Unmanned aircraft obstacle avoidance

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

a body;

a source of propulsion connected to the body;

a camera supported by the body and configured to capture aerial images;

a collision detection and avoidance system supported by the body, the collision detection and avoidance system comprising at least one active distance detector; and

one or more processors supported by the body, and executing instructions configured to:

receive a flight path, wherein the flight path comprises instructions for the unmanned aerial vehicle to travel from its current location to at least one other location adjacent to a structure of interest;

detect, with the collision detection and avoidance system, an obstacle for avoidance by the unmanned aerial vehicle based at least in part on the flight path going through the obstacle;

receive distance data generated by the collision detection and avoidance system concerning at least the obstacle;

process the distance data generated by the collision detection and avoidance system; and

execute a target path for directing the propulsion system to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to traveling around the obstacle and to the at least one other location based at least in part on the flight path and the distance data, the target path configured to maintain at least a minimum overlap between adjacent aerial images captured by the camera to ensure complete coverage of the structure of interest.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the target path is a first target path, and wherein if the collision detection and avoidance system determines that the minimum overlap between adjacent images cannot be maintained by moving the unmanned aerial vehicle closer to the structure of interest, the collision detection and avoidance system is configured to steer the unmanned aerial vehicle to a second target path above both the obstacle and the structure of interest.

3. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the collision detection and avoidance system comprises a camera.

4. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the collision detection and avoidance system is imaging based and the collision detection and avoidance system uses images and auto-aerial triangulation to detect the obstacle for avoidance by the unmanned aerial vehicle.

5. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the active distance detector comprises an active sensor.

6. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to process distance data generated by the distance detector during the execution of the target path.

7. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the camera to capture image data based at least in part on the location of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

8. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to adjust a flight path for the execution of the target path based at least in part on the detection of the one or more obstacles.

9. A method for collision detection by an unmanned aerial vehicle having a camera to conduct an evaluation of a structure of interest, the method comprising:

receiving a flight path and camera control information, wherein the flight path includes instructions for the unmanned aerial vehicle to travel through a series of spaced apart flight capture points about the structure of interest, the camera control information including instructions to cause the camera to capture an image of a target capture point on the structure of interest when the unmanned aerial vehicle is at one of the flight capture points;

as the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying the flight path, detecting an obstacle for avoidance by the unmanned aerial vehicle based at least in part on the flight path and data collected from a collision detection and avoidance system, the collision detection and avoidance system having at least one active sensor;

receiving data generated by the collision detection and avoidance system concerning at least the obstacle for avoidance;

and

execute a target path for traveling to a first flight capture point of the flight capture points based at least in part on the flight path and the data, the target path configured to maintain at least a minimum overlap between adjacent aerial images of the structure of interest captured by the camera to ensure complete coverage of the structure of interest.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the active sensor is oriented in a manner such that the collision detection and avoidance system collects data regarding the obstacle for avoidance.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the collision detection and avoidance system comprises a camera.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the collision detection and avoidance system uses images captured by the camera and auto-aerial triangulation to determine an obstacle for avoidance by the unmanned aerial vehicle.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the collision detection and avoidance system comprises an active sensor.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the target path moves the unmanned aerial vehicle closer to a structure of interest along a travel path from the target path to the flight path.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein if the collision detection and avoidance system determines that the minimum overlap between adjacent images cannot be maintained by moving the unmanned aerial vehicle closer to the structure of interest, the collision detection and avoidance system is configured to steer the unmanned aerial vehicle to a target path above both the obstacle and the structure of interest.

16. The method of claim 9 , further comprising capturing image data based at least in part on the location of the unmanned aerial vehicle.