JP6963020B2 - Unmanned mobile control device, unmanned mobile control method, and unmanned mobile system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an unmanned mobile body control device for remotely controlling a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies (for example, a drone) that are active at the same time, an unmanned mobile body control method, and an unmanned mobile body system.

In recent years, drones, which are unmanned aerial vehicles, have been widely used for aerial photography, agricultural use such as spraying pesticides, logistics fields, and monitoring in the event of a disaster. It's progressing. There are two types of drone flight control: one is by direct remote control (radio control) by the user, and the other is autonomous control that does not require direct control by the user. Further, a plurality of drones are simultaneously flown for a specific purpose, and Patent Document 1 describes a system for optimally controlling the flight of a plurality of drones for evacuation guidance in the event of a disaster. ..

JP-A-2017-56899

Especially in a drone using direct remote control, the distance between the drone and the user or the control device operated by the user is limited to the range in which communication is possible between them. As described above, there are various purposes for using the drone, but when using the drone, the purpose of use may be limited because the distance to the drone is limited in this way.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

The present invention is an unmanned mobile body control device that controls each of a plurality of unmanned mobile bodies that are active at the same time. It is classified into a sub-unmanned moving body which is the unmanned moving body, and is provided at a position away from the main unmanned moving body and the sub-unmanned moving body to control the main unmanned moving body and each of the sub-unmanned moving bodies. a first unit for the first signal sequence in a certain order in the time sequence of the signal comprises a function of transmitting to the main unmanned movable body side is mounted on the main unmanned movable body, receiving the first signal Then, the second signal, which is a signal for controlling each of the sub-unmanned mobile bodies, is recognized from the first signal and transmitted to each of the sub-unmanned mobile bodies to control the sub-unmanned mobile body. A second unit having a function to perform is provided, and the second unit comprises the position information of the sub-unmanned mobile body obtained from the sub-unmanned mobile body and the communication between the sub-unmanned mobile body and the sub-unmanned mobile body. The sub-unmanned mobile body information including the reception level on the sub-unmanned mobile body side or the second unit side is stored, and based on the sub-unmanned mobile body information, between the main unmanned mobile body and the sub-unmanned mobile body. The sub-unmanned mobile body is controlled so that the distance is within a certain range.
Further, the frequency band of the carrier wave of the first signal and the frequency band of the carrier wave of the second signal may be set to be different from each other.
Further, a sensor may be mounted on the sub-unmanned moving body, and the sensor may be controlled by the second signal.
Further, the second unit may obtain the measurement data by the sensor from the sub-unmanned moving body side and transmit the measurement data to the first unit.
The unmanned mobile body system of the present invention includes the unmanned mobile body control device, the main unmanned mobile body, and a plurality of the sub-unmanned mobile bodies.
Further , a communication distance which is a distance capable of communication between the second unit and the sub-unmanned mobile body is set, and communication between the first sub-unmanned mobile body and the second unit is performed . The sub-unmanned mobile body of 2 can be relayed, and the communication between the first sub-unmanned mobile body and the second sub-unmanned mobile body can be relayed by the third sub-unmanned mobile body. When the distance between the first sub-unmanned mobile body and the main unmanned mobile body is larger than the communication distance, the second sub-unmanned mobile body or the second sub-unmanned mobile body is used. Communication between the first sub-unmanned mobile body and the second unit may be performed via the sub-unmanned mobile body and the third sub-unmanned mobile body .
Further, the unmanned moving body may be an unmanned flying body.
Further, in the unmanned moving body control method of the present invention, the unmanned moving body system is used, and the distance between the first unit and the main unmanned moving body is set between the first unit and the second unit. The distance between the second unit and the sub-unmanned moving body is maintained within a communicable range, and the distance between the main unmanned moving body and the sub-unmanned moving body closest to the main unmanned moving body is communicated between the second unit and the sub-unmanned moving body. The distance between the two adjacent sub-unmanned moving bodies is maintained within a possible range, and the distance between the two sub-unmanned moving bodies is maintained within a range in which the two sub-unmanned moving bodies can communicate with each other.

