JP7560892B2 - Automatic control system, automatic control method, and automatic control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system that enables the control of multiple drones.

In recent years, drones have been used in a variety of fields, including disaster relief, agriculture, entertainment, and logistics. In particular, the number of transportation companies that own drones for transportation purposes is on the rise.

However, each transport company determines the flight path of its drone and flies it accordingly, and as the number of drones increases, the possibility of collisions between drones increases. Meanwhile, there was no system capable of controlling multiple drones owned by different owners.

The present invention is intended to solve these problems. In other words, the objective of the present invention is to provide a system that makes it possible to control multiple drones owned by different owners.

According to the present invention, the above object is achieved by:
[1] An automatic control system for controlling drones, comprising a drone, a drone control device for controlling the drone, and an automatic control device capable of communicating with the drone control device, wherein the automatic control device comprises a flight path identification means for identifying a flight path for each drone based on flight plan information for a plurality of drones, and a first flight path information transmission means for transmitting flight path information relating to the identified flight path to the drone control device, the drone control device comprises a first flight path information receiving means for receiving flight path information from the automatic control device, and a second flight path information transmitting means for transmitting the flight path information to the drone, and the drone comprises a second flight path information receiving means for receiving flight path information from the drone control device, and a flight control means for controlling flight in accordance with the received flight path information;
[2] The automatic air traffic control system according to [1], wherein the flight path identification means, when the flight path identified for one drone overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight path identified for another drone, identifies a flight path so that the one drone and the other drone fly at different altitudes;
[3] The automatic air traffic control system according to [1] or [2], wherein the flight path determination means determines the flight path based on the departure point and destination of the drone;
[4] An automatic air traffic control system according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the automatic air traffic control device includes a flight-allowed area storage means for storing flight-allowed areas in which flight by a drone is possible and/or flight-prohibited areas in which flight by a drone is not possible, and the flight path identification means identifies the flight-allowed areas as the flight path and/or identifies areas excluding the flight-prohibited areas as the flight path;
[5] An automatic air traffic control system according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the automatic air traffic control device comprises a collision possibility prediction means for predicting a possibility of collision between one drone and another drone based on flight information of the one drone and flight information of the other drone, a flight path change information generation means for generating flight path change information for changing the flight path information of the one drone when a collision possibility is predicted, and a first flight path change information transmission means for transmitting the generated flight path change information to a drone control device corresponding to the one drone, the drone control device comprises a first flight path change information receiving means for receiving the flight path change information from the automatic air traffic control device and a second flight path change information transmission means for transmitting the flight path change information to the one drone, the drone comprises a second flight path change information receiving means for receiving the flight path change information from the drone control device, and the flight control means controls the flight of the drone according to the received flight path change information;
[6] An automatic control method executed in an automatic control system for controlling drones, comprising a drone, a drone control device for controlling the drone, and an automatic control device capable of communicating with the drone control device, the automatic control method including a flight path identification step in which the automatic control device identifies a flight path for each drone based on flight plan information for a plurality of drones, a first flight path information transmission step in which the automatic control device transmits flight path information relating to the identified flight path to the drone control device, a first flight path information reception step in which the drone control device receives flight path information from the automatic control device, a second flight path information transmission step in which the drone control device transmits the flight path information to the drone, a second flight path information reception step in which the drone receives flight path information from the drone control device, and a flight control step in which the drone controls flight in accordance with the received flight path information;
[7] An automatic control device for controlling drones, comprising: a flight path identification means for identifying a flight path of each drone based on flight plan information of a plurality of drones; and a first flight path information transmission means for transmitting flight path information relating to the identified flight path to the drone control device;
This can be achieved by:

The present invention makes it possible to control multiple drones owned by different owners.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an automatic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an unmanned aircraft control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an unmanned vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a flight control process in the automatic control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a flight path identification process in an automatic air traffic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a flight zone storage process in an automatic air traffic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an image of a flight path identification process according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a flight route change process in the automatic control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

The following describes the embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments as long as they do not go against the spirit of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the automatic control system is composed of multiple drones 1 (drones 1a, 1b, ... 1z), a communication network 2, a drone control device 3, and an automatic control device 4. The drone 1 is connected to the drone control device 3. The drone control device 3 is also connected to the automatic control device 4 via the communication network 2. Note that the drone 1 and drone control device 3, and the drone control device 3 and the automatic control device 4 do not need to be constantly connected to each other, and it is sufficient if they can be connected as needed.

