KR20230026024A - System for Operating Unmanned Air Vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system. The system according to the present invention includes a slave station that controls the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a master station that transfers or recovers control rights for the unmanned aerial vehicle to the slave station, the master station comprising: The slave station checks the control right handover readiness for the unmanned aerial vehicle, transfers the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle to the slave station, and the readiness for control handover indicates the communication strength and distance between the slave station and the unmanned aerial vehicle and the altitude and determined based on at least one of the flight speeds.

Description

Unmanned Air Vehicle Operating System {System for Operating Unmanned Air Vehicle}

The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system.

A drone refers to an unmanned air vehicle in the shape of an airplane or helicopter that can fly and control by radio wave guidance without a pilot on board.

Depending on the mission or use of the drone, an external drone operator can operate the drone using a control device during takeoff, landing, or emergency, and an internal operator can take over operation of the drone when the drone remains stable. As propulsion technology advances, drone operating time has increased and missions have diversified, making the role of external drone operators very important. Therefore, when an emergency occurs to an external operator during drone operation, the risk of drone accidents increases. In addition, the risk of drone operation is further increased when the drone is operated in an invisible area.

As safety accidents such as drone crashes occur frequently due to carelessness of external drone operators, abnormal and dangerous situations, a design capable of transferring control rights is required by determining whether an operator's control transfer situation is necessary.

In order to increase safety when operating drones in visible and invisible areas, forced control transfer may be required depending on the circumstances of the external operator. In addition, although technology related to the transfer of control rights is currently being applied to drones, the frequency of accidents is high due to the lack of verification of the transfer procedure and safety. In the case of drones operated by commercial remote controllers (RC), the operation distance is short and mission performance is frequently restricted due to communication failures caused by obstacles. Therefore, the need to increase the operating distance by using the same communication equipment between operators and to reduce the mission load through mutual cooperation between operators is increasing.

A technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system that supports an internal operator and an external operator to share unmanned aerial vehicle status information and safely control the unmanned aerial vehicle.

A slave station for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention to solve the above technical problem, and a master station for transferring or recovering the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle to the slave station.

The master station may check a state in which the slave station is ready to transfer the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle, and transfer the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle to the slave station.

The control transfer readiness state may be determined based on at least one of communication strength and distance between the slave station and the unmanned aerial vehicle, altitude and flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The master station may output information about a state of readiness for handing over control of the slave station to a screen, and may control the speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle to slow down or hover when the control right is transferred to the slave station.

If communication between the master station and the unmanned aerial vehicle is interrupted while the master station controls the unmanned aerial vehicle, the control right is automatically transferred to the slave station or the unmanned aerial vehicle can be moved to a predetermined location and landed. .

After the control right is transferred from the master station to the slave station, if communication is interrupted between the slave station and the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle may land in place or move to a predetermined location according to a battery state.

The master station may be located on the ground, and the slave station may be located on a manned aircraft.

A plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles may be controlled by the master station and the slave station.

The plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles may form a mesh network to relay command signals and data transmission between the master station, the slave station, and the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles.

When the unmanned aerial vehicle departs from a preset flight area, a warning may be output to at least one of the master station and the slave station.

When the unmanned aerial vehicle departs from a preset flight area, it can switch to an automatic flight mode and move to a predetermined location.

According to the present invention, there is an advantage in that an internal operator and an external operator can share unmanned aerial vehicle state information and safely control the unmanned aerial vehicle.

1 is a configuration diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a configuration diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a configuration diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram provided to explain a method of returning an unmanned aerial vehicle that has deviated from a flight area according to the present invention.

Then, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily practice the present invention.

1 is a configuration diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system according to the present invention may include an unmanned aerial vehicle 100 , a slave station 200 and a master station 300 .

The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is a flight unit that flies without a person on board, and is capable of performing assigned tasks by rotating and flying a plurality of rotary blades (not shown).

The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may operate in a manual mode or an automatic mode.

The manual mode is a mode in which the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 operates under the control of the slave station 200 or the master station 300 . The automatic mode is a mode in which the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 automatically flies without control of the slave station 200 or the master station 300 .

The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be connected to the slave station 200 and/or the master station 300 through wireless communication such as RF, Bluetooth, and infrared to transmit and receive various commands and data.

The slave station 200 and the master station 300 are connected through a communication network to transmit and receive various commands and data. Communication network includes local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), Internet, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G LTE mobile communication network, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi ( It may include Wi-Fi), Wibro, satellite communication networks, etc., and the communication method does not cover wired or wireless, and any communication method may be used.

