CN111566006B

CN111566006B - Unmanned aerial vehicle, manipulator, control method of unmanned aerial vehicle, and computer-readable recording medium

Info

Publication number: CN111566006B
Application number: CN201980007148.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 和气千大; 柳下洋
Original assignee: Nileworks Inc
Current assignee: Nileworks Inc
Priority date: 2018-02-28
Filing date: 2019-02-27
Publication date: 2024-03-12
Anticipated expiration: 2039-02-27
Also published as: JP2020117221A; CN111566006A; JPWO2019168043A1; WO2019168043A1; JP6757026B2; JP6729962B1

Abstract

Provided is a highly safe unmanned plane. The unmanned aerial vehicle (100) is provided with a receiving unit (22) capable of receiving an emergency operation instruction and a flight control unit (23) for controlling a flight operation based on the emergency operation instruction transmitted by the operator (10) and received by the receiving unit, wherein the emergency operation instruction includes one or more instructions selected from an emergency stop instruction for landing the unmanned aerial vehicle, an emergency landing instruction for landing the unmanned aerial vehicle, an emergency air stop instruction for hovering the unmanned aerial vehicle, and an emergency return instruction for returning the unmanned aerial vehicle to a predetermined location.

Description

Unmanned aerial vehicle, manipulator, control method of unmanned aerial vehicle, and computer-readable recording medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an aircraft (unmanned aerial vehicle), and more particularly, to an unmanned aerial vehicle having improved safety, a control method and a control program for the unmanned aerial vehicle, an operator used with the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a control method for the operator.

Background

Applications of small helicopters (multi-rotor helicopters), commonly referred to as unmanned planes, are advancing. One of the important application fields is pesticide and liquid fertilizer application to farmlands (farms) (for example, patent document 1). In japan where farmlands are narrow, unmanned aerial vehicles are suitable for use instead of manned aircraft or helicopters, as compared with europe and america.

The absolute position of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be accurately known in cm units in flight by using technologies such as a quasi zenith satellite system or an RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic-Global Positioning System), so that the unmanned aerial vehicle can fly autonomously with minimum manipulation by a human hand even in a farmland with a typical narrow and complicated terrain in japan, and can perform drug scattering efficiently and accurately.

On the other hand, in an autonomous flying unmanned aerial vehicle for agricultural chemical sowing, it is difficult to say that safety is considered sufficiently. Since the weight of the unmanned aerial vehicle loaded with the medicine is several tens of kilograms, serious results may be caused in the case of accidents such as falling onto a person. In addition, since the operator of the unmanned aerial vehicle is not a professional, a mechanism for preventing erroneous operation is generally required, but consideration thereof is also insufficient. Heretofore, there has been a safety technique of an unmanned aerial vehicle based on human handling (for example, patent document 2), but there has been no technique for coping with safety problems specific to an autonomous flight unmanned aerial vehicle for agricultural chemical sowing in particular.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2001-120151

Patent document 2: patent laid-open publication No. 2017-163265

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

Provided is an agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle (unmanned aerial vehicle) capable of maintaining high safety even when flying autonomously.

Means for solving the problems

To achieve the above object, an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a receiving unit that can receive an emergency operation instruction; and a flight control unit that controls a flight operation based on the emergency operation command transmitted by the operator and received by the receiving unit, wherein the emergency operation command includes one or more commands selected from an emergency stop command that causes the unmanned aerial vehicle to land, an emergency landing command that causes the unmanned aerial vehicle to land, an emergency air stop command that causes the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover, and an emergency return command that causes the unmanned aerial vehicle to return to a given location.

Further, the unmanned aerial vehicle may execute the emergency stop command when the emergency operation command is input a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined time.

Further, the unmanned aerial vehicle may execute the emergency stop command when the emergency operation command is continuously input for a predetermined time or longer.

The unmanned aerial vehicle may further include a medicine control unit that controls whether or not to eject medicine from the unmanned aerial vehicle to the outside, and the medicine control unit may stop ejecting medicine based on the emergency operation command received by the receiving unit.

The manipulator may have a wearing detection unit that determines whether or not the manipulator is worn by a user, and the flight control unit may prevent the unmanned aerial vehicle from flying when the wearing detection unit does not detect that the manipulator is worn by the user.

The manipulator may have a wearing detection unit that determines whether or not the manipulator is worn by a user, and the flight control unit may cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to take a retraction action when the wearing detection unit does not determine that the manipulator is worn by the user during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The unmanned aerial vehicle may further include an operator abnormality detection unit that detects that the operator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and the flight control unit may prevent the unmanned aerial vehicle from flying when the operator abnormality detection unit detects that the operator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted.

The unmanned aerial vehicle may further include an operator abnormality detection unit that detects that the operator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and the flight control unit may cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to take a back-off action when the operator abnormality detection unit detects that the operator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Further, another aspect of the present invention relates to an operation device including a transmission unit that transmits an emergency operation command to an unmanned aerial vehicle, the emergency operation command including one or more of an emergency stop command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to land, an emergency landing command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover, an emergency air stop command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to return to a predetermined place, and an emergency return command.

The manipulator may further include a click detection unit that counts the number of times the emergency operation command is input within a predetermined first time, and when the click detection unit detects that the emergency operation command is input within the predetermined first time, the manipulator may transmit an emergency stop command to the reception unit.

The click detection unit may be configured to measure a time interval during which the emergency operation command is input, and to reset the count of the number of times the emergency operation command is input when no predetermined second time shorter than the first time is input.

The controller may be configured to send the emergency stop command to the receiving unit when the emergency operation command is continuously input at a predetermined time.

The operator may have only a function of transmitting the emergency operation command to the receiving unit.

The operator may have a plurality of input units for transmitting mutually different emergency operation commands.

The operator may be configured to be able to transmit a second emergency operation command, in addition to the first emergency operation command.

The first emergency operation command may be an emergency air stop command, the second emergency operation command may include any one of a plurality of types of emergency operation commands, and the operator may selectively transmit the plurality of types of emergency operation commands after transmitting the first emergency operation command.

The manipulator may be a wearable terminal that is worn by a user on the body.

The manipulator may further include a wearing detection unit that determines whether the manipulator is worn by a user, and the flight control unit may prevent the unmanned aerial vehicle from flying when the wearing detection unit does not determine that the manipulator is worn by the user.

The manipulator may further include a wearing detection unit that determines whether or not the manipulator is worn by a user, and the manipulator may cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to take a retraction action when the wearing detection unit does not determine that the manipulator is worn by the user during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The manipulator may further include a manipulator abnormality detection unit that detects that the manipulator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and the manipulator may cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to not fly when the manipulator is detected by the manipulator abnormality detection unit as being in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted.

