JP7690392B2 - Public address system using unmanned aerial vehicle, public address method, and unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with public address device - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a method for amplifying sound using an unmanned aerial vehicle, a system for amplifying sound, and an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a sound amplifying device.

There is a known method of outputting audio messages such as evacuation guidance from a speaker mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle such as a drone. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a speaker fixed to the underside of the aircraft and a direction controller for the speaker. The direction controller is used to point the speaker's sound output toward the target person in line with the camera's shooting direction, thereby transmitting the audio message to the target person.

Patent No. 6624747

The range of sound transmission from the speakers of an unmanned aerial vehicle during flight varies depending on various factors. The sound may not be audible enough, or the sound pressure level may be too high and difficult to hear. For this reason, it is difficult to achieve adequate sound amplification in the target area where you want to transmit the sound.

In view of the above-mentioned points, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a public address system using an unmanned aerial vehicle, a public address method, and an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a public address device, which are effective in performing appropriate public address in a target area.

In order to solve the above problem, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a public address system is a public address system that uses an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a public address device, and includes a memory unit and an output unit. The memory unit stores the public address range of the unmanned aerial vehicle, which is determined based on the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the characteristic information of the public address device. The output unit outputs the public address range in relation to the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle or the operation of the public address device.

Outputting a loudspeaker range in relation to the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle or the operation of the loudspeaker device includes outputting a loudspeaker range in response to the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle or the operation of the loudspeaker device, or performing the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle or the operation of the loudspeaker device in response to the output loudspeaker range.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the method for amplifying sound is a method for amplifying sound using an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a sound amplification device, and includes a step of acquiring an amplification range by the unmanned aerial vehicle, which is determined based on position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle and characteristic information of the sound amplification device, and a step of outputting the amplification range in relation to the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle or the operation of the sound amplification device.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the unmanned aerial vehicle is an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a loudspeaker device, and includes a memory device and a control device. The memory device stores the loudspeaker range of the unmanned aerial vehicle, which is determined based on the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the characteristic information of the loudspeaker device. The control device controls the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle or the operation of the loudspeaker device according to the loudspeaker range.

The public address system, public address method, and unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with the public address device according to the present disclosure are effective in providing appropriate public address in a target area.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of a loudspeaker system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the configuration of a management device and a terminal device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 3 shows an example of the appearance of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4 shows an example configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of amplified information according to the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic view of the sound amplification range of an unmanned aerial vehicle. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic view of the sound amplification range of an unmanned aerial vehicle. FIG. 8A shows an example of a display of a loudspeaker range including a sound pressure distribution. FIG. 8B shows an example of a display of the sound amplification range including the sound pressure distribution. FIG. 8C shows an example of a display of the sound amplification range including the sound pressure distribution. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the loudspeaker system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 shows an example of the configuration of a terminal device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the loudspeaker system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the loudspeaker system according to the modified example of the second embodiment. FIG. 13A is a diagram for explaining the sound amplification range achieved by the operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle in another embodiment. Figure 13B is a diagram for explaining the sound amplification range due to the operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle in another embodiment.

Below, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanation of already well-known matters or duplicate explanation of substantially identical configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid the following explanation becoming unnecessarily redundant and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. Note that the attached drawings and the following explanation are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

In the following description, the Z-axis direction indicates the up-down direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle or the flight height direction. The X-axis perpendicular to the Z-axis and the Y-axis perpendicular to the Z-axis and X-axis are axes that form the plane (XY plane) along which the unmanned aerial vehicle moves during flight. "Target area" indicates the area in which the desired sound is amplified. "Amplification range" indicates the range in the target area in which sound can be transmitted from a loudspeaker or speaker. The range in which sound can be transmitted does not simply indicate the range in which sound can be heard, but generally indicates the range in which a person can clearly distinguish that sound.

Each embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

1. First embodiment
The public address system or public address method using an unmanned aerial vehicle in this embodiment outputs a public address range determined based on position information including the flight altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle during flight and characteristic information of the public address device mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

1-1. Configuration 1-1-1. Configuration of the Public Address System Fig. 1 shows an outline of the overall configuration of a public address system 1 according to this embodiment. The public address system 1 (an example of a public address system) comprises a management device 10 and a terminal device 30 capable of communicating with the management device 10 via a network N. The public address system 1 further includes an unmanned aerial vehicle 50 capable of communicating with the management device 10, the terminal device 30, or an operation terminal (not shown).

The network N includes a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, a WAN (Wide Area Network), and/or the Internet. The network N also includes a wireless base station set up for each predetermined area.

