JP2019114007A - Aerial fixation device, and method and program for controlling aerial fixation device - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] Regarding technology for placing an information acquisition device in a predetermined position when an information acquisition device such as a digital camera unit performs information acquisition such as taking a photograph, an operator can use the device in the air with the intention of holding the main unit equipped with the information acquisition device. so that it can be placed in place. SOLUTION: When an aerial fixed device is detected to be away from a user, it becomes in a hovering state at the distant position (S601). The aerial fixed device controls a digital camera unit, which is an information acquisition device, in a hovering state, for example, to take a picture. For example, the aerial stationary device controls the recognition unit mounted on the digital camera unit to perform face recognition while changing its posture within a fixed range of vertical and horizontal directions (S601 to S604). Further, for example, the aerial fixed device performs field angle control by lens zoom so that the group of faces photographed by the digital camera unit falls within the field of view of the lens, or moves away from the subject by a certain distance while hovering (S605 to S608). [Selection diagram] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a stationary apparatus for placing an information acquisition apparatus at a predetermined position when the information acquisition apparatus such as a digital camera unit acquires information such as imaging, a control method thereof, and a program.

  Conventionally, when an information acquisition device such as a digital camera, a thermometer, or a barometer is fixed at a specific position, the ground, a wall surface, or the like is necessary and there is a limitation on the fixing place. A tripod is the most known stationary device that secures the information acquisition device to the ground, but it has less freedom of installation.

  On the other hand, a digital camera is attached to a so-called "drone" or "multicopter" small unmanned flight vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "drone") equipped with a drive propulsion device with a rotor blade driven by a motor, and this flight By remotely operating the device and the digital camera by self-timer photographing or wirelessly, a flying device capable of photographing from a higher position out of reach is beginning to become widespread (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Patent No. 5432277 JP, 2013-129301, A

  It is possible to shoot from a position intended by the user using a conventional flight device such as a drone. However, it is necessary to control the drone by remote control or set the shooting position and flight trajectory in advance with a smartphone or the like. For this reason, the drone requires a certain amount of time and practice for operation learning, and it is difficult to place the drone in the intended position.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to allow an operator to place the main device equipped with the information acquisition device in the intended air.

  An example of the aspect is an aerial stationary apparatus including an information acquisition device, a main unit that can be held by an operator, and a flight propulsion unit, which is mounted on the main unit and the main unit changes from the holding state to the non-holding state A detection unit that detects separation from a person and a detection unit mounted on the main unit, and when the detection unit detects that the main unit has separated from the operator, flight propulsion is performed so that the main unit is fixed in the air near the separated position. And a control unit that operates the information acquisition apparatus to obtain information in a stationary state while controlling the unit.

  According to the present invention, it becomes possible for the operator to place the main device equipped with the information acquisition device in the intended air.

It is a cross-sectional view which shows the structural example of the airborne fixed apparatus by this embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structural example of the airborne fixed apparatus by this embodiment. It is a block diagram showing an example of a system of an airborne device by this embodiment. It is a block diagram showing a basic control mechanism in case a controller controls a rotor motor driver and a vane motor driver. It is a flowchart which shows the example of 1st control processing of a controller. It is a flow chart which shows an example of detailed processing of photographing object search processing. It is a flowchart which shows the example of 2nd control processing of a controller.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the user (operator) wants to set up in the air while supporting, for example, an aerial stationary apparatus including an information acquisition apparatus such as a digital camera unit, a main unit that can be held by the user, and a flight propulsion unit. Release your hand at the position. As a result, when the detection unit mounted on the main body detects that the main body changes from the holding state to the non-holding state by the user and is separated from the user, the control unit mounted on the main body is the main body Controls the flight propulsion unit so that the main unit is fixed in the air near the position away from the user, and controls the information acquisition apparatus to acquire information in the fixed state. The information acquisition apparatus is, for example, a digital camera unit that captures an image, and the control unit activates the digital camera unit in the self-timer imaging mode in the stationary state. Furthermore, for example, the digital camera unit includes a recognition unit that recognizes one or more people in the captured image. Then, the control unit controls the thrust of the flight propulsion unit or the zoom magnification of the lens of the digital camera unit such that the recognition unit recognizes, for example, the face of a person. In addition, the control unit may control the thrust of the flight propulsion unit or the lens of the digital camera unit so that the group of people enters within the angle of view of the lens of the digital camera unit and the recognition unit recognizes, for example, each face of the group of people. Control the zoom factor. As described above, in the present embodiment, the user can release the main body held in arbitrary air, not only to fix the airborne stationary device in the air, but also, for example, to allow a digital camera unit to shoot. It becomes possible to control a digital camera unit which is a flight propulsion unit or an information acquisition device. In this way, an aerial stationary apparatus with a high degree of freedom in stationary is realized, which enables information acquisition by the information acquisition apparatus mounted at an arbitrary aerial position at which the held main body part is released.

