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:
Jun. 24, 2025
Filed:
Jan. 17, 2024
Skydio, Inc., San Mateo, CA (US);
Bernard J. Michini, Plymouth Meeting, PA (US);
Fabien Blanc-Paques, San Francisco, CA (US);
Edward Dale Steakley, Cupertino, CA (US);
Skydio, Inc., San Mateo, CA (US);
Abstract
Methods, systems, and program products of inspecting solar panels using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are disclosed. A UAV can obtain a position of the Sun in a reference frame, a location of a solar panel in the reference frame, and an orientation of the solar panel in the reference frame. The UAV can determine a viewing position of the UAV in the reference frame based on at least one of the position of the Sun, the location of the solar panel, and the orientation of the solar panel. The UAV can maneuver to the viewing position and point a thermal sensor onboard the UAV at the solar panel. The UAV can capture, by the thermal sensor, a thermal image of at least a portion of the solar panel. A server onboard the UAV or connected to the UAV can detect panel failures based on the thermal image.