As detailed in an MIT Technology Review article, one self-flying quadcopter is able to land on vehicles traveling at 30 miles an hour. While taking off from moving vehicles is not a major issue for such drones, landing can be a challenge.
The solution involves the use of a landing pad outfitted with the 2-D bar code AprilTag. A mobile phone on the vehicle broadcasts GPS coordinates, as well as changes in motion. At the same time, a drone is fitted with inertial measurement and GPS units, as well technologies that allow the drone to plot a trajectory to the truck employing the combined data.
Developed in 2016, the technology solved an issue of micro air vehicles that traditionally have very short ranges that limit drone delivery. With this system in place, parcel delivery drones can hitch rides on trucks and cover the last half mile of the delivery on their own. The trucks can simultaneously run along their route and send out additional drones, thus creating major efficiencies.
