System and method for safe landing of delivery aircraft

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for locating an aircraft (502) at a geographic location, the system including an aircraft (502) having one or more infrared (IR) detectors and a positioning beacon (504) disposed at the geographic location, the positioning beacon (504) configured to wirelessly transmit a landing identifier that is detected by the aircraft (502) and including one or more emitters or reflectors configured to emit or reflect IR signals, respectively, and the aircraft (502) configured to receive the landing identifier and the emitted or reflected IR signal, compare the received landing identifier with a stored unique identifier, and if the received landing identifier matches the stored unique identifier, use the emitted or reflected signal to control movement of the aircraft (502) relative to the positioning beacon.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for the safe, timely, and secure landing of delivery drones at their intended locations. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to improvements in or relating to systems and methods for securely landing an autonomous drone, or a drone during the autonomous or semi-autonomous landing phase of a flight, at its intended destination for collection and / or delivery of a consignment of goods for an individual or organization. These improvements ensure that drone deliveries can be reliably made to most, if not all, types of destinations occurring in densely populated urban and metropolitan environments, as well as more rural or remote locations and mobile landing sites. Additionally, drone delivery itineraries may or may not be linked to local, regional, national, or international air traffic management systems. While the present disclosure primarily relates to the provision of delivery aircraft, it is contemplated that the present disclosure may be equally applicable to any aircraft for multiple purposes. [Background technology]

[0002] Years of ongoing development and significant investment in delivery drones have been driven by the need to take advantage of the new capabilities offered by autonomous drones to increase delivery speeds, shorten order-to-delivery times, and reduce the cost and environmental footprint of delivering small consignments to customers. The cost of drone local delivery is estimated to be 10% of the cost of the same delivery by road. The shift to drone delivery accelerates the transition from fossil fuels to electric transportation. Delivery times of better than five minutes enable local suppliers to effectively compete with regional and national suppliers, further reducing transportation costs and emissions. The economic and environmental advantages of drones over trucks, lorries, and vans for transporting small consignments over short distances, from food and beverages to phones and medicines, are widely recognized.

[0003] For such drone deliveries to be completed safely, securely, and in a timely manner, the drone must locate and land at the intended collection site for loading the consignment by the supplier, and then locate and land at the intended delivery site for unloading the consignment to the customer. Landing is the most risky of all normal operational operations for any aircraft, even if the onboard pilot or remote pilot is under direct control supported by an independent air traffic control service, and the landing is at a dedicated airfield, landing runway, or landing pad equipped with advanced landing assistance technology. For drones delivering to domestic, business, or other customers, many of these supporting technologies and systems are not currently available, and several challenges are faced with drone design and autonomous landing, including how to accommodate an infinite variety of potential landing sites and conditions, how to combat malicious interference, and how to ensure that the identified landing site is the intended one.

[0004] In many early trials of drone delivery services, a remote pilot controlled the drone with the support of onboard sensors, such as a downward-facing video camera linked to the remote pilot in real time. The expected scale of demand for drone delivery of lightweight consignments makes this option extremely manpower-intensive and therefore expensive. There are also technical challenges in maintaining a secure communication and control link between the drone and the remote pilot over a realistic journey range. This has led to research and development focused on autonomous drones with pre-programmed or pre-programmed collection and delivery locations and lightweight navigation systems, including global positioning systems (GPS) and inertial navigation systems (INS).

[0005] This approach can provide reliable autonomous flight to and from collection and delivery locations in areas where GPS performance is reliable in low-altitude airspace (below 400 ft, which is the normal space for drone operations). However, in many urban areas and environments with dense buildings, especially high-rise buildings, GPS is known to be unreliable, with satellite line-of-sight obstructions, multipath reflections, etc., and even when supplemented with an INS, the achievable navigation and positioning accuracy is such that the drone can only arrive at the approximate location of several potential delivery locations or addresses, more than one of which may be ordering the delivery of a consignment at a busy time.

[0006] Additionally, even where GPS works, using only GPS / INS for positioning and navigation does not address the problem of reliably identifying the correct landing site and ensuring a safe and secure landing at the very precise location typically at the delivery customer's disposal. The accuracy and reliability of GPS / INS positioning and navigation is insufficient to provide the precision required for safe drone delivery landings. Thus, recent developments have tended to serve more rural locations, including customers with relatively large and secure personal yards or land areas.

[0007] Techniques for landing consignments have broadly converged on two alternative methods at the delivery site: first, completing a drone landing at the site and then automatically or manually releasing the consignment; and second, the drone is equipped with a mechanism for lowering the consignment on a cable while the drone hovers above, and then releasing the consignment once it lands at the delivery site. The hovering method consumes more power from the drone's batteries. At the collection site, either method may be adopted so that the consignment can be picked up on board.

[0008] In all identified prior art, these automated delivery methods rely on drones equipped with several sensors that automatically survey a potentially infinite variety of landing sites for hazards (people, animals, water, overhead cables, obstacles, etc.). These sensors come from a variety of technologies, including RADAR (radio detection and ranging), LIDAR (optical imaging, detection, and ranging), and EO (electro-optical), all of which reduce mass, size, power consumption, thermal output, and vulnerability to environmental hazards such as mechanical shock, vibration, and electromagnetic interference to the extent that they can be integrated into the drone and work together to provide some kind of situational awareness at the delivery site. However, the complexity of all such approaches to multi-sensor-based situational awareness, potentially supported by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and sensor fusion, in applications where drone landing safety is crucial, is considerable. This complexity inevitably increases vehicle weight and cost, thereby increasing field complexity, and cannot be relied upon to reduce safety hazard risks to acceptable levels.

[0009] The potentially diverse locations, situations, conditions, and threats that drones may face at and around a landing site have made the delivery landing problem intractable for the mass market to date. Typically, drone flight paths based on GPS / INS navigation are informed and supplemented by pre-flight information about static hazards, such as masts, buildings, power lines, and trees. However, once a drone reaches the vicinity of the landing site's GPS / INS's rough latitude and longitude coordinates, the reliability and accuracy of navigation can degrade significantly, such that the accuracy of any pre-flight information becomes irrelevant as the drone descends into an urban environment. Additionally, even if successful in mitigating the problem of local and possibly transient hazard identification, such as the presence of children, pets, or wildlife, these techniques do not solve the problem of uniquely identifying an intended landing site from among several candidates.

[0010] If commercial drone deliveries are to be made possible for a large portion of the private and business customer population, deliveries to landing sites within urban areas and urban environments must be convenient, practical, safe, and secure. Typical landing sites at ground level are privately owned properties, including small gardens, yards, driveways, campuses, etc. Landing sites above ground level include private balconies and rooftops. Landing sites may also include shared or common areas on rural or building surfaces. Many of these sites are small, have limited access from above, and are constrained by surrounding structures. Based on the typical dimensions of domestic backyards, balconies, etc., a delivery drone must be able to precisely land within a one-meter square, either vertically from above or, in the case of a balcony, following a tight horizontal-to-vertical maneuver directly above the landing area. Neither of these is possible with the positioning and navigation inaccuracies of known technologies such as GPS / INS, augmented GPS, or other systems [Reference 1]. Furthermore, deliveries must occur during the day or at night and in fair or bad weather. The landing site must be free of foreign objects, including people and animals, at the time of landing, and the system and method must support legal liability clearance for the parties involved. Finally, the landed consignment must be collected by the intended recipient and must be resistant to theft or malicious interference. Drone theft is also a risk. In summary, the drone must be capable of safely and securely landing consignments with an acceptably low risk of damage to people, animals, property, and the drone itself.

[0011] Despite significant investments by several technology companies in commercial delivery drones, progress has been slow over the past decade, with only a few regulatory approvals achieved. The limited entry that has been made has been with cable-landing drones supplemented by remote pilot support only in more rural and open locations. The problem of addressing the mass market for light consignment delivery remains unmet. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0012] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome one or more of the problems set forth above. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] According to a first aspect of this embodiment, there is provided a system for locating an aircraft to a geographic location. The system includes an aircraft having one or more infrared (IR) detectors and a positioning beacon disposed at the geographic location. The positioning beacon is configured to wirelessly transmit a landing identifier that is detected by the aircraft and includes one or more emitters or reflectors configured to emit or reflect IR signals, respectively. The aircraft is configured to receive the landing identifier and the emitted or reflected IR signals, compare the received landing identifier with a stored unique identifier, and, if the received landing identifier matches the stored unique identifier, use the emitted or reflected signal to control movement of the aircraft relative to the positioning beacon.

[0014] In some embodiments, movement of the aircraft is controlled according to stored positioning data, including data indicative of an intended position of the aircraft relative to IR radiation being emitted or reflected by one or more emitters or reflectors of the positioning beacon. In such embodiments, the aircraft may further include a consignment holding system configured to enable the aircraft to carry a payload, the aircraft being configured to operate the consignment holding system to accept or release the payload when in the intended position.

[0015] In some related embodiments, the aircraft further includes a GPS navigation system, and the aircraft is further configured to control movement of the aircraft toward the approximate location of the geographic location using stored GPS coordinates that indicate the approximate location of the geographic location.

[0016] In some embodiments, the aircraft further includes a GPS navigation system, the aircraft further configured to control movement of the aircraft toward the general location of the geographic location using stored GPS coordinates indicating the general location of the geographic location, and the system further includes a second positioning beacon at a second geographic location, the second positioning beacon configured to wirelessly transmit a landing identifier for detection by the aircraft and including one or more second emitters or reflectors configured to emit or reflect IR signals, respectively. In these embodiments, the aircraft further configured to control movement of the aircraft toward the general location of the second geographic location using the stored GPS coordinates indicating the general location of the second geographic location, and movement of the aircraft is controlled according to the stored positioning data including data indicating first and second intended positions of the aircraft relative to IR radiation being emitted or reflected, respectively, by the one or more emitters or reflectors of the positioning beacon and the second one or more emitters or reflectors of the positioning beacon. The aircraft further includes a consignment holding system configured to enable the aircraft to carry a load, the aircraft being configured to operate the consignment holding system to receive the load when in a first intended position and to release the load when in a second intended position.

