TRANSPORTATION USING NETWORK OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
Embodiments described herein include a delivery system having unmanned aerial delivery vehicles and a logistics network for control and monitoring. In certain embodiments, a ground station provides a location for interfacing between the delivery vehicles, packages carried by the vehicles and users. In certain embodiments, the delivery vehicles autonomously navigate from one ground station to another. In certain embodiments, the ground stations provide navigational aids that help the delivery vehicles locate the position of the ground station with increased accuracy.
1 . A ground station for unmanned aerial vehicles, comprising:
a landing location;
a plurality of bays disposed beneath the landing location that are configured to store batteries and payloads for unmanned aerial vehicles within the ground station;
one or more swapping mechanisms configured to move the batteries and payloads between an unmanned aerial vehicle positioned atop the landing location and the plurality of bays; and
doors configured to move between a first position in which the landing location and an unmanned aerial vehicle positioned atop the landing location are covered and a second position in which the landing location is uncovered.
2 . The ground station of claim 1 , wherein the doors rotate to move between the first and second positions.
3 . The ground station of claim 1 , wherein the landing location includes a central opening through which the one or more swapping mechanisms are configured to swap the batteries and unmanned aerial vehicle payloads.
4 . The ground station of claim 1 , wherein the one or more swapping mechanisms comprise a robotic swapping mechanism.
5 . The ground station of claim 1 , further comprising an electro-magnetic sensor configured to identify packages that are permitted to enter the ground station.
6 . The ground station of claim 1 , further comprising air-flow detection and dynamics sensors.
7 . The ground station of claim 1 , wherein when the doors are in the first position and the unmanned aerial vehicle is positioned atop the unmanned aerial vehicle is enclosed within the ground station.
8 . The ground station of claim 1 , further comprising a biometric identification system configured to capture identification information from users of the ground station.
9 . The ground station of claim 1 , further comprising a wireless communication system configured to exchange telemetry with an unmanned aerial vehicle.
10 . The ground station of claim 1 , further comprising one or more servers supporting a logistics system that manages routing of unmanned aerial vehicles and payloads of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
11 . A ground station for unmanned aerial vehicles, comprising:
a landing location;
a plurality of bays disposed beneath the landing location that are configured to store a plurality of objects;
a swapping mechanism configured to move the plurality of objects between an unmanned aerial vehicle positioned atop the landing location and the plurality of bays; and
doors configured to move between a first position in which the landing location is covered and a second position in which the landing location is uncovered.
12 . The ground station of claim 11 , wherein the landing location is sized to receive one unmanned aerial vehicle at a time.
13 . The ground station of claim 11 , wherein the swapping mechanism is a robotic swapping mechanism.
14 . The ground station of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of objects comprises batteries and unmanned aerial vehicle payloads.
15 . The ground station of claim 11 , further comprising a beacon for guiding unmanned aerial vehicles to the ground station.
16 . The ground station of claim 11 , wherein the doors include solar panels.
17 . The ground station of claim 11 , wherein the doors rotate to move between the first and second positions.
18 . The ground station of claim 11 , further comprising an electro-magnetic sensor configured to identify packages that are permitted to enter the ground station.
19 . The ground station of claim 11 , wherein the swapping mechanism is a robotic swapping mechanism.
20 . The ground station of claim 11 , further comprising a wireless communication system configured to transmit ground station status to one or more remote servers, wherein the ground station status includes UAV battery availability and charge state.