Techniques for UAV Gimbal Stabilization

Coil actuator that uses electromagnetic forces to drive mechanical motion by applying current to a coil in a magnetic field. The coil is attached to a structural element that rotates when placed in a magnetic field. This allows the coil actuator to rotate connected objects about an axis without moving parts or bearings. The coil actuator can be used in applications like gimbals without requiring a separate motor or inverters.

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A 3-axis angular velocity sensor that employs a guided mass system to achieve improved offset stability, vibration rejection, and reduced part-to-part coupling. The sensor features a substrate, a rotating structure, a drive mass, and an element coupling the drive mass to the rotating structure. The drive mass is driven into oscillation along a first axis in-plane to the substrate, while the rotating structure is driven into rotational oscillation around a second axis normal to the substrate. The sensor includes a first transducer to sense the motion of the rotating structure in response to a Coriolis force, and a second transducer to sense the motion of the sensor during a drive mode.

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A tracking control method for tilt-rotor multi-rotor UAVs based on dual quaternions, which enables stable position and attitude tracking of the UAV by utilizing the compact and singularity-free representation of dual quaternions to model the UAV's motion. The method employs a dual quaternion-based tracking control law that combines proportional, integral, and derivative terms to achieve precise tracking of the desired configuration.

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Automatically adjusting the orientation of a gimbal on an aerial vehicle like a drone based on predicted flight trajectory to provide more immersive and realistic aerial photography experience. The gimbal attitude is adjusted by aligning it with the predicted velocity direction at points on the predicted flight path. This binds the gimbal orientation to the flight trajectory based on velocity, so the gimbal automatically follows the drone's predicted motion.

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A stabilizing device for drones carrying loads like NDT instruments that allows the drone to maintain stability when moving horizontally with a cantilevered load. The device consists of a connecting element attached to the drone, a tilting arm attached to the connecting element, and a load arm attached to the tilting arm. An IMU on the tilting arm detects its angle and a processing unit generates control signals to adjust thrust and extend/retract the arms to counteract load forces. This keeps the load stable during horizontal flight without needing the drone to tilt. An I/O unit can transmit load data to the drone for coordinated control.

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A gimbal control method and device that prevents camera damage during power-off or sleep transitions by gradually reducing motor torque based on the camera's moment of inertia. The method configures motor control parameters during operation to account for the camera's mass and calculates the moment of inertia using IMU data. When the gimbal powers off or enters sleep mode, the motor torque is gradually reduced according to the configured parameters to prevent sudden impacts.

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Split control architecture for UAV autopilots that improves stability, accuracy, and power efficiency by utilizing the optimal processing capabilities of separate real-time and non-real-time processors. The architecture has a real-time main processor (like a low-level microcontroller) executing a rate damping loop algorithm to generate motor control signals for stability. A non-real-time co-processor (like a high-level microprocessor) computes complex algorithms like state estimation, flight control, and mission control using raw sensor data. This split configuration allows using computationally intensive algorithms without compromising efficiency, improves stability by compensating for co-processor latency, reduces power consumption, and enables better peripheral interfacing like LAN/WiFi.

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Stabilizing flight of an aerial vehicle with movable propulsion units to prevent fluttering and resonance issues when actuators fail. The method involves using the thrust force itself as a manipulated variable to control the propulsion unit's position and orientation. If actuators and propulsion fail, the thrust force still provides feedback to stabilize. Alternatively, the propulsion unit's motion is used to control mounting structure deformation. This closed-loop control prevents fluttering and resonance without relying on actuators.

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Aerial vehicle with agile maneuverability and vertical takeoff/landing capability for applications like autonomous swarms in complex environments. The vehicle is a fixed-wing UAV with a gimballed propeller that can pivot to change angle. This allows high angle-of-attack flight for tight turns and obstacle avoidance. A nonlinear model predictive control algorithm optimizes trajectories in real-time to navigate complex environments. Stereo vision sensors provide 3D mapping for obstacle detection during flight. The UAV can takeoff vertically like a rotorcraft and land softly in stalled flight. The gimballed propeller enables single-propulsion vertical flight without extra vertical thrusters.