[0017] In a further embodiment, the one or more emitters or reflectors include one or more emitters, and the positioning beacon is further configured to transmit a landing identifier for detection by the aircraft by appropriately modulating IR radiation being emitted from at least one of the one or more emitters.

[0018] In another further embodiment, the one or more emitters or reflectors include one or more emitters and one or more IR detectors configured to be activated when at the geographic location, and the one or more emitters configured to be activated for a portion of the time that the one or more IR detectors are activated.

[0019] In some embodiments, the one or more emitters or reflectors include one or more reflectors, at least one of which includes a QR code, barcode, or other pattern including the landing identifier, and transmitting the landing identifier includes recognizing, by the aircraft, a reflected signal from the one or more reflectors received by one or more IR detectors. In such embodiments, the aircraft may further include one or more emitters configured to direct IR radiation toward the one or more reflectors of the positioning beacon. If the aircraft includes such emitters, the one or more emitters of the aircraft may be configured to be activated when the aircraft is at the geographic location. Furthermore, if the aircraft includes such emitters, the one or more IR detectors may be configured to be activated when the aircraft is at the geographic location, and the one or more emitters of the aircraft may be configured to be activated during a portion of the time that the one or more IR detectors are activated.

[0020] In further related embodiments, one or more emitters or reflectors are configured to emit or reflect, respectively, near infrared NIR radiation.

[0021] In some embodiments, one or more emitters or reflectors are configured to emit or reflect, respectively, narrowband NIR.

[0022] In a further embodiment, the aircraft or positioning beacon includes a receiver, and the aircraft or positioning beacon is configured to receive unique identification data from an external communications network via the receiver and store it in a respective data store.

[0023] In some related embodiments, the aircraft or positioning beacon includes a data input device, and the aircraft or positioning beacon is configured to receive and store unique identification data in a respective data store from information entered via the input device.

[0024] In further related embodiments, the aircraft is configured to land on a landing area, the location of which is defined by the detected emitted or reflected signals. In such embodiments, the positioning beacon may include at least two emitters or reflectors, the at least two emitters or reflectors being arranged in a known geometric formation relative to each other and to the landing area. If this is the case, the positioning beacon may include three emitters or reflectors arranged in an L-shape.

[0025] In some embodiments, the aircraft is configured to land on a landing area, the location of the landing area is defined by a detected emitted or reflected signal, the positioning beacon includes at least two emitters or reflectors, the at least two emitters or reflectors are arranged in a known geometric formation relative to each other and relative to the landing area, the positioning beacon includes three emitters or reflectors, and the positioning beacon is arranged on a moving surface.

[0026] In a further embodiment, one or more emitters or reflectors are configured to emit or reflect IR radiation substantially perpendicularly.

[0027] In some embodiments, the positioning beacon includes one or more emitters, the one or more emitters configured to emit IR radiation according to indicated time intervals stored in the positioning beacon.

[0028] In certain embodiments, the one or more IR detectors operate at a frequency between 25 Hz and 200 Hz. In such cases, the one or more IR detectors may operate at a frequency of 60 Hz.

[0029] In a further embodiment, the positioning beacon comprises a mobile telecommunications device such as a smartphone.

[0030] In an embodiment of this aspect, one or more emitters or reflectors are configured to be attached to a mobile telecommunications device such as a smartphone.

[0031] In some embodiments, the positioning beacon further includes a transmitter configured to transmit the landing identifier.

[0032] In a further embodiment of this aspect, the aircraft includes at least one or more IR detectors, the IR detectors configured with complementary fields of view, and the positioning beacon includes at least four emitters or reflectors arranged in pairs, at least one pair arranged to emit or reflect an IR signal in each of the complementary fields of view.

[0033] In a further aspect of the present embodiments, there is provided an aircraft configured to position at a geographic location. The aircraft includes one or more infrared (IR) detectors for receiving infrared (IR) signals emitted or reflected from a positioning beacon provided at the geographic location. The aircraft is configured to receive a landing identifier wirelessly transmitted to the aircraft by the positioning beacon, compare the received landing identifier with a stored unique identifier, and, if the received landing identifier matches the stored unique identifier, use the emitted or reflected signal to control movement of the aircraft toward the positioning beacon. It will be appreciated that this aspect of the invention may be combined with any of the modifications discussed above with respect to the first aspect of the invention, as appropriate.

[0034] In another further aspect of the present embodiment, there is provided a positioning beacon for locating an aircraft according to the previous aspect. The positioning beacon includes one or more infrared (IR) emitters or reflectors configured to emit or reflect, respectively, an IR signal for use in controlling movement of the aircraft towards the positioning beacon, and a generator for generating a signal including a landing identifier of the positioning beacon. The positioning beacon is configured to wirelessly transmit the signal including the landing identifier for uniquely detecting the positioning beacon by the aircraft. It will be appreciated that this aspect of the invention may be combined with any of the modifications described above with respect to the previous aspect of the invention, as appropriate.

[0035] In another aspect of the present embodiments, there is provided a method for locating an aircraft at a geographic location, the method including wirelessly transmitting, from a positioning beacon at the geographic location, a landing identifier that is detected by the aircraft, receiving at one or more IR detectors on the aircraft an infrared IR signal emitted or reflected from the positioning beacon, receiving the landing identifier on the aircraft, comparing the landing identifier with a stored unique identifier, and, if the landing identifier and the stored unique identifier match, using the emitter signal or the reflected signal to control movement of the aircraft relative to the positioning beacon. It should be understood that this aspect of the invention may be combined, as desired, with any of the modifications described above with respect to previous aspects of the invention.

[0036] In some embodiments of this aspect, the method includes wirelessly transmitting a landing identifier detected by the aircraft from a second positioning beacon at a second geographic location; controlling movement of the aircraft using a GPS navigation system to move toward a general location of the geographic location using the first stored GPS coordinates; controlling movement of the aircraft when at the general location of the geographic location in accordance with the stored positioning data, the stored positioning data including data indicative of a first intended location of the aircraft relative to received IR emissions from the positioning beacon; receiving the payload into a consignment holding system of the aircraft when at the first intended location; When accepted, the method further includes controlling movement of the aircraft using the GPS navigation system to move toward a general position of the second geographic location using the second stored GPS coordinates; receiving, at one or more IR detections of the aircraft, an IR signal emitted or reflected from the second positioning beacon when at the general position of the second geographic location; controlling movement of the aircraft in accordance with the stored positioning data including data indicative of a second intended position of the aircraft relative to the IR radiation being emitted or reflected by the second positioning beacon; and releasing the payload from a consignment holding system of the aircraft when at the second intended position.

[0037] In order that the present disclosure may be more readily understood, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0038] [Figure 1] 1 is an isometric schematic diagram of an embodiment of the overall drone landing system in a usage scenario. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an isometric schematic system diagram of an embodiment showing the landing beacon of FIG. 1 in a usage scenario. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an isometric schematic system diagram showing the drone of FIG. 1 in a usage scenario. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an isometric view of this embodiment showing the drone and landing beacon in an alternative usage scenario. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an isometric view of this embodiment showing the drone and landing beacon in a further alternative usage scenario. [Figure 6] 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment showing a method of operation of the drone landing system of FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is an isometric system diagram of an embodiment showing a typical usage scenario of an aircraft and positioning beacon system; FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an isometric system diagram of the present embodiment showing the aircraft vehicle in the scenario of FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 8 is an isometric system diagram of the present embodiment showing positioning beacons for the scenario of FIG. 7. [Figure 10] 8 is a flow chart of an embodiment showing how the system of FIG. 7 operates. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0039] A feature of the present disclosure is that it reverses the approach taken by much of the identified prior art, which focuses on onboard system technology to address the problem, and instead provides a system and method that takes a broader target system view to tightly couple the dual functions of uniquely identifying a landing site and precisely landing a drone at that site.

[0040] The embodiments described herein encompass simplified onboard drone technology combined with key capabilities within a smart and agile infrastructure that combine to arrive at a systems-wide solution to a problem. These embodiments employ the same sensor type, namely infrared (IR), and in some embodiments, more specifically near-infrared (NIR) technology, as described in WO 2022 / 003343 (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference), to deliver precise drone kinematic self-localization and self-tracking, enabling highly accurate drone landings during the day or at night with significant resistance to adverse weather conditions. While it is not feasible to equip home and small business drone landing sites with the sophisticated air traffic control and landing assistance infrastructure systems required for larger aircraft, the architecture and method of the present disclosure involves only simple, available ground-based active NIR landing beacons that can be pre-programmed either automatically and remotely by the supplier, drone operating company, or user with a one-time delivery code obtained from the consignment supplier or drone operating company, or alternatively linked to a dedicated software application on the customer's mobile phone or domestic communications device, all combined with a drone-mounted NIR sensor system that works in conjunction with the drone's flight control system.

[0041] Much prior art exists in the field of precision landing assistance for autonomous drones, including the use of IR sensors on the drone and beacons on the ground [see, e.g., Reference 2]. Due to the favorable properties of IR light transmission over relatively short distances and through a wide range of daytime or nighttime atmospheric conditions involved in drone landing, the use of IR tracking has many advantages and could, in principle, enable precise drone landing at night and in daytime or direct sunlight in a wide range of weather conditions and with minimal light pollution. The method described in WO 2022 / 003343 is improved herein by using narrowband NIR LEDs for the landing beacon and including compatible narrowband IR filters in the IR sensor on the drone, allowing the overall system to provide precise drone operation and landing from a typical drone navigation altitude of approximately 100 m to a landing area that is much larger in range than other known systems.