  FIG.1 and FIG.2 is a cross-sectional view and a top view which respectively show the structural example of the airborne device 100 by this embodiment. 2 (a) is a top view of the portion of the dashed frame A in FIG. 1 as viewed from below the aerial stationary apparatus 100, and FIG. 2 (b) is the portion of the dashed frame B in FIG. It is a top view at the time of seeing the lower part from the upper part of. The broken line frames A and B are lines added for explanation.

  The cylindrical frame 101 which is a main body has openings at the upper side (empty side) and the lower side (ground side). In the upper opening, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, the battery 104, the rotor motor 102 driven by the battery 104, and the rotation shaft of the rotor motor 102 are connected and the rotor is rotated by the rotor motor 102. 103 is installed. The rotor motor 102 and the rotor 103 are part of a flight propulsion unit.

  Inside the frame 101, a rod 108 lowered from the central portion of the stator 107, and # 1 to # 4 vane motors 106 installed at four places of the frame 101, as shown in FIG. 2 (b). The vanes 105 of # 1 to # 4 supported by the rotation shaft are installed. Each of the vanes 105 is blown from the rotor 103 by controlling the angle of each of the vanes by the rotation of the rotation shaft of the vane motor 106 connected to each of the vanes 105 and the air flowing through the four gaps between the vanes 105. It functions as an inflow valve that controls each inflow. The set of the vanes 105 and the vane motor 106 of # 1 to # 4 is a part of the flight propulsion unit.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a flight sensor 109 (flight sensor unit) is installed at the lowermost portion (under the vanes 105) of the rod lowered from the center of the stator 107. The flight sensor 109 includes, for example, a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor), an acceleration sensor, a geomagnetic sensor (orientation sensor), a GPS (global positioning system) sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser Doppler sensor, and the like.

  On the outer surface of the frame 101, a digital camera unit 110 which is a part of the information acquisition apparatus and a circuit box 111 which is a control unit are installed. The digital camera unit 110 captures an image. The circuit box 111 stores circuits for controlling the rotor motor 102 of FIG. 1 or 2, the vane motors 106 of # 1 to # 4, the flight sensor 109, the digital camera unit 110, and the battery 104.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a system including the circuits in the circuit box 111 of FIG. 1 and peripheral devices connected to the circuits. In the circuit box 111, a controller 301, a rotor motor driver 302, # 1 to # 4 vane motor drivers 303, and a power sensor 304 are stored.

  The rotor motor driver 302 drives the rotor motor 102 of FIG. 1 based on an instruction from the controller 301. The # 1 to # 4 vane motor drivers 303 drive the # 1 to # 4 vane motors 106 of FIG. 1 or 2 (b) based on an instruction from the controller 301, respectively.

  The power sensor 304 supplies power to the rotor motor driver 302 and # 1 to # 4 vane motor drivers 303 while monitoring the voltage of the battery 104. Although not shown, a part of the power of the battery 104 is supplied to the flight sensor 109 and the digital camera unit 110 of FIG. 1 as well as the controller 301.

  The controller 301 acquires information on the position and attitude of the airframe 100 from the flight sensor 109 in real time. In addition, while monitoring the voltage of the battery 104 via the power sensor 306, the controller 301 instructs the rotor motor driver 302 and the vane motor drivers 303 of # 1 to # 4 to execute power based on the duty ratio based on pulse width modulation. Send a signal. Thus, the rotor motor driver 302 controls the rotational speed of the rotor motor 102, and the # 1 to # 4 rotor motor drivers 302 respectively control the rotation angles of the # 1 to # 4 rotor motor 102. Further, the controller 301 controls the photographing operation by the digital camera unit 110 (FIG. 1).

  Next, a basic control principle in the case where the controller 301 controls the rotor motor driver 302 and the # 1 to # 4 vane motor drivers 303 in this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, feedback control called PID control (Proportional-Integral-Differential Controller) represented by the following equation (1) is used.

  In the above equation (1), e (t) is a deviation obtained by subtracting the current control amount obtained from the flight sensor 109 from a target value calculated by control processing of the controller 301 described later at time t. . Further, u (t) is an operation amount to be given to the rotor motor driver 302 or the vane motor driver 303 of # 1 to # 4 at time t.

The PID control represented by the above equation (1) is a feedback control method in which the proportional operation, integral operation and differential operation relating to the deviation are combined. That is, in the first term on the right side of the equation (1), proportional control (P control: Proportional Controller) which controls the manipulated variable u (t) as a linear function of the manipulated variable as the deviation e (t) between the controlled variable and the target value To be executed. The coefficient K _p multiplied by this first term is called a proportional gain (P gain). By this P control, the manipulated variable u (t) is gradually adjusted with a magnitude proportional to the deviation e (t) between the target value and the current controlled variable, and the manipulated variable u (t) is set to the target value It is possible to closely approach

