Orlando, FL), Caitlin A. Correll (Orlando, FL), Darrin Hughes (Orlando, FL), Anisha Vyas (Orlando, FL) | Universal City Studios Llc (Universal City, CA) | 2017-09-13 | 2019-10-29 | A63G31/12, G09B9/06, A63G31/16, A63G3/00, A63G7/00, A63G27/00, A63G21/14, A63G21/18, A63G31/00, A63B71/06, A63G21/00, G06F17/50 | 15/703748 |
| 85 | 10455155 | Counter-balanced suspended image stabilization system | Embodiments are described for a stabilization system configured, in some embodiments, for stabilizing image capture from an aerial vehicle (e.g., a UAV) . According to some embodiments, the stabilization systems employs both active and passive stabilization means. A passive stabilization assembly includes a counter-balanced suspension system that includes an elongated arm that extends into and is coupled to the body of a vehicle. The counter-balanced suspension system passively stabilizes a mounted device such as an image capture device to counter motion of the UAV while in use. In some embodiment the counter-balanced suspension system passively stabilizes a mounted image capture assembly that includes active stabilization means (e.g., a motorized gimbal and/or electronic image stabilization) . In some embodiments, the active and passive stabilization means operate together to effectively stabilize a mounted image capture device to counter a wide range of motion characteristics. | David Kalinowski (Redwood City, CA), Stephen R. McClure (Belmont, CA), Patrick Allen Lowe (Burlingame, CA), Daniel Thomas Adams (Palo Alto, CA), Benjamin Scott Thompson (San Carlos, CA), Adam Parker Bry (Reedwood City, CA), Abraham Galton Bachrach (Redwood City, CA) | Skydio, Inc. (Redwood, CA) | 2017-10-23 | 2019-10-22 | H04N5/232 | 15/790776 |
| 86 | 10435176 | Perimeter structure for unmanned aerial vehicle | Embodiments are described for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configured for autonomous flight using visual navigation that includes a perimeter structure surrounding one or more powered rotors, the perimeter structure including image capture devices arranged so as to provide an unobstructed view around the UAV. | Stephen R. McClure (Belmont, CA), Benjamin S. Thompson (San Carlos, CA), Adam Bry (Menlo Park, CA), Abraham Bachrach (San Francisco, CA), Matthew Donahoe (Redwood City, CA) | Skydio, Inc. (Redwood City, CA) | 2016-05-25 | 2019-10-08 | B64D47/08, B64C27/20, G01C21/20, B64C39/02, G01C21/16, G05D1/10 | 15/164679 |
| 87 | 10422478 | Vapor cooled shielding liner for cryogenic storage in composite pressure vessels | A novel tank cryogenic-compatible composite pressure vessel that beneficially utilizes Vapor Cooled Shielding (VCS) is introduced to minimize thermal gradients along support structures and reduces heat loads on cryogenic systems. In particular, the configurations and mechanisms to be utilized herein include: providing for a desired number of passageways and a given thickness of the VCS, reducing the thermal conductivity of the VCS material, and increasing the cooling capacitance of the hydrogen vapors. | Jacob William Leachman (Pullman, WA), Patrick Marshall Adam (Pullman, WA) | Washington State University (Pullman, WA) | 2017-09-11 | 2019-09-24 | F17C3/04, F17C3/10 | 15/700269 |
| 88 | 10418830 | Charging mat for unmanned aircraft | Systems for landing and facilitating power flow or data transfer between an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a charging mat using a boom are described. The system includes a mat with a conductive mesh on the top and a conductive surface on the other bottom of the mat. The conductive mesh and bottom conductive surface are separated (electrically isolated) by an isolation core. The outer portion of the boom contacts part of the conductive mesh of the mat to create an electrical pathway. An inner portion of the boom penetrates through the top layer conductive mesh, through the isolating core, and contacts the bottom conductive surface of the mat to create another electrical pathway. | Carlos Guillermo Parodi (Issaquah, WA), Benjamin Martin Schweitzer (Seattle, WA) | Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Seattle, WA) | 2017-09-21 | 2019-09-17 | H02J7/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/02, H04B3/60, H02J7/02 | 15/711883 |
| 89 | 10414488 | Methods and systems for damping oscillations of a payload | Described herein are methods and systems to dampen oscillations of a payload coupled to a tether of a winch system arranged on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . for example, the UAV's control system may dampen the oscillations by causing the UAV to switch to a forward flight mode in which movement of the UAV results in drag on the payload, thereby damping the oscillations. In another example, the control system may cause the UAV to reduce an extent flight stabilization along at least one dimension, thereby resulting in damping of the detected oscillations due to energy dissipation during movement of the UAV along the dimension. In this way, the control system could select and carry out one or more such techniques, and could do so during retraction and/or deployment of the tether. | Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA), Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-22 | 2019-09-17 | B64C19/00, G05D1/02, B66D1/60, B64C39/02, B66D1/48, G05D1/08, B64D1/12, B66D1/12, B64D1/22 | 15/389290 |
| 90 | 10403161 | Interface for accessing airspace data | A process is described that includes the generation and transmission of collision avoidance data and/or collision avoidance instructions based on data from 3-D radar scans of an airspace. The transmitted data and/or instructions could facilitate collision avoidance by aerial vehicles operating in the airspace. The transmitted data could be limited to protect the security, privacy, and/or safety of other aerial vehicles, airborne objects, and/or individuals within the airspace. The transmitted data could be limited such that only information pertaining to a region of the airspace proximate to a particular aerial vehicle was transmitted. The transmitted data could be limited such that it included instructions that could be executed by a particular aerial vehicle to avoid collisions and such that the transmitted data did not include location or other data associated with other aerial vehicles or airborne objects in the airspace. | Adam Bry (San Mateo, CA), Abraham Bachrach (San Francisco, CA), Bruno Andre Posokhow (Redwood City, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-07-07 | 2019-09-03 | G08G5/04, B64C39/02, G01S13/93, G05D1/00, G05D1/10, G01S13/00 | 15/204949 |
| 91 | 10389140 | Wireless power near-field repeater system that includes metamaterial arrays to suppress far-field radiation and power loss | Embodiments described herein may relate to a system including a transmit resonator configured to couple power from a source into an oscillating field generated with a reference phase by the transmit resonator resonating at an oscillation frequency, one or more repeaters, each at a respective location, each including: a repeat resonator configured to resonate at the oscillation frequency, where each of the one or more repeaters is configured to regenerate the oscillating field with a phase shift relative to a phase at the respective location, and at least one receiver, the at least one receiver including: a receive resonator configured to resonate at the oscillation frequency in response to coupling to the oscillating field, where the at least one receiver is configured to transfer a power of the oscillating field to a load associated with the at least one receiver. | Brian John Adolf (Mountain View, CA), Richard Wayne DeVaul (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-11-13 | 2019-08-20 | H01F38/00, H02J50/05, H02J5/00, H02J50/12, H02J7/02 | 14/940747 |
| 92 | 10387727 | Backup navigation system for unmanned aerial vehicles | Described is a method that involves operating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to begin a flight, where the UAV relies on a navigation system to navigate to a destination. During the flight, the method involves operating a camera to capture images of the UAV's environment, and analyzing the images to detect features in the environment. The method also involves establishing a correlation between features detected in different images, and using location information from the navigation system to localize a feature detected in different images. Further, the method involves generating a flight log that includes the localized feature. Also, the method involves detecting a failure involving the navigation system, and responsively operating the camera to capture a post-failure image. The method also involves identifying one or more features in the post-failure image, and determining a location of the UAV based on a relationship between an identified feature and a localized feature. | Dinuka Abeywardena (Mountain View, CA), Damien Jourdan (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-09-13 | 2019-08-20 | G06K9/00, G01C11/06, B64D47/08, G05D1/10, G01C21/32 | 15/703948 |
| 93 | 10384778 | Tethered unmanned aerial vehicle system | In one aspect, an example system includes: (i) a base including a bottom surface and a first coupling-point, (ii) a vertically-oriented elongate structure comprising a lower end, an upper end, and an inner channel, wherein the inner channel comprises an upper access-point disposed proximate the upper end, wherein the base is coupled to the elongate structure proximate the lower end, (iii) a deployable cushioning-device coupled to the elongate structure, and (iv) a tether comprising a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion, wherein the first portion is coupled to the first coupling-point, the second portion is coupled to a second coupling-point of the UAV, the third portion extends through the inner channel, the fourth portion extends from the upper access-point to the second coupling-point, and the fourth portion has a length that is less than a distance between the upper access-point and the bottom surface. | Hank J. Hundemer (Bellevue, KY) | Tribune Broadcasting Company, Llc (Chicago, IL) | 2018-09-10 | 2019-08-20 | B64C39/02, B64F3/02, B64F1/02, B64F3/00 | 16/126020 |
| 94 | 10382225 | Asymmetric CAN-based communication for aerial vehicles | An example embodiment includes a plurality of flight modules including a primary flight module and a secondary flight module. The embodiment includes a CAN controller, a second CAN controller, a first CAN bus configured to transmit primary control signals from the first CAN controller to the primary flight module and to the secondary flight module, and a second CAN bus configured to transmit secondary control signals from the second CAN controller to the primary flight module and the secondary flight module. The primary flight module is configured to perform functions responsive to receiving the primary control signals, and not in response to receiving the secondary control signals and the secondary flight module is configured to perform functions responsive to receiving the secondary control signals, and not in response to receiving the primary control signals. | Parsa Dormiani (Mountain View, CA), Brian Viele (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-07-27 | 2019-08-13 | H04L12/40, B64C39/02, B64C13/50, G05D1/00 | 15/661974 |
| 95 | 10377482 | Remotely controlled modular VTOL aircraft and re-configurable system using same | A manned/unmanned aerial vehicle adapted for vertical takeoff and landing using the same set of engines for takeoff and landing as well as for forward flight. An aerial vehicle which is adapted to takeoff with the wings in a vertical as opposed to horizontal flight attitude which takes off in this vertical attitude and then transitions to a horizontal flight path. An aerial vehicle system which has removable wing sections which allow for re-configuration with different wing section types, allowing for configurations adapted for a particular flight profile. A method of customizing a configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle based upon flight profile factors such as duration, stability, and maneuverability. | Jeffrey Kyle Gibboney (Redwood City, CA), Pranay Sinha (Santa Cruz, CA) | Transition Robotics, Inc. (Santa Cruz, CA) | 2016-05-01 | 2019-08-13 | B64C39/08, B64C3/54, B64C39/02 | 15/143625 |
| 96 | 10377478 | Thrust-generating rotor assembly | The present invention discloses a rotor control system where rapid changes in rotor torque are transferred into moment forces acting about the blade pitch axis of a rotor blade in a thrust-generating rotor, to ultimately control the movements of a rotary wing aircraft. The moment forces acting on the rotor blade are transferred through a carefully adjusted damping member in order to allow rapid changes in rotor torque to create cyclic changes in blade pitch angle, while slow or permanent changes are cancelled out and affects the rotational speed and the thrust generated by the rotor, without permanently affecting the blade pitch angle of individual rotor blades. | Petter Muren (Nesbru, NO), Trygve Frederik Marton (Slependen, NO), Ivar Johnsrud (Honefoss, NO), Pal Hagh Sandberg (Hvalstad, NO) | Flir Unmanned Aerial Systems As (Hvalstad, NO) | 2016-01-20 | 2019-08-13 | B64C27/51, B64C27/58, B64C27/72, A63H27/00 | 15/545308 |
| 97 | 10364030 | Methods and systems for user interaction and feedback via control of tether | Described herein are methods and systems for motorized control of a tether, such as for purposes of user interaction and feedback. In particular, a UAV's control system may determine one or more operational parameters of a motor for a winch disposed in the UAV, the winch including the tether and a spool. The control system may then detect in the one or more operational parameters, an operational pattern of the motor that is indicative of an intentional user-interaction with the tether. Based on the detected operational pattern of the motor that is indicative of the intentional user-interaction with the tether, the control system may determine a motor response process. Then, the control system may operate the motor in accordance with the determined motor response process. | Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA), Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-22 | 2019-07-30 | B64D1/22, B64C39/02 | 15/389304 |
| 98 | 10358196 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system and methods for use | A drone equipped with a camera, a wireless communication module, an acoustic sensor, a GPS receiver, software and collapsible floatation device patrols above swimmers. The camera and acoustic sensor capture the video and audio of the swimmers. The information is either streamed to a command center or processed by the onboard software. With audio and video analysis capabilities, software is used to detect a swimmer in distress (SID) . Alternatively the information is streamed to lifeguard or volunteers all over the world to spot SID. Another detection method is to let swimmer wear a wearable emergency notification device, which sends wireless signals comprising GPS location data. A SID presses a button to indicate rescue request and the drones fly over by GPS signal guidance. Solar power is used as the optional power source of the drones, which would allow the to sustain operation for a prolonged period of time. Once a SID is identified, the drone or drones fly over the SID and drops the collapsible floatation device. | Rujing Tang (Plano, TX) | Rujing Tang (Plano, TX) | 2018-03-07 | 2019-07-23 | B63C9/01, B64C39/02, G16H40/67, B63C9/00 | 15/914162 |
| 99 | 10353388 | Drop-off location planning for delivery vehicle | An example method may include receiving, from a client computing device, an indication of a target drop-off spot for an object within a first virtual model of a first region of a delivery destination. A second virtual model of a second region of the delivery destination may be determined based on sensor data received from one or more sensors on a delivery vehicle. A mapping may be determined between physical features represented in the first virtual model and physical features represented in the second virtual model to determine an overlapping region between the first and second virtual models. A position of the target drop-off spot within the second virtual model may be determined based on the overlapping region. Based on the position of the target drop-off spot within the second virtual model, the delivery vehicle may be navigated to the target drop-off spot to drop off the object. | Martin Schubert (Mountain view, CA), Michael Grundmann (San Jose, CA), Clifford Biffle (Redwood City, CA), Philip Watson (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain Veiw, CA) | 2016-10-17 | 2019-07-16 | G05D1/04, G05D1/06, G08G5/00, G08G5/02, G01C21/20, G01C21/00, G06N7/00, G05D1/10, G05D1/00, B64C39/02 | 15/295995 |
| 100 | 10351240 | Methods and systems for cooperative operation and configuration of aerially-mobile devices | Methods and systems for autonomous device reconfiguration are described herein. A system may include aerially-mobile devices each configured to perform a respective end-use function and carry out a portion of a reconfiguration operation, which involves arranging the one or more aerially-mobile devices according to a device configuration. A given device configuration may specify spatial locations within an environment corresponding to the aerially-mobile devices. The system may also include a control system configured to facilitate a reconfiguration operation by executing instructions including: (i) determining, for each aerially-mobile device, a respective spatial location associated with a particular device configuration, (ii) detecting a triggering event indicative of an instruction to arrange aerially-mobile devices according to the particular device configuration, and (iii) responsive to the detection of the triggering event, causing each aerially-mobile device to begin flying to its respective spatial location associated with the particular configuration. | Maxwell Andrew Sills (San Francisco, CA), Ian Wetherbee (San Jose, CA), Robert Samuel Gordon (San Bruno, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-29 | 2019-07-16 | G05D1/10, B64F1/00, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, B64C39/00, H04B7/185 | 15/394531 |
| 101 | 10350504 | Systems and methods for incorporating pneumatic robotic systems into amusement park attractions | A system may include an inflatable assembly having a plurality of members. The system may also include a plurality of sensors disposed at a plurality of positions inside or around the inflatable assembly, such that the plurality of sensors may acquire data related to a shape of the inflatable assembly. The system also includes one or more valves, each configured to direct a fluid into a corresponding member of the plurality of members of the inflatable assembly. The system also includes a processor that adjusts positions of the one or more valves to cause the fluid to be directed into the corresponding member of the plurality of members of the inflatable assembly based on the data and a desired shape of the inflatable assembly. | Robert Cortelyou (Orlando, FL), Ross Osterman (Orlando, FL), Justin Schwartz (Orlando, FL), Amanda Zielkowski (Orlando, FL), Caitlin A. Correll (Orlando, FL), Darrin Hughes (Orlando, FL), Anisha Vyas (Orlando, FL) | Universal City Studios Llc (Universal City, CA) | 2017-09-13 | 2019-07-16 | A63G21/18, A63G7/00, A63G3/00, A63G31/16, G09B9/06, A63B71/06, A63G31/00, A63G21/14, A63G27/00, A63G31/12, G06F17/50 | 15/703761 |
| 102 | 10345803 | Multi-part navigation process by an unmanned aerial vehicle for navigation | Embodiments described herein may relate to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigating to a target in order to provide medical support. An illustrative method involves a UAV (a) determining an approximate target location associated with a target, (b) using a first navigation process to navigate the UAV to the approximate target location, where the first navigation process generates flight-control signals based on the approximate target location, (c) making a determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, and (d) in response to the determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, using a second navigation process to navigate the UAV to the target, wherein the second navigation process generates flight-control signals based on real-time localization of the target. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-10-16 | 2019-07-09 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G01S5/02, G05D1/12, G08G5/00, B64C19/00, G01S13/94, G01S15/93, G01S17/93, G01S13/88, G01S5/00, G01S13/93 | 15/785212 |
| 103 | 10340820 | Electrical system for unmanned aerial vehicles | An example unmanned aerial vehicle includes a power source, a processor module having one or more processors, and a plurality of boom arms, each boom arm being couplable to a printed circuit board (PCB) and a plurality of propellers. In the example UAV, a PCB of each boom arm includes a power hub electrically couplable to the power source and to corresponding propellers of the boom arm, and a signal hub electrically couplable to at least one processor of the processor module and to the corresponding propellers. Further, in the example UAV, the power hub of each PCB is configured to transfer power from the power source to the corresponding propellers, and wherein the signal hub of each PCB is configured to transfer signals from the processor module to the corresponding propellers such that the processor module controls the plurality of propellers. | Adam Woodworth (Santa Clara, CA), Greg Vulikh (Redwood City, CA), John FitzSimons (San Jose, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-30 | 2019-07-02 | G06F7/00, H02P5/00, B64C39/02, H02P6/16 | 15/395996 |
| 104 | 10339639 | Method and system of calibrating a multispectral camera on an aerial vehicle | A method and system of calibrating multispectral images from a camera on an aerial vehicle, the method including: capturing multispectral images of an area at a plurality of intervals with a multispectral imaging camera, simultaneously or at an arbitrary time capturing sunlight radiance data for each of the captured images, correlating the images with the sunlight radiance data, and calibrating the multispectral images based on the sunlight radiance data to normalize the multispectral images to one or more previous images of the area. | John Randall Christ (Santa Clara, CA), Po-Chieh Hung (Cupertino, CA) | Konica Minolta Laboratory U.S.A., Inc. (San Mateo, CA) | 2014-09-24 | 2019-07-02 | H04N7/18, G06T5/00, G06T7/80, G01J3/28, G01J1/42, H04N5/33, H04N17/00 | 15/025137 |
| 105 | 10336543 | Selective encoding of packages | Systems and methods are provided for worksite automation. One example method includes receiving a work request indicative of at least one of a first item or one or more work request parameters, where the first item is one of a plurality of items stored in an item-storage environment, and where each item is associated with a co-located identifier device, in response to receipt of the work request: identifying the first item, determining a target location corresponding to the first item, selecting an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from a plurality of encoder UAVs in the item-storage environment, where each encoder UAV includes an encoder device configured to encode data to the identifier devices associated with the plurality of items, and causing the selected UAV to: (a) travel to the target location, and (b) while hovering near to the location, encode particular identification data to the device associated with the first item. | Maxwell Andrew Sills (San Francisco, CA), Ian Wetherbee (San Jose, CA), Robert Samuel Gordon (San Bruno, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-29 | 2019-07-02 | B65G1/137, B65G1/04, G06Q10/08, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, B64D1/22 | 15/394568 |
| 106 | 10335695 | Systems and methods for incorporating pneumatic robotic systems into structures | A system may include a virtual reality system configured to present one or more virtual objects via an electronic display. The system may also include one or more inflatable objects that correspond to the one or more virtual objects, such that the one or more inflatable objects matches one or more shapes of the one or more virtual objects. The system may also include a processor configured to cause at least one of the one or more inflatable objects to inflate based on feedback from the virtual reality system. | Robert Cortelyou (Orlando, FL), Ross Osterman (Orlando, FL), Justin Schwartz (Orlando, FL), Amanda Zielkowski (Orlando, FL), Caitlin A. Correll (Orlando, FL), Darrin Hughes (Orlando, FL), Anisha Vyas (Orlando, FL) | Universal City Studios Llc (Universal City, CA) | 2017-09-13 | 2019-07-02 | A63G31/12, A63G31/00, A63G27/00, G09B9/06, A63G31/16, A63G3/00, A63G7/00, A63G21/14, A63G21/18, A63B71/06, G06F17/50, A63H5/00 | 15/703728 |
