The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 25, 2025
Filed:
Jan. 12, 2023
The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US);
Joshua Neighbor, Seattle, WA (US);
Daniel O'Shea, Seattle, WA (US);
The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US);
Abstract
An automated air-to-air refueling (A3R) system is usable with a tanker aircraft having a refueling boom. The system includes a camera connected to the tanker in proximity to the refueling boom which outputs a video stream of the boom and a fuel-receiving aircraft/receiver during an aerial refueling process. The system also includes a human-machine interface ('HMI') located aboard the tanker, and an electronic control unit (“ECU”) in communication with the camera and HMI. The ECU identifies keypoints on the receiver indicative of flight control surfaces thereof, tracks corresponding positions of the flight control surfaces in real-time, and predicts a change in position of the receiver in free space as a predicted 3D position using the corresponding positions. The HMI also outputs a directional indicator indicative of the predicted 3D position, e.g., as a graphical overlay to a display screen.