Abstract: A method for operating an aircraft (1) is provided, wherein for a predetermined trajectory (NT) of the aircraft (1) a volume enveloping the trajectory (NT) is determined, which volume includes a first, inner volume and a second, outer volume, and the second volume envelops the first volume. The first volume is composed of a plurality of first individual volumes (TVi) and the second volume is composed of a number of second individual volumes, which individual volumes (TVi) are calculated at each point of the trajectory (NT) on the basis of parameters (vi) of an actual flight condition of the aircraft (1) at a respective time.

Abstract: A trajectory planning method for determining a flight trajectory (FB) for an aerial vehicle (1) in a three-dimensional space from a starting point (VP1) to a finishing point (VP2), in which a) a first trajectory planning, confined to a first plane or area in the three-dimensional space, is carried out in order to obtain a first trajectory planning result with a first trajectory profile (BP1); b) a second trajectory planning, confined to a second plane or area (SE), different from the first plane or area in the three-dimensional space, is carried out in order to obtain a second trajectory planning result; and c) the first trajectory planning result and the second trajectory planning result are combined to form an overall trajectory planning result for the flight trajectory (FB).

Abstract: A method of operating an actuator system (1) having a number k, k?, of actuators (2), in particular individual propulsion units of an MAV-VTOL aircraft (10), in particular electrically powered actuators, wherein a desired control command up?m, m?, for controlling the actuator system (1) is allocated to real actuator commands u?k, k?, by using a weighted allocation matrix D (W), from an equation u=D?1(W)up, wherein D?1(W) is an inverse of the weighted allocation matrix, and the real actuator commands u are applied for controlling the actuators (2). The method includes determining a characterizing value u* from the real actuator commands u; determining, at least for some of the actuators (2), preferably for all of the actuators (2), a deviation ei, i=1, 2, . . . , k of a respective actuator command ui, i=1, 2, . . . , k from said characterizing value u*; determining, at least for some of the actuators (2), preferably for all of the actuators (2), a weight wi, i=1, 2, . . .

Abstract: A battery cell module (10) having a plurality of flat battery cells (1) arranged side by side in a stack, a layer of a compressible aerogel (17) between al least two of the battery cells (1), at least one phase change material (PCM) layer (18), and a circuit arrangement with battery cell management electronics (14a) in operative connection with said plurality of battery cells. At least two compression plates (11) are arranged on opposite sides of said stack and are operable in a cell compression direction (CD) to hold said stack together therebetween. A separation layer (19) is arranged between the stack and the circuit arrangement. A battery cell arrangement from such modules is also provided.

Abstract: A motor control system (1), preferably for an aircraft, having a plurality of motors (3), each having a motor control unit (2) that includes a primary motor controller (COM) configured to provide motor control commands (9) to a corresponding motor (3). The system (1) also has a system control unit (COMstring) in communication with each of the primary motor controllers (COM), configured to provide motor control commands (9) to the primary motor controllers. A system monitoring unit (MONstring) is connected to the system control unit for monitoring an operation thereof, and at least one sensor (4) determines an operation state of at least one of the motors. The sensor is connected with the system monitoring unit, which is configured to disable communication between the system control unit and the primary motor controllers and/or between the primary motor controllers and the motors based on the monitoring and/or the determined operation state.

Abstract: A method for operating an aircraft having multiple drive units including: a) providing a first flight control unit (CTRL-1), which activates the drive units according to a first control implementation when CTRL-1 is active; b) providing a second flight control unit (CTRL-2), which activates the drive units according to a second control implementation when CTRL-2 is active; c) continuously monitoring a function of the currently active flight control unit (CTRL-1); d) changing the active flight control unit from the currently active flight control unit (CTRL-1) to the newly active flight control unit (CTRL-2) in dependence on a result of the monitoring in step c); in which the change in step d) for the newly active flight control unit (CTRL-2) includes: d1) initializing starting values of a movement equation of the aircraft implemented in CTRL-2 using currently known state values (x) of the aircraft; d2) initializing integrators of CTRL-2 using control commands for the drive units from CTRL-1; d3) difference eq

Abstract: A method for operating a transport system for passenger transportation, including the following steps: providing a plurality of vertically taking-off and vertically landing aircraft for passengers; providing a plurality of handing facilities for the take-off and landing of aircraft, wherein each handling facility has parking spaces for a plurality of aircraft; setting-up air routes between the handing facilities so that each handing facility is connected to at least one further handling facility via an air route, wherein there is continuous air traffic of aircraft on the air routes, at least in one flight direction, with automated take-off, automated flight along the air routes, and automated landing.

