ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 31 -- United States Patent no. 12,509,243, issued on Dec. 30, was assigned to Pathfinder Systems Inc. (Lakewood, Colo.).
"Automated towed glider control system" was invented by Ivan J. Jaszlics (Golden, Colo.) and Sheila L. Jaszlics (Golden, Colo.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An automated control system for a glider towed by a tug employs a camera mounted on one of the aircraft to view the other (the "target"). An optical recognition system receives images from the camera and determines the relative range and bearing of the target. A controller determines corrections to the flight characteristics of the glider in response to the range and bearing data from the optical ...