US 12,012,224 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 Aug. 30, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/898,619.
Application 17/898,619 is a continuation 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 2022/0411102 A1, Dec. 29, 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)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aerial vehicle comprising:
a central body extending along a longitudinal axis from a forward end to an aft end, the central body having a port side and a starboard side on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis;
multiple rotor arms each having a proximal end coupled to the central body;
multiple rotor assemblies each arranged at a distal end of a rotor arm of the multiple rotor arms, the multiple rotor assemblies configured to provide propulsion for the aerial vehicle;
multiple image capture devices including at least one upward facing image capture device arranged along a top surface of the central body of the aerial vehicle; and
an upward facing protective structural element extending upward from the central body and arranged in proximity to the at least one upward facing image capture device such that the upward facing protective structural element provides an offset from an external surface when the aerial vehicle contacts the external surface.