1-1-2. Configuration of the Management Device The management device 10 shown in FIG. 2 is a computer device that functions as a server or the like, and includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a communication unit 19. The control unit 11 is an electronic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 11 operates as an arithmetic processing device and a control device, and controls the management device 10 according to various programs to execute functions described below. The storage unit 12 (an example of a storage unit) is a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), a FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory), or the like. The ROM, HDD, SSD, FeRAM, or the like stores programs, calculation parameters, calculation results, and the like used by the control unit 11. The RAM temporarily stores programs used in the execution of the functions of the control unit 11, parameters that change appropriately during the execution, and the like. The communication unit 19 (an example of an output unit) is, for example, a network interface card for connecting to a wired LAN or the Internet. The communication unit 19 may be a wireless communication interface for connecting to a base station or a communication interface compatible with a wireless LAN.

The control unit 11 (an example of a control unit) executes a predetermined program read from the memory unit 12 to perform the functions of the position information acquisition unit 111, the characteristic information acquisition unit 112, the amplification range determination unit 113, and the amplification display information generation unit 114.

The location information acquisition unit 111 acquires location information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 during flight. The location information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 includes the flight altitude. The location information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 is received at predetermined intervals from the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 via the communication unit 19, as described below. The location information includes location information including longitude and latitude in addition to the flight altitude.

In addition, the location information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 may be received from the operation terminal (not shown) of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 via the communication unit 19.

The characteristic information acquisition unit 112 acquires characteristic information of the speaker 62 (an example of a loudspeaker) mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 shown in Figures 3 and 4 from the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 during flight via the communication unit 19. The characteristic information includes, for example, type information indicating the specifications and performance of the speaker 62 (for example, output sound pressure level, frequency characteristics, product name, model number, and other setting information from which this information can be acquired), information indicating the angle of the speaker 62 (hereinafter referred to as the speaker angle) (an example of information indicating the loudspeaker direction of the loudspeaker), etc. The volume level of the speaker 62 is set based on the output sound pressure level and frequency characteristics. The speaker angle indicates the angle θ of the speaker 62 between the Z axis along the up-down direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 and the traveling direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50, as shown in Figure 3.

The amplification range determination unit 113 determines the amplification range of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 during flight based on the flight altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 and characteristic information of the speaker 62. The amplification range determination unit 113 refers to the amplification information 121a in the amplification information storage unit 121 of the storage unit 12.

The loudspeaker information 121a shown in FIG. 5 includes a loudspeaker range determined according to the speaker angle and flight altitude at a set predetermined volume level, for example. The loudspeaker information 121a also includes information indicating the sound pressure distribution in each loudspeaker range. The loudspeaker information 121a is acquired and accumulated in advance by performing flight experiments of the unmanned flying object 50 equipped with various speakers 62 under a predetermined environment (for example, predetermined conditions of wind speed, wind direction, temperature, etc. that affect the loudspeaker). The loudspeaker information 121a is generated for each type of speaker 62 because it is related to the output sound pressure level and frequency characteristics of the speaker 62. The loudspeaker range and sound pressure distribution also differ depending on the volume level of the speaker 62, so the loudspeaker information 121a may be generated and stored for each different volume level (an example of characteristic information).

Figures 6 and 7 show schematic examples of amplification ranges C11, C12, C13, C21, C22, C23, C31, C32, and C33 determined based on the flight altitude and speaker angle θ of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50. Each amplification range is defined by the distance centered on the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 in flight. Figure 6 shows the amplification range on the XZ plane as seen from the Y-axis direction, with the ground below the paper. Figure 7 shows the amplification range on the XY plane as seen from the Z-axis direction, and is a view of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 in flight from above. As shown in Figure 6, the higher the flight altitude, the larger the amplification range on the XZ plane. Also, as shown in Figure 7, the larger the speaker angle, the further the amplification range on the XY plane extends in the direction of the speaker 62, i.e., in the amplification direction (the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 7).

The loudspeaker display information generating unit 114 generates loudspeaker display information including the determined loudspeaker range. The loudspeaker display information includes the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50, the loudspeaker range centered on the unmanned aerial vehicle 50, the flight altitude, the volume level, etc. The loudspeaker display information is transmitted to the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 19.

The loudspeaker display information may include information indicating a sound pressure distribution (dB) as described below. For example, a bandwidth (e.g., 1/3 octave band) of a predetermined center frequency (e.g., 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, etc.) is set, and a sound pressure distribution on the XY plane for each bandwidth is generated.

