Abstract: An introduced autonomous aerial vehicle can include multiple cameras for capturing images of a surrounding physical environment that are utilized for motion planning by an autonomous navigation system. In some embodiments, the cameras can be integrated into one or more rotor assemblies that house powered rotors to free up space within the body of the aerial vehicle. In an example embodiment, an aerial vehicle includes multiple upward-facing cameras and multiple downward-facing cameras with overlapping fields of view to enable stereoscopic computer vision in a plurality of directions around the aerial vehicle. Similar camera arrangements can also be implemented in fixed-wing aerial vehicles.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 30, 2022
Date of Patent:
June 18, 2024
Assignee:
Skydio, Inc.
Inventors:
Benjamin Scott Thompson, Adam Parker Bry, Asher Mendel Robbins-Rothman, Abraham Galton Bachrach, Yevgeniy Kozlenko, Kevin Patrick Smith O'Leary, Patrick Allen Lowe, Daniel Thomas Adams, Justin Michael Sadowski, Zachary Albert West, Josiah Timothy VanderMey
Inventors:
Miles Isted s'Jacob, Michael Isted, Buang Pattiata, Osasuyi Emumwen, Jamie Wedderburn, Tom Blake, Joe Gowans, Bobby Healy, Alan Hicks, Dan Moss, Arran Williams
Inventors:
Gregoire Vandenbussche, Zoltan Laszlo, Eric Chrisman, Brian Boomgaard, Brendan Doyle Wade, Tristan Semmelhack, Sven Blaser, Frederik Neilsen, Keenan Wyrobek, Scott Johnston, Daniel Ingriselli, Noah Allen