Patent ID: 11922819
Assignee: WONDER ROBOTICS LTD
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. A system for autonomously landing a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft, the system comprising:
a sensor payload, the sensor payload including a first sensor and a second sensor that are located on the bottom of the VTOL aircraft, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor have a clear line-of-sight to objects below the VTOL aircraft;
a processing resource configured to perform the following during a landing process for landing the VTOL aircraft:
when the VTOL aircraft is below a first pre-determined height with respect to a reference point, repeatedly:
(a) obtain; from the first sensor, first readings enabling generating a Three-Dimensional (3D) model of at least part of a scene visible by the first sensor; and
(b) generate, based on at least part of the first readings; the 3D model of the at least part of the scene; and

upon, and only upon, the VTOL aircraft descending below a second pre-determined height with respect to the reference point, the second pre-determined height being lower than the first pre-determined height with respect to the reference point, performing all of the following steps:
(c) identify, using the 3D model, first potential landing areas for the VIOL aircraft, the first potential landing areas being landing areas within a landing zone on which the VTOL aircraft is capable of landing;
(d) generate maneuvering commands configured to cause maneuvering and descending of the VTOL aircraft towards a first selected landing area of the first potential landing areas;
(e) obtain, from the second sensor, a plurality of second readings, enabling identifying changes within the at least part of the scene visible by the first sensor;
(f) analyze at least part of the second readings, at a second rate, different than a first rate at which the 3D model is generated, to obtain changes information indicative of the changes within the at least part of the scene, the analyze not including an updating of the 3D model, and the changes being a motion of one or more of the objects within at least one of: (1) the landing zone or (2) a landing path of the VTOL aircraft;
(g) identify, using the 3D model and the changes information, second potential landing areas for the VIOL aircraft, the second potential landing areas being the landing areas within the landing zone on which the VIOL aircraft is capable of landing;
(h) generate second maneuvering commands configured to cause maneuvering and descending of the VIOL aircraft towards a second selected landing area of the second potential landing areas; and
(i) repeat steps (a) to (h) until landing the VIOL aircraft;

wherein, upon the second potential landing areas not including the first selected landing area, due to the changes information, the second selected landing area is distinct from the first selected landing area.