WO2019125357A1

WO2019125357A1 - Fully automated drones with automated landing and self charging

Info

Publication number: WO2019125357A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/066960
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joshua S. MCCONKEY
Original assignee: Siemens Energy, Inc.
Priority date: 2017-12-18
Filing date: 2017-12-18
Publication date: 2019-06-27
Also published as: WO2019125596A1

Abstract

A fully automated drone inspection system for inspection of a power plant is presented. The drone inspection system includes a drone comprising an imaging system. The imaging system includes an imaging sensor capable of recording optical and/or infrared images and a processor for storing and/or wirelessly transmitting data to a central computing device and tracking a charge level of the drone's battery. The drone inspection system also includes a landing platform for launching, landing, and storing the drone, the landing platform capable of charging a battery of the drone. A central computing device is in wireless communication with the drone and the landing platform for automatically controlling and coordinating a flight path of the drone and storing the data received from the imaging system. A method for the inspection of a power plant is also presented.

Description

FULLY AUTOMATED DRONES WITH AUTOMATED LANDING AND SELF

CHARGING

BACKGROUND 1. Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to drone technology, and more particularly, to a fully automated drone inspection system.

2. Description of the Related Art [0002] Inspections at power plants are typically conducted by personnel using visual tools. Because of the large structures involved, climbing and other safety hazards frequently occur. Additionally, due to financial staffing considerations, much of this work must be done by a single person, further degrading personnel safety. Examples of data that are typically collected by these service personnel range from inspecting valves for leaks, ensuring the insulation on pipes is adequate, to checking for failures on the electrical transmission equipment.

[0003] Use of drones for inspections enables a number of possibilities to increase inspection capabilities, inspection frequency, and inspection types. Additionally, the use of drones for inspection increases safety by, for instance, having a drone inspect an area that would normally create a fall hazard for a human. However, currently, such drones would still have to be manually piloted. This makes the endeavour at best financially neutral as special skills are typically required for safe drone piloting.

[0004] Thus, there is a need for a fully automated drone which could resolve this dilemma. However, most drone models are not capable of operating for more than a few minutes on their own. One reason for this inability to operate autonomously is that drones cannot charge themselves. Consequently, a self-charging fully automated drone could solve this issue and is therefore the subject of this disclosure. SUMMARY

[0005] Briefly described, aspects of the present disclosure relate to a fully automated drone inspection system for the inspection of a power plant as well as a method for inspection of a power plant. [0006] A fully automated drone inspection system for inspection of a power plant is presented. The drone inspection system includes a drone comprising an imaging system. The imaging system includes an imaging sensor capable of recording optical and/or infrared images and a processor for storing and/or wirelessly transmitting data to a central computing device and tracking a charge level of the drone’s battery. The drone inspection system also includes a landing platform for launching, landing, and storing the drone, the landing platform capable of charging a battery of the drone. The central computing device is in wireless communication with the drone and the landing platform for automatically controlling and coordinating a flight path of the drone and storing the data received from the imaging system. [0007] A method for inspection of a power plant is also presented. The method includes activating an autonomous drone from a landing platform located within the power plant. The drone includes an imaging sensor capable of recording images. A processor mounted on the drone is used so that the drone may self-navigate or receive commands from a central computing device to execute a flight path. During this navigation, the drone performs an inspection of the power plant by the imaging sensor recording images within the power plant. The recorded images are transmitted to the central computing device for processing. The drone is automatically returned to the landing platform for recharging when the battery level of the drone battery is below a minimum threshold and then charging the battery of the drone commences. The landing platform is equipped to charge a battery of the drone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an autonomous drone system for inspection of a power plant, [0009] Fig. 2 illustrates a side view of a drone depicting an embodiment of drone inductive charging,

[0010] Fig. 3 illustrates a side view of a drone depicting an embodiment of drone contact charging, [0011] Fig. 4 illustrates a side view of a drone depicting another embodiment of drone contact charging,

[0012] Fig. 5 illustrates a side view of a drone depicting a further embodiment of drone contact charging,

[0013] Fig. 6 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of a brush and needle arrangement,

[0014] Fig 7 illustrates an embodiment of a disc-like clamping arrangement,

[0015] Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a landing platform including conductive charging regions, and

[0016] Fig. 9 illustrates another embodiment of a landing platform including conductive charging regions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] To facilitate an understanding of embodiments, principles, and features of the present disclosure, they are explained hereinafter with reference to implementation in illustrative embodiments. Embodiments of the present disclosure, however, are not limited to use in the described systems or methods.

