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US 11,029,708 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for remote, interior inspection of cavities using an unmanned aircraft system
AssigneeVersatol, LLC
InventorsJared David Salzmann, J Eric Corban
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An interior length of a confined space is inspected by autonomously flying an unmanned aerial vehicle having a sensor pod. The sensor pod can be tethered to the unmanned aerial vehicle and lowered into the confined space from above perhaps by an electromechanical hoist. An altitude or heading of the sensor pod can be measured. The confined space can be the flue of a chimney.
Claims11
An unmanned aircraft for autonomously inspecting an interior surface comprising:
- a computer;
- at least one distance sensor;
- wherein the computer monitors the at least one distance sensor in near-real time to measure a distance of the unmanned aircraft from at least one interior surface;
- and
- wherein the computer utilizes the at least one distance measured by the at least one distance sensor in near-real time to autonomously position the unmanned aircraft in more than one dimension relative to the at least one interior surface.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.