Further, in the second term of the right side of the equation (1), integral control (I control: integral controller) is executed to control the manipulated variable u (t) in proportion to the time integration of the deviation e (t). The coefficient K _i multiplied by the second term is called an integral gain (I gain). If the current control amount approaches the target value with the P control alone, the manipulated variable u (t) becomes too small, and a state where it can not be controlled in more detail occurs, and the state of the current control amount extremely close to the target value Will be in a stable state. This slight error is called the "residual deviation". Therefore, residual deviation is accumulated temporally by PI control in which I control is added to P control, and the operation amount u (t) is increased at a certain size to eliminate the residual deviation. It is possible to

Further, in the third term on the right side of the equation (1), differential control (D control: Differential Controller) is executed to control the manipulated variable u (t) in proportion to the derivative of the deviation e (t). Coefficient K _d to be multiplied by the third term is called the differential gain (D gain). Control to bring the current control amount close to the target value is realized by the PI control. However, a certain time (time constant) is required for this control, and if this time constant is large, the response performance in the event of a disturbance will deteriorate, and a situation may occur in which the original target value can not be returned immediately. Do. Therefore, PID control in which the above D control is added to PI control makes the response to sudden occurrence of disturbances faster by increasing the operation amount when the difference between the deviation e (t) and the previous deviation, ie, the derivative value is large. It is possible to perform feedback control that responds.

  In this manner, the PID control that controls the manipulated variable u (t) as the sum of three terms including the proportional term, the integral term, and the derivative term with respect to the deviation e (t) enables the rotor motor driver 302 and # 1 to # 4 In the vane motor driver 303, each control amount can be made to reach the target value smoothly, and control with high accuracy and good response performance becomes possible.

  The controller 301 implements the above-described PID control, for example, by program control. In this case, the controller 301 uses the deviation calculated from the discrete value of the control amount obtained from the flight sensor 109 at each discrete time of a fixed time interval, according to the following equations (2) and (3): Calculate the manipulated variable at discrete time. Then, the controller 301 supplies the respective operation amounts calculated by the feedback control processing based on the PID control to the rotor motor driver 302 and the # 1 to # 4 vane motor drivers 303, and from the rotor motors 102 and # 1. The # 4 vane motor 106 is driven.

  In the above equation (2), u (n) is the manipulated variable to be calculated at the current discrete time n, u (n-1) is the manipulated variable calculated at the previous discrete time n-1, Δu (n ) Is the manipulated variable difference value to be calculated at the current discrete time n. Further, in the above equation (3) showing the calculation for calculating the manipulated variable difference value Δu (n), e (n) is the current discrete time obtained by subtracting the control amount at the current discrete time n from the target value. The deviation at n, e (n-1) is the deviation at the previous discrete time n-1 obtained by subtracting the control amount at the previous discrete time n-1 from the target value, and e (n-2) is the target It is a deviation at the previous second discrete time n-2 obtained by subtracting the control amount obtained at the second previous discrete time n-2 from the value.

In the above equation (3), the proportional control operation of the first term on the right side is the previous discrete from the deviation e (n) at the current discrete time n obtained by subtracting the control amount at the current discrete time n from the target value. It can be calculated by a simple calculation of multiplying the P gain K _p of the deviation e which is calculated (n-1) to the results obtained by subtracting at time n-1. The calculation of the integral control of the second term on the right side can be calculated in the deviation e (n) in the current discrete time n by a simple operation of multiplying the I gain K _i. Furthermore, the calculation of the differential control of the third term on the right side is obtained by subtracting the deviation e (n-1) calculated at the previous discrete time n-1 from the deviation e (n) calculated at the current discrete time n From the result, the result obtained by subtracting the deviation e (n-2) calculated at the previous discrete time n-2 from the deviation e (n-1) calculated at the discrete time n-1 It can be calculated by a simple calculation of multiplying the D gain K _d to. In this manner, the controller 301 subtracts the control amount obtained from the flight sensor 109 at the current discrete time n from the target value, the deviation e (n) obtained, and the previous and second previous discrete time n−1, and Using deviations e (n-1) and e (n-2) respectively calculated at n-2, and P gain K _p , I gain K _i and D gain K _d which are calculated in advance, It becomes possible to execute discrete time operation of PID control at high speed.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a basic control mechanism using the above-mentioned PID control when the controller 301 controls the rotor motor driver 302 and the vane motor drivers 303 of # 1 to # 4.