The master station 300 may wirelessly transmit a control command to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and control it. In addition, the master station 300 may transfer or retrieve the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 to the slave station 200 .

The master station 300 may check the control right transfer readiness state of the slave station 200 for the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and transfer the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 to the slave station 200 .

Considering the communication strength and distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the slave station 200, the altitude and flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and the like, the control transfer readiness of the slave station 200 can be confirmed. For example, when the communication strength between the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the slave station 200 is weaker than a predetermined strength, or the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the slave station 200 is farther than a predetermined distance may be determined not to be ready for control transfer. In addition, even when the altitude or flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is equal to or greater than a predetermined standard, it may be determined that control transfer is not ready.

Criteria such as communication strength, distance, altitude, flight speed, etc. determined as a control transfer readiness state may vary depending on embodiments. For example, when the area in which the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flies is a plain area, standards for communication strength, distance, altitude, and speed may be relaxed compared to those in an urban area.

The slave station 200 can control the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 by receiving the transfer of the control right from the master station 300 when the control right transfer preparation state is reached.

The master station 300 may output information about the preparation state of the control right handover of the slave station 200 on the screen so that the operator of the master station 300 can check it. To this end, the slave station 200 may measure the distance and communication strength with the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and provide the measured information to the master station 300 . Meanwhile, information about the altitude and speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be provided to the master station 300 from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 .

When the control right is transferred to the slave station 200, the master station 300 may control the speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 to slow down or hover. As a result, the control right can be transferred in a more stable state.

Meanwhile, the master station 300 can automatically transfer the control right to the slave station 200 when communication between the master station 300 and the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is lost while controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. there is.

According to an embodiment, if communication between the master station 300 and the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is lost, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 switches to an automatic mode, returns to a predetermined location, for example, a take-off point, and hovers or lands. possible. On the other hand, if the route point flight function is supported for the UAV 100 and communication is lost between the master station 300 and the UAV 100, the current location of the UAV 100 moves to the previous route point or the next route point. It is also possible to implement flying and hovering or landing.

In addition, after the control right is transferred from the master station 300 to the slave station 200, if communication is lost between the slave station 200 and the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 lands in place or in advance according to the battery state. It is also possible to implement a landing by moving to a predetermined location. Here, the predetermined position may be a previous waypoint or a next waypoint based on the current position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 when the waypoint flight function is supported for the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 .

2 is a configuration diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system according to another embodiment of the present invention may include an unmanned aerial vehicle 100 , a slave station 200 and a master station 300 .

The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the master station 300 are the same as in the embodiment of FIG. 1 . Although the slave station 200 is located on the ground in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 shows an example in which the slave station 200 is mounted on the manned aircraft 2 .

In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , when the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 takes off or lands, the master station 300 located on the ground may control the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 with a control right. On the other hand, while the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is in flight, the slave station 200 may control the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 with a control right.

As such, an operator boarding the manned air vehicle 2 located in the air controls the unmanned air vehicle 100 using the slave station 200', thereby extending the operating range of the unmanned air vehicle. As described above, when the unmanned aerial vehicle takes off / lands, the ground operator has the control right, and the control right in the air has the operator aboard the manned aerial vehicle, thereby controlling the distance within the communication range with the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 It has the advantage of increasing the possible flight altitude. Also, the risk during take-off and landing of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be reduced.

3 is a configuration diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , an unmanned aerial vehicle operating system according to another embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles 100a and 100b, a slave station 200, and a master station 300.

The slave station 200 and the master station 300 may operate in the same way as components having the same reference number in the embodiment of FIG. 1 and may control a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles 100a and 100b.

The plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles 100a and 100b form a wireless network with other unmanned aerial vehicles 100a and 100b, for example, a mesh network, so that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, the slave station 200, and the master station 300 Command signals and data transmission can be relayed between them.

For example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100a may transmit a command signal on the ground to another unmanned aerial vehicle 100b by providing a wireless repeater function in the air. In addition, various data collected by other unmanned aerial vehicles 100b may be transmitted to ground operators, that is, the slave station 200 and the master station 300 through the unmanned aerial vehicle 100a performing a relay function. By using the unmanned aerial vehicle 100a as a repeater, it is possible to extend the communication distance, so that missions such as tracking, monitoring, and measurement can be performed more efficiently. When the unmanned aerial vehicle 100a is used as a repeater, it is less affected by communication obstacles, and thus the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can be used in places with many obstacles such as mountainous terrain.

