US 2015/0175261 A1 · CURVATURE SENSING

Abstract

A system may include a tether connected to a ground station. The tether may include at least two bridle segments. The system may further include an aerial vehicle connected to the at least two bridle segments. The system may also include at least one sensor and a control system. The control system may be configured to: a) receive sensor data from the at least one sensor; and b) determine a tether roll angle based on the sensor data. The tether roll angle may represent an angle between the tether and an axis of the aerial vehicle. Optionally, the control system may also be configured to determine a curvature of a path of the aerial vehicle based on the tether roll angle. The control system may additionally be configured to control at least one control surface of the aerial vehicle based on the curvature of the path.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system comprising:

a tether coupled to a ground station, wherein the tether comprises at least two bridle segments;
an aerial vehicle coupled to the at least two bridle segments;
at least one sensor coupled to the tether;
and
a control system configured to:
a) receive sensor data from the at least one sensor;
and
b) determine a tether roll angle based on the sensor data, wherein the tether roll angle comprises an angle between the tether and an axis of the aerial vehicle.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Curvature sensing

Life of this patent

Curvature sensing

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20