Surface cleaning unmanned aerial vehicle

摘要

Described embodiments include an unmanned aerial vehicle and a method. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes an airframe and a rotary wing system coupled with the airframe and configured to aerodynamically lift the vehicle in the air. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a flight controller configured to control a movement of the vehicle while airborne. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a cleansing controller configured to manage a removal of a surface contaminant from a selected portion of a surface of an external object using an airflow generated by the rotary wing system.

主权项

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
a rotary wing system configured to aerodynamically lift the vehicle in the air; a flight controller configured to control a movement of the vehicle while airborne; a surface contaminant sensor configured to measure a contamination state of a surface; and a cleansing controller configured to manage a removal of a surface contaminant from a selected portion of a surface of an external object using an airflow generated by the rotary wing system and based on data acquired by the surface contaminant sensor; wherein measuring the contamination state of the surface occurs prior to an initial removal of the surface contaminant; and wherein the cleansing controller is configured to:
determine an airflow force sufficient to dislodge the surface contaminant;direct only a portion of a total airflow generated by the rotary wing system at the selected portion of the surface based on the determined airflow force; andselect the direction of the portion of the airflow based on data from the surface contaminant sensor.