The unmanned aircraft control device 3 is not particularly limited as long as it is a computer device having a control unit and an input unit, but examples include desktop and notebook personal computers, tablet terminals, and smartphones. The same applies to the automatic control device 4.

The drone control device 3 may be managed by the transport company that owns the drone 1. Also, there may be multiple drone control devices 3, each owned by a different transport company. The drones 1 and drone control devices 3 may be connectable if they are owned by the same owner, but may not be connectable if they are owned by different owners.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an unmanned vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The unmanned vehicle control device 3 is composed of a control unit 31, a RAM 32, a storage unit 33, a graphics processing unit 34, a communication interface 35, and an interface unit 36, each of which is connected by an internal bus.

The control unit 31 is composed of a CPU and a ROM. The control unit 31 executes programs stored in the storage unit 33 and controls the unmanned aircraft control device 3. The RAM 32 is the work area of the control unit 31. The storage unit 33 is a memory area for saving programs and data. The control unit 31 reads and processes the programs and data from the RAM 32. The control unit 31 processes the programs and data loaded into the RAM 32 and outputs drawing commands to the graphics processing unit 34.

The graphics processing unit 34 is connected to the display unit 38. The display unit 38 has a display screen 39. When the control unit 31 outputs a drawing command to the graphics processing unit 34, the graphics processing unit 34 outputs a video signal for displaying an image on the display screen 39. Here, the display unit 38 may be a touch panel equipped with a touch sensor.

The communication interface 35 can be connected to the communication network 2 wirelessly or by wire, and can transmit and receive data to and from the automatic control device 4 via the communication network 2. Data received via the communication interface 35 is loaded into the RAM 32, and is processed by the control unit 31. An external memory 37 (e.g., an SD card, etc.) is connected to the interface unit 36.

The configuration of the automatic control device 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention can adopt the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 to the extent necessary.

The drone 1 has a flight control unit and a sensor, and is not particularly limited as long as it can be connected to the drone control device 3, and conventionally known drones can be used. The drone 1 includes an "unmanned aerial vehicle" as an aircraft type, and an "unmanned ship" and an "unmanned surface effect vessel" as a ship type. Here, an "unmanned surface effect vessel" refers to an unmanned ship that can fly close to the water surface. The shape of the drone 1 may be a rotorcraft type or a fixed-wing type. Furthermore, the drone 1 may be one whose flight is autonomously controlled based on flight route information, etc., or one whose flight is controlled by a pilot operating it via radio, etc.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention. The drone 1 includes a flight control unit 11, a sensor 12, a camera 13, a conversion unit 14, and an antenna 15 (antenna 15a, antenna 15b). The flight control unit 11, the sensor 12, and the antenna 15a, as well as the camera 13, the conversion unit 14, and the antenna 15b, are each connected by an internal bus. The drone 1 is also connected to the drone control device 3 via the antenna 15.

The flight control unit 11 is composed of a CPU, RAM, and ROM, and controls the flight of the drone 1 based on information obtained from the sensor 12 and/or flight path information from the drone control device 3. The sensor 12 includes various sensors such as a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, a pressure sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a magnetic orientation sensor, a GPS, an infrared sensor, and a visible light sensor, although not shown. The gyro sensor detects the inclination, i.e., attitude, of the drone 1, the acceleration sensor detects the speed of the drone 1, the pressure sensor and the ultrasonic sensor detect the altitude of the drone 1, the magnetic orientation sensor detects the direction the drone 1 is facing, the latitude and longitude of the drone 1 by the GPS, and obstacles around the drone 1 by the infrared sensor, the visible light sensor, or the ultrasonic sensor. The flight control unit 11 is connected to the control unit 31 of the drone control device 3 via the antenna 15.