1-1-3. Configuration of the terminal device The terminal device 30 shown in FIG. 2 is a computer device capable of communicating with the management device 10 by wireless communication, and includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, an input unit 36, a display unit 37, and a communication unit 39. The control unit 31 is an electronic circuit such as a CPU. The control unit 31 operates as an arithmetic processing device and a control device, and controls the terminal device 30 according to various programs to execute the functions described below. The storage unit 32 is a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, a RAM, or a flash memory. The ROM and the flash memory store programs, calculation parameters, calculation results, etc. used by the control unit 31. The RAM temporarily stores programs used in executing the functions of the control unit 31, parameters that change appropriately during the execution, etc. The input unit 36 includes buttons and a touch panel. The display unit 37 (an example of an output unit) is composed of a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display device. The display unit 37 displays the loudspeaker display information including the loudspeaker range of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 received from the management device 10.

The communication unit 39 is, for example, a network interface card for connecting to a wired LAN or the Internet. The communication unit 39 may also be a wireless communication interface for connecting to a base station or a communication interface compatible with a wireless LAN.

The control unit 31 (an example of a control unit) executes the functions of the display control unit 311 by executing a program read from the memory unit 32. The display control unit 311 causes the loudspeaker display information received from the management device 10 to be displayed on the display unit 37. The loudspeaker display information may be displayed on the display unit 37 in conjunction with existing map information using known technology such as mashup.

The display control unit 311 may display the sound amplification range of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 in flight on the display unit 37, color-coded according to the high and low sound pressure levels (dB). For example, the display unit 37 displays the sound amplification range and sound pressure distribution shown in FIG. 8A when the speaker angle is 0 degrees, displays the sound amplification range and sound pressure distribution shown in FIG. 8B when the speaker angle is 45 degrees, and displays the sound amplification range and sound pressure distribution shown in FIG. 8C when the speaker angle is 90 degrees. These sound amplification ranges and sound pressure distributions may be displayed on the display unit 37 for each bandwidth of different center frequencies.

In this way, by displaying on the display unit 37 the sound amplification range of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 during flight and the sound pressure distribution within that sound amplification range, the user can grasp in real time the extent to which the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 is able to amplify sound in the target area.

1-1-4. Configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle FIG. 3 shows a part of the appearance of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50, and FIG. 4 shows an example of the overall configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50. The unmanned aerial vehicle 50 (an example of an unmanned aerial vehicle) is an unmanned aircraft that can be remotely controlled or automatically piloted, and performs flight operations such as ascending, moving forward, rotating, descending, and hovering in response to flight instructions from an operation terminal (not shown). The unmanned aerial vehicle 50 comprises a main body 50a, a plurality of arms 50b extending horizontally radially from the main body 50a, a plurality of legs 50c extending downward, and rotors 55 attached to the upper ends of each leg 50c. The unmanned aerial vehicle 50 flies using lift generated by rotating the rotors 55 by the rotation of the motor 56, and generates a reaction by changing the rotation direction of some of the rotors 55, preventing the main body 50a itself from rotating. A speaker 62 is mounted on the main body 50a of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50. The angle of the speaker 62 can be changed in the upward and downward directions as indicated by the arrows by the speaker direction control mechanism 61. This makes it possible to change the direction in which the speaker 62 emits sound.

As shown in FIG. 4, the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 is equipped with a control device 51, a memory device 52, a group of sensors 53, a GPS receiver 54, a battery 58, and a wireless communication device 59 as components for performing flight. The control device 51 (an example of a control device) is an electronic circuit such as a CPU, functions as an arithmetic processing device and a control device, and controls the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 according to various programs to perform functions described below. The memory device 52 (an example of a memory device) is a memory such as a ROM, RAM, or flash memory. The ROM and flash memory store programs, calculation parameters, calculation results, etc. used by the control device 51. The RAM temporarily stores programs used in executing the functions of the control device 51, and parameters that change as appropriate during that execution.

The sensor group 53 includes an acceleration sensor and an angular velocity sensor for detecting acceleration and angular velocity for controlling the attitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50, an air pressure sensor for detecting the flight altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50, an ultrasonic sensor for maintaining altitude, a geomagnetic sensor for detecting the orientation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50, and the like. The GPS receiver 54 includes an antenna and a signal processing unit, and receives signals from GPS satellites to detect the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50. The battery 58 stores and supplies the power required for the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50. The wireless communication device 59 includes a wireless communication interface for wireless communication with the terminal device 30. The position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 is transmitted to the management device 10 via the wireless communication device 59 at predetermined intervals.

