Patent ID: 11970287
Assignee: SKYDIO, INC.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 15:
16. An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
a body that extends 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:
a first rotor assembly extending from the port side of the body proximate to the forward end of the body;
a second rotor assembly extending from the starboard side of the body proximate to the forward end of the body;
a third rotor assembly extending from the port side of the body proximate to the aft end of the body; and
a fourth rotor assembly extending from the starboard side of the body proximate to the aft end of the body;

multiple image capture devices including:
a plurality of upward-facing image capture devices including at least three image capture devices arranged on one or more top surfaces of the aerial vehicle so as to enable trinocular stereoscopic computer vision in a first plurality of directions substantially above the aerial vehicle;
a plurality of downward-facing image capture devices including at least three image capture devices arranged on one or more bottom surfaces of the aerial vehicle so as to enable trinocular stereoscopic computer vision in a second plurality of directions substantially below the aerial vehicle; 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.