The manipulator may further include a manipulator abnormality detection unit that detects that the manipulator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and the manipulator may cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to take a backoff action when the manipulator abnormality detection unit detects that the manipulator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

A control method of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to another aspect of the present invention is a control method of an unmanned aerial vehicle including a receiving unit capable of receiving an emergency operation command including one or more commands selected from an emergency stop command for dropping the unmanned aerial vehicle, an emergency landing command for landing the unmanned aerial vehicle, and an emergency return command for suspending the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a flight control unit for controlling a flight operation based on the emergency operation command transmitted by an operator and received by the receiving unit, the control method of an unmanned aerial vehicle including: a step of inputting an emergency action command to the operator; and a step in which the receiving unit receives an emergency operation instruction, and the control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle includes one or more of the following steps: a step of causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to drop based on the emergency stop instruction received by the receiving unit; a step of landing the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the emergency landing instruction received by the receiving unit; a step of hovering the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the emergency air stop instruction received by the receiving unit; and a step of returning the unmanned aerial vehicle to a predetermined place based on the emergency return instruction received by the receiving unit.

The control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle may further include a step of executing an emergency stop command when the emergency operation command is input a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined time.

The control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle may further include a step of executing an emergency stop command when the emergency operation command is continuously input for a predetermined time or longer.

The unmanned aerial vehicle may further include a medicine control unit that controls whether or not to eject medicine from the unmanned aerial vehicle to the outside, and the control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle may further include a step of stopping the ejection of medicine based on the emergency operation command received by the receiving unit.

The control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle may further include: a wear detection step of determining whether or not the operator is worn on a user; and prohibiting the unmanned aerial vehicle from flying when the wearing detection step does not detect that the manipulator is worn on a user.

The control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle may further include a wearing detection step of determining whether the manipulator is worn by a user, and the unmanned aerial vehicle may be caused to take a retraction action when the wearing detection step does not determine that the manipulator is worn by the user during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle may further include: an operator abnormality detection step of detecting that the operator is in a state where the emergency operation instruction cannot be transmitted; and a step of prohibiting the unmanned aerial vehicle from flying when the operator is detected by the operator abnormality detection step as being in a state where the emergency action instruction cannot be transmitted.

The control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle may further include an operator abnormality detection step of detecting that the operator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and the unmanned aerial vehicle may be caused to take a backoff action when the operator abnormality detection step detects that the operator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Further, a control method of an operator according to another aspect of the present invention is a control method of an operator used with an unmanned aerial vehicle, including a step of transmitting an emergency action command to the unmanned aerial vehicle, the emergency action command including one or more of an emergency stop command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to drop, an emergency landing command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to land, an emergency air stop command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover, and an emergency return command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to return to a predetermined place.

The control method of the manipulator may further include a continuous impact detection unit that counts the number of times the emergency operation command is input within a predetermined first time period, and the control method may further include a step of transmitting the emergency stop command when the emergency operation command is detected to be input within the predetermined first time period.

The control method of the manipulator may further include: measuring a time interval at which the emergency action command is input; and resetting the count of the number of times of input of the emergency operation command when no input is made for a predetermined second time shorter than the first time.

The control method of the manipulator may further include: a step of determining whether the operator is worn on a user; and prohibiting the unmanned aerial vehicle from flying when it is not determined that the manipulator is worn by the user.

The method for controlling the manipulator may further include a wearing detection step of determining whether the manipulator is worn by a user, and the unmanned aerial vehicle may be caused to take a retraction action when the wearing detection step does not determine that the manipulator is worn by the user during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The control method of the manipulator may further include: an operator abnormality detection step of detecting that the operator is in a state where the emergency operation instruction cannot be transmitted; and prohibiting the unmanned aerial vehicle from flying when the operator abnormality detection step detects that the operator is in a state where the emergency action instruction cannot be transmitted.

The control method of the manipulator may further include a manipulator abnormality detection step of detecting that the manipulator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and the unmanned aerial vehicle may be caused to take a backoff action when the manipulator abnormality detection step detects that the manipulator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, a control program for an unmanned aerial vehicle causes a computer to execute: receiving a receiving command of an emergency action command; and a flight control command for controlling a flight action based on the emergency action command transmitted by the operator, the emergency action command including one or more of an emergency stop command for dropping the unmanned aerial vehicle, an emergency landing command for landing the unmanned aerial vehicle, an emergency air stop command for hovering the unmanned aerial vehicle, and an emergency return command for returning the unmanned aerial vehicle to a given location.

The unmanned aerial vehicle control program may be configured to cause the computer to execute a command to execute an emergency stop command when the emergency operation command is input a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined time.

The unmanned aerial vehicle control program may cause the computer to execute a command to execute the emergency operation command when the emergency operation command is continuously input for a predetermined time or longer.

The unmanned aerial vehicle control program may cause a computer to execute a command to stop the ejection of the chemical based on the emergency operation command.

The unmanned aerial vehicle control program may further cause the computer to execute: determining whether an operator used with the unmanned aerial vehicle is worn on a wear detection command of a user; and a command to prohibit the unmanned aerial vehicle from flying when it is not determined by the wear detection command that the manipulator is worn by a user.

The unmanned aerial vehicle control program may cause a computer to execute a wearing detection command for determining whether or not an operator used with the unmanned aerial vehicle is worn by a user, and may cause the computer to execute a command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to take a retraction action when the operator is not determined to be worn by the user by the wearing detection command during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

The unmanned aerial vehicle control program may cause a computer to execute an operator abnormality detection command that detects that an operator used with the unmanned aerial vehicle is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and may cause the computer to execute a command that prohibits the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle when the operator is detected by the operator abnormality detection command to be in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted.

The unmanned aerial vehicle control program may cause a computer to execute an operator abnormality detection command that detects that an operator used with the unmanned aerial vehicle is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and may cause the computer to execute a command that causes the unmanned aerial vehicle to take a backoff action when the operator is detected by the operator abnormality detection command to be in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Further, the computer program can be provided by downloading via a network such as the internet or by recording on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

Effects of the invention

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of a drone according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a right side view of an embodiment of the drone according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an example of an overall conceptual diagram of a drug dispensing system using an embodiment of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing control functions of an embodiment of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a functional block diagram of the unmanned aerial vehicle and an operator of the unmanned aerial vehicle relating to emergency operation.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a command input unit included in the manipulator.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of the detection unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle that determines whether or not the manipulator has been struck.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart in the case where an emergency command is transmitted from the operator to a receiving unit included in the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of an operator according to the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view showing a case where another display is performed in the emergency operation area of the operator.