[0042] Additionally, what is needed in combination with precision landing from transition altitudes is a means of uniquely identifying the intended landing site within a crowded urban environment where there may be many nearby addresses where drone delivery to more than one address may be expected. Combining precision landing technology with the product ordering process and its associated technologies into a complete set of systems and methods for interacting with customers, suppliers, and drone operators is the subject of this disclosure and has enormous advantages for commercial drone operations, enabling cities and urban areas, as well as suburban and more remote locations, to participate in safe and secure drone collection and delivery, whether the drones are manned, semi-autonomous, or fully autonomous.

[0043] Thus, a further feature of the present disclosure is that the ground NIR beacon is active in that it can be used to transmit a code to an approaching drone that uniquely identifies the landing beacon as the intended location for either collection or delivery of the consignment. The code may be manually entered into the beacon using, for example, a numeric keypad, or the beacon may be connected to and cooperate with a local communications infrastructure, such as a national WiFi, so that the ordering process between the customer and supplier results in the automatic transmission of order identification data to the beacon, enabling the beacon to emit pulsed and coded NIR radiation. A feature of NIR light-emitting diode emitters (LEDs) is that they can be switched on and off with short rise and fall times, making them suitable for transmitting data to NIR receiving sensors, each suitable for operating at a compatible narrowband frequency. Other technologies or combinations of technologies, such as radio frequency technology, may also prove suitable for transmitting and receiving unique order codes, such as one-time passwords, between precision landing assistance on the ground and delivery drones. In this way, just as the system enables the drone to precisely navigate and land at (or hover at) a collection or delivery location, the system also ensures that the drone can automatically identify the correct collection or delivery location before picking up or dropping off a consignment.

[0044] Another feature of the present disclosure is that the drone-mounted system is not intended to have advanced sensors, computation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or other advanced technologies capable of autonomously assessing the status, condition, or occupancy of the landing site. The broader target system perspective taken by this disclosure ensures that the delivery customer, like the supplier at the collection site, owns and is responsible for the delivery site. NIR landing beacons are placed and powered on by the supplier or customer at designated locations on the landing site, and an order identification code is provided, either manually or automatically, upon the drone's arrival. Thus, the consignment supplier or customer is responsible for the status, condition, and occupancy of the landing site at the time of collection or delivery. The customer is also responsible for preparing the landing site in preparation for delivery in their absence. In this case, the customer is responsible for site security to avoid altering the site's condition or occupancy prior to landing. A foreseeable exception is wild animal intrusion, but the arrival of a drone is highly likely to scare wild animals away.

[0045] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a drone landing system that facilitates autonomous, semi-autonomous, or manual loading and unloading of consignments onto or from drones at a fixed geographic location, where the drone delivery is in response to an order from a customer or supplier for a small consignment suitable for transport by drone, the drone landing system comprising: an active NIR landing beacon located on the ground at or near the delivery site incorporating at least one active NIR emitter or at least one passive NIR emitter together with an alternative technology transmitter, the at least one NIR emitter having an illumination field and configured to emit narrowband NIR radiation of an appropriate intensity towards the delivery drone as the drone approaches a general location of the delivery landing site (possibly determined by an expected / scheduled arrival time), the active NIR radiation or alternative technology radiation being encoded with unique identification data associated with the planned delivery; and a drone equipped with an ocular field of view and sensitivity suitable to detect the one or more NIR emitters in the landing beacon. and one or more compatible narrowband NIR sensors configured to receive data from either active NIR emitters or alternative technology emitters that uniquely identifies a planned collection or delivery landing site; one or more processors in the drone configured to calculate the drone's position (typically at all times) relative to a ground beacon based on IR emissions detected by the one or more IR sensors and control the drone's flight trajectory to approach and land near or approach and hover above a ground landing assist while a consignment is being dropped off and released; and a device such as a mobile telecommunications device (phone or computer) installed with application software that enables a customer to place an order with a supplier, the order to be delivered by a drone, and the landing beacon to transmit order identification data for receipt and recognition by the correct delivery drone and communicate other data such as the unique order identification data and scheduled landing time window (LTW) to both the drone and the ground landing beacon so that the correct delivery drone can identify the correct landing site.

[0046] In some embodiments, and in all subsequent embodiments, the NIR sensors and emitters may be replaced with IR devices operating in different infrared bands, e.g., short-wave, mid-wave, or long-wave infrared, the latter two known as thermal infrared, or the NIR sensors and emitters may be replaced with electromagnetic sensors and emitters operating in other portions of the spectrum. The primary advantage of NIR sensors and emitters is cost, typically 20-30 times lower than thermal sensors of similar performance and resolution. Thermal sensors can more efficiently detect stray animals and humans, but disadvantageously impose a significant weight and cost penalty on drones. However, thermal sensors are not excluded as an additional sensor to the NIR architecture described in the main embodiment outlined.

[0047] In some embodiments, the landing beacon may be an evolution or enhancement of a standard mobile phone whereby the NIR emitter is an integral part of the mobile phone, and the whole is used as a landing beacon and placed at the intended landing site. For very small consignments, the customer may stand at the landing site holding the landing beacon in one hand and pick up the consignment with the other hand.

[0048] In further embodiments, the drone may transmit a delivery request message to a potential landing beacon using suitable technology, such as a radio transmitter, and the landing beacon may be equipped with corresponding technology to receive the delivery request and respond with an acknowledgment NIR active LED transmission. In the case of a landing beacon using an NIR emitter that actively transmits a unique order delivery code, this has the advantage that the NIR emitter is only on when needed to transmit, thus reducing the power and therefore the battery capacity required by the landing beacon.

[0049] In further embodiments, the NIR sensors may be part of ground landing assistance, and NIR emitters may be mounted on the drones, with drone tracking information being continuously relayed from the ground equipment to the drones in real time. It is clear how the smart infrastructure aspect of the present disclosure reads across in this transposed architecture. This is more similar to the architectural and systematic approach adopted for the drone transportation network in WO 2022 / 003343. However, for drone landing systems, other uses of the drone tracking information beyond assisting drones in landing are limited, and therefore, locating the sensors and tracking calculations on the drones themselves is optimal. Furthermore, for commercial drone delivery, ground infrastructure is something that would potentially have to be replicated in every home and business. Thus, ground landing assistance equipment, like a satellite broadcast dish, is a system component that ideally needs to be as simple, affordable, and durable as possible.

[0050] In a further embodiment, an active NIR landing beacon is placed adjacent to a collection site at a supplier's business location so that a delivery drone can land there, similarly, for collection of the delivery consignment. The landing beacon and drone interact in the same manner to ensure that the drone lands accurately at the landing site, with the supplier being responsible for preparing the landing site. In certain embodiments, drone delivery services may be provided by a dedicated drone operating company that serves several suppliers and customers within a geographic area. Accordingly, order identification data is communicated to the supplier's landing beacon and drone so that drones dispatched from the drone operating company can correctly identify and land at the supplier site.

[0051] In some embodiments of the above aspect, the NIR landing beacon has two or more NIR emitters fixed to its structure with a standard separation distance. These standard distances are such that the drone's downward-looking NIR sensor and associated calculations on the drone can calculate at least the drone's altitude and latitude / longitude offset from the landing beacon by simply comparing the detected apparent separation with the actual standard separation stored as a constant parameter in the drone's calculation memory, thereby enabling precise navigation and accurate landing in the vicinity of the landing beacon without requiring additional sensors on the drone to measure altitude, for example. In other configurations, the NIR landing beacon has only one NIR emitter fixed to its structure, and the drone uses that one emitter to calculate latitude / longitude and measures altitude using onboard sensors such as a radar altimeter. The drone's precise pitch, roll, and yaw conditions are known to the drone's flight control system and can be used in calculations in situations where the drone's orientation is not properly stabilized.

[0052] In embodiments where there are three or more NIR emitters fixed to the landing beacon in a standardized configuration, more advanced self-positioning and self-tracking geometric calculations can be performed by the drone. Only one of the NIR emitters in the landing beacon needs to be configured to transmit order identification data, although more than one may be capable of doing so for reliability / availability reasons.

[0053] In some embodiments, the NIR emitter is replaced with an NIR retroreflector. This embodiment is used when the drone is equipped with one or more NIR emitters or lamps configured to emit NIR radiation toward a landing beacon, where it is retroreflected back toward the drone, detected by an NIR sensor on the drone, and used to assist tracking and landing as described above. In this embodiment, the drone's ability to receive information from the ground beacon and verify the accuracy of the landing site is limited; for example, the retroreflector may be designed to implement a QR code, barcode, or other pattern that the drone system is programmed to recognize. However, the cost of the landing beacon is significantly reduced, which may be advantageous in some markets or situations. Furthermore, the NIR emitter on the drone may be synchronized with the NIR sensor, thereby emitting IR radiation only for the very short period when the sensor is activated to absorb IR radiation, thereby reducing the demand on the drone's power supply. The duty cycle in this case is typically only 5%. In further embodiments where the NIR emitter is located in the landing beacon, the NIR emitter and the NIR sensor in the drone may be synchronized as well. Examples of how this synchronization may be achieved include the transmission of appropriately configured RF signals between the drone and the beacon, as well as through the use of synchronized clocks in each of the beacon and drone (e.g., using GPS reception time).

[0054] In some embodiments, the NIR emitters in the landing beacons are replaced with filament bulbs, which tend to have good IR illumination across the entire IR band.

