Bae Systems, Inc.

Ampx Limited

Roderick Buchanan

James Duncan Revell

Peter Noble Hudson

Rania Hamdi Eissa

Richard Charles Freeman

David William Thomas Clark

Andrew James Thomas

A method for coordinating a plurality of vehicles () comprising: defining, as a command vehicle (C), a vehicle in the plurality; storing, by one or more storage devices () located on one or more of the vehicles (), a list of capabilities of each vehicle (); receiving, by one or more processors () on the command vehicle (C), a specification of a goal; based on the stored vehicle capabilities, allocating, by the one or more processors (), to one or more of the vehicles (), one or more tasks, the one or more tasks being such that, if each of those tasks was to be performed, the goal would be accomplished; and sending, from the command vehicle (C), to each vehicle () to which a task has been allocated, a specification of the one or more tasks allocated to that vehicle ().

System and method for coordination among a plurality of vehicles

Apparatus for generating a connectivity map in respect of a communications system of a moving platform, said communications system comprising at least one platform application and being configured to effect wireless data communication between said platform and another node by means of one of a plurality of supported communications links in accordance with a communications plan, wherein said apparatus is configured to: &#x2014;identify () a message or set of messages required to be transmitted from or received by said moving platform; &#x2014;generate a connectivity map comprising a plurality of connectivity metrics by, for each of a plurality of different specified attitudes or orientations derived from one or more predicted trajectories of said moving platform: &#x2014;identifying available transmitters for wireless transmission of said message or set of messages and/or identify available receivers for wireless reception of said message or set of messages; &#x2014;for each identified transmitter, determining () a transmitter metric and/or for each identified receiver, determining () a receiver metric; and &#x2014;defining () a connectivity metric, based on said transmitter metrics and/or receiver metrics for said respective specified attitude or orientation, said connectivity metric being representative of a quality of a respective associated communications link for effecting transmission or reception by said platform of said message or set of messages in respect of said respective specified attitude or orientation of said moving platform.

Apparatus and method for communications management

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for detecting cloud features. The method comprises: obtaining image data (e.g. using a camera), the image data defining a plurality of pixels and, for each pixel, a respective luminance value; defining one or more intervals for the luminance values of the pixels; partitioning the image data into one or more image segments (-), each respective image segment (-) containing pixels having a luminance value in a respective interval; and classifying, as a cloud feature, each image segment (-) containing pixels having luminance value greater than or equal to a threshold luminance value (L).

Cloud feature detection

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for detecting and ranging cloud features. The method comprises: obtaining image data (e.g. using a camera (); classifying, as a cloud feature, an image segment (-) of the image data; determining a plurality of moments of the image segment (-); using the determined plurality of moments, determining a geometric representation of that image segment (-); and, using the geometric representation, determining a distance between the cloud feature represented by that image segment (-) and an entity that obtained the image data.

Detecting and ranging cloud features

Disclosed are apparatus and a method for detecting cloud features. The method comprises: obtaining () image data (); identifying () regions of the image data corresponding to a below-horizon region and an above-horizon region; classifying () one or more parts of the above-horizon region as a cloud feature; determining () an identification model specifying a visual appearance of some or all of the parts of the above-horizon region that have been classified as a cloud feature; and using the determined identification model, classifying (), as cloud features, those regions of the of the below-horizon region whose visual appearance is as specified by the identification model.

A method and apparatus for identifying and analyzing an aircraft landing site during flight is provided. The method includes the steps of using image capture means such as an infrared camera to capture in-flight images of the ground in the region of a possible landing site, using a database of computer modelled images of possible aircraft landing sites mapped to a global co-ordinate reference frame to compare the in-flight images with a modelled image of the possible landing site and optimizing correspondence between the two images to obtain an in-flight image optimally mapped to the global co-ordinate reference frame. Thereafter, the landing site which corresponds to the optimally mapped in-flight image is analyzed to ascertain the presence of any obstructions such as life forms, vehicles or newly erected buildings thereon.

Identification and analysis of aircraft landing sites

A method of detecting at least one moving vehicle includes receiving () image data representing a sequence of image frames over time. The method further includes analyzing (-) the image data to identify potential moving vehicles, and comparing (-) at least one said potential moving vehicle with a vehicle movement model that defines a trajectory of a potential moving vehicle to determine whether the at least one potential moving vehicle conforms with the model.

Growing community of inventors

Preston, United Kingdom

Roderick Buchanan