Using predicted movement to maintain optical-communication lock with nearby balloon

摘要

A balloon may include an optical-communication component, which may have a pointing axis. A pointing mechanism could be configured to adjust the pointing axis. The optical-communication component could be operable to communicate with a correspondent balloon via a free-space optical link. For example, the optical-communication component could include an optical receiver, transmitter, or transceiver. A controller could be configured to determine a predicted relative location of the correspondent balloon. The controller may control the pointing mechanism to adjust the pointing axis of the optical-communication component based on the predicted relative location so as to maintain the free-space optical link with the correspondent balloon.

主权项

1. A balloon, comprising:
an optical-communication component, wherein the optical-communication component has a pointing axis, and wherein the optical-communication component is operable to communicate with a correspondent balloon via a free-space optical link; a radio frequency (RF) communication system, wherein the RF communication system is operable to communicate with the correspondent balloon via an RF link; a pointing mechanism configured to adjust the pointing axis; a camera configured to acquire images of the correspondent balloon; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to (i) determine a predicted relative location of the correspondent balloon based on the images and on data received from the correspondent balloon via the RF link and (ii) control the pointing mechanism to adjust the pointing axis based on the predicted relative location, to maintain the free-space optical link with the correspondent balloon.