[0055] In some embodiments, the drone landing or drop-off site need not be on the ground or a building, but may be on a moving vehicle such as a lorry, car, van, train, ship, boat, or second drone. This allows for the transfer of consignments between different modes of transportation or between drones or other aircraft. In this configuration, coarse positioning of the delivery / collection drone is again achieved by standard means such as GPS / INS, and the receiving vehicle transmits its position to the delivery drone at regular intervals. If the receiving vehicle may not have the required standard positioning equipment, as described above, the drone landing beacon itself may incorporate GPS / INS or other standard tracking equipment and equipment that transmits its position to the delivery drone. In these configurations, precise "landing" of the drone on the moving vehicle is achieved as described above.

[0056] While the above embodiments are based on delivering goods as part of a commercial transaction, they equally apply to alternative scenarios, such as the delivery of medicines from a healthcare provider or the delivery of essential supplies in emergency or humanitarian situations. The above embodiments apply to all instances where there is a need or opportunity for a drone to uniquely identify the correct collection and delivery sites and land precisely, safely, and securely at the correct collection and delivery sites, whether static or on another vehicle or mobile entity.

[0057] It should be understood that references to drones herein may refer to a wide variety of mobile flying objects of any scale or size. As a non-exhaustive list, these flying objects may include drones of any size, lighter-than-aircraft, air taxis, and flying cars. These flying objects may further be configured to be manually operated by a user, or may be configured to be autonomous, or a combination of the two, i.e., semi-autonomous. In situations where the vehicle is not autonomous, sensor data and navigation data may be communicated in real time from the vehicle to a remote pilot.

[0058] The above features of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be combined in different ways and can be added, even if not otherwise stated, to the following specific description of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0059] Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] Referring first to FIG. 1, an overview of a complete subject system deployed for ordering, dispatching, and delivery of small consignments from a supplier to a customer by drone is shown. In the following description, the term "drone" is used for ease of reference, but it should be understood that a drone may be substituted with any aircraft suitable for use with the described features. Reference should also be made to FIG. 6, a flowchart illustration of the primary functionality and method of operation of the subject system. A customer premises includes an area 1 suitable for a drone to land or hover above and deliver a consignment. A customer typically uses their own communications device 5 (computer, phone, etc.) to place an order with a supplier via a communications network. Assuming the supplier has partnered with a drone operating company, the supplier uses their communications device 105 to request that a drone be dispatched from the drone operating company base 200 to perform a round-trip 301->302->303. If such a partnership is not already in place, the supplier may seek either a temporary or permanent partnership to request a drone when an order is received. In some cases, the supplier itself may operate its own drones. In such a situation, the supplier does not need to make a request and can simply operate their drone to perform a round trip according to the following description.

[0061] Customer orders are assigned a unique identification code by the supplier, e.g., a six-digit one-time password (OTP), which is communicated to the assigned drone 10 and the supplier landing beacon 102 and customer landing beacon 2, all of which are typically configured to receive such data via wireless communication. However, the landing beacons 2 and 102 can also provide a means for manually entering the order code via wired communication or via a keypad. In some embodiments, a unique identification code may be provided to identify a particular customer, as opposed to a particular customer order. This may be beneficial when repeat deliveries to the same customer at the same location are expected. In such cases, it may be more procedurally efficient to provide a customer location with an identification code to be used with each customer order to be delivered to that customer location. When multiple customer locations are associated with a single customer, a unique identification code may be provided for each associated location.

[0062] In addition to the unique identification code, the allocated drone 10 may be provided with further data such as the scheduled landing time window (LTW) and GPS approximate coordinates (GAC) of both landing sites. The LTW data is also communicated to the supplier and customer via the communications network and the customer's own communications device 5 so that, at the appropriate time, the supplier can prepare the goods and landing site 101 and the customer can prepare the landing site 102.

[0063] The drone 10 is configured to receive the unique order identification code, LTW, and GAC and navigate at its transfer altitude to the GAC of the supplier landing site 101 along route 301 using standard equipment such as GPS / INS. This navigation may be achieved autonomously through the use of a suitably configured self-guidance system in the drone 10. Alternatively, navigation may be achieved manually, with the drone pilot remotely navigating the drone 10 to the GAC of the supplier site 101. In some embodiments, a combination of autonomous and manual navigation may be used to navigate the drone to the GAC of the supplier landing site 101.

[0064] Once properly positioned vertically above the site 101, the drone uses its substantially downward-facing NIR sensor 11 to properly identify and then track three (in this example) NIR emitters 103 and 104 within the sensor's field of view 12. The emitters 103, 104 are part of a landing beacon 102 that the supplier positions adjacent to the supplier landing area 101. In this case, the L-shaped arrangement of the emitters 103 and 104 uniquely identifies the location of a square landing site, which may be of standard dimensions (e.g., one meter square) that are fixed parameters within the drone's onboard computer system memory. It should be understood that the example of a square landing site is provided for illustrative purposes only, and that any suitably configured, compatible landing site of any suitable dimensions may be used. Furthermore, the use of an L-shaped arrangement for the emitters is also provided for illustrative purposes only, and any configuration that uniquely identifies the location of the landing site (landing area) may be utilized.

[0065] If the landing beacon has only two NIR emitters, the established convention is that the device is always placed on the north edge (for example) so that the drone can land precisely within the area 101. If the landing beacon has only one NIR emitter, the convention could be, for example, the north edge corner. These locations are provided only as illustrative examples, and any suitably configured location convention could be used. However, if there are many emitters, at least one is configured to transmit a unique order identification code by modulation of its NIR signal (in this embodiment) so that the drone can receive the code, compare it to a stored code, and verify the landing site 101. The modulated signal may be detected and received by the same sensors on the drone 10 used to locate and track the beacon emitters, or it may be received by a separate, independent sensor. In other embodiments, alternative techniques may be used for this communication as described above. Additionally, tracking emitters 103 and 104 provides the drone's onboard navigation system with the real-time data needed to control its descent and land precisely within landing area 101.

[0066] The consignment can then be manually loaded onto the landed drone. The precision provided by this landing method is precise enough to allow the drone 10 to be configured with an automatic collection mechanism, such as a hatch and latch device. The drone 10 can then descend onto the consignment 13 placed in a precise standard location within the landing area 101, with complete collection performed autonomously before securing the consignment 13 and departing. The drone then takes off and transports along route 302 to the GAC of the customer's delivery landing area 1. Once positioned generally vertically above the site, it uses its downward-facing NIR sensor 11 to correctly identify and track three (in this example) NIR emitters 3 and 4 within the sensor field of view 12. The emitters are part of a landing beacon 2 that the customer has positioned adjacent to the customer landing area 1. Again, the placement of the emitters 3, 4 of the landing beacon 2 defines the landing area 1 for the drone 10. Another precision landing maneuver is performed at the customer site, the area being prepared and secured by the customer. The drone then autonomously releases the consignment 13 and returns to base 200 along route 303. It should be understood that the transport of drone 10 to customer GAC is similar to the transport of drone to supplier GAC, and this can be accomplished autonomously, manually, or a combination of both, in accordance with the description provided above.

[0067] In some use scenarios of the described system, the drone may be configured to simply arrive at a particular landing area without having to collect or deliver the consignment 13.

[0068] If the drone arrives at the supplier GAC within the appropriate LTW and does not detect a landing beacon with the correct identification code, the drone returns to base. If the drone collects a consignment from a supplier and arrives at the customer GAC within the appropriate LTW and does not detect a landing beacon with the correct identification code, the drone either returns the consignment to the supplier and returns to base, or takes the goods back to base or some other intermediate storage location and returns to base until delivery can be rescheduled. Each of these transports can be accomplished similarly to the transports to the supplier GAC and customer GAC detailed above.

[0069] Referring now to FIG. 2, a more detailed view of the same scenario as FIG. 1 is shown, but focusing on the customer landing site and customer landing beacon 2. The landing beacon initially includes a receiver 20 configured to receive input data in accordance with the above-described embodiments. In particular, the receiver 20 is configured to receive at least unique delivery identification data from a supplier, a drone delivery company, or a supplier company associated with one or more delivery orders placed by a customer in accordance with the above-described embodiments. The unique delivery data includes at least a unique delivery code and may include a planned landing time window (LTW) for the drone delivery. The receiver 20 may be configured to receive this data via radio frequency communication. Alternatively, the receiver 20 may receive this data using any suitable form of communication that allows data to be received from a drone company or supplier. In some embodiments, the receiver 20 is configured to receive data through wired communication or through manual data entry via a keypad, as appropriate.

[0070] The landing beacon 2 of this embodiment further includes a data store 21 and a processor 22, which is communicatively coupled to the data store 21 and, optionally, to the receiver 20 or a data entry keypad 26. The processor 22 may be configured to receive data received by the receiver 20 or keypad 26 (such as the unique delivery code and LTW) according to the embodiments described above and store it in the data store 21. The processor 22 is configured to control the NIR LEDs 3 and 4 using a suitable driver circuit 23 such that the passive LED 3 is activated continuously, while the active LED 4 is activated once order data is received or, alternatively, only within the LTW for which a drone delivery is expected, possibly stimulated by a delivery request signal from the drone as described above, and is modulated by the unique order code 14. For communication via NIR transmission, a unique six-digit order code requires 20 bits of data, repeatedly transmitted once per second, which can be received by the drone's NIR sensor operating at 60 Hz while still ensuring that the emitter is continuously illuminated for two-thirds of each second to support tracking functionality. In some cases, the sensor can be configured to operate at frequencies anywhere from 25 Hz to 200 Hz. In other embodiments, the use of higher frequency NIR and NIR emitters reduces the modulation time percentage. The illumination field 6 of each upward-facing NIR LED is typically conical, with a cone angle such that the area of ​​the illuminated circle at the altitude at which the drone is flying before beginning its descent to the landing area is greater than the uncertainty in the navigation accuracy of the drone's onboard standard navigation system, e.g., GPS / INS, i.e., the GAC through which the drone is navigated. In this way, the drone can approach the GAC of the landing site using its onboard standard navigation system and then be precisely guided to the landing zone 1 using illumination from the landing beacon 2.

