JP7575158B2 - Unmanned aerial vehicle management system, determination device, determination method, and program - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle management system, a determination device, a determination method, and a program.

In recent years, with the widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones, technologies have been proposed to prevent unauthorized operation of unmanned aerial vehicles. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that receives information from an unmanned aerial vehicle before or during flight based on the identification information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and verifies whether the unmanned aerial vehicle is authorized.

Just as automobiles display their registration numbers on their license plates, Japan is about to make it mandatory for unmanned aerial vehicles to have aircraft registration numbers and to broadcast their aircraft registration numbers and location information to those around them via radio. It is expected that the above-mentioned notification function will be built into unmanned aerial vehicles in the future, but during the transitional period, it is considered that unmanned aerial vehicles will be equipped with radios that have the above-mentioned notification function.

Special table 2019-518642 publication

However, there is a risk that malicious operators could attach radios to unauthorized unmanned aerial vehicles, such as those intended for terrorist attacks, and broadcast unauthorized information. Therefore, there is a need for an effective way to prevent the attachment of radios to such unauthorized unmanned aerial vehicles.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the objective of the present disclosure is to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle management system, a wireless communication device, a determination device, a determination method, and a program that effectively prevent the installation of wireless devices on unauthorized unmanned aerial vehicles.

An unmanned aircraft management system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a determination device, an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), and a wireless communication device. The UAS transmits its own identification information to the determination device via wireless communication. The wireless communication devices are each pre-associated with a plurality of UASs, and transmit the identification information of the associated UAS to the determination device via wireless communication. The determination device compares the identification information received from the UAS with the identification information received from a wireless communication device attached to the body of the UAS, and as a result, determines whether the UAS is a UAS that can be associated with the wireless communication device.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the wireless communication devices are each pre-assigned to a plurality of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and transmit identification information of the associated UAS to a determination device via wireless communication. The identification information of the UAS transmitted by the wireless communication device is used by the determination device to compare with the identification information of the UAS received by the wireless communication device from the UAS attached to the aircraft.

A determination device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a first communication unit, a second communication unit, and a control unit. The first communication unit receives identification information of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) from the UAS via wireless communication. The second communication unit receives identification information of a UAS associated with a wireless communication device from a wireless communication device, each of which is associated with a respective one of a plurality of UAS, via wireless communication. The control unit compares the identification information received from the UAS with the identification information received from the wireless communication device attached to the body of the UAS, and as a result, determines whether the UAS is a UAS associated with the wireless communication device.

A determination method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a step of receiving, from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) via wireless communication, identification information of the UAS associated with a wireless communication device via wireless communication, each of which is previously associated with a respective one of a plurality of UASs; and a step of comparing the identification information received from the UAS with the identification information received from the wireless communication device attached to the body of the UAS, and determining, as a result, whether the UAS is a UAS associated with the wireless communication device.

A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to execute the following processes: receiving identification information of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) from the UAS via wireless communication; receiving identification information of a UAS associated with a wireless communication device via wireless communication, each of which is previously associated with a respective one of a plurality of UAS; and comparing the identification information received from the UAS with the identification information received from the wireless communication device attached to the body of the UAS, and determining whether the UAS is an UAS associated with the wireless communication device as a result.

This disclosure provides an unmanned aircraft management system, wireless communication device, determination device, determination method, and program that effectively prevent the installation of wireless devices on unauthorized unmanned aircraft.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to a first embodiment. A diagram showing an unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to a second embodiment. A block diagram showing the configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to embodiment 2. 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a procedure for attaching a wireless communication device according to a second embodiment. A sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by an unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to embodiment 2. A sequence diagram showing a specific example of processing performed in an unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to a first example of embodiment 3. A sequence diagram showing a specific example of processing performed in an unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to a second example of embodiment 3. A block diagram showing the configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to embodiment 4. A sequence diagram showing an example of processing performed in an unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to embodiment 4. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer that can be used as a UAS, a wireless communication device, and a determination device.

The present disclosure will be described below through embodiments, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential as means for solving the problems. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. Note that the same reference numerals are used for the same elements in each drawing.

<Embodiment 1>
First, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an unmanned aircraft management system 1 according to the first embodiment. The unmanned aircraft management system 1 is a computer system for managing an unmanned aircraft system (hereinafter, UAS; Unmanned Aircraft System). The unmanned aircraft management system 1 includes a UAS 10, a wireless communication device 20, and a determination device 30.

The UAS 10 is an unmanned aerial vehicle that flies under the control of a controller. For example, the UAS 10 may be a drone. The UAS 10 can wirelessly communicate with the determination device 30 and transmits its own identification information (ID) to the determination device 30 via wireless communication.

The wireless communication device 20 is a device that is attached to the body of the UAS10. Each wireless communication device 20 is pre-associated with each of the multiple UAS10. The wireless communication device 20 can wirelessly communicate with the determination device 30, and transmits the ID of the associated UAS10 to the determination device 30 via wireless communication.

The determination device 30 is a device that receives an ID from the UAS 10 and receives an ID from the wireless communication device 20 attached to the body of the UAS 10. The determination device 30 then compares the ID received from the UAS 10 with the ID received from the wireless communication device 20, and as a result, determines whether the UAS 10 is a UAS 10 that can be associated with the wireless communication device 20.

