Automated docking of unmanned aerial vehicle

A method comprising:

• opening a door of a dock that includes a landing surface configured to hold an unmanned aerial vehicle, a box configured to enclose the landing surface in a first arrangement of the dock and expose the landing surface in a second arrangement of the dock, and a retractable arm, wherein the landing surface is positioned at an end of the retractable arm;
• extending the retractable arm to move the landing surface from inside of the box to outside of the box to facilitate landing of the unmanned aerial vehicle in a generally vertical landing direction;
• after the unmanned aerial vehicle has landed on the landing surface, contracting the retractable arm to pull the unmanned aerial vehicle with the landing surface inside of the box, wherein the retractable arm is movable along a generally horizontal axis of movement;
• and
• closing the door to enclose the unmanned aerial vehicle in the box.

A system comprising:

• an unmanned aerial vehicle including a propulsion mechanism and a processing apparatus;
• and
• a dock including a landing surface configured to hold the unmanned aerial vehicle, a box configured to enclose the landing surface in a first arrangement of the dock and expose the landing surface in a second arrangement of the dock, and a retractable arm, wherein the landing surface is positioned at an end of the retractable arm and the retractable arm is configured to extend to move the landing surface outside of the box and contract to pull the landing surface inside of the box, the retractable arm configured for movement along an axis oriented in generally parallel relation to the landing surface, wherein the processing apparatus is configured to:
• control the propulsion mechanism to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to land on the landing surface while the dock is in the second arrangement with the retractable arm extended.