Patent Document ID: 8643719
Application ID: 12124511
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for monitoring a geographic area, comprising: using a plurality of unmanned mobile vehicles; prior to use, programming each said unmanned mobile vehicle with a first operational plan to cover a first specific subregion of said geographic area, and a second operational plan to cover a second, specific subregion of said geographic area; using each said unmanned mobile vehicle to obtain visual images of said specific subregion that each said unmanned vehicle has been programmed to cover; using a structural health monitoring system carried by each one of said unmanned mobile vehicles to monitor a structural health of its associated said unmanned mobile vehicle; upon a first one of the unmanned mobile vehicles experiencing a structural health event that degrades an ability of said first one of the mobile vehicles to follow said first operational plan, then: communicating information to at least a second one of the plurality of unmanned mobile vehicles concerning a compromised health status of the first one of the unmanned mobile vehicles; having at least said second one of said unmanned mobile vehicles dynamically change from using said first operational plan to using said second operational plan, in real time, the second operational plan enabling the second one of said plurality of unmanned mobile vehicles to cover at least a portion of a subregion that would have been covered by said first one of said plurality of unmanned mobile vehicles.