Ground effect based surface sensing using propellers in automated aerial vehicles

• Main Authors: Navot, Amir, Kimchi, Gur, Green, Scott A, Porter, Brandon William, Buchmueller, Daniel, Beckman, Brian C, Hensel, Fabian, Rault, Severan Sylvain Jean-Michel
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 10.09.2019
• Subjects: AEROPLANES; AIRCRAFT; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSIONTRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDEDFOR ELSEWHERE; AVIATION; CHECKING-DEVICES; CONTROLLING; COSMONAUTICS; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLYING SUITS; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; HELICOPTERS; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; PARACHUTES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; REGULATING; SIGNALLING; SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES; TESTING; TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS; TRANSPORTING; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS

A system and method for operating an automated aerial vehicle are provided wherein influences of ground effects (e.g., which may increase the effective thrusts of propellers by interfering with the respective airflows) are utilized for sensing the ground or other surfaces. In various implementations, operating parameters of the automated aerial vehicle are monitored to determine when ground effects are influencing the parameters associated with each of the propellers, which correspondingly indicate proximities to a surface (e.g., the ground). Utilizing such techniques, proximities of different portions of an automated aerial vehicle to the ground or other surfaces may be determined (e.g., for detecting issues with an uneven landing area, a sloped ground, etc.).