Aerial vehicle smart landing
US11242144B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 11, 2019 |
| Grant date | Feb 8, 2022 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 26, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB64U2201/202
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A technique is introduced for autonomous landing by an aerial vehicle. In some embodiments, the introduced technique includes processing a sensor data such as images captured by onboard cameras to generate a ground map comprising multiple cells. A suitable footprint, comprising a subset of the multiple cells in the ground map that satisfy one or more landing criteria, is selected and control commands are generated to cause the aerial vehicle to autonomously land on an area corresponding to the footprint. In some embodiments, the introduced technique involves a geometric smart landing process to select a relatively flat area on the ground for landing. In some embodiments, the introduced technique involves a semantic smart landing process where semantic information regarding detected objects is incorporated into the ground map.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.