Optimal altitude controller for super pressure aerostatic balloon

1. A method for adjusting a variable-buoyancy vehicle state comprising:

determining at least one in-flight movement constraint for a variable-buoyancy fixed-volume vehicle, wherein the constraint is based on at least one of a mass of the vehicle, an altitude of the vehicle, a velocity of the vehicle, or an energy usage of the vehicle;

performing a state-change optimization to determine a fill-rate control plan based on the at least one constraint to move the variable-buoyancy vehicle from a current variable-buoyancy vehicle state to a target variable-buoyancy vehicle state, wherein the fill-rate control plan comprises at least one fill rate for a bladder of the variable-buoyancy vehicle; and

communicating the fill-rate control plan to the variable-buoyancy vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the variable-buoyancy vehicle constraint is based on a global location.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein communicating the fill-rate control plan further comprises communicating instructions for changing the variable-buoyancy vehicle mass.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the instructions for changing the variable-buoyancy vehicle mass comprise operating an impeller.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the state-change optimization is performed based on a calculation including at least one of adding ambient air to or removing ambient air from the variable-buoyancy vehicle, wherein the adding ambient air to or removing ambient air adjusts the mass.

6. An aerostatic balloon comprising:

an envelope configured to hold air;

a bladder configured to hold lift gas, wherein the bladder is located within the envelope;

a control unit configured to add or remove air from the envelope in order to change a mass of air in the envelope; and

a processing unit configured to:

determine at least one in-flight movement constraint for a variable-buoyancy fixed-volume vehicle, wherein the constraint is based on at least one of a mass of the vehicle, an altitude of the vehicle, a velocity of the vehicle, or an energy usage of the vehicle;

perform a state-change optimization to determine a fill-rate control plan based on the at least one constraint to move the variable-buoyancy vehicle from a current variable-buoyancy vehicle state to a target variable-buoyancy vehicle state, wherein the fill-rate control plan comprises at least one fill rate for a bladder of the variable-buoyancy vehicle;

operate the control unit based on the determined fill-rate control plan.

7. The aerostatic balloon of claim 6 , further comprising a communication module configured to:

transmit data indicative of a current balloon state to the processing unit, wherein the processing unit is located at central control system; and

subsequently receive the fill-rate control plan that indicates at least one intermediate balloon state and a final balloon state.

8. The aerostatic balloon of claim 7 , wherein the communication module is further configured to transmit and receive data wirelessly.

9. The aerostatic balloon of claim 8 , wherein the communication module is further configured to transmit data relating to a current balloon state at periodic intervals.

10. The aerostatic balloon of claim 6 , wherein the control unit further comprises an impeller configured to change the mass of the aerostatic balloon.

11. The aerostatic balloon of claim 6 , wherein each balloon state comprises an altitude, a system mass, and a vertical velocity.

12. The aerostatic balloon of claim 11 , wherein the current balloon state further comprises a global location.

13. The aerostatic balloon of claim 6 , wherein the processor is configured to operate the control unit in one of a power-efficient mode, a time-efficient mode, and a damped-controlled mode.

14. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon program instructions that, if executed by a processor in a balloon-control system, cause the balloon-control system to perform operations comprising:

determining at least one in-flight movement constraint for a variable-buoyancy fixed-volume vehicle, wherein the constraint is based on at least one of a mass of the vehicle, an altitude of the vehicle, a velocity of the vehicle, or an energy usage of the vehicle;

performing a state-change optimization to determine a fill-rate control plan based on the at least one constraint to move the variable-buoyancy vehicle from a current variable-buoyancy vehicle state to a target variable-buoyancy vehicle state, wherein the fill-rate control plan comprises at least one fill rate for a bladder of the variable-buoyancy vehicle; and

communicating the fill-rate control plan to the variable-buoyancy vehicle.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 14 , wherein the variable-buoyancy vehicle constraint is based on a global location.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 14 , wherein communicating the fill-rate control plan further comprises communicating instructions for changing the variable-buoyancy vehicle mass.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 16 , wherein the instructions for changing the variable-buoyancy vehicle mass comprise instructions for operating an impeller.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 14 , wherein the communicating is performed wirelessly.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 14 , wherein the state-change optimization is performed based on a calculation including at least one of adding ambient air to or removing ambient air from the variable-buoyancy vehicle, wherein the adding ambient air to or removing ambient air adjusts the mass.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 14 , further comprising:

transmitting data indicative of a current balloon state to the processing unit, wherein the processing unit is located at central control system; and

subsequently receiving the fill-rate control plan that indicates at least one intermediate balloon state and a final balloon state.