According to the present invention, the range in which an unmanned moving object can be remotely controlled can be expanded.

It is a figure which simplifies the configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle system which concerns on embodiment in the case where the arrangement of a drone is taken as a 1st example. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the master drone side unit (second unit) in the unmanned moving body system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the 1st signal which the user side unit (1st unit) emits in the unmanned mobile body system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which simplifies the configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle system which concerns on embodiment in the case where the arrangement of a drone is taken as a 2nd example.

Next, a mode for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. Here, as an unmanned moving body, a plurality of drones, which are unmanned aerial vehicles, are used to fly at the same time.

The unmanned moving body system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of unmanned moving bodies (drones) and an unmanned moving body control device that remotely controls all unmanned moving bodies. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of this unmanned mobile system. One of the drones is a master drone (main unmanned aerial vehicle) D0 that becomes a master for other drones (slave), and each of the other drones is a slave drone (secondary unmanned aerial vehicle) D1 that becomes its slave. Become. The unmanned aerial vehicle control device 1 includes a user-side unit (first unit) 10 that is separated from all drones and operated by the user, and a master drone-side unit (first unit) that is mounted on the master drone D0 and directly controls the slave drone D1. 2 units) 20 is provided.

The user (administrator of this unmanned mobile system) can remotely control the master drone D0 and control its flight by operating the user-side unit 10 to emit a signal. Further, the user performs an operation for controlling the slave drone D1 on the user side unit 10, and the user side unit 10 emits a signal for this, but the master drone mounted on the master drone D0 instead of the slave drone D1. The side unit 20 receives this signal. The slave drone D1 is controlled by the master drone side unit 20 that has received this signal. As a result, the user can control all the drones by operating the user-side unit 10.

Further, various sensors are mounted on the master drone D0 and the slave drone D1 according to the purpose of the drone. As this sensor, for example, there is an image sensor that images the ground. Similar to the flight control of each drone, the control of this sensor can be performed by the user operating the user side unit 10. The control of the sensor mounted on the slave drone D1 is performed via the master drone side unit 20 in the same manner as the flight control of the slave drone D1. It is not necessary for all drones (master drone D0, slave drone D1) to be equipped with the same type of sensor, and each drone may be used for different purposes.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the master drone side unit 20. The master drone side unit 20 includes a transmission / reception antenna 21 for wireless communication with the user side unit 10. It also includes a positioning antenna 22 that receives GPS signals to recognize its own position. Further, two types of transmitters (first transmitter 23A and second transmitter 23B) that transmit signals from the master drone D0 side via the transmission / reception antenna 21, and two types of receivers (first) that also receive signals. A receiving unit 24A and a second receiving unit 24B) are provided. A positioning unit 25 that recognizes its own position by receiving a GPS signal from the positioning antenna 22 is also provided.

Further, in the master drone side unit 20, various information is used to control the master drone D0 itself and the slave drone D1. These information include master drone information which is information related to the master drone D0 itself, slave drone information which is information related to the slave drone D1, and received information which is information obtained from the user side unit 10.

The master drone information includes the identification information (ID number) of the master drone D0 and the current position information of the master drone D0 obtained by the positioning unit 25. This identification information is not rewritten after the initial setting is performed, whereas this location information is periodically updated to the latest one. When the master drone D0 is equipped with a sensor, the data obtained by this sensor (for example, the imaging data when the imaging sensor is mounted) is also included in the master drone information.

The slave drone information includes identification information of all slave drones D1 under the control of the master drone D0. In addition, each of the slave drones D1 is also provided with a function of recognizing its own position, and this position information is transmitted to the master drone D0 side (master drone side unit 20), and the current (latest) position information is this. Is also included in the slave drone information. Further, the reception level which is the strength level of the received signal when each slave drone D1 receives the signal from the master drone side unit 20 side is also included in the slave drone information. On the contrary, the received signal strength on the master drone side unit 20 side of the signal emitted by each slave drone D1 may be used as this reception level. This reception level corresponds to the distance between the master drone D0 and the slave drone D1, as will be described later.

