US Patent 9108729 Autonomous control of unmanned aerial vehicles

A control module for an unmanned aerial vehicle is provided. In one example, the control module includes a plurality of control modes, wherein each control mode represents a different autonomy setting, a command generator configured to generate a command causing a selection of a first of the plurality of control modes for the unmanned aerial vehicle, and an intelligence synthesizer that automatically switches the unmanned aerial vehicle between the selected first of the plurality of control modes and a second of the plurality of control mode upon detection of a trigger event.