Patents by Inventor Michael Gregory Todd

Michael Gregory Todd has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Collision prevention flight control mode
    Patent number: 12411499
    Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling an aerial vehicle to avoid obstacles are disclosed. A system can detect, based on a world model generated from sensor data captured by one or more sensors positioned on the aerial vehicle during flight, an obstacle for the aerial vehicle, and trigger an augmented manual control mode responsive to a speed of the aerial vehicle being less than a predetermined threshold and detecting the obstacle. The system can set, responsive to triggering the augmented manual control mode, a speed constraint for the aerial vehicle in a direction of the obstacle based on a distance between the aerial vehicle and the obstacle. The system can receive an instruction to navigate the aerial vehicle in the direction at a second speed, and adjust the instruction to replace the second speed with the speed constraint, causing the aerial vehicle to navigate at the speed constraint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2025
    Assignee: LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Anthony J. Smith, Navid Tehrani Dadkhah, Michael Gregory Todd
  • COLLISION PREVENTION FLIGHT CONTROL MODE
    Publication number: 20230244249
    Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling an aerial vehicle to avoid obstacles are disclosed. A system can detect, based on a world model generated from sensor data captured by one or more sensors positioned on the aerial vehicle during flight, an obstacle for the aerial vehicle, and trigger an augmented manual control mode responsive to a speed of the aerial vehicle being less than a predetermined threshold and detecting the obstacle. The system can set, responsive to triggering the augmented manual control mode, a speed constraint for the aerial vehicle in a direction of the obstacle based on a distance between the aerial vehicle and the obstacle. The system can receive an instruction to navigate the aerial vehicle in the direction at a second speed, and adjust the instruction to replace the second speed with the speed constraint, causing the aerial vehicle to navigate at the speed constraint.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2022
    Publication date: August 3, 2023
    Applicant: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Anthony J. Smith, Navid Tehrani Dadkhah, Michael Gregory Todd