[0071] When there are several potential landing addresses within the area of ​​approximate location that standard navigation techniques can achieve, and when there is more than one landing site where drone delivery is expected, the unique code transmitted by the correct landing beacon ensures that the correct delivery occurs. The same principle applies to the correct selection of nearby supplier collection landing zones, especially those within metropolitan areas where many suppliers may be within any single supplier's GAC.

[0072] Referring now to FIG. 3, a diagram illustrating the same scenario as in FIGS. 1 and 2, but focusing on drone 10 above customer landing site 1, and illustrating a schematic diagram of the drone-mounted system, is shown in more detail. The drone first includes a receiver 16 configured to wirelessly receive input data according to the above-described embodiments. Again, the drone may receive this data via other mechanisms, such as wired communication or manual data entry. In particular, similar to a landing beacon, receiver 16 is configured to receive at least unique delivery data from a supplier or from a drone delivery company related to one or more delivery orders placed by a customer. The unique delivery data includes at least a unique delivery code and may include a planned time window (landing time window (LTW)) for the drone delivery. Receiver 16 may be configured to receive this data via radio frequency communication. The unique delivery data may further include the GAC of the supplier and customer landing site to enable the drone to autonomously (or otherwise) navigate to the appropriate approximate location.

[0073] The drone of this embodiment further includes a data store 17 and a processor 18, which is communicatively coupled to the data store 17, the receiver 16, and optionally, a keypad 19. The processor 18 may be configured to receive and store data received by the receiver 16 or the keypad 19 in the data store 17. The processor 18 is configured to receive images from the NIR sensor 11 at a frequency suitable for use in closed-loop precision flight control, typically 50 Hz or higher. According to the above embodiment, the drone has used a standard navigation system, e.g., GPS / INS, to determine a rough position and orientation relative to the landing beacon 2 such that images of the IR emitters 3, 4 at the landing beacon 2 are within the field of view of the NIR sensor 11. In some embodiments, this is possible by providing the drone 10 with the GAC of the associated landing site, according to the above-described embodiment. The processor then performs an analysis of those images, made possible in near real time by the matched combination of narrowband NIR emitters in the landing beacon and one or more NIR filters in the drone's NIR sensor, which provides a high signal-to-noise and signal-to-clutter ratio in NIR imaging. The onboard system uses the known, standardized separation of NIR emitters 3, 4 (see FIG. 2 ), stored as constant parameters in the processor's local memory, together with information about the drone's own current attitude (e.g., pitch, roll, yaw), if available, to determine the drone's precise current position in three dimensions relative to the landing beacon 2. Such altitude information may be made possible by providing the drone 10 with appropriately configured sensors or may be provided to the drone 10 via receiver 16 (or a separate receiver). If only one NIR emitter is present in the landing beacon 2, the drone uses imaging of that emitter together with data from other sensors, such as a radar altimeter, to perform the same localization.This processing occurs at a sufficiently high frequency and with sufficiently low latency to allow the processor 18 to communicate the precise current position to the drone's flight control system so that the drone's flight control system can precisely maneuver the drone along a flight path to land at a desired location relative to the landing beacon.

[0074] Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a diagram of the drone and landing beacon in an alternative usage scenario where the drone must perform a precision maneuver transitioning from a horizontal approach to a short vertical descent or hover while a consignment is lowered onto a precision landing site 1 on a balcony of a high rise building. This is achieved by the drone being equipped with two complementary NIR sensors 11 and 111 with fields of view 12 and 121 suitable for detecting the NIR LEDs in the landing beacon 2, positioned in pairs with complementary illumination fields to clearly facilitate the maneuver.

[0075] At least one of the horizontally pointing NIR LEDs is actively operating to allow the drone to correctly identify a landing site using a unique code 14 before commencing its approach near a building. This is a particular scenario where standard positioning technologies such as GPS may be highly inaccurate or unreliable, and there may be several potential landing sites in the vicinity from which the correct one must be identified.

[0076] Referring now to FIG. 5, a diagram of a drone and landing beacon in a further alternative usage scenario is shown, as an example of a usage scenario in which the landing site is constantly moving. In this case, a precise landing site 59 is surrounded by at least three NIR LED landing emitters (four are shown here: 56-59), at least one of which is an active LED emitter, or alternative communication technology exists on board that transmits a unique identifier code to the drone. At least three landing emitters are required so that the drone can simultaneously calculate both the orientation of the ship's deck and the drone's relative position in relation to the deck. In this way, a drone or larger aircraft, such as a helicopter or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, can calculate and execute a landing maneuver in real time that ensures that the aircraft and the moving deck are both in the proper relative position and orientation for a safe landing.

[0077] The above description is provided in the context of a usage scenario in which a drone is configured to perform a delivery of a consignment to a predefined location. A further description of a typical usage scenario of the above-described technology will now be provided with reference to Figure 7. In particular, this figure shows a generalized system 500 provided for precisely positioning an aircraft. It will be understood that the diagrams and methods described in the above embodiments can equally be used in combination with this generalized system.

[0078] Referring to FIG. 7 , a system 500 for positioning an aircraft is shown. The system 500 includes an aircraft 502 to be positioned and one or more positioning beacons 504 provided to guide the aircraft 502 to a precise location. In particular, the one or more positioning beacons 504 are configured to enable the aircraft 502 to precisely position itself relative to the one or more positioning beacons 504 by hovering in the air or by landing on a nearby surface. Both the aircraft 502 and the one or more positioning beacons 504 may be configured to enable communication with an external communications network 506. In this configuration, the aircraft 502 and the one or more positioning beacons 504 can receive data from and provide data to devices external to the system 500, which can enable additional functionality of the system 500. In some embodiments, the aircraft 502 and the one or more positioning beacons 504 may be communicatively coupled through direct communication between the two or via the external communications network 506. It should be understood that communication via external communications network 506 may be accomplished wirelessly or through wired means, as appropriate.

[0079] FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an aircraft of the general system 500. The aircraft 502 is first provided with a receiver 510. The receiver 510 may be configured to receive unique identification data from an external communications network 506. The identification data provides the aircraft 502 with a means of verifying, using a positioning beacon 504, that the aircraft 502 is in the correct general location where it is intended to be (although not necessarily at the precise location required). Typically, the identification data includes some form of unique identifier that identifies the particular positioning beacon 504 at which the aircraft 502 should position itself. In accordance with embodiments described above and below, the associated positioning beacon 504 is configured to transmit a landing identifier, which is then received by the aircraft 502. The aircraft 502 is then configured to compare the landing identifier received from the positioning beacon 504 with the unique identifier received from the external communications network 506. The landing identifier is provided to identify the correct positioning beacon 504 at which the aircraft 502 should be positioned. Specifically, the unique identifier provided to the aircraft 502 is configured to match a landing identifier transmitted by a positioning beacon 504 with which the aircraft 502 is configured to position itself. The unique identifier and the landing identifier are compared, and if the two identifiers match, the aircraft 502 determines that it should position itself relative to this particular positioning beacon 504. In some embodiments, there may be multiple beacons 504, each transmitting a different landing identifier. In these cases, when the aircraft 502 receives a landing identifier that does not match the unique identifier received from the external communications network 506, it determines that it should not position itself relative to the beacon 504 that provided the non-matching landing identifier. The unique identifier and corresponding landing identifier may include an OTP in accordance with the embodiments described above. Alternatively, the data may include any form of information that enables the aircraft to verify that it is in a general intended location using the positioning beacon 504.

[0080] Providing this identification data may be particularly advantageous in areas where many beacons 504 of the described type are present, for example, in urban areas including many properties, where each property may be provided with a beacon 504 to allow aircraft 502 to be located relative to it, for example, in situations where the aircraft is configured to deliver items to each of the properties. If the identification data is not provided, it may be difficult for aircraft 502 to establish which of the beacons 504 to locate itself relative to, since each beacon may otherwise be substantially identical. Furthermore, existing systems that identify approximate locations (e.g., GPS coordinates) may be inaccurate in urban areas where reception may be unreliable or otherwise not precise enough relative to the spacing of properties. If the identification information is provided and subsequently verified, aircraft 502 may be able to precisely identify which of the beacons 504 to locate itself relative to more accurately than is possible according to known systems.

[0081] The receiver 510 is communicatively coupled to a data store 512. The data store 512 is configured to receive identification data from the receiver 510 and retain this data in a format suitable for subsequent retrieval. The aircraft 502 is further provided with one or more sensors 514 configured to detect electromagnetic radiation emitted or reflected from one or more positioning beacons 504. According to the above-described embodiment, this electromagnetic radiation may be in the infrared spectrum. More specifically, the radiation may be near-infrared (NIR), and in some cases, narrowband NIR may be used. The one or more sensors 514 are suitably configured to detect specific radiation emitted from the one or more positioning beacons 504. By way of example, if the emitted radiation is in an NIR format, the one or more sensors 514 may be provided with an NIR filter to reduce noise from the detected beacons and maximize the signal-to-noise ratio when detecting the emitted radiation. In particular, the one or more sensors 514 are configured to detect the electromagnetic radiation and to detect the directionality from which the radiation is received. This directionality may enable the aircraft 502 to precisely position itself relative to one or more positioning beacons 504, as described in more detail below. In embodiments in which NIR and / or narrowband NIR are utilized in a system with appropriately configured filters, the system may advantageously achieve a detection range up to an altitude of approximately 100 meters, a range that may not typically be achievable using other radiation bands due to inaccuracies associated with the relevant wavelength ranges. This detection range is particularly advantageous because 100 meters is a typical operating altitude for certain types of aircraft in urban areas, and therefore, dedicated operations are not required for the aircraft 502 to detect radiation being emitted from the positioning beacons 504. In some embodiments, information from the sensors 514 is stored in a data store 512.

