Abstract: A central command system may determine a mission plan for resilient execution by a swarm of drones comprising one or more sensors to capture data in accordance with the mission plan. The mission plan may specify requirements for fault tolerance or parallelism and a redundancy structure for the swarm. The mission plan may be transmitted to a remote drone swarm controller device that determines a swarm configuration based on the mission plan and available drones. The controller may transmit instructions regarding the swarm configuration to dispatch a resilient swarm of drones. During execution of the mission plan, drones in the resilient swarm may be monitored by other drones in the swarm, by the remote drone swarm controller, and/or by the central command system. The redundancy structure provides for failover options for one or more drones in the resilient swarm.

Abstract: A method for improving wireless communication for a drone swarm, the method comprising, at a computing system, receiving, from a plurality of drones of a drone swarm, data comprising radio frequency signal characteristics detected by the plurality of drones; generating a model of a radio frequency environment for the drone swarm based on the data received from the plurality of drones; and controlling at least one wireless communication system to improve wireless communication for the drone swarm based on the model of the radio frequency environment.

Abstract: A method comprising receiving a plurality of images of a scene captured by at least one drone; identifying features within the plurality of images; identifying similar images of the plurality of images based on the features identified within the plurality of images; comparing the similar images based on the features identified within the similar images to determine a proportion of features shared by the similar images; selecting a subset of the plurality of images that have a proportion of shared features that meets a predetermined range; generating a first 3D model of the scene from the subset of images using a first 3D model building algorithm; generating a second 3D model of the scene from the subset of images using a second 3D model building algorithm; computing errors for the first and second 3D models; and selecting as the model of the scene the first or second 3D model.

Abstract: A method for controlling a plurality of drones to survey a location, the method comprising, at a computing system: automatically generating preliminary flight plans for a plurality of drones to survey the location based on a 3D model; receiving survey data from the plurality of drones as the plurality of drones are surveying the location based on the preliminary flight plans; updating the 3D model based on the survey data received from the plurality of drones; and automatically updating at least a portion of the flight plans based on the updated 3D model

Abstract: An improved mobile device case with an embedded card holder is provided. The mobile device case may include a card slot recessed into the back of the case and fitted for insertion of a card, such as a credit card. A flexural binder formed from opposite-facing surfaces molded as part of the case flexes the card widthwise and lengthwise such that the forces resisting flexure exerted by the flexed card hold the card in place. One opposite-facing surface, a retainer, may be connected to non-recessed areas of the back of the case that extends over the recessed slot. Another opposite-facing surface is a raised edge on the recessed surface of the interior back of the case bordering both sides and the rear of the recessed slot.

Abstract: An improved mobile device case with an embedded card holder is provided. The mobile device case may include a card slot recessed into the back of the case and fitted for insertion of a card, such as a credit card. A flexural binder formed from opposite-facing surfaces molded as part of the case flexes the card widthwise and lengthwise such that the forces resisting flexure exerted by the flexed card hold the card in place. One opposite-facing surface, a retainer, may be connected to non-recessed areas of the back of the case that extends over the recessed slot. Another opposite-facing surface is a raised edge on the recessed surface of the interior back of the case bordering both sides and the rear of the recessed slot.

Abstract: An improved mobile device case with an embedded card holder is provided. The mobile device case may include a card slot recessed into the back of the case and fitted for insertion of a card, such as a credit card. A flexural binder formed from opposite-facing surfaces molded as part of the case flexes the card widthwise and lengthwise such that the forces resisting flexure exerted by the flexed card hold the card in place. One opposite-facing surface, a retainer, may be connected to non-recessed areas of the back of the case that extends over the recessed slot. Another opposite-facing surface is a raised edge on the recessed surface of the interior back of the case bordering both sides and the rear of the recessed slot.

Abstract: An improved mobile device case with an embedded card holder is provided. The mobile device case may include a card slot recessed into the back of the case and fitted for insertion of a card, such as a credit card. A flexural binder formed from opposite-facing surfaces molded as part of the case flexes the card widthwise and lengthwise such that the forces resisting flexure exerted by the flexed card hold the card in place. One opposite-facing surface, a retainer, may be connected to non-recessed areas of the back of the case that extends over the recessed slot. Another opposite-facing surface is a raised edge on the recessed surface of the interior back of the case bordering both sides and the rear of the recessed slot.

Abstract: The power dental appliance includes a handle/receiver assembly (12) and a nozzle assembly (14) which is attachable thereto. The nozzle assembly and the handle/receiver include portions which together define an interface arrangement. The nozzle includes an extending tubular member (30), with two sets of opposing sides with lateral grooves (42, 44) in one set of opposing sides (38, 40), near the lower end thereof. The handle/receiver includes a hollow upper portion (32), into which the tubular member portion of the nozzle fits, the hollow portion including mating projections in the form of ribs (46, 48) which mate with the grooves in the tubular member to prevent the nozzle from coming off the handle during operation of the appliance, but permitting removal thereof by the user.