WO2020153170A1

WO2020153170A1 - Information processing device

Info

Publication number: WO2020153170A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/000866
Authority: WO
Inventors: 山田　武史; 雄一朗瀬川; 康裕北村
Original assignee: 株式会社Ｎｔｔドコモ
Priority date: 2019-01-22
Filing date: 2020-01-14
Publication date: 2020-07-30
Also published as: JPWO2020153170A1

Abstract

An avoidance processing unit 106 determines transmission control content on the basis of risk level information, which indicates the magnitude of risk when a drone 20 is flying. The avoidance processing unit 106 uses information indicating the density of drones 20 flying in a given flight airspace as risk level information for the flight airspace. The density in the flight airspace is indicated by flight plans and flight information, for example. The avoidance processing unit 106 provides instructions such that drones 20 flying in the flight airspace transmit flight information in response to the magnitude of risk in the flight airspace indicated by risk level information acquired by a flight information acquisition unit 102 or the like. Specifically, the avoidance processing unit 106 provides instructions such that the greater the risk indicated by the acquired risk level information, the greater the frequency of transmission of flight information.

Description

Information processing equipment

The present invention relates to a technique for supporting the safe flight of an air vehicle.

In Patent Document 1, in a moving body system in which a server collects planned trajectories of each moving body and avoids a collision, the load of the server is caused by causing each moving body to generate a self-planned trajectory that does not interfere with another person's planned trajectory. A technique for reducing the above is disclosed.

JP, 2017-130121, A

An aircraft such as a drone may transmit information including the position of its own to a management device or the like in order to notify the presence or absence of danger during flight. It is not desirable that the load of the transmission process be too high, because the resources that the weight saving aircraft have are limited. However, when the danger is high, it is important to make sure that the danger is known.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to reduce the load of transmission processing on an air vehicle and more surely deal with dangers that occur during flight.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention transmits an acquisition unit that acquires risk level information that represents the magnitude of danger when a flying object flies, and flight information that indicates the flight status of the flying object. And an instruction unit for instructing the aircraft to transmit the flight information in a manner according to the magnitude of the risk represented by the acquired risk information. A processing device is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to more reliably handle the danger that occurs during flight while suppressing the load of transmission processing on the flying object.

The figure showing an example of the whole composition of the operation management support system concerning an example. The figure showing an example of the hardware constitutions of a server apparatus and integrated management apparatus. Diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a drone Diagram showing the functional configuration realized by each device Figure showing an example of flight information Figure showing an example of flight plan Diagram showing an example of the frequency table The figure showing an example of the operation procedure of each apparatus in instruction processing. Diagram showing an example of the item table Diagram showing an example of the destination table The figure showing an example of the frequency table of a modification. The figure showing an example of the frequency table of a modification. The figure showing an example of the frequency table of a modification.

[1] Example FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of an operation management support system 1 according to an example. The operation management support system 1 is a system that supports operation management of a flying object. Flight management refers to managing flight (that is, operation) according to the flight plan of an aircraft such as a drone. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that there are a plurality of operators 3 that manage the operation, and each operator 3 manages the operation of the air vehicle under its jurisdiction.

The operation management support system 1 includes a network 2, a plurality of server devices 10, a plurality of drones 20, and an integrated management device 30. The network 2 is a communication system including a mobile communication network, the Internet, etc., and relays data exchange between devices that access the own system. The server device 10 and the integrated management device 30 are accessing the network 2 by wired communication (or wireless communication may be used), and the drone 20 is accessing by wireless communication.

In the present embodiment, the drone 20 is a rotary-wing aircraft type flying body that rotates by rotating one or more rotary blades, and is used for various purposes such as imaging, inspection, spraying, security, and transportation. The drone 20 flies according to the operation of the operator. The operation by the operator is performed by using a propo (a controller that performs proportional control (proportional control)) or a flight instruction personal computer (a device that continuously outputs a set flight instruction).

Since the drone 20 is used for operation management for the purpose of safe flight and the like, information (flight information) indicating the flight status including at least the position of the aircraft in flight is designated to the server device 10 which controls the aircraft. Transmission is performed using the specified transmission control method. Details of the flight information transmission control will be described later in detail. The server device 10 performs processing for managing the operation of the drone 20 under the jurisdiction of the business entity 3 and its own device, based on the flight information installed and transmitted by the business entity 3 and the flight plan of each drone 20. .. Details of this processing will be described later.