[0082] Additionally, receiver 510 may be configured to receive positioning data from external communications network 506. This positioning data may provide an indication of where to position aircraft 502 relative to a source of emitted or reflected electromagnetic radiation (i.e., from a corresponding one or more positioning beacons 504). This may be possible through pattern recognition of the emitted or reflected electromagnetic radiation and / or by providing supplemental data. This is discussed in more detail below with reference to the description of one or more positioning beacons 504. Like the identification data, the positioning data may be stored in data store 512 in a suitable format for subsequent retrieval. In some cases, the positioning data indicates a location in the air where aircraft 502 should be positioned relative to a source of emitted or reflected electromagnetic radiation. In other cases, the positioning data indicates a location on a surface (e.g., the ground) where aircraft 502 should be positioned relative to a source of emitted or reflected electromagnetic radiation. In some embodiments, aircraft 502 may be configured to land on a surface, but is provided with a location in the air where aircraft 502 should be positioned relative to a source of emitted or reflected electromagnetic radiation. Upon reaching this location at a particular altitude, the aircraft 502 may be configured to simply descend (i.e., decrease altitude) while maintaining the same latitude and longitude coordinates. Alternatively, the positioning data may provide information regarding the aircraft's location relative to sources of emitted or reflected electromagnetic radiation at multiple altitudes, ensuring that position accuracy is maintained as the aircraft 502 changes altitude. The provided positioning data, in combination with monitoring of emitted or reflected electromagnetic radiation (particularly using NIR or narrowband NIR), may enable the aircraft 502 to maneuver itself within an area of ​​approximately one square meter and then precisely position itself within that area.

[0083] Aircraft 502 is further provided with a flight control system 516. Flight control system 516 includes a suitably configured propulsion system that enables the aircraft to hover and maneuver, as well as takeoff and landing. Flight control system 516 is also configured to receive commands that instruct flight control system 516 as to how aircraft 502 should be operated. In some embodiments, flight control system 516 may be communicatively coupled to receiver 510 and configured to receive commands to operate aircraft 502 via external communications network 506.

[0084] Aircraft 502 may further be provided with a processor 518. The processor may be communicatively coupled to data store 512 and one or more sensors 514. Processor 518 is configured to utilize information stored in data store 512 to enable positioning of aircraft 502 relative to one or more positioning beacons 504 according to the positioning data stored in data store 512. To accomplish this, processor 518 may first be configured to receive identification data (including a landing identifier) ​​from one or more positioning beacons 504. The information received from one or more positioning beacons 504 is configured to be in the same format as the unique identification data (including the unique identifier) ​​stored in data store 512. In some embodiments, one or more positioning beacons 504 provide the landing identification data in a format configured to be received by receiver 510. In other embodiments, the landing identification data is provided through appropriate communication between one or more positioning beacons 504 and aircraft 502 via external communications network 506. In yet other embodiments, the landing identification data is provided from one or more positioning beacons 504 through appropriately modulated electromagnetic radiation emitted or reflected from one or more positioning beacons 504 in accordance with the embodiments described above. Thus, in such embodiments, the landing identification data is received via one or more sensors 514, which in addition to detecting the radiation and directionality of the radiation, are configured to identify data from the received electromagnetic radiation.

[0085] Processor 518 is configured to compare the landing identification data received from one or more positioning beacons 504 with corresponding unique identification information in data store 512 to determine whether they match. If there is no match, processor 518 may be configured to identify a mislocation and cease any further positioning functions. Aircraft 502 may then be configured to perform further action, such as returning to a home location or waiting for further instructions, via external communications network 506. If there is a match, processor 518 may be configured to perform a precise positioning of aircraft 502.

[0086] In such a case, processor 518 receives information regarding the detected electromagnetic radiation and its directionality from one or more sensors 514 (or alternatively, retrieves this information from data store 512). Processor 518 then retrieves previously received positioning data from data store 512. Processor 518 is configured to compare the information from one or more sensors 514 with the received positioning data to determine whether aircraft 502 is correctly positioned according to the positioning data. If the position is determined to be inaccurate, processor 518 is configured to determine a set of maneuvering actions, which may be transmitted to flight control system 516 to correctly position aircraft 502. In some embodiments, the processor may not directly instruct flight control system 516 but instead may provide, via external communications network 506, a set of recommended maneuvers to the remote pilot that will enable aircraft 502 to be correctly positioned relative to one or more positioning beacons 504.

[0087] In some optional embodiments, aircraft 502 is provided with an electromagnetic radiation emitter 520 configured to direct electromagnetic radiation in the direction of one or more positioning beacons 504. In these embodiments, one or more positioning beacons 504 are provided with a reflector configured to reflect the received electromagnetic radiation back toward aircraft 502. This reflected radiation may then be used in accordance with the embodiments described above.

[0088] In a further optional embodiment, aircraft 502 is provided with a transmitter 522. Transmitter 522 may be configured to transmit any required information in accordance with the above embodiments. In particular, transmitter 522 may be used to communicate data to an external pilot of aircraft 502 so that the pilot can control and position aircraft 502 as needed. Additionally, in some embodiments, transmitter 522 may be configured to continuously transmit unique identification data that is received by one or more positioning beacons 504. Upon receiving the unique identification data, one or more positioning beacons may transmit a receipt of the data to aircraft 502, which is received by receiver 510 of aircraft 502. This receipt may then be used in a similar manner to receiving identification data, as described in the above embodiments.

[0089] In further embodiments, the aircraft 502 may also be provided with a consignment holding system 524. The consignment holding system 524 is configured, when in operation, to enable the aircraft 502 to carry a payload. This may be used in embodiments such as those described above in which the aircraft 502 is used as part of a consignment delivery system. The consignment holding system 524 may include any suitably configured system that enables the aircraft to carry suitable payload. In some cases, the consignment holding system 524 may also include a system that enables the aircraft 502 to autonomously pick up and deliver payload based on the position of the aircraft 502. In these cases, when the aircraft 502 is properly positioned according to the above embodiments, the processor 518 is configured to operate the consignment holding system 524 to either collect or deliver the payload. This may be accomplished in accordance with the description above.

[0090] In some embodiments, aircraft 502 may be provided with a direct method of inputting the unique identification data via input device 530. Aircraft 502 is configured to store the data provided by input device 530 in data store 512. By way of example, according to the embodiment described above, input device 530 may include a keypad and the unique identification data may include a unique code.

[0091] In some cases, the aircraft 502 may be provided with at least two sensors 514 having different fields of view. This may be utilized, for example, in certain cases where one or more positioning beacons 504 are configured to emit or reflect electromagnetic radiation in substantially different directions. An example of such a case is shown in FIG. 4 and described above.

[0092] In some embodiments, the aircraft 502 also includes a GPS navigation system 532. The GPS navigation system 532 may be used to navigate the aircraft 502 to an approximate location near the positioning data before the aircraft 502 is precisely positioned relative to one or more positioning beacons 504. In such embodiments, prior to departure, the aircraft 502 may be provided with GPS coordinates indicating the approximate location of its departure destination. These may be provided similarly to the provision of positioning data and / or unique identification data described above. These may then be stored in the data store 512. In some cases, the processor 518 may be configured to retrieve these coordinates and instruct the flight control system 516 to autonomously navigate to the coordinates. In other cases, the aircraft 502 may be controlled by an external pilot to achieve the same effect.

[0093] 9, a schematic diagram of one of the positioning beacons 504 is shown. The beacon 504 is provided with a receiver 550. Similar to the aircraft 502 above, the receiver 550 may be configured to receive landing identification data from an external communications network 506. The landing identification data provides the beacon 504 with a means of ascertaining that the aircraft 502 is approximately where it is intended to be (but not necessarily at the precise location required). As discussed with reference to the aircraft 502 above, the landing identification data typically includes some form of landing identifier for the beacon 504 that identifies the beacon as one to which the aircraft 502 should position itself. This may include an OTP, according to the embodiments described above. Alternatively, the data may include any form of information that allows the aircraft 502 to ascertain from the positioning beacon 504 that it is in the general intended location, i.e., that it is positioning itself relative to the intended beacon 504.

[0094] Processor 550 is communicatively coupled to data store 552. Data store 552 is configured to receive the landing identification data from receiver 550 and to retain this data in a suitable format for subsequent retrieval.

[0095] In some embodiments, one or more positioning beacons 504 may be provided with a direct method of inputting identification data via an input device 554. The beacons 504 are configured to store the data provided by the input device 554 in a data store 552. By way of example, according to the embodiment described above, the input device 554 may include a keypad and the identification data may include a unique code.

[0096] In the embodiments described above, the identification data provided to both the aircraft 502 and the beacon 504 may be provided to a single instance of the aircraft 502 performing a positioning operation. In some embodiments of the present system, it may be desirable for the identification data for a particular beacon to be static, so that the identification data remains the same when the aircraft 502 performs repeated positioning operations for the same beacon 504. In such embodiments, the identification data may not be provided to each of the one or more positioning beacons 504 through direct input or via the external communications network 506; instead, it may include a static, unique landing identifier for that particular beacon 504 (e.g., the beacon's serial number) that is unique to that beacon 504. In such embodiments, the landing identification data need not be provided to the beacon 504 for each use case, but it would still be necessary to provide the landing identification data to the aircraft 502 for each use case. For example, in accordance with the embodiments described above, the aircraft 502 may be provided with a corresponding unique identifier before the aircraft 502 embarks on a positioning beacon 504 using a static, unique landing identifier. If the aircraft 502 later again sets out towards the same positioning beacon 504, it may again need to be provided with a corresponding unique identifier to be able to perform positioning as designed.