  When a request to change the position of the airborne fixed device 100 is generated in an algorithm 401 of control processing to be described later by the controller 301, the algorithm 401 first uses, for example, the GPS sensor and the barometric pressure sensor in the flight sensor 109. A current position 411 indicating the position is input. The current position 411 is composed of latitude data, longitude data, and altitude data obtained from the pressure sensor obtained from the GPS sensor. In the algorithm 401, the target trajectory 410 is determined from the position after the change request and the current position 411. The target trajectory 410 is, for example, a flight trajectory from the current position 411 to a position where the user moves the aircraft 100 away from the hand. Alternatively, for example, the target trajectory 410 may be an axis perpendicular to the ground (Yaw in order to search for a shooting target in a state where the aerial positioning device 100 is fixed at a fixed position in the air (hereinafter this state is referred to as “hovering”) The rotation trajectory from the position of the rotation source to the position of the rotation destination when rotating by a constant angle around the axis). Furthermore, the target trajectory 410 may, for example, be airborne so that when the digital camera unit 110 of the airborne device 100 recognizes a group of people, the group of recognized people falls within the angle of view of the lens of the digital camera unit 110. This is a flight trajectory from the original hovering position when the apparatus 100 moves away from the subject by a fixed distance to the hovering position after movement. Next, the algorithm 401 outputs the target position 412 and the target height 413 corresponding to the target trajectory 410. The target position 412 consists of latitude data and longitude data.

The target position 412 output from the algorithm 401 is input to the difference calculation unit 405. The current position 411 is also input to the difference calculation unit 405. For this current position 411, for example, latitude data and longitude data output from the GPS sensor in the flight sensor 109, or an output of a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) in the flight sensor 109 is accumulated and the accumulation result is the flight sensor 109 It is the data corrected by the output of the acceleration sensor in the middle. The difference calculation unit 405 is a function realized by the controller 301 executing a process of calculating the difference between the target position 412 and the current position 411 in the control program. The difference calculation unit 405 calculates the position deviation 416 by calculating the difference between the target position 412 and the current position 411 every discrete time n described above. The position deviation 416 calculated for each discrete time n is input to the PID control unit 402 as the deviation e (n) at the discrete time n in the above-described equation (3). The PID control unit 402 is a function realized by the controller 301 executing the PID control calculation of the equations (3) and (2) in the control program. As described above, the PID control unit 402 uses the deviation e (n) which is the position deviation 416 calculated by the difference calculation unit 405 at the discrete time n, and the discrete times n−1 and n−2 at the previous and the second previous times. Deviations e (n-1) and e (n-2), which are position deviations 416 respectively calculated, P gain K _p , I gain K _i , and D gain K _d calculated in advance, By using the operation amount u (n-1) calculated at the discrete time n-1 and performing the operation represented by the equation (3) and the equation (2) described above, the current discrete time n can be obtained. An operation amount u (n) is calculated. The controller 301 calculates the operation amount u (n) calculated by the PID control unit 402, and further outputs a target attitude 417 corresponding to the operation amount u (n).

The output target attitude 417 is input to the difference calculation unit 406. The current posture 418 is also input to the difference calculation unit 406. The current attitude 418 is, for example, output data of a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) in the flight sensor 109. The difference calculation unit 406 is a function realized by the controller 301 executing a process of calculating the difference between the target posture 417 and the current posture 418 in the control program. The difference calculation unit 406 calculates the attitude deviation 419 by subtracting the difference between the target attitude 417 and the current attitude 418 every discrete time n described above. The attitude deviation 419 calculated for each discrete time n is input to the PID control unit 403 as the deviation e (n) at the discrete time n in the equation (3) described above. The PID control unit 403 is a function similar to the PID control unit 402, which is realized by the controller 301 executing the PID control operation of the equations (3) and (2) in the control program. As described above, the PID control unit 403 uses the deviation e (n) which is the attitude deviation 419 calculated by the difference calculation unit 406 at the discrete time n and the discrete times n−1 and n−2 at the previous and the last two previous times. Deviations e (n-1) and e (n-2), which are posture deviations 419 calculated respectively, P gain K _p , I gain K _i , and D gain K _d calculated in advance, By using the operation amount u (n-1) calculated at the discrete time n-1 and performing the operation represented by the equation (3) and the equation (2) described above, the current discrete time n can be obtained. An operation amount u (n) is calculated. The controller 301 outputs the operation amount u (n) calculated by the PID control unit 403 to the operation amount conversion unit 423 as the position / posture operation amount 425.

  The operation amount conversion unit 423 rotates the # 1 to # 4 vane motor for driving the # 1 to # 4 vane motor 106 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2B) based on the position / posture operation amount 425. The corners 421 are generated and output to the vane motor drivers 303 (see FIG. 3) # 1 to # 4, respectively.