The integrated management device 30 collects information (flight plans, flight information, etc.) handled by the plurality of server devices 10 and performs processing for smooth information sharing between the devices. For example, the flight plans of each drone 20 can be shared more efficiently by once being aggregated in the integrated management device 30 and distributed to each server device 10 than by being shared by the server devices 10. However, not all information is shared via the integrated management device 30. Information sharing performed directly between the server devices 10 will also be described later in detail.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server device 10 and the integrated management device 30. The server device 10 and the integrated management device 30 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 11, a memory 12, a storage 13, a communication device 14, a bus 15, and the like. In the following description, the word "device" can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, or the like.

Also, each device may include one or more devices, or may not include some devices. The processor 11 operates, for example, an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 11 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic device, a register, and the like.

For example, the baseband signal processing unit and the like may be realized by the processor 11. Further, the processor 11 reads a program (program code), a software module, data, and the like from at least one of the storage 13 and the communication device 14 into the memory 12, and executes various processes according to these. As the program, a program that causes a computer to execute at least part of the operations described in the above-described embodiments is used.

Although it has been described that the various processes described above are executed by one processor 11, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 11. The processor 11 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from the network via an electric communication line. The memory 12 is a computer-readable recording medium.

The memory 12 may be configured by at least one of a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The memory 12 may be called a register, a cache, a main memory (main storage device), or the like. The memory 12 can store an executable program (program code), a software module, or the like for implementing the wireless communication method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

The storage 13 is a computer-readable recording medium, and is, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (for example, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disk). At least one of a (registered trademark) disk, a smart card, a flash memory (for example, a card, a stick, and a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, or the like.

The storage 13 may be called an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database including at least one of the memory 12 and the storage 13, a server, or another appropriate medium. The communication device 14 is hardware (transmission/reception device) for performing communication between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network.

For example, the transmission/reception antenna, the amplifier unit, the transmission/reception unit, the transmission line interface, and the like described above may be realized by the communication device 14. The transmitter/receiver may be implemented by physically or logically separating the transmitter and the receiver. Further, each device such as the processor 11 and the memory 12 is connected by a bus 15 for communicating information. The bus 15 may be configured by using a single bus, or may be configured by using a different bus for each device.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the drone 20. The drone 20 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 21, a memory 22, a storage 23, a communication device 24, a flight device 25, a sensor device 26, a bus 27, and the like. Of these, the hardware having the same name as that shown in FIG. 2 is the same type of hardware as those having different performances and specifications.

The communication device 24 has a function (for example, a wireless communication function using radio waves in the 2.4 GHz band) of communicating with the radio in addition to the communication with the network 2. The flying device 25 is a device that includes a motor, a rotor, and the like, and causes the own device to fly. The flying device 25 can move itself in all directions in the air or can make itself stationary (hover).

The sensor device 26 is a device having a sensor group that acquires information necessary for flight control. The sensor device 26 is, for example, a position sensor that measures the position (latitude and longitude) of the own device, and the direction in which the own device is facing (the front direction of the own device is set for the drone, and the front direction is A direction sensor for measuring the altitude) and an altitude sensor for measuring the altitude of the player. In addition, the sensor device 26 includes a speed sensor that measures the speed of the own device and an inertial measurement sensor (IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)) that measures the triaxial angular velocity and the acceleration in three directions.

Each function in each device included in the operation management support system 1 causes a predetermined software (program) to be loaded on hardware such as each processor and memory, so that the processor performs calculation and communication by each communication device is performed. It is realized by controlling or controlling at least one of reading and writing of data in the memory and the storage.

Fig. 4 shows the functional configuration realized by each device. In FIG. 4, two combinations of the server device 10 and the drone 20 are shown, but these are used by different operation management operators to manage the drone 20 and each operation management operator to control the drone 20. This is a combination with the server device 10. Further, since each server device 10 and each drone 20 included in the operation management support system 1 have the function shown in FIG. 4, the other server device 10 and drone 20 are not shown.

In the operation management support system 1, a device ID for identifying each server device 10 and a drone ID for identifying each drone 20 are defined. The ID and the current time are given to the data exchanged between the devices to identify the source of the information, the target of the information (for example, which drone 20 the flight plan is), the transmission time, and the like. It is like this. Although various information such as flight plans and flight information are converted into data and exchanged, in the following, transmitting data will also be referred to as simply transmitting information indicated by the data.