The camera 13 captures images of the surroundings of the drone 1. The image data captured by the camera 13 has its data format converted by the conversion unit 14 and is transmitted to the drone control device 3 via the antenna 15. The transmitted image data is processed in the graphics processing unit 34 of the drone control device 3.

In the flight control unit of drone 1, the control unit of drone control device 3, and the control unit of automatic control device 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention, dedicated software for utilizing the automatic control system is installed. By installing the dedicated software, it becomes possible to control multiple drones even when multiple different transport companies fly drones using drone control devices that they each manage.

Next, the flight control process in the automatic control system will be described. Figure 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the flight control process in the automatic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the drone's flight plan information is input to the drone control device (step S101). Next, the input flight plan information is transmitted to the automatic control device (step S102). The transmitted flight plan information is received by the automatic control device (step S103). Based on the received flight plan information, a flight path identification process (described later) is performed (step S104), and the drone's flight path is identified (step S205). Then, flight path information related to the identified flight path is transmitted to the drone control device (step S105). The transmitted flight path information is received by the drone control device (step S106). Then, the received flight path information is transmitted to the drone (step S107). The transmitted flight path information is received by the drone (step S108). Then, flight control is performed according to the received flight path information (step S109), and the flight control process ends.

The flight plan information includes location information on the departure point and destination of the drone, time information on the departure time of the drone and the arrival time at the destination, and aircraft performance information on the drone's maximum speed, maximum altitude, maximum flight time, maximum communication distance, aircraft size (total length, total width, total height), and aircraft weight. Furthermore, the location information may include information on one or more points other than the destination as intermediate points. Here, the location information may be selected based on waypoint information determined by the government, such as the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, or may be selected based on waypoint information determined arbitrarily without regard to the government, or an arbitrary location may be selected without using pre-determined waypoint information. The waypoint information includes latitude, longitude, and/or altitude information. Furthermore, when the waypoint information is determined arbitrarily without regard to the government, it is preferable to determine the waypoint information within the flight permitted area and/or outside the prohibited flight area described below.

The flight route includes information on the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the route the drone will fly. In addition, the flight route information includes information such as the specified flight route, location information regarding the departure point, destination, and/or intermediate points, departure time and arrival time, flight speed, and predetermined waypoint information. There are no particular limitations on the method for specifying the flight route, and any known method may be used.

Next, the flight path determination process in the automatic air traffic control system will be described. Figure 5 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the flight path determination process in the automatic air traffic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the flight path identification process, first, a flight path is tentatively identified based on the flight plan information received in step S103 (step S201). Then, it is determined whether the tentatively identified flight path is within a flyable area and/or outside a prohibited fly area (to be described later) (step S202). If the tentatively identified flight path is within a flyable area and/or outside a prohibited fly area (Yes in step S202), it is then determined whether there is an obstacle on the tentatively identified flight path (step S203). If there is no obstacle on the tentatively identified flight path (Yes in step S203), it is then determined whether the tentatively identified flight path overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight path of another drone (step S204). If the tentatively identified flight path does not overlap, intersect, or contact the flight path of another drone (Yes in step S204), the flight path tentatively identified in step S201 is identified as the flight path (step S205), and the flight path identification process ends.

In step S202, if the provisionally identified flight path is not within a flyable area and/or outside a prohibited fly area (No in step S202), if in step S203 there is an obstacle on the provisionally identified flight path (No in step S203), and if in step S204 the provisionally identified flight path overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight path of another drone (No in step S204), the flight path is provisionally identified again in step S201.

In step S201, a flight route is tentatively determined based on the departure point and the destination. At that time, the flight route may be tentatively determined so as to follow waypoints near the departure point and arrive at the destination. By tentatively determining a flight route so as to follow waypoints near the departure point and arrive at the destination, the processing load associated with determining the flight route can be reduced, and it also becomes easier to tentatively determine a flight route within a permitted flight area and/or outside a prohibited flight area.

It may also be possible to provisionally specify a flight route for the drone to pass through one or more waypoints before arriving at the destination.

Next, the flight permitted area storage process will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the flight permitted area storage process in the automatic air traffic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the flight permitted area storage process, the automatic air traffic control device inputs the flight permitted area and/or the no-fly area (step S301). Then, the input flight permitted area and/or the no-fly area is stored (step S302), and the flight permitted area storage process ends.