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Fault-tolerant control of unmanned aerial vehicles that allows them to maintain flight and land safely when they experience motor failures. When a motor fails, the system can disable the opposing motor to maintain balance and control. It reconfigures the flight control priorities and commands to prioritize stability and flight over yaw control. This is because a motor-disabled aerial vehicle has fewer independent control axes. The system also implements a bank-to-yaw control architecture during motor failures. This involves using bank angle changes for yaw control instead of differential thrust.

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Stabilizing a camera on a gimbal and drone to eliminate vibrations and jitter during high-frequency motion like drone flight. The stabilization system uses an inertial measurement unit on the gimbal to detect the current orientation. A processor calculates the difference between the desired orientation and the current one. It then commands the camera's actuators to move the optical elements by that amount to compensate for the gimbal motion. This allows stable footage on moving platforms without needing fine-tuned gimbal control.

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A control allocation method for multi-actuator systems, particularly MAV-VTOL aircraft, that optimizes power distribution between actuators by minimizing the maximum power demand. The method uses a weighted allocation matrix where individual actuator weights are determined based on their deviation from a mean value of the desired control commands. This approach reduces the maximum required command power and enables better power distribution between multiple actuators.

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Vibration reduction structure for movable platforms like drones to improve image stabilization when shooting from a moving platform. The structure connects the platform body to the gimbal using multiple damping members. It has a first bracket connecting to the platform head, a second bracket connecting to the platform head, and a third bracket connecting to the platform tail. Vibration dampers between the brackets absorb vibrations transmitted from the platform body. This reduces vibrations at the gimbal and improves image stability.

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A flight control system for aerial vehicles that optimizes motor control based on environmental conditions. The system detects environmental data, adjusts motor limits, and validates torque values to ensure feasible motor inputs. It determines a minimum torque for hover status and iteratively validates torque values to prevent unachievable motor inputs. The system adjusts motor speeds based on validated torque values to maintain stable flight in changing environmental conditions.

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Method to improve yaw fusion and convergence speed in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by combining GPS, IMU, and magnetometer data. The method involves calculating a corrected yaw from IMU and GPS, aligning the magnetometer yaw using GPS and IMU, and realigning the yaw using GPS again. This multiple-step alignment improves convergence in weak GPS and strong magnetic fields.

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A two-axis direct-drive rotation mechanism for observation devices, comprising a pan-axis assembly and a tilt-axis assembly. The pan-axis assembly includes a direct-drive motor, encoder, and electronic circuit board, while the tilt-axis assembly includes a direct-drive motor, encoder, and electronic circuit board. The mechanism enables 360° rotation of the observation device in both pan and tilt axes, with independent control of each axis. The design features a compact and waterproof structure, with integrated motor and encoder components, and a dynamic sealing system to protect against environmental factors. The mechanism is suitable for use in scanning equipment, communications equipment, and observation systems for motor vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles.

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A four-degree-of-freedom gimbal-based camera stabilization system that enables arbitrary mounting and unlimited rotation of a camera in space. The system comprises two sub-systems: a three-loop PID controller for stabilizing the camera's angular velocity, and a cascaded PID controller for controlling the relative velocity of the gimbal's first frame. The system eliminates the need for dynamic conversions to calculate motor torques, simplifying control and enabling precise stabilization in a wide range of orientations.

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A gimbal device for automatic tracking of subjects without human intervention, comprising a depth camera, control unit, and actuator. The depth camera captures spatial coordinates of the subject, which are processed by the control unit to determine direction adjustments for the gimbal. The actuator implements these adjustments to maintain the subject in frame, enabling hands-free operation and improved tracking performance.

