{
  "patent_number": "US 9562773",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "Drone Navigation Using Cameras and Echolocation",
  "original_title": "Autonomous vehicle navigation system and method",
  "summary": "This 2017 patent describes a drone navigation system that uses both cameras and echolocation sensors to detect obstacles and find its way, with echolocation taking priority for immediate threats.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent details a navigation system for aerial vehicles, like drones. It combines a GPS transceiver for general location, an optical system (cameras) providing a wide 180-degree view to spot visible obstacles, and an acoustic system (echolocation) with a narrower 10-degree view to detect obstacles, especially smaller ones not visible to cameras. A central processor uses all this data to plot a course to a destination. If the acoustic system detects an obstacle directly in the path, it overrides the GPS and camera data to command an immediate dodging maneuver. Once the obstacle is clear, the drone returns to its original path. The optical system can even provide a full 360-degree view, and the acoustic system can cover up to 45 degrees.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Navigation systems that only use cameras and no echolocation sensors.",
    "Navigation systems that only use echolocation sensors and no cameras.",
    "Navigation systems where GPS data always overrides sensor data for obstacle avoidance.",
    "Navigation systems that do not have a processor to calculate dodging maneuvers.",
    "Systems for ground-based vehicles; this patent is specifically for aerial vehicles."
  ],
  "filed": "2015-03-13",
  "granted": "2017-02-07",
  "expires": "2035-03-13",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Aurora Flight Sciences",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/aurora-flight-sciences",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Terrence Mckenna",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/terrence-mckenna"
    },
    {
      "name": "James Paduano",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/james-paduano"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 12,
  "tags": [
    "aerospace",
    "automotive",
    "consumer_electronics",
    "ai_ml",
    "robotics"
  ],
  "abstract": "An autonomous vehicle is improved with a navigational system having both cameras and echolocation sensors, each including overlapping fields of view. The cameras and echolocation sensors may be part of an optical and echolocation system, respectively, that may work in conjunction with a global positioning system to determine a course for the autonomous vehicle to reach an objective while detecting and avoid obstacles along the course.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9562773/autonomous-vehicle-navigation-system-and-method",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9562773/autonomous-vehicle-navigation-system-and-method/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US9562773",
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}