Patents by Inventor Thomas Apker

Thomas Apker 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).

  • Patent number: 10989807
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for autonomous airborne vehicle control using a millimeter-wave (MMW) radar. Embodiments of the present disclosure enable a MMW radar system to support an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in accomplishing missions involving interacting with peers. In an embodiment, a MMW radar module of a UAV in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure enables the UAV to take a measurement (e.g., regarding the location of another UAV) using the MMW radar, classify a return (e.g., a MMW radar return), determine whether the detected object is a peer, and update the vehicle velocity accordingly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Christopher T. Rodenbeck, Thomas Pizzillo, Thomas Apker
  • Patent number: 10527720
    Abstract: Systems and method are provided for using millimeter-wave radar for terrain-aided navigation in support of autonomous guidance, landing, and mapping functions in all weather for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). In an embodiment, a UAV can generate a map, based on millimeter-wave (MMW) radar returns, that rejects a large number of radar measurements as clutter and generates a flight path using waypoints based on the map. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a means of correlating MMW radar returns with high resolution terrain maps to enable navigation in GPS-denied environments. This process significantly reduces cost, development time, and complexity when compared to conventional approaches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Thomas Apker, Christopher T. Rodenbeck, Thomas Pizzillo
  • Publication number: 20180174472
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for autonomous airborne vehicle control using a millimeter-wave (MMW) radar. Embodiments of the present disclosure enable a MMW radar system to support an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in accomplishing missions involving interacting with peers. In an embodiment, a MMW radar module of a UAV in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure enables the UAV to take a measurement (e.g., regarding the location of another UAV) using the MMW radar, classify a return (e.g., a MMW radar return), determine whether the detected object is a peer, and update the vehicle velocity accordingly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Inventors: Christopher T. Rodenbeck, Thomas Pizzillo, Thomas Apker
  • Publication number: 20180172821
    Abstract: Systems and method are provided for using millimeter-wave radar for terrain-aided navigation in support of autonomous guidance, landing, and mapping functions in all weather for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). In an embodiment, a UAV can generate a map, based on millimeter-wave (MMW) radar returns, that rejects a large number of radar measurements as clutter and generates a flight path using waypoints based on the map. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a means of correlating MMW radar returns with high resolution terrain maps to enable navigation in GPS-denied environments. This process significantly reduces cost, development time, and complexity when compared to conventional approaches.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Inventors: Thomas Apker, Christopher T. Rodenbeck, Thomas Pizzillo