[0018] The components and materials described hereinafter as making up the various embodiments are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many suitable components and materials that would perform the same or a similar function as the materials described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] The term drone, as used herein, refers to a small unmanned aircraft system as is commonly known. Drones that can automatically fly along a path between waypoints are known. The term‘fully automated’ as referred to in this disclosure is defined as the ability without any human control or direct oversight to be at a location, such as a power plant, and navigate to a predetermined waypoint(s), sense surroundings in order to navigate around obstacles, orient itself in order to collect the needed data, collect the data, and navigate itself back to a landing platform and dock itself. [0020] It should be understood that a processor that is described or claimed as being configured to carry out a particular described/claimed process or function may correspond to a microprocessor that is hard wired and/or includes firmware programmed to carry out such a described/claimed process or function.

[0021] It should be further understood that a computing device may be a processor, controller, or a central processing unit (CPU). In other instances, a computing device may be a set of hardware components.

[0022] In the context of this disclosure, performing a power plant inspection may include inspection of any structural body within a power plant by capturing still images or video images of the structural body. A power plant may be a traditional power plant having a combustion turbine, which may include a steam turbine, and/or fuel-based turbine, and a generator with auxiliary equipment, or a wind farm comprising a plurality of wind turbines, for example.

[0023] Referring now to the figures, Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an autonomous drone system within a power plant 10 for the inspection of the power plant 10. The drone system may include a drone 20. In Fig. 1, a drone 20 is shown along an exemplary flight path (as shown by the arrows) traveling between waypoints within the power plant 10. In an embodiment, the drone 20 includes an imaging sensor 30 capable of recording images and/or videos within the power plant 10. The drone 20 may also include a processor 50 mounted to a body of the drone 20 for the wireless transmission of data, such as the captured images, to a centrally located computing device 60. The computing device 60 is capable of receiving the data sent wirelessly from the drone 20, storing the data, and/or processing the data from the imaging sensor 30. The computing device 60 may automatically control and coordinate a flight path of the drone 20. The drone system may also comprise a landing platform 40 for launching, landing and storing the drone 20, the drone landing platform 40 capable of charging a battery of the drone 20.

[0024] In an embodiment, the drone 20 includes the capability to self-navigate between predetermined inspection waypoints in a flight path given the waypoints in three-dimensional GPS coordinates while monitoring other factors that affect the navigation. The GPS coordinates are updated to the processor 50 on the drone in real- time. For example, the drone 20 has the ability to fly to a waypoint, gather the required inspection data, move to the next waypoint, etc. while monitoring its battery life. If, for example, the battery needs charging before finishing its flight path and gathering all of the required data, the drone 20 navigates itself back to the landing platform 40 for recharging, and is able to resume the remainder of its flight path after the battery is recharged.

[0025] For performing an inspection of the power plant 10, the drone 20 may be equipped with an imaging system including an imaging sensor 30 capable of recording images. In an embodiment, the imaging sensor 30 may be an optical camera system. In another embodiment, the imaging sensor 30 may be an infrared camera system capable of capturing images of heat distribution and heat propagation.

[0026] The captured data may be transmitted wirelessly to a computing device 60 for storage and further processing. For example, the processing may include analysing captured images by the computing device 60 in order to identify faults and/or damages within the power plant 10. Further, identified faults may be used by the computing device 60 to determine a further flight path / waypoint of the drone 20.

[0027] In an embodiment, the drone 20 includes a collision avoidance functionality which may include a sensor that detects static and dynamic obstacles. Using the obstacle detection data from the sensor, the drone 20 is capable, using programmed code within the processor 50, of navigating around the obstacles. In an embodiment, the sensor may include a depth perception sensor giving the drone 20 real time information about the distance to objects within the power plant 10. An example of a depth perception sensor is the Intel®Real Sense™ Depth Camera. In another embodiment, Lidar may be used to determine the distance from the drone 20 to an obstacle. Lidar is a surveying methodology that measures the distance to a target by illuminating the target with a pulsed laser light and measures the reflected pulses with a sensor. In this embodiment using Lidar, the drone 20 would be equipped with a laser and a sensor to measure the reflected pulses.