In this way, the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1 of embodiment 1 can determine whether a legitimate wireless communication device 20 is attached to the body of the UAS 10, and can easily find an unauthorized UAS 10 with a wireless communication device 20 illegally attached to the body. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the wireless communication device 20 from being attached to the body of an unauthorized UAS 10.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a according to the second embodiment. The unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a is an example of a system to which the UAS 10, the wireless communication device 20, and the determination device 30 of the first embodiment can be applied.

The unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a includes multiple UASs 10, multiple pilot transmitters 16, multiple wireless communication devices 20, a determination device 30, and a server 40. In the following, the number of UASs 10, pilot transmitters 16, and wireless communication devices 20 is two, but this is not limited and may be three or more.

The UAS 10 receives control signals from the pilot transmitter 16 and flies based on the control signals. The UAS 10 also transmits its own ID to the determination device 30.

The pilot transmitter 16 is the controller for the UAS 10. In this diagram, the pilot transmitter 16-1 corresponds to the UAS 10-1, and the pilot transmitter 16-2 corresponds to the UAS 10-2.

The wireless communication device 20 is attached to the body of the associated UAS 10, and transmits the ID of the associated UAS 10 and associated information, which are used in the matching determination process described below, to the determination device 30 while moving in conjunction with the body of the UAS 10.

In this diagram, wireless communication device 20-1 is pre-associated with UAS 10-1, and wireless communication device 20-2 is pre-associated with UAS 10-2. Wireless communication device 20-1 is attached to the body of UAS 10-1, and wireless communication device 20-2 is attached to the body of UAS 10-2.

The determination device 30 is a terminal device used by police officers or those who wish to refer to the UAS information in order to detect unauthorized UAS 10. The determination device 30 is a terminal device with a wireless communication function that supports wireless communication between the UAS 10 and the wireless communication device 20, such as a smartphone or a dedicated wireless communication terminal for referring to UAS information. The determination device 30 compares the ID received from the UAS 10 with the ID of the UAS 10 received from the wireless communication device 20, and determines whether the wireless communication device 20 and the UAS 10 to which it is attached correspond to each other. The above process is called a comparison and determination process. If the wireless communication device 20 and the UAS 10 correspond to each other, the determination device 30 acquires the auxiliary information received from the wireless communication device 20 as information related to the UAS 10 to which it is attached.

The determination device 30 is also connected to the server 40 via the Internet 4 so that it can communicate with them. The determination device 30 transmits and receives data to and from the server 40 based on various information acquired from the wireless communication device 20, and performs processing based on the received data.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a according to embodiment 2.

(UAS10)
The UAS 10 has a communication unit 11, a control unit 12, and a memory unit 13.

The communication unit 11 performs wireless communication with the first communication unit 31 of the determination device 30. The wireless communication may be short-distance wireless communication. Examples of short-distance wireless communication include Bluetooth (registered trademark), BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), UWB (Ultra Wide Band), and ZigBee (registered trademark). The wireless communication may also be wireless LAN (Local Area Network) communication, particularly Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication. In this embodiment 2, the communication unit 11 performs wireless communication with the first communication unit 31 of the determination device 30 using a long-distance communication mode of BLE. The long-distance communication mode may be a mode with a data transmission speed of 125 kbps. The communication unit 11 also performs wireless communication with the corresponding operator transmitter 16. The wireless communication method between the communication unit 11 and the operator transmitter 16 may be the same as or different from the wireless communication method between the communication unit 11 and the first communication unit 31 of the determination device 30.

The storage unit 13 stores information necessary for the processing executed by the UAS 10. Specifically, the storage unit 13 stores the first ID 14. The first ID 14 is an ID of the UAS 10 used in the matching determination processing by the determination device 30, and is, for example, identification information assigned to the UAS 10 before the shipment of the UAS 10. In this embodiment 2, the first ID 14 is information based on the serial number of the UAS 10 aircraft. In the following, the first ID 14 is described as the serial number of the UAS 10 aircraft, but it may be information that combines the serial number of the UAS 10 aircraft with another identifier, or it may be information that encrypts the serial number of the UAS 10 aircraft.

The control unit 12 controls various components of the UAS 10. Specifically, the control unit 12 performs flight control of the aircraft based on a control signal received from the pilot transmitter 16 via the communication unit 11. The control unit 12 also transmits the first ID 14 of the UAS 10 stored in the memory unit 13 to the first communication unit 31 of the determination device 30 via the communication unit 11. In this embodiment 2, the above transmission is performed by broadcast at a predetermined interval (e.g., every second).

(Wireless communication device 20)
The wireless communication device 20 includes a communication unit 21 , a control unit 22 , a storage unit 23 , and a sensor 26 .

The communication unit 21 transmits the transmission information to the second communication unit 32 of the determination device 30 by wireless communication. The wireless communication may be short-range wireless communication. Examples of short-range wireless communication include Bluetooth, BLE, UWB, and ZigBee. In this embodiment 2, the communication unit 21 uses the long-range communication mode of BLE. The wireless communication method between the communication unit 21 and the second communication unit 32 of the determination device 30 may be different from the wireless communication method between the communication unit 11 of the UAS 10 and the first communication unit 31 of the determination device 30.

The storage unit 23 stores information necessary for the processing executed by the wireless communication device 20. Specifically, the storage unit 23 stores a first ID 24 and a second ID 25. The first ID 24 is the first ID of the UAS 10 associated with the wireless communication device 20, and is used in the matching judgment processing of the judgment device 30. The second ID 25 is a type of identification information of the UAS 10 associated with the wireless communication device 20 that is different from the first ID, and is, for example, identification information that is assigned to the UAS 10 after the shipment of the UAS 10. In this embodiment 2, the second ID 25 is the aircraft registration number of the UAS 10 associated with the wireless communication device 20.

