Patent ID: 7764229

Claim:
A system for communication with an autonomous air vehicle, the system comprising: a steerable antenna array, comprising: a plurality of directional antenna elements each selectable to receive a video signal from the autonomous air vehicle; and an antenna control unit operatively coupled to the directional antenna elements, the antenna control unit including a magnetometer for determining an orientation for each of the directional antenna elements; a ground control station in operative communication with the steerable antenna array, the ground control station comprising: a ground data terminal in operative communication with the antenna control unit for receiving the video signal; and an operator control unit in operative communication with the ground data terminal and the antenna control unit, the operator control unit configured to obtain a position of the autonomous air vehicle and a position of the ground control station from the ground data terminal, the operator control unit further configured to determine which of the directional antenna elements to select by utilizing the position of the autonomous air vehicle, the position of the ground control station, and the orientation of one of the directional antenna elements; wherein the steerable antenna array is configured for automatic selection and manual selection of one or more of the directional antenna elements.