| 107 | 10334210 | Augmented video system providing enhanced situational awareness | A facility, comprising systems and methods, for providing enhanced situational awareness to captured image data is disclosed. The disclosed techniques are used in conjunction with image data, such as a real-time or near real-time image stream captured by a camera attached to an unmanned system, previously captured image data, rendered image data, etc. The facility enhances situational awareness by projecting overlays onto captured video data or ''wrapping'' captured image data with previously-captured and/or ''synthetic world'' information, such as satellite images, computer-generated images, wire models, textured surfaces, and so on. The facility also provides enhanced zoom techniques that allow a user to quickly zoom in on an object or area of interest using a combined optical and digital zoom technique. Additionally, the facility provides a digital lead indicator designed to reduce operator-induced oscillations in commanding an image capturing device. | Darcy Davidson, Jr. (Dallesport, WA), Theodore T. Trowbridge (Hood River, OR) | Insitu, Inc. (Bingen, WA) | 2016-05-23 | 2019-06-25 | H04N7/18, G06T11/00, G01C11/02, G01C11/00, G05D1/00, G06T19/00, G06T17/05, G06T11/60, G01C11/36 | 15/162463 |
| 108 | 10332407 | Systems and methods for providing emergency alerts at emergency landing areas of unmanned aerial vehicles | In some embodiments, methods and systems are provided that provide for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) experiencing emergency landings and providing emergency alerts to the predicted emergency landing locations of the UAV. Each UAV includes sensors configured to detect at least one status input associated with the UAV during flight along its flight route. Each UAV analyzes the status inputs while in flight in order to predict an emergency landing location where the UAV would land if unable to fly due to an emergency condition. The UAV is configured to transmit an alert signal to electronic devices proximate the predicted emergency landing location to notify users of the electronic devices that the unmanned aerial vehicle is going to experience an emergency landing at the predicted emergency landing location. | David C. Winkle (Bella Vista, AR), John J. O'Brien (Farmington, AR), Donald R. High (Noel, MO), Todd D. Mattingly (Bentonville, AR) | Walmart Apollo, Llc (Bentonville, AR) | 2018-06-19 | 2019-06-25 | G08G5/00 | 16/011932 |
| 109 | 10327424 | Device and method for managing bird populations | The system for managing bird populations includes a drone, a disruptor comprising an extension arm having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end being operatively coupled with the drone, and the distal end comprising a tool portion, where the tool portion comprises a piercing element constructed for engagement with one or more eggs in a nest, and a remote control system. The remote control system may comprise one or more remote control units and a monitor. | Steven Ollier (Strilingshire, GB) | Ecolab Usa Inc. (St. Paul, MN) | 2017-05-22 | 2019-06-25 | A01K45/00, A01M19/00, A01K33/00, A01K37/00, A01K43/00, A22B3/00, A01M29/00 | 15/601015 |
| 110 | 10325506 | Method for monitoring airspace | A method for monitoring an airspace includes a first control and detection system and a second control and detection system. The first control and detection system has a first flying device and a first control and detection unit, and the second control and detection system has a second flying device and a second control and detection unit. An airspace monitoring system is different from the first control and detection unit and also from the second control and detection unit. First data relating to the first flying device is transmitted from the first control and detection unit to the airspace monitoring system, and data based on the first data is transmitted from the airspace monitoring system to the second control and detection unit. In this manner, the method allows a system-independent airspace monitoring process. | Niklas Goddemeier (Witten, DE), Sebastian Rohde (Bochum, DE), Christian Wietfeld (Dortmund, DE) | Technische Universitat Dortmund (Dortmund, DE) | 2015-04-08 | 2019-06-18 | G01S13/00, G08G5/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/74, G01S13/78 | 15/303104 |
| 111 | 10317963 | Modular mechanism enabled by mid-range wireless power | A computer system includes at least one power transmitter that includes a first resonator to generate an oscillating field at a resonant frequency in response to receiving power from a power source. The at least one power transmitter provides a wireless power delivery system within a spatial bound. The computer system also includes a plurality of modular computer components. Each modular computer component includes a power receiver that includes a second resonator to be wirelessly coupled to the at least one power transmitter. The second resonator resonates at the resonant frequency in response to the oscillating field generated by the first resonator. Each modular component also includes a wireless communication interface. The respective wireless communication interfaces of the plurality of modular computer components provide a wireless data communication network that allows each modular computer component to communicate data with at least another of the plurality of modular computer components. | Richard Wayne DeVaul (Mountain View, CA), Brian John Adolf (Mountain View, CA), Raj B. Apte (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-11-13 | 2019-06-11 | H02J7/02, G06F1/26, H02J5/00, H04W84/10 | 14/941136 |
| 112 | 10315764 | Apparatuses for releasing a payload from an aerial tether | Described herein are apparatuses for passively releasing a payload of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . An example apparatus may include, among other features, (i) a housing, (ii) a swing arm coupled to the housing, wherein the swing arm is operable to toggle between an open position and a closed position, (iii) a spring mechanism adapted to exert a force on the swing arm from the open position toward the closed position, (iv) a receiving system of a UAV adapted to receive the housing, wherein the receiving system causes the swing arm to be arranged in the open position, and (v) a spool operable to unwind and wind a tether coupled to the housing, wherein unwinding the tether causes a descent of the housing from the receiving system, and wherein winding the tether causes an ascent of the housing to the receiving system. | Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA), Zhefei Li (Sunnyvale, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-06-10 | 2019-06-11 | B64D1/02, B64D1/12, B64D3/00, B64D9/00, B64C39/02 | 15/179585 |
| 113 | 10312993 | Cooperative clustering for enhancing MU-massive-MISO-based UAV communication | Methods, apparatuses, and systems for organizing data delivering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are provided. Inter-cluster coordinators can organize data delivering unmanned aerial vehicle base stations (UAV-BSs) . Various beamforming techniques (e.g., LZFBF and ZFBF) can be incorporated, and the inter-cluster coordinator can operate on a base station that serves as a controlling network node. | Nadisanka Rupasinghe (Raleigh, NC), Ismail Guvenc (Miramar, FL), Ahmed Salah Ibrahim Mohamed (Miami, FL) | The Florida International University Board of Trustees (Miami, FL) | 2016-10-28 | 2019-06-04 | H04B7/185, H04B7/0452, G05D1/10, B64C39/02 | 15/337346 |
| 114 | 10308360 | Aerodynamic tote package | An example tote package is disclosed for carrying a load external to a UAV. The tote package may be generated by folding a sheet of material. The sheet may include a middle section, a first side section, and a second side section. When the sheet is folded, the middle section may create a bottom portion of the tote package. Additionally, the first side section may create a first side portion tapering up from the edge of the bottom portion to the middle of the top portion of the tote package. Furthermore, the second side section may create a second side portion tapering up from the opposite edge to the middle of the top portion. At the top portion, the first and second sections may connect to create a handle. The first side, second side, and middle sections may be folded to create front and back portions of the tote package. | Clark Sopper (Redwood City, CA), Matthew Day (Oakland, CA), Adam Woodworth (Santa Clara, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-10-17 | 2019-06-04 | B64D1/08, B65D5/24, B65D5/468, B64C39/02, B65D5/42, B65D81/00, B65D5/18, B65D5/20 | 15/295494 |
| 115 | 10303165 | Mobile communication terminal having unmanned air vehicle | The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal having an unmanned air vehicle, the mobile communication terminal being smart-phones, tablet-phones, or tablet-PCs which are carried by users and used for mobile communication, and the unmanned air vehicle being kept in the mobile communication terminal or in various mobile communication terminals that may be developed in the future, and being capable of navigating and performing various operations according to a control using the mobile communication terminal. The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal having an unmanned air vehicle, which includes: an unmanned air vehicle including a flying means, a wireless communication means and an image capturing means, and a mobile communication terminal part including: a hangar part in which the unmanned air vehicle is kept, an unmanned air vehicle control means controlling the unmanned air vehicle to navigate and capture images through wireless communication with the unmanned air vehicle, and a manipulation part through which a control command of a user is input to the unmanned air vehicle control means. | Young Kwon Kim (Siheung-si, KR) | Young Kwon Kim (Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, unknown) | 2016-02-12 | 2019-05-28 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02, B64D47/08, G08C17/02 | 15/544660 |
| 116 | 10301024 | Aerodynamic package | An example package is disclosed for carrying a load external to a UAV. The package may be generated by folding a sheet of material and include a cavity formed by a top surface section, a bottom surface section, a first side surface section, a second side surface section, a leading edge section, and a trailing edge section of the sheet. The top surface section may include an attachment feature for attaching the package to the UAV. The leading edge section may include leading edge surfaces formed from folds along creases of the sheet to define a front end of the cavity and deflect airflow over a top surface and under a bottom surface of the package. The trailing edge section may include upper and lower surfaces formed from folds along creases and extend from the top and bottom surfaces to intersect and define a back end of the cavity. | Clark Sopper (Redwood City, CA), Adam Woodworth (Santa Clara, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-12-24 | 2019-05-28 | B64C1/22, B64D9/00, B65D75/04, B64C39/02, B64D1/22, B65D75/58 | 14/998303 |
| 117 | 10301004 | Temporarily-installed aircraft observer door plug, chair, sonotube ejection and control system | In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a collapsible workstation assembly to be used in a temporarily-mounted control system of an aircraft. The collapsible workstation assembly is mounted to a floor of the aircraft via one or more mounting plates and one or more adaptive floor plates. The collapsible workstation assembly includes a number of modules for display and user controls. Each of the modules are connected via hinges and hinge locks to be moved between a deployed position for use and a stowed position when not in use. The collapsible workstation assembly is further connected to an observer chair assembly and a temporary door plug. | Richard L. K. Woodland (Homosassa, FL), Ross James Neyedly (Calgary, CA) | 1281329 Alberta Ltd. (Calgary, CA) | 2017-12-28 | 2019-05-28 | B64C1/22, B64C1/14, B64C1/20, B64D11/06, B64D1/02, B64C1/18 | 15/857033 |
| 118 | 10295672 | System and method to measure an atmospheric thermodynamic profile with a compact, all-fiber and eye-safe Lidar | A lidar system and method to enable simultaneous accurate and high spatial and temporal resolution measurements of atmospheric temperature, wind, and water vapor. The technology employs a laser (101) , a telescope (110) , an acousto-optic modulator (105) or an electro-optic modulator (205) , a Thulium-doped fiber amplifier (206) , and an optical circulator (108) which projects a laser signal into the atmosphere toward a phenomenon to be studied. The laser is reflected or backscattered by the atmospheric phenomena and retrieved by the telescope (110) , where the laser is processed by a signal sampler and processor (114) for analysis. | Farzad Cyrus Foroughi Abari (Boulder, CO), Scott M Spuler (Westminster, CO) | University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (Boulder, CO) | 2015-11-13 | 2019-05-21 | G01C3/08, G01S17/95, G01S17/10, G01S17/58, G01S7/481, G01S7/484, G01W1/02 | 14/940884 |
| 119 | 10283971 | Wireless power delivery over medium range distances using magnetic, and common and differential mode-electric, near-field coupling | Embodiments described herein may relate to a system comprising a power source configured to provide a signal at an oscillation frequency, a transmitter coupled to the power source, wherein the transmitter comprises at least one transmit resonator, one or more receivers, wherein the at least one receive resonator is operable to be coupled to the transmit resonator via a wireless resonant coupling link, one or more loads, wherein each of the one or more loads is switchably coupled to one or more respective receive resonators. The system includes a controller configured to determine an operational state of the system, wherein the operational state comprises at least one of three coupling modes (common mode, differential mode, and inductive mode) , and is configured to cause the transmitter to provide electrical power to each of the one or more loads via the wireless resonant coupling link according to the determined operational state. | Brian John Adolf (Mountain View, CA), Richard Wayne DeVaul (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-12-25 | 2019-05-07 | H02J5/00, H02J50/05, H02J50/12, H02J7/02 | 15/853909 |
| 120 | 10283000 | Unmanned aerial vehicle deployment system | A system for enabling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to respond to an alert on a premises, where the UAV may either confront the alert situation or monitor the alert situation from a distance. The UAV may respond to the alert situation after a controller receives alert event data from an alert generator. The controller may further match the data received to a number of event types stored in a database. This information allows a flight plan to be determined which will allow the UAV to navigate to a location associated with the alert situation. | Michael John Marr (Penrose, NZ), Andrew Stanley Grant (Penrose, NZ), Benjamin Yong Liang Kuek (Penrose, NZ), Yexi Zhu (Penrose, NZ) | --- | 2016-10-20 | 2019-05-07 | G08G5/00, B64C39/02, G08B13/196, G08B15/00 | 15/298696 |
| 121 | 10281570 | Systems and methods for detecting, tracking and identifying small unmanned systems such as drones | A system for providing integrated detection and countermeasures against unmanned aerial vehicles include a detecting element, a location determining element and an interdiction element. The detecting element detects an unmanned aerial vehicle in flight in the region of, or approaching, a property, place, event or very important person. The location determining element determines the exact location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The interdiction element can either direct the unmanned aerial vehicle away from the property, place, event or very important person in a non-destructive manner, or can cause disable the unmanned aerial vehicle in a destructive manner. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2018-04-30 | 2019-05-07 | G01S7/02, G01S7/38, G01S3/782, G01S13/93, G01S13/91, G01S13/88, G01S13/86, G01S13/42, G01S13/06, F41H13/00, G01S7/41, F41H11/02 | 15/967291 |
| 122 | 10277307 | Network capacity management | An example embodiment may involve flying, by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , to a geographical location, where a wireless router is at the geographical location. The example embodiment may also involve detecting, by the UAV, a wireless coverage area defined by the wireless router. The example embodiment may also involve accessing, by the UAV, the wireless coverage area using a network identifier and a password. The example embodiment may also involve establishing, by the UAV, a backhaul link to a data network. The example embodiment may also involve transmitting, by the UAV, a notification to a client device served by the wireless coverage area, where the notification indicates that the UAV is a default gateway for the wireless coverage area. The example embodiment may also involve exchanging, by the UAV, data transmissions between (i) the client device, and (ii) one or more other devices accessible via the data network. | David Vos (Mountain View, CA), Andrew Patton (Mountain View, CA), Sean Mullaney (Mountain View, CA), Behnam Motazed (Mountain View, CA), Siegfried Zerweckh (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-08-10 | 2019-04-30 | H04W84/00, H04B7/185 | 16/100837 |
| 123 | 10266266 | Payload delivery system with removable spool | An apparatus may include (i) a support structure, (ii) at least one shaft coupled to the support structure via at least one swing arm, wherein the swing arm allows upward movement, and restricts downward movement, of the at least one shaft from a resting position, (iii) a spool, wherein in the spool is shaped so as to rest on the at least one shaft when the at least one shaft is in the resting position, and wherein the spool is operable to unwind a tether coupled to a payload, and (iv) at least one fan coupled to the at least one shaft, wherein rotation of the spool when unwinding the tether also causes rotation of the at least one fan coupled to the at least one shaft, thereby controlling a descent rate of the payload. | Clark Sopper (Mountain View, CA), Andre Prager (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-05-23 | 2019-04-23 | B64D1/22, B64C39/02, B66D5/02 | 15/161848 |
| 124 | 10259594 | Apparatus and method for recovering and launching unmanned aerial vehicle | Provided is an apparatus for recovering and launching an unmanned aerial vehicle. The apparatus for recovering and launching the unmanned aerial vehicle includes a main body that includes a storage space in which the unmanned aerial vehicle is stored, an inclined platform that forms an inclined surface which is connected between a fixed bar fixed in the main body and a moving bar moved to an opened upper portion of the main body and collides with the unmanned aerial vehicle induced to approach a side of the main body, a band member of which one end is connected to the moving bar and the other end is rolled up in a roll shape and stored in the storage space of the main body, and a driving motor that rotationally drives a rotor circumscribed with the band member in a normal direction or reverse direction, so that the moving bar is moved with respect to the fixed bar, wherein the inclined surface is formed by unfolding the inclined platform, the unmanned aerial vehicle colliding with the inclined surface is recovered to the storage space, and then the inclined platform is folded. | Son Cheol Yu (Pohang-si, KR), Ju Hyun Pyo (Yangsan-si, KR), Han Gil Joe (Gyeongsangnam-do, KR), Hyeon Woo Cho (Pohang-si, KR), Byeong Jin Kim (Chungcheongnam-do, KR) | Postech Academy-Industry Foundation (Pohang-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, KR) | 2016-12-07 | 2019-04-16 | B64F1/04, B64F1/00, B64D45/08, B64C39/02, B63G8/00, B64F1/02 | 15/372287 |
| 125 | 10258895 | Systems and methods for incorporating pneumatic robotic systems into inflatable objects | An inflatable assembly may include a housing that has a plurality of adjustment inflatables that may form a range of shapes at different levels of inflation. The inflatable may also include one or more sensors disposed on the housing and one or more valves disposed in the housing. The valves are controllable and configured to direct fluid flow into the plurality of adjustment inflatables. The assembly may also include a processor that receives data from the one or more sensors disposed on the housing and adjust one or more positions of the one or more valves based on the data to control fluid flow into one or more of the plurality of adjustment inflatables. | Robert Cortelyou (Orlando, FL), Ross Osterman (Orlando, FL), Justin Schwartz (Orlando, FL), Amanda Zielkowski (Orlando, FL), Caitlin A. Correll (Orlando, FL), Darrin Hughes (Orlando, FL), Anisha Vyas (Orlando, FL) | Universal City Studios Llc (Universal City, CA) | 2017-09-13 | 2019-04-16 | A63G31/12, A63G31/00, A63B71/06, G09B9/06, A63G31/16, A63G21/14, A63G21/18, A63H27/10, A63G3/00, A63G27/00, A63G7/00, G06F17/50 | 15/703711 |
| 126 | 10258534 | Methods and systems for providing feedback based on information received from an aerial vehicle | Described herein is a control system that facilitates assistance mode (s) . In particular, the control system may determine a particular assistance mode associated with an account. This particular assistance mode may specify (i) operations for an aerial vehicle to carry out in order to obtain sensor data providing environment information corresponding to a location associated with the account and (ii) feedback processes to provide feedback, via a feedback system associated with the account, that corresponds to respective environment information. The control system may transmit to the aerial vehicle an indication of the particular operations corresponding to the particular assistance mode and may then receive environment information for the location associated with the account. Based on the received environment information, the control system may apply the specified feedback processes to initiate feedback in accordance with the particular assistance mode via the associated feedback system. | Maxwell Andrew Sills (San Francisco, CA), Robert Samuel Gordon (San Bruno, CA), Ian Wetherbee (San Jose, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-02-14 | 2019-04-16 | A61H3/06, B64C39/02, G08G5/00, G05D1/10, G05D1/00, G06F3/01, G06T11/60, G06F3/16 | 15/432416 |
| 127 | 10248861 | System for identifying an unmanned moving object | A system for identifying an unmanned moving object, including: a mobile terminal, an unmanned moving object provided with moving means for enabling the object to move arbitrarily, a management server provided with a database to which specific information including possessor information of the unmanned moving object and individual object management information correlating with the specific information are input, and a communication network which enables communication between the mobile terminal and the management server, wherein identification information that is acquired when a user of the mobile terminal has encountered the unmanned moving object is associated with the individual object management information in advance and the mobile terminal acquires the identification information, acquires specific information by checking the identification information of the mobile terminal for a match within the individual object management information on the management server, and ascertains the possessor information of the unmanned moving object. | Kazuo Ichihara (Nagoya, JP) | Prodrone Co., Ltd. (Nagoya, JP) | 2016-05-10 | 2019-04-02 | G06K9/00, G06Q50/10, B64C39/02 | 15/765461 |
| 128 | 10239638 | Home station for unmanned aerial vehicle | Described herein are apparatuses that provided various features related to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An example apparatus may include, among other features, (i) a launch system for a UAV, (ii) a landing feature that is arranged on the apparatus so as to receive the UAV when the UAV returns from a flight, and (iii) a mechanical battery-replacement system that is configured to (a) remove a first battery from the UAV, and (b) after removal of the first battery, install a second battery in the UAV. | Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA), Parsa Dormiani (San Mateo, CA), Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Sean Mullaney (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-02-11 | 2019-03-26 | B64F1/00, B64F1/02, B64F1/04, B64C39/02, B64F1/18 | 14/619673 |
| 129 | 10239614 | Interactive transport services provided by unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments relate to a client-facing application for interacting with a transport service that transports items via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An example graphic interface may allow a user to order items to specific delivery areas associated with their larger delivery location, and may dynamically provide status updates and other functionality during the process of fulfilling an aerial vehicle transport request. | Jonathan Lesser (Mountain View, CA), Michael Bauerly (Mountain View, CA), May Cheng (Mountain View, CA), Rue Song (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-10-05 | 2019-03-26 | B64D45/00, B64C39/02, G06F3/0488, G06Q50/28, G06Q10/08, G06F3/0481, G01C23/00 | 16/153507 |