In FIG. 3, two unmanned aerial vehicles 100a and 100b are illustrated for convenience of explanation, but according to the embodiment, the slave station 200 and the master station 300 use two or more unmanned aerial vehicles as relays. It can also be controlled wirelessly.

4 is a diagram provided to explain a method of returning an unmanned aerial vehicle that has deviated from a flight area according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 , a flight area of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be set in advance. Preset flight area information may be stored in the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 . When the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 departs from a flight area set therein, a warning message may be transmitted to the slave station 200 and/or the master station 300 to be output.

In addition, when the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 leaves the preset flight area 3, it can switch to an automatic flight mode and move to a predetermined location. For example, when the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 leaves the flight area 3, it can be automatically returned to the take-off point A1 by switching to an automatic mode.

Also, depending on the embodiment, when the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 leaves the flight area 3, it may be implemented to move to the nearest route point based on the current position or the next route point. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, in a state where a flight path consisting of ① (take-off point) -> ② -> ③ -> ④ -> ⑤-> ⑥ -> ⑦ (landing point) is set, manual mode If the current position is out of the flight area (3) while the unmanned aerial vehicle (100) is flying, it switches to automatic mode and returns to the take-off point (①) (A) or moves to the nearest route point (③) from the current position. Alternatively (B), it may be implemented to move to the next route point (④) (C). In this way, by allowing the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 to be operated only in a limited flight area, it is possible to reduce operator's fatigue and improve the safety of operating the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The embodiments described above may be implemented as hardware components, software components, and/or a combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the devices, methods and components described in the embodiments may include, for example, a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate (FPGA). array), programmable logic units (PLUs), microprocessors, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. A processing device may run an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the operating system. A processing device may also access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to execution of software. For convenience of understanding, there are cases in which one processing device is used, but those skilled in the art will understand that the processing device includes a plurality of processing elements and/or a plurality of types of processing elements. It can be seen that it can include. For example, a processing device may include a plurality of processors or a processor and a controller. Other processing configurations are also possible, such as parallel processors.

Software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of the foregoing, which configures a processing device to operate as desired or processes independently or collectively. The device can be commanded. Software and/or data may be any tangible machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage medium or device, intended to be interpreted by or provide instructions or data to a processing device. may be permanently or temporarily embodied in Software may be distributed on networked computer systems and stored or executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored on one or more computer readable media.

The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. Program commands recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the embodiment or may be known and usable to those skilled in computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magnetic media such as floptical disks. - includes hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as magneto-optical media, and ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, as well as machine language codes such as those produced by a compiler. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

As described above, although the embodiments have been described with limited drawings, those skilled in the art can apply various technical modifications and variations based on the above. For example, the described techniques may be performed in an order different from the method described, and/or components of the described system, structure, device, circuit, etc. may be combined or combined in a different form than the method described, or other components may be used. Or even if it is replaced or substituted by equivalents, appropriate results can be achieved.

Claims (7)

A slave station that controls an unmanned aerial vehicle; and
A master station that transfers or recovers the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle to the slave station
including,
The master station,
Checking a state in which the slave station is ready to transfer the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle, and transferring the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle to the slave station;
The readiness for transfer of control is
The unmanned aerial vehicle operating system is determined based on at least one of communication strength and distance between the slave station and the unmanned aerial vehicle and altitude and flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle.
In claim 1,
The master station,
An unmanned aerial vehicle operating system that outputs information on a state of readiness for transfer of control of the slave station to a screen, and controls the unmanned aerial vehicle to decelerate or hover when control is transferred to the slave station.
In claim 1,
If communication between the master station and the unmanned aerial vehicle is interrupted while the master station controls the unmanned aerial vehicle, the control right is automatically transferred to the slave station or the unmanned aerial vehicle moves to a predetermined location and lands,
After the control right is transferred from the master station to the slave station, if communication is lost between the slave station and the UAV, the UAV lands in place or moves to a predetermined location according to the battery state. UAV operating system.
In claim 1,
The master station is located on the ground,
The slave station is an unmanned air vehicle operating system located in a manned air vehicle.
In claim 1,
A plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles are controlled by the master station and the slave station,
The plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles configures a mesh network to relay command signals and data transmission between the master station, the slave station, and the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles.
In claim 1,
and outputting a warning to at least one of the master station and the slave station when the UAV departs from a preset flight area.
In claim 1,
An unmanned aerial vehicle operating system that switches to an automatic flight mode and moves to a predetermined location when the UAV leaves a preset flight area.

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