The server device 10 includes a flight plan transmission unit 101, a flight information acquisition unit 102, an unplanned flight determination unit 103, a flight plan acquisition unit 104, a first collision identification unit 105, an avoidance processing unit 106, and an unplanned flight. The flight notification unit 107, the unplanned notification reception unit 108, the second collision identification unit 109, the collision notification unit 110, and the collision notification reception unit 111 are included. The drone 20 includes a flight control unit 201 and a flight information transmission unit 202. The integrated management device 30 includes a flight plan acquisition unit 301, a flight plan storage unit 302, and a flight plan distribution unit 303.

The flight plan transmitting unit 101 of the server device 10 transmits the flight plan of the drone 20 under the jurisdiction of its own device (that is, under the jurisdiction of the operation management business operator using the own device) to the integrated management device 30. The flight plan of the drone 20 is created by an operation management company having jurisdiction over the drone 20, converted into data, and stored in the server device 10. The flight plan is, for example, information indicating a flight airspace in which the drone 20 flies and a time zone in which the flight airspace is flown. The flight plan may be a plan for the day or a plan for the next day or later. The flight plan transmission unit 101 transmits the stored flight plan data to the integrated management device 30.

The flight plan acquisition unit 301 of the integrated management apparatus 30 acquires the flight plan indicated by the transmitted flight plan data, that is, the flight plan of the drone 20 that the operation management support system 1 supports. The flight plan acquisition unit 301 supplies the acquired flight plan to the flight plan storage unit 302. The flight plan storage unit 302 stores the supplied flight plan in association with the drone ID of the planned drone 20.

The flight control unit 201 of the drone 20 controls the flight of its own aircraft by using the measurement result of each sensor included in the sensor device 26. The flight control unit 201 performs flight control so as to fly on the flight route instructed by the operator using, for example, a radio transmitter. The flight information transmitting unit 202 of the drone 20 transmits the flight information indicating the flight status of the own device to the server device 10 that controls the own device by a designated method.

In the present embodiment, the flight information transmitting unit 202 transmits the flight information at the frequency instructed by the server device 10. The frequency of flight information transmission is specified by, for example, a time interval of transmission or the number of times of transmission in a predetermined period. In either case, if the transmission frequency is determined, the time interval until the next transmission is determined. The flight information transmission unit 202 generates flight information data based on the measurement result of each sensor included in the sensor device 26 at a time interval indicated by the designated frequency, and transmits the flight information data to the server device 10.

The flight information acquisition unit 102 of the server device 10 acquires the flight information transmitted from the drone 20 by the specified method as described above. The flight information acquisition unit 102 acquires the flight information to acquire the flight status of the drone 20 belonging to the group under its control. Here, for the server device 10, a group of the drone 20 that is under its control is referred to as a “jurisdiction group”, and a group of drones 20 that is under the control of another server device 10 is referred to as a “non-jurisdiction group”. To do. That is, the flight information acquisition unit 102 acquires the flight status of the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group.

Fig. 5 shows an example of flight information. In the example of FIG. 5, the drone ID, the flight time (measurement time of each information), the flight position (for example, latitude and longitude), the flight direction (for example, the numerical value indicating the direction in 360 degrees), and the flight altitude (for example, Flight information including altitude (altitude above sea level) and flight speed is displayed. Since the flight information is repeatedly acquired, a plurality of flight times and the like are associated with one drone ID.

The flight information acquisition unit 102 supplies the acquired flight information of the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group to the unplanned flight determination unit 103. The unplanned flight determination unit 103 determines whether the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group is flying out of the flight plan. The unplanned flight determination unit 103 requests the flight plan acquisition unit 104 for all the flight plans of the drones 20 that are scheduled to fly on the same day at the beginning of the day and belong to the jurisdiction group.

The flight plan acquisition unit 104 acquires the requested flight plan, that is, the flight plan of the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group scheduled to fly on the day. The flight plan acquisition unit 104 acquires the requested flight plan by reading the corresponding flight plan from the flight plan transmission unit 101 of the own device. The flight plan will be described with reference to FIG.

Figure 6 shows an example of a flight plan. In FIG. 6A, the flight airspace where the drone 20 with the drone ID “D001” is scheduled to fly is shown. In the operation management support system 1, the flyable airspace in which the drone 20 can fly is predetermined like a road network. Flyable airspace is airspace that has received the necessary permission for flight, and may include airspace that does not require permission in some cases.