Fig. 12 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of the manipulator according to the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a functional block diagram relating to the emergency operation of the operator.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings are illustrative.

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of an embodiment of a unmanned aerial vehicle 100 according to the present invention, fig. 2 shows a front view (viewed from the traveling direction side) thereof, and fig. 3 shows a right side view thereof. In the present specification, the unmanned aerial vehicle refers to all of the aircraft having a plurality of rotor wings or flight units irrespective of a power unit (electric power, prime mover, etc.), a steering system (whether wireless or wired, and whether autonomous flight type or manual steering type, etc.).

The rotary wings 101-1a, 101-1b, 101-2a, 101-2b, 101-3a, 101-3b, 101-4a, and 101-4b (also referred to as rotors) are means for flying the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and 8 (4 sets of rotary wings of 2-stage configuration) are preferable in view of balance of flying stability, body size, and battery consumption.

The motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 102-4a, 102-4b are means (typically, motors, but may be engines or the like) for rotating the rotary wings 101-1a, 101-1b, 101-2a, 101-2b, 101-3a, 101-3b, 101-4a, 101-4b, and preferably 1 motor is provided for one rotary wing. For stability of flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, it is preferable that the axes of the upper and lower rotor blades (for example, 101-1a and 101-1 b) and the motors (for example, 102-1a and 102-1 b) corresponding thereto in 1 set are positioned on the same straight line and rotated in opposite directions to each other, and the positions of the rotor blade 101-3b and the motor 102-3b are not shown, but are self-explanatory, and if left side view is shown, the radial members for supporting the rotor blade guard provided so as not to interfere with the foreign matter are preferably not horizontal and have a tower-like structure, and this is to promote buckling of the members to the outside of the rotor blade at the time of collision, preventing interference with the rotor.

The medicine nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, and 103-4 are means for dispensing medicines downward, and preferably have 4 medicine nozzles. In the present specification, the term "chemical" generally refers to a liquid or powder for agricultural chemical, herbicide, liquid fertilizer, insecticide, seed, water, etc. to be spread on a farm.

The medicine tank 104 is a tank for storing the medicine to be spread, and is preferably provided at a position close to the center of gravity of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and at a position lower than the center of gravity from the viewpoint of weight balance. The medicine hoses 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, and 105-4 are units for connecting the medicine tank 104 to the medicine nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, and 103-4, and may be made of a hard material, or may also have the function of supporting the medicine nozzles. The pump 106 is a unit for ejecting the medicine from the nozzle.

Fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the whole system of an example of the application of the drug scattering using the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 according to the present invention. The figure is a schematic diagram, and the scale is inaccurate. The manipulator 401 is a unit for transmitting an instruction to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 by an operation of the user 402 and displaying information (for example, a position, a medicine amount, a remaining battery amount, a camera image, etc.) received from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and can be implemented by a portable information device such as a general tablet terminal running a computer program. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 according to the present invention is preferably controlled to fly autonomously, but is preferably manually operable during basic operations such as take-off and return, and during emergency. In addition to the portable information device, an emergency operator (emergency operator 10 shown in fig. 6) having a function dedicated to emergency stop may be used (the emergency operator is preferably a dedicated device having a large emergency stop button or the like so that a response can be quickly taken in an emergency). The manipulator 401 and the unmanned plane 100 preferably perform wireless communication based on Wi-Fi or the like.

Farm 403 is a farm, a field, or the like, to which the chemical of unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is to be spread. In practice, the topography of the farm 403 is complex, and a topography map cannot be obtained in advance, or a topography map may be different from a situation on site. Typically, farm 403 is adjacent to a house, hospital, school, other crop farm, road, railroad, or the like. In addition, there are also some cases where there is an obstacle such as a building or an electric wire in the farm 403.

The base station 404 is a device that provides a master function of Wi-Fi communication, and the like, and also functions as an RTK-GPS base station, and preferably can provide an accurate position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 (the device may be a device in which the master function of Wi-Fi communication is independent of the RTK-GPS base station). The camp cloud 405 is a set of computers and related software typically operating on cloud services, preferably wirelessly connected to the manipulator 401 via a mobile phone line or the like. The nutrient cloud 405 can perform processing for analyzing the image of the farm 403 captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and grasping the growth condition of crops, thereby determining the flight route. Further, the stored topography information of the farm 403 and the like may be provided to the unmanned plane 100. Further, the history of the flight and the photographed image of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be accumulated, and various analysis processes may be performed.

In general, the drone 100 takes off from a departure arrival location 406 located outside of the farm 403 and returns to the departure arrival location 406 after the farm 403 is sprayed with a pharmaceutical or when replenishment of pharmaceutical or charging is required. The flight path (entry path) from the departure/arrival point 406 to the destination farm 403 may be stored in advance by the nutrient cloud 405 or the like, or may be input by the user 402 before the start of the departure.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a control function of an embodiment of the drug dispensing unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention. The flight controller 501 is a component responsible for controlling the entire unmanned aerial vehicle, and may be specifically an embedded computer including a CPU, a memory, related software, and the like. The flight controller 501 controls the rotational speeds of the motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, 104-b by a control unit such as an ESC (Electronic Speed Control ) based on input information received from the manipulator 401 and input information obtained from various sensors described later, thereby controlling the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. The actual rotational speeds of the motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, 104-b are preferably fed back to the flight controller 501 and can monitor whether or not normal rotation has been performed. Alternatively, an optical sensor or the like may be provided to the rotary wing 101, and the rotation of the rotary wing 101 may be fed back to the flight controller 501.

The software used by the flight controller 501 is preferably rewritable by a storage medium or the like or by a communication means such as Wi-Fi communication or USB for the purpose of function expansion, change, problem correction, or the like. In this case, it is preferable to perform protection by encryption, checksum, electronic signature, virus detection software, and the like so as not to rewrite by unauthorized software. In addition, a part of the calculation processing used in the control by the flight controller 501 may be executed by another computer present on the manipulator 401 or on the camp cloud 405 at another place. Since the importance of the flight controller 501 is high, some or all of its constituent elements may be duplicated.

The battery 502 is a unit for supplying electric power to the flight controller 501 and other components of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and is preferably rechargeable. The battery 502 is preferably connected to the flight controller 501 via a power supply assembly including a fuse or circuit breaker or the like. The battery 502 is preferably an intelligent battery having a function of transmitting the internal state (the stored electricity amount, the accumulated use time, etc.) to the flight controller 501 in addition to the electric power supply function.

