Unmanned aerial vehicle having an elevated surface sensor
AssigneeWorking Drones, Inc.
InventorsRobert Lewis Dahlstrom, Jeffrey C. McCutcheon, Tariq Rashid
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or aerial robotic system (ARS) to perform at least one task to an object during flight of the UAV in a movement mode configured for maneuvering near a surface of the object. A task sensor configured to sense at least one parameter of the surface. An adjustable sensor arm attachable to the UAV and supporting the task sensor to facilitate the task performed to the surface of the object by the UAV during flight of the UAV. The sensor arm being resilient to impact forces caused by direct contact of the sensor or sensor arm with the surface to bend, spring or swivel relative to a contour of the surface.
Claims17
A system comprising:
- an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to perform at least one task to an object during flight of the UAV in a movement mode configured for maneuvering near a surface of the object;
- a task sensor configured to sense at least one parameter of the surface;
- and
- an adjustable sensor arm attachable to the UAV and supporting the task sensor to facilitate the at least one task performed to the surface of the object by the UAV during flight of the UAV, the sensor arm being resilient to impact forces caused by direct contact of the task sensor or the adjustable sensor arm with the surface to bend, spring or swivel relative to a contour of the surface wherein the UAV is a master UAV;
- and further comprising:
- a slave UAV;
- and
- a tethering system coupled to one of the master UAV and the slave UAV, comprising:
- a tethering cord with an extendible and retractable length;
- a coupler coupled to a free end of the cord;
- and
- a motor to cause the cord to extend or retract wherein the tethering system attaches the master UAV to the slave UAV.
A system comprising:
- an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to perform at least one task to an object during flight of the UAV in a movement mode configured for maneuvering near a surface of the object;
- a task sensor configured to sense at least one parameter of the surface;
- an adjustable sensor arm attachable to the UAV and supporting the task sensor at an end of the sensor arm to facilitate the at least one task performed to the surface of the object by the UAV during flight of the UAV, the sensor arm being resilient to impact forces caused by direct contact of the task sensor or the adjustable sensor arm with the surface to bend, spring or swivel relative to a contour of the surface;
- micro-spine grippers wherein the task sensor is configured to be removably affixed to the surface using the micro-spine grippers;
- and
- a sensor housing having a smart spring-cushion on the sensor housing to detect imminent contact of a sensor contact with the surface during flight of the UAV.
A system comprising:
- an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to perform at least one task to an object during flight of the UAV in a movement mode configured for maneuvering near a surface of the object;
- a task sensor configured to sense at least one parameter of the surface;
- an adjustable sensor arm attachable to the UAV and supporting the task sensor at an end of the sensor arm to facilitate the at least one task performed to the surface of the object by the UAV during flight of the UAV, the sensor arm being resilient to impact forces caused by direct contact of the task sensor or the adjustable sensor arm with the surface to bend, spring or swivel relative to a contour of the surface;
- micro-spine grippers wherein the task sensor is configured to be removably affixed to the surface using the micro-spine grippers;
- and
- a sensor housing having a rim with a rim edge wherein the micro-spine grippers are coupled to the rim edge.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.