The unmanned aerial vehicle 50 further includes a microphone direction control mechanism 63, a microphone 64, a camera direction control mechanism 65, and a camera 66. The microphone 64 can change its sound collection direction by changing its angle in the vertical direction, similar to the speaker 62, using the microphone direction control mechanism 63. The camera 66 can change its shooting direction by changing its angle in the vertical direction, similar to the speaker 62, using the camera direction control mechanism 65.

The control device 51 executes the functions of the flight control unit 511, the voice control unit 512, and the image control unit 513 by executing a program read from the storage device 52. The flight control unit 511 controls the number of rotations and the rotation speed of the motor 56 according to flight instructions received via the wireless communication device 59 to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle 50. The flight control unit 511 acquires position information including the inclination and rotation of the main body 50a shown in FIG. 3, the latitude and longitude during flight, the altitude, and the azimuth of the main body 50a, based on the output data of the above-mentioned sensor group 53 and the GPS receiver 54. The storage device 52 stores a program in which an algorithm is implemented to control the attitude and basic flight operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 during flight. The program flies the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 while correcting the attitude and position of the main body 50a according to the flight instruction signal received by the wireless communication device 59. The unmanned aerial vehicle 50 may be operated manually by a user using an operation terminal (not shown), or may be flown autonomously along a predetermined flight route.

The audio control unit 512 amplifies predetermined audio content through the speaker 62. The audio control unit 512 controls the speaker direction control mechanism 61 so as to orient the speaker 62 in a desired direction. The audio control unit 512 also transmits audio collected by the microphone 64 to an operation terminal or the like via the wireless communication device 59. The image control unit 513 temporarily stores video and images captured by the camera 66 in the storage device 52, and transmits them to an external device such as an operation terminal via the wireless communication device 59.

1-2. Operation The operation of the loudspeaker system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 9. A predetermined program (a program for displaying the loudspeaker range by the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 in flight) is started in the terminal device 30. The position information acquisition unit 111 of the management device 10 acquires position information including the flight altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 in flight (S101). The characteristic information acquisition unit 112 acquires characteristic information of the speaker 62 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 (S102). The characteristic information includes information indicating the speaker angle. The loudspeaker range determination unit 113 determines the loudspeaker range by the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 with reference to the loudspeaker information 121a (FIG. 5) (S103). For example, at a predetermined volume level, when the flight altitude is 25 m and the speaker angle is 45 degrees, the loudspeaker range C22 shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 is determined. The loudspeaker display information generating unit 114 generates loudspeaker display information including the determined loudspeaker range, and transmits the information to the terminal device 30 (S104).

In the terminal device 30, the display control unit 311 causes the display unit 37 to display the received sound amplification range (S105). At this time, as described above, the display unit 37 may display the sound pressure distribution as shown in FIG. 8B (when the speaker angle is 45 degrees).

The management device 10 acquires the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 at a predetermined interval (S106).
If there is a change in the flight altitude or speaker angle of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 (YES in S107), the process returns to step S103 and the amplification range is determined again. For example, if the altitude changes from 25 m to 45 m, the amplification range C32 (FIGS. 6 and 7) is determined based on the amplification information 121a (FIG. 5). In response to this, changed amplification display information is generated and displayed (S104, S105). In addition, in step S107, if there is a change in the speaker angle of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 during flight, the amplification range is similarly determined again.

If there is no change in the flight altitude or speaker angle of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 (NO in S107) but there is a change in the position (longitude and latitude) of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 (YES in S108), the loudspeaker display information generation unit 114 of the management device 10 updates the loudspeaker display information accordingly and transmits it to the terminal device 30 (S109). In the terminal device 30, the display control unit 311 causes the display unit 37 to display the updated loudspeaker display information indicating the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50. The above process is repeated as long as the program does not end (S110).

1-3. Features The public address system 1 or public address method using the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 according to the above embodiment determines the public address range of the speaker 62 based on position information including the flight altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 and characteristic information of the speaker 62, and displays or changes the public address range and sound pressure distribution according to the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 and the speaker 62. This allows the user to grasp in real time the range to which the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 is able to provide public address in the target area. Therefore, appropriate public address can be provided using the unmanned aerial vehicle 50.

2. Second embodiment
In an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a public address system, a public address method, or a public address device using the unmanned aerial vehicle of this embodiment, the public address range is selected by a user's input operation, and the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle is controlled in accordance with the selected public address range.

In the following description, the same configurations or functions as those of the loudspeaker system 1 shown in Figures 1 to 4 will not be described and similar reference numerals will be used.

In this embodiment, the control unit 31 of the terminal device 30 differs from the first embodiment in that it executes the functions of a sound amplification range specification unit 312, a flight instruction unit 313, and a sound amplification instruction unit 314, and in that the display control unit 311 displays on the display unit 37 a screen for selecting and inputting the sound amplification range.