The preferred flight controller 501 exchanges information with the manipulator 401 via the Wi-Fi submachine function 503, further via the base station 404, receives necessary instructions from the manipulator 401, and transmits necessary information to the manipulator 401. In this case, it is preferable to encrypt the communication, so that improper actions such as interception, impersonation, and theft of the device can be prevented. The preferred base station 404 has the function of an RTK-GPS base station in addition to Wi-Fi based communication functions. By combining the signals of the RTK base station with the signals from the GPS positioning satellites, the absolute position of the drone 100 can be determined with accuracy of the order of a few centimeters by the GPS module 504. Since the importance of the GPS module 504 is high, it is preferable to double/multiplex the GPS module, and in order to cope with a specific GPS satellite, it is preferable to control each of the GPS modules 504 that is redundant so as to use another satellite.

The 6-axis gyro sensor 505 is a unit for measuring acceleration of the unmanned aerial vehicle body (and is a unit for calculating a speed by integrating acceleration), and is preferably a 6-axis sensor. The geomagnetic sensor 506 is a unit that measures the direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle body by measurement of geomagnetism. The air pressure sensor 507 is a unit for measuring air pressure, and can also indirectly measure the height of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The laser sensor 508 is a unit for measuring the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle body and the ground surface by using reflection of laser light, and preferably IR (infrared) laser light is used. The sonar 509 is a means for measuring the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle body and the ground surface by using reflection of an acoustic wave such as an ultrasonic wave. These sensor classes may be chosen depending on the cost objective and performance requirements of the drone. A gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) for measuring the inclination of the body, a wind sensor for measuring the wind force, and the like may be added. In addition, these sensors are preferably doubled or multiplexed. In the case where there are multiple sensors for the same purpose, the flight controller 501 may use only one of them and switch to an alternative sensor for use when it fails. Alternatively, a plurality of sensors may be used simultaneously, and if the measurement results are not identical, it is considered that a failure has occurred.

The flow sensor 510 is a means for measuring the flow rate of the medicine, and is preferably provided at a plurality of places along the path from the medicine tank 104 to the medicine nozzle 103. The insufficient liquid sensor 511 is a sensor that detects that the amount of the chemical is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. The multispectral camera 512 is a unit that photographs the farm 403 and acquires data for image analysis. The obstacle detection camera 513 is a camera for detecting an obstacle of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and is preferably a device different from the multispectral camera 512 because the image characteristics and the orientation of the lens are different from the multispectral camera 512. The switch 514 is a unit for various settings by the user 402 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. The obstacle contact sensor 515 is a sensor for detecting that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, particularly, a rotor and a propeller guard portion thereof, is in contact with an obstacle such as an electric wire, a building, a human body, a tree, a bird, or other unmanned aerial vehicle. The lid sensor 516 is a sensor that detects that an operation panel of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 or a lid for internal maintenance is in an open state. The medicine injection port sensor 517 is a sensor that detects that the injection port of the medicine tank 104 is open. These sensors may be selected according to the cost target and performance requirements of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or may be doubled or multiplexed. Further, a sensor may be provided at a base station 404, a manipulator 401, or other places outside the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and the read information may be transmitted to the unmanned aerial vehicle. For example, a wind sensor may be provided at the base station 404, and information about wind force/direction may be transmitted to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 via Wi-Fi communication.

The flight controller 501 transmits a control signal to the pump 106, and adjusts the amount of the chemical discharged and stops the chemical discharge. Preferably, the current time point of the pump 106 (for example, the rotation speed or the like) is fed back to the flight controller 501.

The LED107 is a display unit for notifying the operator of the unmanned aerial vehicle of the status of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Instead of LEDs, or in addition to LEDs, display units such as liquid crystal displays may be used. The buzzer 518 is an output unit for informing the status of the unmanned aerial vehicle (particularly, an error status) by a sound signal. The Wi-Fi slave function 519 is an optional component for communicating with an external computer or the like for software transfer or the like, unlike the manipulator 401. Instead of or in addition to the Wi-Fi function, other wireless communication means such as infrared communication, bluetooth (registered trademark), zigBee (registered trademark), NFC, and the like, or wired communication means such as a USB connection may be used. The speaker 520 is an output unit for notifying the status (particularly, error status) of the unmanned aerial vehicle by recorded voice, synthesized voice, or the like. Depending on the weather conditions, it is sometimes difficult to see the visual display of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 in flight, so in such cases, the sound-based condition transfer is effective. The warning lamp 521 is a display unit such as a flash lamp for notifying the status (particularly, error status) of the unmanned aerial vehicle. These input/output units may be selected according to the cost target and performance requirements of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or may be doubled or multiplexed.

In the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 that performs autonomous flight, the user 402 may monitor the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle. When the user 402 confirms that an abnormality has occurred in the unmanned aerial vehicle by visual observation or a monitor, it is preferable that an emergency operation instruction is generated by an arbitrary operation performed by the user 402, and the unmanned aerial vehicle is safely retracted.

(first embodiment)

As shown in fig. 6, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 according to the present invention includes a receiving unit 22 that can receive an emergency operation command, a flight control unit 23 that controls the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 based on the emergency operation command received by the receiving unit 22, and a chemical control unit 30 that controls the amount of chemical ejected from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. The flight control unit 23 and the chemical control unit 30 are realized by the flight controller 501 in fig. 5. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the emergency operator 10 are connected by wire or wirelessly, and the user 402 can operate arbitrarily during autonomous flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. The emergency operator 10 transmits an emergency action instruction to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100.

The emergency operation device 10 may be configured to have only a function of generating an emergency stop command. Further, the present invention may be provided with a function of transmitting all instructions of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flown for monitoring and broadcasting, in addition to the emergency stop instruction. Further, a display unit may be provided to receive information from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and display the information to the user 402.

As shown in fig. 6, the emergency operation device 10 includes a command input unit 11, a transmission unit 12, and an emergency operation detection unit 13. The command input unit 11 is a structure for the user 402 to input an emergency operation command, and is, for example, a soft switch displayed on a screen of the emergency operation device 10. The command input unit 11 may be a mechanical switch such as a button.

As shown in fig. 7, the command input unit 11 can input various emergency operation commands. The emergency action instructions include one or more of an emergency stop instruction, an emergency landing instruction, an emergency return instruction, an emergency air stop instruction, and a general return instruction. In the present embodiment, the command input unit 11 can input all of the 5 types of emergency operation commands described above. The command input unit 11 is a plurality of switches 111 to 115 corresponding to the number of types of emergency operation commands. The emergency operation command input to the plurality of switches 111 to 115 is transmitted to the receiving unit 22 via the transmitting unit 12. The transmission and reception are performed in any form using Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared communication, wi-Fi, or the like.

