Patent ID: 9555885
Date: 2017-01-31
CPC Classifications: B60R,B60W,B64C,G05D,G08C,G08G

Claim:
1. A drone deployment system comprising: an aerial drone in operative communication with a vehicle and being configured to land on, and attach to, the vehicle, the drone comprising a plurality of sensors configured to sense external objects; the vehicle comprising a plurality of sensors including one or more leading sensors configured to sense external objects leading the vehicle, a communications interface configured to send information to and receive information from the aerial drone, and processor(s) configured to: determine a vehicle speed; estimate a leading sensing range of the one or more leading sensors; determine a desired leading sensing range of the one or more leading sensors based on the determined vehicle speed; compare the estimated leading sensing range with the desired leading sensing range; command the drone to detach from the vehicle and fly based on the comparison.