Systems and methods for uav sensor placement

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (200, 300, 400, 700, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500) can include a central body (202, 302, 402, 702, 802, 1002, 1202, 1502), a plurality of rotors, and a plurality of arms (204, 306, 406, 706, 806, 1006, 1206, 1506) extending from the central body (202, 302, 402, 702, 802, 1002, 1202, 1502), where each arm of the plurality of arms (204, 306, 406, 706, 806, 1006, 1206, 1506) is configured to support one or more of the plurality of rotors. The UAV may include at least one sensor (208, 318, 418, 718, 818, 822, 1022, 1218, 1222, 1518) located on the UAV (200, 300, 400, 700, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500) outside of a keep-out zone, where the keep-out zone is defined at least in part by (1) a plurality of rotor disks, a rotor disk of the plurality of rotor disks for each of the plurality of rotors, each rotor disk corresponding to an area that is swept by one or more rotor blades (206, 308, 408, 708, 808, 1008, 1208, 1508) of a corresponding rotor when the rotor blades (206, 308, 408, 708, 808, 1008, 1208, 1508) are spun, and (2) a shape that is formed by adjoining respective centers of adjacent rotor disks.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
 a central body;   a plurality of arms, each arm extending from the central body and comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, the plurality of arms comprising a first arm and a second arm;   a plurality of rotors, each rotor being controllable by one or more controllers, the plurality of rotors comprising a first rotor and a second rotor, wherein the first rotor is coupled to a top surface of the first arm and the second rotor is coupled to a bottom surface of the second arm; and   a plurality of sensors configured to detect one or more obstacles in an environment, the plurality of sensors comprising a first sensor and a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is disposed on a bottom surface of the first arm and the second sensor is disposed on a top surface of the second arm.   
     
     
         2 . The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors are disposed outside of a keep-out zone defined by areas that are swept by rotor blades of the plurality of rotors. 
     
     
         3 . The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors is located within a recess formed by a concavity on a top surface or a bottom surface of a corresponding arm, and the UAV further comprises:
 a shield configured to be extended over the at least one sensor located within the recess to provide protection to the at least one sensor.   
     
     
         4 . The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the central body comprises a top central surface and a bottom central surface. 
     
     
         5 . The UAV of  claim 4 , wherein a third sensor of the plurality of sensors is disposed on the top central surface or the bottom central surface of the central body. 
     
     
         6 . The UAV of  claim 5 , wherein the third sensor is located within a recess formed by a concavity on the top central surface or the bottom central surface, and the UAV further comprises:
 a shield configured to be extended over the third sensor located within the recess to provide protection to the third sensor.   
     
     
         7 . The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a plurality of protective covers, at least one of the plurality of protective covers configured to protect at least one of the plurality of rotors.   
     
     
         8 . The UAV of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of protective covers is attached to the central body or the plurality of arms. 
     
     
         9 . The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors is located within a hollow portion of at least one arm of the plurality of arms. 
     
     
         10 . The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 one or more landing stands configured to be coupled to the central body or the plurality of arms, the one or more landing stands being substantially perpendicular to a bottom central surface of the central body or bottom surfaces of the plurality of arms.   
     
     
         11 . The UAV of  claim 10 , wherein at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors is located within a hollow portion of at least one landing stand of the one or more landing stands. 
     
     
         12 . The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the first sensor or the second sensor is an image sensor. 
     
     
         13 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
 a central body comprising a top central surface and a bottom central surface;   a plurality of arms, each arm extending from the central body and comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, the plurality of arms comprising a first arm and a second arm;   a plurality of rotors, each rotor being controllable by one or more controllers, the plurality of rotors comprising a first rotor and a second rotor, wherein the first rotor is coupled to a top surface of the first arm and the second rotor is coupled to a bottom surface of the second arm; and   a plurality of sensors configured to detect one or more obstacles in an environment, wherein at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors is disposed on the top central surface or the bottom central surface of the central body.   
     
     
         14 . The UAV of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors is located within a recess formed by a concavity on the top central surface or the bottom central surface of the central body, and the UAV further comprises:
 a shield configured to be extended over the at least one sensor located within the recess to provide protection to the at least one sensor.   
     
     
         15 . The UAV of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of sensors further comprise a first sensor and a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is disposed on a bottom surface of the first arm and the second sensor is disposed on a top surface of the second arm. 
     
     
         16 . The UAV of  claim 15 , wherein the first sensor or the second sensor is located within a recess formed by a concavity on the bottom surface of the first arm or the top surface of the second arm, and the UAV further comprises:
 a shield configured to be extended over the first sensor or the second sensor located within the recess to provide protection to the first sensor or the second sensor.   
     
     
         17 . The UAV of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a plurality of protective covers, at least one of the plurality of protective covers configured to protect at least one of the plurality of rotors and being attached to the central body or the plurality of arms.   
     
     
         18 . The UAV of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of sensors further comprise a third sensor and the UAV further comprises:
 one or more landing stands configured to be coupled to the central body or the plurality of arms, the one or more landing stands being substantially perpendicular to the bottom central surface or bottom surfaces of the plurality of arms, and   wherein the third sensor is located within a hollow portion of at least one arm of the plurality of arms or at least one landing stand of the one or more landing stands.   
     
     
         19 . The UAV of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors is an image sensor. 
     
     
         20 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
 a central body;   a plurality of arms, each arm extending from the central body and comprising a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface;   a plurality of rotors, each rotor being controllable by one or more controllers, wherein a rotor of the plurality of rotors is coupled to a first surface of an arm of the plurality of arms; and   a plurality of sensors configured to detect one or more obstacles in an environment, the plurality of sensors comprising a first sensor and a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is disposed on a second surface of the arm and the second sensor is disposed on a surface of the central body.