[0028] In an embodiment, the drone 20 is capable of detecting a person (a dynamic obstacle) within the power plant and within a distance of the drone relevant for safety related concerns, such as 10-20 meters. According to current FAA regulations, a drone may not operate over any person not directly involved in an operation of the drone. Thus, using the detection and avoidance functionality, the drone detects a person and navigates around the person so that the drone 20 maintains a distance at least 6 feet away from the person and does not fly directly above the person. In an embodiment, the imaging sensor 30 comprises a downward facing camera connected to the computing device 60, such that persons may be detected by a neural network running on the computing device 60. The neural network may be an open source machine learning algorithm such as TensorFlow. The computing device 60 may also include momentum calculation logic that ensures that the drone 20, based on its current speed and direction, will not be carried into a predefined space, a cylindrical exclusion zone for example, around the person.

[0029] The system may also include a drone landing platform 40 positioned within the power plant 10. The landing platform 40 is capable of launching, landing, and storing the drone 20. Additionally, the landing platform 40 may comprise a roof in order to protect the drone 20 while disposed on the landing platform 40 from the environmental elements within the power plant 10. In an embodiment, the landing platform 40 includes a charging station that is capable of charging a battery of the drone 20 while the drone 20 is disposed on the landing platform 40.

[0030] In an embodiment, the processor 50 of the drone 20 monitors the charge level of a battery of the drone 20, When the battery falls below a minimum threshold, the drone 20 is automatically returned to the landing platform 40 for recharging. The battery may be charged by inductive charging in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the battery may be charged by contact charging.

[0031] In an embodiment, the battery of the drone 20 may be charged by the landing platform 40 through inductive charging. Figure 2 illustrates a side view of a drone 20 positioned on the landing platform 40 whose battery is being charged through an inductive charging process. For this purpose, the drone 20 includes a magnetic transceiver disk 80 mounted onto the drone 20. The magnetic transceiver disk 80 may be mounted onto the underside of the drone 20, as shown, but may also be disposed on the leg stands 85 of the drone. A further corresponding magnetic transceiver disk 90 may be disposed on the landing platform 40 configured to emit a magnetic pulsing field. When the magnetic transceiver disks 80, 90 are in close proximity to one another and aligned, a power transfer from the magnetic field transceiver 90 to the magnetic field transceiver 80 commences to charge the battery of the drone 20. The power transfer may include an amount of power up to 100W. The two disk transceivers 80, 90 are in close proximity and aligned when the pair is within 1-3 inches of one another in a longitudinal direction and within 1 inch in a lateral direction. During the landing and alignment process, if the drone 20 does not correctly align itself with the landing platform 40, either longitudinally or laterally, the drone 20 may attempt to retry its alignment with the landing platform 40.

[0032] In another embodiment, the battery of the drone 20 may be charged by contact charging. The contact charging arrangement involves a brush and needle arrangement 100, as illustrated in Figure 3, configured to deliver energy through the contact of the brushes with conductive sections on the needle 110. In one embodiment, the needle 110 may extend downward from the underbelly of the drone 20, as shown in Figure 3.

[0033] Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment of a brush and needle arrangement 100. The needle 110 may contain up to three distinct conductive sections 130 on its outer surface such that there are non-conductive sections between the conductive sections. An example of a brush and needle arrangement 100 including two conductive sections 130 is illustrated in Figure 6. . One conductive region A may include a positive charge while the other conductive region B may include a negative charge. The conductive sections 130 may extend around the needle 110 circumferentially and may include a vertical height dimension in the range of 5mm to lOOmm. The needle 110 may be received by a disc-like clamp arrangement 120. In an embodiment, the clamps 140, arranged circularly, include conductive brushes, which may be overlapping, disposed on the ends of the clamps. In order to commence charging, the needle 110 extends through the center of the clamp arrangement 120 so that the conductive sections 130 mate up with the conductive brushes 140.

