US 11,970,287 B2
Autonomous aerial vehicle hardware configuration
Benjamin Scott Thompson, San Carlos, CA (US); Adam Parker Bry, Redwood City, CA (US); Asher Mendel Robbins-Rothman, Redwood City, CA (US); Abraham Galton Bachrach, Emerald Hills, CA (US); Yevgeniy Kozlenko, Mountain View, CA (US); Kevin Patrick Smith O'Leary, San Francisco, CA (US); Patrick Allen Lowe, Palo Alto, CA (US); Daniel Thomas Adams, Palo Alto, CA (US); Justin Michael Sadowski, Menlo Park, CA (US); Zachary Albert West, Mountain View, CA (US); and Josiah Timothy VanderMey, Redwood City, CA (US)
Assigned to Skydio, Inc., San Mateo, CA (US)
Filed by Skydio, Inc., Redwood City, CA (US)
Filed on Jul. 26, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/873,549.
Application 17/873,549 is a division of application No. 16/395,110, filed on Apr. 25, 2019, granted, now 11,453,513.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/663,194, filed on Apr. 26, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0355952 A1, Nov. 10, 2022
Int. Cl. B64D 47/08 (2006.01); B64C 27/00 (2006.01); B64C 27/32 (2006.01); B64C 39/02 (2023.01); G06V 20/13 (2022.01); G06V 20/17 (2022.01); B64U 101/30 (2023.01)
CPC B64D 47/08 (2013.01) [B64C 27/001 (2013.01); B64C 27/32 (2013.01); B64C 39/024 (2013.01); G06V 20/13 (2022.01); G06V 20/17 (2022.01); B64U 2101/30 (2023.01); B64U 2201/10 (2023.01)] 23 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aerial vehicle comprising:
a body extending along a longitudinal axis from a forward end to an aft end, the body having a port side and a starboard side on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis;
a propulsion system including first, second, third and fourth rotor assemblies, the first rotor assembly extending from the port side of the body proximate to the forward end of the body, the second rotor assembly extending from the starboard side of the body proximate to the forward end of the body, the third rotor assembly extending from the port side of the body proximate to the aft end of the body, and the fourth rotor assembly extending from the starboard side of the body proximate to the aft end of the body;
a plurality of upward-facing image capture devices;
a plurality of downward-facing image capture devices; and
a computer system communicatively coupled to the plurality of upward-facing image capture devices and the plurality of downward-facing image capture devices, the computer system configured to:
process images captured by any one or more of the plurality of upward-facing image capture devices or the plurality of downward-facing image capture devices to estimate a position and/or orientation of the aerial vehicle;
generate a planned trajectory for the aerial vehicle through a physical environment based on the processing of the images; and
control the propulsion system to cause the aerial vehicle to autonomously maneuver along the planned trajectory.