The switch 111 is a switch for generating an emergency stop command. Upon receiving the emergency stop command via the receiving unit 22, the flight control unit 23 performs an "emergency stop" in which all operations of the motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, 104-b are stopped. Then, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 freely falls downward by gravity.

Switch 112 is a switch that sends an emergency landing command. When the reception unit 22 receives the emergency landing instruction, the flight control unit 23 executes "normal landing" at the point where the emergency landing instruction is received.

The switch 113 is a switch that transmits an emergency return instruction. Upon receiving the emergency return instruction via the receiving unit 22, the flight control unit 23 performs "emergency return" in which the flight control unit moves immediately to a predetermined return point on the shortest route. The predetermined return point is a point stored in advance in the flight control unit 23, and is, for example, a departure arrival point 406 for take-off. The predetermined return point is a point where the user 402 can approach the land other than the farm 403 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and the user 402 can check the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 that has arrived at the return point or manually transport the unmanned aerial vehicle to another place, for example.

The switch 114 is a switch that transmits an emergency air stop instruction. When the reception unit 22 receives the emergency air stop command, the flight control unit 23 "hovers" at the point where the emergency air stop command is received.

Switch 115 is a switch that sends a normal return instruction. When the receiving unit 22 receives the normal return instruction, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 moves to a predetermined return point on the optimal route. The optimal route is, for example, a route calculated by referring to a route for performing medicine dispensing before receiving a normal return instruction. For example, the flight control unit 23 moves to a predetermined return point while dispensing the chemical via a route in which the chemical has not been dispensed yet.

The emergency operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be considered as a plurality of operations such as landing and hovering, but it is different depending on the abnormal situation as to which operation is appropriate. Accordingly, according to the emergency operator 10 capable of transmitting different emergency action instructions from the plurality of switches 111 to 115, the user 402 can selectively transmit a variety of emergency action instructions.

The command input unit 11 can distinguish between operations performed on the screen, such as clicking, sliding, flicking, clicking, long pressing, and the like, and may be associated with the switches 111 to 115. At least the continuous clicking and the long pressing of each operation are determined by the emergency operation detection unit 13 included in the emergency operation device 10.

The emergency operation detection unit 13 is a functional unit that detects that a specific operation different from a normal input operation is performed in the emergency operation device 10. The emergency operation detection unit 13 includes a continuous impact detection unit 131 and a long press detection unit 132.

The click detection section 131 is a functional section that detects whether or not the switches 111 to 115 are operated a plurality of times by the user 402 within a given time, that is, whether or not they are clicked. The click detection section 131 suitably has a timer for counting the number of times operated in a given first time, and a counting section.

When the click detection unit 131 detects a click, it converts the input multiple inputs into 1 emergency stop command. That is, the flight control section 23 stops all the operations of the motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, 104-b, and allows the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 to freely fall. According to this configuration, even when the user 402 operates the emergency operator 10 in an emergency, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can be safely retracted.

It is envisaged that the operation performed in panic in an emergency will be a regular input to some extent. That is, for example, when the threshold value of the click detection is not satisfied and then is further pressed at a time interval, the operation is different from the operation to be assumed. Therefore, the click detection unit 131 also measures the time interval in which the switches 111 to 115 are pressed, and may reset the count when a predetermined second time shorter than the first time is not pressed.

As shown in fig. 8, first, the click detection section 131 detects that the switches 111 to 115 are pressed 1 time and an urgent instruction is input (step S31). The click detection unit 131 records the number of inputs from "0" to "1" (step S32), and starts timers for measuring the first time and the second time (steps S33 to S34).

The click detection unit 131 determines whether or not the first time has elapsed (step S35). When the first time has elapsed without the input of the next emergency command, the timer for measuring the first time and the second time is reset, and the process advances to step S4 of fig. 9, which will be described later, and an emergency command corresponding to the pressed switch is generated. In addition, it is determined whether or not the second time has elapsed (step S36), and it is determined whether or not the next input is performed before the second time has elapsed (step S37). When the second time has elapsed without the input of the next emergency command, the timer for measuring the first time and the second time is reset, and the process advances to step S4 of fig. 9, which will be described later, and a normal emergency command is transmitted. For example, if an input lower than a predetermined number of times of detection of a click is continuously made, an emergency command corresponding to the last pressed switch 111 to 115 may be transmitted.

When there is a next input before the second time elapses, the click detection unit 131 continues measurement by the timer for the first time, and adds 1 to the number of inputs (step S38). Further, the click detection unit 131 determines whether or not the number of inputs reaches a predetermined number (step S39). When the number of inputs reaches the predetermined number, the click detection unit 131 determines that the click is performed, and the process advances to step S3 in fig. 9. If the number of inputs has not reached the given number, the timer for the second time is reset, and the process returns to step S34 to restart the timer for the second time.

With this configuration, the click detection unit 131 can more accurately detect the operation of the user 402 to perform the panic operation.

The long-press detection unit 132 is a functional unit that detects whether or not the switches 111 to 115 are continuously pressed for a predetermined time or longer, that is, whether or not they are pressed for a long time. The long press detection unit 132 converts the input into an emergency stop command of 1 time when detecting that the switches 111 to 115 are long pressed for a predetermined time or longer. According to this configuration, even when the user 402 presses the emergency operator 10 for a long time in an emergency, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can be safely retracted.

The medicine control unit 30 is a control unit that controls the amount or timing of the medicine liquid being dispensed from the medicine tank 104. For example, an opening/closing means for opening/closing the chemical liquid path may be provided at a position on the path from the chemical tank 104 to the chemical nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, and 103-4, and the chemical control unit 30 may execute various emergency actions after the ejection of the chemical liquid is shut off by the opening/closing means. The medicine control unit 30 may stop the pump 106 before the emergency operation is performed.

A flow of emergency operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 9. As shown in the figure, first, when the user 402 operates any one of the switches 111 to 115 included in the command input unit 11, the command input unit 11 of the emergency operator 10 acquires an emergency operation command (step S1).

The long press detection section 132 determines whether or not the switches 111 to 115 are long pressed for a given time or longer (step S21).

When it is determined that the command input unit 11 has been pressed for a predetermined time or longer, the transmission unit 12 transmits 1 time of the emergency stop command to the reception unit 22 (step S3).

In the case where the long press detection section 132 does not detect the long press, the click detection section 131 determines whether or not the switches 111 to 115 are continuously pressed more than a given number of times within a given time (step S22). When it is determined that the switches 111 to 115 are continuously pressed more than the given number of times within the given time, the transmitting section 12 transmits the emergency stop instruction 1 time to the receiving section 22 (step S3).

