Tag: USPTO

Cool Flying Machine

Ever wanted to fly? Sure, we all have. Here is a machine that will let you soar in the sky. The pilot can control it manually, or it can fly on auto-pilot, presumably taking a wounded person out of a dangerous zone. The fans can run on batteries or a gas engine. To control the rotorcraft, the fans can be tilted for forward flight, and their speed varied for yaw because they counter-rotate. Claim 1 […]

Why Won’t Amazon’s Drone Tether Swing?

The video of Amazon landing a delivery drone on a happy father’s front lawn has made the rounds, but Amazon is hedging its technology footprint and pursuing tether delivery by drone as well. This patent application is about the flawless final step of delivery, dropping the item at its destination. Apparently, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

Ditch the Remote: LG’s Drone is Controlled with Glasses

Your DJI is up in the air, sending your iPad amazing shots, but what exactly are YOU doing? You’re likely staring down at your iPad, not taking in the whole picture. You probably have a friend watching your drone to make sure you don’t hit anything. What if you could just capture the photo by looking at it and framing it with your hands? The folks at LG believe this is the future: deep-6 the […]

Mars Rover Technology Adapted to Drones

It worked for the Mars Pathfinder Rover, and it saves uncounted lives in cars, so why not adapt an airbag for the drone? This is the solution proposed by the present Japanese patent application. Sure, you can fit a deployable parachute to your expensive quadcopter, but it’s not the perfect solution. As the application discloses, “the product of [http://www.dji.com/ja/product/dropsafe)] opens the parachute at 6 meters or more from the ground and therefore cannot produce an […]

Smart Drone Tracks, Anticipates Target’s Movement

The scenario is nothing new: a drone to follows its dongle or transmitter, capturing video or photos of its user. Lily, or most higher-end quads offer this feature. However, as the present patent application illustrates, drones do not anticipate their target’s movement. For example, suppose you want a video of you surfing. Here is the relevant paragraph from the application: “After powering on the autonomous vehicle, a user may paddle out and begin to surf. […]

Samsung Surveillance System Uses Tower-Tethered Drones

Today, if you want to keep an eye on a large area such as a parking lot, your only solution is tower-mounted surveillance cameras. Some of these cameras can swivel, some are fixed. There will always be surveillance blind spots unless an extraordinary amount of money is spent (some may say ‘invested’) on equipment. Samsung Techwin has a proposed solution: the cameras are actually drones. They are parked on the tops of surveillance towers, keeping […]

Draganfly Propellers Remove Easily, Folding Drone Ensues

Clockwise prop for the clockwise motor, counterclockwise prop for the counterclockwise motor Patent.