Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Microsoft Corporation

Ricky Dean Welsh

Gur Kimchi

Louis LeRoi LeGrand, Iii

Dominic Timothy Shiosaki

Taylor David Grenier

Daniel Buchmueller

Brian C Beckman

Eyal Ofek

Richard Philip Whitlock

Nicholas Hampel Roberts

Robert Roy Champagne, Jr

Vedran Coralic

John Raymond Brodie

Brandon William Porter

Fabian Hensel

Joshua White Traube

Walker Chamberlain Robb

Sebastian Fischer

Omri Rand

Joshua John Watson

Barry James O'Brien

Jon T Braam

Samuel Park

Scott Michael Wilcox

Menashe Haskin

Atishkumar Kalyan

Shmuel Eisenmann

Jack Erdozain, Jr

Bradley David Urban

Michael Rolnik

Steven McGinnis

Adrian Timothy Wallace

Prescott Gee Glynn

Jon Lewis Lindskog

Christopher Aden Maynor

Kader Chellabi

Chris Maynor

Isaac Aaron Margulies

Ishwarya Ananthabhotla

James Christopher Curlander

Neil Whitney Woodward, Iii

Lauren Marie Kisser

Asaf Gilboa-Amir

Robert Arthur Koch

Christopher Hammond Sczudlo

Louis Leroi Legrand

Louis Leroi Legrand Iii

Noam Sorek

Louis Leroi Iii Legrand

Jr Robert Roy Champagne

This disclosure describes an aerial vehicle, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle ('UAV'), which includes a plurality of propulsion mechanisms that enable the aerial vehicle to move independently in any of six degrees of freedom (surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch, and yaw).

Aerial vehicle with independent navigation in six degrees of freedom

Aerial vehicle

Described is an apparatus and method of an aerial vehicle, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle ('UAV') that can operate in either a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) orientation or a horizontal flight orientation. The aerial vehicle includes a plurality of propulsion mechanisms that enable the aerial vehicle to move in any of the six degrees of freedom (surge, sway, heave, pitch, yaw, and roll) when in the VTOL orientation. The aerial vehicle also includes a ring wing that surrounds the propulsion mechanisms and provides lift to the aerial vehicle when the aerial vehicle is operating in the horizontal flight orientation.

Hexagonal ring wing aerial vehicle

This disclosure describes an aerial vehicle, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle ('UAV'), which includes a plurality of maneuverability propulsion mechanisms that enable the aerial vehicle to move in any of the six degrees of freedom (surge, sway, heave, pitch, yaw, and roll). The aerial vehicle may also include a lifting propulsion mechanism that operates to generate a force sufficient to maintain the aerial vehicle at an altitude.

Aerial vehicle with failure recovery

Lightweight and strong components may be manufactured using self-skinning foam material compositions by the processes described herein. One or more mandrels may be inserted into a molding tool, and a self-skinning foam material composition may be injected into the molding tool. After closing the molding tool, the self-skinning foam material composition may expand and cure to form a component, and one or more skins may be formed on exterior and/or interior surfaces of the component. For example, an external skin may be formed on an exterior surface of the component in contact with surfaces of the molding tool, and one or more internal skins may be formed on one or more interior surfaces of negative space spars of the component in contact with surfaces of the one or more mandrels.

Self-skinning cast components having negative space spars

This disclosure describes a configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle ('UAV') that will facilitate extended flight duration. The UAV may have any number of lifting motors. For example, the UAV may include four lifting motors (also known as a quad-copter), eight lifting motors (also known as an octo-copter), etc. Likewise, to improve the efficiency of horizontal flight, the UAV also includes a pivot assembly that may rotate about an axis from a lifting position to a thrusting position. The pivot assembly may include two or more offset motors that generate a differential force that will cause the pivot assembly to rotate between the lifting position and the thrusting position without the need for any additional motors or gears.

Vehicle configuration with motors that rotate between a lifting position and a thrusting position

Sounds are generated by an aerial vehicle during operation. For example, the motors and propellers of an aerial vehicle generate sounds during operation. Disclosed are systems, methods, and apparatus for actively adjusting the position and/or configuration of one or more propeller blades of a propulsion mechanism to generate different sounds and/or lifting forces from the propulsion mechanism.

Aerial vehicle adaptable propeller blades

Described is an aerial vehicle, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle ('UAV'), that includes a plurality of sensors, such as stereo cameras, mounted along a perimeter frame of the aerial vehicle and arranged to generate a scene that surrounds the aerial vehicle. The sensors may be mounted in or on winglets of the perimeter frame. Each of the plurality of sensors has a field of view and the plurality of optical sensors are arranged and/or oriented such that their fields of view overlap with one another throughout a continuous space that surrounds the perimeter frame. The fields of view may also include a portion of the perimeter frame or space that is adjacent to the perimeter frame.

Aerial vehicle sensor positioning

Various reconfigurations of propellers, propeller blades, and/or blade sections of propulsion mechanisms of an aerial vehicle are described. For example, responsive to a fault or failure of a propulsion mechanism, propellers, propeller blades, and/or blade sections of the remaining propulsion mechanisms may be modified to maintain control and safety of the aerial vehicle. In example embodiments, angular orientations, positions, and/or lengths of one or more propellers, propeller blades, and/or blade sections of propulsion mechanisms may be modified to maintain control and safety in either a horizontal, wingborn flight orientation, or a vertical, VTOL flight orientation.

Six degree of freedom aerial vehicle having reconfigurable propellers

Aerial vehicles may be configured to control their attitudes by changing one or more physical attributes. For example, an aerial vehicle may be outfitted with propulsion motors having repositionable mounts by which the motors may be rotated about one or more axes, in order to redirect forces generated by the motors during operation. An aerial vehicle may also be outfitted with one or more other movable objects such as landing gear, antenna and/or engaged payloads, and one or more of such objects may be translated in one or more directions in order to adjust a center of gravity of the aerial vehicle. By varying angles by which forces are supplied to the aerial vehicle, or locations of the center of gravity of the aerial vehicle, a desired attitude of the aerial vehicle may be maintained irrespective of velocity, altitude and/or forces of thrust, lift, weight or drag acting upon the aerial vehicle.

Maintaining attitude control of unmanned aerial vehicles by varying centers of gravity

Various reconfigurations of propulsion mechanisms of an aerial vehicle are described. For example, responsive to a fault or failure of a propulsion mechanism, the remaining propulsion mechanisms may be modified to maintain control and safety of the aerial vehicle. In example embodiments, cant angles, toe angles, positions, and/or orientations of one or more propulsion mechanisms may be modified to maintain control and safety in either a horizontal, wingborn flight orientation, or a vertical, VTOL flight orientation.

Six degree of freedom aerial vehicle having reconfigurable motors

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Ricky Dean Welsh