The sensor 26 is a sensor that measures the state of the wireless communication device 20, which moves in conjunction with the body of the UAS 10 to which it is attached. For example, the sensor 26 measures the position (e.g., altitude, latitude, and longitude), acceleration, angle, etc. of the wireless communication device 20, and generates measurement information. The sensor 26 may receive the position information of the wireless communication device 20 from a positioning system (not shown) such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

The control unit 22 controls various components of the wireless communication device 20. Specifically, the control unit 22 transmits the first ID 24 and second ID 25 stored in the memory unit 23 and the location information of the wireless communication device 20 as transmission information to the second communication unit 32 of the determination device 30 via the communication unit 21. The transmission information may include measurement information of the sensor 26 in addition to the first ID 24, the second ID 25, and the location information. Note that information other than the first ID 24 in the transmission information may be referred to as auxiliary information. In this embodiment 2, the above transmission is performed by a broadcast method at a predetermined interval (for example, every second).

The wireless communication device 20 may have a tamper detection function that detects tampering such as unauthorized removal of the wireless communication device 20 from the associated UAS 10. For example, the wireless communication device 20 may have a sensor (not shown) that detects removal at the connection between the wireless communication device 20 and the UAS 10. The control unit 22 may output a warning via an output unit (not shown) in response to detecting tampering. For example, the wireless communication device 20 may have a light-emitting element such as an LED (light-emitting diode) or an OLED (organic light-emitting diode), and the control unit 22 may output a warning by emitting light from the light-emitting element so that it is visible from the outside. The wireless communication device 20 may also have a speaker, and the control unit 22 may output a warning by outputting an alarm sound from the speaker. This makes it possible to avoid unauthorized removal of the wireless communication device 20 from the associated UAS 10, and as a result, it is possible to avoid the removed wireless communication device 20 being attached to an unauthorized UAS 10. Furthermore, in response to detecting tampering, the control unit 22 may add tamper detection information indicating that tampering has been detected to the transmission information and transmit it to the determination device 30. In addition, in response to detecting tampering, the control unit 22 may stop transmitting the transmission information to the determination device 30. This makes it easier to expose a wireless communication device 20 that has been fraudulently removed, even if it is attached to and used by a fraudulent UAS 10.

(Determination device 30)
The determination device 30 has a first communication unit 31, a second communication unit 32, a third communication unit 33, a control unit 34, and a display unit 35.

The first communication unit 31 receives the transmission information (first ID 14) of the UAS 10 from the communication unit 11 of the UAS 10 via wireless communication.

The second communication unit 32 receives transmission information of the wireless communication device 20 from the communication unit 21 of the wireless communication device 20 via wireless communication.

The third communication unit 33 communicates with the server 40 via the Internet 4.

The control unit 34 controls various components of the determination device 30. The control unit 34 compares the first ID 14 received from the UAS 10 with the first ID 24 received from the wireless communication device 20. Then, the control unit 34 determines, as a result of the comparison determination process, whether the UAS 10 is a UAS 10 that can be associated with the wireless communication device 20.

The control unit 34 then performs processing according to the determination result. For example, the control unit 34 causes the display unit 35 to display the determination result. If the correspondence between the UAS 10 and the wireless communication device 20 is not confirmed, the control unit 34 may cause the display unit 35 to display a warning screen. For example, if the correspondence is confirmed, the control unit 34 may transmit the second ID 25 to the server 40 via the third communication unit 33 and obtain owner information regarding the UAS 10 from the server 40. If the correspondence is not confirmed, the control unit 34 may transmit a warning to the server 40 via the third communication unit 33.

The display unit 35 is a display that displays the results of processing by the control unit 34.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure for attaching the wireless communication device 20 according to the second embodiment.
First, the aircraft manufacturer that manufactures the UAS 10 assigns a unique serial number (first ID) to each UAS 10 (step S10). The aircraft manufacturer writes the serial number into the memory unit 13 of the UAS 10 (step S11). The aircraft manufacturer then ships the UAS 10 to a store (step S12).

The owner purchases the UAS10 through a store (step S13). The owner then applies for registration of the UAS10 to the registration agency (step S14).

The registration agency assigns an aircraft registration number (second ID) to the UAS10 and notifies the owner (step S15).

Next, the owner takes the UAS10, which has been assigned an aircraft registration number, to the aircraft manufacturer (step S16).

The aircraft manufacturer writes the serial number and aircraft registration number into the memory unit 23 of the wireless communication device 20 (step S17). This creates a correspondence between the wireless communication device 20 and the UAS 10. At this time, the aircraft manufacturer may use a dedicated writing tool to perform the writing process. The writing process may be performed by a company commissioned by the aircraft manufacturer. The dedicated writing tool is distributed only to specific aircraft manufacturers and companies that have received permission (for example, permission from the manufacturer of the wireless communication device 20). Those who have received permission are given a management number, and the management number and distribution record are strictly managed. Note that the dedicated writing tool may have an activation function to prevent the dedicated writing tool from being illegally copied and used for the writing process.