The identification information of the slave drone D1 is set at the time of initial setting, and the latest position information and reception level are updated and used for each slave drone D1 (identification information). Further, similarly to the master drone information, when a sensor is mounted on the slave drone D1, the data obtained by this sensor is also stored as slave drone information for each slave drone D1.

Further, the received information is information received by the master drone side unit 20 from the user side unit 10, and includes the control of the master drone D0 itself, the control of all the slave drones D1 under its control, or the master drone. Information related to the control of the positional relationship between D0 and each slave drone D1 is included.

In the master drone side unit 20, the above master drone information, slave drone information, and received information are stored in the data storage unit 26. Further, a buffer storage unit 27 that temporarily stores data when exchanging data with the user-side unit 10 and each slave drone D1 is also used. Further, a control unit 28, which is a CPU that controls all of the above components and controls the master drone D0 and each slave drone D1 based on the received information obtained from the user side unit 10, is used.

Here, the first transmitting unit 23A and the first receiving unit 24A are used only for transmitting and receiving a signal (first signal) to and from the user side unit 10, and the second transmitting unit is used. The 23B and the second receiving unit 24B are used only for transmitting and receiving a signal (second signal) with each slave drone D1. The frequency band of the carrier wave of the first signal and the frequency band of the carrier wave of the second signal are set so as not to overlap. Therefore, the master drone side unit 20 can communicate with the user side unit 10 and each slave drone D1 at the same time without causing interference.

The user-side unit 10 generates and oscillates a first signal for controlling the master drone D0 and the slave drone D1 by the user's operation, and receives the signal emitted by the first transmission unit 23A. The configuration is such that the state of the master drone D0 and the slave drone D1 and the measurement data of the mounted sensor can be obtained. This function is easily realized by using a normal operation panel, a display, a transmitter that emits a signal, a receiver that receives a signal, etc., and in this respect, it is almost the same as a conventional control device that controls a conventional drone. Therefore, the details of the configuration will be omitted.

According to the above configuration, the user controls the user side unit 10 to transmit data to the master drone D0 side, and the master drone side unit 20 controls the master drone D0 and each slave drone D1 based on this. be able to. At this time, the user side unit 10 on the ground and the master drone side unit 20 (master drone D0) are at a communicable distance, and the master drone side unit 20 (master drone D0) and each slave drone D1 are in the sky. As long as there is a communicable distance between and the user side unit 10, all drones can be controlled by using the user side unit 10 regardless of the distance between the user side unit 10 and the slave drone D1. Therefore, by using the above-mentioned unmanned mobile control device 1 (user side unit 10, master drone side unit 20), the range in which the drone can be remotely controlled can be expanded.

When performing this control, first, after the master drone side unit 20 receives an instruction (receives data) from the user side unit 10, the control unit 28 uses the second transmission unit 23B to perform each slave drone. A slave drone currently under control by communicating with D1 and using the second receiver 24B to obtain its own identification information from each slave drone D1 and comparing it with the identification information in the stored slave drone information. Recognize all of D1. For this purpose, for example, the control unit 28 sequentially transmits a signal notifying the identification information included in the slave drone information via the second transmission unit 23B, and the slave drone D1 that has received this signal receives this identification. It can be set to transmit that the information and the self-identification information match.

When all the slave drones D1 under control are recognized, the control unit 28 can transmit to that effect to the user side unit 10 via the first transmission unit 23A, and the user can display the result or the like. You can check with. After that, the user can instruct how to control the master drone D0 and each slave drone D1 by operating the user side unit 10.