Here, a permitted flight area refers to an area in which a drone can fly, and may be a permitted flight area defined by the Aviation Act and local government ordinances, or a permitted flight area arbitrarily defined by a drone manager such as a transport company. A no-fly area refers to an area in which a drone cannot fly, and may be a no-fly area defined by the Aviation Act and local government ordinances, or a no-fly area arbitrarily defined by a drone manager such as a transport company. Furthermore, all areas that are not no-fly areas may be permitted flight areas, or there may be areas that are neither no-fly areas nor permitted flight areas.

The permitted flight areas and prohibited flight areas may be identified based on information on the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the areas. In step S202, whether the provisionally identified flight path is within the permitted flight area and/or outside the prohibited flight area may be determined based on whether the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the provisionally identified flight path are included in the latitude, longitude, and altitude within the permitted flight area and/or outside the prohibited flight area.

In step S203 of the flight path determination process, it is determined whether there are any obstacles on the tentatively determined flight path, such as natural objects such as mountains and/or man-made objects such as buildings, that are higher than the altitude of the tentatively determined flight path. Information about the ground surface, such as the altitude of natural objects such as mountains and/or man-made objects such as buildings, may be stored in the automatic control device 4 in the flight area storage process described above.

When the flight path identification process is performed for multiple drones, the flight path identification process is performed sequentially starting from the flight plan information input earlier. Therefore, in step S204, if the provisionally identified flight path overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight path of another drone identified earlier, the flight path provisional identification in step S201 is performed again for the flight path based on the flight plan information input later. At this time, the flight path based on the flight plan information input later is provisionally identified so that it has an altitude different from the flight paths of the other drones identified earlier. At that time, which drone's flight path should have a higher altitude may be identified based on the aircraft performance information of the drone. For example, since it is considered that a drone with a high maximum speed takes less time to increase its altitude compared to a drone with a low maximum speed, the flight path of the drone with the higher maximum speed may be set to a higher altitude. In addition, when a flight path is provisionally specified so that it is at a different altitude than the flight paths of other drones, the entire flight path may be at a different altitude than the flight paths of other drones, or at least a portion of the flight path may be at a different altitude than the flight paths of other drones.

Here, the tentatively identified flight path overlaps, crosses, or touches the flight path of another drone, which may mean that it overlaps, crosses, or touches the flight path that is predicted to be flown by another drone at the same time, taking into account the departure time, arrival time, and flight speed, or that it overlaps, crosses, or touches the flight path of another drone flying on the same day.

When flight paths overlap, it means that the flight paths overlap, when flight paths intersect, when flight paths meet, when flight paths touch, it means that the flight paths share a tangent at a tangent point. Furthermore, when flight paths overlap, intersect, or touch, it means that at least a portion of the flight paths overlap, intersect, or touch.

As described above, by performing the judgments in steps S202 to S204, a flight route that is based on the departure point and destination, and that can avoid collisions with obstacles and other drones within the flight permitted area and/or outside the no-fly area, is identified as the flight route in step S205.

7 is a diagram showing an example of an image of the flight path identification process according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7(a) is an overall view of the image, and FIG. 7(b) is an oblique view of the flight path portion of the image so that the altitude of the flight path can be easily seen. The image 50 may be displayed on the display screen of the drone control device 3 and/or the automatic control device 4. The image 50 in FIG. 7(a) shows the flyable area 51 and the no-fly area 52 stored in step S302. The image 50 in FIG. 7(a) also shows an arbitrarily determined waypoint icon 57. When the departure point and destination are selected from the arbitrarily determined waypoint for the drone 1a and the flight path is identified, as shown in the figure, the departure point icon 53a and the destination icon 54a corresponding to the flight plan information of the drone 1a may be displayed. The flight path of the drone 1a identified in step S205 is shown as the flight path 56a. Assume that a flight path for drone 1b is identified after the flight path for drone 1a is identified. If the departure icon 53b and destination icon 54b corresponding to the flight plan information for drone 1b are arranged as shown in FIG. 7(a), the flight path of drone 1b tentatively identified in step S201 will be tentative flight path 55b. Since flight path 56a and tentative flight path 55b intersect, step S204 is determined as No, and the flight path is tentatively identified again in step S201. In step S201, flight path 56b of drone 1b is identified to be at a different altitude from flight path 56a of drone 1a, as shown in FIG. 7(b).