After the writing process, the aircraft manufacturer installs the wireless communication device 20 on the UAS 10 aircraft (step S18). If the wireless communication device 20 has the above-mentioned tamper detection function, the aircraft manufacturer may turn on the tamper detection function of the wireless communication device 20 upon completion of the installation.

The aircraft manufacturer then returns the UAS10 with the wireless communication device 20 to the owner (step S19), and the owner begins using the UAS10 (step S20).

Figure 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a according to the second embodiment. In this diagram, steps S21 to S26 show processing when a corresponding wireless communication device 20-1 is attached to the UAS 10-1, and steps S27 to S32 show processing when a non-corresponding wireless communication device 20-2 is attached to the UAS 10-1. Note that the diagonal lines in this diagram indicate that the wireless communication device is attached to the UAS 10-1.

First, the corresponding wireless communication device 20-1 is attached to the UAS 10-1 (step S21). When the UAS 10-1 starts flying, it starts broadcasting its serial number, which is the first ID 14 (step S22). As a result, the determination device 30 receives the serial number from the UAS 10-1.

In addition, the wireless communication device 20-1 also starts broadcasting transmission information in response to the start of flight of the UAS 10-1 (step S23). In this figure, the transmission information includes the serial number, which is the first ID 24, the aircraft registration number, which is the second ID 25, and the position information of the wireless communication device 20-1. As a result, the determination device 30 receives the transmission information from the wireless communication device 20-1.

The determination device 30 compares the serial number received from the UAS 10-1 with the serial number received from the wireless communication device 20-1 (step S24). The determination device 30 determines that the two serial numbers match and that the UAS 10-1 and the wireless communication device 20-1 correspond to each other. The determination device 30 then executes a predetermined process when it determines that there is a correspondence. For example, the determination device 30 transmits the aircraft registration number to the server 40 and inquires about the authenticity of the aircraft registration number and about the owner information of the UAS 10-1 (step S25). The server 40 determines whether a record for the received aircraft registration number exists from its own database (not shown), and if so, transmits the owner information associated with the aircraft registration number to the determination device 30 (step S26).

Here, assume that the corresponding wireless communication device 20-1 is separated from the UAS 10-1 (step S27), and the uncorresponding wireless communication device 20-2 is attached to the UAS 10-1 (step S28).

When UAS10-1 starts flying, it starts broadcasting its serial number (step S29). This allows the determination device 30 to receive the serial number from UAS10-1.

In addition, the wireless communication device 20-2 also starts broadcasting transmission information in response to the start of flight of the UAS 10-1 (step S30). As a result, the determination device 30 receives the transmission information from the wireless communication device 20-2.

The determination device 30 compares the serial number received from the UAS 10-1 with the serial number received from the wireless communication device 20-2 (step S31). The determination device 30 determines that the serial numbers do not match and that the UAS 10-1 and the wireless communication device 20-2 do not correspond to each other. The determination device 30 then displays a warning screen (step S32).

In this way, the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a of embodiment 2 can determine whether a legitimate wireless communication device 20 is attached to a UAS 10, and can easily find an unauthorized UAS 10 to which a wireless communication device 20 has been illegally attached. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the wireless communication device 20 from being attached to an unauthorized UAS 10.

In addition, the wireless communication device 20 can function as a license plate for the aircraft to which it is attached, since it transmits additional information such as the aircraft registration number to the determination device 30. This allows the determination device 30 to perform appropriate processing based on the additional information when a correspondence between the UAS 10 and the wireless communication device 20 is confirmed. For example, the determination device 30 can identify the owner of the UAS 10 based on the aircraft registration number when the UAS 10 is flying in unauthorized airspace or performing dangerous flight.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The third embodiment is characterized in that the determination device 30 determines whether the wireless communication device 20 that is the source of the first ID 24 is attached to the UAS 10 that is the source of the first ID 14. In other words, in the third embodiment, the determination device 30 identifies an attachment pair of the UAS 10 and the wireless communication device 20.

Below, two examples of how to specify an attachment pair are described.

(First Example)
The first example is an example in which the determination device 30 identifies an attachment pair based on the position information of the UAS 10 and the position information of the wireless communication device 20. In the first example, the UAS 10 receives the position information of the UAS 10 from a positioning system (not shown) such as GNSS. The control unit 12 of the UAS 10 transmits transmission information including the first ID 14 and the position information of the UAS 10 to the determination device 30 via the communication unit 11.

The control unit 34 of the determination device 30 acquires the position information of the UAS10 body via the first communication unit 31, and acquires the position information of the wireless communication device 20 via the second communication unit 32. The control unit 34 of the determination device 30 then compares the two pieces of position information, and as a result, determines whether or not the wireless communication device 20 is attached to the UAS10 body. If the control unit 34 of the determination device 30 determines that the wireless communication device 20 is attached to the UAS10 body, it executes a matching determination process between the first ID 14 received from the UAS10 and the first ID 24 received from the wireless communication device 20.

Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing a specific example of processing executed by the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a according to the first example of embodiment 3. In Figure 6, steps similar to those in Figure 5 are given the same reference symbols, and descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

The UAS 10-1, to which the corresponding wireless communication device 20-1 is attached, starts broadcasting transmission information in response to the start of flight (step S50). The transmission information includes its own serial number and its own aircraft's position information. As a result, the determination device 30 receives the transmission information from the UAS 10-1.