| 130 | 10232940 | Methods and systems for raising and lowering a payload | Described herein are methods and systems for picking up, transporting, and lowering a payload coupled to a tether of a winch system arranged on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . for example, the winch system may include a motor for winding and unwinding the tether from a spool, and the UAV's control system may operate the motor to lower the tether toward the ground so a payload may be attached to the tether. The control system may monitor an electric current supplied to the motor to determine whether the payload has been attached to the tether. In another example, when lowering a payload, the control system may monitor the motor current to determine that the payload has reached the ground and responsively operate the motor to detach the payload from the tether. The control system may then monitor the motor current to determine whether the payload has detached from the tether. | Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA), Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-22 | 2019-03-19 | B64D1/22, B64C39/02, B66D1/60, B66D1/12 | 15/389326 |
| 131 | 10222177 | Multimode unmanned aerial vehicle | A system comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configured to transition from a terminal homing mode to a target search mode, responsive to an uplink signal and/or an autonomous determination of scene change. | Carlos Thomas Miralles (Burbank, CA) | Aerovironment, Inc. (Monrovia, CA) | 2015-08-21 | 2019-03-05 | G05D1/00, F41G7/00, F41G9/00, G08G5/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/12, F41G7/22 | 14/832688 |
| 132 | 10217367 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and system having the same | The present disclosure provides a system including: a control center configured to monitor a movement of an unmanned aerial vehicle through a communication with the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the unmanned aerial vehicle configured to transmit and receive information regarding a movement through the communication with the control center, and configured to land on a vehicle moving in a route corresponding to a driving route of a plurality of driving routes of the unmanned aerial vehicle and move together with the vehicle. | Chang Woo Chun (Anyang-si, KR) | Hyundai Motor Company (Seoul, KR) | 2017-05-03 | 2019-02-26 | G01C23/00, G05D1/06, G05D1/10, G08G5/02, B64C39/02, G05D1/00, G05D3/00, G06F7/00, G06F17/00, G08G5/00 | 15/585656 |
| 133 | 10202190 | Method and system for designing cooperatively-driven aircraft system | A method and system for designing a cooperatively-driven aircraft system. A cooperatively-driven aircraft system comprises an aircraft, a movable ground monitor station or a fixed ground monitor station, a data link of a composite data chain, and a relay communication device. A flight management system is disposed inside the aircraft. The aircraft is connected to the movable ground monitor station or the fixed ground monitor station by means of the radio data link of the composite data chain. Telemetering data information about the flight management system is issued to the movable ground monitor station or the fixed ground monitor station by means of the composite data chain. A manned aircraft technology and an unmanned aerial vehicle system technology are combined, cooperative air and ground driving is constructed, and a new technology aircraft system integrating easy flight and safe flight is provided. | Wenying Tao (Anshun, CN), Shaowen Yang (Anshun, CN) | Wenying Tao (Anshun, CN) | 2016-07-22 | 2019-02-12 | G08G5/00, B64C39/02, H04B7/185, G05B19/048 | 15/747439 |
| 134 | 10181729 | Mobile hybrid transmit/receive node for near-field wireless power delivery | A system and method for a mobile hybrid transmitter/receiver (TX/RX) node for wireless resonant power delivery is disclosed. A hybrid TX/RX can be configured to travel to remote, wirelessly-powerable receivers and deliver power to them wirelessly. A hybrid TX/RX device can include a transmitter component (TX) , a receiver (RX) component, and a power store for storing power for supply to remote receivers. The TX/RX device can be configured in an autonomous unmanned vehicle operational to travel between a fixed source transmitter devices and one or more specified locations that may be host to one or more remote receivers. In the location of the one or more remote receivers, the TX component may function to wirelessly transfer power from the power store to the one or more remote receivers. In the location of the fixed source transmitter device, RX component can be configured to receive power via wireless power transfer, and to use the received power to at least partially replenish the power store. | Richard Wayne DeVaul (Mountain View, CA), Brian John Adolf (Mountain View, CA), Raj B. Apte (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-11-13 | 2019-01-15 | H02J5/00, H02J7/02 | 14/940417 |
| 135 | 10175687 | Systems and methods for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle | Systems and methods for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle recognize and interpret gestures by a user. The gestures are interpreted to adjust the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a sensor carried by the unmanned aerial vehicle, or both. | Pablo Lema (San Mateo, CA), Shu Ching Ip (Cupertino, CA) | Gopro, Inc. (San Mateo, CA) | 2017-05-26 | 2019-01-08 | B64C39/00, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G06K7/10 | 15/606700 |
| 136 | 10173773 | Systems and methods for operating drones in response to an incident | A response system may be provided. The response system may include a security system and an autonomous drone. The security system includes a security sensor and a controller. The drone includes a processor, a memory in communication with the processor, and a drone sensor. The processor may be programmed to link the drone to the controller, build a virtual navigation map of the coverage area based, at least in part, upon initial sensor data stored by the drone, determine that the coverage area is unoccupied, deploy the drone from a docking station, control movement of the drone within the coverage area based upon the virtual navigation map, collect drone sensor data of the coverage area using the drone sensor, and/or analyze the collected drone sensor data to identify an abnormal condition within the coverage area, the abnormal condition including at least one of damage or theft occurring within the coverage area. | Bryan Flick (Bloomington, IL) | State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, IL) | 2016-08-12 | 2019-01-08 | B64C39/02, G05D1/10, G05D1/00, H04L29/08, G06Q40/08 | 15/236154 |
| 137 | 10156631 | Deterrent for unmanned aerial systems | A system for providing integrated detection and deterrence against an unmanned vehicle including but not limited to aerial technology unmanned systems using a detection element, a tracking element, an identification element and an interdiction or deterrent element. Elements contain sensors that observe real time quantifiable data regarding the object of interest to create an assessment of risk or threat to a protected area of interest. This assessment may be based e.g., on data mining of internal and external data sources. The deterrent element selects from a variable menu of possible deterrent actions. Though designed for autonomous action, a Human in the Loop may override the automated system solutions. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2017-06-19 | 2018-12-18 | G01S7/38, G01S13/66, G01S13/88, G01S3/782, G01S7/41, G01S13/42, G01S13/86, G01S7/02, F41H11/02, F41H13/00, G01S13/91, G01S13/93 | 15/627229 |
| 138 | 10155587 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system and method for use | A system includes an unmanned aerial vehicle having a body with a hollow cavity, a plurality of rotary assemblies secured to the body and configured to provide lift, a control system disposed within the hollow cavity, a deterrent device secured to the body, a remote communication device operably associated with the control system. The method includes providing tracking location of a user upon activation of the remote control device, autonomously flying the unmanned aerial vehicle to a location of the remote communication device, and delivering a payload. | Rujing Tang (Plano, TX) | Rujing Tang (Plano, TX) | 2016-02-11 | 2018-12-18 | B64C39/02, B64C27/08, G05D1/00, B64D47/02, B64D47/08 | 15/041815 |
| 139 | 10153644 | Delivering and negotiating wireless power delivery in a multi-receiver system | A transmitter includes a first resonator to generate an oscillating field at a resonant frequency in response to receiving power from a power source. The transmitter includes a first communication interface and a first controller to control the first resonator and to communicate data via the first communication interface. One of a plurality of receivers includes a second resonator to be wirelessly coupled to the first resonator. The second resonator resonates at the common mode resonant frequency in response to the oscillating field. The one receiver includes a second communication interface to establish wireless side-channel communications with the first communication interface and to communicate the data with the first communication interface via the wireless side-channel communications. The first controller identifies the one receiver from the plurality of receivers according to the communicated data, and in response, the first resonator transfers the power to the second resonator. | Richard Wayne DeVaul (Mountain View, CA), Brian John Adolf (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-11-13 | 2018-12-11 | H02J5/00, H04B5/00, H02J50/40, H02J50/12, H02J50/05, H04W76/14, H02J50/80 | 14/941017 |
| 140 | 10146230 | Control device, optical device, and control method for tracking unmanned aerial vehicle, and system and program therefor | A technique enables easy recapture of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that an optical device has lost sight of. A control device controls tracking of the unmanned aerial vehicle. When failing to capture the unmanned aerial vehicle during tracking of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the control device controls processing to transmit a lost signal and controls processing to search for the unmanned aerial vehicle by targeting an airspace containing a location at which the unmanned aerial vehicle was previously captured by the control device. | Nobuyuki Nishita (Tokyo, JP) | Topcon Corporation (Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, JP) | 2018-02-12 | 2018-12-04 | G06F7/00, G05D1/10, G06F17/00, G06F19/00, H04N7/18, G08G5/00 | 15/893986 |
| 141 | 10139837 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system and method with environmental sensing | An aerial system and method of operating an aerial system is provided. The aerial system includes a body, a lift mechanism, a processing system, a camera, and a sensor module. The lift mechanism is coupled to the body and configured to controllably provide lift and/or thrust. The processing system is configured to control the lift mechanism to provide flight to the aerial system. The camera is coupled to the body and is configured to obtain images of an environment proximate the aerial system. The sensor module is coupled to the body and includes an emitter and a receiver. The receiver is configured to sense data related to an ambient environment associated with the aerial system. The processing system controls a controllable parameter of the lift mechanism or the emitter as a function of the sensed data. | Yusen Qin (HangZhou, CN), Tong Zhang (HangZhou, CN), Menqiu Wang (HangZhou, CN) | Hangzhou Zero Zero Technology Co., Ltd. (Hangzhou, Zhejiang, CN) | 2017-09-12 | 2018-11-27 | G05D1/10, B64D47/08, G05D1/00, H04N5/225, B64C39/02, H04N7/18, G01S17/93, G01S17/02, G01S17/08, G01S15/93, G01S13/94, G01S13/93, G01S13/88, G01S13/86, G01S15/02, G01S15/08, G01S13/08 | 15/701740 |
| 142 | 10138002 | Tethered unmanned aerial vehicle system | In one aspect, an example system includes: (i) a base including a bottom surface and a first coupling-point, (ii) a vertically-oriented elongate structure comprising a lower end, an upper end, and an inner channel, wherein the inner channel comprises an upper access-point disposed proximate the upper end, wherein the base is coupled to the elongate structure proximate the lower end, (iii) a deployable cushioning-device coupled to the elongate structure, and (iv) a tether comprising a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion, wherein the first portion is coupled to the first coupling-point, the second portion is coupled to a second coupling-point of the UAV, the third portion extends through the inner channel, the fourth portion extends from the upper access-point to the second coupling-point, and the fourth portion has a length that is less than a distance between the upper access-point and the bottom surface. | Hank J. Hundemer (Bellevue, KY) | Tribune Broadcasting Company, Llc (Chicago, IL) | 2016-07-14 | 2018-11-27 | B64F1/02, B64F3/00, B64C39/02 | 15/210072 |
| 143 | 10137984 | Systems and methods for operating drones in response to an incident | A response drone for detecting incidents within a coverage area including multiple zones is provided. With customer permission or affirmative consent, the drone may be programmed to (1) detect (or receive an indication of) triggering activity associated with one of the zones, (2) determine or receive a navigation path to that zone, (3) travel to that zone based upon the determined navigation path, (4) collect sensor data using drone-mounted sensors, and (5) transmit the collected sensor data to a user computing device associated with the coverage area for review. The response drone may be an autonomous drone in wireless communication with a smart home controller that detects triggering activity associated with an insurance-related event (e.g., fire) . The autonomous drone may automatically deploy to mitigate damage to insured assets (e.g., a home or personal belongings) . The autonomous drone data may be used for subsequent insurance claim handling and/or damage estimation. | Bryan Flick (Bloomington, IL) | State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, IL) | 2016-08-12 | 2018-11-27 | B64C39/02, G08G5/00, G05D1/10, G06Q40/08 | 15/236192 |
| 144 | 10137982 | Propeller units | An aerial vehicle includes one or more propeller units operable to provide thrust for takeoff or hover flight and one or more propulsion units operable to provide thrust for forward flight. At least one propeller unit includes a shaft coupled to a motor, and a first propeller blade and a second propeller blade that are both connected to the shaft. The second propeller blade is located substantially opposite the first propeller blade, and the second propeller blade has a surface area substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation that is greater than a corresponding surface area of the first propeller blade. While the aerial vehicle is in forward flight in a first direction and the motor is turned off, the first propeller blade and the second propeller blade are each configured to orient in a second direction that is substantially parallel to the first direction, such that the first propeller blade is oriented substantially upwind of the second propeller blade. | Parsa Dormiani (San Mateo, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-05-07 | 2018-11-27 | B64C27/22, B64C39/02, B64C27/24, B64C27/26, B64C27/39 | 14/706162 |
| 145 | 10135257 | Extending the distance range of near-field wireless power delivery | A system and method for wireless resonant power transfer is disclosed. The system may include a transmitter that, in addition to being configured for resonantly coupling power into an oscillating electric and/or magnetic field, is also configured to transmit one or more test signals. Test signals can include single frequency continuous wave test signals, frequency sweep test signals, and time-pulsed modulated test signals. By comparing measurements of phase and amplitude of both the transmitted test signal and one or more reflections of the test signal reflected by one or more reflecting entities, electromagnetic properties of the one or more reflecting entities may be determined. The determined properties may then be used to enhance the efficiency and/or effectiveness of power transfer, and/or to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate consumption of wirelessly transferred power by devices in the oscillating field. | Brian John Adolf (Mountain View, CA), Richard Wayne DeVaul (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-11-13 | 2018-11-20 | H02J50/00, H02J5/00 | 14/940391 |
| 146 | 10131429 | Method and systems of autonomously picking up water in support of fire fighting missions | The disclosure is directed to systems and methods for autonomously picking up water in support of fire fighting missions using aerial vehicles. More particularly, the disclosure is directed to systems and methods for picking up water in support of fire fighting missions using onboard sensing and decision making processes with application of the fire retardant using unmanned aerial vehicles. | Christopher Zonio (Endicott, NY), Thomas Spura (Endicott, NY) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2016-10-18 | 2018-11-20 | B64D1/22, G05D1/06, B64C39/02, B64D47/08, G05D1/04, A62C31/00 | 15/296189 |
| 147 | 10131428 | Inflatable packaging for use with UAV | An inflatable package enclosure for use on an aerial vehicle including an inflatable exterior chamber, a first inner cavity positioned within the inflatable exterior chamber, an inflation valve positioned on the inflatable exterior chamber, and a handle on the inflatable exterior chamber for securing the inflatable package enclosure to the aerial vehicle, wherein when the inflatable exterior chamber is inflated and when a package is positioned in the first inner cavity, inner surfaces of the inflatable exterior chamber conform to outer surfaces of the package to secure the package within the inflatable exterior chamber. | Clark Sopper (Redwood City, CA), Adam Woodworth (Santa Clara, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-02-18 | 2018-11-20 | B64D1/08, B65D77/22, B65D81/38, B65D65/46, G08G5/00, B64C27/08, B64C39/02, G06Q10/08 | 15/046830 |
| 148 | 10126126 | Autonomous mission action alteration | An unmanned aerial vehicle responds to mission cues during a mission. The mission cues are characteristics of image and/or sensor data. The unmanned aerial vehicle may change data gathering operations or may perform sub-missions within a mission in response to the mission cues. | Robert Parker Clark (Palo Alto, CA) | Kespry Inc. (Menlo Park, CA) | 2016-11-23 | 2018-11-13 | G01C7/04, G06K9/00, B64C39/02, H04N7/18, G05D1/00, G08G5/00, B64D31/06 | 15/360870 |
| 149 | 10124890 | Modular nacelles to provide vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities to fixed wing aerial vehicles, and associated systems and methods | Modular nacelles to provide vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities to fixed-wing aerial vehicles, and associated systems and methods are disclosed. A representative system includes a nacelle, a power source carried by the nacelle, and multiple VTOL rotors carried by the nacelle and coupled to the power source. The system can further include an attachment system carried by the nacelle and configured to releasably attach the nacelle to an aircraft wing. | Jaime G. Sada-Salinas (San Antonio, TX), David Alejandro Arellano-Escarpita (Durango, MX) | Dronetechuav Corporation (San Antonio, TX) | 2015-04-03 | 2018-11-13 | B64C29/00, B64C39/02, B64D27/26, B64D27/24, B64D17/80, B64D29/02, B64D1/02 | 14/678534 |
| 150 | 10118699 | Interactive transport services provided by unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments relate to a client-facing application for interacting with a transport service that transports items via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An example graphic interface may allow a user to order items to specific delivery areas associated with their larger delivery location, and may dynamically provide status updates and other functionality during the process of fulfilling a UAV transport request. | Jonathan Lesser (Mountain View, CA), Michael Bauerly (Mountain View, CA), May Cheng (Mountain View, CA), Rue Song (Mountain View, CA) | Wing Aviation Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-05-08 | 2018-11-06 | B64D45/00, G01C23/00, B64C39/02 | 15/974311 |
| 151 | 10110795 | Video system and method for data communication | A camera system and method capture image data with a camera, a data storage device electrically connected to the camera and configured to store the video data and/or a communication device electrically connected to the camera and configured to communicate the image data to a system receiver located remote from the camera. The system receiver may be located onboard a vehicle such that an operator can carry the camera off board the vehicle and communicate the image data back to the vehicle, when performing, for example, work on the vehicle or inspecting the vehicle or the environs of the vehicle. | Mark Bradshaw Kraeling (Melbourne, FL), Michael Scott Miner (Melbourne, FL), Shannon Joseph Clouse (Lawrence Park, PA), Anwarul Azam (Lawrence Park, PA), Matthew Lawrence Blair (Lawrence Park, PA), Nidhi Naithani (Bangalore, IN), Dattaraj Jagdish Rao (Bangalore, IN), Anju Bind (Bangalore, IN), Sreyashi Dey Chaki (Bangalore, IN), Scott Daniel Nelson (Melbourne, FL), Nikhil Uday Naphade (Maharashtra, IN), Wing Yeung Chung (Erie, PA), Daniel Malachi Ballesty (Lawrence Park, PA), Glenn Robert Shaffer (Erie, PA), Jeffrey James Kisak (Erie, PA) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 2014-11-14 | 2018-10-23 | H04N7/18, H04N5/232, B60R1/00 | 14/541370 |
| 152 | 10106257 | Mechanisms for lowering a payload to the ground from a UAV | Embodiments described herein may help to provide medical support via a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An illustrative UAV may include a housing, a payload, a line-deployment mechanism coupled to the housing and a line, and a payload-release mechanism that couples the line to the payload, wherein the payload-release mechanism is configured to release the payload from the line. The UAV may further include a control system configured to determine that the UAV is located at or near a delivery location and responsively: operate the line-deployment mechanism according to a variable deployment-rate profile to lower the payload to or near to the ground, determine that the payload is touching or is within a threshold distance from the ground, and responsively operate the payload-release mechanism to release the payload from the line. | William Graham Patrick (Palo Alto, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Andrew Conrad (Malibu, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-03-28 | 2018-10-23 | B64D1/22, B64D1/12, B64C39/02 | 15/939093 |
| 153 | 10099782 | Tethered unmanned aerial vehicle system | In one aspect, an example system includes: (i) a base including a bottom surface and a first coupling-point, (ii) a vertically-oriented elongate structure comprising a lower end, an upper end, and an inner channel, wherein the inner channel comprises an upper access-point disposed proximate the upper end, wherein the base is coupled to the elongate structure proximate the lower end, (iii) a deployable cushioning-device coupled to the elongate structure, and (iv) a tether comprising a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion, wherein the first portion is coupled to the first coupling-point, the second portion is coupled to a second coupling-point of the UAV, the third portion extends through the inner channel, the fourth portion extends from the upper access-point to the second coupling-point, and the fourth portion has a length that is less than a distance between the upper access-point and the bottom surface. | Hank J. Hundemer (Bellevue, KY) | Tribune Broadcasting Company, Llc (Chicago, IL) | 2016-07-14 | 2018-10-16 | B64C39/02, B64F3/00, B64F3/02, B64F1/02 | 15/210039 |
| 154 | 10095087 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system for taking close-up picture of facility and photography method using the same | Provided are an unmanned aerial vehicle system for taking a close-up picture of a facility and a photography method using the same. The unmanned aerial vehicle system can safely bring a drone, which is an unmanned aerial vehicle, close to a facility surface, which is a subject, using supports and settling members to precisely photograph damage, deterioration, and defects on the facility surface and can safely bring the unmanned aerial vehicle close to the facility and fix the unmanned aerial vehicle on the facility in a perpendicular direction with respect to the subject surface of the facility to improve the quality of an image captured by a camera when the unmanned aerial vehicle is remotely controlled or autonomously navigates. | Hyeong Yeol Kim (Gyeonggi-do, KR) | Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (Gyeonggi-Do, KR) | 2016-12-14 | 2018-10-09 | G03B39/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/00, B64C25/10, G03B15/00, B64D47/08 | 15/378057 |
