US 12,292,520 B2
Low-light and no-light aerial navigation
Anurag Makineni, San Jose, CA (US); Kristen Marie Holtz, Redwood City, CA (US); Gareth Benoit Cross, San Carlos, CA (US); and Hayk Martirosyan, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to SKYDIO, INC., San Mateo, CA (US)
Filed by SKYDIO, INC., Redwood City, CA (US)
Filed on Feb. 7, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/435,358.
Application 18/435,358 is a continuation of application No. 18/111,077, filed on Feb. 17, 2023, granted, now 11,906,639.
Application 18/111,077 is a continuation of application No. 17/070,997, filed on Oct. 15, 2020, granted, now 11,585,949, issued on Feb. 21, 2023.
Prior Publication US 2024/0176030 A1, May 30, 2024
Int. Cl. G01S 19/47 (2010.01); G01C 19/00 (2013.01); G01P 15/08 (2006.01); G01P 15/18 (2013.01); G08G 5/00 (2006.01); B64U 10/13 (2023.01); B64U 20/87 (2023.01); B64U 70/90 (2023.01); B64U 80/20 (2023.01)
CPC G01S 19/47 (2013.01) [G01C 19/00 (2013.01); G01P 15/08 (2013.01); G01P 15/18 (2013.01); G08G 5/0065 (2013.01); G08G 5/0069 (2013.01); B64U 10/13 (2023.01); B64U 20/87 (2023.01); B64U 70/90 (2023.01); B64U 80/20 (2023.01); B64U 2201/10 (2023.01); B64U 2201/104 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aerial vehicle comprising:
a satellite positioning system receiver;
an inertial measurement unit (IMU); and
one or more processors configured by executable instructions to:
determine, based on sensor information received from at least one onboard sensor, that an amount of light fails to satisfy a light threshold for performing navigation via an onboard camera;
based at least in part on determining that the amount of light fails to satisfy the light threshold for performing navigation via the onboard camera, perform a takeoff sequence that causes the aerial vehicle to takeoff at a specified trajectory and a specified acceleration for enabling navigation via an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a satellite positioning system; and
direct the aerial vehicle to navigate an environment based at least on determining a relative heading of the aerial vehicle from information received from the IMU and information received from the satellite positioning system by the satellite positioning system receiver.