In addition, the wireless communication device 20-1 also starts broadcasting transmission information in response to the start of flight of the UAS 10-1 (step S51). The transmission information includes the aircraft serial number and aircraft registration number of the UAS 10-1, and the position information of the wireless communication device 20-1. As a result, the determination device 30 receives the transmission information from the wireless communication device 20-1.

The determination device 30 compares the location information received from the UAS 10-1 with the location information received from the wireless communication device 20-1, and determines whether the UAS 10-1 and the wireless communication device 20-1 are an attached pair (step S52). For example, if the locations of the UAS 10-1 and the wireless communication device 20-1 are less than a predetermined distance apart, the determination device 30 determines that the wireless communication device 20-1 is attached to the UAS 10-1. Furthermore, if the determination device 30 receives transmission information from each of multiple UASs 10 and multiple wireless communication devices 20, it may identify the pair whose locations are closest to each other as the attached pair. The determination device 30 then collates the serial numbers received from each of the UASs 10-1 and the wireless communication device 20-1 determined to be an attached pair (step S24).

Even if a wireless communication device 20-2 that does not correspond to the UAS 10-1 is attached, the UAS 10-1 and the wireless communication device 20-2 each broadcast the transmission information (steps S53-54) in the same manner as in steps S50-51. The determination device 30 identifies the attached pair based on the position information (step S55), and the subsequent processing is the same as in steps S31-32.

(Second Example)
The second example is an example in which the wireless communication device 20 transmits address information of the UAS 10 with which a short-range wireless communication connection has been established to the determination device 30, and identifies the attachment pair based on the address information received by the determination device 30. In the second example, the UAS 10 stores its own address information in the storage unit 13. Then, the wireless communication device 20 establishes a short-range wireless communication connection with the UAS 10 to which it is attached, and stores in the storage unit 23 the address information of the UAS 10 with which the connection has been established.

The control unit 12 of the UAS 10 sends the transmission information to which its own address information has been added to the determination device 30 via the communication unit 11. The control unit 22 of the wireless communication device 20 also adds the address information of the UAS 10 with which a connection has been established to the transmission information, and sends it to the determination device 30 via the communication unit 21.

The control unit 34 of the determination device 30 acquires address information from the UAS 10 via the first communication unit 31, and acquires address information from the wireless communication device 20 via the second communication unit 32. The control unit 34 of the determination device 30 then compares the address information of both, and as a result, determines whether the wireless communication device 20 is attached to the UAS 10. Specifically, if the address information of both matches, the control unit 34 of the determination device 30 determines that the wireless communication device 20 is attached to the body of the UAS 10. If the control unit 34 of the determination device 30 determines that the wireless communication device 20 is attached to the body of the UAS 10, it executes a process of matching the first ID 14 received from the UAS 10 with the first ID 24 received from the wireless communication device 20.

Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing a specific example of processing executed by the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a according to a second example of embodiment 3. In this diagram, the address information is a BD (Bluetooth Device) address that identifies a Bluetooth-enabled device, but is not limited to this and may be a MAC (Media Access Control address) address.

The wireless communication device 20-1 attached to the UAS 10-1 is paired with the UAS 10-1 and acquires the BD address of the UAS 10-1. The wireless communication device 20-1 establishes a connection with the UAS 10-1 in standard mode of Bluetooth before the flight of the UAS 10-1 or when the flight starts (step S60). The standard mode has a faster data transmission speed (e.g., 1 Mbps) than the long-distance communication mode, and a shorter reach than the long-distance communication mode.

In response to the start of flight, UAS10-1 starts broadcasting transmission information using the long-distance communication mode of Bluetooth (step S61). The transmission information includes the BD address of UAS10-1 and the serial number of UAS10-1. In response to the start of flight of UAS10-1, wireless communication device 20-1 also starts broadcasting transmission information using the long-distance communication mode of Bluetooth (step S62). The transmission information includes the BD address of UAS10-1, the serial number of UAS10-1, the aircraft registration number, and the aircraft's location information.

The determination device 30 compares the BD address received from the UAS 10-1 with the BD address received from the wireless communication device 20-1, and determines whether the UAS 10-1 and the wireless communication device 20-1 are an attached pair (step S63). If the BD addresses received from the UAS 10-1 and the wireless communication device 20-1 match, the determination device 30 determines that the wireless communication device 20-1 is attached to the UAS 10-1. Subsequent processing is the same as steps S24 to S26.

Even if a wireless communication device 20-2 that does not correspond to the UAS 10-1 is attached, the UAS 10-1 and the wireless communication device 20-2 establish a connection in the same manner as in steps S60 to S62, and each broadcasts the transmission information (steps S64 to S66). The determination device 30 identifies the attached pair based on the BD address (step S67), and the subsequent processing is the same as in steps S31 to S32.

In this way, according to the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a of the third embodiment, the determination device 30 identifies the attachment pair between the UAS 10 and the wireless communication device 20. Therefore, even if multiple UAS 10 are flying in the same airspace, the determination device 30 can preferably perform the matching determination process for the identified attachment pairs.

<Embodiment 4>
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the above-described embodiment, the determination device 30 receives the first ID 14 from the UAS 10 by wireless communication. However, if the UAS 10 does not have a wireless communication function that the determination device 30 can receive, or does not have a function to transmit the first ID 14, it is difficult for the determination device 30 to determine the correspondence with the wireless communication device 20. The fourth embodiment is characterized in that the determination device 30 can determine the correspondence with the wireless communication device 20 even if it does not receive the first ID 14 from the UAS 10.

Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1b according to the fourth embodiment. The unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1b has basically the same configuration and functions as the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1a according to the first to third embodiments, but instead of the UAS 10, the wireless communication device 20, and the determination device 30, it has a UAS 10b, a wireless communication device 20b, and a determination device 30b.

UAS10b has basically the same configuration and functions as UAS10, but differs from UAS10 in that it includes communication unit 11b instead of communication unit 11.

The communication unit 11b differs from the communication unit 11 in that it does not transmit the first ID 14 to the first communication unit 31 of the determination device 30. Therefore, in the UAS 10b, the memory unit 13 that stores the first ID 14 may be omitted.

In this embodiment 4, the memory unit 23 of the wireless communication device 20b stores a third ID 27 instead of the first ID 24 as the matching identification information. The third ID 27 is information used to identify the appearance of the UAS 10b aircraft. For example, the third ID 27 is information based on the product model number of the associated UAS 10b aircraft. In the following, the third ID 27 is described as the product model number of the associated UAS 10b aircraft. The control unit 22 of the wireless communication device 20b transmits transmission information including the product model number as the third ID to the second communication unit 32 of the determination device 30b via the communication unit 21.

The determination device 30b includes a control unit 34b and an imaging unit 36 instead of the control unit 34.

In response to receiving transmission information including the product model number from the wireless communication device 20b, the control unit 34b acquires an external image of the product corresponding to the product model number from the server 40. The external image is an image of the product's body. The control unit 34b also activates the imaging unit 36 to generate a photographed image of the body of the UAS 10b. The control unit 34b compares the photographed image with the external image corresponding to the product model number received from the wireless communication device 20b, and determines whether the UAS 10b and the wireless communication device 20b are in a corresponding relationship.

The imaging unit 36 is a camera that captures images of the UAS10b aircraft during flight.

Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the unmanned aircraft management system 1b in embodiment 4.

First, the corresponding wireless communication device 20b-1 is attached to the UAS 10b-1 (step S21).

When the UAS 10b-1 starts flying, the wireless communication device 20b-1 starts broadcasting the transmission information (step S70). In this figure, the transmission information includes the product model number, which is the third ID 27, the aircraft registration number, which is the second ID 25, and the position information of the wireless communication device 20b-1.

Then, the determination device 30b transmits the product model number information received from the wireless communication device 20b-1 to the server 40 (step S71), and receives an external image of the product corresponding to the product model number from the server 40 (step S72).

The determination device 30b also photographs the body of the UAS10b and generates a photographed image (step S73). At this time, the determination device 30b may generate an image in which an image area of the body of the UAS10b in the photographed image is cut out as the photographed image. Next, the determination device 30b compares the photographed image with the appearance image (step S74). For example, the determination device 30b may display the photographed image and the appearance image on the display unit 35, prompt the user of the determination device 30b to make a comparison judgment, and accept the input of the judgment result. For example, the determination device 30b may calculate feature amounts for each of the photographed image and the appearance image, and calculate the similarity based on the feature amounts of both. At this time, for example, the determination device 30b may use a trained convolutional neural network that inputs an image and outputs feature amounts corresponding to the image, or inputs two images and calculates the similarity between the two images. However, this is not limited to this, and the determination device 30b may calculate the similarity by an existing method. If the similarity is less than a predetermined threshold, the determination device 30b may determine that the UAS 10b-1 and the wireless communication device 20b-1 are in a corresponding relationship. Furthermore, the determination device 30b may combine the result of the similarity determination described above and the result of the comparison determination by the user to determine whether the UAS 10b-1 and the wireless communication device 20b-1 are in a corresponding relationship. Subsequent processing is similar to steps S25 to S26.

Even if a wireless communication device 20b-2 that is not in correspondence with the UAS 10b-1 is attached, the wireless communication device 20b-2 broadcasts the transmission information in the same manner as in step S70 (step S75). The determination device 30b then performs the same processing as in steps S71 to S74 (steps S76 to S78). Subsequent processing is the same as in steps S31 to S32.

The determination device 30b may have the same functions as the determination device 30, and if it determines that the first ID 14 can be received from the UAS, it may perform a matching determination process (processing shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7) similar to those of embodiments 1 to 3. In this case, the wireless communication device may include information indicating the type of matching identification information in the information transmitted to the determination device 30b. The information indicating the type of matching identification information may be, for example, an identifier indicating whether the matching identification information is the first ID or the third ID. The determination device 30b may then determine whether the first ID 14 can be received from the UAS based on the information indicating the type of matching identification information received from the wireless communication device.

In this way, according to the unmanned aerial vehicle management system 1b of embodiment 4, the same effects as those of embodiments 1 to 3 can be obtained even when the determination device 30b cannot receive the first ID 14 from the UAS 10b.

Next, the physical configuration of the UAS, wireless communication device, and determination device will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer that can be used as the UAS, wireless communication device, and determination device. The computer 1000 has a processor 1010, a storage unit 1020, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1030, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1040, a communication interface (IF: Interface) 1050, and a user interface 1060.

The communication interface 1050 is an interface for connecting the computer 1000 to a communication network via a wired communication means or a wireless communication means. The user interface 1060 includes a display unit such as a display. The user interface 1060 also includes an input unit such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel.

The storage unit 1020 is an auxiliary storage device that can hold various types of data. The storage unit 1020 does not necessarily have to be a part of the computer 1000, but may be an external storage device or a cloud storage device connected to the computer 1000 via a network.