[0034] A vision cue system existing within the drone processor 50 assists in correctly aligning the needle 110 and the brushes 140. For example, the vision cue system may use a visual symbol such as a checkerboard disposed on the landing platform 40 as a signal to the drone 20 to stop movement when the needle and brush arrangement 100 are properly aligned.

[0035] In an embodiment, the disc-like clamp arrangement 120 may include a claw having a plurality of grasping petals, metallic extensions that may mechanically hold the needle and brush arrangement 100 together which in turn locks the drone 20 to the landing platform 40. An embodiment of a clamping arrangement 120 including grasping petals 125 is shown in FIG 7. The claw 121 may grasp a circular ridge 122 disposed on the needle 110 to allow for a safe mechanical capture. When the needle and brush arrangement 100 is properly aligned, petals 125 move out from the within the disc and with the assistance of a latching mechanism, mechanically attach the drone 20 to the landing platform 40. The latching mechanism may include a spring loaded latching mechanism. Likewise, after the conclusion of charging, the latching mechanism may be withdrawn so that the drone 20 may begin on a new flight path/operation. In an embodiment, the latching mechanism is withdrawn when the drone initiates a movement by touching a sensor, for example.

[0036] Figures 4 and 5 illustrate two other possible embodiments of contact charging arrangements. Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment in which the clamping arrangement 120 extends downward from the drone 20 and the needle 110 extends upwards from the landing platform 40. Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment in which the landing platform 40 is disposed above the drone 20 including the brush and needle arrangement 100. The needle 110 extends upward from a top surface of the drone 20. When mated, the drone 20 hangs from the disc-like clamp arrangement 120 on the landing platform 40. An advantage of this embodiment would be that by not touching the ground and being covered by the landing platform 40, the drone 20 is less exposed to environmental elements such as water and dirt that may interfere with the drone’s operation.

[0037] In a further embodiment, the battery of the drone 20 may be charged through a soft configurable wireless power transfer to pads on the feet 95 of the drone 20. In this embodiment, the landing platform 40 may be divided into conductive charging regions separated by non-conductive charging regions. In one embodiment, shown in FIG 8, the landing platform 40 may be rectangular having rectangular charging regions 42 separated by non-conductive charging regions 44. In another embodiment, the landing platform 40 may be circular having charging regions 42 shaped like pie slices separated by non-charging regions 44. The non-charging regions 44 would have a width at least wider than a foot 95 of the drone 20.

[0038] The charging regions 42 may comprise a wire mesh. Likewise, the feet 95 of the drone may also contain the wire mesh, such as being wrapped in the wire mesh. When the feet 95 of the drone 20 touch a conductive region 42 having the wire mesh, a plurality of contact points are made enabling a good transfer of power between the drone 20 and the landing platform 40.

[0039] The drone 20 may further comprise a power controller that, when the feet 95 make contact with the landing platform 40, senses the voltage between the drone and the separate and different conductive regions to determine when a good contact has been made. Knowledge of good contact is used to properly determine how to conductively pass power to the drone 20, given the specifics of each landing. The decision is made by the power controller via measuring test voltages on each of the different conductive regions 42 of the landing platform 40 (separated by voltage, or by sequence“on/off’ in time). Once this methodology determines (by drone feet 95 reading the voltages) which conductive regions 42 each drone foot 95 is located within, power may be applied to selected conductive regions 42 such that power is transferred to the drone through the drone feet 95 in an acceptable voltage and polarity. In an embodiment, the conductive regions 42 of the drone may be configured such that at least one region 42 includes a negative voltage and at least one region includes a positive voltage. In this embodiment, at least two of the drone feet 95 would need to be in a conductive region 42, one in positive voltage region and one in negative voltage region. At this point, a power transfer may commence through the feet 95 of the drone 20.

[0040] In an embodiment, the system includes a plurality of drones, each drone 20 including an associated onboard processor 50. A plurality of landing platforms 40 positioned throughout the power plant 10, at least one for each drone 20, may also be provided such that each drone 20 is capable of being housed, landing upon, and/or receiving a charge to its battery in connection with any of the landing platforms 40. The computing device 60 may include the functionality to control and coordinate the flights of each individual drone 20, coordinating the flights of the plurality of drones based on which drones are actively flying and which drones are docked a landing platform 40 and/or in a charging state so that at least one drone 20 is available for a specified flight path or flight operation. For example, one drone 20 may be scheduled to inspect pipes while another drone 20 monitors the temperature of specific components within the power plant 10, while a further drone reads values on indicators, such as dials, on components. In another example, the computing device 60 can ensure through scheduling that at least one drone 20 is available for inspection while other drones are unavailable such as while recharging.

