Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for launching, capturing, and storing unmanned aircraft and other flight devices or projectiles are described. In one embodiment, the aircraft can be assembled from a container with little or no manual engagement by an operator. The container can include a guide structure to control motion of the aircraft components. The aircraft can be launched from an apparatus that includes an extendable boom. The boom can be extended to deploy a recovery line to capture the aircraft in flight. The aircraft can then be returned to its launch platform, disassembled, and stored in the container, again with little or no direct manual contact between the operator and the aircraft.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for capturing and recovering unmanned aircraft and other flight devices or projectiles are described. In one embodiment, the aircraft can be captured at an extendable boom. The boom can be extended to deploy a recovery line to retrieve the aircraft in flight. The boom can be retracted when not in use to reduce the volume it occupies. A tension device coupled to the recovery line can absorb forces associated with the impact of the aircraft and the recovery line.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for capturing and recovering unmanned aircraft and other flight devices or projectiles are described. In one embodiment, the aircraft can be captured by a recovery line in flight, a process that can be aided by a line capture device having a retainer with two portions spaced apart by a distance great enough to receive the recovery line, e.g., to capture the recovery line with increased security. The line capture device can be operatively mounted on a lifting surface of the aircraft.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for stabilizing payloads, including airborne cameras, are disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus employs a gimbal system in which the camera is mounted, together with suitable motors for pointing the camera by actuating this gimbal system and suitable sensors for deriving a signal to drive these gimbal motors. The gimbal axes can be arranged in a sequence that can provide for camera stabilization while reducing complexity, avoiding gimbal lock, increasing redundancy and enhancing performance.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to the determination of a relative position between moving platforms, using satellite-based navigation techniques and equipment installed on said platforms. It combines the concepts of observation-space and navigation-space differential systems, and operates a DGNSS base station in a time-varying mode, in order to rely on the built-in differential positioning and navigation capabilities of particular GNSS receivers while minimizing datalink loading and computational load in auxiliary processors. The invention achieves accurate relative positioning and navigation with respect to a moving base station, using DGNSS equipment that assumes it is stationary when operated in a reference station mode.

Abstract: Conductive structures, including aircraft antennae and associated methods of formation, are disclosed. An antenna in accordance with one embodiment of the invention can include a flexible circuit material having a substrate and at least one conductive layer adjacent to the substrate. The flexible circuit material can be rolled to form a cylindrical or partially cylindrical antenna, such as a dipole antenna. The conductive material can further include circuit elements, such as leads, conductive lines, vias, and/or other elements electrically coupled to the antenna. The flexible circuit material can also support a transmitter and/or receiver that is coupled to the antenna via the circuitry. Accordingly, the antenna can be formed integrally with the circuitry and can be configured and positioned for enhanced signal reception and/or transmission.