The target height 413 output from the algorithm 401 is input to the difference calculation unit 407. The current height 415 is also input to the difference calculation unit 407. The current height 415 is, for example, output data of an air pressure sensor in the flight sensor 109, an ultrasonic sensor, or a laser Doppler sensor. The difference calculation unit 407 is a function implemented by the controller 301 executing a process of subtracting the current height 415 from the target height 413 in the control program. The difference calculation unit 407 calculates the height deviation 420 by subtracting the current height 415 from the target height 413 every discrete time n described above. The height deviation 420 calculated at each discrete time n is input to the PID control unit 404 as the deviation e (n) at the discrete time n in the above-described equation (3). The PID control unit 404 is a function similar to the PID control unit 402 and the like, which is realized by the controller 301 executing the PID control operation of the equations (3) and (2) in the control program. As described above, the PID control unit 404 uses the deviation e (n) which is the height deviation 420 calculated by the difference calculation unit 407 at the discrete time n, and the discrete times n−1 and n−2 at the previous and the second previous times. The deviations e (n-1) and e (n-2), which are height deviations 420 respectively calculated in the above, and P gain K _p , I gain K _i , and D gain K _d calculated in advance. Using the operation amount u (n−1) calculated at the previous discrete time n−1, the discrete time this time is executed by executing the operation represented by the equation (3) and the equation (2) described above. The operation amount u (n) at n is calculated. The controller 301 outputs the operation amount u (n) calculated by the PID control unit 404 to the operation amount conversion unit 424 as the height operation amount 426. The operation amount conversion unit 424 generates the rotor motor rotational speed 422 for driving the rotor motor 102 (see FIG. 1) based on the height operation amount 426 input from the PID control unit 404, and the rotor motor driver 302 (see FIG. 3). Output to).

  If it is necessary to further change the target trajectory 410 in the algorithm 401, feedback control processing based on PID control similar to that described above is repeatedly performed.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a first control process example of the controller 301 of FIG. This process can be realized as a process in which a CPU built in the controller 301 executes a control program stored in a memory (not shown) which is also built in.

First, the controller 301 monitors whether or not the frame 101 of the airborne stationary apparatus 100 is released (thrown) from, for example, the user's hand (the determination in step S501 in FIG. 5 is repeated NO). This process has a function as a detection unit, and this determination operation can be detected, for example, by the following method.
-Sudden decrease in gravity acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor in the flight sensor 109-Sudden decrease in the distance to the ground calculated by the downward attached ultrasonic sensor in the flight sensor 109 or the laser Doppler sensor-Frame 101 That the user's hand leaves the touch sensor or button switch etc.

  If the determination in step S501 is YES, the controller 301 stores the position when the frame 101 is released from the hand or the like in the internal memory (step S502 in FIG. 5). The controller 301 stores, for example, latitude data and longitude data detected by a GPS sensor in the flight sensor 109 and altitude data detected by an air pressure sensor in the flight sensor 109 as the above-mentioned position information.

  Subsequently, based on the output of the flight sensor 109, the controller 301 repeatedly executes the operation of attitude control to make it possible to fly (determination from step S503 in FIG. 5 to step S504 of FIG. 5) until it is determined that Is NO → repetition of S503). The controller 301 sets the position of one flyable attitude as the target position 412, and executes the feedback control process described in FIG. At this stage, the controller 301 does not drive the rotor motor 102 because only the attitude control is performed.

  When the determination in step S504 is YES, the controller 301 starts outputting the target height 413 of FIG. 4 so that the rotor motor rotation number 422 is output from the PID control unit 404 to the rotor motor driver 302, Driving of the rotor motor 102 is started (step S505).

  Next, the controller 301 sets the position stored in step S502 as the target position 412 and the target height 413, and executes the feedback control process of FIG. 4 (step S506).

  The controller 301 causes the current position 411 and the current height 415 output from the GPS sensor and the air pressure sensor in the flight sensor 109 to be constant at the target position 412 and the target height 413, respectively, as a result of the feedback control process of FIG. It is determined whether it has reached within the error range of (step S507).

  If the determination in step S507 is NO, the controller 301 returns to step S506 and continues the feedback control process of FIG. As a result of repetition of the processing of steps S506 and S507, as the feedback control processing based on the PID control described in FIG. By performing control so as to approach the target position 412 and the target height 413 which are positions, the rotor motor driver which is a flight propulsion unit so that the floating device 100 hovers near the position away from the user's hand The vane motor drivers 303 of 302 and # 1 to # 4 are to be controlled. Here, as the current position 411 in FIG. 4, the value of the acceleration in the direction of three axes of the acceleration sensor in the flight sensor 109 may also be taken into consideration. Therefore, for example, when an acceleration in a direction other than the direction of gravity is applied to the aerial stationary apparatus 100 due to the influence of a disturbance such as wind and the aerial stationary apparatus 100 tries to deviate from the position away from the user's hand, the aerial stationary apparatus 100 hovers The PID control unit 402 performs control to cause the rotor motor driver 302 which is a flight propulsion unit and the # 1 to # 4 vane motor drivers 303 to exert a propulsive force to cancel the acceleration. be able to. Finally, whether or not the hovering state is reached is determined by the fact that the airborne fixed device 100 does not move in the direction horizontal to the ground, for example, the direction of gravity among the acceleration values of the acceleration sensor in the flight sensor 109. It can be determined as the timing at which only the value of acceleration is detected.

  When the determination in step S507 is YES, the controller 301 executes shooting target search processing (step S508). The details of this process will be described later using the flowchart of FIG.

  The controller 301 sends a shutter signal to the digital camera unit 110 when a shooting target is found by the shooting target search process in step S508, and for example, about 10 seconds after sending the signal in the self-timer shooting mode. The image is taken (step S509).