The display control unit 311 displays a selection input screen including a selectable amplification range in addition to the loudspeaker display information received from the management device 10. The information including the selectable amplification range is, for example, the amplification range corresponding to the amplification ranges C11, C12, C13, C21, C22, C23, C31, C32, and C33 shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. The selection input screen includes the amplification range centered on the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 and includes buttons for selecting this information. The selectable amplification range may also include a sound pressure distribution (dB). The sound pressure distribution is a sound pressure distribution in a bandwidth of a predetermined center frequency (for example, 1000 Hz). In this case, the display unit 37 may display the selectable amplification range by color-coding the high and low sound pressure levels as shown in FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C. The display unit 37 may also display the amplification range and sound pressure distribution by the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 for multiple bandwidths with different center frequencies.

The amplification range identification unit 312 identifies the amplification range selected and input via the input unit 36. The amplification range identification unit 312 identifies the selected amplification range by referring to the amplification information 121a as shown in FIG. 5, which is pre-stored in the memory unit 32 or the like. Alternatively, the amplification range identification unit 312 may identify the selected amplification range by inquiring of the management device 10 via the communication unit 39.

The flight instruction unit 313 generates a flight instruction according to the specified amplification range. For example, referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, it is assumed that the current amplification range is C22 and the specified amplification range is C32. As a result, a flight instruction to change the flight altitude from 25 m to 45 m is generated. The amplification instruction unit 314 generates a amplification instruction according to the specified amplification range. For example, it is assumed that the current amplification range is C22 and the specified amplification range is C23. As a result, a amplification instruction to change the speaker angle from 45 degrees to 90 degrees is generated. Alternatively, it is assumed that the current amplification range is C22 and the characterized amplification range is C33. As a result, a flight instruction to change the flight altitude from 25 m to 45 m is generated, and an amplification instruction to change the speaker angle from 45 degrees to 90 degrees is generated. The amplification instruction unit 314 also instructs a change in the volume level if it is necessary to change the volume level of the speaker.

The terminal device 30 may also serve as an operation terminal capable of controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 by wireless communication. In this case, the terminal device 30 may include a joystick as the input unit 36. The user controls the flight operation and the voice amplification operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 by input operation of the input unit 36. In this case, the input unit 36 can accept input for controlling the direction of the speaker 62, the microphone 64, and the camera 66 (FIG. 4) mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 50. The display unit 37 may display the video and images captured by the camera 66 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50. Alternatively, the terminal device 30 may transmit flight instructions and voice amplification instructions to a separate operation terminal via the communication unit 39, and control the flight operation and voice amplification operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 via the operation terminal. Alternatively, the flight instructions and voice amplification instructions from the terminal device 30 may be transmitted to the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 via the management device 10.

2-2. Operation The operation of the loudspeaker system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Steps S201 to S204 are the same as steps S101 to S104 shown in Fig. 9, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

In the terminal device 30, the display control unit 311 displays the received amplification range on the display unit 37, and also displays a selection input screen including the selectable amplification range as described above (S205). For example, assume that the current amplification range of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 is C22 as shown in Figures 6 and 7. The display control unit 311 displays amplification display information including the current amplification range C22, and also displays a selection input screen including other amplification ranges C11, C12, C13, C21, C23, C31, C32, C33, etc. that can be selected by the user.

When a selection of the amplification range is input via the input unit 36 in the terminal device 30 (YES in S206), the amplification range identification unit 312 identifies the selected amplification range by referring to the amplification information previously stored in the memory unit 32 (S207). As described above, the flight instruction unit 313 and/or the amplification instruction unit 314 generate flight instructions and/or amplification instructions corresponding to the identified amplification range, and transmit them to the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 via the communication unit 39 (S208).

The unmanned aerial vehicle 50 receives flight instructions and/or amplified voice instructions via the wireless communication device 59. In accordance with the flight instructions, the flight control unit 511 controls the rotation of the motor 56 based on data from the sensor group 53 and the GPS receiver 54 to fly at the instructed flight altitude. In accordance with the amplified voice instructions, the voice control unit 512 controls the speaker direction control mechanism 61 to change the angle of the speaker 62.

2-3. Features The public address system 1 using the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 according to this embodiment, the public address method, or the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 equipped with the speaker 62 selects a public address range through an input operation by the user, and controls the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the selected public address range. This allows the user to control the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 so that public address is performed within the desired public address range. Therefore, appropriate public address can be performed using the unmanned aerial vehicle 50.