| 155 | 10081263 | Three-phase wireless power transfer system and three-phase wireless chargeable unmanned aerial vehicle system based on the same | Disclosed are a three-phase wireless power transfer (WPT) system and three-phase wireless rechargeable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system based on the same. Three power receiving coils, including resonators, are installed at the ends of three landing leg of the UAV. A three-phase power converter installed in the UAV receives the three-phase AC induction current induced in three power receiving coils, including resonators, converting the three-phase AC induction current into a DC current to be charged in a battery. A three-phase power wireless charging apparatus wirelessly transfers three-phase power from three power transmitting coils to the three power receiving coils of the UAV when the three landing legs land on three coil seating units provided on a charging platform. A magnetic flux leakage shielding coil may be provided to prevent magnetic flux leakage from approaching the UAV. The power transfer efficiency is excellent, and electromagnetic interference can be also reduced. | Joung-Ho Kim (Daejeon, KR), Chi-Uk Song (Daejeon, KR) | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Daejeon, KR) | 2017-02-10 | 2018-09-25 | H02J7/00, B64C39/02, B60L11/18 | 15/429747 |
| 156 | 10079635 | Network capacity management | An example embodiment may involve receiving a request to provide unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based wireless coverage to a particular geographical location. Possibly in response to the request, a UAV may fly to the particular geographical location. A first wireless interface of the UAV may define a wireless coverage area that covers at least part of the particular geographical location. A second wireless interface of the UAV may establish a wireless backhaul link to a data network. The UAV may provide wireless data transfer services to at least one device in the particular geographical location, where the wireless data transfer services allow the device to exchange data communication with the data network via the UAV. | David Vos (Mountain View, CA), Andrew Patton (Mountain View, CA), Sean Mullaney (Mountain View, CA), Behnam Motazed (Mountain View, CA), Siegfried Zerweckh (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2018-03-08 | 2018-09-18 | H04W84/00, H04B7/185 | 15/915547 |
| 157 | 10059459 | Unmanned aerial vehicle recovery system | An unmanned aerial vehicle includes a closely integrated emergency recovery and operation systems for an unmanned aerial vehicle with built-in levels of redundancy and independence to maximize the likelihood of a controlled velocity landing. The unmanned aerial vehicle may include multiple processors and multiple state estimating modules such as inertial measurement units to independently determine the operational and error status of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Base on predictive or projected computations, the emergency recovery system may determine a suitable time for a recovery action, such as parachute deployment, and execute the recovery action. | Robert Parker Clark (Palo Alto, CA) | Kespry Inc. (Menlo Park, CA) | 2015-05-28 | 2018-08-28 | G05D1/00, G05D3/00, G06F7/00, G06F17/00, B64D17/62, B64C39/02, B64D43/02, B64D17/80, G05D1/10, G05D1/08 | 14/723897 |
| 158 | 10055984 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system and method of use | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system includes a command center having a computing device an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a body, the UAV to communicate wirelessly with the command center via a network, the UAV having a control system with a power source, a geospatial tracking device, and a multi-channel communication portal, a camera secured to the body and in communication with the control system, and one or more equipment attachment sites, site assessment tools to attach to or within the one or more equipment attachment sites, each of the site assessment tools to record a data associated with an emergency site, such as weather conditions, road conditions, traffic, visibility, radiation, and chemical exposure, the UAV is to receive commands from the command center to deploy to the emergency site, and the UAV is to receive the data and transmit the data to the command center via the multi-channel communication portal. | Lee Schaeffer (Frisco, TX), Norman Seals (Dallas, TX), James Nelson Dearien, II (Frisco, TX), William Jennings Dearian (Frisco, TX) | --- | 2017-10-13 | 2018-08-21 | G08G1/095, B64D47/08, G08G1/04, G08G1/048, B60L11/18, B64C39/02, G08G1/09, A61B5/024, A61B5/01 | 15/783351 |
| 159 | 10049298 | Vehicle image data management system and method | An image management system includes a controller and one or more analysis processors. The controller is configured to receive search parameters that specify at least one of operational data or a range of operational data of one or more vehicle systems. The one or more analysis processors are configured to search remotely stored image data based on the search parameters to identify matching image data. The remotely stored image data was obtained by one or more imaging systems disposed onboard the one or more vehicle systems, and are associated with the operational data of the one or more vehicle systems that was current when the remotely stored image data was acquired. The one or more analysis processors also are configured to obtain the matching image data having the operational data specified by the search parameters and to present the matching image data to an operator. | Mark Bradshaw Kraeling (Melbourne, FL), Anwarul Azam (Erie, PA), Matthew Lawrence Blair (Lawrence Park, PA), Shannon Joseph Clouse (Lawrence Park, PA) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 2014-09-12 | 2018-08-14 | H04N7/18, G06K9/62, G06K9/00, B61L23/04 | 14/485398 |
| 160 | 10035623 | Package for drone delivery | A package enclosure for use on an aerial vehicle including an outer skin having left and right side walls and a front end and a rear end, a base positioned within the outer skin exerting a force against inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the outer skin, and a handle upwardly extending from the base. | Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA), Clark Sopper (Redwood City, CA), Kyle A. Liske (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-08-19 | 2018-07-31 | B65D5/46, B65D5/42, B65D5/20, B64D1/22, B64C39/02 | 15/241721 |
| 161 | 10029787 | Interactive transport services provided by unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments relate to a client-facing application for interacting with a transport service that transports items via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An example graphic interface may allow a user to order items to specific delivery areas associated with their larger delivery location, and may dynamically provide status updates and other functionality during the process of fulfilling a UAV transport request. | Jonathan Lesser (Mountain View, CA), Michael Bauerly (Mountain View, CA), May Cheng (Mountain View, CA), Rue Song (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-06-30 | 2018-07-24 | B64D45/00, B64C39/02, G01C23/00 | 15/199675 |
| 162 | 10023323 | Estimating wind from an airborne vehicle | Embodiments are described for determining wind by an airborne aerial vehicle without reliance on direct measurements of airspeed by the vehicle. Instead, wind may be computationally estimated using disclosed techniques for utilizing measurements of only ground-speed and heading, or only measurements of forces experienced by the airborne aerial vehicle during flight. In one technique, samples of ground-speed measurements and corresponding heading measurements of an airborne vehicle are used in a mathematical optimization of a wind-driven hypothesis of deviations between the two types of measurement at each of multiple sampling times. In another technique, an aerodynamic model of an aerial vehicle can be used to adjust parameters of a wind hypothesis in order to achieve a best-fit between predicted and measured forces on the aerial vehicle during flight. | Richard Joseeph William Roberts (Mountain View, CA), Joshua John Bialkowski (San Mateo, CA), Justin Sadowski (San Francisco, CA), John Roberts (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-04-29 | 2018-07-17 | B64D43/00, B64C39/02 | 14/699058 |
| 163 | 10000285 | Methods and systems for detecting and resolving failure events when raising and lowering a payload | Described herein are methods and systems for detecting and correcting errors when picking up and lowering a payload coupled to a tether of a winch system arranged on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . for example, the winch system may include a motor for winding and unwinding the tether from a spool, and the UAV's control system may control the motor to lower the tether and monitor an electric current supplied to the motor to determine whether a payload has detached from the tether. This process of lowering the tether and monitoring the motor current may be repeated up to a predetermined number of times, at which point the control system may operate the motor to detach the tether from the spool, leaving both the tether and the payload behind. | Trevor Shannon (Mountain View, CA), Andre Prager (Sunnyvale, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-12-22 | 2018-06-19 | B64C39/00, G05D1/02, B66D1/60, B66D1/12, B64C39/02, B64D1/02 | 15/389338 |
| 164 | 9994307 | Vertical take-off-and-landing unmanned aerial vehicle system capable of landing on uneven or sloped terrain | A system for landing, comprising a vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) having landing gear, wherein the landing gear is telescopic and comprises a sensor, and wherein the landing gear is compressed upon landing on a surface, and the compression causes a signal to be sent to a system that computes the slope of the ground surface using the length of the compressed landing gear and the attitude of the UAV. If the center of gravity falls within the support area, the legs are locked and the UAV power is turned off. If the center of gravity falls outside the support area, the UAV is forced to take off and find a safer landing spot. | Hoa G. Nguyen (San Diego, CA), Aaron B. Burmeister (San Diego, CA) | The United States of America As Represented By Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 2016-03-25 | 2018-06-12 | B64C25/28, B64C25/32, B64C25/52, B64C29/00, B64C39/02, B64C25/00 | 15/081163 |
| 165 | 9986440 | Interference and mobility management in UAV-assisted wireless networks | Techniques and systems are disclosed for addressing the challenges in interference and mobility management in broadband, UAV-assisted heterogeneous network (BAHN) scenarios. Implementations include BAHN control components, for example, at a controlling network node of a BAHN. Generally, a component implementing techniques for managing interference and handover in a BAHN gathers state data from network nodes or devices in the BAHN, determines a candidate BAHN model that optimizes interference and handover metrics, and determines and performs model adjustments to the network parameters, BS parameters, and UAV-assisted base station (UABS) device locations and velocities to conform to the optimized candidate BAHN model. Also described is a UABS apparatus having a UAV, communications interface for communicating with a HetNet in accordance with wireless air interface standards, and a computing device suitable for implementing BAHN control or reinforcement learning components. | Ismail Guvenc (Raleigh, NC) | The Florida International University Board of Trustees (Miami, FL) | 2017-02-27 | 2018-05-29 | H04M11/04, H04W16/14, H04W36/20, H04B7/185, H04W16/22, H04W16/28, H04W84/04 | 15/443147 |
| 166 | 9984672 | Noise cancellation for aerial vehicle | A noise cancellation system for an unmanned aerial vehicle may have an audio capture module, a metadata module and a filter. The audio capture module may be configured to receive an audio signal captured from a microphone, e.g., on a camera. The metadata module may be configured to retrieve noise information associated with noise generating components operating on the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . The filter may be configured to receive the audio signal and noise information from the audio capture module. The filter also may be configured to retrieve a baseline profile from a database based on the noise information. The baseline profile includes noise parameter to filter out audio frequencies from the audio signal corresponding to the noise generating component. The filter may generate a filtered audio signal for output. | Gary Fong (Cupertino, CA) | Gopro, Inc. (San Mateo, CA) | 2016-09-15 | 2018-05-29 | G10K11/178, B64C39/02, H04R3/04, B64D47/08 | 15/267102 |
| 167 | 9981834 | Method of actively controlling winch swing via modulated uptake and release | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including a winch system, wherein the winch system includes a winch line having a first end that is secured to the payload, and wherein the winch system is controllable to vary the rate of descent of the payload, an inertial measurement unit positioned on the payload or on the first end of the winch line, wherein the inertial measurement unit is configured to measure oscillations of the payload, and a control system configured to (a) receive data from the IMU, (b) determine oscillations of the payload based on the data received from the IMU, and (c) operate the winch system to vary the deployment rate of the winch line so to damp oscillations of the payload. | Joshua John Bialkowski (San Mateo, CA), John Roberts (Mountain View, CA), Abraham Bachrach (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-07-28 | 2018-05-29 | B66D1/48, B66C13/06, B64D1/08, B64C39/02, B64D1/22 | 15/222150 |
| 168 | 9977117 | Systems and methods for detecting, tracking and identifying small unmanned systems such as drones | A system for providing integrated detection and countermeasures against unmanned aerial vehicles include a detecting element, a location determining element and an interdiction element. The detecting element detects an unmanned aerial vehicle in flight in the region of, or approaching, a property, place, event or very important person. The location determining element determines the exact location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The interdiction element can either direct the unmanned aerial vehicle away from the property, place, event or very important person in a non-destructive manner, or can cause disable the unmanned aerial vehicle in a destructive manner. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2017-05-17 | 2018-05-22 | G01S7/38, G01S13/42, G01S3/782, G01S13/88, G01S7/41, F41H11/02 | 15/598112 |
| 169 | 9957046 | Mechanisms for lowering a payload to the ground from a UAV | Embodiments described herein may help to provide medical support via a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An illustrative UAV may include a housing, a payload, a line-deployment mechanism coupled to the housing and a line, and a payload-release mechanism that couples the line to the payload, wherein the payload-release mechanism is configured to release the payload from the line. The UAV may further include a control system configured to determine that the UAV is located at or near a delivery location and responsively: operate the line-deployment mechanism according to a variable deployment-rate profile to lower the payload to or near to the ground, determine that the payload is touching or is within a threshold distance from the ground, and responsively operate the payload-release mechanism to release the payload from the line. | William Graham Patrick (Palo Alto, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Andrew Conrad (Malibu, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-09-21 | 2018-05-01 | B64D1/12, B64D1/22, B64C39/02 | 15/711758 |
| 170 | 9948380 | Network capacity management | An example embodiment may involve receiving a request to provide unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based wireless coverage to a particular geographical location. Possibly in response to the request, a UAV may fly to the particular geographical location. A first wireless interface of the UAV may define a wireless coverage area that covers at least part of the particular geographical location. A second wireless interface of the UAV may establish a wireless backhaul link to a data network. The UAV may provide wireless data transfer services to at least one device in the particular geographical location, where the wireless data transfer services allow the device to exchange data communication with the data network via the UAV. | David Vos (Mountain View, CA), Andrew Patton (Mountain View, CA), Sean Mullaney (Mountain View, CA), Behnam Motazed (Mountain View, CA), Siegfried Zerweckh (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-10-27 | 2018-04-17 | H04B7/185, H04W84/00 | 15/336376 |
| 171 | 9944366 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system and methods for use | A drone equipped with a camera, a wireless communication module, an acoustic sensor, a GPS receiver, software and collapsible floatation device patrols above swimmers. The camera and acoustic sensor capture the video and audio of the swimmers. The information is either streamed to a command center or processed by the onboard software. With audio and video analysis capabilities, software is used to detect a swimmer in distress (SID) . Alternatively the information is streamed to lifeguard or volunteers all over the world to spot SID. Another detection method is to let swimmer wear a wearable emergency notification device, which sends wireless signals comprising GPS location data. A SID presses a button to indicate rescue request and the drones fly over by GPS signal guidance. Solar power is used as the optional power source of the drones, which would allow the to sustain operation for a prolonged period of time. Once a SID is identified, the drone or drones fly over the SID and drops the collapsible floatation device. | Rujing Tang (Plano, TX) | Rujing Tang (Plano, TX) | 2016-05-18 | 2018-04-17 | B63C9/00, B63C9/01, B64C39/02 | 15/158518 |
| 172 | 9919723 | Aerial camera system and method for determining size parameters of vehicle systems | An aerial system and method use a distance sensor to measure spatial distances between the distance sensor and plural vehicles in a vehicle system formed from the vehicles operably coupled with each other during relative movement between the distance sensor and the vehicle system. The spatial distances measured by the distance sensor are used to determine a size parameter of the vehicle system based on the spatial distances that are measured. | Aadeesh Shivkant Bhagwatkar (Bangalore, IN), Sharon DSouza (Bangalore, IN), Krishna Chaitanya Narra (Bangalore, IN), Brad Thomas Costa (Melbourne, FL), Seneca Snyder (Melbourne, FL), Jerry Duncan (Melbourne, FL), Mark Bradshaw Kraeling (Melbourne, FL), Michael Scott Miner (Melbourne, FL), Shannon Joseph Clouse (Erie, PA), Anwarul Azam (Lawrence Park, PA), Matthew Lawrence Blair (Lawrence Park, PA), Nidhi Naithani (Bangalore, IN), Dattaraj Jagdish Rao (Banglaore, IN), Anju Bind (Banglaore, IN), Sreyashi Dey Chaki (Banglaore, IN), Scott Daniel Nelson (Melbourne, FL), Nikhil Uday Naphade (Maharashtra, IN), Wing Yeung Chung (Erie, PA), Daniel Malachi Ballesty (Wattsburg, PA), Glenn Robert Shaffer (Erie, PA), Jeffrey James Kisak (Erie, PA), Dale Martin DiDomenico (Melbourne, FL) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 2015-10-15 | 2018-03-20 | B61L23/00, B61K9/00, B64C39/02, H04N7/18, B61L15/00, B64D47/08, G06K9/00, B61L27/00, A63H19/24, A63H17/395, A63H30/04, B61L23/04 | 14/884233 |
| 173 | 9902495 | Data center powered by a hybrid generator system | An unmanned aerial vehicle includes at least one rotor motor configured to drive at least one propeller to rotate. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a data center including a processor, a data storage component, and a wireless communications component. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a hybrid generator system configured to provide power to the at least one rotor motor and to the data center, the hybrid generator system including a rechargeable battery configured to provide power to the at least one rotor motor, an engine configured to generate mechanical power, and a generator motor coupled to the engine and configured to generate electrical power from the mechanical power generated by the engine. The data center may include an intelligent data management module configured to control power distribution and execution of mission tasks in response to available power generation and mission task priorities. | Long N. Phan (Somerville, MA), Samir Nayfeh (Shrewsbury, MA), John J. Polo (Simpsonville, SC), Eli M. Davis (Cambridge, MA), Paul A. DeBitetto (Concord, MA) | Top Flight Technologies, Inc. (Malden, MA) | 2017-05-12 | 2018-02-27 | B64C39/02, B64D47/08, G08G5/00 | 15/594255 |
| 174 | 9896221 | Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having a deployable net for capture of threat UAVs | An apparatus for use as part of, or attached to, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to intercept and entangle a threat unmanned aerial vehicle, includes a flight and payload control system for controlling power to the UAV and for controlling maneuvering of the UAV. A host-side mount may be coupled to the UAV and is in communication with the flight and payload control system. A payload-side mount is removably attached to the host-side mount and includes a power interface and a control interface between the payload-side mount and the host-side mount. A counter-UAV system is coupled to said payload-side mount and includes a deployable net having a cross-sectional area sized for intercepting and entangling the threat unmanned aerial vehicle, and a deployment mechanism for mounting to the unmanned aerial vehicle including a rigid mounting bar and a pair of cords, between which the deployable net is disposed. | James C. Kilian (Tyngsborough, MA), Brede J. Wegener (Cambridge, MA), Eric Wharton (Hopkinton, MA), David R. Gavelek (Bedford, MA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2015-07-20 | 2018-02-20 | B64F1/02, B64C39/02 | 14/803888 |
| 175 | 9881021 | Utilization of third party networks and third party unmanned aerial vehicle platforms | A device receives a request for a flight path, for a UAV, from a first location to a second location, and calculates the flight path based on the request. The device determines network requirements for the flight path based on the request, and selects a network based on the network requirements. The device generates flight path instructions, and device provides the flight path instructions to the UAV to permit the UAV to travel from the first location to the second location via the flight path. The device receives, at a particular point of the flight path, an indication that the UAV is leaving a coverage area of the network and entering a coverage area of a third party network, and hands off the UAV to a third party device to permit the third party device to monitor traversal of the flight path by the UAV, via the third party network. | Douglas M. Pasko (Bridgewater, NJ), Ashok N. Srivastava (Mountain View, CA), Hani Batla (Teaneck, NJ), Igor Kantor (Raleigh, NC), Gurpreet Ubhi (Nutley, NJ) | Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc. (Basking Ridge, NJ) | 2014-05-20 | 2018-01-30 | G06F17/30, H04W36/30, G08G5/00, G06Q10/08, H04W36/14, H04W12/06 | 14/282217 |
| 176 | 9875414 | Route damage prediction system and method | A route damage prediction system includes cameras, a conversion unit, and an analysis unit. The cameras obtain image data that include a route traveled upon by vehicles. The image data includes still images and/or video of the route obtained at different times. The conversion unit includes one or more computer processors configured to at least one of create wireframe model data or modify the image data into the wireframe model data representative of the route. The analysis unit includes one or more computer processors configured to examine changes in the wireframe model data to identify a historical trend of changes in the image data. The analysis unit is configured to compare the historical trend of the changes in the image data with designated patterns of changes in the wireframe model data to determine when to request at least one of repair, inspection, or maintenance of the route. | Nidhi Naithani (Bangalore, IN), Dattaraj Jagdish Rao (Bangalore, IN), Anju Bind (Bangalore, IN), Sreyashi Dey Chaki (Bangalore, IN) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 2014-04-15 | 2018-01-23 | G06K9/00, G06T7/00, G06T7/55 | 14/253294 |