The ROM 1030 is a non-volatile storage device. For example, a semiconductor storage device with a relatively small capacity, such as a flash memory, is used for the ROM 1030. The programs executed by the processor 1010 can be stored in the storage unit 1020 or the ROM 1030. The storage unit 1020 or the ROM 1030 stores various programs for implementing the functions of each part in, for example, the UAS, the wireless communication device, or the determination device.

The above program can be stored and supplied to the computer 1000 using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media such as flexible disks, magnetic tapes, or hard disks, magneto-optical recording media such as magneto-optical disks, optical disk media such as compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs), and semiconductor memories such as mask ROMs, programmable ROMs (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), flash ROMs, or RAMs. The program may also be supplied to the computer using various types of temporary computer-readable media. Examples of temporary computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable media can supply the program to the computer via wired communication paths such as electric wires and optical fibers, or wireless communication paths.

RAM 1040 is a volatile storage device. Various semiconductor memory devices such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) are used for RAM 1040. RAM 1040 can be used as an internal buffer for temporarily storing data, etc. Processor 1010 expands a program stored in storage unit 1020 or ROM 1030 into RAM 1040 and executes it. By processor 1010 executing a program, the functions of each unit in the UAS, wireless communication device, or determination device can be realized. Processor 1010 may have an internal buffer that can temporarily store data, etc.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
For example, in the first to third embodiments, the information transmitted from the UAS 10 to the determination device 30 includes the first ID 14, and the information transmitted from the wireless communication device 20 to the determination device 30 includes the first ID 24 corresponding to the first ID 14. However, the information transmitted from the wireless communication device 20 to the determination device 30 may include information (encrypted information) obtained by encrypting the first ID 24 using a private key instead of the first ID 24. Furthermore, the information transmitted from the UAS 10 to the determination device 30 may further include information on a public key corresponding to the private key. The determination device 30 may then decrypt the encrypted information using the public key acquired from the UAS 10 and perform a matching determination process. This prevents an unauthorized operator from writing the first ID of the UAS 10 that does not correspond to the wireless communication device 20 into the wireless communication device 20, and from masquerading as if the wireless communication device 20 corresponds to the UAS 10.

In the above embodiment, the UAS 10 is described as an unmanned aerial vehicle, but the UAS 10 may be configured to include an unmanned aerial vehicle and a pilot transmitter 16. The pilot transmitter 16 may store the first ID 14 in advance, and the pilot transmitter 16 may transmit transmission information including the first ID 14 to the first communication unit 31 of the determination device 30 instead of the unmanned aerial vehicle. In the first example of the third embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle of the UAS 10 may periodically transmit the position information of its own aircraft to the pilot transmitter 16. In this case, the transmission information transmitted from the pilot transmitter 16 includes the position information of the UAS 10 aircraft in addition to the first ID 14. In the second example of the third embodiment, the pilot transmitter 16 may store the address information of the unmanned aerial vehicle in advance, or the unmanned aerial vehicle of the UAS 10 may transmit the address information of its own aircraft to the pilot transmitter 16. In this case, the transmission information sent from the pilot transmitter 16 includes the address information of the UAS 10 in addition to the first ID 14.

In the above embodiment, the determination device 30 performs the matching determination process, but the server 40 may perform the process instead of the determination device 30. In this case, the determination device 30 may transmit information necessary for the matching determination to the server 40 and receive the determination result from the server 40. Note that, as an example of processing after confirming the correspondence between the UAS 10 and the wireless communication device 20, the determination device 30 has been described as inquiring of the server 40 regarding the authenticity of the aircraft registration number and the owner information. However, if the determination device 30 has a database that records the aircraft registration number and the owner information, the above inquiry to the server 40 may be omitted.

In the above-mentioned fourth embodiment, the determination device 30b performs a matching determination process using a product image linked to the product model number, but the product model number of the UAS 10b may be registered in advance in the server 40 when the aircraft registration number is registered, and the product model number indicated by the third ID 27 of the wireless communication device 20b may be compared with the product model number stored in the server 40 for matching.

1, 1a, 1b Unmanned aircraft management system 4 Internet 10, 10b Unmanned aircraft system (UAS)
11, 11b Communication unit 12 Control unit 13 Storage unit 14 First ID
16 Operator transmitter 20, 20b Wireless communication device 21 Communication unit 22 Control unit 23 Storage unit 24 First ID
25 Second ID
26 Sensor 27 Third ID
30, 30b Determination device 31 First communication unit 32 Second communication unit 33 Third communication unit 34 Control unit 35 Display unit 36 Imaging unit 40 Server 1000 Computer 1010 Processor 1020 Storage unit 1030 ROM
1040 RAM
1050 Communication interface 1060 User interface

Claims (11)