After all the slave drones D1 to be controlled are determined, the user side unit 10 oscillates a time-series divided signal for each control target and transmits the first signal to the master drone side unit 20 side. be able to. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of such a control signal. Here, the master drone D0, the slave drone D1-1, the slave drone D1-2, and the slave drone D1-3 are controlled. In the first signal, the signal (1 slot) for controlling each drone at a certain time point is defined by dividing it into four parts, and the master drone D0, the slave drone D1-1, the slave drone D1-2, and the slave drone D1-3 are defined. It is possible to set this one slot by sequentially arranging the control signals to be performed on the device in this order. This number of divisions is the number of recognized slave drones D1 under control plus 1 (corresponding to master drone D0). In this way, the control signal can be divided in time series, and the control signal for the above-mentioned control target can be sequentially transmitted.

The control over the master drone D0 is similar to that over a normal drone. That is, the movement along the horizontal direction and the movement along the vertical direction are controlled by the above control signal. Here, in general, the movement of the master drone D0 is controlled based on its own position on the map. Further, when the sensor is mounted on the master drone D0, it is possible to simultaneously control the operation (on / off, etc.) of the sensor.

Each slave drone D1 is controlled by the master drone side unit 20 (control unit 28), and the same applies to the control of the mounted sensor. An example of control of the slave drone D1 will be described below. FIG. 1 shows an example in which each slave drone D1 is arranged around the master drone D0 with a constant distance from the master drone D0. Such control is performed by the control unit 28 recognizing this distance based on the position information of the master drone D0 in the master drone information and the position information of the slave drone in the slave drone information.

Further, in order for the master drone D0 to control the slave drone D1, the distance between each slave drone D1 and the master drone D0 is required to be within a distance capable of wireless communication. Therefore, it is preferable that the slave drone D1 is always maintained within this distance from the master drone D0. For this control, the reception level in the slave drone information described above can be used. When this reception level falls below a certain value, the slave drone D1 is gradually approached to the master drone D0, and when this reception level rises, control is performed to maintain this positional relationship. be able to. When performing the control according to the form shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 28 can control the flight of the slave drone D1 so that the reception level is within a certain range.

On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows a case where the slave drones D1-1, D1-2, D1-3 and the master drone D0 are arranged and flown in a straight line. Here, it is assumed that the user-side unit 10 is on the side close to the master drone D0. Similar to the above case, the control unit 28 can perform this control based on its own position information in the master drone information and the position information of each slave drone D1 in the slave drone information.

Here, as described above, the signal for controlling the slave drones D1-1, D1-2, D1-2 is emitted only from the master drone D0, and each slave drone has, for example, the master drone D0. A signal containing slave drone information can be transmitted. These signals received or transmitted by one slave drone can be provided with a function of being relayed by another slave drone. In such a case, in the configuration of FIG. 4, the distance between the user-side control device 10 and the master drone D0, the distance between the master drone D0 and the slave drone D1-1, the slave drone D1-1 and the slave drone D1 If the distance between -2 and the slave drone D1-2 and the slave drone D1-3 are the distances that can be communicated between them, each slave drone and the user-side control device 10 Regardless of the distance between them, all slave drones can be indirectly controlled by using the user-side unit 10.

Further, since the signal emitted by the slave drone side is also relayed by another slave drone in the same manner as described above, for example, when each slave drone is equipped with an imaging sensor, the imaging data obtained by this is further used as the master drone D0. It can also be transmitted to the master drone D0 side via another slave drone on the side closer to, and then the control unit 28 can transmit this imaged data to the user side unit 10.

That is, even in a situation where the communication distance is limited, it is possible to control all slave drones and exchange data with and from all slave drones within a range that greatly exceeds this communication distance. This effect is especially noticeable when the number of slave drones flying at the same time is large.

In the above example, the case where the unmanned moving object is a drone which is an unmanned flying object is described, but the same control is possible for other unmanned moving objects such as an unmanned automobile traveling on the ground. Is. In addition, here, "unmanned" means that boarding of a human moving body for controlling itself or another moving body is not required, and even if a person who does not perform this control is boarding. , Suppose it is "unmanned".