In the above-mentioned second embodiment, the flight operation or the voice amplification operation is controlled so as to change the voice amplification range of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 during flight, but this is not limited to the above. The voice amplification system 1 may start the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 according to the voice amplification range that is selected and input.

Figure 12 shows the operation of the public address system 1 according to this modified example. The terminal device 30 shown in Figure 10 acquires information about the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 (including characteristic information about the speaker 62 mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 50) (S211). This information may be received via the communication unit 39 or may be input via the input unit 36. In response to this, the display control unit 311 causes the display unit 37 to display a selection input screen including multiple public address ranges as shown in Figures 6 and 7 (S212).

In the terminal device 30, the user selects and inputs the amplification range via the input unit 36 (S213). The amplification range specification unit 312 specifies the selected amplification range by referring to the amplification information previously stored in the memory unit 32 (S214). The flight instruction unit 313 and the amplification instruction unit 314 generate flight instructions and amplification instructions corresponding to the specified amplification range, and transmit them to the management device 10 or an operation terminal (not shown) via the communication unit 39 (S215). In response to the transmitted flight instructions and amplification instructions, the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 begins.
This allows the user to start the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 so that the sound amplification is performed in the desired sound amplification range. Therefore, appropriate sound amplification can be performed using the unmanned aerial vehicle 50.

3. Other embodiments As described above, each embodiment has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in this application. However, the technology in this disclosure is not limited to this, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are appropriately performed. In addition, it is also possible to combine the components described in the above embodiments to form new embodiments. For example, the following embodiments are possible.

(1) In the above embodiment, the amplification range of a single unmanned aerial vehicle 50 has been described, but is not limited to this. The amplification range may be determined by flying a formation of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles 50 and based on their position information and characteristic information of the speaker 62. In this case, the flight control unit 511 (Figure 4) of the control device 51 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 controls its own flight operations and amplification operations to be linked with the operations of the other unmanned aerial vehicles 50, based on control information received from external devices such as the management device 10 or other unmanned aerial vehicles 50.

For example, as shown in FIG. 13A, two unmanned aerial vehicles 501, 502 are flown to obtain a predetermined amplification range. Unmanned aerial vehicle 501 is flown with a speaker angle of 0 degrees and a flight altitude of 10 m (amplification range C11 shown in FIGS. 5 to 7). Unmanned aerial vehicle 502 is flown with a speaker angle of 90 degrees and a flight altitude of 45 m (amplification range C33 shown in FIGS. 5 to 7). These amplification ranges are integrated to form a single amplification range. This ensures a large amplification range on the XY plane and a large amplification range on the XZ plane, and also makes the sound pressure distribution in the amplification range more uniform.

For example, as shown in FIG. 13B, three unmanned aerial vehicles 501, 502, and 503 are flown to obtain a predetermined amplification range. Unmanned aerial vehicle 501 is flown with a speaker angle of 0 degrees and a flight altitude of 10 m (amplification range C11 shown in FIGS. 5 to 7). Unmanned aerial vehicle 502 is flown with a speaker angle of 45 degrees and a flight altitude of 25 m (amplification range C22 shown in FIGS. 5 to 7). Unmanned aerial vehicle 503 is flown with a speaker angle of 90 degrees and a flight altitude of 45 m (amplification range C33 shown in FIGS. 5 to 7). These amplification ranges are integrated to form a single amplification range. This ensures a larger amplification range in the XY plane and the XZ plane, and makes the sound pressure distribution in the amplification range more uniform.

When flying a formation of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles 50, different audio content may be amplified from the unmanned aerial vehicles 50. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 13A, the unmanned aerial vehicle 502 with a high flight altitude amplifies audio content intended for a wide area, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 501 with a low flight altitude amplifies audio content intended for a narrow area. For example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 502 amplifies audio content intended for the entire target area, such as "A tsunami is coming! Please evacuate!". Meanwhile, the unmanned aerial vehicle 501 amplifies audio content intended for people in a specific location, such as "Please evacuate to high ground at XX!". This allows the amplification range formed by the formation of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles 50 to be effectively allocated according to the audio content.

When different audio contents are amplified simultaneously from a formation of a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles 50, the different audio contents may overlap and become difficult to hear. In this case, the management device 10 may control the amplification operation of each unmanned aerial vehicle 50 so as to shift the timing of the amplified audio contents. In the example shown in FIG. 13A, the unmanned aerial vehicle 502 amplified "A tsunami is coming! Please evacuate!", and then the unmanned aerial vehicle 501 amplified "Please evacuate to high ground at XX!". After that, the unmanned aerial vehicle 502 amplified "A tsunami is coming! Please evacuate!" again. In this way, by shifting the amplified timing, it is possible to ensure that the audio can be heard.
The timing of loudspeaker adjustment may be performed between unmanned aerial vehicles 50 without going through the management device 10. In this case, the unmanned aerial vehicles 50 may communicate with each other wirelessly to notify the other unmanned aerial vehicles 50 of the timing of loudspeaker adjustment.

