Ford is one of the most innovative car company. They have been working on selling companion drones with their cars for scouting obstacles and trouble ahead of the car.

They also patented a jump start drone that can plug into the vehicle to pass the much needed electric charge.

However, drones face challenges while landing. Specifically, it is a very complex task to land on moving vehicles. Ford has now invented and patented a system to enable drones to land on moving cars

PatentYogi team discovered a recent patent from Ford where they disclose details of this drone landing system invented by Ford.

The car has a landing assistance mechanism that comes with magnets adapted to attract the metallic components and magnets of the drone
The drone includes multiple sensors such as radio, inertial measurement unit, sonar, LIDAR, and camera to locate and track the landing assistance mechanism.

When the drone attempts to land on the car, the drones forms multiple operational zones defined by geo-fences. The operational zones are shaped as a cylinder that has a height dimension and a diameter dimension

The drone is then controlled to land on the landing assistance mechanism by passing through operating zones such as the first operational zone 110A, the second operational zone 110B, the third operational zone 110C, and the fourth operational zone 110D.

When the drone is within the second operational zone 110B, the drone utilizes sonar, ultrasound, and/or LIDAR to determine a position of the drone relative to the target location 104 and to avoid static obstacles such as transmission towers and buildings. When the drone is within the third operational zone 110C, the drone utilizes LIDAR and camera images to determine a position of the drone relative to the target location 104 and to navigate dynamic objects such as animals, humans, vehicles, and so forth. When the drone is within the fourth operational zone 110D, the drone utilizes camera images to determine a position of the drone relative to the target location 104.

When the drone is in the lowest operational zone above the landing surface 202, the magnets exert magnetic forces on the drone to draw the drone down into contact with the landing mechanism

This technology would surely make flights comfortable for our furry friends
At PatentYogi, we aim to bring such interesting patents to you every week
PatentYogi is a patent services firm based out of Greater Boston Area
At PatentYogi, we help inventors protect their inventions via patents
We have a 5 star rated service on Google
So do reach out to us if you need help with patenting your inventions