| 177 | 9873442 | Aerial camera system and method for identifying route-related hazards | An aerial camera system includes an aerial device disposed onboard a non-aerial vehicle as the non-aerial vehicle moves along a route. The aerial device also can be configured to fly above the route during movement of the vehicle along the route. The camera unit is configured to be disposed onboard the aerial device and to generate image data during flight of the aerial device. The one or more image analysis processors are configured to examine the image data and to identify a hazard disposed ahead of the non-aerial vehicle along a direction of travel of the non-aerial vehicle based on the image data. A method for identifying route-related hazards using image data obtained from a camera unit on an aerial device. | Brad Thomas Costa (Melbourne, FL), Seneca Snyder (Melbourne, FL), Jerry Duncan (Melbourne, FL), Mark Bradshaw Kraeling (Melbourne, FL), Michael Scott Miner (Melbourne, FL), Shannon Joseph Clouse (Erie, PA), Anwarul Azam (Lawrence Park, PA), Matthew Lawrence Blair (Lawrence Park, PA), Nidhi Naithani (Bangalore, IN), Dattaraj Jagdish Rao (Bangalore, IN), Anju Bind (Bangalore, IN), Sreyashi Dey Chaki (Bangalore, IN), Scott Daniel Nelson (Melbourne, FL), Nikhil Uday Naphade (Maharashtra, IN), Wing Yeung Chung (Erie, PA), Daniel Malachi Ballesty (Wattsburg, PA), Glenn Robert Shaffer (Erie, PA), Jeffrey James Kisak (Erie, PA), Dale Martin DiDomenico (Melbourne, FL) | General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY) | 2015-02-17 | 2018-01-23 | H04N7/00, B61L23/04, B64D47/08, G06K9/00, B64C39/02, H04N5/232, H04N7/18 | 14/624069 |
| 178 | 9868548 | Take-off system and method for unmanned aerial vehicles | An unmanned aerial vehicles take-off system may include at least one winch, at least one towline, at least one dolly on which at least one aircraft is mounted, and at least one battery of the at least one winch. At least one micro-controller unit is connected to the at least one winch, wherein the at least one microcontroller unit is configured to control the activation/deactivation of the at least one winch. An unmanned aerial vehicle take-off method is also disclosed that includes operating the at least one winch by means of at least one microcontroller unit connected to said at least one winch. | Enrique Emilio Serrot Hauke (Madrid, ES), Eduardo Gabriel Ferreyra (Madrid, ES), Jose Luis Lemus (Madrid, ES), Jose Antonio Blanco Del Alamo (Madrid, ES), Nieves Lapena Rey (Madrid, ES) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2015-12-01 | 2018-01-16 | B64F1/08, B64C39/02 | 14/955945 |
| 179 | 9868504 | Temporarily-installed aircraft observer door plug, chair, sonotube ejection and control system | In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a door plug assembly with a sonotube-launch system to be used in a temporarily-mounted control system for an aircraft. The door plug assembly is built from one or more panels designed to fit an opening in the fuselage of the aircraft, the opening being created by the removal of a door on the side of the fuselage. The door plug assembly includes a segmented bubble window with transparent glazing, with a kick panel on the lower portion of the bubble. The door plug assembly further includes a door strut indent which allows a strut to extend from the interior of the aircraft through the indent to the exterior of the aircraft. When a strut is not being used, a close-out panel is secured to the door plug assembly to allow the interior of the aircraft to be pressurized. | Richard L. K. Woodland (Homosassa, FL), Ross James Neyedly (Calgary, CA) | 1281329 Alberta Ltd. (Calgary, CA) | 2017-07-24 | 2018-01-16 | B64C1/22, B64C1/14 | 15/658277 |
| 180 | 9866039 | Wireless power delivery over medium range distances using magnetic, and common and differential mode-electric, near-field coupling | Embodiments described herein may relate to a system comprising a power source configured to provide a signal at an oscillation frequency, a transmitter coupled to the power source, wherein the transmitter comprises at least one transmit resonator, one or more receivers, wherein the at least one receive resonator is operable to be coupled to the transmit resonator via a wireless resonant coupling link, one or more loads, wherein each of the one or more loads is switchably coupled to one or more respective receive resonators. The system includes a controller configured to determine an operational state of the system, wherein the operational state comprises at least one of three coupling modes (common mode, differential mode, and inductive mode) , and is configured to cause the transmitter to provide electrical power to each of the one or more loads via the wireless resonant coupling link according to the determined operational state. | Brian John Adolf (Mountain View, CA), Richard Wayne DeVaul (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-11-13 | 2018-01-09 | H02J5/00, H02J50/05, H02J50/12, H02J7/02 | 14/940762 |
| 181 | 9864019 | Magnetic sensor system | Magnetic sensor system including an assembly comprising first, second, and third scalar point-sensor magnetometers being fixedly mounted with respect to one another such that the position of each magnetometer's axis is invariable with respect to the other magnetometers' axes. When the sensor assembly is in operation, each magnetometer's axis forms an angle with ambient magnetic field lines. Each magnetometer has an operating range defined with respect to a range of values of the angle formed by its axis and the ambient magnetic field. The magnetometers are positioned such that at least one of magnetometers is within its operating range at any point in time. Each magnetometer has an output signal. Computer processor determines which of the output signals is to be used any particular point in time in the sensing of local variations in the ambient magnetic field. Method of operation of the magnetic sensor system/assembly is disclosed. | Francis Lortie (Montreal, CA) | Cae Inc. (Saint-Laurent, CA) | 2013-05-28 | 2018-01-09 | G01R33/02, G01V3/18, G01R33/028 | 13/903421 |
| 182 | 9858480 | Tracking a vehicle using an unmanned aerial vehicle | Tracking a vehicle using an unmanned aerial vehicle is disclosed. One or more first images may be received from a first camera of the first unmanned aerial vehicle located at a first location. A parking violation committed by a first vehicle may be determined in at least one of the one or more first images. The first unmanned aerial vehicle may be then repositioned. One or more second images having the second field of view and showing the first vehicle may then be received. A unique identifier of the first vehicle may then be determined based on at least one of the one or more second images. | Steven David Nerayoff (Great Neck, NY), Thompson S. Wong (West Vancouver, CA) | Cloudparc, Inc. (Great Neck, NY) | 2016-10-22 | 2018-01-02 | G01C23/00, G08G5/00, G05D1/10, G05D1/00, G08G1/017, G06K9/00, G06Q30/02, G06Q20/02, G06Q20/14, G06Q30/04, G06K9/18, G06K9/32, G06K9/62, G08G1/052, G08G1/056, G08G1/133, G08G1/14, G07B15/00, G07B15/02, H04N5/232, G06Q50/26, B64C39/02, G06T7/00, G06T7/20, H04N7/18 | 15/331846 |
| 183 | 9857293 | Unmanned aerial vehicle system for the extraction and electrochemical detection of explosives and explosive components in soils using filter paper and electrolyte | Described herein is an approach using inexpensive, disposable chemical sensor probes that can be mounted on a small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and used to analyze a site (such as one known or suspected to contain explosive residue, spilled material or contaminated soil) without the need for a person to conduct ground operations at the site. The method involves contacting a soil or a surface with a filter paper wetted with a solvent, then subjecting the filter paper to voltammetry and/or spectroscopy, thus detecting a possible variation indicative of one or more analytes, wherein the solvent is the deep eutectic solvent consisting of a mixture of ethylene glycol and choline chloride. | Daniel Zabetakis (Brandywine, MD), Scott A. Trammell (Springfield, VA), Walter J. Dressick (Waldorf, MD), David A. Stenger (Annapolis, MD), Jasenka Verbarg (St. Louis, MO) | The United States of America, As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 2016-11-18 | 2018-01-02 | G01N27/48, G01N21/35, G01N33/22, G01N21/65, B64C39/02 | 15/356021 |
| 184 | 9851716 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and methods for controlling same | One variation of a method for imaging an area of interest includes: within a user interface, receiving a selection for a set of interest points on a digital map of a physical area and receiving a selection for a resolution of a geospatial map, identifying a ground area corresponding to the set of interest points for imaging during a mission, generating a flight path over the ground area for execution by an unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission, setting an altitude for the unmanned aerial vehicle along the flight path based on the selection for the resolution of the geospatial map and an optical system arranged within the unmanned aerial vehicle, setting a geospatial accuracy requirement for the mission based on the selection for the mission type, and assembling a set of images captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission into the geospatial map. | Bret Kugelmass (San Francisco, CA) | Airphrame, Inc. (San Francisco, CA) | 2016-12-05 | 2017-12-26 | G05D1/00, G08G5/00, B64C39/02 | 15/369774 |
| 185 | 9849981 | Payload-release device position tracking | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that includes a retractable payload delivery system. The payload delivery system can lower a payload to the ground using a delivery device that secures the payload during descent and releases the payload upon reaching the ground. The location of the delivery device can be determined as it is lowered to the ground using image tracking. The UAV can include an imaging system that captures image data of the suspended delivery device and identifies image coordinates of the delivery device, and the image coordinates can then be mapped to a location. The UAV may also be configured to account for any deviations from a planned path of descent in real time to effect accurate delivery locations of released payloads. | James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-12-29 | 2017-12-26 | B64D1/12, B64C39/02, G05D1/04 | 14/584189 |
| 186 | 9849979 | Providing services using unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments described herein may help to provide support via a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An illustrative medical-support system may include multiple UAVs, which are configured to provide support for a number of different situations. Further, the medical-support system may be configured to: (a) identify a remote situation, (b) determine a target location corresponding to the situation, (c) select a UAV from the fleet of UAVs, where the selection of the UAV is based on a determination that the selected UAV is configured for the identified situation, and (d) cause the selected UAV to travel to the target location to provide support. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-05-05 | 2017-12-26 | B64C39/02, B64C29/00, G05D1/10, G06Q10/08, B64C19/00, B64D1/08, G08G5/00 | 15/147762 |
| 187 | 9836054 | Systems and methods for determining preferences for flight control settings of an unmanned aerial vehicle | Consumption information associated with a user consuming video segments may be obtained. The consumption information may define user engagement during a video segment and/or user response to the video segment. Sets of flight control settings associated with capture of the video segments may be obtained. The flight control settings may define aspects of a flight control subsystem for the unmanned aerial vehicle and/or a sensor control subsystem for the unmanned aerial vehicle. The preferences for the flight control settings of the unmanned aerial vehicle may be determined based upon the first set and the second set of flight control settings. Instructions may be transmitted to the unmanned aerial vehicle. The instructions may include the determined preferences for the flight control settings and being configured to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to adjust the flight control settings to the determined preferences. | Pablo Lema (Burlingame, CA), Shu Ching Ip (Cupertino, CA) | Gopro, Inc. (San Mateo, CA) | 2017-05-19 | 2017-12-05 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02 | 15/600158 |
| 188 | 9836047 | Aerial vehicle data communication system | A data communication system for unmanned aerial vehicles includes communication links comprising a low-throughput capacity communication link and a high-throughput capacity communication link. The data communication system can also include a base station, to which the unmanned aerial vehicles send aerial data, and from which the unmanned aerial vehicles receive command signals. As the unmanned aerial vehicles perform missions in an open, distant airspace, the unmanned aerial vehicles can gather large volume data such as aerial images or videos. The data communication system allows opportunistic transfer of the gathered aerial data from the unmanned aerial vehicles to the base station when a high-throughput communication link is established. The data communication system allows constant communication between the base station and the unmanned aerial vehicles to send and receive low volume, operation-critical data, such as commands or on-going flight path changes, using a low-throughput communication link. | Robert Parker Clark (Palo Alto, CA), John D. Laxson (San Francisco, CA), Paul Doersch (San Francisco, CA) | Kespry, Inc. (Menlo Park, CA) | 2015-06-10 | 2017-12-05 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/10, G05G5/00, B64F1/00, G08G5/00 | 14/735747 |
| 189 | 9823654 | Multi-part navigation process by an unmanned aerial vehicle for navigation | Embodiments described herein may relate to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigating to a target in order to provide medical support. An illustrative method involves a UAV (a) determining an approximate target location associated with a target, (b) using a first navigation process to navigate the UAV to the approximate target location, where the first navigation process generates flight-control signals based on the approximate target location, (c) making a determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, and (d) in response to the determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, using a second navigation process to navigate the UAV to the target, wherein the second navigation process generates flight-control signals based on real-time localization of the target. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-03-28 | 2017-11-21 | G08G5/00, G05D1/12, G01S5/02, B64C39/02, B64C19/00, G05D1/00, G01S13/93, G01S13/94 | 15/082205 |
| 190 | 9817396 | Supervisory control of an unmanned aerial vehicle | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that may allow for supervisory control interaction by a remote operator to assist with navigation to a target location. The UAV may navigate to a target area and capture and send an image of the target area to the remote operator. The remote operator can then provide a user input that indicates a target location within the target area. Upon receiving an indication of the target area, the UAV can then autonomously navigate to the target location. In some examples, after reaching the target location, the UAV may initiate delivery of a payload at the target location using a retractable delivery system while the UAV hovers above. | Leila Takayama (Mountain View, CA), Brandon Alexander (San Francisco, CA), Roger William Graves (San Francisco, CA), Justin Sadowski (San Francisco, CA), Abraham Bachrach (Berkeley, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-12-31 | 2017-11-14 | G05D1/02, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/12, G08G5/00, B64C27/00 | 14/587091 |
| 191 | 9798324 | Autonomous vehicle operation | A method for an autonomous vehicle to follow a target is provided. The method may include obtaining a position and a velocity of a target and obtaining a position of an autonomous vehicle. The method may also include obtaining a path that encloses the position of the target and determining a path rate for the autonomous vehicle to move along the path based on the velocity of the target. The method may also include determining a path position along the path based on the position of the autonomous vehicle and determining a change in the position of the autonomous vehicle based on the path position, the path rate, and the velocity of the target. The method may also include adjusting a velocity and a direction of the autonomous vehicle to achieve the change in the position of the autonomous vehicle. | Ilja Nevdahs (Riga, LV), Janis Spogis (Riga, LV), Nils Trapans (Garkalnes Novads, LV), Edgars Rozentals (Riga, LV), Agris Kipurs (Jelgava, LV) | Helico Aerospace Industries Sia (Riga, LV) | 2015-08-28 | 2017-10-24 | G05D1/00, G05D1/08 | 14/839174 |
| 192 | 9789969 | Impact protection apparatus | An impact protection apparatus is provided, comprising a gas container configured to hold a compressed gas and an inflatable member configured to be inflated by the gas and function as an airbag of a movable object, such as an aerial vehicle. A valve controls flow of gas from the container to the inflatable member in response to a signal from a valve controller. The valve and valve controller are powered by an independent power source than one or more other systems of the movable object. A safety mechanism may also be provided that, unless deactivated, prevents inflation of the inflatable member. | Mingyu Wang (Shenzhen, CN) | Sz Dji Technology Co., Ltd. (Shenzhen, CN) | 2016-11-11 | 2017-10-17 | B64D25/00, B64C25/56, B64C25/32, B64D45/00, B64C25/54, B64C39/02 | 15/349750 |
| 193 | 9783297 | Mechanisms for lowering a payload to the ground from a UAV | Embodiments described herein may help to provide medical support via a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An illustrative UAV may include a housing, a payload, a line-deployment mechanism coupled to the housing and a line, and a payload-release mechanism that couples the line to the payload, wherein the payload-release mechanism is configured to release the payload from the line. The UAV may further include a control system configured to determine that the UAV is located at or near a delivery location and responsively: operate the line-deployment mechanism according to a variable deployment-rate profile to lower the payload to or near to the ground, determine that the payload is touching or is within a threshold distance from the ground, and responsively operate the payload-release mechanism to release the payload from the line. | William Graham Patrick (Palo Alto, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Andrew Conrad (Malibu, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-05-05 | 2017-10-10 | B64D1/12, B64C39/02, B64D1/22 | 15/147766 |
| 194 | 9783295 | Interaction during delivery from aerial vehicle | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that includes a retractable payload delivery system. The payload delivery system can lower a payload to the ground using an assembly that secures the payload during descent and releases the payload upon reaching the ground. The assembly can also include a bystander communication module for generating cues for bystander perception. While the assembly securing the payload is being lowered from the UAV, the bystander communication module can generate an avoidance cue indicating that bystanders should avoid interference with the assembly. The assembly also includes sensors that generate data used, at least in part, to determine when the descending assembly is at or near the ground, at which point the assembly releases the payload. The bystander communication module can then cease the avoidance cue and the UAV can retract the assembly. | Leila Takayama (Mountain View, CA), Matthew Ball (Mountain View, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA), Roger William Graves (San Francisco, CA), Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA), Andrew Lambert (Mountain View, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Paul Richard Komarek (San Jose, CA), Trevor Shannon (Menlo Park, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2017-03-27 | 2017-10-10 | B64D1/02, B64D1/22, B64D1/12, B64C39/02, B64D47/06 | 15/470610 |
| 195 | 9783282 | Temporarily-installed aircraft observer door plug, chair, sonotube ejection and control system | In one embodiment, a temporarily-mounted control system is installed in an aircraft. The temporarily-mounted control system includes a temporary door plug assembly that is adapted to in an opening in a fuselage of the aircraft, such as an opening created by removing a door in the fuselage. The temporary door plug is connected to a retraction rail assembly that connects the temporary door plug and the fuselage. One or more workstation assemblies is mounted to the floor of the aircraft using mounting plates that are attached to adaptive floor plates connected to the floor of the aircraft. An observer chair assembly is connected to the floor of the aircraft and to the workstation assemblies. | Richard L. K. Woodland (Homosassa, FL), Ross J. Neyedly (Calgary, CA) | 1281329 Alberta Ltd. (Calgary, CA) | 2017-02-13 | 2017-10-10 | B64C1/22, B64C1/14 | 15/431664 |
| 196 | 9777889 | Vapor cooled shielding liner for cryogenic storage in composite pressure vessels | A novel tank cryogenic-compatible composite pressure vessel that beneficially utilizes Vapor Cooled Shielding (VCS) is introduced to minimize thermal gradients along support structures and reduces heat loads on cryogenic systems. In particular, the configurations and mechanisms to be utilized herein include: providing for a desired number of passageways and a given thickness of the VCS, reducing the thermal conductivity of the VCS material, and increasing the cooling capacitance of the hydrogen vapors. | Jacob William Leachman (Pullman, WA), Patrick Marshall Adam (Pullman, WA) | Washington State University (Pullman, WA) | 2015-07-28 | 2017-10-03 | F17C1/00, F17C3/04 | 14/810597 |
| 197 | 9776717 | Aerial agricultural management system | An apparatus comprises a base vehicle, a takeoff and landing system, a rack system, a refueling system associated with the base vehicle, and a controller. The rack system comprises a group of racks with slots in which the slots receive unmanned aerial vehicles, provide refueling connections that facilitate refueling of the unmanned aerial vehicles located in the slots, and provide data connections that facilitate data transmission with the unmanned aerial vehicles located in the slots. The refueling system refuels an unmanned aerial vehicle located in a slot using a refueling connection in the refueling connections. The controller communicates with the unmanned aerial vehicle using a data connection and control the refueling of the unmanned aerial vehicles by the refueling system while the unmanned aerial vehicle is in the slot, enabling exchanging data with the unmanned aerial vehicle and the refueling of the unmanned aerial vehicle simultaneously. | Charles B. Spinelli (Mesa, AZ), John Lyle Vian (Renton, WA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2015-10-02 | 2017-10-03 | B64C27/08, B64C33/00, B64C39/02, B64F1/00, B64F1/22, A01B79/00 | 14/873399 |
| 198 | 9718544 | Methods and systems for providing aerial assistance | Embodiments described herein may relate to systems and methods for navigating to a supply request. An alert device may be controlled to issue alerts to draw the attention of bystanders to associated supplies for a situation. An illustrative method involves (a) receiving, by a computing system, a transmission indicating a situation at a designated location, (b) the computing system determining an approximate target area associated with the designated location, (c) the computing system making a determination that an alert device is located within the approximate target area, and (d) in response to the determination that the alert device is located within the approximate target area, the computing system executing instructions to activate at least one alert on the alert device indicating the situation and the designated location of the situation. | Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-07-06 | 2017-08-01 | B64C39/02, G05D1/00, G05D1/10, B64D1/14, G05D1/12, G07C5/00, G08B25/00, B64G1/52, A61B5/00 | 15/203388 |