The speakers 62 mounted on multiple unmanned aerial vehicles 50 may be of the same type or different types.

(2) In the above embodiment, the amplification range is determined based on the speaker angle as the speaker characteristic information, but this is not limited to the above. The amplification range may be determined based on the loudness level of the speaker instead of the speaker angle. For example, the amplification information 121a shown in FIG. 5 includes a plurality of volume levels set instead of the speaker angle, and an amplification range determined based on the flight altitude for each volume level. The loudness level increases as the volume level increases, and the loudness level decreases as the volume level decreases. The speaker angle is constant. Alternatively, the amplification information 121a may be generated for each different speaker angle, and each amplification information 121a may include an amplification range determined based on the flight altitude for each volume level.

In the above embodiment, the amplification information 121a may include an amplification range determined based on speaker angles for multiple volume levels at a certain flight altitude, or may be generated for each different flight altitude and include an amplification range determined based on speaker angles for multiple volume levels.
(3) In the above embodiment, the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 may include flight speed in addition to or instead of flight altitude, and the amplification range may be determined based on the flight speed. Here, the amplification range is the amplification range per given time. The unmanned aerial vehicle 50 moves on the XY plane as shown in FIG. 7. The amplification range of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 moves as the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 moves. In the case of a slow flight speed or hovering flight, the amplification range per given time is smaller. On the other hand, if the flight speed is faster, the amplification range per the same given time is larger.
In this case, for example, the amplification information 121a shown in Fig. 5 includes a amplification range per predetermined time determined based on the flight speed for the speaker angle or volume level, with multiple levels of flight speed set instead of flight altitude. The slower the flight speed, the smaller the amplification range, and the faster the flight speed, the larger the amplification range. The flight altitude is constant. Alternatively, the amplification information 121a may be generated for each different flight altitude, and each piece of amplification information 121a may include a amplification range per predetermined time determined based on the flight speed for the speaker angle or volume level at multiple levels.

(4) The numerical values and numerical ranges of the flight altitude, speaker angle, distance, frequency, etc. of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50 exemplified in the above embodiment are merely examples given to explain the public address system 1, public address method, and unmanned aerial vehicle 50 related to the embodiment, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

(5) In the above embodiment, the loudspeaker information 121a may be generated based on the loudspeaker loudspeaker range and sound pressure distribution predicted using AI (Artificial Intelligence). For example, the output sound pressure level and frequency characteristics corresponding to each type of speaker, the speaker angle, position information including the flight altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 50, and the loudspeaker loudspeaker range and sound pressure distribution corresponding thereto are input as learning data and machine learning is performed. The loudspeaker loudspeaker range and sound pressure distribution that change according to the flight altitude and characteristic information may be predicted by this machine learning.
(6) In the above embodiment, the audio content to be amplified may be Japanese audio content or audio content in a language other than Japanese. The audio content may include Japanese audio content and audio content in a language other than Japanese. In this case, the audio content in the other language may be amplified together with the Japanese audio content.

(7) In the above embodiments, each device or system may have a cloud computing configuration in which a single function is shared and processed collaboratively by multiple devices via a network.

In the above embodiments, the term "device" or "system" includes cases where it means a collection of multiple components (devices, modules (parts), etc.), regardless of whether all the components are in the same housing. In addition, multiple devices housed in separate housings and connected via a network, and a single device in which multiple modules are housed in a single housing, may both be called a system.

Each step described in the above flowchart can be executed by one device, or can be shared among multiple devices. Furthermore, if one step includes multiple processes, the multiple processes included in that one step can be executed by one device, or can be shared among multiple devices.

The order in which the operations of the loudspeaker system 1 in the above embodiment are performed is not necessarily limited to that described in the above embodiment, and the order of operations can be changed or multiple operations can be performed simultaneously without departing from the spirit of the invention.

(8) In the above embodiment, the control unit or control device of each device or equipment may include a processor configured with a dedicated electronic circuit designed to realize a predetermined function according to the function required for each device or equipment. In addition, the control unit or control device may be realized with various processors such as an MPU, GPU, DSP, FPGA, ASIC, etc. The control unit or control device may be configured with one or more processors.

