Abstract: Various embodiments of systems, apparatus, and/or methods are described for enhanced responsiveness in responding to an emergency situation using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Drones are fully autonomous in that they are operated without human intervention from a pilot, an operator, or other personnel. The disclosed drone utilizes movable access doors to provide the capability of vertically takeoff and landing. The drone also includes an emergency recovery system including a mechanism to deploy a parachute in an event of a failure of the on-board autopilot. Also disclosed herein is a drone port that provides an IR-based docking mechanism for precision landing of the drone, with a very low margin of error. Additionally, the drone port includes pads that provide automatic charge to the drone's batteries by contact-based charging via the drone's landing gear legs.

Abstract: A recharging system operable to supply power to a rechargeable battery onboard an aerial vehicle. The recharging system includes conductive contacts onboard an aerial vehicle and a landing platform including conductive regions, a charge sensor, and a power supply. The conductive contacts are polarized and located on the skids of the aerial vehicle. When then conductive contacts are received by the conductive regions, the charge sensor operates switches in order to connect a positively charged contact with the positive terminal of the power supply and the negatively charged contact with the negative terminal. Thus, the rechargeable battery is recharged by the power supply.