Autonomous aerial cable inspection system
AssigneeGoogle Inc.
InventorsDavid Wesley Johnson, Martin Brandt Freund
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aerial inspection system is provided, including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having an articulated arm coupled thereto. An end effector is coupled to a second end of the articulated arm, the end effector sized and shaped to extend at least partially around an aerial cable in close proximity. One or more sensors are positioned along an inner surface of the end effector, and provide feedback to a control unit. In response, the control unit adjusts a position of at least one of the UAV, the articulated arm, and the end effector such that the end effector maintains a close, non-contact position with respect to the cable.
Claims12
A system, comprising:
- one or more sensors;
- a memory;
- and
- one or more processors in communication with the one or more sensors and the memory, the one or more processors configured to:
- receive input from the one or more sensors;
- detect, based on the received input, a proximity between an end effector of an unmanned aerial vehicle and an aerial cable;
- and
- adjust a position of the end effector with respect to the aerial cable in response to the received input, such that the end effector at least partially surrounds an outer diameter of the aerial cable, and the outer diameter of the aerial cable remains at a distance of approximately 1-100 mm from each surrounding portion of the end effector.
A method, comprising:
- continually receiving input from one or more sensors positioned on an end effector coupled to an unmanned aerial vehicle, the input corresponding to an aerial cable;
- detecting, with one or more processors, based on the received input, a proximity between the end effector and the aerial cable;
- and
- continually adjusting, with the one or more processors, a position of the end effector with respect to the aerial cable in response to the received input, such that the end effector at least partially surrounds an outer diameter of the aerial cable, and the outer diameter of the aerial cable remains at a distance of approximately 1-100 mm from each surrounding portion of the end effector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.