Abstract: A method of controlling an actuator system including a plurality of k actuators. Each of the actuators-receives a control input ui, wherein index i denotes a particular actuator, which control input ui is determined depending on a weight matrix W including a weighting factor wi for each actuator and depending on at least a physical maximum control limit uimax for each of the actuators. The weighting factors wi and/or physical maximum control limit uimax are actively changed during operation if a first comparison of the control input ui or a function f(ui) thereof with a set first threshold value yields that the control input ui or function f(ui) thereof exceeds the set first threshold value. The first comparison is repeated during operation, and a new control input ui is determined from the adjusted weighting factor wi and/or the adjusted physical maximum control limit uimax and applied to the actuators.

Abstract: A VTOL aircraft (1), including: a fuselage (2) for transporting passengers and/or load; a front wing (3) attached to the fuselage (2); an aft wing (4) attached to the fuselage (2), behind the front wing (3) in a direction of forward flight (FF); a right connecting beam (5a) and a left connecting beam (5b), which connecting beams (5a, 5b) structurally connect the front wing (3) and the aft wing (4), which connecting beams (5a, 5b) are spaced apart from the fuselage (2); and at least two propulsion units (6) on each one of the connecting beams (5a, 5b). The propulsion units (6) include at least one propeller (6b, 6b?) and at least one motor (6a) driving the propeller (6b, 6b?), preferably an electric motor, and are arranged with their respective propeller axis in an essentially vertical orientation (z).

Abstract: An aircraft in the form of an electrically driven, vertical take-off and landing, preferably people-carrying and/or load-carrying multicopter (1) is provided, in which a multiplicity of rotors are arranged in a common rotor plane (R), in which a tail unit (6), protruding upward or downward with respect to the rotor plane (R), is provided above or below the rotor plane (R), preferably in a rear region of the aircraft (1) with respect to a forward flying direction.

Abstract: A method of controlling a multi-rotor aircraft (1) including at least five, preferably at least six, lifting rotors (2; R1-R6), each having a first rotation axis which is essentially parallel to a yaw axis (z) of the aircraft (1), and at least one forward propulsion device (3), preferably two forward propulsion devices (P1, P2), the at least one forward propulsion device having at least two rotors (P1_R1, P1_R2, P2_R1, P2_R2) that are arranged coaxially with a second rotation axis which is essentially parallel to a roll axis (x) of the aircraft. The at least one or each of the forward propulsion devices (3, P1, P2) being arranged at a respective distance (+y, ?y) from said roll axis (x). The method further includes: using at least one of the rotors of the at least one forward propulsion device to control the aircraft's moment about the yaw and/or roll axes independently from each other.

Abstract: A method of controlling an overly determined actuator system that has a first number of actuators (?i) which is greater than a second number of the actuators needed to perform a predetermined physical task. The method includes: automatically controlling the first number of actuators by a control unit (CU) for jointly performing the predetermined physical task; repeatedly checking a functional state of the first number of actuators to detect an actuator failure of any one thereof; in case of any detected actuator failure, generating at least one emergency signal (EM) representative of an adapted physical task to be performed by a remaining number of the actuators. The emergency signal is generated based on kinematics of the actuator system, on known physical capacities at least of the remaining actuators, and optionally on a computational performance model of the actuator system.

Abstract: A passive elastic teeter bearing for an aircraft rotor, including, rotatably arranged on an rotational axis of said rotor, a teeter beam, configured for attaching the rotor which has rotor blades, with the teeter beam being configured for performing a teetering motion, and having two pairs of first lugs arranged at opposite ends thereof at a distance with respect to the rotational axis; and a hub piece located below the teeter beam, the hub piece having two arms that extend outwardly in a radial direction, each having a second lug arranged at a distance with respect to said rotational axis. Each second lug is located between the two lugs of a respective pair of first lugs, and respective connecting pins pass through the first and second lugs on either side of the rotational axis. A pair of elastic bushings are arranged on each connecting pin between a first one of the first lugs and the second lug and between a second one of said first lugs and the second lug, respectively.

Abstract: An adjustable structure for battery cooling having a holding frame (15) for holding at least one battery module, with the holding frame (15) defining a frame plane with a plane normal vector (N1). A cooling plate (16) for battery cooling is provided having at least one cooling surface (16a) with a surface normal vector (N2), and is arranged adjacent said holding frame (15). The surface normal vector (N2) extends parallel to said plane normal vector (N1). A moving mechanism (17, 18) for moving the cooling plate (16) and the holding frame (15) relative to one another in a direction parallel or anti-parallel to the plane normal vector (N1) and to the surface normal vector (N2) is provided and holds cooling plate (16) against the holding frame (15) and/or against a battery module that is held by the holding frame (15).