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A drone with anti-torque compensation system that maintains hovering stability and prevents tumbling during failure scenarios. The system includes an anti-torque compensator that tilts the propulsor to maintain yaw axis angular velocity within a target range. When a propulsor failure occurs, the system stabilizes the drone's rotation by blocking power to a portion of the propulsor, then activates the anti-torque compensator to maintain stability and prevent tumbling. The system enables safe landing and recovery of the drone in the event of a failure.

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A gimbal for stabilizing a supported unit in a predetermined attitude, comprising an acceleration sensor, a first calculator, a rotator, an angle detecting sensor, and a second calculator. The gimbal calculates attitude information using the acceleration sensor, detects rotation angle of the rotator, and calculates a correction value for the angle information using the attitude information and the detected rotation angle.

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A vehicle-mounted camera gimbal servo system for driverless vehicles, comprising a tri-axial gimbal and a servo control apparatus. The servo control apparatus includes a gyroscope to measure instantaneous angular velocity, an encoder to generate IGBT switching sequences, and a drive bridge to implement open-loop motor control. The system employs a double closed-loop control framework with nonlinear state error feedback and extended state observer to improve dynamic performance and anti-disturbance capability.

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Coaxial angular velocity sensor system with high accuracy and low error for gimbal control applications. The system comprises a hardware module with multiple gyroscopes arranged in a coaxial configuration to reduce single-gyroscope errors, combined with a signal processing algorithm that employs Kalman filtering to minimize high-frequency interference and angular drift. The system features a compact design with fast signal processing capabilities, suitable for embedded systems and robotics applications.

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Intelligent leveling method for gimbals that automatically levels the pan/tilt head without user intervention. The method involves detecting if the gimbal is balanced in a specific adjustment direction using an onboard sensor. If unbalanced, it moves the pan/tilt components to counteract the imbalance and re-levels itself. This automated leveling prevents manual adjustments and improves accuracy and efficiency compared to manual leveling.

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A gimbal system for stabilizing payloads on dynamic platforms, such as drones, that operates independently of the platform's stabilization system. The gimbal uses propulsion devices, like rotors, to generate torque around specific axes, maintaining payload stability while the platform maneuvers freely. The system measures payload orientation and calculates propulsion device commands to achieve precise stabilization.

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Arm assembly for UAVs that allows adjusting the natural frequency of the vehicle during flight to prevent resonance. The arm assembly has an adjustable mechanism that can change the length of the arms. By moving this mechanism, the natural frequency of the UAV can be shifted away from the excitation frequency of the propellers. This prevents resonance when the propeller frequency is close to the natural frequency. The frequency adjustment is controlled based on the target propeller frequency.

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Preventing gimbal deadlock in pan-tilt systems to avoid abnormal control when the gimbal moves to kinematic singular points. The method involves detecting if the gimbal is approaching a singular point and then smoothly avoiding it by finding an alternate path to the desired orientation instead of directly heading for the singular point. This prevents losing degrees of freedom, divergence of the attitude controller, and uncontrolled gimbal motion.

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Control method for a non-orthogonal gimbal, comprising: obtaining an actual attitude of the gimbal; determining a target attitude based on the actual attitude and the angle between the first and second drive motor axes; determining an attitude error between the actual and target attitudes; and controlling the drive motors based on the attitude error and the angle between the axes to achieve the target attitude.

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A gimbal control method that accurately and safely controls a handheld gimbal to return to center, even in complex attitude combinations. The method determines the target attitude angle based on the current control mode, handle portion, and clamping portion angles, and generates a control instruction that takes into account the shortest path, mechanical limits, and other factors. The control instruction is executed to smoothly return the gimbal to center without tremor, preventing issues like gimbal throwing, hitting upper limits, or system crashes. The method also enables variable-speed centering control based on attitude deviation values and updates the control instruction at predetermined time intervals to ensure stability.

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Controlling UAV flight attitude using a gimbal control system that synchronizes UAV attitude adjustments with gimbal movements. The system receives gimbal control commands and adjusts UAV flight parameters in real-time to maintain optimal gimbal attitude, eliminating the traditional lag between gimbal and UAV attitude adjustments. This enables precise control of gimbal movements during UAV flight operations while maintaining image quality and minimizing vibration effects.