In step S3, the receiving unit 22 receives an emergency stop command from the transmitting unit 12 (step S5). The medicine control unit 30 closes the opening/closing means provided appropriately in the discharge path of the chemical, stops the pump 106, and stops the discharge of the medicine (step S7). Subsequently, the flight control unit 23 performs an emergency stop operation. That is, the flight control section 23 stops all the operations of the motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, 104-b, and freely drops the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 (step S81).

When the click detection unit 131 does not detect the emergency operation command more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time, the transmission unit 12 transmits the emergency operation command 1 time corresponding to the pressed switches 111 to 115 to the reception unit 22 (step S4).

The receiving unit 22 receives the emergency operation command from the transmitting unit 12 (step S5). The flight control unit 23 performs an emergency operation according to the type of the emergency operation instruction (step S6). When the received emergency operation command is other than the normal return command, the medicine control unit 30 closes the opening/closing means provided in the discharge path of the medicine liquid appropriately, stops the pump 106, and stops the discharge of the medicine (step S7). When receiving the normal return instruction, the medicine control unit 30 moves to a predetermined return point while dispensing a predetermined medicine according to the route therethrough (step S85).

The flight control unit 23 emergency-operates the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 based on the emergency operation instruction received by the receiving unit 22 (steps S81 to S84). That is, the "emergency stop" is performed when the emergency stop command is received (step S81), and the "landing" operation is performed when the emergency landing command is received (step S82). When the emergency return instruction is received, "emergency return" is performed (step S83), and when the emergency air stop instruction is received, "hover" is performed (step S84).

Further, instead of the continuous impact detection unit 131 included in the emergency operation device 10, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be provided with a continuous reception detection unit that detects whether or not the reception unit 22 has received an emergency operation command more than a predetermined number of times. When the continuous reception detection unit detects that the reception unit 22 has received the emergency operation command a predetermined number of times or more, the plurality of emergency operation commands are converted into 1-time emergency stop commands and transmitted to the flight control unit 23.

In addition, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be configured not to fly when the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted by the emergency operation device 10 due to a failure of the emergency operation device 10, a battery exhaustion, or the like. In a state where the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is landing, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is not allowed to take off. In the case where the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is in flight, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be caused to take a back-off action. The backoff action may be any action such as normal landing, hovering, normal returning, or emergency returning, or may be a combination of these actions. The user 402 may be notified of this situation by the manipulator 401 or an appropriate display means included in the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 itself.

The failure of the emergency operation device 10 or the detection of the battery exhaustion can be detected by providing an operation device abnormality detection unit in the emergency operation device 10. When the operator abnormality detection unit detects a failure or a battery is used up, the operator abnormality detection unit may notify the nutrient cloud 405 of the failure. The rural cloud 405 may also have a function of detecting a failure of the emergency operation device 10 or a battery exhaustion. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be configured to take a backoff action when it is not possible to confirm that the emergency operation command can be transmitted by periodically transmitting and receiving a communication confirmation command other than the emergency operation command between the emergency operation device 10 and the operating cloud 405 or the like, and periodically confirming whether the emergency operation command can be transmitted by the emergency operation device 10. The operator abnormality detection unit that detects a failure of the emergency operator 10 and a battery exhaustion may be mounted on the unmanned plane 100.

(second embodiment)

Another embodiment of the emergency operation command transmitted from the emergency operation device 10 will be described with reference to fig. 10. The figure is an example of a home screen 800 displayed by the emergency operator 10. In the present embodiment, the emergency operation device 10 has a function of displaying the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and instructing the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, in addition to the transmission of the emergency operation command.

On the main screen 800, a peripheral device status display area 801, a flight status display area 802, a body status display area 803, a height adjustment input unit 804, a map display area 805, a route information display area 806, and an emergency operation area 807 are provided.

The peripheral status display area 801 displays the remaining battery level, pump status, medicine level, communication status, GPS reception status, and the like of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. It is preferable to reliably transmit a situation of high importance to the operator by simplifying the information as much as possible and allowing the color change or the like in the case where there is an error.

The flight status display area 802 displays the time of flight, GPS coordinates, speed of flight, altitude, etc. of the drone 100.

The body condition display area 803 displays the current state of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, for example, in flight preparation, in medicine replenishment, in take-off, in flight, emergency evacuation, and the like.

The height adjustment input unit 804 is a user interface input unit such as a button for increasing or decreasing the current height of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 according to the present invention basically flies autonomously, and the altitude is automatically adjusted by a computer program, but there may be cases where an operator wants to adjust the altitude according to, for example, the altitude of a crop.

The map display area 805 is a map including a farm to be a subject of medicine distribution, and may be an aerial photograph, a topographic map, or a superimposed display of these. The scale and the position are preferably adjustable by a gesture operation or the like. In the map display area 805, the current position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is displayed in real time.

The path information display area 806 is a path that the unmanned aerial vehicle should fly autonomously, which is calculated in advance by the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 or the ying-farming cloud 405 in the manipulator. The route can be switched to display only the shooting scheme and the pesticide spraying scheme. In the pesticide spraying scheme, a route showing a preferable required time, a preferable battery consumption amount, and a preferable route minimizing the pesticide spraying leakage can be selected. The region on which the medicament is spread may also be displayed by changing color. Information of obstacles (wires, buildings, trees, etc.) in the farm can also be displayed together with the path.

The emergency operation area 807 is an area in which an emergency operation instruction can be input, and is an example of an instruction input section. In order to enable the user 402 to easily perform an operation in an emergency, the emergency operation area 807 may occupy a large portion (typically, more than one third of the space of the entire screen) on the main screen 800. When the user 402 grips the emergency operation device 10 from the side surface side, a finger, particularly a thumb, may come into contact with a part of the screen. Therefore, the outer edge of the emergency operation area may be defined sufficiently inward of the outer peripheral end portion of the emergency operation device 10. With this configuration, the user 402 is prevented from touching the emergency operation area 807 by mistake while holding the emergency operation device 10.

The emergency operation area 807 has a plurality of input units that transmit mutually different emergency action instructions. For example, the emergency operation area 807 can distinguish at least 2 of the actions performed on the screen such as clicking, sliding, flicking, connecting, and long pressing, and the mutually different emergency action instructions are associated with the distinguishable actions. The emergency operation area 807 may be divided into a plurality of areas, and identified, and different emergency operation instructions may be associated with each other according to the location where the operation is performed. In the input operation having the direction such as sliding or flicking, a different instruction may be associated with each direction of the input. With this configuration, the user 402 can selectively transmit various emergency operation instructions. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the sliding is an emergency air stop command for transmitting a temporary stop, that is, for hovering. In addition, the action of 4 consecutive clicks is to send an emergency stop instruction.

