Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Chong Huang

Yang Liu

Kah Kuen Fu

Cheng Kai Chen

Tianyang Ma

Dawei Li

Yibo Cao

An aerial vehicle is configured to operate within indoor spaces. The aerial vehicle is programmed with positions of waypoints within three-dimensional space, and to calculate a trajectory for traveling through such waypoints in a manner that minimizes snap of the aerial vehicle. Where a distance between a pair of the waypoints is sufficiently long, the aerial vehicle inserts intervening waypoints for planning purposes, and programs the aerial vehicle to travel at a maximum speed between the intervening waypoints. Upon detecting an obstacle with a first range using one or more sensors, the aerial vehicle reduces its speed and monitors a second, shorter range using the sensors, and compensates for motion between such readings.

Indoor navigation and obstacle avoidance for unmanned aerial vehicles

An aerial vehicle is configured to calculate ranges to objects around the aerial vehicle when operating within indoor spaces, using a LIDAR sensor or another range sensor. The aerial vehicle calculates ranges within a plurality of sectors around the aerial vehicle and identifies a minimum distance measurement for each of the sectors. Sets of adjacent sectors having distance measurements above a threshold are identified, and bearings and minimum distance measurements of the sets of adjacent sectors are determined. When the aerial vehicle detects an object within a flight path, the aerial vehicle selects one of the sets of adjacent sectors based on the minimum distance measurements and executes a braking maneuver in a direction of the selected one of the sets of adjacent sectors.

Selecting paths for indoor obstacle avoidance by unmanned aerial vehicles

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Goleta, CA, United States of America

Chong Huang