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A movie camera stabilization and control system for a four-degree-of-freedom gimbal that eliminates the need for dynamic conversions in control torque calculations. The system comprises two sub-systems: a first sub-system that stabilizes the camera's angular velocity using three PID-controlled loops, and a second sub-system that controls the relative velocity of the first frame using a cascaded PID-controlled loop. This design enables simplified control system operation and adjustment, allowing for arbitrary mounting of the camera and gimbal on cinematographic equipment.

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A flight safety system for stabilizing multi-propeller drones during unbalancing operations, comprising an onboard controller that continuously detects in-flight unbalancing loading and controls individual motors to balance the loading. The system proactively compensates for unbalancing loading induced by planned operations, such as cargo release, by adjusting motor thrust. It also enables controlled soft landing and diversion to safe locations.

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Method for monitoring and processing pan/tilt jitter in gimbals like camera stabilizers. It involves acquiring dynamic parameters of the motor and sensor data, determining if the gimbal is jittering based on those parameters, and then applying corresponding processing to eliminate jitter if detected. By monitoring motor and sensor data, it can determine if the gimbal is shaking and then take action to stabilize it. This allows adapting gimbals to wider loads with gaps between the fixture and load by mitigating jitter.

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Gimbal control method to improve stability when switching between gimbal modes. The method involves smoothly transitioning between gimbal modes by maintaining stability during the transition. When a gimbal satisfies a mode switching condition, it is controlled to switch to the next mode while ensuring smooth motion. This involves determining the posture deviation from the current mode to the next mode and using it to calculate follow angles for the transition. This prevents jittering during mode changes by keeping the gimbal stable.

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An autonomous surround photography system for capturing a target, comprising a gimbal camera and a robotic vehicle. The gimbal camera captures images and calculates its yaw axis angle and distance to the target. The vehicle's steering gear is controlled to maintain a perpendicular heading to the target while keeping a constant distance, while the gimbal camera's rotation is adjusted to maintain the target within its field of view.

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A method and system for automatic tracking and photography using a gimbal camera mounted on a moving platform. The system calculates the camera's yaw axis angle and distance to the target, then controls the gimbal and platform to maintain a fixed angle and distance to the target, enabling continuous tracking and photography of moving subjects.

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Pan-tilt control method to improve stability and expand motion range when the gimbal is near singularities. The method decouples the motion of the three supports into a single axis and bi-axial stabilization. This is done by determining separate single-axis and bi-axial control components based on angle measurements, terminal attitude, and joint velocities. This allows stabilizing each support independently rather than as a whole near singularities.

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A system for stabilizing a payload's orientation using a base, payload support, and pivoted supports. The system determines the base's actual orientation and payload support's target orientation, then calculates the required angular displacements of the pivoted supports to achieve the target orientation. The system can also account for changes in the base's orientation over time and uses sensors to monitor the payload support's actual orientation and angular displacements.

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An aerial vehicle with multiple motors/propellers that can adjust the phase of the propellers to reduce vibrations and forces on the vehicle. The vehicle measures the vibrations and determines the propeller phases causing them. It then adjusts the rotational rates of the propellers to modify their phases and mitigate the vibrations. This can improve safety, reliability, and component operation.

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Method for optimizing vibration modes in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with folding blades, comprising: determining the critical instability frequency of the blade; and adjusting at least one of the arm's torsion frequency, distance from the blade plane to the torsion axis, and distance from the arm assembly to the torsion axis to match the blade's critical instability frequency.

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An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) load assembly design that enables unobstructed 360° rotation of a payload such as a camera gimbal without requiring the landing gear to retract. The load assembly has a gimbal and stands to hold the payload. The stands are fixed relative to the payload and rotate with it. This allows the payload to rotate freely without being blocked by the UAV body. The stands always stay outside the payload's operational range.

