Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
This application is a continuation-in-part application of and claims priority
to U.S.
Patent Application No. 16852505 entitled "Automatic Ejection Safety Technology
with a Skydiving Simulator for Improving Pilot Safety", filed on April 19,
2020, the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD ¨ No Markups
Device, system, and method for Skydiving Robots TM which can skydive using off-
the-shelf or
customized parachutes and deliver military or civilian payloads, such as
airdropping humanitarian
supplies after disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, or forest fires. The
Skydiving Robots can
freefall, open the parachute and steer toward the target, carry payloads,
operate in the daytime or
the pitch black at night using GPS guidance to land precisely. If they exited
the plane at up to or
above 30,000 feet above ground level (AGL) the final target could be miles
away. They are the
ideal reconnaissance scouts with an array of sensors such as cameras and they
can carry
payloads and precisely land within a few feet of the target.
BACKGROUND
Device, system, and method which permits Skydiving Robots to skydive, carry
explosive
or non-explosive payloads, and scout ahead of human skydivers, or to land
simultaneously, during
special ops or other military or nonmilitary missions.
Military free fall (MFF) offers the ideal method to insert personnel and
supplies from transport
planes. They fly at up to 35,000 feet or higher to avoid enemy surface to air
missiles (SAM). Then
the jumpers and supplies exit using either HALO (high altitude ¨ low opening)
or HAHO (high
altitude ¨ high opening). To permit the Skydiving Robots to scout ahead, the
robots could use
HALO, free falling at speeds up to or over 120 miles per hour and landing only
3 minutes after
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exiting the aircraft at up to or over 30,000 feet. On the other hand, the HAHO
opening or some
other variant such as opening at 15,000 feet (since the oxygen is limited),
thereby ensuring that the
Special Ops troops can hover longer while they wait for all clear from the
scouting robots. If the
landing site is clear, the skydivers would proceed to the target. If not, they
could land at a backup
site, miles from the original target.
HAHO jumps permit the skydivers to glide more than 40 miles from the drop
point. And if the
robots detect that the original targeted landing site has been compromised,
the troops can continue
to glide miles to a backup landing site.
The author of this patent, Mark Haley, was a Professor in Japan where he
developed land and
air robots including winning international competitions ranking in the top 6.
Mr. Haley also
authored a patent on the Skydiving Tracker which trains skydivers. The logic
in that technology is
a crucial part of the logic needed for the Skydiving Robots to precisely land
at the target. In his
original research Mr. Haley called Skydiving "A 6-minute dance with Death".
The combination
of the Skydiving Robots with real Special Ups Jumpers is even more challenging
and dangerous ¨
it's a complex team effort like a complex dance ensemble between the robots
and humans to
complete missions safely and efficiently.
A Resupply System - The Skydiving Robots land precisely and quickly and are
ideal to deliver
supplies and the ideal scouts. At speeds of over 150 mph, they can maneuver in
high winds and
avoid enemy fire.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 Skydiving Robots (Overview)
FIG. 2 Skydiving Robots ¨ Freefall, Open Chute, Steer Chute, Land
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FIG. 3 Sample Ground Scout
FIG. 4 Flowchart Skydive Training (Human and/or Robots)
FIG. 5 Moving Robotic and/or Human Arms to control jumps in Simulations
FIG. 6 Practicing Simulations with Teams of Human and/or Robot Skydivers
FIG. 7 Standard and Vertical Freefalls during Skydives and Freefalls with
Wingsuits
FIG. 8 Sample Jet stream from Los Angeles to Chicago
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
This device, system and method offers an integrated method using Skydiving
Robots to
act as scouts ahead of the deployment of teams of skydivers. These humanoid
robots would use
off-the-shelf parachutes and weapons and act as the scouts ahead of mission or
real skydivers ¨
military or civilian. To enhance the capabilities of these robots on the
ground, additional power
units and or solar powered units could provide electric recharging for the
robots thereby extending
their active time on missions. For illustration purposes a solar panel is
shown on the face of the
Skydiving Robots. This could provide crucial backup if the batteries ran out
before a crucial
mission was complete.
