Scalable high-availability landing pad for accurate position and orientation

A method comprising:

• providing a vehicle landing pad with a reference frame origin at a center thereof, and an X-axis and a Y-axis through the reference frame origin;
• arranging a first group of markers, each having a first size, on the landing pad such that the first group of markers form a first convex hull about the center of the landing pad;
• arranging a second group of markers, each having a second size less than the first size, on the landing pad such that the second group of markers form a second convex hull about the center of the landing pad that is within the first convex hull;
• locating the first and second groups of markers in a symmetrical placement with respect to the center of the landing pad along the X and Y axes so as to yield a position estimation solution for landing a vehicle that has a highest accuracy when compared with placing the markers at other locations along the X and Y axes;
• determining a marker size for the first group of markers using altitude requirements, such that the first group of markers is visible in a frame of a camera on the vehicle, which is at a farthest altitude and lateral offset with respect to the landing pad;
• determining a displacement distance for the first group of markers from the center of the landing pad;
• and
• determining a minimum distance of an overlap between the first group of markers and the second group of markers, such that a proper handover will occur between the first group of markers and the second group of markers, without any blind spots, during a landing phase for the vehicle.