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an example, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible for the combination of each of these components, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

1 Unmanned mobile controller 10 User side unit (1st unit)
20 Mustard side unit (2nd unit)
21 Transmission / reception antenna 22 Positioning antenna 23A 1st transmitter 23B 2nd transmitter 24A 1st receiver 24B 2nd receiver 25 Positioning unit 26 Data storage unit 27 Buffer storage unit 28 Control unit D0 Master drone (main unmanned aerial vehicle: Drone)
D1, D1-1, D1-2, D1-3 Slave drone (secondary unmanned aerial vehicle: drone)

Claims (8)

An unmanned moving object control device that controls each of a plurality of unmanned moving objects that are active at the same time.
The plurality of unmanned mobiles are classified into a single main unmanned mobile and a sub-unmanned mobile which is the unmanned mobile other than the main unmanned mobile.
A first unit, which is provided at a position separated from the main unmanned moving body and the sub-unmanned moving body, and signals for controlling the main unmanned moving body and each of the sub-unmanned moving bodies are arranged in a chronological order in a certain order . The first unit having a function of transmitting the signal of the above to the main unmanned moving body side, and
It is mounted on the main unmanned moving body, receives the first signal, recognizes a second signal which is a signal for controlling each of the sub-unmanned moving bodies from the first signal, and recognizes each of the above. A second unit having a function of transmitting to a sub-unmanned moving body to control the sub-unmanned moving body, and
Equipped with
The second unit is
The sub-unmanned mobile body including the position information of the sub-unmanned mobile body obtained from the sub-unmanned mobile body and the reception level of the sub-unmanned mobile body side or the second unit side in the communication between the sub-unmanned mobile body and the sub-unmanned mobile body. Memorize information,
The unmanned movement is characterized in that the sub-unmanned mobile body is controlled so that the distance between the main unmanned mobile body and the sub-unmanned mobile body is within a certain range based on the sub-unmanned mobile body information. Body control device. The unmanned mobile control device according to claim 1, wherein the frequency band of the carrier wave of the first signal is set to be different from the frequency band of the carrier wave of the second signal. A sensor is mounted on the sub-unmanned moving body.
The unmanned mobile control device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is controlled by the second signal. The unmanned moving body control device according to claim 3, wherein the second unit obtains measurement data by the sensor from the sub-unmanned moving body side and transmits the measurement data to the first unit. An unmanned mobile body system comprising the unmanned mobile body control device according to claim 1, the main unmanned mobile body, and a plurality of the sub-unmanned mobile bodies. A communication distance, which is a communication distance between the second unit and the sub-unmanned mobile body, is set.
The communication between the first sub-unmanned mobile body and the second unit can be relayed by the second sub-unmanned mobile body , and the first sub-unmanned mobile body and the second sub-unmanned mobile body can be relayed. Communication with the sub-unmanned mobile body can be relayed by the third sub-unmanned mobile body.
When the distance between the first sub-unmanned mobile body and the main unmanned mobile body is larger than the communication distance, the distance is greater than the communication distance, via the second sub-unmanned mobile body, or through the second sub-unmanned mobile body. The unmanned person according to claim 5, wherein communication is performed between the first sub-unmanned mobile body and the second unit via the unmanned mobile body and the third sub-unmanned mobile body. Mobile system. The unmanned moving body system according to claim 5, wherein the unmanned moving body is an unmanned flying body. Using the unmanned mobile system according to claim 6,
The distance between the first unit and the main unmanned mobile body is maintained within a range in which the first unit and the second unit can communicate with each other.
Moreover, the distance between the main unmanned moving body and the sub-unmanned moving body closest to the main unmanned moving body is maintained within a range in which the second unit and the sub-unmanned moving body can communicate with each other.
An unmanned moving body control method, characterized in that the distance between two adjacent sub-unmanned moving bodies is maintained within a range in which the two sub-unmanned moving bodies can communicate with each other.

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