FIG. 1 shows the general capabilities of the Skydiving Robots, which permits
these humanoid
robots to use off-the-shelf military parachutes for jumps and standard weapons
on the ground.
Block 102 shows technical skills to operate off-the shelf parachutes:
freefall, open chute, steer
chute towards target, brake, and land. Block 103 shows the robots handling off-
the shelf weapons.
However, the design of the robots would depend on cost considerations. For
example, if it was
too difficult and expensive for the robots to operate standard military
weapons, a customized
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weapon might be needed. Also, while it's more cost effective to use standard
military parachutes,
a customized chute might also be needed. However, in general, robots can "see"
with cameras and
find and grasp control toggles and which then move its arms up and down ¨
these are all the skills
needed to operate chutes.
FIG 2 shows the basic capabilities needed by a Skydiving Robot TM. It must be
able to move its
arms, which are holding the chutes' toggles, up and down. When the arms are
fully raised, the
chute glides in a straight line at the maximum speed. If one arm moves down,
the chute turns in
that direction. If both arms are down to the waist, this is known as a half
brake where the chute
moves ahead but at a reduced speed. When both arms are fully down, this is
known as full braking,
or flaring, and the chute moves only slowly ahead. However, if the full brake
is held for more than
a few seconds, this creates a stall which can create a dangerous flight
condition. Therefore, the
robot's logic as with real skydivers has to include the ability to only gently
apply full brakes during
the final landing.
Blocks 201,202 and 203 provide more illustrations of the skills needed by the
Skydiving Robot.
An inexpensive GPS system and other sensors including the implied wind speed,
would provide
guidance towards the target (low-cost GPS systems are available for a few
hundred dollars). Then
the robot must hold the parachutes' toggles and move them up and down by
simply moving its
arms up and down. When both hands are fully up the parachute glides forward at
the maximum
speed. When both arms are down this is a hard brake, and the parachute rapidly
decreases in speed
ultimately coming into a dangerous stall. With only the left or right arm
down, the chute turns left
and right respectfully.
FIG. 3¨ Block 301. On the ground, a weapon, if needed, could be built into the
robot. Resupply
robots would be useful since they could deliver crucial extra supply supplies
needed by the robots
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such as power units to recharge the Skydiving Robots and extra weapons and
supplies for the
humans (troops) being deployed on the mission. Analytical Software Inc.
demonstrated a low-cost
version which delivers payloads of 200 pounds.
Technological Challenges to Make the Skydiving Robot Cost Effective ¨ A
challenge is to
have light-weight humanoid hands which can grasp a parachute control toggle
and grasp a gun
trigger. The second technological cost-effective challenge is to coordinate
the vision capability of
the robot with its hands providing the ability to find and hold the toggle and
find and hold the gun.
Finally, it needs the vision and grasping needs to identify friend or foe ¨
either with simple
networked links which identify the location of the human skydivers or a vision
system which uses
designed patches or a combination of both. Once those technological hurdles
are complete, the
Skydiving Robot could complete its scout mission, autonomously and cost-
efficiently. In short,
the Skydiving Robot needs the vision and grasping capabilities to grasp the
toggles to control the
parachute and move its arms up and down to steer the steer and land the chute
and then find and
grasp the weapons and identify friend or foe, then if foe, aim and fire
weapons.
Expediting Implementation of the Technology in this patent ¨ Mark Haley, the
author of this
patent, has an existing patent on training military and civilian jumpers to
become expert skydivers
on all types of military and civilian parachutes. The logic of this technology
could be embedded
into the Skydiving Robots thereby ensuring that these Skydiving Robots quickly
became expert
skydivers on all types of parachutes in all types of weather conditions around
the role. A key
feature is the ability to handle over a dozen emergency situations which often
occur in skydives
including failure of the parachute where a cutaway is needed, and the backup
chute must be
deployed. In short, the Skydiving Robot needs the same skydiving skills as a
skydiver and the
following provides more background on achieving this goal.
