Flight control for an unmanned aerial vehicle

A system for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

• the unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
• a body that is substantially toroidal and defines a duct with an upper end and a lower end that is opposite to the upper end, a vertical axis extending through a center of the body and from the upper end to the lower end;
• an electronic controller housed within the body;
• at least one electric motor that is controlled by the electronic controller;
• at least one fan within the duct that is operatively coupled to the at least one electric motor for rotating the at least one fan and creating an airflow into the upper end of the duct and out the lower end of the duct for creating thrust;
• and
• a flight-control system including at least two flaps installed on the body and configured to:
• receive one or more instructions from the electronic controller to control a pitch and a roll of the unmanned aerial vehicle during flight and
• drive, to change a direction, a pressure and a rate of the airflow at the lower end of the duct responsive to the one or more instructions from the electronic controller to control the pitch and the roll, one or more of the at least two flaps between a retracted position in the body and a protruded position out from the body and into an area of the duct adjacent the lower end
• while maintaining a fixed angle of incidence between the at least two flaps and the vertical axis extending through the center of the body,
• wherein the system comprises a software application with a user interface that, responsive to an interaction, generates one or more commands that are communicated to the electronic controller for changing an output of the at least one electric motor, a position of each of the at least two flaps, or both.

A multipurpose video capture assembly comprising:

• an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including:
• a body that is substantially toroidal and defines a duct with an upper end and a lower end that is opposite to the upper end, a vertical axis extending through a center of the body and from the upper end to the lower end;
• an electronic controller housed within the body;
• at least one electric motor that is controlled by the electronic controller;
• at least one fan within the duct that is operatively coupled to the at least one electric motor for rotating the at least one fan and creating an airflow into the upper end of the duct and out the lower end of the duct for creating thrust;
• and
• a flight-control system including at least two flaps installed on the body and configured to:
• receive one or more instructions from the electronic controller to control a pitch and a roll of the UAV during flight;
• and
• drive, to change a direction, a pressure and a rate of the airflow at the lower end of the duct responsive to the one or more instructions from the electronic controller to control the pitch and the roll, one or more of the at least two flaps between a retracted position in the body and a protruded position out from the body and into an area of the duct adjacent the lower end
• while maintaining a fixed angle of incidence between the at least two flaps and the vertical axis extending through the center of the body;
• and
• a mounting device including:
• a UAV supporting surface configured to support the UAV on the mounting device;
• and
• a mounting surface connected to the UAV supporting surface and configured to support the mounting device on an object.