公开(公告)号：US09651382B1

公开(公告)日：2017-05-16

申请号：US14486829

申请日：2014-09-15

Applicant: X Development LLC

Inventor： Dan P. Piponi ,  Bradley Rhodes

IPC: G01C21/20

CPC classification number: G01C21/20

Abstract: Methods and systems for determining altitudes for a vehicle to travel are provided. In one example, a method comprises receiving information indicating a desired location for a balloon and a time period for traveling to the desired location. A region may include the desired location, and the region can be divided into a plurality of cells. The method may include determining estimated cell locations that can be reached by the balloon over a time interval by following a wind at a given altitude. The method may also include assigning a cost value to each cell based on a proximity of the estimated cell locations to a cell including the desired location. The method may further include determining for each cell an altitude for the balloon to travel based on the assigned cost value, and storing information indicating the cost value and the altitude for the balloon to travel.

公开(公告)号：US20190035298A1

公开(公告)日：2019-01-31

申请号：US15663117

申请日：2017-07-28

Applicant: X Development LLC

Inventor： Bradley Rhodes ,  Salvatore J. Candido

IPC: G09B9/24

CPC classification number: G09B9/24 ,  B64B1/40 ,  G01C21/20 ,  G05D1/105

Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods for simulating a flight path of an aerial vehicle. An exemplary method includes receiving a starting point, receiving prevailing wind patterns, generating a smooth model of wind vectors based on the prevailing wind patterns, generating a noise model including one or more submodels simulating regional differences in prevailing wind patterns, determining a wind vector at the starting point, determining a noise value at the starting point, applying the noise value to the wind vector at the starting point to generate a noise added wind vector, determining displacement based on the noise added wind vector over a time step, and determining a waypoint based on the displacement, wherein determining a noise value at the starting point includes determining a portion of the noise value contributed by each submodel, and determining the noise value by calculating a weighted mean of noise values contributed by each submodel.

公开(公告)号：US20180334236A1

公开(公告)日：2018-11-22

申请号：US15986078

申请日：2018-05-22

Applicant: X Development LLC

Inventor： Eric Teller ,  Richard Wayne Devaul ,  Joshua Weaver ,  Clifford L. Biffle ,  Bradley Rhodes ,  Anton Valdemar Staaf

IPC: B64B1/40 ,  G05D1/10 ,  B64B1/62 ,  H04B10/112 ,  B64D1/02 ,  H04W84/02

CPC classification number: B64B1/40 ,  B64B1/62 ,  B64D1/02 ,  G05D1/105 ,  H04B10/1129 ,  H04W84/02

Abstract: A balloon includes a cut-down device, a payload, and an envelope. A control system could be configured to determine a position of the balloon with respect to a predetermined zone. The cut-down device could be operable to cause at least the payload to land in response to determining that the position of the balloon is within the predetermined zone. The predetermined zone includes an exclusion zone and a shadow zone. The shadow zone could include locations from which the balloon would be likely to drift into the exclusion zone based on, e.g., historic weather patterns or expected environmental conditions. Boundaries of the shadow zone could be determined based on, for example, a probability of the balloon entering the exclusion zone.