[0097] The one or more positioning beacons 504 are further provided with one or more emitters or reflectors 556 that direct electromagnetic radiation toward the aircraft 502. According to the embodiments described above, this electromagnetic radiation may be in the infrared spectrum. More specifically, the radiation may be near-infrared (NIR). The one or more emitters or reflectors 556 are suitably configured to direct the specific radiation toward the aircraft 502. According to the embodiments described above, the one or more emitters or detectors 556 are configured to direct the electromagnetic radiation in a manner that allows the directionality of the emitted or reflected radiation to be determined by the aircraft. This directionality may enable the aircraft 502 to precisely position itself relative to the one or more positioning beacons 504. One example of an emitter 556 that may be used is an LED configured to emit electromagnetic radiation of a type designed to be detected by the aircraft 502.

[0098] The number and arrangement of the one or more emitters or reflectors 556 may be adapted to enable precise positioning of the aircraft 502 relative to the beacon 504, according to the embodiments described above. Positioning data provided to the aircraft 502 (e.g., via the external communications network 506, as described above) is configured accordingly according to the number and arrangement of the one or more emitters or reflectors 556. For example, in some examples, each of the beacons 504 may be provided with three emitters or reflectors 556 arranged in a distinct pattern (e.g., an L-shape). The positioning data provided to the aircraft 502 (e.g., via the external communications network 506, as described above) may include an indication of this pattern, including the relative positions and distances of the emitters or reflectors 556 from one another. The positioning data may further indicate the apparent relative positions and distances of the emitters or reflectors 556 from one another when the aircraft 502 is positioned at the correct precise location. The aircraft 502 may then be steered to the correct precise location so that the radiation received from the emitters or reflectors 556 matches the positions in the positioning data. The use of three emitters or reflectors 556 allows for precise positioning in embodiments where the intended location is static. In embodiments where the intended location is moving (e.g., the beacon 504 is on a moving vehicle), it may be necessary to include four or more emitters or reflectors 556. In some embodiments, two or fewer emitters or reflectors 556 may be utilized, in addition to supplemental information provided to the aircraft 502. This supplemental information may include information indicating where the emitters or reflectors 556 should be located relative to the intended location of the aircraft 502. This supplemental information may further include information indicating the intended altitude at which the aircraft should be positioned relative to the emitters or reflectors 556. In some embodiments, the spacing between the emitters or reflectors 556 may be standardized for each of the beacons 504 (i.e., a known quantity predefined for multiple beacons 504, such as a known geometric formation). In such cases, it may not be necessary to provide information related to the relative positions and distances between the emitters or reflectors 556 to the aircraft 502 as part of the position data. Instead, it need only indicate how the aircraft 502 should be positioned relative to the emitted or reflected radiation.

[0099] Emitter 556 may be provided with appropriate driver circuitry to enable control of the emitter to achieve the functions described herein.

[0100] A transmitter 558 may further be provided to one or more positioning beacons 504 to provide an indication of the stored landing identification data to the aircraft 502. The information provided from the transmitter 558 is configured to be in the same format as the unique identification data stored in the data store 512 of the aircraft 502. In some embodiments, the one or more positioning beacons 504 provide the landing identification data from the transmitter 558 in a format configured to be received by the receiver 510 of the aircraft 502. In other embodiments, the landing identification data is provided through appropriate communication between the one or more positioning beacons 504 and the aircraft 502 via the external communications network 506. In still other embodiments where a transmitter 558 need not be provided, the landing identification data is provided from the one or more positioning beacons 504 through appropriately modulated electromagnetic radiation emitted or reflected by the one or more positioning beacons 504, in accordance with the embodiments described above. This may include one or more of the emitters 556 configured to modulate the emitted radiation to provide an indication of the landing identification data. In other embodiments in which reflector 556 is used, the reflector may be designed to implement a QR code, bar code, or other pattern that aircraft 502 is programmed to use to identify landing identification data.

[0101] In some embodiments in which emitters are used, the emitters may be configured to be either passive (i.e., the emitters are always on and emitting radiation) or active (i.e., the emitters are configured to only selectively emit radiation). Typically, passive emitters are used to position the aircraft relative to the beacon 504, while active emitters are used both for this purpose and to transmit landing identification data in accordance with the above embodiments. Active emitters may be configured to begin emitting following manual activation. Additionally or alternatively, active emitters may be configured to begin emitting during a time window in which an aircraft is expected to be in the vicinity of the beacon 504. This information may be provided in a similar manner to the initial provision of location identification data. Additionally, active emitters may be configured to begin activating any time an aircraft 502 is detected in the vicinity (whether or not the aircraft 502 is intended to be positioned in the vicinity of the associated beacon). This may be accomplished through the use of appropriately adapted proximity sensors included as part of the beacon 504 or by receiving a broadcast signal from the aircraft.

[0102] One or more positioning beacons 504 may further be provided with information indicating the approximate time that the aircraft 502 is expected to be in the vicinity of the corresponding beacon 504. In such a case, the associated beacon 504 may be configured to transmit identification data in accordance with the above embodiments only during the indicated approximate time. This may advantageously allow the beacon 504 to conserve power by transmitting only when the aircraft 502 is expected to be present.

[0103] In accordance with the above embodiments, the positioning beacon may be provided with a processor 564. The processor 564 may be configured to perform the operations of the positioning beacon 504 in accordance with the above embodiments. In particular, the processor may receive input from the receiver 550 and communicate with the data store 552. Similarly, the processor 564 may be configured to determine what transmissions to make, the timing of those transmissions, and when the emitter 556 should be activated.

[0104] Both aircraft 502 and beacon 504 may each be provided with rechargeable batteries 560, 562. Aircraft 502 and beacon 504 may be designed to operate independently of a power source and therefore may require batteries to operate. If necessary, aircraft 502 and beacon 504 may be provided with means for charging the batteries, such as solar panels, connectors allowing connection to a power source, etc.

[0105] In some cases, it may be beneficial for multiple beacons 504 to communicate with each other. This may be used to efficiently exchange relevant information. For example, one beacon may receive a transmission from an aircraft 502 passing nearby according to some embodiments described above and notify other nearby beacons of the aircraft 502. If an active emitter is provided, this may provide an indication for the active emitter to begin emitting. In such cases, each of the beacons 504 may be configured to communicate with each other through the use of the provided receivers 550 and transmitters 558 via the external communications network 506. While this example is provided, it should be understood that positioning beacons may be configured to communicate a wide variety of relevant information to aid in the operation of the system. These may include, but are not limited to, landing identification data and positioning data. This may be useful when long-range communication channels are less reliable and passing communications along a series of positioning beacons 504 is more reliable than utilizing the external communications network 506. In such embodiments, any data passed between beacons may be encrypted and configured so that the data is only decrypted at the associated, intended receiving beacon.

[0106] In the above example, there may be provided a central management system 570 (as shown in FIG. 7 ) configured to manage the operation of the aircraft 502 and one or more positioning beacons 504 during positioning operations. The central management system 570 may be configured to provide the unique identification data, landing identification data, location data, and any other relevant information described in the above embodiments via the external communications network 506 (or otherwise). In particular, the central management system 570 may be operated by a user to input information that needs to be transmitted to the aircraft 502 and one or more positioning beacons 504 to enable the functions described above. To accomplish this, the central management system 570 may be provided with one or more processors 572, memories 574, receivers 576, and transmitters 578 to enable this functionality. The central management system 570 may be configured to receive input from a user via one or more input devices.

[0107] Referring now to FIG. 10, a method 600 of operation of the general system 500 described above is shown.

[0108] The method 600 proceeds with the aircraft 502 and one or more positioning beacons 504 receiving, at step 602, a unique identification and a landing identification, respectively. This may be received via the external communications network 506 or may be received from the central management system 570. In some embodiments, the landing identification is already stored in the one or more positioning beacons 504. In such embodiments, this step may be omitted with respect to the positioning beacons 504. The respective identifications are then stored in the data store 512 of the aircraft 502 and the data store 552 of the one or more positioning beacons 504, respectively, at step 604 (if not already stored there). Following this, the method proceeds with the aircraft receiving, at step 606, position data in accordance with the embodiments described above. In particular, this position data provides information indicating how the aircraft 502 should be positioned relative to the associated positioning beacon 504. This position data may be in the form of any of the embodiments described above. This position data is then stored in the data store 512 of the aircraft 502 at step 608.

[0109] The method continues with one or more positioning beacons 504 transmitting the previously stored landing identification information in step 610. According to the embodiment described above, this may be performed continuously following receipt of the landing identification information or with a limit, which may be, for example, during a time window during which the aircraft 502 is expected to be in the vicinity of the associated beacon 504.

[0110] Following this, the aircraft 502 receives landing identification data being transmitted by one or more positioning beacons 504 at step 612. It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the aircraft 502 may be configured to initially navigate to the approximate location of the beacon to which it is intended to navigate. This may be accomplished by providing GPS coordinates (or any other suitable means) provided to the aircraft 502. Once the transmitted identification data is received by the aircraft 502, the aircraft proceeds to compare the received landing identification data with the unique identification data stored in the data store 512 at step 614. If it is determined that the information data do not match, the method proceeds to step 616 and no further action is taken. In some embodiments, the aircraft 502 may be configured to return to a predetermined point of origin. In further embodiments, the aircraft 502 may be configured to adjust its position and await further identification data from an alternate beacon 504. This may be particularly useful in embodiments where there are several beacons in a relatively small area (e.g., urban environments).

