Trailer for autonomous vehicle

A trailer for an autonomous vehicle controlled by a command and control interface, the trailer comprising:

• a trailer body configured to retain the autonomous vehicle in an undeployed configuration, the trailer anchoring the autonomous vehicle in a deployed configuration;
• a tether having a first end coupled to the trailer body and a second end configured to couple to the autonomous vehicle;
• a winch for adjusting a length of the tether to move the autonomous vehicle between the undeployed configuration and deployed configuration;
• a cradle coupled to the trailer body, the cradle configured to moor the autonomous vehicle in the undeployed configuration;
• a cradle extension that extends outward from the cradle;
• a wheel support that extends between the cradle extension and the ground, the wheel support having a wheel on an end thereof that is positioned on the ground;
• and
• a communication system to communicate with the command and control interface and the autonomous vehicle to control an operation of the winch to move of the autonomous vehicle between the undeployed configuration and deployed configuration.

A method for commanding and controlling an autonomous vehicle using a command and control interface communicatively coupled to the autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:

• mooring, by a cradle of a trailer, the autonomous vehicle in an undeployed configuration;
• monitoring, by one or more sensors of the trailer, environmental data, wherein the environmental data includes at least one of mean power consumption of the autonomous vehicle for 30 seconds, one minute, 10 minutes, or an entire mission, remaining autonomous vehicle battery charge, wind speed, wind direction, or ambient temperature;
• and
• adjusting, by a winch, a length of a tether anchoring the autonomous vehicle to the cradle to transition the autonomous vehicle directly from the cradle into a deployed configuration at least in part based on the environmental data monitored by the one or more sensors of the trailer.

A method for commanding and controlling an autonomous vehicle using a command and control interface communicatively coupled to the autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:

• mooring, by a cradle of a trailer, the autonomous vehicle in an undeployed configuration;
• monitoring, by one or more sensors of the autonomous vehicle, one or more conditions for flight;
• and
• rotating, by the command and control interface and without intervention by a human, the cradle about an axis of a trailer body of the trailer based on the one or more conditions for flight, wherein the axis extends substantially vertical to the trailer, and wherein rotating the cradle comprises rotating the cradle between 0 and 360 degrees about the axis.

A method for commanding and controlling an autonomous vehicle using a command and control interface communicatively coupled to the autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:

• mooring, by a cradle of a trailer, the autonomous vehicle in an undeployed configuration;
• monitoring, by one or more sensors of the autonomous vehicle, one or more conditions for flight;
• detecting, by the autonomous vehicle, whether a component of the autonomous vehicle has been compromised;
• and
• automatically adjusting, by a winch and without intervention by the human, the length of a tether to transition the autonomous vehicle from the deployed configuration into the undeployed configuration in the cradle in response to the detection of compromise to the component of the autonomous vehicle.