Patent ID: 11881116
Assignee: AURORA FLIGHT SCIENCES CORPORATION
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. A method of operating a plurality of aerial vehicles in an environment, the method comprising:
receiving, at a first command module on board a first aerial vehicle navigating along a first flight path, sensor data from one or more sensors comprising a forward-facing optical sensor and a rear-facing optical sensor on board the first aerial vehicle, wherein the sensor data reflects one or more characteristics of the environment, and wherein at least one of the forward-facing optical sensor or rear-facing optical sensor comprises a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor;
receiving, at the first command module, additional sensor data from one or more additional sensors on board a second aerial vehicle that are different from the one or more sensors, wherein the additional sensor data reflects information about a position of the first aerial vehicle such that the second aerial vehicle can track the position of the first aerial vehicle;
determining, via the first command module, a change from a predetermined formation to a different formation for the second aerial vehicle based at least in part on the sensor data and the additional sensor data, wherein the predetermined formation and the different formation are relative to the first aerial vehicle;
generating, via the first command module, control signals reflecting the change from the predetermined formation to the different formation;
sending the control signals from the first aerial vehicle to the second aerial vehicle;
tracking, via a second command module on board the second aerial vehicle, the position of the first aerial vehicle to yield a tracked position;
maneuvering, via the second command module, the second aerial vehicle to follow the first aerial vehicle based on the control signals and the tracked position of the first aerial vehicle;
receiving, via the second command module and from the first command module, zone data that indicates one or more zones,
wherein the zone data includes a time component reflecting a validity period or an expiration time; and

maneuvering, via the second command module, the second aerial vehicle to enter the one or more zones based at least in part on the zone data.