Magnetic Field Navigation of Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:

• a magnetic field sensor;
• and
• a processor coupled to the magnetic field sensor and configured with processor-executable instructions to:
• calculate a magnetic field vector and strength of a magnetic field emanating from a charging station;
• navigate the UAV to the charging station using the calculated magnetic field vector and strength;
• determine whether the UAV is substantially aligned with the charging station;
• and
• maneuver the UAV to approach the charging station by maintaining the UAV substantially above the charging station while descending to the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength in response to determining that the UAV is substantially aligned with the charging station.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:

• means for calculating a magnetic field vector and strength of a magnetic field emanating from a charging station;
• means for navigating the UAV to the charging station using the calculated magnetic field vector and strength;
• means for determining whether the UAV is substantially aligned with the charging station;
• and
• means for maneuvering the UAV to approach the charging station by maintaining the UAV substantially above the charging station while descending to the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength in response to determining that the UAV is substantially aligned with the charging station.

A non-transitory processor-readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions configured to cause a processor of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to perform operations comprising:

• calculating a magnetic field vector and strength of a magnetic field emanating from a charging station;
• navigating the UAV to the charging station using the calculated magnetic field vector and strength;
• determining whether the UAV is substantially aligned with the charging station;
• and
• maneuvering the UAV to approach the charging station by maintaining the UAV substantially above the charging station while descending to the charging station using the magnetic field vector and strength in response to determining that the UAV is substantially aligned with the charging station.