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Passive and active image stabilization system for aerial vehicles like drones that effectively counter high-frequency motion. The system employs a counter-balanced suspension assembly that dynamically mounts the camera to an interior space within the vehicle, eliminating mechanical gimbal limitations. This suspension system provides a dynamically balanced suspension system for the camera that has minimal impact on the vehicle's overall factor, enabling precise stabilization of image capture even at high frequencies. The system combines this suspension with advanced electronic image stabilization (EIS) techniques to further enhance image quality.

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Embedded hardware acceleration of multi-agent system control for autonomous devices like drones. The hardware-accelerated state estimator helps provide accurate knowledge of the system states by generating derivatives of translational and orientation measurements. This allows the autonomous device to estimate its own states in real-time without needing expensive sensors. The hardware differentiator module is implemented on specialized processing hardware to perform the derivations. This allows for low latency, real-time estimation and control of the device without requiring separate processors or microcontrollers.

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A stabilizing device for astronomical imaging that combines a gimbal mechanism with a control system to maintain image stability during long exposures. The device features a platform with an imaging device, a gimbal mechanism that rotates the platform, and a control circuit that adjusts the gimbal's motion based on detected angular velocity and position information. The device can operate in two modes: a first mode where the gimbal compensates for platform motion, and a second mode where the control circuit computes and applies a control angular velocity to achieve precise image stabilization.

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A gimbal control method for dual-gimbal unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that enables precise synchronization of camera orientations between two gimbals. The method involves an active gimbal transmitting its target attitude parameters to a follower gimbal, which adjusts its orientation accordingly. The method also includes transmitting current joint angle data from the active gimbal to the follower gimbal to prevent mechanical position limits during synchronization. The method further enables the follower gimbal to move to a predetermined position when the active gimbal is in a specific mode.

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Compensating for oscillating attitude disturbances in aerial vehicles caused by rotating payloads, such as LiDAR systems, by predicting and actively counteracting the disturbances through real-time modeling and control of the vehicle's thrusters. The system determines vehicle and payload parameters, calculates a preferred orientation, and generates corrective inputs based on actual orientation feedback to maintain stable flight.

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A rotating Pan-Tilt mechanism for positioning cameras and sensors on stationary, mobile, or unmanned aerial vehicles. It uses direct drive motors, encoders, and microcontrollers to provide accurate and continuous rotation in both axes. The mechanism is designed to minimize transmission error and mass while optimizing space utilization.

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An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a gimbal control system (GCS) and flight control system (FCS) that jointly control the yaw axis motor of the gimbal to eliminate video freezing during low-speed yaw maneuvers. The FCS generates a yaw angular speed instruction based on position, velocity, or sight instructions, while the GCS controls the gimbal's yaw axis motor to maintain a consistent sight line with the UAV's heading.

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Autonomous aerial vehicle with advanced navigation capabilities, including obstacle avoidance, motion planning, and vision-based position estimation. The vehicle features a unique folding rotor arm design, image stabilization system, and environmental illumination capabilities. The system enables precise autonomous flight and image capture in complex environments, with applications in aerial reconnaissance, mapping, inspection, and public safety operations.

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A gimbal control method that dynamically adjusts the operating mode of a gimbal based on its current attitude and movement characteristics. The method continuously monitors the gimbal's attitude and compares it to a threshold value, automatically switching between stabilization and follow modes as needed to maintain smooth and stable operation. This adaptive control enables the gimbal to maintain optimal performance in a wide range of applications, including handheld, aerial, and robotic systems.

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A compact, multi-payload carrier with rapid response and high positioning accuracy for movable objects like UAVs. The carrier uses a spherical stator and piezoelectric actuators to rotate a frame supporting multiple payloads. An inertial sensor on the frame detects its motion and controls the actuators to stabilize payloads despite external disturbances. The spherical actuation enables compactness and agility compared to traditional gimbals. The carrier can balance loads and stabilize payloads on moving objects like UAVs.

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