  After the designated imaging is completed, the controller 301 monitors whether the user has recovered the hovering stationary apparatus 100 (the determination in step S510 is repeated). In this monitoring process, the controller 301 determines, for example, whether or not the acceleration value in the direction of gravity of the acceleration sensor in the flight sensor 109 has become substantially zero.

  When the determination in step S510 is YES, the controller 301 stops driving of the rotor motor 102 by the rotor motor driver 302 and driving of the # 1 to # 4 vane motors 106 by # 1 to # 4 vane motor drivers 303 (step S511). ). After that, the controller 301 ends all control processing illustrated in the flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a detailed example of the shooting target search process of step S508 in FIG.

  First, the controller 301 sets the positions reached in step S507 in FIG. 5 as the target position 412 and the target height 413, and then the feedback in FIG. 4 with respect to the current position 411 and the current height 415 sequentially updated. By executing the control process, the hovering device 100 is hovered at the above position (step S601).

  Next, the controller 301 causes the digital camera unit 110 to execute face recognition processing (step S602). Thus, the digital camera unit 110 operates as a recognition unit that recognizes one or more people in the captured image.

  Subsequently, the controller 301 determines whether the digital camera unit 110 has found a human face (step S603).

  If the determination in step S603 is NO, the controller 301 sets the position of each posture to the target position 412 while changing the posture in the upper, lower, left, and right fixed ranges, and executes the feedback control process described in FIG. Step S604). In addition, since the controller 301 only executes attitude control, the target height 413 is not output, and the rotor motor 102 is not driven.

  As a result of the execution of step S604, the controller 301 is again in the hovering state when the fixed-in-air device 100 comes to the position of each posture (step S604 → S601) and causes the digital camera unit 110 to execute face recognition processing (step S604). S602) It is determined whether the digital camera unit 110 has found a human face (step S603).

  As a result of repeated processing of steps S601 → S602 → S603 → S604 → S601, if a human face is found and the determination in step S603 is YES, the controller 301 determines that the faces found by the digital camera unit 110 in step S602 are groups (2 Or not) is determined (step S605).

  If the face is not a group (the determination in step S605 is NO), the controller 301 ends the photographing object search process in step S508 in FIG. 5 shown in the flowchart in FIG. 6, and in step S509 in FIG. The digital camera unit 110 is caused to execute shooting centered on the face of one person found in step S602 in FIG.

  If the face is a group (the determination in step S605 is YES), the controller 301 controls the angle of view to zoom the lens of the digital camera unit 110 so that the group of the face found in step S602 falls within the angle of view of the lens. Is executed (step S606).

  Next, the controller 301 determines whether the group of faces captured by the digital camera unit 110 is out of the angle of view of the lens of the digital camera unit 110 (step S 607).

  If the determination in step S607 is YES, the controller 301 sets the position away from the subject by a predetermined distance as the target position 412 and the target height 413, and compares the current position 411 and the current height 415 sequentially updated thereafter. The feedback control process described in 4 is executed (step S608).

  As a result of the execution of step S608, when the floating device 100 reaches a position away from the fixed distance as a result of execution of step S608, the current position 411 and the current position 411 and its position are sequentially updated as new target position 412 and target height 413. The floating control device 100 is hovered at that position by executing the feedback control process of FIG. 4 for the current height 415 (step S609).

  In the hovering state, the controller 301 determines again whether the group of faces captured by the digital camera unit 110 is out of the angle of view of the lens of the digital camera unit 110 (steps S609 and S607).

  As a result of repeated processing of steps S607 → S608 → S609 → S607, if the determination in step S607 is NO, the controller 301 ends the shooting object search processing of step S508 of FIG. 5 shown in the flowchart of FIG. In step S509, the digital camera unit 110 performs shooting on the group of faces found in step S602 in FIG.

  By the first control processing by the controller 301 described above, the airborne fixed apparatus 100 can perform shooting while hovering at a position where the user releases the hand. For this reason, it is possible to orientate a tripod-like device according to the user's intention by an intuitive operation of “place it at a desired position (space)”. In addition, while the aerial stationary apparatus 100 automatically searches for one or a group of the face of the subject while automatically adjusting the orientation of the subject, the distance from the subject, the zoom of the lens of the digital camera unit, etc. It can be carried out. For this reason, the user can place a digital camera unit at a position with a high degree of freedom and shoot.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a second control processing example of the controller 301 of FIG. Similar to the case of the first control processing example of FIG. 5, this processing may be realized as processing in which the CPU incorporated in the controller 301 executes a control program stored in a memory not particularly illustrated which is also incorporated. it can. The second control process example of FIG. 7 differs from the first control process example of FIG. 5 in the processes of steps S701 and S702.

  First, the controller 301 stands by until the preliminary operation start trigger is turned ON by the user operating a switch (not shown) or the like (step S701).

