Aerial system and vehicle for continuous operation

摘要

An aerial vehicle system for gathering data may comprise a Waypoint Location, wherein the Waypoint Location comprises an arresting cable; a Ground Control Station, wherein the Ground Control Station comprises a charging cable; and an aerial vehicle, wherein the aerial vehicle comprises an onboard battery, a capturing hook and a sensor payload for generating surveillance data. The aerial vehicle may be configured to autonomously travel between the Waypoint Location and the Ground Control Station. The aerial vehicle may be configured to couple with the arresting cable via the capturing hook. The aerial vehicle may be configured to electronically couple with the charging cable via the capturing hook to facilitate charging the aerial vehicle's onboard battery.

主权项

1. An aerial vehicle system for gathering data, the aerial vehicle system comprising:
a waypoint location, wherein the waypoint location comprises an arresting cable having a first set of two or more infrared reflectors positioned thereon; a ground control station, wherein the ground control station comprises a charging cable having a second set of two or more infrared reflectors positioned thereon; and an aerial vehicle, wherein the aerial vehicle comprises an onboard battery, a capturing hook, a sensor payload for generating surveillance and a vision processor configured to calculate the centers of each of said first or second set of two or more infrared reflectors using an image thresholding technique; wherein the aerial vehicle is configured to autonomously travel between the waypoint location and the ground control station; wherein the aerial vehicle is configured to couple and decouple with the arresting cable via the capturing hook; wherein the aerial vehicle is configured to perch from the charging cable via the capturing hook; wherein the aerial vehicle is configured to electronically couple and decouple with the charging cable via the capturing hook to facilitate charging the aerial vehicle's onboard battery.