Abstract: A method is provided for stabilizing an orientation and height of a person or load-carrying multicopter with a plurality of motors, wherein the drive of the individual motors in flight is continuously calculated by a flight control unit and correspondingly prescribed to the motors using control technology, for which purpose, based on a desired torque ?, of a desired thrust s preferably prescribed by a pilot signal, and of a motor matrix M, the drive of the motors is calculated by a motor allocation algorithm f and provided as a control signal to the motors, wherein the following applies to the drive and the corresponding motor control variables u: u=f(?, s, M).

Abstract: A method for monitoring the take-off and/or landing procedure of an aircraft (1), in particular for an electrical, vertical take-off and landing aircraft (1), in which a monitoring region of a take-off and landing site (2) is monitored by at least one microphone (4, 5) of a monitoring station to detect sound emission data of an aircraft (1) taking off or landing as it approaches or departs and the detected sound emission data are transmitted from the monitoring station to an evaluation unit. The detected sound emission data are evaluated by the evaluation unit by comparing the detected sound emission data to characteristic sound emission data.

Abstract: A method of operating an under-actuated actuator system including a plurality of actuators (3), preferably for operating a multiactuator aerial vehicle (1), wherein the actuators (3) are individual propulsion units of the multiactuator aerial vehicle (1), each actuator having a maximum physical capacity umax, the method including: controlling the actuators (3) by with an actual control input u?k computed from an allocation equation u=D?1up, wherein D?1 is an inverse allocation matrix and up?m is a pseudo control input defined by a system dynamics equation m(x){umlaut over (x)}+c(x,{dot over (x)})+g(x)+G(x)up=fext, wherein x?n is an n-dimensional configuration vector of the system, m(x)?n×n is a state dependent generalized moment of inertia, c(x,{dot over (x)})?n are state dependent Coriolis force, g(x)?n are gravitational forces and fext?n are external forces and torques, and G(x)?n×m is a control input matrix which contains the information of under-actuation.

Abstract: A supporting wing structure for an aircraft, in particular for a load-carrying and/or passenger-carrying aircraft, preferably an aircraft in the form of a vertical take-off and landing multicopter having a plurality of electrically driven rotors which are disposed in a distributed manner. The supporting wing structure has a plurality of struts. A first number of the struts are at least largely disposed in a first direction, while a second number of the struts are at least largely disposed in a second direction, the second direction being oriented orthogonal to the first direction. At least the struts of the second number have an aerodynamic profile in cross section, and/or in the struts are connected to one another at least in pairs between neighboring struts by a connecting structure, preferably from individual connecting segments, and the connecting structure or the connecting segments have an aerodynamic profiling. Furthermore an aircraft is provided equipped with such a supporting wing structure.

Abstract: A method for controlling an overdetermined system with multiple power-restricted actuators that perform a primary task and non-primary tasks, including: a) determining a pseudo-control command based on a physical model of the system, which pseudo-control command represents the torques and a total thrust force acting on the system, b) determining a control matrix, c) dissociating the control matrix into sub control matrices, wherein the sub control matrices and the corresponding sub pseudo-control commands correspond to the primary task for i=1 and for i>1 correspond to the non-primary task(s) and a priority of the non-primary tasks decreases with increasing index i, d) determining actuator control commands for solving the primary task, e) projecting the non-primary tasks into the null space of the primary task, and into respective null spaces of all of the non-primary tasks of higher priority, if present, and f) providing the actuator control commands from d) and e) at the actuators.

Abstract: An aircraft with folding mechanism, the aircraft including a fuselage, optionally a payload and/or landing gear attached to the fuselage, at least two longitudinal beams attached to the fuselage that preferably extend parallel to each other and parallel to a first aircraft axis, with lifting units attached to each of the longitudinal beams. At least one crossbeam is attached to the fuselage, and preferably extending parallel to a second aircraft axis and at right angles with respect to the longitudinal beams, with lifting units attached to the crossbeam. The longitudinal beams are rotatably attached to the fuselage by at least one respective first pivot joint configured for pivoting the longitudinal beams around a respective first pivot axis to a pivoted position. The crossbeam is rotatably attached to the fuselage, preferably by at least one second pivot joint, for pivoting the crossbeam around a second pivot axis to a pivoted position.