When the emergency operation area 807 detects a predetermined operation on the main screen 800, the emergency operator 10 may transmit a second emergency operation command in addition to the first emergency operation command. The emergency operation area 807 may also be shifted to a mode in which other inputs are accepted in the area after a given action is detected. For example, when the operation of sliding is detected in the emergency operation area 807 on the main screen 800, the emergency operation area 807 transmits an emergency air stop instruction as a first emergency operation instruction to hover the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. As shown in fig. 11, the emergency operation area 807 is changed to a display for selecting the type of emergency operation after the hovering of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. The user 402 sends an emergency stop instruction, an emergency landing instruction, an emergency air stop instruction, or an emergency return instruction as a second emergency action instruction by selecting on the emergency operation area 807. When the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 generates an unexpected situation, it is difficult for the user 402 to instantly determine the type of appropriate emergency operation. Therefore, according to this configuration, the user 402 can first hover the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 in an unexpected situation, and can determine the type of emergency operation in consideration of the coolness.

(third embodiment)

A third embodiment of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the emergency manipulator according to the present invention will be described mainly in a part different from the first embodiment described above. The emergency operator of the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it is a glasses-type wearable terminal or a headset-type wearable terminal. The emergency operator may be configured by combining one or more of a push-button type, a glasses type wearable terminal, and an earphone type wearable terminal. Note that the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in fig. 11, the emergency operator 20 is a glasses-type wearable terminal 4011 or an earphone-type wearable terminal 4012. The eyeglass-type wearable terminal 4011 is an apparatus having an external appearance of eyeglasses, that is, an eyeglass-like shape, and can be worn by hanging the temple on the ear of the user 402. The earphone-type wearable terminal 4012 can be inserted by inserting the earphone portion into the ear of the user 402, and is suitable for use in agricultural work because the earphone portion is less burdened when worn and information from the device can be acquired in a hands-free manner.

As shown in fig. 12, the emergency operation device 20 includes a command input unit 11, a transmission unit 12, and a wear detection unit 14.

The command input unit 11 is configured to input an emergency operation command by the user 402, and corresponds to the command input unit 11 of the first embodiment. The command input unit 11 is, for example, a vibration sensor that can sense vibration generated by the user 402 striking an arbitrary portion of each terminal device in both the case of the eyeglass-type wearable terminal 4011 and the case of the earphone-type wearable terminal.

The command input unit 11 is, for example, a contact detection sensor constituted by a detection element such as a micro switch or a piezoelectric element, and inputs an operation of the user 402 to tap the emergency operation device 20. In the case of the eyeglass type wearable terminal 4011, the instruction input unit 11 is disposed, for example, in a temple, a joint portion between a lens disposed in front of the eye in a worn state, and the temple, or the like. In the case where the left and right temples are connected by a band body that contacts the rear head during wearing, the command input unit 11 may be disposed on the band body. In the case of a headset-type wearable terminal, the command input unit 11 is disposed on the back side of the ear plug, for example. The earphone-type wearable terminal 4012 may have a microphone function, and may input a command by inputting a sound to a microphone.

The wear detection unit 14 is a functional unit that detects whether the emergency operation device 20 is worn by the user 402. The wear detection unit 14 includes a contact detection unit 141 and a determination unit 142. The contact detection unit 141 is constituted by a pressure detection element such as a micro switch or a piezoelectric element. The contact detection unit 141 may be an electrostatic capacitance sensor capable of detecting contact with a human body. In the case of the eyeglass type wearable terminal 4011, the contact detecting unit 141 is disposed on a curved surface located at a lower portion of the temple, for example, and contacts the ear of the user 402 when worn. In the case of the earphone-type wearable terminal 4012, the contact detecting portion 141 is disposed on the outer periphery of the earplug and contacts the ear of the user 402 when worn.

The determination unit 142 determines whether or not the emergency operation device 20 is worn by the user 402 based on the signal from the contact detection unit 141. The determination unit may determine that the emergency operation device 20 is worn on the user 402, for example, only when contact can be continuously detected for a predetermined time or longer. The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 may be prohibited from flying when the wearing of the emergency operation device 20 is not detected by the wearing detection unit 14. The wear detection unit 14 may be configured to permit the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 to fly only when it is determined that the emergency operation device 20 is worn by the user 402, and to be able to input the instruction to the instruction input unit 11.

The wear detection unit 14 may detect whether or not the emergency operation device 20 is worn by the user 402 continuously or at predetermined time intervals during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. In the case where the wearing detection unit 14 cannot detect wearing during flight, the flight control unit 23 may cause the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 to take a retraction action. The retraction action here is, for example, a landing. In addition, any one or a combination of hovering and returning to a predetermined return place may be performed before landing as a back-off action. The user 402 may be notified of the failure to detect the wearing of the emergency operation device 20 by an appropriate method through the manipulator 401, a display unit included in the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, or the like. Even after the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 starts flying, if the user 402 takes off the emergency operation device 20, there is a risk that the emergency stop operation cannot be performed. With this configuration, it is possible to detect such a situation and prevent the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 from continuing to fly in a dangerous situation.

Further, one or more of the button-type, glasses-type wearable terminal 4011 and the earphone-type wearable terminal 4012 may be combined to form the manipulator 401, and a part or all of the devices constituting the manipulator 401 may be shared with the emergency operation device 20. In this case, the constitution may be as follows: the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle connected to the manipulator 401 can be started only when it is determined that the manipulator 401 is worn by the user 402 by the wear detection unit 14 included in the eyeglass type wearable terminal 4011 and the earphone type wearable terminal 4012. The operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle mainly means take-off by the flight control unit 23 and dispensing of the chemical by the chemical control unit 30. Further, the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle may be suspended when the manipulator 401 is removed from the user 402 during the operation. Specifically, the scattering of the chemical may be stopped, and the unmanned aerial vehicle may land. Further, the user 402 may be notified of the warning of the fact that the manipulator 401 is not attached to the user 402 by display of an image or sound.

In the present description, the agricultural chemical dispensing unmanned aerial vehicle is described as an example, but the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to all unmanned aerial vehicles.

(technically significant effects of the present invention)

In the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention, an unmanned aerial vehicle (aircraft) that can maintain high safety even when flying autonomously can be provided.

