Skydio, Inc.

Other

Josiah Timothy VanderMey

Abraham Galton Bachrach

Adam Parker Bry

Daniel Thomas Adams

Patrick Allen Lowe

Yevgeniy Kozlenko

Benjamin Scott Thompson

Asher Mendel Robbins-Rothman

Zachary Albert West

Justin Michael Sadowski

Kevin Patrick Smith O'Leary

Hayk Martirosyan

Jack Louis Zhu

Peter Benjamin Henry

Ryan David Kennedy

Kristen Marie Holtz

Harrison Zheng

Gareth Benoit Cross

Teodor Tomic

Samuel Shenghung Wang

Dominic William Pattison

Bradley Matthew Solliday

Nathan Leo Bucki

Yixiao Sun

Aaron Christopher Miller

Timothy VanderMey

Kevin Patrick Smith O′Leary

A computer of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) accesses, from a memory unit, a problem definition comprising cost functions associated with travel of the UAV. The computer causes movement of the UAV based on the cost functions. The computer adjusts one or more of the cost functions during a flight of the UAV. The computer causes further movement of the UAV based on the adjusted one or more of the cost functions.

Unmanned aerial vehicle operated based on cost functions

An introduced autonomous aerial vehicle can include multiple cameras for capturing images of a surrounding physical environment that are utilized for motion planning by an autonomous navigation system. In some embodiments, the cameras can be integrated into one or more rotor assemblies that house powered rotors to free up space within the body of the aerial vehicle. In an example embodiment, an aerial vehicle includes multiple upward-facing cameras and multiple downward-facing cameras with overlapping fields of view to enable stereoscopic computer vision in a plurality of directions around the aerial vehicle. Similar camera arrangements can also be implemented in fixed-wing aerial vehicles.

Autonomous aerial vehicle hardware configuration

A computer accesses an input element storage and an output element storage. The computer accesses a symbolic expression for output element storage as a function of the input element storage. The computer computes, using a symbolic computation engine of the computer, a symbolic expression for the tangent space Jacobian of the output element storage with respect to an input tangent space. The computer outputs the computed expression.

Computer-implemented symbolic differentiation using first-order retraction

A computer accesses a first symbolic expression for an output matrix as a function of an input matrix at a computing device comprising processing circuitry and memory. The computer computes a first Jacobian of the input matrix with respect to an input tangent space. The computer computes a second Jacobian of the output matrix with respect to the input matrix. The computer computes a third Jacobian of an output tangent space with respect to the input matrix. The computer applies symbolic matrix multiplication to the first Jacobian, the second Jacobian, and the third Jacobian to obtain a second symbolic expression for the output tangent space with respect to the input tangent space. The computer provides a representation of the second symbolic expression, the second symbolic expression representing a computed tangent-space Jacobian.

Computer-implemented computation of tangent-space jacobian

The technology described herein relates to autonomous aerial vehicle rotor configurations. In some embodiments, the aerial vehicle includes a central body that extends along a longitudinal axis from a forward end to an aft end including a port side opposite a starboard side. Multiple rotor arms each have a proximal end coupled to the central body and a rotor assembly arranged at a distal end to provide propulsion for the aerial vehicle. The rotor assemblies include a first set of rotor assemblies and a second set of rotor assemblies. The first set of rotor assemblies are arranged in a non-inverted configuration on a top side of the aerial vehicle such that each rotor assembly includes an upward-facing rotor. The second set of rotor assemblies are arranged in an inverted configuration on a bottom side of the aerial vehicle such that each rotor assembly includes a downward-facing rotor.

Autonomous aerial vehicle rotor configurations

An aircraft having a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) propulsion system. The aircraft includes a fuselage, the VTOL propulsion system, at least one forward thruster, a power source used for both the VTOL propulsion system and forward thruster, fore and aft wings and a plurality of spars attached to and spanning the space between the two wings. The VTOL propulsion system includes a plurality of VTOL cells (including a motor, motor controller, and propeller) attached in a spaced relation along each spar. The VTOL cells are used exclusively for vertical flight or hovering and are powered down as the aircraft develops forward flight velocity and corresponding wing lift. During forward flight the VTOL propellers are articulated to allow the aircraft to take on a low drag configuration. The present invention is suitable for use in manned or un-manned aircraft of any scale.

Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with distributed thrust and control

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Redwood City, CA, United States of America

Josiah Timothy VanderMey