Thermal image based precision drone landing systems and methods

1. A system, comprising:

a landing surface for receiving an unmanned aerial vehicle;

a heat-based guidance assembly comprising a plurality of heat emitting units, wherein the heat-based guidance assembly is disposed about the landing surface; and

a controller that controls operation of the plurality of heat emitting units to create a pattern that is recognized by the unmanned aerial vehicle and guides the unmanned aerial vehicle in landing on the landing surface,

wherein the controller is further configured to selectively vary a size of the pattern based on a distance measured between the landing surface and the unmanned aerial vehicle.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the pattern is unique to the unmanned aerial vehicle.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the heat-based guidance assembly is integrated within a perimeter of the landing surface.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to selectively vary the pattern for the unmanned aerial vehicle.

5. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the pattern is selectively varied to indicate a relative change in distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the landing surface.

6. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the pattern comprises at least one alphanumeric object.

7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the pattern is updated based on a message received from a vehicle controller that is communicatively coupled with the controller of the system.

8. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the system is associated with a vehicle comprising the vehicle controller, the message further comprising GPS coordinates received from the vehicle controller that are indicative of a location of the landing surface.

9. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive the pattern from the vehicle controller; and

compare the pattern with a pattern list or index that comprises authorized patterns, the controller authorizing the unmanned aerial vehicle for landing on the landing surface when a match is found.

10. A method, comprising:

controlling a heat-based guidance assembly comprising a plurality of heat emitting units to emit heat in a pattern;

transmitting the pattern to an unmanned aerial vehicle;

receiving the unmanned aerial vehicle on a landing surface associated with the heat-based guidance assembly, and

selectively varying a shape or a size of the pattern to communicate information to the unmanned aerial vehicle,

wherein the pattern is selectively varied to indicate a relative change in distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the landing surface.

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

utilizing a thermal sensing means to sense the pattern created by the plurality of heat emitting units; and

navigating the unmanned aerial vehicle onto the landing surface based on the sensing of the pattern.

12. The method according to claim 10 , further comprising updating the pattern based on a message received from a vehicle controller that is communicatively coupled with the controller.

13. An unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

a thermal sensing member; and

at least one processor in communication with at least one memory, the at least one processor executing instructions stored in the at least one memory to:

locate a general vicinity of a mobile landing platform using location signals from the mobile landing platform;

sense a pattern generated by a plurality of heat emitting units of the mobile landing platform;

cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to land on a landing surface of the mobile landing platform when the pattern matches a stored pattern in the memory; and

determine a distance between the landing surface and the unmanned aerial vehicle based on changes to the pattern.

14. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 13 , wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to receive the stored pattern from the mobile landing platform, the mobile landing platform configured to communicate with a plurality of other unmanned aerial vehicles a unique pattern assigned to each of the plurality of other unmanned aerial vehicles.

15. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 13 , wherein the location signals comprise GPS coordinates received from a vehicle controller of the mobile landing platform.

16. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 13 , wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to determine a size or shape of the landing surface based on output of the plurality of heat emitting units.