Self-leveling launch and recovery platform for aerial vehicle and method of maintaining a level platform during launch and recovery

A method for landing an unmanned aerial vehicle on a self-leveling recovery platform comprising a base, a landing pad, first to sixth motors attached to the base, first to sixth arms connecting the first to sixth motors to the landing pad, an accelerometer for measuring acceleration of the landing pad, a gyroscope/inertial measurement unit for measuring orientation and angular velocity of the landing pad, and a controller, the method comprising:

• detecting an accelerometer sensing signal from the accelerometer and a gyroscope/inertial measurement unit signal from the gyroscope/inertial measurement unit;
• determining whether the landing pad moves more than a predetermined limit in six degrees of freedom;
• controlling the first to sixth motors to control the first to sixth arms such that the first to sixth arms move the landing pad less than the predetermined limit in the six degrees of freedom to maintain the landing pad substantially stable;
• landing the unmanned aerial vehicle on the landing pad.