Claims

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle is an autonomous flight unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

a receiving unit that can receive an emergency operation instruction during autonomous flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle; and

a flight control unit that controls a flight operation based on the emergency operation command transmitted by the operator and received by the receiving unit,

the emergency action instructions include a first emergency action instruction and a second emergency action instruction,

in the case where the receiving section receives the first emergency action instruction transmitted from the operator, the flight control section hovers the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the first emergency action instruction,

as an operation after the unmanned aerial vehicle hovers based on the first emergency operation command, any one of an emergency stop command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to land, an emergency landing command for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to land, and an emergency return command for returning the unmanned aerial vehicle to a predetermined place is selected by an input to the manipulator, and when the selected operation command is received as the second emergency operation command by the receiving unit, the flight control unit controls a flight operation based on the received second emergency operation command.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein,

the unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a medicine control unit that controls whether or not to eject medicine from the unmanned aerial vehicle to the outside, and the medicine control unit stops ejection of medicine based on the emergency operation instruction received by the receiving unit.

3. An operator for use with the unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 or 2,

the manipulator has a transmitting unit for transmitting an emergency operation instruction to the unmanned aerial vehicle,

the emergency action instructions include one or more of an emergency stop instruction, an emergency landing instruction, an emergency air stop instruction, and an emergency return instruction, the emergency stop instruction causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to drop, the emergency landing instruction causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to land, the emergency air stop instruction causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover, the emergency return instruction causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to return to a given location.

4. The manipulator according to claim 3, wherein,

the manipulator further comprises a continuous impact detection unit that counts the number of times the emergency operation command is input within a predetermined first time,

the click detection unit transmits an emergency stop command to the reception unit when the click detection unit detects that the emergency operation command is input a predetermined number of times or more within the first time.

5. The manipulator according to claim 4, wherein,

the click detection unit also measures a time interval for inputting the emergency operation command, and resets a count of the number of times the emergency operation command is input when no predetermined second time shorter than the first time is input.

6. The manipulator according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein,

when the emergency operation command is continuously input at a predetermined time, the operator transmits the emergency stop command to the receiving unit.

7. The manipulator according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein,

the operator has only a function of transmitting the emergency operation instruction to the receiving unit.

8. The manipulator according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein,

the operator has a plurality of input units that transmit mutually different emergency action instructions.

9. The manipulator according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein,

the operator can send the second emergency action instruction on the basis of having sent the first emergency action instruction.

10. The manipulator of claim 9, wherein,

the first emergency action command is an emergency air stop command, the second emergency action command comprises any one of a plurality of emergency action commands, and the operator can selectively send the plurality of emergency action commands after sending the first emergency action command.

11. The manipulator according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein,

the manipulator is a wearable terminal used by a user wearing the device on the body.

12. The manipulator of claim 11, wherein,

the manipulator further includes a wearing detection unit that determines whether the manipulator is worn by a user, and the flight control unit causes the unmanned aerial vehicle not to fly when the wearing detection unit does not determine that the manipulator is worn by the user.

13. The manipulator of claim 11, wherein,

the manipulator further includes a wearing detection unit that determines whether or not the manipulator is worn by a user, and when the wearing detection unit does not determine that the manipulator is worn by the user during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the manipulator causes the unmanned aerial vehicle to take a retraction action.

14. The manipulator according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein,

the manipulator further includes a manipulator abnormality detection unit that detects that the manipulator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and when the manipulator abnormality detection unit detects that the manipulator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, the manipulator causes the unmanned aerial vehicle not to fly.

15. The manipulator according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein,

the manipulator further includes a manipulator abnormality detection unit that detects that the manipulator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted, and when the manipulator abnormality detection unit detects that the manipulator is in a state where the emergency operation command cannot be transmitted during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the manipulator causes the unmanned aerial vehicle to take a backoff action.

16. A control method of an unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:

the control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle comprises the following steps:

a step of inputting the emergency action instruction to the operator;

a step in which the receiving unit receives the emergency operation instruction;

a step of hovering the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the first emergency action command when the receiving unit receives the first emergency action command transmitted from the manipulator; and

A step of selecting, as an operation after the unmanned aerial vehicle hovers based on the first emergency operation instruction, any one of a step of dropping the unmanned aerial vehicle based on an emergency stop instruction received by the receiving unit, a step of landing the unmanned aerial vehicle based on an emergency landing instruction received by the receiving unit, and a step of returning the unmanned aerial vehicle to a predetermined place based on an emergency return instruction received by the receiving unit, by inputting to the operator, and controlling a flight operation based on the received second emergency operation instruction when the receiving unit receives the selected operation instruction as the second emergency operation instruction.

17. The method for controlling a drone of claim 16, wherein,

the unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a medicine control unit that controls whether or not to eject medicine from the unmanned aerial vehicle to the outside, and the control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a step of stopping ejection of medicine based on the emergency operation instruction received by the receiving unit.

18. A control method of an operator for use with a drone, the operator transmitting emergency action instructions, the emergency action instructions including a first emergency action instruction and a second emergency action instruction,

The control method of the manipulator comprises the following steps:

a step of transmitting the first emergency action instruction to hover the unmanned aerial vehicle during autonomous flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle;

a step of displaying, in a selectable manner, a plurality of operation instructions including any one of an emergency stop instruction to drop the unmanned aerial vehicle, an emergency landing instruction to land the unmanned aerial vehicle, and an emergency return instruction to return the unmanned aerial vehicle to a given place, after the unmanned aerial vehicle hovers based on the first emergency operation instruction; and

and a step of transmitting the second emergency action instruction including any action instruction among the plurality of action instructions to the unmanned aerial vehicle.

19. The control method of an operator according to claim 18, wherein,

the method for controlling an operator further includes a step of determining that the emergency stop instruction has been input when the first emergency action instruction is input a predetermined number of times or more within the first time during autonomous flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and transmitting the emergency stop instruction.

20. The control method of an operator according to claim 19, wherein,

the control method of the manipulator further comprises the following steps:

measuring a time interval at which the emergency action command is input; and

and resetting the count of the number of times of inputting the emergency operation command when no input is made for a predetermined second time shorter than the first time.

21. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a drone control program that causes a computer to execute:

receiving a receiving command of an emergency action instruction during autonomous flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle; and

a flight control command for controlling a flight action based on the emergency action command transmitted from the operator,

and enabling a computer to execute the following commands through the flight control commands:

a command to hover the drone based on the first emergency action instruction, upon receiving the first emergency action instruction sent from the operator;

as an operation after the unmanned aerial vehicle hovers based on the first emergency operation instruction, any one of an emergency stop instruction for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to land, an emergency landing instruction for causing the unmanned aerial vehicle to land, and an emergency return instruction for returning the unmanned aerial vehicle to a given location is selected by an input to the manipulator, and when the selected operation instruction is received as the second emergency operation instruction based on the received command, a command for controlling a flight operation is controlled based on the received second emergency operation instruction.

22. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 21, wherein,

the unmanned aerial vehicle control program further causes a computer to execute a command to stop ejection of the medicine based on the emergency operation instruction.