The Boeing Company

David H Mason

Roger W Lacy

Brandon R Brown

Eric Hathaway

Michael J Duffy

Eric J Schulze

Joshua B Jarvis

Justin Fowler Rogers

Brian Charles Gray

Corey Seidel

Douglas Mikita

Ravi K Sawhney

Timothy Mark Nugent

Lance G Hussey

Paul K Janowski

A method is provided for operating a vehicle that includes rotors driven by actuators to cause the vehicle to move. The method includes determining rotational speeds at which to drive the rotors to achieve a controlled movement of the vehicle. The rotational speeds include a rotational speed for a rotor of a pair of the rotors driven by a pair of the actuators. The method includes monitoring the rotational speed to detect that the rotational speed has approached or reached a defined avoid band of rotational speeds, and biasing the rotational speed to produce at least one biased rotational speed for respective rotors of the pair that is outside the defined avoid band. The method includes generating commands for the actuators based on the rotational speeds, and modifying the commands including those of the commands for the pair of the actuators based on the at least one biased rotational speed.

Operating a vehicle with rotors while avoiding a band of rotor rotational speed

Example methods and systems for coupling and controlling transport of cargo using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are provided, comprising coupling at least one electronically-controllable attachment device positioned on an underside of the UAV to a sling cable, the sling cable being secured to the cargo. The UAV flies to a predetermined area above the cargo, and responsive to determining that the UAV is positioned within the predetermined area, the UAV elevates above the initial operating height to lift the cargo and navigates to a target location.

Unmanned aerial vehicle and cargo attachment system for the unmanned aerial vehicle

Example methods and systems for contingency landing a UAV are provided, comprising sensors configured to detect a position of the UAV and a command module. The command module receives a mission profile comprising a travel path mapped out in multidimensional space over time from an origin to a destination, a first boundary circumscribing at least a portion of the travel path, a second boundary circumscribing the first boundary, and contingent landing sites. The command module sends instructions to the UAV to fly according to the mission profile and determines a position of the UAV relative to the first and the second boundaries. Responsive to determining that the UAV is positioned at the first boundary, the command module sends instructions to land at a contingent landing site, and responsive to determining that the UAV is positioned at the second boundary, the command module sends instructions to land immediately.

Unmanned aerial vehicle contingency landing system

Unmanned aerial vehicle sling load

A rotorcraft has a frame and a plurality of rotors connected to the frame. The frame has a roll axis and a pitch axis. Each of the rotors includes a rotor shaft. The rotor shaft of each of the rotors is canted with respect to at least one of the roll axis and the pitch axis. The rotor shaft of each of the rotors may be canted between 3 and 15 degrees. Each of the rotors may be a co-axial co-rotating rotor. The rotors may be oriented in opposing pairs across the frame. Both rotors in each opposing pair rotate in the same direction. The rotorcraft may include at least two additional rotors, each having a forward cant. Each of the additional rotors may be a co-axial contra-rotating rotor.

Rotorcraft with canted coaxial rotors

Headstock of a stringed musical instrument

Growing community of inventors

Glenmoore, PA, United States of America

David H Mason