In this way, the flight path of each drone is identified based on the flight plan information of multiple drones, and the flight of the drone is controlled according to the identified flight path information, making it possible to control multiple drones owned by different owners.

In addition, by determining the flight path based on the drone's departure point and destination, the drone can fly autonomously from the departure point to the destination even without a pilot.

Furthermore, the automatic control device stores the flyable areas where drones are permitted or the prohibited areas where drones are not permitted, and specifies the flyable areas as the flight path, or specifies areas excluding the prohibited areas as the flight path, making it possible for the drone to fly autonomously in the flyable areas even without a pilot.

In addition, if the flight path tentatively identified for a drone overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight path identified for another drone, the flight path is identified so that the drone and the other drone fly at different altitudes, making it possible to control multiple drones so as to avoid collisions between the drones even if their flight paths overlap, intersect, or touch.

By performing flight control processing as described above, it is possible for drones whose flight is controlled according to flight path information specified by an automatic control device (hereinafter referred to as autonomously flying drones) to avoid collisions. On the other hand, a drone that is being piloted by a pilot (hereinafter referred to as a piloted drone) may collide with an autonomously flying drone because its flight is not controlled according to flight path information specified by an automatic control device.

However, a drone that has dedicated software installed in the flight control unit for using the automatic control system of the present invention transmits flight information to the drone control device 3 during flight, even if a pilot is piloting the drone. Therefore, by performing the flight path change process described below, it is possible to change the flight path of an autonomously flying drone so as to avoid collisions between the autonomously flying drone and a piloted drone.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the flight route change process in an automatic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, flight information is transmitted from the autonomously flying drone and the piloted drone to the drone control device 3 (step S401). Next, the flight information is received by the drone control device 3 (step S402). The received flight information is transmitted to the automatic control device 4 (step S403). The automatic control device 4 receives the flight information (step S404). Based on the received flight information, the possibility of a collision of the autonomously flying drone is predicted (step S405). If there is a possibility of a collision of the autonomously flying drone (Yes in step S406), flight path change information is generated to change the flight path information of the autonomously flying drone (step S407). Then, the generated flight path change information is transmitted to the drone control device 3 corresponding to the autonomously flying drone (step S408). The flight path change information is received by the drone control device 3 (step S409). The received flight path change information is transmitted to the autonomously flying drone (step S410). Flight path change information is received by the autonomously flying drone (step S411). The flight of the autonomously flying drone is controlled in accordance with the received flight path change information (step S412), and the flight path change process ends. Note that if there is no risk of collision with the autonomously flying drone (No in step S406), the flight path change process ends.

Here, the flight information includes information such as the latitude, longitude, altitude, direction, and speed at which the drone is flying. The flight information is detected by the drone's GPS, air pressure sensor, ultrasonic sensor, magnetic orientation sensor, and/or acceleration sensor. Alternatively, the flight information may include information on surrounding obstacles detected by an infrared sensor, visible light sensor, or ultrasonic sensor, and/or information on images captured by the camera 13.

A conventionally known method can be used to predict the possibility of a collision in step S405. For example, the flight direction and speed of the drone can be expressed as a vector, and trigonometry can be used to predict the possibility of a collision from information on the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the autonomously flying drone and the piloted drone.

A collision may also mean physical contact between an autonomous drone and a piloted drone, or the autonomous drone and the piloted drone approaching each other within a predetermined distance. The predetermined distance in this case may be, for example, 1 m, 5 m, or 10 m. It is preferable to determine the predetermined distance taking into consideration the size of the drone's body and the accuracy of the latitude, longitude, and altitude information resulting from the performance of the GPS, air pressure sensor, and ultrasonic sensor.