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FIG. 4 highlights how the system: (1) dramatically improves training teams of
skydivers
(humans or robots) and (2) helps prevent the leading causes of skydiving
deaths including mid-air
collisions and landing in dangerous areas such as lakes or power lines.
Collecting flight data of the
jumps continues to improve the system. The skydiving flight data tracks and
debriefs a planeload
of jumpers (humans and/or robots) and was successfully used on hundreds of
jumps and tracked
and debriefed accidents in minutes where previously it took months to analyze
accidents. It then
plots this data into interactive maps of any locations worldwide so it can be
used by skydivers.
FIG. 4 highlights one of the most important features is that it allows teams
of 12 or more
jumpers to train together. The GPS data from the 12 or more jumpers
continuously updates the
flight data database which is used for accident investigations and debriefings
enhances the Virtual
Reality simulator and even improves the error-checking of the data by cross-
checking flight data
between jumpers (you know the landing elevation and exit point so this helps
the GPS data from
12 jumpers to be cross-checked and corrected).
In block 1, low-cost trackers from any of a wide range of trackers (widely
used trackers for
cars, hiking and digital watches and which could be customized for any
proprietary systems) with
our proprietary error-checking creates clean flight data (Latitude, Longitude,
Altitude, etc.). There
are a number of error-checking techniques from basic to more advanced which we
use (the
customer sees none of these and each time they start the program they agree
not to reverse engineer
our technology as part of the user's agreement - if they disagree, they can't
start the program). GPS
data can be flawed for a number of reasons. Usually multiple satellites
provide this info, but as the
ground is more cluttered with forests, hills, or mountains, less data is
available and the latitude,
longitude and altitude readings fail. Moreover, when the jumpers are in the
plane sometimes where
they sit also provides poor data. Our technology rates trackers. Some of the
best-selling digital
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watches are not that good, and even the widely used trackers for cars or
hiking give readings which
show that the jumper was 300 ft. underground when they landed. Trackers
continue to evolve and
we rate and rank the best, least expensive options. For additional details on
these error-checking
techniques see the last pages before the claims.
The tracking data impacts four other features: In block 2 the flight data is
continuously used
to add to a Proprietary Skydiving database with detailed flight data on
hundreds of jumps. In block
3 the flight data continuously enhances the Virtual Reality (VR) 3D Flight
Simulator which permits
teams of 12 or more jumpers networked to train together. In block 4 the flight
data creates Stunning
3D Interactive Flight Paths of Jumpers/Aircraft for Debriefings/Accident
Investigations. In block
the flight data provides optional real-time commands to the jumper to guide
towards the target.
In block 6 feedback from expert jumpers is also used to continuously enhance
the VR simulator.
The net result of the continuously growing clean proprietary skydiving and
other databases is an
endlessly improving VR simulator and 3D mapping of flight data for debriefings
and accident
investigations: In block 7 a state-of-the-art training system for skydivers
offers simulations before
jumps, guidance during jumps and debriefings after jumps. Finally, in block 8
more jumps with
more tracking improves training of jumpers, pilots, and spotters, and enhances
the database and
VR simulator.
What makes this technology unique is: (1) low-cost trackers from $100 and also
it can be
customized for expensive trackers which provide clean flight data (using our
technology to clear
up GPS data which has many errors); (2) using this flight data for accident
investigations, jump
debriefings and for reliable data for the Virtual reality simulator (robots
and human would jump
together, practice together and debrief together); (3) the related maps to
continuously monitor
teams in the air and on the ground for the simulation or real missions; (4)
the simulator uses both
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this data plus feedback from expert jumpers on many types of parachutes, such
as round chutes,
an older technology and precise faster RAM chutes, now widely used; and (5)
using a state-of-the-
art system which trains teams of skydivers with networked realistic
interactive jumps using
commercially available 3D low-cost maps available on PCs or cell phones..