[0041] Referring to Figures 1-9, a method for inspection of a power plant is presented. The method includes the following steps: · activating a fully autonomous drone 20 from a landing platform 40 located within the power plant 10, the drone 20 including an imaging sensor 30 capable of recording images,

• navigating by a processor 50 mounted on the drone 20 or the central computing device 60 to execute a flight path, • performing an inspection of the power plant 10 by the imaging sensor 30 recording images within the power plant 10,

• transmitting the recorded images to the central computing device 60 for processing, · automatically returning the drone 20 to the landing platform 40 for recharging when the battery level of a drone battery is below a minimum threshold and then charging the battery of the drone 20,

• wherein the landing platform 40 is effective to charge a battery of the drone 20 [0042] Activating the drone 20 may generally include preparing the drone 20 for a flight and more specifically initiating the propellers on the drone 20 in order to ready the drone 20 for launch. The activation may be triggered by a control signal from the computing device 60. This control signal may be transmitted wirelessly. Alternatively, a processor 50 mounted on the drone 20 may trigger the activation and follow a pre- programmed flight path.

[0043] The drone 20 may self-navigate within the power plant 10 in order to execute a flight path. The navigation may be controlled by the processor 50 mounted on the drone 20 or a centrally located computing device 60. In an embodiment, the navigation includes the ability to detect obstacles within the power plant 10 and navigate around the obstacles without collision. This collision avoidance functionality may include the ability to detect a person and identify it as such so that it stays at least six feet away from the person and does not fly directly above the person with reference to the ground.

[0044] The power plant inspection may include recording images by the drone imaging sensor 30 at waypoints along the flight path. These images may be for example, optical images or infrared images. In an embodiment, these images may be stored in the processor 50 mounted on the drone 20 and saved for later processing. In an alternate embodiment, the images are wirelessly transmitted to the centrally located computing device 60. The computing device 60 may process the images by analysing the visual or thermal data. As a result, damages, faults or deviations may be identified and respective steps for repair may be initiated.

[0045] When the battery of the drone falls below a predetermined minimum threshold level, the drone autonomously returns to the landing platform for recharging. The battery level may be monitored by the processor 50 on the drone 20 in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the battery level may be monitored by the centrally located computing device 60. The landing platform 40 is equipped to provide charging for the drone battery. As described previously in an embodiment, the drone battery is charged through inductive charging. In another embodiment, the drone battery is charged through contact charging by a brush and needle arrangement 100, the details of such arrangement having been provided above. While charging, the drone 20 remains disposed on the landing platform 40 in an inactive, stationary, state. The landing platform 40 may transfer power to the drone battery up to 100 Watts.

[0046] The described embodiments of the presented method/system have many advantages over previous inspection methods. Employing drone technology to perform inspections at power plants increases human safety considerably. For example, drones can safely inspect many places within the power plant that are not easily or safely accessible by humans. Furthermore, drones may accompany human inspectors on inspections to ensure their well-being. Image video, for example, of the human inspector performing the inspection may be streamed live back to a control room offsite so that if assistance is needed by the human inspector, it may be facilitated in a timely manner.

[0047] Additionally, inspections of HRSG (Heat Recovery for Steam Generation) insulation effectiveness, hot gas leaks, transmission transformers, electric junctions, and many other literal hot spots could be monitored on a very regular basis with high fidelity IR cameras mounted on the drones. The drones could fly a pre-programmed flight path every week, day or hour based the need. This data could be recorded and/or put into automatic reports. Criteria for flagging the data could be programmed so that alerts are sent out to the appropriate personnel. [0048] While embodiments of the present disclosure have been disclosed in exemplary forms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications, additions, and deletions can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and its equivalents, as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A fully automated drone inspection system for inspection of a power plant 10, comprising:

a drone 20, comprising,

an imaging system comprising an imaging sensor 30 capable of recording optical and/or infrared images, and

a processor 50 for storing and/or wirelessly transmitting data to a central computing device 60 and tracking a charge level of a battery of the drone 20; a landing platform 40 for launching, landing and storing the drone, the landing platform 40 capable of charging the battery of the drone 20; and

the central computing device 60 in wireless communication with the drone 20 and the landing platform 40 for automatically controlling and coordinating a flight path of the drone 20, and storing the data received from the imaging system.