The memory unit or storage device of each device or equipment may be composed of any computer-readable recording medium, such as an optical disk, magnetic disk, magneto-optical disk, magnetic tape, HDD, SD card, SSD, etc., depending on the functions required for each device or equipment.

The communication unit or communication device of each device or equipment may be any communication interface, such as a wireless LAN, a wired LAN, 3G (3rd Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), or a millimeter wave wireless communication interface, depending on the functions required for each device or equipment.

(9) The computer program is not limited to being recorded on a recording medium, but may be obtained via a telecommunications line, a wireless or wired communication line, or a network such as the Internet.
Each process in the above embodiment may be realized by hardware or software (including cases where the process is realized together with an OS (operating system), middleware, or a predetermined library). Furthermore, each process may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

This disclosure can be applied as a public address system or method using unmanned aerial vehicles.

1: Public address system 10: Management device 11: Control unit 12: Memory unit 19: Communication unit 30: Terminal device 31: Control unit 32: Memory unit 36: Input unit 37: Display unit 39: Wireless communication unit 50: Unmanned aerial vehicle 50a: Main body 50b: Arm 50c: Legs 51: Control device 52: Memory device 53: Sensor group 54: GPS receiver 55: Rotor 56: Motor 58: Battery 59: Wireless communication device 61: Speaker direction control mechanism 62: Speaker 63: Microphone direction control mechanism 64: Microphone 65: Camera direction control mechanism 66: Camera 111: Position information acquisition unit 112: Characteristics information acquisition unit 113: Public address range determination unit 114: Public address display information generation unit 121: Public address information storage unit 121a: Public address information 311 : Display control unit 312 : Amplification range specification unit 313 : Flight instruction unit 314 : Amplification instruction unit 501, 502, 503 : Unmanned aerial vehicle 511 : Flight control unit 512 : Audio control unit 513 : Image control unit

Claims (13)

A public address system using an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a public address device,
A storage unit that stores a plurality of loudspeaker ranges by the unmanned aerial vehicle, the ranges being determined based on the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the characteristic information of the loudspeaker device;
an output unit that outputs a selected sound amplification range from among the multiple sound amplification ranges stored in the storage unit ;
A public address system comprising: The location information includes at least one of the flight altitude and flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle,
2. The public address system of claim 1. The characteristic information of the loudspeaker includes at least one of information indicating a loudspeaker direction and a volume level of the loudspeaker.
3. A sound reinforcement system according to claim 1 or 2. The output unit outputs a sound pressure distribution in the sound amplification range.
A sound reinforcement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. a control unit that acquires the current position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle flying, and determines a specific amplification range from among a plurality of amplification ranges stored in the storage unit based on the current position information and the characteristic information;
The output unit includes a display unit and displays the amplification range determined by the control unit .
A sound reinforcement system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A control unit that operates at least one of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the loudspeaker device based on the loudspeaker range,
A sound reinforcement system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. the output unit includes a display unit, and further includes an input unit that accepts a selection input of a sound amplification range to be displayed on the display unit;
The control unit operates the unmanned aerial vehicle or the loudspeaker device in response to the selection input.
7. A sound reinforcement system according to claim 6. The output unit is at least one of a communication unit that transmits flight instructions to the unmanned aerial vehicle and a display unit that displays the sound amplification range.
A sound reinforcement system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The loudspeaker range is a single loudspeaker range determined based on the position information of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles and the characteristic information of the loudspeaker devices of each of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
A sound reinforcement system according to any one of claims 1 to 8. A method for amplifying sound using an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a sound amplifying device, comprising:
A step of storing a plurality of sound amplification ranges by the unmanned aerial vehicle in a memory unit, the sound amplification ranges being determined based on the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the characteristic information of the sound amplification device;
outputting a selected amplification range from among the plurality of amplification ranges stored in the storage unit ;
A method for amplifying sound. The step of acquiring a sound amplification range by the unmanned aerial vehicle includes acquiring one sound amplification range determined based on position information of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles and characteristic information of the sound amplification devices of each of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
The method for amplifying sound according to claim 10. An unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a public address system,
a storage device that stores a plurality of loudspeaker ranges by the unmanned aerial vehicle, the ranges being determined based on the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the characteristic information of the loudspeaker device;
a control device that controls the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle or the operation of the loudspeaker device in accordance with a selected loudspeaker range from among a plurality of loudspeaker ranges stored in the storage device ;
An unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with The control device controls the flight operation and the loudspeaker operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle to be linked with the operation of one or more other unmanned aerial vehicles,
The loudspeaker range is formed together with the loudspeaker range of the other one or more unmanned aerial vehicles,
The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 12.

Images