Patent ID: 8903568

Claim:
A method of controlling positioning of a payload, said method comprising: providing a payload supported by a carrier on a vehicle or living subject, wherein the payload is movable relative to the vehicle or living subject via the carrier about one or more orthogonal axes of rotation, and wherein the carrier comprises one or more frame components and one or more actuators, wherein the one or more frame components are connected to one another to form a gimbal having at least three axes; receiving, at a receiver positioned on the carrier or the vehicle, a signal from a terminal that is remote relative to (i) the vehicle or living subject, (ii) the carrier, and (iii) the payload, wherein the terminal (1) includes a user interface providing a mode selection from a plurality of modes having a different number of controllable axes of rotation of the carrier, said plurality of modes including a one-axis control mode, a two-axes control mode, and a three-axes control mode, and (2) generates the signal based on the mode selection; calculating, with the signal from the terminal and with aid of a processor, an angle or speed by which the payload is to be rotated about the one or more orthogonal axes of rotation; generating a command signal to move the payload, based on the calculation; and moving the payload relative to the vehicle or living subject about the one or more orthogonal axes of rotation via movement of the one or more frame components driven by the one or more actuators of the carrier in response to the command signal.