| 199 | 9715009 | Deterent for unmanned aerial systems | A system (100) for providing an integrated multi-sensor detection and countermeasure against commercial unmanned aerial systems/vehicles (44) and includes a detecting element (103, 104, 105) , a tracking element (103,104, 105) an identification element (103, 104, 105) and an interdiction element (102) . The detecting element detects an unmanned aerial vehicle in flight in the region of, or approaching, a property, place, event or very important person. The tracking element determines the exact location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The identification/classification element utilizing data from the other elements generates the identification and threat assessment of the UAS. The interdiction element, based on automated algorithms can either direct the unmanned aerial vehicle away from the property, place, event or very important person in a non-destructive manner, or can disable the unmanned aerial vehicle in a destructive manner. The interdiction process may be over ridden by intervention by a System Operator/HiL. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2016-12-02 | 2017-07-25 | G01S13/88, G01S13/86, F41H11/02, G01S7/38, G01S13/66, G01S13/91, G01S13/93, G01S7/02, F41H13/00 | 15/368269 |
| 200 | 9715000 | System and method for friend or foe identification | A system for use in identifying one of an unmanned ground vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle includes a signal emitter associated with the unmanned vehicle. The signal emitter includes at least one quantum cascade laser. The signal emitter emits a signal having a wavelength between approximately 2 .mu.m and approximately 30 .mu.m, and the signal is detectable to identify the unmanned vehicle as friendly at a distance from the signal emitter greater than approximately 1 meter. | Susan Houde-Walter (Rush, NY), Christopher A. Gagliano (Rochester, NY), Daniel Balonek (Bergen, NY) | Lasermax, Inc. (Rochester, NY) | 2011-03-22 | 2017-07-25 | B64C39/02, B64D33/00, G01S1/70 | 13/053993 |
| 201 | 9689976 | Deterent for unmanned aerial systems | A system for providing integrated detection and countermeasures against unmanned aerial vehicles include a detecting element, an location determining element and an interdiction element. The detecting element detects an unmanned aerial vehicle in flight in the region of, or approaching, a property, place, event or very important person. The location determining element determines the exact location of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The interdiction element can either direct the unmanned aerial vehicle away from the property, place, event or very important person in a non-destructive manner, or can cause disable the unmanned aerial vehicle in a destructive manner. | Dwaine A. Parker (Naples, FL), Damon E. Stern (Riverview, FL), Lawrence S. Pierce (Huntsville, AL) | Xidrone Systems, Inc. (Naples, FL) | 2015-08-10 | 2017-06-27 | G01S13/86, G01S7/38, F41H13/00, G01S13/88, F41H11/02, G01S7/02, G01S13/42, G01S7/41, G01S3/782, G01S13/06, G01S13/91, G01S13/93 | 14/821907 |
| 202 | 9677564 | Magnetic propeller safety device | A magnetic propeller device for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes a propeller and a shaft mount that engage with a motor shaft of a UAV. The propeller and shaft mount each have a magnetic element. When both magnetic elements are aligned, the propeller engages the shaft mount by way of a magnetic holding force between the magnetic elements. When a propeller contacts an object and the propeller is displaced, the magnetic elements passively disengage the propeller from the shaft mount due to misalignment of the magnetic elements. Passive disengagement allows the propeller to rotate independently of the motor shaft. Once the UAV moves clear of the object, the magnetic elements can realign, such that the propeller re-engages the shaft mount and resumes rotation with the motor shaft. | Adam Woodworth (Santa Clara, CA), Clark Sopper (Redwood City, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-01-15 | 2017-06-13 | B64D35/00, F04D25/02, B64D45/00, B64C39/02 | 14/598009 |
| 203 | 9671781 | Responsive navigation of an unmanned aerial vehicle to a remedial facility | The present disclosure relates to a deployment system for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . In one aspect, an illustrative deployment system includes a communication system configured for receiving diagnostic data corresponding to an object included in a UAV, wherein the UAV has an expiration condition, and a logic module configured for (i) determining that the expiration condition has been satisfied based, at least in part, on the received diagnostic data, and (ii) responsive to determining that the expiration condition has been satisfied, initiating an action that includes sending to the UAV both (a) navigation data relating to a remedial facility, and (b) instructions to navigate to the remedial facility based, at least in part, on the navigation data. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-11-14 | 2017-06-06 | G07C5/00, G05D1/00 | 14/542203 |
| 204 | 9665098 | Systems and methods for determining preferences for flight control settings of an unmanned aerial vehicle | Consumption information associated with a user consuming video segments may be obtained. The consumption information may define user engagement during a video segment and/or user response to the video segment. Sets of flight control settings associated with capture of the video segments may be obtained. The flight control settings may define aspects of a flight control subsystem for the unmanned aerial vehicle and/or a sensor control subsystem for the unmanned aerial vehicle. The preferences for the flight control settings of the unmanned aerial vehicle may be determined based upon the first set and the second set of flight control settings. Instructions may be transmitted to the unmanned aerial vehicle. The instructions may include the determined preferences for the flight control settings and being configured to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to adjust the flight control settings to the determined preferences. | Pablo Lema (Burlingame, CA), Shu Ching Ip (Cupertino, CA) | Gopro, Inc. (San Mateo, CA) | 2016-02-16 | 2017-05-30 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02 | 15/045171 |
| 205 | 9665094 | Automatically deployed UAVs for disaster response | Embodiments relate to a container that can be installed at a remote location, detect a disaster event, and automatically deploy a UAV. In response to detection of the disaster event, such a container may be configured to: (i) determine whether or not one or more weather conditions affecting operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are conducive to deployment of the UAV to fly to the first geographic area, (ii) if the one or more conditions are conducive to deployment of the UAV, then deploy the UAV to fly to the first geographic area, and (iii) if the one or more conditions are not conducive to deployment of the UAV, then monitor the second data until it is determined that the one or more conditions are conducive to deployment of the UAV, and then deploy the UAV to fly to the first geographic area. | Daniel Martin Russell (Palo Alto, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-11-10 | 2017-05-30 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G01P5/00, B64D47/08 | 14/537855 |
| 206 | 9663227 | Systems and methods for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle | Systems and methods for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle recognize and interpret gestures by a user. The gestures are interpreted to adjust the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a sensor carried by the unmanned aerial vehicle, or both. | Pablo Lema (San Mateo, CA), Shu Ching Ip (Cupertino, CA) | Gopro, Inc. (San Mateo, CA) | 2015-12-22 | 2017-05-30 | B64C39/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/00 | 14/978782 |
| 207 | 9637233 | Unmanned aerial vehicle for interacting with a pet | An unmanned aerial vehicle for interacting with a pet. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a processor-based monitoring device to provide a behavioral assessment of the pet, an activity recommender to select an activity program dependent on the behavioral assessment, a motor mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle to provide aerial movement based on the activity program, and an activity coordinator to perform a function based on the activity program. The function includes activating feedback outputs upon completion of the activity program. | John A. Bivens (Ossining, NY), Minkyong Kim (Scarsdale, NY), Min Li (San Jose, CA), Clifford A. Pickover (Yorktown Heights, NY), Valentina Salapura (Chappaqua, NY) | International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY) | 2015-09-21 | 2017-05-02 | B64C39/02, G05D1/00, A01K15/00 | 14/860003 |
| 208 | 9630715 | Interaction during delivery from aerial vehicle | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that includes a retractable payload delivery system. The payload delivery system can lower a payload to the ground using an assembly that secures the payload during descent and releases the payload upon reaching the ground. The assembly can also include a bystander communication module for generating cues for bystander perception. While the assembly securing the payload is being lowered from the UAV, the bystander communication module can generate an avoidance cue indicating that bystanders should avoid interference with the assembly. The assembly also includes sensors that generate data used, at least in part, to determine when the descending assembly is at or near the ground, at which point the assembly releases the payload. The bystander communication module can then cease the avoidance cue and the UAV can retract the assembly. | Leila Takayama (Mountain View, CA), Matthew Ball (Mountain View, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA), Roger William Graves (San Francisco, CA), Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA), Andrew Lambert (Mountain View, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Paul Richard Komarek (San Jose, CA), Trevor Shannon (Menlo Park, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-10-31 | 2017-04-25 | B64D1/02, B64D1/12, B64C39/02, B64D1/22, B64D47/06 | 15/339400 |
| 209 | 9622133 | Interference and mobility management in UAV-assisted wireless networks | Techniques and systems are disclosed for addressing the challenges in interference and mobility management in broadband, UAV-assisted heterogeneous network (BAHN) scenarios. Implementations include BAHN control components, for example, at a controlling network node of a BAHN. Generally, a component implementing techniques for managing interference and handover in a BAHN gathers state data from network nodes or devices in the BAHN, determines a candidate BAHN model that optimizes interference and handover metrics, and determines and performs model adjustments to the network parameters, BS parameters, and UAV-assisted base station (UABS) device locations and velocities to conform to the optimized candidate BAHN model. Also described is a UABS apparatus having a UAV, communications interface for communicating with a HetNet in accordance with wireless air interface standards, and a computing device suitable for implementing BAHN control or reinforcement learning components. | Ismail Guvenc (Miramar, FL) | The Florida International University Board of Trustees (Miami, FL) | 2015-10-23 | 2017-04-11 | H04W24/08, H04W74/08, H04B7/185, H04W36/20, H04W36/30 | 14/921392 |
| 210 | 9613539 | Damage avoidance system for unmanned aerial vehicle | This disclosure describes an unmanned aerial vehicle (''UAV'') and system that may perform one or more techniques for protecting objects from damage resulting from an unintended or uncontrolled impact by a UAV. As described herein, various implementations utilize a damage avoidance system that detects a risk of damage to an object caused by an impact from a UAV that has lost control and takes steps to reduce or eliminate that risk. for example, the damage avoidance system may detect that the UAV has lost power and/or is falling at a rapid rate of descent such that, upon impact, there is a risk of damage to an object with which the UAV may collide. Upon detecting the risk of damage and prior to impact, the damage avoidance system activates a damage avoidance system having one or more protection elements that work in concert to reduce or prevent damage to the object upon impact by the UAV. | Jon Lewis Lindskog (Seattle, WA), Daniel Buchmueller (Seattle, WA), Samuel Park (Seattle, WA), Louis LeRoi LeGrand, III (Seattle, WA), Ricky Dean Welsh (Bellevue, WA), Fabian Hensel (Zurich, CH), Christopher Aden Maynor (Boston, MA), Ishwarya Ananthabhotla (Kings Park, NY), Scott Michael Wilcox (Bothell, WA) | Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Seattle, WA) | 2014-09-29 | 2017-04-04 | G08G5/04, H02K7/18, B64D45/00, B64C39/02, B64D17/80 | 14/500826 |
| 211 | 9604723 | Context-based flight mode selection | Systems and methods for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle within an environment are provided. In one aspect, a system comprises one or more sensors carried by the unmanned aerial vehicle and configured to provide sensor data and one or more processors. The one or more processors can be individually or collectively configured to: determine, based on the sensor data, an environment type for the environment, select a flight mode from a plurality of different flight modes based on the environment type, wherein each of the plurality of different flight mode is associated with a different set of operating rules for the unmanned aerial vehicle, and cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to operate within the environment while conforming to the set of operating rules of the selected flight mode. | Ang Liu (Shenzhen, CN), Xiao Hu (Shenzhen, CN), Guyue Zhou (Shenzhen, CN), Xuyang Pan (Shenzhen, CN) | Sz Dji Technology Co., Ltd (Shenzhen, CN) | 2016-04-01 | 2017-03-28 | B64C13/18, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G08G5/04, B64C19/00, G05D1/10, G05D1/04, G05D1/02 | 15/088645 |
| 212 | 9599441 | Off-board influence system | An influence system including open cell structures with one or more fractal reflective or resonating structures, wherein the fractal reflective or resonating structures are adapted to produce an emitted reflective or resonance signal that approximately matches a target electromagnetic signal reflection or resonance profile comprising a plurality of electromagnetic signal characteristics, said plurality of electromagnetic signal characteristics, a tow yoke coupled to one end of said blanket comprising a floatation chamber section, a tow cable adapted to tow said tow yoke and blanket, said tow cable comprising a low electromagnetic observable material or having a radar absorptive material coating. | William R Stocke, Jr. (Bloomington, IN) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 2013-09-09 | 2017-03-21 | F41J2/00, H01Q17/00, H01Q15/14, H01Q1/34, H01Q1/36 | 14/021202 |
| 213 | 9594372 | Methods and systems for providing feedback based on information received from an aerial vehicle | Described herein is a control system that facilitates assistance mode (s) . In particular, the control system may determine a particular assistance mode associated with an account. This particular assistance mode may specify (i) operations for an aerial vehicle to carry out in order to obtain sensor data providing environment information corresponding to a location associated with the account and (ii) feedback processes to provide feedback, via a feedback system associated with the account, that corresponds to respective environment information. The control system may transmit to the aerial vehicle an indication of the particular operations corresponding to the particular assistance mode and may then receive environment information for the location associated with the account. Based on the received environment information, the control system may apply the specified feedback processes to initiate feedback in accordance with the particular assistance mode via the associated feedback system. | Maxwell Andrew Sills (San Francisco, CA), Robert Samuel Gordon (San Bruno, CA), Ian Wetherbee (San Jose, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-01-21 | 2017-03-14 | G05D1/00, G05D1/10, G01C21/36, B64C39/02 | 15/002733 |
| 214 | 9592911 | Context-based flight mode selection | Systems and methods for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle within an environment are provided. In one aspect, a system comprises one or more sensors carried by the unmanned aerial vehicle and configured to provide sensor data and one or more processors. The one or more processors can be individually or collectively configured to: determine, based on the sensor data, an environment type for the environment, select a flight mode from a plurality of different flight modes based on the environment type, wherein each of the plurality of different flight mode is associated with a different set of operating rules for the unmanned aerial vehicle, and cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to operate within the environment while conforming to the set of operating rules of the selected flight mode. | Ang Liu (Shenzhen, CN), Xiao Hu (Shenzhen, CN), Guyue Zhou (Shenzhen, CN), Xuyang Pan (Shenzhen, CN) | Sz Dji Technology Co., Ltd (Shenzhen, CN) | 2015-07-16 | 2017-03-14 | B64C13/18, G05D1/10, G05D1/04, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/02 | 14/801640 |
| 215 | 9580173 | Translational correction of payload-release device based on tracked position | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that includes a retractable payload delivery system. The payload delivery system can lower a payload to the ground using a delivery device that secures the payload during descent and releases the payload upon reaching the ground. The location of the delivery device can be determined as it is lowered to the ground using image tracking. The UAV can include an imaging system that captures image data of the suspended delivery device and identifies image coordinates of the delivery device, and the image coordinates can then be mapped to a location. The UAV may also be configured to account for any deviations from a planned path of descent in real time to effect accurate delivery locations of released payloads. | James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-12-29 | 2017-02-28 | B64D1/12, B64C39/02 | 14/584195 |
| 216 | 9567060 | Temporarily-installed aircraft observer door plug, chair, sonotube ejection and control system | In one embodiment, a non-dedicated, temporarily-installed, aircraft observer bubble door, chair, sonotube ejection system, mission electronics LRU rack and workstation assembly are affixed to a host aircraft, thereby precluding the requirement for dedicated airframe modifications. One embodiment of the present invention also utilizes a multi-axis, articulated, foldable chair temporarily-installed in conjunction with a segmented or one piece pressurized observer bubble door plug and door retraction system. Once installed the subject apparatus can be stowed outboard of the fuselage cargo transit envelope to permit use of the ADS rail system in-flight, without affecting normal air drop operations, crew egress, the flight performance envelope, or emergency procedures of the host aircraft. | Richard L. K. Woodland (Homosassa, FL), Ross J. Neyedly (Calgary, CA) | 1281329 Alberta Ltd. (Calgary, Alberta, CA) | 2016-08-09 | 2017-02-14 | B64C1/22, B64C1/20, B64C1/14, B64D1/02, B64D11/06, B64C1/18 | 15/232661 |
| 217 | 9567058 | Temporarily-installed aircraft observer door plug, chair, sonotube ejection and control system | The system and apparatus of the present invention is generally comprised of a non-dedicated, temporarily-installed, aircraft observer bubble door, chair, sonotube ejection system, mission electronics LRU rack and workstation assembly which are affixed to the Air Deployment System (ADS) rails, cargo tie down ''D'' rings, seat belt restraint ring bolt sockets, and litter bar of a host aircraft, thereby precluding the requirement for dedicated airframe modifications. One embodiment of the present invention also utilizes a multi-axis, articulated, foldable chair temporarily-installed in conjunction with a segmented or one piece pressurized observer bubble door plug and door refraction system. Once installed the subject apparatus can be stowed outboard of the fuselage cargo transit envelope to permit use of the ADS rail system in-flight, without affecting normal air drop operations, crew egress, the flight performance envelope, or emergency procedures of the host aircraft. | Richard L. K. Woodland (Homosassa, FL), Ross James Neyedly (Calgary, CA) | 1281329 Alberta Ltd. (Calcary, Alberta, CA) | 2013-01-10 | 2017-02-14 | B64C1/22, B64C1/18, B64D1/02, B64D11/06, B64C1/20, B64C1/14 | 13/738935 |
| 218 | 9540104 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and methods for controlling same | One variation of a method for imaging an area of interest includes: within a user interface, receiving a selection for a set of interest points on a digital map of a physical area and receiving a selection for a resolution of a geospatial map, identifying a ground area corresponding to the set of interest points for imaging during a mission, generating a flight path over the ground area for execution by an unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission, setting an altitude for the unmanned aerial vehicle along the flight path based on the selection for the resolution of the geospatial map and an optical system arranged within the unmanned aerial vehicle, setting a geospatial accuracy requirement for the mission based on the selection for the mission type, and assembling a set of images captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission into the geospatial map. | Bret Kugelmass (San Francisco, CA) | Airphrame, Inc. (San Francisco, CA) | 2015-07-24 | 2017-01-10 | B64C39/02, G05D1/04, G06T1/00, G08G5/00, G05D1/00, G06T11/20, G05D1/10, G06T11/60, H04N7/18 | 14/807886 |
| 219 | 9527596 | Remote controlled aerial reconnaissance vehicle | A remotely controlled UAV is disclosed. The UAV includes a parachute, with a cylindrical power and control module suspended vertically below the parachute. In one embodiment, a propulsion source is mounted on top of the power and control module with control lines connected to the module below the propulsion source, and in another embodiment the power and control module is suspended from a point above a propulsion source. The UAV may be flown under a parachute and guided by remote control, or the control module (fuselage) may be released from the parachute and extendable fixed wings deployed to enable the UAV to be flown as a fixed wing vehicle. | Richard D. Adams (Madison, AL) | --- | 2015-05-19 | 2016-12-27 | B64D17/00, B64C11/00, B64C39/02, B64C3/56 | 14/716785 |
| 220 | 9525562 | Modular deterministic communication terminal for remote systems | A modular deterministic communication terminal and a method for transmitting user data between the modular deterministic communication terminal and a remote modular deterministic communication terminal are provided. The modular deterministic communication terminal includes at least one logic module including at least one deterministic hardware circuit configured to generate at least one data stream by combining user data of at least two data channels and to separately and independently transmit the at least one data stream via at least one communication link to at least one deterministic hardware circuit provided in the a remote modular deterministic communication terminal. | Roger F. Atkinson (El Cajon, CA) | Cahon Systems, Inc. (El Cajon, CA) | 2014-05-23 | 2016-12-20 | H04B7/212, H04L12/417, H04L12/40 | 14/286151 |
| 221 | 9505484 | Modular aircraft system | The modular aircraft system includes a single fuselage having a permanently installed empennage and plural sets of wing modules and engine modules, with each wing and engine module optimized for different flight conditions and missions. The fuselage and each of the modules are configured for rapid removal and installation of the modules to minimize downtime for the aircraft. Short wings having relatively low aspect ratio are provided for relatively high speed flight when great endurance and/or weight carrying capacity are not of great concern. Long wings having high aspect ratio are provided for longer range and endurance flights where speed is not absolutely vital. A medium span wing module is also provided. Turboprop, single turbojet, and dual turbojet engine modules are provided for installation depending upon mission requirements for any given flight. The aircraft is primarily adapted for use as an autonomously operated or remotely operated unmanned aerial vehicle. | Nasser M. Al-Sabah (Safat, KW) | --- | 2016-04-11 | 2016-11-29 | B64C3/38, B64C13/20, B64C9/32, B64D27/02, B64C3/34, B64D47/08, B64C9/00, B64C13/00, B64D15/00, B64D27/20, B64D27/14, B64D37/00, B64C39/02 | 15/096216 |