[0111] Returning to step 614, if it is determined that the identification data matches, the method continues in step 618 with the aircraft 502 retrieving position data from the data store 512. In some embodiments, the aircraft 502 may be configured to simply navigate toward the received emissions without the need for additional position data. In such cases, steps related to using received position data may be omitted. Following this retrieval, the aircraft receives emissions emitted or reflected by the beacon 504 in accordance with the embodiments described above, in step 620. In embodiments in which the aircraft 502 is configured to emit emissions to be received, the aircraft 502 may begin emitting when the aircraft 502 matches the identification data as described above. Furthermore, in embodiments in which emissions are emitted from the beacon 504, the emissions may be continuous or may be configured to emit only at specific times, for example, during a time window in which the aircraft 502 is expected to be in the vicinity of the beacon 504.

[0112] Following this, the aircraft 502 determines in step 622 whether it has been positioned relative to the beacon 504 according to the position data. This is accomplished by comparing the position data to the emissions received in step 620. This may be accomplished through a pattern recognition algorithm. If it is determined that the aircraft 502 is not properly positioned, the method proceeds to step 624, where the aircraft adjusts its position according to the received emissions and the position data. In particular, the aircraft is configured to make algorithmic adjustments to its position to bring the aircraft 502 according to the required position per the position data. Once these adjustments are made, the method returns to step 622, where the received emissions are again compared to the position data. This process continues until it is determined that the aircraft 502 has been correctly positioned (or within an acceptable error margin in some embodiments) relative to the beacon 504 according to the position data. If it is determined that it has been correctly positioned, the method proceeds to step 626.

[0113] It should be understood that variations to the above method may be implemented in accordance with other optional embodiments described herein.

[0114] Although the implementation of various functions of some exemplary embodiments and devices of this embodiment has been described in detail, it should be understood that a person skilled in the art can easily adapt the basic configuration of the system to perform the described functions without the need for a detailed explanation of how this is achieved. Therefore, in this specification, some functions of the system are described in different places without the necessary detailed implementation explanation, as this is not necessary given the ability of a person skilled in the art to implement the functions in a system.

[0115] Furthermore, it will be understood that the features, advantages, and functions of different embodiments described herein may be combined where circumstances permit.

[0116] References 1.GPS Dependencies in the Transportation Sector DOT-VNTSC-NOAA-16-01 US Department of Transportation 2.Robust Precision Landing for Autonomous Drones Combining Vision-based and Infrared Sensors Giannis Badakis et al 2021 IEEE Sensors Applications Symposium

Claims

1. 1. A system for geographically positioning an aircraft, comprising: the aircraft having one or more infrared (IR) detectors; a positioning beacon disposed at the geographic location, the positioning beacon configured to wirelessly transmit a landing identifier for detection by the aircraft and including one or more emitters or reflectors configured to emit or reflect, respectively, an IR signal; Including, the aircraft is configured to receive the landing identifier and the emitted or reflected IR signal, compare the received landing identifier with a stored unique identifier, and if the received landing identifier matches the stored unique identifier, use the emitted or reflected signal to control movement of the aircraft relative to the positioning beacon.

2. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the movement of the aircraft is controlled according to stored positioning data including data indicative of an intended position of the aircraft relative to the IR radiation being emitted or reflected by the one or more emitters or reflectors of the positioning beacon.

3. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the aircraft further includes a consignment holding system configured to enable the aircraft to carry a load, and the aircraft is configured to operate the consignment holding system to accept or release a load when in the intended location.

4. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the aircraft further includes a GPS navigation system, the aircraft being further configured to control movement of the aircraft towards the general location of the geographic location using stored GPS coordinates indicating the general location of the geographic location.

5. The system further includes a second positioning beacon at a second geographic location, the second positioning beacon configured to wirelessly transmit the landing identifier for detection by the aircraft, the second positioning beacon comprising: one or more second emitters or reflectors configured to emit or reflect, respectively, an IR signal; the aircraft is further configured to control movement of the aircraft toward the general location of the second geographic location using stored GPS coordinates indicating the general location of the second geographic location, the movement of the aircraft being controlled in accordance with stored positioning data including data indicative of first and second intended positions of the aircraft relative to the IR radiation being emitted or reflected, respectively, by the one or more emitters or reflectors of the positioning beacon and the second one or more emitters or reflectors of the positioning beacon, the aircraft being further configured to:

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a consignment holding system configured to enable the aircraft to carry a load, the aircraft being configured to operate the consignment holding system to receive a load when in a first intended position and to release the load when in the second intended position.

6. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more emitters or reflectors comprise one or more emitters, and wherein the positioning beacon is further configured to transmit the landing identifier for detection by the aircraft by appropriately modulating the IR radiation being emitted from at least one of the one or more emitters.

7. 10. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more emitters or reflectors comprise one or more emitters, and wherein the one or more IR detectors are configured to be activated when at the geographic location, and wherein the one or more emitters are configured to be activated for a portion of the time that the one or more IR detectors are activated.

8. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more emitters or reflectors include one or more reflectors, at least one of the one or more reflectors including a QR code, bar code, or other pattern including the landing identifier, and wherein transmitting the landing identifier includes recognition by the aircraft of a reflected signal from the one or more reflectors received by the one or more IR detectors.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the aircraft further comprises one or more emitters configured to direct IR radiation toward the one or more reflectors of the positioning beacon.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more emitters of the aircraft are configured to be activated when in the geographic location.

11. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more IR detectors are configured to be activated when at the geographic location, and the one or more emitters on the aircraft are configured to be activated for a portion of the time that the one or more IR detectors are activated.

12. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more emitters or reflectors are configured to emit or reflect, respectively, near infrared, NIR, radiation.

13. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more emitters or reflectors are configured to emit or reflect, respectively, narrowband NIR.

14. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the aircraft or the positioning beacon includes a receiver, the aircraft or the positioning beacon being configured to receive the unique identification data from an external communications network via the receiver and store it in a respective data store.

15. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the aircraft or the positioning beacon includes a data input device, and the aircraft or the positioning beacon is configured to receive and store the unique identification data in a respective data store from information entered via the input device.

16. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the aircraft is configured to land on a landing area, the location of the landing area being defined by the detected emitted or reflected signals.

17. 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the positioning beacon includes at least two emitters or reflectors, the at least two emitters or reflectors being positioned in a known geometric formation relative to each other and relative to the landing area.

18. 20. The system of claim 17, wherein the positioning beacon includes three emitters or reflectors arranged in an L-shape.

19. 20. The system of claim 17, wherein the positioning beacon includes three or more emitters or reflectors, and the positioning beacon is disposed on a moving surface.

20. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more emitters or reflectors are configured to emit or reflect IR radiation substantially perpendicularly.

21. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the positioning beacon includes one or more emitters, the one or more emitters being configured to emit IR radiation according to indicated time intervals stored in the positioning beacon.

22. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more IR detectors operate at a frequency between 25 Hz and 200 Hz.

23. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the one or more IR detectors operate at a frequency of 60 Hz.

24. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the positioning beacon comprises a mobile telecommunications device such as a smartphone.

25. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more emitters or reflectors are configured to be attached to a mobile telecommunications device such as a smartphone.

26. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the positioning beacon further comprises a transmitter configured to transmit the landing identifier.

27. 10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the aircraft includes at least one or more IR detectors, the IR detectors being configured with complementary fields of view, and the positioning beacon includes at least four emitters or reflectors arranged in pairs, at least one pair being arranged to emit or reflect IR signals in each of the complementary fields of view.

28. 1. An aircraft configured to locate at a geographic location, comprising: one or more infrared (IR) detectors for receiving IR signals emitted or reflected from positioning beacons provided at said geographic location; The aircraft receiving a landing identifier wirelessly transmitted to the aircraft by the positioning beacon; comparing the received destination identifier with a stored unique identifier; if the received landing identifier matches the stored unique identifier, using the emitted or reflected signal to control movement of the aircraft towards the positioning beacon; 1. An aircraft configured to:

29. The positioning beacon one or more infrared (IR) emitters or reflectors configured to emit or reflect, respectively, an IR signal used in controlling movement of the aircraft toward the positioning beacon; a generator for generating a signal including a landing identifier of the positioning beacon; Including, 30. The positioning beacon for locating an aircraft of claim 28, wherein the positioning beacon is configured to wirelessly transmit the signal including a landing identifier for unique detection of the positioning beacon by the aircraft.

30. 1. A method for positioning an aircraft at a geographic location, comprising: wirelessly transmitting, from a positioning beacon at the geographic location, a landing identifier that is detected by the aircraft; receiving infrared IR signals emitted or reflected from the positioning beacon at one or more IR detectors on the aircraft; receiving the landing identifier at the aircraft; comparing the destination identifier with a stored unique identifier; If the landing identifier and the stored unique identifier match, using the emitter signal or the reflected signal to control movement of the aircraft relative to the positioning beacon; A method comprising:

31. wirelessly transmitting the landing identifier from a second positioning beacon at a second geographic location for detection by the aircraft; using the first stored GPS coordinates to control movement of the aircraft using a GPS navigation system to move toward the general location of the geographic location; controlling movement of the aircraft when at the general location of the geographic location in accordance with stored positioning data, the stored positioning data including data indicative of a first intended position of the aircraft relative to the received IR emissions from the positioning beacon; receiving a load into a consignment retention system of the aircraft when in the first intended position; Once the payload is received, controlling movement of the aircraft using the GPS navigation system to move toward the general location of the second geographic location using second stored GPS coordinates; receiving, at the one or more IR detectors of the aircraft while generally located at the second geographic location, IR signals emitted or reflected from the second positioning beacon; controlling movement of the aircraft in accordance with stored positioning data, the stored positioning data including data indicative of a second intended position of the aircraft relative to the IR radiation being emitted or reflected by the second positioning beacon; releasing the payload from the consignment retention system of the aircraft when in the second intended position; 31. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

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