  When the preliminary operation start trigger is turned on (YES in the determination in step S701), the controller 301 starts the preliminary operation (step S702). Here, while monitoring the value of the acceleration sensor in the flight sensor 109, the controller 301 via the rotor motor driver 302 so that the thrust due to the rotor motor 102 rotating the rotor 103 becomes slightly smaller than the gravitational acceleration. The rotor motor 102 is driven.

  A series of control processes from step S501 to step S512 by the controller 301 after step S702 are the same as the series of control processes from step S501 to step S512 in the first control process example of FIG.

  According to the second control processing example described above, as a preliminary operation of flight of the airborne stationary apparatus 100, driving of the rotor motor 102 is started at a rotational speed that does not leave the user's hand, and then the frame 101 is released from the user's hand By raising the number of revolutions of the rotor motor 102 to the number of revolutions necessary for hovering when it is detected, it is possible to shorten the falling distance from leaving the hand to hovering and the time until localization in the air Become.

  Although the embodiment described above has described an example in which the information acquisition device is a digital camera unit, the information acquisition device also includes, for example, a measurement device including a sensor that collects temperature distribution and distribution of atmospheric components. Various sensor devices may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the digital camera unit 110, which is an information acquisition device, is fixedly installed in the airborne fixed device 100, but such an information acquisition device is mounted on the airborne fixed device in a detachable form. May be In this case, a sensor for detecting weight may be installed at the connection between the information acquisition device and the airborne positioning device, and the rotation speed of the rotor motor at the time of driving may be adjusted by the weight of the attached device.

  The above-described embodiment is a so-called ducted fan type device in which one rotor motor 102 is mounted and four vane motors 106 # 1 to # 4 are mounted, but a plurality of rotor motors 102 (four or six) Etc.) may be a multicopter type device mounted. Alternatively, the flight propulsion unit may be realized by a mechanism propelled by air pressure or engine power.

  In the embodiment described above, the digital camera unit 110 mounted on the airborne fixed device 100 may indicate the timing of photographing using an LED (semiconductor light emitting diode), liquid crystal, or the like.

  The image captured by the aerial fixed device 100 by the digital camera unit 110 is not limited to a still image, and may be a moving image. The movie shooting time in that case is also arbitrary.

  The number of still images and moving images captured by the aerial fixed device 100 by one hovering is arbitrary.

  The airborne fixed device 100 may communicate with, for example, a terminal held by the user, send a video of shooting, control while viewing the video, and may be able to shoot.

  The photographing position, photographing direction, photographing timing, etc. of photographing by the stationary air apparatus 100 may be wirelessly operated from a terminal held by the user, for example.

The following appendices will be further disclosed regarding the above embodiments.
(Supplementary Note 1)
An aerial stationary apparatus comprising a main unit capable of being loaded with an information acquisition device and capable of being held by an operator, and a flight propulsion unit,
A detection unit mounted on the main body and detecting that the main body is separated from the operator;
It is mounted on the main body, and when the detection unit detects that the main body is separated from the operator, the flight propulsion unit is controlled so that the main body is fixed in the air near the separated position. A control unit that controls the information acquisition apparatus to acquire information in the stationary state;
An aerial stationary apparatus characterized by comprising:
(Supplementary Note 2)
It further comprises a flight sensor unit that controls flight,
The control unit stores a position detected by the flight sensor unit when the detection unit detects that the main unit has left the operator, and the flight sensor unit sequentially detects the position after the detection time. The aerial positioning device according to appendix 1, wherein an operation amount of feedback control for canceling a deviation between a current position to be stored and the stored position is calculated, and a propulsion force corresponding to the calculated operation amount is instructed to the flight propulsion unit .
(Supplementary Note 3)
When only the acceleration in the direction of gravity is detected from the flight sensor unit, the control unit determines that the main unit is fixed in the air near the stored position, and acquires information in the fixed state. The aerial stationary device according to appendix 2, wherein said information acquisition device is controlled as follows.
(Supplementary Note 4)
The control unit continues the state in which the main body is placed in the air when an acceleration other than the direction of gravity is detected from the flight sensor after it is determined that the main body is placed in the air. The aerial positioning device according to appendix 3, wherein an operation amount of feedback control for canceling an acceleration other than the gravity direction is calculated, and a propulsion force corresponding to the operation amount is instructed to the flight propulsion unit.
(Supplementary Note 5)
The information acquisition device is a digital camera unit that captures an image;
The aerial stationary apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, wherein the control unit activates the digital camera unit in a self-timer photographing mode when the detection unit detects that the main body unit is separated from the operator. .
(Supplementary Note 6)
The digital camera unit further includes a recognition unit that recognizes one or more people in the captured image;
The aerial fixing device according to appendix 5, wherein the control unit controls a thrust of the flight propulsion unit or a zoom magnification of a lens of the digital camera unit such that the recognition unit recognizes the person.
(Appendix 7)
The control unit may control the thrust of the flight propulsion unit or the lens of the digital camera unit such that the group of people enters within the angle of view of the lens of the digital camera unit and the recognition unit recognizes the group of people. The aerial stationary apparatus according to appendix 6, which controls the zoom magnification of.
(Supplementary Note 8)
The aerial fixing device according to any one of appendices 1 to 7, wherein the control unit stops the operation of the flight propulsion unit when the detection unit detects a human touch in the stationary state.
(Appendix 9)
A control method of an aerial stationary apparatus including a main unit capable of being loaded with an information acquisition device and capable of being held by an operator and a flight propulsion unit,
When it detects that the main body part has left the operator, the flight propulsion part is controlled so that the main body part is fixed in the air near the remote position, and information is acquired in the fixed state. Control the information acquisition device
A control method of an airborne stationary apparatus characterized in that.
(Supplementary Note 10)
A computer for controlling an aerial stationary apparatus comprising a main unit capable of being loaded with an information acquisition device and capable of being held by an operator and a flight propulsion unit,
When it detects that the main body part has left the operator, the flight propulsion part is controlled so that the main body part is fixed in the air near the remote position, and information is acquired in the fixed state. A program for causing the information acquisition device to operate.

