Tether compensated airborne delivery

1. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), comprising:

a winch secured to the UAV, the winch including a tether to lower an item from the UAV for delivery;

a tether compensation mechanism secured to the UAV and configured to contact the tether as it extends from the winch;

a sensor mounted on the tether compensation mechanism and configured to identify at least one component of a movement in the tether; and

a flight controller configured to:

control a flight path of the UAV; and

direct the tether compensation mechanism to clamp the tether to compensate for a change in the flight path of the UAV.

2. The UAV according to claim 1 , further comprising a sensor mounted on an attachment mechanism at an end of the tether.

3. The UAV according to claim 2 , wherein the flight controller comprises a tether response controller, the tether response controller being configured to:

determine a complementary response to the movement; and

direct the tether compensation mechanism to contact and counterbalance the tether against the movement according to the complementary response.

4. The UAV according to claim 3 , wherein the tether response controller is further configured to:

receive an indication of the change in the flight path of the UAV; and

determine the complementary response based further on the indication of the change in the flight path of the UAV.

5. The UAV according to claim 3 , wherein the flight controller is further configured to adjust the flight path of the UAV based on the complementary response.

6. The UAV according to claim 1 , wherein:

the tether compensation mechanism comprises an aperture mechanism; and

the tether passes through the aperture mechanism.

7. The UAV according to claim 6 , wherein the aperture mechanism comprises a number of rollers, and the tether extends through a clearance between the number of rollers.

8. The UAV according to claim 7 , wherein the sensor is configured to identify the at least one component of the movement in the tether based on contact between the tether and the aperture mechanism.

9. A method to compensate for tether movement in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), comprising:

controlling, by at least one computing device of the UAV, a flight path of the UAV;

controlling, by the at least one computing device of the UAV, extension of a tether from a winch secured to the UAV;

receiving, by the at least one computing device of the UAV, an indication of at least one component of a movement in the tether from a sensor mounted on a tether compensation mechanism; and

directing, by the at least one computing device of the UAV, the tether compensation mechanism to clamp the tether to compensate for a change in the flight path of the UAV.

10. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising receiving, by the at least one computing device of the UAV, another indication of the at least one component of the movement in the tether from a sensor mounted on an attachment mechanism at an end of the tether.

11. The method according to claim 10 , further comprising:

determining, by the at least one computing device, a complementary response to the movement; and

directing, by the at least one computing device, the tether compensation mechanism to contact and counterbalance the tether against the movement according to the complementary response.

12. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising determining, by the at least one computing device, the complementary response based further on whether the tether is extending or retracting from the winch.

13. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising determining, by the at least one computing device, the complementary response based further on a length of extension of the tether from the winch.

14. The method according to claim 9 , wherein:

the tether compensation mechanism comprises an aperture mechanism; and

the tether passes through the aperture mechanism.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the aperture mechanism comprises a number of rollers, and the tether extends through a clearance between the number of rollers.

16. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), comprising:

a winch secured to the UAV, the winch including a tether;

a tether compensation mechanism secured to the UAV and configured to contact the tether as it extends from the winch;

a sensor mounted on the tether compensation mechanism and configured to identify at least one component of a lateral movement in the tether; and

a flight controller configured to direct the tether compensation mechanism to clamp the tether to compensate for at least one of a change in a flight path of the UAV or the lateral movement.

17. The UAV according to claim 16 , wherein the flight controller comprises a tether response controller, the tether response controller being configured to:

determine a complementary response to the lateral movement; and

direct the tether compensation mechanism to contact and counterbalance the tether against the lateral movement according to the complementary response.

18. The UAV according to claim 17 , wherein the tether response controller is further configured to:

receive an indication of the change in the flight path of the UAV; and

determine the complementary response based further on the indication of the change in the flight path of the UAV.

19. The UAV according to claim 16 , wherein:

the tether compensation mechanism comprises an aperture mechanism; and

the tether passes through the aperture mechanism.

20. The UAV according to claim 19 , wherein the aperture mechanism comprises a number of rollers, and the tether extends through a clearance between the number of rollers.