Utilizing an unmanned aerial vehicle platform which is equipped with a turntable assembly

An unmanned aerial vehicle platform, comprising:

• a stationary base constructed and arranged to reside over a fixed location on a surface;
• a set of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) interfaces constructed and arranged to interface directly with a UAV;
• and
• a turntable assembly which couples to the stationary base, the turntable assembly being constructed and arranged to couple to each UAV interface and control angular direction of that UAV interface over the fixed location;
• wherein the turntable assembly includes:
• a lower turntable portion which connects to the stationary base,
• an upper turntable portion which connects to the set of UAV interfaces,
• a set of rollers which separates the upper turntable portion from the lower turntable portion, and
• a drive system which rotates the upper turntable portion relative to the lower turntable portion;
• wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle platform operates as an integrated UAV launch and recovery system;
• wherein the set of UAV interfaces includes (i) a UAV launcher and (ii) a net apparatus;
• and
• wherein the upper turntable portion of the turntable assembly is constructed and arranged to selectively connect to (i) the UAV launcher to launch the UAV from the fixed location and (ii) the net apparatus to capture the UAV while the UAV is in flight.

A method of operating an unmanned aerial vehicle platform, the method comprising:

• deploying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform over a fixed location on a surface, the unmanned aerial vehicle platform including:
• (i) a stationary base constructed and arranged to reside over the fixed location on the surface,
• (ii) a set of UAV interfaces constructed and arranged to interface directly with a UAV, and
• (iii) a turntable assembly which couples to the stationary base, the turntable assembly being constructed and arranged to couple to each UAV interface and control angular direction of that UAV interface over the fixed location,
• wherein the turntable assembly includes:
• a lower turntable portion which connects to the stationary base,
• an upper turntable portion which connects to the set of UAV interfaces,
• a set of rollers which separates the upper turntable portion from the lower turntable portion, and
• a drive system which rotates the upper turntable portion relative to the lower turntable portion, and
• wherein the set of UAV interfaces includes:
• a net apparatus which is constructed and arranged to capture the UAV while the UAV is in flight in the angular direction for effective wind direction management;
• preparing a UAV interface of the set of UAV interfaces on the turntable assembly of the UAV platform;
• and
• rotating the turntable to control angular direction of the UAV interface over the fixed location, the UAV interface being constructed and arranged to interface directly with a UAV.