In determining whether or not there is a possibility of a collision in step S406, if the flight path of the autonomously flying drone is not changed, it may be determined that there is a possibility of a collision when the possibility of a collision between the autonomously flying drone and the piloted drone is greater than 0%, it may be determined that there is a possibility of a collision when the possibility of a collision between the autonomously flying drone and the piloted drone is 30% or more, or it may be determined that there is a possibility of a collision when the possibility of a collision between the autonomously flying drone and the piloted drone is 50% or more.

The flight path change information generated in step S407 is information for changing the flight path information used by the autonomous drone to control the flight in step S109. Specifically, it refers to information on a flight path specified for an autonomous drone to fly to a point away from the piloted drone and then head to a new destination from that point, or information on a flight path specified for an autonomous drone to hover in place until there is no longer any possibility of collision with the piloted drone and then head back to the destination. Note that when specifying a flight path to a new destination from a point away from the piloted drone, the description of the flight path specification process in FIG. 5 can be adopted to the extent necessary.

In this way, the possibility of a collision between one drone and another drone is predicted based on the flight information of the first drone and the flight information of the other drone, and if a collision is predicted, flight path change information is generated to change the flight path information of the first drone, and the drone controls its flight in accordance with the flight path change information. This makes it possible to control multiple drones so that collisions between the drones can be avoided even when there is a mixture of autonomously flying drones and piloted drones.

1: drone 2: communication network 3: drone control device 4: automatic control device 11: flight control unit 12: sensor 13: camera 14: conversion unit 15: antenna 31: control unit 32: RAM
33: Storage unit 34: Graphics processing unit 35: Communication interface 36: Interface unit 37: External memory 38: Display unit 39: Display screen 50: Image 51: Flyable area 52: No-fly area 53: Departure point icon 54: Destination icon 55: Tentative flight route 56: Flight route 57: Waypoint icon

Claims (4)

An automatic control system for controlling a drone, the automatic control system comprising: a plurality of drones owned by a plurality of different owners; a plurality of drone control devices owned by a plurality of different owners; and an automatic control device capable of communicating with the drone control devices ,
The drone control device controls drones that share the same owner,
The automatic control device ,
A flight route calculation means for calculating flight routes of a plurality of drones owned by a plurality of different owners based on flight plan information of the plurality of drones so that the flight routes of the drones do not overlap, intersect, or contact each other;
a collision possibility prediction means for predicting a possibility of a collision between the one drone and the other drone based on flight information of the one drone and flight information of the other drone;
a flight path change information generating means for generating flight path change information for changing the flight path of one of the unmanned aircraft when a possibility of a collision is predicted;
The drone,
An automatic control system comprising a flight control means for controlling flight according to a flight route calculated by a flight route calculation means or a flight route changed according to flight route change information generated by a flight route change information generation means. The automatic air traffic control system of claim 1, wherein the flight route change information generating means generates flight route change information for changing the flight route to a flight route that passes through a point not included in the calculated flight route and travels from the point to a selected destination. The drone control device
A flight plan information input means for receiving input of flight plan information for the drone.
Equipped with
3. The automatic air traffic control system according to claim 1, wherein the flight route calculation means calculates the flight route based on the flight plan information inputted by the flight plan information input means. An automatic control method executed in an automatic control system that controls a drone, the automatic control system comprising a plurality of drones owned by a plurality of different owners, a plurality of drone control devices owned by a plurality of different owners, and an automatic control device that can communicate with the drone control devices ,
The drone control device controls drones that share the same owner,
A flight route calculation step in which the automatic control device calculates the flight routes of the multiple drones based on flight plan information of the multiple drones owned by different owners so that the flight routes of the multiple drones do not overlap, intersect, or touch each other;
A collision possibility prediction step in which the automatic control device predicts a possibility of a collision between the one drone and the other drone based on flight information of the one drone and flight information of the other drone;
a flight route change information generation step in which the automatic control device generates flight route change information for changing the flight route of one of the unmanned aircraft when a possibility of a collision is predicted;
An automatic control method comprising: a flight control step of controlling the flight of the drone according to the flight path calculated in the flight path calculation step or the flight path changed in accordance with the flight path change information generated in the flight path change information generation step.

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