| 222 | 9493250 | Impact protection apparatus | An impact protection apparatus is provided, comprising a gas container configured to hold a compressed gas and an inflatable member configured to be inflated by the gas and function as an airbag of a movable object, such as an aerial vehicle. A valve controls flow of gas from the container to the inflatable member in response to a signal from a valve controller. The valve and valve controller are powered by an independent power source than one or more other systems of the movable object. A safety mechanism may also be provided that, unless deactivated, prevents inflation of the inflatable member. | Mingyu Wang (Shenzhen, CN) | Sz Dji Technology Co., Ltd (Shenzhen, CN) | 2015-11-20 | 2016-11-15 | B64D45/00, B64C25/56, B64D25/00, B64C25/32, B64C25/54 | 14/948220 |
| 223 | 9493238 | Bystander interaction during delivery from aerial vehicle | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that includes a retractable payload delivery system. The payload delivery system can lower a payload to the ground using an assembly that secures the payload during descent and releases the payload upon reaching the ground. The assembly can also include a bystander communication module for generating cues for bystander perception. While the assembly securing the payload is being lowered from the UAV, the bystander communication module can generate an avoidance cue indicating that bystanders should avoid interference with the assembly. The assembly also includes sensors that generate data used, at least in part, to determine when the descending assembly is at or near the ground, at which point the assembly releases the payload. The bystander communication module can then cease the avoidance cue and the UAV can retract the assembly. | Leila Takayama (Mountain View, CA), Matthew Ball (Mountain View, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA), Roger William Graves (San Francisco, CA), Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA), Andrew Lambert (Mountain View, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Paul Richard Komarek (San Jose, CA), Trevor Shannon (Menlo Park, CA) | X Development Llc (Mountain View, CA) | 2016-03-22 | 2016-11-15 | B64D1/02, B64C39/02, B64D47/06 | 15/077571 |
| 224 | 9481475 | Mobile unmanned aerial vehicle infrastructure and management system and method | A mobile UAV infrastructure and management system for control and management of one or more unmanned aerial vehicles including at least one landing platform to facilitate operational readiness of the unmanned aerial vehicle, radio beacons for localization of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a command and control station in communication with the unmanned aerial vehicle, and an unmanned ground vehicle for deploying the landing platform, the radio beacons and the command and control station. | David Esteban Campillo (Madrid, ES), Enrique Juan Casado Magana (Madrid, ES), David Scarlatti (Madrid, ES), Ivan Maza Alcaniz (Cadiz, ES), Fernando Caballero Benitez (Seville, ES), Ricardo Ragel de la Torre (Seville, ES) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2015-04-27 | 2016-11-01 | B64F1/00, G05D1/10, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, B64F1/10 | 14/696588 |
| 225 | 9464902 | Symbiotic unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned surface vehicle system | A system includes an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned surface vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle has a memory storing a plurality of collection points and at least one sensor for collecting sensor data from each of the collection points. The unmanned surface vehicle is capable of moving to a plurality of locations. The unmanned aerial vehicle travels through the air between at least two collection points stored in the memory and the unmanned aerial vehicle is carried between at least two collection points stored in the memory by the unmanned surface vehicle. | Volkan Isler (Minneapolis, MN), David Mulla (Minneapolis, MN), Pratap Tokekar (Minneapolis, MN), Joshua Vander Hook (Minneapolis, MN) | Regents of The University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) | 2014-09-26 | 2016-10-11 | G01C21/00, G08G7/00, G01N33/24, G01N1/02 | 14/498369 |
| 226 | 9436181 | Multi-part navigation process by an unmanned aerial vehicle for navigation | Embodiments described herein may relate to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigating to a target in order to provide medical support. An illustrative method involves a UAV (a) determining an approximate target location associated with a target, (b) using a first navigation process to navigate the UAV to the approximate target location, where the first navigation process generates flight-control signals based on the approximate target location, (c) making a determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, and (d) in response to the determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, using a second navigation process to navigate the UAV to the target, wherein the second navigation process generates flight-control signals based on real-time localization of the target. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-12-05 | 2016-09-06 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02, B64C19/00, G05D1/12, G01S5/02 | 14/562324 |
| 227 | 9434473 | Providing services using unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments described herein may help to provide support via a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An illustrative medical-support system may include multiple UAVs, which are configured to provide support for a number of different situations. Further, the medical-support system may be configured to: (a) identify a remote situation, (b) determine a target location corresponding to the situation, (c) select a UAV from the fleet of UAVs, where the selection of the UAV is based on a determination that the selected UAV is configured for the identified situation, and (d) cause the selected UAV to travel to the target location to provide support. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-05-06 | 2016-09-06 | B64C39/02, G06Q10/08, B64C19/00, G05D1/10 | 14/705879 |
| 228 | 9422139 | Method of actively controlling winch swing via modulated uptake and release | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including a winch system, wherein the winch system includes a winch line having a first end that is secured to the payload, and wherein the winch system is controllable to vary the rate of descent of the payload, an inertial measurement unit positioned on the payload or on the first end of the winch line, wherein the inertial measurement unit is configured to measure oscillations of the payload, and a control system configured to (a) receive data from the IMU, (b) determine oscillations of the payload based on the data received from the IMU, and (c) operate the winch system to vary the deployment rate of the winch line so to damp oscillations of the payload. | Joshua John Bialkowski (San Mateo, CA), John Roberts (Mountain View, CA), Abraham Bachrach (Mountain View, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-05-19 | 2016-08-23 | B66C13/06, B64C39/02, B64D1/08, B66D1/48 | 14/281846 |
| 229 | 9417325 | Interface for accessing radar data | A process is described that includes the generation and transmission of collision avoidance data and/or collision avoidance instructions based on data from 3-D radar scans of an airspace. The transmitted data and/or instructions could facilitate collision avoidance by aerial vehicles operating in the airspace. The transmitted data could be limited to protect the security, privacy, and/or safety of other aerial vehicles, airborne objects, and/or individuals within the airspace. The transmitted data could be limited such that only information pertaining to a region of the airspace proximate to a particular aerial vehicle was transmitted. The transmitted data could be limited such that it included instructions that could be executed by a particular aerial vehicle to avoid collisions and such that the transmitted data did not include location or other data associated with other aerial vehicles or airborne objects in the airspace. | Adam Bry (San Mateo, CA), Abraham Bachrach (San Francisco, CA), Bruno Andre Posokhow (Redwood City, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-01-10 | 2016-08-16 | G01S13/93, G08G5/00, G01S5/00, G01S13/00 | 14/152630 |
| 230 | 9409646 | Methods and systems for providing aerial assistance | Embodiments described herein may relate to systems and methods for navigating to an emergency situation. An alert device may be controlled to issue alerts to draw the attention of bystanders to associated supplies for a situation. An illustrative method involves (a) receiving, by a computing system, a transmission indicating a situation at a designated location, (b) the computing system determining an approximate target area associated with the designated location, (c) the computing system making a determination that an alert device is located within the approximate target area, and (d) in response to the determination that the alert device is located within the approximate target area, the computing system executing instructions to activate at least one alert on the alert device indicating the situation and the designated location of the situation. | Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-09-14 | 2016-08-09 | G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/10, B64G1/52, G08B25/00, G07C5/00, G05D1/12, A61B5/00 | 14/854012 |
| 231 | 9346547 | Mechanisms for lowering a payload to the ground from a UAV | Embodiments described herein may help to provide medical support via a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An illustrative UAV may include a housing, a payload, a line-deployment mechanism coupled to the housing and a line, and a payload-release mechanism that couples the line to the payload, wherein the payload-release mechanism is configured to release the payload from the line. The UAV may further include a control system configured to determine that the UAV is located at or near a delivery location and responsively: operate the line-deployment mechanism according to a variable deployment-rate profile to lower the payload to or near to the ground, determine that the payload is touching or is within a threshold distance from the ground, and responsively operate the payload-release mechanism to release the payload from the line. | William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Mountain View, CA), Andrew Conrad (Mountain View, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2013-08-26 | 2016-05-24 | B64D1/12, B64D1/22, B64C39/02 | 13/975590 |
| 232 | 9346544 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and methods for controlling same | One variation of a method for imaging an area of interest includes: within a user interface, receiving a selection for a set of interest points on a digital map of a physical area and receiving a selection for a resolution of a geospatial map, identifying a ground area corresponding to the set of interest points for imaging during a mission, generating a flight path over the ground area for execution by an unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission, setting an altitude for the unmanned aerial vehicle along the flight path based on the selection for the resolution of the geospatial map and an optical system arranged within the unmanned aerial vehicle, setting a geospatial accuracy requirement for the mission based on the selection for the mission type, and assembling a set of images captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission into the geospatial map. | Bret Kugelmass (San Francisco, CA) | Airphrame Inc. (San Francisco, CA) | 2015-05-29 | 2016-05-24 | G06T11/60, G06T1/00, G06T11/20, G05D1/04, G08G5/00, G05D1/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/10, H04N7/18 | 14/726125 |
| 233 | 9346543 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and methods for controlling same | One variation of a method for imaging an area of interest includes: within a user interface, receiving a selection for a set of interest points on a digital map of a physical area and receiving a selection for a resolution of a geospatial map, identifying a ground area corresponding to the set of interest points for imaging during a mission, generating a flight path over the ground area for execution by an unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission, setting an altitude for the unmanned aerial vehicle along the flight path based on the selection for the resolution of the geospatial map and an optical system arranged within the unmanned aerial vehicle, setting a geospatial accuracy requirement for the mission based on the selection for the mission type, and assembling a set of images captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission into the geospatial map. | Bret Kugelmass (San Francisco, CA) | Airphrame Inc. (San Francisco, CA) | 2015-05-29 | 2016-05-24 | G06T11/60, G06T11/20, G06T1/00, G05D1/04, G08G5/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/10, G05D1/00, H04N7/18 | 14/726106 |
| 234 | 9321531 | Bystander interaction during delivery from aerial vehicle | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that includes a retractable payload delivery system. The payload delivery system can lower a payload to the ground using an assembly that secures the payload during descent and releases the payload upon reaching the ground. The assembly can also include a bystander communication module for generating cues for bystander perception. While the assembly securing the payload is being lowered from the UAV, the bystander communication module can generate an avoidance cue indicating that bystanders should avoid interference with the assembly. The assembly also includes sensors that generate data used, at least in part, to determine when the descending assembly is at or near the ground, at which point the assembly releases the payload. The bystander communication module can then cease the avoidance cue and the UAV can retract the assembly. | Leila Takayama (Mountain View, CA), Matthew Ball (Mountain View, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA), Roger William Graves (San Francisco, CA), Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA), Andrew Lambert (Berkeley, CA), James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Paul Richard Komarek (San Jose, CA), Trevor Shannon (Menlo Park, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-07-08 | 2016-04-26 | B64D1/12 | 14/325994 |
| 235 | 9307383 | Request apparatus for delivery of medical support implement by UAV | An illustrative apparatus may include a UAV request apparatus having a housing with at least one interface configured to accept one or more inputs that are each indicative of a particular type of medical situation. A control system may be configured to receive, via the interface, a first input that corresponds to a first type of medical situation in which a defibrillator is configured to provide medical support, and send, via a first network interface to an access system for a network of UAVs, a medical support request including a unique electronic identifier for the apparatus and an indication of the first type of medical situation, such that a UAV delivers a defibrillator to a location associated with the unique electronic identifier. | William Graham Patrick (Mountain View, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2013-06-12 | 2016-04-05 | H04M11/04, H04W4/22 | 13/916328 |
| 236 | 9302770 | Payload-release device and operation thereof | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that includes a retractable payload delivery system. The payload delivery system can lower a payload to the ground using a delivery device that secures the payload during descent and releases the payload upon reaching the ground. The delivery device can include a channel in which a payload mount attachment for a payload can be inserted. The payload mount attachment can include an aperture for receiving a retaining rod to secure the attachment, and thus the payload, to the delivery device. The retaining rod can assume either an engaged position, in which a portion of the retaining rod engages the payload mount attachment while the payload mount attachment is inserted in the channel, or a disengaged position, in which the retaining rod does not engage the payload mount attachment. | James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2015-10-05 | 2016-04-05 | B64D1/12, B64C39/02, B64D9/00 | 14/875362 |
| 237 | 9290269 | Spooler for unmanned aerial vehicle system | In an aspect, in general, a spooling apparatus includes a filament feeding mechanism for deploying and retracting filament from the spooling apparatus to an aerial vehicle, an exit geometry sensor for sensing an exit geometry of the filament from the spooling apparatus, and a controller for controlling the feeding mechanism to feed and retract the filament based on the exit geometry. | Jason S. Walker (Medford, MA), John W. Ware (Brookline, MA), Samuel A. Johnson (Loveland, CO), Andrew M. Shein (Winchester, MA) | Cyphy Works, Inc. (Danvers, MA) | 2013-03-15 | 2016-03-22 | B64C39/02, H02G11/02, B64F3/00 | 13/838399 |
| 238 | 9262929 | Ground-sensitive trajectory generation for UAVs | Embodiments described herein may help to automatically create flight plans that incorporate information regarding a number of different societal considerations. An illustrative computer-implemented method may involve receiving societal-consideration data for a plurality of geographic areas over which unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are deployable. for a given geographic area from the plurality of geographic areas, the societal-consideration data may include one or more land-use indications for the geographic area that are indicative of a type of land use in the geographic area. The method may also involve, for each of one or more of the plurality of geographic areas: applying a cost function to the one or more land-use indications for the geographic area to determine a societal-consideration cost of UAV flight over the geographic area, and sending an indication of the determined societal-consideration cost to a computer-based flight planner. | Nick Roy (Newark, CA), Leila Takayama (Mountain View, CA), Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA), Roger William Graves (San Francisco, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-05-10 | 2016-02-16 | G01C23/00, G08G5/00 | 14/274694 |
| 239 | 9216818 | Impact protection apparatus | An impact protection apparatus is provided, comprising a gas container configured to hold a compressed gas and an inflatable member configured to be inflated by the gas and function as an airbag of a movable object, such as an aerial vehicle. A valve controls flow of gas from the container to the inflatable member in response to a signal from a valve controller. The valve and valve controller are powered by an independent power source than one or more other systems of the movable object. A safety mechanism may also be provided that, unless deactivated, prevents inflation of the inflatable member. | Mingyu Wang (Shenzhen, CN) | Sz Dji Technology Co., Ltd (Shenzhen, CN) | 2015-02-19 | 2015-12-22 | B64C25/00, B64D25/00, B64C25/32 | 14/626838 |
| 240 | 9174733 | Payload-release device and operation thereof | An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed that includes a retractable payload delivery system. The payload delivery system can lower a payload to the ground using a delivery device that secures the payload during descent and releases the payload upon reaching the ground. The delivery device can include a channel in which a payload mount attachment for a payload can be inserted. The payload mount attachment can include an aperture for receiving a retaining rod to secure the attachment, and thus the payload, to the delivery device. The retaining rod can assume either an engaged position, in which a portion of the retaining rod engages the payload mount attachment while the payload mount attachment is inserted in the channel, or a disengaged position, in which the retaining rod does not engage the payload mount attachment. | James Ryan Burgess (Redwood City, CA), Joanna Cohen (Mountain View, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2014-12-29 | 2015-11-03 | B64D1/12, B64D9/00, B64C39/02 | 14/584181 |
| 241 | 9158304 | Methods and systems for alerting and aiding an emergency situation | Embodiments described herein may relate to systems and methods for navigating to an emergency situation. An alert device may be controlled to issue alerts to draw the attention of bystanders to associated supplies for a situation. An illustrative method involves (a) receiving, by a computing system, a transmission indicating a situation at a designated location, (b) the computing system determining an approximate target area associated with the designated location, (c) the computing system making a determination that an alert device is located within the approximate target area, and (d) in response to the determination that the alert device is located within the approximate target area, the computing system executing instructions to activate at least one alert on the alert device indicating the situation and the designated location of the situation. | Mathias Samuel Fleck (Milpitas, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2013-11-10 | 2015-10-13 | G05D1/00, G05D1/12, B64C39/02, G05D1/10 | 14/076236 |
| 242 | 9127908 | Multimode unmanned aerial vehicle | A system comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configured to transition from a terminal homing mode to a target search mode, responsive to an uplink signal and/or an autonomous determination of scene change. | Carlos Thomas Miralles (Burbank, CA) | Aero Vironment, Inc. (Monrovia, CA) | 2010-02-02 | 2015-09-08 | G05D1/00, F41G7/22, F41G9/00, G08G5/00, F41G7/00 | 12/698995 |
| 243 | 9108729 | Autonomous control of unmanned aerial vehicles | A control module for an unmanned aerial vehicle is provided. In one example, the control module includes a plurality of control modes, wherein each control mode represents a different autonomy setting, a command generator configured to generate a command causing a selection of a first of the plurality of control modes for the unmanned aerial vehicle, and an intelligence synthesizer that automatically switches the unmanned aerial vehicle between the selected first of the plurality of control modes and a second of the plurality of control mode upon detection of a trigger event. | David S. Duggan (Lewisville, TX), David A. Felio (Flower Mound, TX), Billy B. Pate (Frisco, TX), Vince R. Longhi (Dallas, TX), Jerry L. Petersen (Southlake, TX), Mark J. Bergee (Southlake, TX) | L-3 Unmanned Systems, Inc. (Carrollton, TX) | 2014-05-15 | 2015-08-18 | G01C22/00, B64C39/02, G05D1/00, G08G5/04, B64C19/00 | 14/278444 |
| 244 | 9085362 | Counter-unmanned aerial vehicle system and method | A deployable net capture apparatus which is mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle to enable the interception and entanglement of a threat unmanned aerial vehicle. The deployable net capture apparatus includes a deployable net having a cross-sectional area sized for intercepting and entangling the threat unmanned aerial vehicle, and a deployment mechanism capable of being mounted to the unmanned aerial vehicle. The deployment mechanism includes an inflatable frame or a rod for positioning the net in a deployed position. | James C. Kilian (Tyngsborough, MA), Brede J. Wegener (Cambridge, MA), Eric Wharton (Hopkinton, MA), David R. Gavelek (Bedford, MA) | Lockheed Martin Corporation (Bethesda, MD) | 2012-11-21 | 2015-07-21 | B64C25/68, B64F1/02 | 13/683033 |
| 245 | 9075415 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and methods for controlling same | One variation of a method for imaging an area of interest includes: within a user interface, receiving a selection for a set of interest points on a digital map of a physical area and receiving a selection for a resolution of a geospatial map, identifying a ground area corresponding to the set of interest points for imaging during a mission, generating a flight path over the ground area for execution by an unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission, setting an altitude for the unmanned aerial vehicle along the flight path based on the selection for the resolution of the geospatial map and an optical system arranged within the unmanned aerial vehicle, setting a geospatial accuracy requirement for the mission based on the selection for the mission type, and assembling a set of images captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle during the mission into the geospatial map. | Bret Kugelmass (San Francisco, CA) | Airphrame, Inc. (San Francisco, CA) | 2014-03-11 | 2015-07-07 | G05D1/10, G06T11/60, H04N7/18 | 14/204634 |
| 246 | 9057609 | Ground-based camera surveying and guiding method for aircraft landing and unmanned aerial vehicle recovery | A ground-based videometrics guiding method for aircraft landing or unmanned aerial vehicles recovery is provided. The method comprised the following steps: setting videos (1,2,3,4,5,6) near the landing area of the aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles, real-time imaging the aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles during their final approaches, and real-time measuring the trajectory, velocity, acceleration, post and other motion parameters of the aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles by analyzing the video images and using videometrics technology, so as to provide guiding information for the aircraft landing or unmanned aerial vehicles recovery. | Qifeng Yu (HuNan, CN), Zhihui Lei (HuNan, CN), Xiaohu Zhang (HuNan, CN), Yang Shang (HuNan, CN), Heng Zhang (HuNan, CN), Xiang Zhou (HuNan, CN) | National University of Defense Technology (Changsha, Hunan, CN) | 2009-03-27 | 2015-06-16 | G01C11/00, G01C21/10, G05D1/06, G01S5/16, G08G5/00, G08G5/02 | 13/260471 |