Reference Signs List 100 aerial stationary apparatus 101 frame 102 rotor motor 103 rotor 104 battery 105 vane 106 vane motor 107 stator 108 rod 109 flight sensor 110 digital camera unit 111 circuit box 301 controller 302 rotor motor driver 303 vane motor driver 304 power sensor 401 algorithm 402, 403, 404 PID control unit 405, 406, 407 Difference operation unit 410 Target trajectory 411 Current position 412 Target position 415 Target height 415 Current height 416 Position deviation 417 Target attitude 418 Current attitude 419 Posture deviation 420 Height deviation 421 Vane motor rotation angle 422 Rotor motor Number of rotations 423, 424 Operation amount converter 425 Position / posture operation amount 426 Height operation amount

Claims (10)

An aerial stationary apparatus comprising a main unit capable of being loaded with an information acquisition device and capable of being held by an operator, and a flight propulsion unit,
A detection unit mounted on the main body and detecting that the main body changes from the holding state to the non-holding state and is separated from the operator;
It is mounted on the main body, and when the detection unit detects that the main body is separated from the operator, the flight propulsion unit is controlled so that the main body is fixed in the air near the separated position. A control unit that controls the information acquisition apparatus to acquire information in the stationary state;
An aerial stationary apparatus characterized by comprising: It further comprises a flight sensor unit that controls flight,
The control unit stores a position detected by the flight sensor unit when the detection unit detects that the main unit has left the operator, and the flight sensor unit sequentially detects the position after the detection time. The airborne positioner according to claim 1, wherein an operation amount of feedback control for canceling a deviation between a current position to be stored and the stored position is calculated, and a propulsion force corresponding to the calculated operation amount is instructed to the flight propulsion unit. apparatus.   When only the acceleration in the direction of gravity is detected from the flight sensor unit, the control unit determines that the main unit is fixed in the air near the stored position, and acquires information in the fixed state. The airborne positioning device according to claim 2, wherein the information acquisition device is controlled as follows.   The control unit continues the state in which the main body is placed in the air when an acceleration other than the direction of gravity is detected from the flight sensor after it is determined that the main body is placed in the air. The airborne positioning device according to claim 3, wherein an operation amount of feedback control for canceling an acceleration other than the direction of gravity is calculated, and a propulsion force corresponding to the operation amount is instructed to the flight propulsion unit. The information acquisition device is a digital camera unit that captures an image;
5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit activates the digital camera unit in a self-timer photographing mode when detecting that the main body unit has been placed in the air. The digital camera unit further includes a recognition unit that recognizes one or more people in the captured image;
The aerial positioning device according to claim 5, wherein the control unit controls a thrust of the flight propulsion unit or a zoom magnification of a lens of the digital camera unit such that the recognition unit recognizes the person.   The control unit may control the thrust of the flight propulsion unit or the lens of the digital camera unit such that the group of people enters within the angle of view of the lens of the digital camera unit and the recognition unit recognizes the group of people. 7. An aerial stationary device according to claim 6, wherein the zoom magnification of is controlled.   The aerial fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control unit stops the operation of the flight propulsion unit when the detection unit detects a human touch in the stationary state. A control method of an aerial stationary apparatus including a main unit capable of being loaded with an information acquisition device and capable of being held by an operator and a flight propulsion unit,
When it is detected that the main body changes from the holding state to the non-holding state and is separated from the operator, the flight propulsion unit is controlled so that the main body is placed in the air near the distant position, and Controlling the information acquisition device to acquire information in a stationary state;
A control method of an airborne stationary apparatus characterized in that. A computer for controlling an aerial stationary apparatus comprising a main unit capable of being loaded with an information acquisition device and capable of being held by an operator and a flight propulsion unit,
When it is detected that the main body changes from the holding state to the non-holding state and is separated from the operator, the flight propulsion unit is controlled so that the main body is placed in the air near the distant position, and A program for executing the step of operating the information acquisition device to acquire information in a stationary state.