One of the most important features of our system is that we network teams of
jumpers where
they just put their headsets on, each with a $500 device, so teams of 12
jumpers, robots and/or
human, can train together (FIG. 6) where the virtual 3D world could also be
projected on screens,
such as a TV or projector, to permit observers to see/evaluate the jumpers.
Key components and contributions of the system include methods for efficient
data
consolidation from multiple sensors and immediate intuitive feedback. These
provide rapid
training, real-time tracking and status notification, and post-jump accident
investigation and flight
debriefing for skydivers. The system also incorporates a simulator which can
be used prior to
jumps. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation was performed on real jumps
(over four hundred
total jumps), the results of which are encouraging towards the use of this
system for all skydivers
from training to post-jump feedback. For real-time data acquisition, an all-
inclusive approach to
jump analysis is utilized, whereby data from GPS, a priori topological terrain
data, flight path, and
pilot and spotter information are all consolidated to rapidly inform
qualitative feedback to the
jumper. This low-cost approach is robust compared to poor global positioning
system
(GPS) readings by leveraging multiple types of inexpensive, lightweight
sensors and a rule-based
classifier to isolate and extrapolate only reliable sensor information from
hundreds of thousands
of relevant data points. The method is furthermore extendable to and improved
with multiple
simultaneous jumpers¨ more jumpers provide additional data for cross-checking
and consistency.
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In addition to novel data acquisition and processing, the system extracts
relevant data and
transforms the data into intuitive, 3D visual feedback during or almost
immediately following the
jump. 3D aircraft flight path, jump path and landing accuracy are just a few
of the analytical
capabilities which are generated immediately.
Technical improvements to the jumpers are also calculated and displayed. Such
information is
useful, for example, to debrief both spotters and jumpers to prepare for
safely and accurately
landing on target. The tracking system is also amenable to various types of
tracker sensors and
hardware and can thus provide a basis for quantitative comparison between
hardware as it relates
to skydive tracking. In contrast to the proposed system, other currently
implemented methods rely
on single-modality sensing and expensive, non-robots tracking equipment and
procedures, and can
require months of analysis and data refinement before accident investigations
can be reliably
conducted. The method is furthermore extendable to and improved with multiple
simultaneous
jumpers¨ more jumpers provide additional data for cross-checking and
consistency. A 2016 injury
was analyzed within fifteen minutes after receiving flight data, and detailed
3D flight path, data
and graphics were generated. It isolated the cause of the accident, showed the
best camera angles
for the jump, and simultaneously displayed the flight data while also
evaluating jumpers, spotters,
and pilots. Also, data was collected from twelve jumpers during their rookie
training and
from veteran jumpers. This consisted of seventy-five individual jumps over two
weeks, and the
tracked data provided quantitative evidence of diver skill improvement using
the intelligent
tracking system. With the tracking and feedback system, rookie jumpers overall
doubled their
landing accuracy between the first and second week of jumps.
The inventor developed the "Skydiver Tracker", which is skydiving
training/safety technology.
It has been purchased and successfully field-tested in hundreds of jumps by
the U.S. government
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and as noted by a skydiver training manager, it allows them "to help teach
parachute manipulation
to new jumpers and refine techniques for experienced jumpers... Your concept
of a GPS-guided
cargo delivery system is of interest to us" since "being able to stay at a
higher altitude to deliver
cargo packages would lower our mission risk."
