Autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle with folding collapsible arms

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:

• a central body;
• a plurality of rotor arms including:
• a front set of rotor arms each including:
• an upward facing rotor;
• and
• a downward facing image capture device oriented at a distal end of the rotor arm;
• and
• a rear set of rotor arms each including:
• a downward facing rotor;
• and
• an upward facing image capture device oriented at a distal end of the rotor arm;
• and
• a plurality of hinge mechanisms operable to transition the plurality of rotor arms between folded and extended positions, the plurality of hinge mechanisms comprising:
• first hinge mechanisms mechanically coupling proximal ends of the front set of rotor arms to a front portion of the central body, each hinge mechanism configured to rotate a front rotor arm about an axis at a first oblique angle relative to a vertical median plane and upward relative to a horizontal median plane, and
• second hinge mechanisms mechanically coupling proximal ends of the rear set of rotor arms to a rear portion of the central body, each hinge mechanism configured to rotate a rear rotor arm about an axis at a second oblique angle relative to the vertical median plane and downward relative to the horizontal median plane;
• wherein, when the plurality of rotor arms are in the extended positions after deployment, each hinge mechanism is further configured to rigidly lock the respective rotor arm in the extended position such that the image capture devices maintain fixed poses relative to the central body and relative to one another.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:

• a central body;
• a plurality of rotor arms including:
• a front set of rotor arms each including:
• a downward facing rotor;
• and
• an upward facing image capture device oriented at a distal end of the rotor arm;
• and
• a rear set of rotor arms each including:
• an upward facing rotor;
• and
• a downward facing image capture device oriented at a distal end of the rotor arm;
• and
• a plurality of hinge mechanisms operable to transition the plurality of rotor arms between folded and extended positions, the plurality of hinge mechanisms comprising:
• first hinge mechanisms mechanically coupling proximal ends of the front set of rotor arms to a front portion of the central body, each hinge mechanism configured to rotate a front rotor arm about an axis at a first oblique angle relative to a vertical median plane and downward relative to a horizontal median plane, and
• second hinge mechanisms mechanically coupling proximal ends of the rear set of rotor arms to a rear portion of the central body, each hinge mechanism configured to rotate a rear rotor arm about an axis at a second oblique angle relative to the vertical median plane and upward relative to the horizontal median plane;
• wherein, when the plurality of rotor arms are in the extended positions after deployment, each hinge mechanism is further configured to rigidly lock the respective rotor arm in the extended position such that the image capture devices maintain fixed poses relative to the central body and relative to one another.