A determination device;
an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that transmits its own identification information to the determination device by wireless communication;
a wireless communication device, each of which is associated with a respective one of the plurality of UASs in advance, each of which is attached to the airframe of each of the plurality of UASs, and which transmits identification information of the associated UAS to the determination device by wireless communication;
The determination device compares the identification information received from the UAS with identification information received from a wireless communication device attached to the body of the UAS, and as a result, determines whether the UAS is a UAS associated with the wireless communication device;
The determination device includes:
Acquire position information of the UAS and position information of the wireless communication device;
and determining whether or not the wireless communication device is attached to the body of the UAS based on position information of the body of the UAS and position information of the wireless communication device. The unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication device transmits to the determination device an aircraft registration number of the associated UAS in addition to the identification information of the associated UAS. The unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the identification information transmitted from the UAS and the identification information transmitted from the wireless communication device are information based on the serial number of the UAS aircraft. The unmanned aerial vehicle management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless communication device outputs a warning in response to detecting that the wireless communication device has been removed from the body of an associated UAS. A first communication unit that receives identification information of an unmanned aerial system (UAS) from the UAS via wireless communication;
a second communication unit that receives, via wireless communication, identification information of the UAS associated with the wireless communication device from the wireless communication device, the second communication unit being associated with each of the plurality of UASs and attached to the airframe of each of the plurality of UASs;
a control unit that compares identification information received from the UAS with identification information received from a wireless communication device attached to the body of the UAS, and determines whether or not the UAS is a UAS that is associated with the wireless communication device as a result;
Acquire position information of the UAS and position information of the wireless communication device;
A determination device that determines whether or not the wireless communication device is attached to the body of the UAS based on position information of the body of the UAS and position information of the wireless communication device. receiving , by a determination device, identification information of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) from the UAS via wireless communication;
A step in which the determination device receives, via wireless communication, identification information of the UAS associated with the wireless communication device from a wireless communication device, each of which is previously associated with each of a plurality of UASs and each of which is attached to the airframe of each of the plurality of UASs;
The determination device compares the identification information received from the UAS with the identification information received from a wireless communication device attached to the body of the UAS, and determines whether the UAS is a UAS associated with the wireless communication device as a result;
The determination device acquires position information of the UAS and position information of the wireless communication device;
a step of the determination device determining whether the wireless communication device is attached to the body of the UAS based on position information of the body of the UAS and position information of the wireless communication device;
The determination method includes: receiving, via wireless communication, from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) an identification of the UAS;
A process of receiving, via wireless communication, identification information of a UAS associated with a wireless communication device from a wireless communication device, each of which is previously associated with a respective one of the plurality of UASs and each of which is attached to an airframe of each of the plurality of UASs;
A process of comparing identification information received from a UAS with identification information received from a wireless communication device attached to a body of the UAS, and determining whether or not the UAS is a UAS associated with the wireless communication device as a result;
A process of acquiring position information of the UAS and position information of the wireless communication device;
A process of determining whether the wireless communication device is attached to the body of the UAS based on position information of the body of the UAS and position information of the wireless communication device;
A program for causing a computer to execute the following. A determination device;
an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that transmits its own identification information to the determination device by wireless communication;
a wireless communication device, each of which is associated with a respective one of the plurality of UASs in advance, each of which is attached to the airframe of each of the plurality of UASs, and which transmits identification information of the associated UAS to the determination device by wireless communication;
The determination device compares the identification information received from the UAS with identification information received from a wireless communication device attached to the body of the UAS, and as a result, determines whether the UAS is a UAS associated with the wireless communication device;
The wireless communication device transmits a product model number of the associated UAS to the determination device via wireless communication;
The determination device includes:
A photographed image of the UAS is generated;
An unmanned aerial vehicle management system that compares the captured image with an exterior image corresponding to the product model number received from the wireless communication device. A first communication unit that receives identification information of an unmanned aerial system (UAS) from the UAS via wireless communication;
a second communication unit that receives, via wireless communication, identification information of the UAS associated with the wireless communication device from the wireless communication device, each of which is associated with a respective one of the multiple UASs and is attached to the airframe of each of the multiple UASs;
a control unit that compares identification information received from the UAS with identification information received from a wireless communication device attached to the body of the UAS, and determines whether or not the UAS is a UAS that is associated with the wireless communication device as a result;
acquiring a product model number of the associated UAS from the wireless communication device via wireless communication;
A photographed image of the UAS is generated;
A determination device that compares the captured image with an appearance image corresponding to the product model number received from the wireless communication device. receiving , by a determination device, identification information of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) from the UAS via wireless communication;
A step in which the determination device receives, via wireless communication, identification information of the UAS associated with the wireless communication device from a wireless communication device, each of which is previously associated with each of a plurality of UASs and each of which is attached to the airframe of each of the plurality of UASs;
The determination device compares the identification information received from the UAS with the identification information received from a wireless communication device attached to the airframe of the UAS, and determines whether the UAS is a UAS associated with the wireless communication device as a result.
The determination device acquires a product model number of the associated UAS from the wireless communication device through wireless communication;
A step in which the determination device generates a photographed image of the UAS body;
A step in which the determination device compares the captured image with an appearance image corresponding to the product model number received from the wireless communication device;
The determination method includes: receiving, via wireless communication, from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) an identification of the UAS;
A process of receiving, via wireless communication, identification information of a UAS associated with a wireless communication device from a wireless communication device, each of which is previously associated with a respective one of the plurality of UASs and each of which is attached to an airframe of each of the plurality of UASs;
A process of comparing identification information received from a UAS with identification information received from a wireless communication device attached to a body of the UAS, and determining whether or not the UAS is a UAS associated with the wireless communication device as a result;
A process of acquiring a product model number of the associated UAS from the wireless communication device via wireless communication;
A process of generating a photographed image of the UAS body;
A process of comparing the captured image with an external appearance image corresponding to the product model number received from the wireless communication device;
A program for causing a computer to execute the following.

Images