These interrelated technologies transform skydiving training/safety with: (1)
a Virtual Reality
(VR) simulator which permits practicing simulated jumps anywhere in the world
prior to a real
skydive and (2) two ounce $100 trackers which create actual flight data/3D
graphics for post-jump
debriefings/accident investigations far beyond existing capabilities as shown
in the jump into the
Grand Canyon. It should be used on every jump for humans and/or robots,
especially during
teamwork training. This black box (low-cost trackers with additional options)
provides flight data
and interactive 3D maps and videos which can be: (1) used for debriefings for
the spotter, pilot,
and jumpers after skydives; and (2) it provides crucial flight data for
accident investigations. The
headset and sensors permit the user to move their arms as in real skydives and
practice jumps
anywhere in the world. FIG. 5 shows a smokejumper (in gear) 501 training on
our non-Virtual
Reality (VR) version, but a more powerful option shows a VR Headset 504 where
no display 502
is needed. The sensor 503 tracks the users' arm movements like a real skydive.
The jumper pulls
imaginary (or real) toggles which control the chute. If their arms are
straight up, they fly at the
maximum speed straight ahead but if one arm, i.e., the left, is down they turn
left.
Team Training - The training is also for a team of 12 or more jumpers which
includes any
combination of humans and/or skydiving robots. FIG. 6 shows how low-cost Jump
VR Simulators
(601, 609) can be set up in minutes to train a team. The skydiving instructor
sees all the jumpers
in a top-down daytime view with their flight data and all topography on a 3D
color map on the
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screen 616. Due to space limitations, FIG. 6 only shows 12 skydivers on the
map (Jumpers J1 -
J12) and the headsets of 9 members of the team who are practicing together.
The team could train
in the same room or worldwide on a network. During this mission they are
circling an island. For
night jumps, each jumper's headset only shows a pitch-black sky with small
indicator lights to
avoid each other.
Skydiving Robot which carries Explosive Payloads - A crucial final feature of
the skydiving
robot is to include the option to have it carry explosives, i.e., bombs, or
nonexplosive payloads,
which the robot could precisely deliver into enemy territory. The robot could
use its skydiving
capability to skydive over 30 miles after exiting the aircraft where the exit
elevation is up to 25,000
feet or more, i.e., the exit point above sea level. The robot could carry
bombs weighing hundreds
of pounds which is possible using off-the-shelf military parachutes since
special ops human
skydivers often carry hundreds of pounds of payloads of supplies during their
jumps. However,
when human skydivers carry extra supplies, they drag them beneath them which
slows up the speed
of the parachute. Fortunately, the skydiving robot could be designed to be
relatively light, i.e., less
than 100 pounds, and the explosives could be placed in aerodynamically
designed spaces within
the robot's body and/or legs to easily carry over 150 lbs. of explosives. Then
the robot could weigh
250 pounds or more, similar to the weight of a human and the robot would be
aerodynamically
built to minimize drag and thereby maximize its speed as it glided up to or
over 30 miles within
enemy territory. Using a robot's precise skydiving capability, it could land
within a few feet of the
target thereby permitting robots either acting alone or with teams of robots
to precisely bomb
enemy targets up to 30 miles or more behind enemy lines, ideally at night to
avoid enemy detection.
Another option for the skydiving robot would be to land without detonation and
then serve as a
scout before humans skydive or before attacks on the enemy to ensure precise
deployment of
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troops and/or bombing. Whenever the enemy approached too closely to the scout
robot on the
ground ¨ it would then detonate its bomb to both attack the enemy and to avoid
giving the enemy
any valuable technical information about the robot.
Deploying the Skydiving Robot ¨ While for safety the aircraft deploying the
robot could stay
away from enemy lines, if the aircraft flew into enemy territory to deploy the
robot, then the robot
could land hundreds or even thousands of miles behind enemy lines, covering
literally every part
of any country in the world. And if the aircraft deploying the robot was an
autonomous unmanned
vehicle, no human would need to risk their lives in the mission of deploying
the skydiving robot.