| 247 | 9051043 | Providing emergency medical services using unmanned aerial vehicles | Embodiments described herein may help to provide medical support via a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) . An illustrative medical-support system may include multiple UAVs, which are configured to provide medical support for a number of different medical situations. Further, the medical-support system may be configured to: (a) identify a remote medical situation, (b) determine a target location corresponding to the medical situation, (c) select a UAV from the fleet of UAVs, where the selection of the UAV is based on a determination that the selected UAV is configured for the identified medical situation, and (d) cause the selected UAV to travel to the target location to provide medical support. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2012-12-28 | 2015-06-09 | B64C29/00, B64C19/00, G06Q10/08, B64C39/02 | 13/730298 |
| 248 | 9033281 | Remote controlled aerial reconnaissance vehicle | A radio controlled UAV is disclosed. The UAV includes a parachute, with a cylindrical power and control module suspended vertically below the parachute. In one embodiment, a propulsion source is mounted on top of the power and control module with control lines connected to the module below the propulsion source, and in another embodiment the power and control module is suspended from a point above a propulsion source. The UAV is controlled by radio controls from a hand held controller, with actuators retracting and letting out control lines attached to the parachute in order to control direction of the parachute. The UAV may be launched from a tube using a pressurized tank with a nozzle expelling gas from the tank, the tank and nozzle towing a canister from which the UAV is deployed. | Richard D. Adams (Madison, AL) | --- | 2012-03-01 | 2015-05-19 | B64D9/00 | 13/410225 |
| 249 | 8983682 | Unlocking mobile-device and/or unmanned aerial vehicle capability in an emergency situation | An illustrative emergency-support system may include multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) , which are configured to provide emergency support for a number of different emergency situations. Further, the emergency-support system may be configured to: (a) identify a request for assistance in a remote emergency situation, (b) identify a remote device associated with the request for assistance, (c) determine a target location corresponding to the emergency situation, (d) control a UAV to travel to the target location to provide emergency support, and (e) enable an otherwise restricted capability of one or more of the remote device or the UAV after controlling the UAV to travel to the target location, wherein the capability is enabled to help provide emergency support in the remote emergency situation. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2012-12-28 | 2015-03-17 | G05D1/12, G05D1/10, B64C39/02, B64C29/00 | 13/730189 |
| 250 | 8979023 | Impact protection apparatus | An impact protection apparatus is provided, comprising a gas container configured to hold a compressed gas and an inflatable member configured to be inflated by the gas and function as an airbag of a movable object, such as an aerial vehicle. A valve controls flow of gas from the container to the inflatable member in response to a signal from a valve controller. The valve and valve controller are powered by an independent power source than one or more other systems of the movable object. A safety mechanism may also be provided that, unless deactivated, prevents inflation of the inflatable member. | Mingyu Wang (Shenzhen, CN) | Sz Dji Technology Co., Ltd (Shenzhen, CN) | 2014-04-21 | 2015-03-17 | B64C25/56 | 14/257930 |
| 251 | 8948935 | Providing a medical support device via an unmanned aerial vehicle | Embodiments described herein may relate to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigating to a medical situation in order to provide medical support. An illustrative method involves a UAV (a) housing a medical-support device, (b) determining a target location associated with at least one individual in need of medical assistance, (c) navigating the UAV from a remote location to the target location, (d) the computing system making a determination that the UAV is located at the target location, and (e) in response to the determination that the UAV is located at the target location, delivering by a delivery mechanism the medical-support device for providing medical assistance for the at least one individual in need of medical assistance. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA), Sergey Brin (Palo Alto, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2013-01-02 | 2015-02-03 | G06Q10/00 | 13/732958 |
| 252 | 8931739 | Aircraft having inflatable fuselage | A method and apparatus for deploying an aircraft. An inflation system is activated to generate a gas. A fuselage of the aircraft is inflated with the gas. The fuselage comprises a frame for the aircraft and a number of flexible layers associated with the frame in which the number of flexible layers are configured to define a volume for at least a portion of the aircraft when the number of flexible layers are in an inflated configuration. | Kevin Reed Lutke (Huntington Beach, CA), Aaron Jonathan Kutzmann (Long Beach, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2009-12-08 | 2015-01-13 | B64C1/00, B64C3/00, B64C5/00 | 12/633212 |
| 253 | 8930044 | Multi-part navigation process by an unmanned aerial vehicle for navigating to a medical situatiion | Embodiments described herein may relate to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigating to a medical situation in order to provide medical support. An illustrative method involves a UAV (a) determining an approximate target location associated with a medical situation, (b) using a first navigation process to navigate the UAV to the approximate target location, where the first navigation process generates flight-control signals based on the approximate target location, (c) making a determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, and (d) in response to the determination that the UAV is located at the approximate target location, using a second navigation process to navigate the UAV to the medical situation, wherein the second navigation process generates flight-control signals based on real-time localization of the medical situation. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2012-12-28 | 2015-01-06 | G06Q10/00 | 13/730317 |
| 254 | 8909391 | Responsive navigation of an unmanned aerial vehicle to a remedial facility | The present disclosure relates to a deployment system for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . In one aspect, an illustrative deployment system includes a communication system configured for receiving diagnostic data corresponding to an object held by a UAV, wherein the object has an expiration condition, and a logic module configured for (i) determining that the expiration condition has been satisfied based, at least in part, on the received diagnostic data, and (ii) responsive to determining that the expiration condition has been satisfied, initiating an action that includes sending to the UAV both (a) navigation data relating to a remedial facility, and (b) instructions to navigate to the remedial facility based, at least in part, on the navigation data. | Eric Peeters (Mountain View, CA), Eric Teller (Palo Alto, CA), William Graham Patrick (San Francisco, CA) | Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA) | 2012-12-28 | 2014-12-09 | G06Q10/00 | 13/730110 |
| 255 | 8902308 | Apparatus and method for generating an overview image of a plurality of images using a reference plane | An apparatus for generating an overview image of a plurality of images comprises a storage unit and an image processor. The storage unit stores a plurality of processed images of the overview image and is able to provide the overview image containing the plurality of processed images at their assigned positions for displaying. The image processor determines feature points of a new image and compares the determined feature points of the new image with feature points of a stored processed image to identify common feature points and to obtain 3-dimensional positions of the common feature points. Further, the image processor determines common feature points located within a predefined maximum distance of relevance to a reference plane based on the 3-dimensional positions of the common feature points to identify relevant common feature points. Further, the image processor processes the new image by assigning the new image to a position in the overview image based on a comparison of an image information of each relevant common feature point of the new image with an image information of each corresponding relevant common feature point of the stored processed image without considering common feature points located beyond the predefined maximum distance of relevance to the reference plane. | Bernhard Rinner (St. Radegund, AT), Markus Quaritsch (Grosspetersdorf, AT), Daniel Wischounig-Strucl (Klagenfurt, AT), Saeed Yahyanejad (Klagenfurt, AT) | Lakeside Labs Gmbh (Klagenfurt, AT) | 2011-08-23 | 2014-12-02 | H04N7/00 | 13/215367 |
| 256 | 8868256 | Relative navigation for aerial refueling of an unmanned aerial vehicle | A method and system for navigating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for aerial refueling is described. A system processor in the UAV receives navigation data from a tanker aircraft and calculates a plurality of relative navigation solutions with respect to the tanker aircraft. The system processor compares the plurality of relative navigation solutions to identify any inconsistent solutions. The inconsistent solutions are discarded and the system processor navigates the UAV in position for refueling using the remaining relative navigation solutions. | James D. Waid (Bradenton, FL) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2006-05-15 | 2014-10-21 | B64D39/00 | 11/434539 |
| 257 | 8807482 | Temporarily installed aircraft observer door plug, chair, sonotube ejection and control system | The system and apparatus of the present invention is generally comprised of a non-dedicated, temporarily-installed, aircraft observer bubble door, chair, sonotube ejection system, mission electronics LRU rack and workstation assembly which are affixed to the Air Deployment System (ADS) rails, cargo tie down ''D'' rings, seat belt restraint ring bolt sockets, and litter bar of a host aircraft, thereby precluding the requirement for dedicated airframe modifications. One embodiment of the present invention also utilizes a multi-axis, articulated, foldable chair temporarily-installed in conjunction with a segmented or one piece pressurized observer bubble door plug and door retraction system. Once installed the subject apparatus can be stowed outboard of the fuselage cargo transit envelope to permit use of the ADS rail system in-flight, without affecting normal air drop operations, crew egress, the flight performance envelope, or emergency procedures of the host aircraft. | Richard Woodland (Homosassa, FL), Ross James Neyedly (Calgary, CA) | 1281329 Alberta Ltd. (Calgary, CA) | 2008-10-15 | 2014-08-19 | B64C1/14 | 12/734158 |
| 258 | 8797400 | Apparatus and method for generating an overview image of a plurality of images using an accuracy information | An apparatus for generating an overview image of a plurality of images includes an image preprocessor which preprocesses a new image by assigning the new image to a position in the overview image based on position information contained by meta-data of the new image. A storage unit stores a plurality of images of the overview image and provides the overview image for display. Further, the image processor receives accuracy information of the position information. The image processor determines an overlap region of the preprocessed new image and a stored image within the overview image based on the assigned positions of the preprocessed new image and of the stored image. Further, a controllable processing engine processes the preprocessed new image by re-adjusting the assigned position of the preprocessed new image based on comparing features of the overlap region of the preprocessed new image and the stored image. The controllable processing engine is controlled by accuracy information of the position information. | Bernhard Rinner (St. Radegund, AT), Markus Quaritsch (Grosspetersdorf, AT), Daniel Wischounig-Strucl (Klagenfurt, AT), Saeed Yahyanejad (Klagenfurt, AT) | Lakeside Labs Gmbh (Klagenfurt, AT) | 2011-08-23 | 2014-08-05 | H04N7/18 | 13/215366 |
| 259 | 8727280 | Inflatable airfoil system having reduced radar and infrared observability | A method and apparatus for operating an airfoil system. A gas may be generated. The gas may be sent into an inflatable airfoil system comprising an inflatable air foil and a section. The inflatable airfoil may have an inner end and an outer end in which the inflatable airfoil may be comprised of a number of materials that substantially pass electromagnetic waves through the inflatable airfoil. The section may have a number of openings in which the inner end of the inflatable airfoil may be associated with the section. The section may be configured to be associated with a fuselage. The number of openings may be configured to provide communications with an interior of the inflatable airfoil. The section with the number of openings may be configured to reduce reflection of the electromagnetic waves encountering the section. | Kevin Reed Lutke (Huntington Beach, CA), Aaron Jonathan Kutzmann (Long Beach, CA) | The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL) | 2009-12-08 | 2014-05-20 | B64C1/00, B64C3/00, B64C5/00 | 12/633272 |
| 260 | 8708285 | Micro-unmanned aerial vehicle deployment system | A micro-unmanned aerial vehicle deployment system is provided for a cruise missile having submunition compartments. The system includes a vehicle launch module releasable from the cruise missile submunition compartment. The vehicle launch system has a control circuit and at least one micro-unmanned aerial vehicle contained therein. Structure is provided in the launch module for deploying the micro-unmanned aerial vehicle. A separable tether can be joined between the cruise missile and the vehicle launch module that separates when subjected to tension after deployment of the vehicle launch module. | Paul J. Carreiro (Swansea, MA) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy (Washington, DC) | 2011-01-11 | 2014-04-29 | B64C13/20 | 13/004152 |
| 261 | 8219728 | Arrangement of components | An arrangement for transferring message based communications between separate disjunctive components. The arrangement includes at least two components. At least a first component is arranged to provide services to at least one second component and/or to an operator of the loosely coupled system. At least one message bus is arranged to perform real-time transfers of communications from/to the at least one first component to/from the at least one second component. The at least one message bus is connected to or integrated in an internal communication backbone arranged with a communication member for establishing outgoing communication links. A predetermined message based interface is arranged relative to each of the components and the at least one message bus such that all communications between the at least one first component and the at least one second component are defined in the same single standardized message language. A method for providing components in the arrangement and a platform including the arrangement. | Anders Lundqvist (Vaxholm, SE) | Saab Ab (Linkoping, SE) | 2008-06-13 | 2012-07-10 | G06F13/00 | 12/138816 |
| 262 | 8215237 | Methods and apparatus for projectile data link system | Methods and apparatus for a data link system according to various aspects of the present invention may be incorporated into a cartridge system. The cartridge system may comprise a case and a projectile. The data link system may be connected to the case and the projectile to provide signals. The data link system a first connection point and a second connection point disposed on the case and an electrical connector connected to the first connection point and the second connection point. | Chris E. Geswender (Tucson, AZ) | Raytheon Company (Waltham, MA) | 2006-07-10 | 2012-07-10 | F42B5/02, F42C17/00 | 11/456372 |
| 263 | 8070103 | Fuel line air trap for an unmanned aerial vehicle | A fuel line air trap for an unmanned aerial vehicle has a vessel in-line with a fuel line, fuel line connectors, and fuel inlet and outlet stems. The vessel contains an inlet at a distal end and an outlet at a proximal end. The fuel line connectors are attached to the vessel at the inlet and at the outlet to connect the fuel line to the vessel. The fuel inlet stem attaches to the vessel at the inlet and a fuel outlet stem attaches to the vessel at the outlet. Both the fuel inlet stem and fuel outlet stem protrude into the vessel a predetermined distance such that a gap exists between them. As air bubbles enter the gap in the fuel line air trap, they separate from the flow of fuel and migrate to the exterior walls of the vessel. The air bubbles are purged during remain trapped refueling. | Daniel Ross Collette (Albuquerque, NM) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2008-07-31 | 2011-12-06 | B64D33/00 | 12/183277 |
| 264 | 7849628 | Rifle launcher for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) | A launcher system and method for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) , wherein the launcher system comprises a barrel comprising a prepackaged internal pusher cup configured behind the UAV housed within the barrel, an expansion chamber operatively connected around the barrel, wherein the barrel extends out of a first end of the expansion chamber, a muzzle adapter operatively connected to a second end of the expansion chamber, wherein the first end of the expansion chamber is positioned opposite to the second end of the expansion chamber, a rifle slip-fitted to the muzzle adapter, and a stand operatively connected to the expansion chamber, wherein a triggering of the rifle causes the internal pusher cup to push the UAV out of the barrel at a predetermined launch velocity in order to attain a predetermined self-propelled flight trajectory. | John A. Condon (Timonium, MD), Timothy Brosseau (Havre De Grace, MD), David Lyon (Street, MD) | The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of The Army (Washington, DC) | 2007-09-16 | 2010-12-14 | F41C27/06 | 11/856049 |
| 265 | 7778744 | Avionics framework | A modular avionics system for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has a control module that executes flight control and vertical and lateral guidance algorithms to generate control commands. A data link module communicates with a remote control station and receives control commands from the remote control station. A data acquisition module communicates with the control module and the data link module. The data acquisition module is configured to receive and process data from one or more onboard sensors and to actuate a plurality of servo motors in response to control commands. A switching module selectively couples the data acquisition module to the control module or to the data link module responsive to an input from the remote control station to respectively switch between a fully autonomous mode of UAV operation and a manual mode of UAV operation. Power may be provided by a power module. | Manaswini Rath (Bangalore, IN), Yogesh Patel (Bangalore, IN), Nitin Anand Kale (Bangalore, IN), Mallikarjun Kande (Bangalore, IN) | Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ) | 2006-04-20 | 2010-08-17 | G01C23/00 | 11/407577 |
| 266 | 7739002 | Method of near real-time band jamming prevention | The present invention relates to a method of near real-time band jamming prevention, which provides a vehicle controller with the ability of examining autonomously the communication band between itself and a remote guidance and control apparatus, so that the vehicle controller can judge the jamming extent suffered by the communication band between the vehicle controller and the remote guidance and control apparatus. Thereby, the vehicle controller can execute corresponding actions in accordance with the judgment result of the method of near real-time band jamming prevention according to the present invention. In particular, when multiple vehicles operate synchronously and operators of the vehicles have no time to handle at the same time, the method of near real-time band jamming prevention according to the present invention provides the vehicle controllers with the ability of judging autonomously the communication band with preferred received signal strength intensity. Thereby, the channel for data link between the vehicle controller and the remote guidance and control apparatus is maintained normally and continuously. | Sy-Kang Shen (Taipei, TW), Li-Wei Mao (Jhonghe, TW), Cheu-Ming Bow (Tucheng, TW), Hsien-Chiarn Lee (Taipei, TW), Ming-Chieh Cheng (Jhongli, TW) | Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology Armaments Bureau, M.N.D. (Taoyuan County, TW) | 2006-10-26 | 2010-06-15 | G06F19/00 | 11/586533 |
| 267 | 7467762 | Advanced unmanned aerial vehicle system | An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system that couples the speed and responsiveness of a shoulder-launched rocket with the stable, slow-moving aerial platform of a parafoil is disclosed. The unique use of an over-damped rocket automatically positions the parafoil upwind of its target and overcomes the inherent inability of the parafoil to make headway in adverse wind conditions. This marriage of a rocket and a parafoil creates a valuable new synergy that allows the rocket to very quickly position a payload at altitude and defeat any adverse winds, while the parafoil provides an inexpensive and easy-to-fly vehicle for reconnaissance or accurately placing a payload on a target. The system is suitable for aerial videography, thermal imagery, target designation, sensor placement or precision munitions delivery, and can perform these functions at a small fraction of the cost of any other UAV. Unlike other UAV's, no flying skills are required of the operator. The system is so simple to use that no special training is required even for flying at night, and the intrinsic stability of the parafoil eliminates the need for avionic control systems. | John Charles Parsons (Northport, WA) | --- | 2007-05-03 | 2008-12-23 | F41G7/30, B64D17/00, F41G7/00 | 11/800225 |
| 268 | 6868314 | Unmanned aerial vehicle apparatus, system and method for retrieving data | The present invention relates to a system for retrieving data from remote difficult to reach terrain, such as wilderness areas, etc. and in particular to a system comprised of one or more surface based data collectors in communication with one or more wireless transceivers adapted to transmit the collected data to an unmanned aerial vehicle adapted to fly within a predetermined distance from the data collector and receive data collected therefrom. The present invention further relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle adapted to fly a flight pattern relative to a moveable surface object or for controlling the position of a moveable surface object relative to the flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Finally, the present invention relates to an improved unmanned aerial vehicle having airframe structural elements with electrical circuits adhered to the surfaces of the structural elements. | Bentley D. Frink (Wilmington, NC) | --- | 2002-06-27 | 2005-03-15 | B64C1/00, B64C1/06, B64C1/10, B64D47/02, B64D47/00, B64C39/00, B64C39/02, B64C001/16 | 10/186154 |
| 269 | 6269763 | Autonomous marine vehicle | An autonomous marine vehicle is disclosed, the vehicle comprising a rigid hull having an interior and a periphery, a deck joining the rigid hull at the periphery, and a rigid mast pivotally attached to the deck, the mast housing a plurality of sensors capable of effecting communication to and from said vehicle. In preferred embodiments, the vehicle further comprises various sensors and mission-specific hardware. Sensors include mast-mounted audio/video devices, radar, GPS and RF antennas, and other positioning and collision avoidance devices. Mission-specific hardware include refueling probes, fire protection systems, towing assemblies, flame thrower assemblies, liquid spray assemblies, and work pup assemblies. | Richard Lawrence Ken Woodland (Nanaimo, BC, CA) | --- | 1999-11-23 | 2001-08-07 | B63B35/00, B63B035/00 | 09/448089 |