2. The fully automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drone 20 further comprises a sensor capable of detecting obstacles, and wherein the drone 20 utilizes the obstacle detection data to navigate around the obstacles without collision.

3. The fully automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the drone 20 is capable of detecting a person within the power plant 10 (how close?) and navigating around the person so that the drone maintains a distance of at least 6 feet from the person and does not fly directly above the person, with reference to the ground.

4. The fully automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of drones 20.

5. The fully automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the computing device 60 controls and coordinates the flight paths of the plurality of drones 20 with one another, and

wherein the computing device 60 controls the flight paths of the plurality of drones 20 such that at least one drone 20 is available for a specified flight path or flight operation.

6. The fully automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the charge level of the battery is below a minimum threshold, the drone 20 is automatically returned to the landing platform 40 for recharging.

7. The fully automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery is charged by the landing platform 40 through inductive charging.

8. The fully automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a first magnetic field transceiver disk 90 disposed on the drone 20 and a further corresponding second magnetic field transceiver disk 80 disposed on the landing platform 40 which emits a magnetic pulsing field, and

wherein when the first magnetic field transceiver and the second magnetic field transceiver 80, 90 are in close proximity to one another and aligned, a power transfer from the second magnetic field transceiver disk 80 to the first magnetic field transceiver disk 90 is commenced charging the battery of the drone 20.

9. The drone inspection system as claimed in claim 8, wherein in order to be aligned for commencement of charging the battery, the first magnetic field transceiver and the second magnetic field transceiver 80, 90 are within 1-3 inches of one another in a longitudinal direction and within 1 inch in a lateral direction.

10. The fully automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery is charged by the landing platform 40 through contact charging.

11. The automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the battery is charged through a needle and brush arrangement 100, and

wherein the needle includes conductive sections 130 which when mated with conductive brushes 140 on a disc arrangement, the battery of the drone 20 commences charging.

12. The fully automated drone inspection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the landing platform 40 includes a roof in order to protect the drone when the drone 20 is disposed on the landing platform 40.

13. A method for inspection of a power plant 10, comprising:

activating a fully autonomous drone 20 from a landing platform 40 located within the power plant 10, the drone 20 including an imaging sensor 30 capable of recording optical and/or infrared images;

navigating by a processor 50 mounted on the drone 20 to execute a flight path; performing an inspection of the power plant 10 by the imaging sensor 30 recording images within the power plant 10;

transmitting the recorded images to the central computing device 60 for processing; and

automatically returning the drone 20 to the landing platform 40 for recharging when the charge level of the battery is below a minimum threshold and then charging the battery of the drone 20,

wherein the landing platform 40 is effective to charge a battery of the drone 20.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, the navigating further comprising detecting obstacles and navigating around the obstacles without collision utilizing the obstacle detection data.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising detecting a human obstacle within the power plant 10 (how close?) and navigating around the person so that the drone 20 maintains a distance of at least 6ft. from the person and does not fly directly above the person, with reference to the ground.

16. The fully method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the battery is charged by the landing platform 40 through inductive charging.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a first magnetic field transceiver disk 90 disposed on the drone 20 and a further corresponding second magnetic field transceiver disk 80 disposed on the landing platform 40 which emits a magnetic pulsing field, and

wherein when the disk pair 80, 90 is in close proximity to one another and aligned, a power transfer from the second magnetic field transceiver disk 80 to the first magnetic field transceiver disk 90 is commenced charging the battery of the drone 20.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the disk pair 80, 90 is within 1-3 inches of one another in a longitudinal direction and within 1 inch in a lateral direction in order to be aligned for commencement of charging the battery.

19. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the battery is charged by the landing platform through contact charging.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the battery is charged through a needle and brush arrangement 100, and wherein the needle 110 includes conductive sections 130 which when mated with conductive brushes 140 on a disc arrangement, the battery of the drone commences charging.