Embodiments disclosed herein enable routine autonomous execution of at least some major phases of aerostat operation in response to commands from human or automated external operators, a built-in decision-making capacity, or both. Various embodiments combine one or more actively controlled tethers, aerodynamic aerostat control surfaces, mechanical assistive devices (e.g., jointed arms attached to a ground station), and/or active propulsors attached to the aerostat to govern aerostat behavior during launch, flight, and landing phases of operation. Some embodiments enable automatic autonomous performance of all phases of routine post-commissioning aerostat operation, including launch, flight, and landing, without any routine need for availability of a human crew.
Systems and methods for an automated, lighter-than-air airborne platform
2024-07-23
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | G05D SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES , Systeme zum Steuern oder Regeln nichtelektrischer veränderlicher Größen / B64B LIGHTER-THAN-AIR AIRCRAFT , Luftfahrzeuge leichter als Luft / B64F GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT , Boden- oder Flugzeugträgerdeckeinrichtungen besonders ausgebildet für die Verwendung in Verbindung mit Luftfahrzeugen |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED, LIGHTER-THAN-AIR AIRBORNE PLATFORM
European Patent Office | 2020
|Systems and methods for automated, lighter-than-air airborne platform
European Patent Office | 2022
|SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED, LIGHTER-THAN-AIR AIRBORNE PLATFORM
European Patent Office | 2022
|SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED, LIGHTER-THAN-AIR AIRBORNE PLATFORM
European Patent Office | 2018
|SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED, LIGHTER-THAN-AIR AIRBORNE PLATFORM
European Patent Office | 2021
|