Finally, and if the skydiving robot was deployed in a HALO (high altitude ¨
low opening) mission,
the robot could exit the aircraft at up to or over 30,000 feet and then
freefall at a terminal speed of
roughly 120 miles per hour and land within a few feet of the target in only 2
or 3 minutes, thereby
becoming an extremely difficult target to shoot down.
GPS denied environment¨ While GPS inexpensively guides the robot to the
target, backup
options in GPS denied environments include Visual Aided Navigation, which
includes cameras
and maps, Celestial Navigation which tracks stars or Micro-electromechanical
systems (MEMS)
and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU).
Simulated Free Falls ¨ Skydives include the free fall before the parachute
opens followed by
steering the chute to landing (Fig. 2). Wind tunnels permit free falls
training for as little as $100
per jump, however they lack the headset related to the Skydiving Tracker shown
in Fig. 5.
Networked Virtual Reality headsets which display a virtual 3D world and which
track the
movements of a jumper's arms and legs permit practicing simulated free falls
for teams of humans
and/or skydiving robots using either a wind tunnel or without the wind tunnel
since the headset
tracks their arm/leg movements whether they are floating horizontally in the
wind tunnel or
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standing up permitting the jumpers to practice missions worldwide including
HALO or HAHO
jumps and continuing the simulation after the parachute opens tracking a
complete mission from
exiting the aircraft to landing where the virtual 3D world could also be
projected on screens, such
as a TV or projector, to permit observers to see/evaluate the jumpers.
Weather type or others balloons to deploy robots ¨ Hundreds of skydiving
robots,
costing as little as $10,000 ($2023) or less each, could be deployed by a
large military transport
aircraft. However, air defense systems use missiles which cost up to or over
$200,000 each, to
destroy aircraft which cost up to or over $100 million, effectively creating
no fly zones. An
alternative deployment, ideally at night, would be balloons, which carry
payloads up to or over
8,000 lb., carrying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), skydiving robots, etc.,
to altitudes up to
160,000 feet. Jet streams, which have speeds of up to or over 250 mph, which
exist between
roughly 30,000 feet and 50,000 feet, and usually flow from west to east and
can be predicted by
meteorologists, provide cost effective penetration of air defense systems
precisely landing
anywhere along jet streams worldwide. The jet streams vary from location to
location and change
from day to day. Figure 8 shows that a balloon launched into a jet stream of
100 mph in LA could
theoretically reach Chicago within about 18 hours. Pilots fly with jet streams
to fly faster or above
them to avoid headwinds. Skydiving robots, which could be as small as or
smaller than 5 x 2 x 1.5
ft., which are smaller than UAVs, powered or gliders, which are easier to
shoot down. The robots
would be aerodynamics designed to maximize speed like human skydiving speed
record holders
and freefall from up to or over 80,000 ft. reaching the target in minutes and
use a technique called
tracking, where skydivers change their body position to turn, or move
horizontally, which can be
practiced using a simulator such as the Skydiving tracker and/or real jumps
permitting robots to
precisely land without opening the parachute. Wind tunnels aren't ideal for
horizontal training.
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Fig. 7 (top left) shows a skydiver in an aerodynamically stable position where
there is no horizontal
movement. If the skydiver puts their arms next to their body and their legs
together straight out
like a guided missile, they could move up to or over 180 mph horizontally and
up to or over 300
mph vertically (Fig. 7, right, poor form). If the mission was to crash an
explosive into the target, a
parachute would not be needed, significantly reducing the cost and complexity
of the robots.
However, a backup parachute with a standard Automatic Deployment Device (ADD)
could be
used to handle robotic freefall malfunctions. This amazing technology provides
precision
landings within 50 ft. of targets, worldwide, thousands of miles away using a
robot which
costs as little as $5,000 or less. While wingsuits Fig. 7 (bottom left -top-
down view) with
horizontal speeds of up to or over 240 mph could be used, only retractable
wings would permit
holding at 0 mph horizontally which can help in pinpoint landings.
SIGNED
/Mark Haley/ 07/02/2023
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