System and method for net-capture of unmanned aerial vehicle
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsJonathan A. Cain, Michael J. Mahnken, Dave S. Douglas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for capturing an unmanned aerial vehicle includes a net configured to receive the unmanned aerial vehicle, an infrared emitter arrangement including a plurality of infrared emitters arranged around the net, an infrared sensor mounted to the unmanned aerial vehicle and configured to detect the infrared emitter arrangement, and a processor that is in communication with the infrared sensor and configured to adjust an azimuth and elevation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the detected infrared emitter arrangement in a field-of-view of the infrared sensor.
Claims19
A system for capturing an unmanned aerial vehicle, the system comprising:
- a net configured to receive the unmanned aerial vehicle;
- an infrared emitter arrangement including a plurality of infrared emitters arranged around the net;
- an infrared sensor mounted to the unmanned aerial vehicle and configured to detect the infrared emitter arrangement;
- and
- a processor that is in communication with the infrared sensor and configured to adjust at least one of an azimuth or an elevation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the detected infrared emitter arrangement in a field-of-view of the infrared sensor;
- wherein the plurality of infrared emitters includes a reference infrared emitter arranged behind the net relative to a capturing face of the net and proximate a center of the net;
- and
- wherein the plurality of infrared emitters includes four infrared emitters that are spaced relative to the reference infrared emitter, and that are each arranged at a different corner of the net.
A system for capturing an unmanned aerial vehicle, the system comprising:
- a net configured to receive the unmanned aerial vehicle;
- an infrared emitter arrangement including a plurality of infrared emitters arranged around the net;
- an infrared sensor mounted to the unmanned aerial vehicle and configured to detect the infrared emitter arrangement;
- and
- a processor that is in communication with the infrared sensor and configured to adjust at least one of an azimuth or an elevation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the detected infrared emitter arrangement in a field-of-view of the infrared sensor;
- wherein the processor is configured to determine a slant range between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the net based on the field-of-view and distances between the plurality of infrared emitters.
A method for capturing an unmanned aerial vehicle in a net, the method comprising:
- detecting an infrared emitter arrangement arranged proximate the net in a field-of-view of an infrared sensor arranged on the unmanned aerial vehicle;
- adjusting at least one of an azimuth or elevation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the detected infrared emitter arrangement in the field-of-view;
- and
- determining a slant range between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the net based on the field-of-view of the infrared sensor and distances between the plurality of infrared emitters.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.