In the present embodiment, the flyable airspace is represented by a cubic space (hereinafter referred to as “cell”) that is spread without any gaps, and each cell is provided with a cell ID that identifies each cell. In the present embodiment, in order to make the description easy to understand, the altitude of each cell is constant, and the xy coordinates of each cell and the cell ID are represented in correspondence (for example, a cell whose xy coordinates are (x10, y15) is The cell ID is C10_15).

In Fig. 6(a), the flight airspace R1 from "warehouse α11" to "store α12" is shown. The flying airspace R1 includes a divided airspace R11 (which is an airspace into which the flight airspace is divided) from the cell C01_01, which is the starting point of the drone 20, to the cell C20_01 through the cell adjacent in the positive direction of the x-axis, and the y-axis. It includes a divided air space R12 that reaches the cell C20_20 through a cell that is adjacent in the positive direction, and a divided air space R13 that extends from the cell C50_20 that is a destination cell through a cell that is adjacent in the x-axis positive direction.

In FIG. 6B, as a flight plan of the drone 20 having a drone ID of “D001”, a cell ID representing a flight airspace and a flight scheduled period in the flight airspace are shown. For example, in the case of the drone 20, the cell ID and the scheduled flight period are shown for each divided airspace. For example, in the case of the divided airspace R11, a period K11 from a time T111 scheduled to enter the divided airspace R11 to a time T112 scheduled to leave the divided airspace R11 is represented.

Also, the drone 20 with the drone ID “D002” shows the flight plan to fly in the flight space A21 from time T21 to T22. The drone 20 is supposed to photograph, for example, a certain site from above, and the flight area A21 is represented by a set of cell IDs of cells located above the site. In this example, the route to fly in the flight area A21 is not decided by the plan, but it may be decided in detail.

The flight plan acquisition unit 104 supplies the acquired flight plan of the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group to the unplanned flight determination unit 103. The unplanned flight determination unit 103 compares the supplied flight plan with the flight situation indicated by the supplied flight information, and flies at a position separated by a predetermined distance or more from the flight route planned in the flight plan, for example. If it is, the flight is judged to be off the flight plan. The unplanned flight determination unit 103 determines that the flight is out of the flight plan, for example, when it is separated from the flight area represented by the flight plan by two cells or more.

In addition, the unplanned flight determination unit 103 deviates from the flight plan even if the flight route is a flight route planned by the flight plan when the flight is at a time that is more than a predetermined time away from the scheduled flight time zone. Determined to be flying. The unplanned flight determination unit 103 determines that the flight is out of the flight plan, for example, when it is away from the scheduled flight period represented by the flight plan by 5 minutes or more. Note that the above-described distance and time of two cells and five minutes are examples, and other distances and times may be used.

Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, each server device 10 has a group to which the drone 20 belongs. The flight plan acquisition unit 104 acquires not only the drone 20 that belongs to the jurisdiction group that the device owns but also the flight plan of the drone 20 that belongs to a non-jurisdiction group that the other server device 10 has jurisdiction and that is scheduled to fly on the day. .. The flight plan acquisition unit 104 transmits, to the integrated management device 30, request data requesting a flight plan of the drone 20 that belongs to the relevant non-jurisdiction group.

The flight plan distribution unit 303 of the integrated management apparatus 30 reads out the flight plan requested by the transmitted request data from the flight plan storage unit 302 and distributes it to the requesting server device 10. The flight plan acquisition unit 104 acquires the delivered flight plan as a flight plan of the drone 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group, and supplies the flight plan to the first collision identification unit 105. The flight plan acquisition unit 104 may directly acquire the flight plan of the drone 20 that belongs to the non-jurisdiction group from another server device 10.

The first collision identification unit 105 is supplied with flight information of the drone 20 that the unplanned flight determination unit 103 has determined to be flying outside the flight plan. The first collision identifying unit 105 receives the flight information from the unplanned flight determination unit 103, that is, when the flight status of the drone 20 indicating a flight out of the flight plan is acquired, the drone belonging to the jurisdiction group. The drone 20 that may collide with the drone 20 in the flight situation indicating the flight out of the flight plan is identified from among the 20.

The first collision identification unit 105 identifies the drone 20 that may have a collision, for example, based on the flight plan of the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group acquired by the flight plan acquisition unit 104. In the following, simply saying “a drone 20 with a possibility of collision” means a drone 20 with a possibility of collision with a drone 20 that is flying unplanned.

-If two or more drones 20 are flying unplanned, it is possible that the drone 20 itself may fly unplanned, which may cause a collision. In addition, the drone 20 that is flying unplanned and the group to which the drone 20 that has a possibility of collision belong to the jurisdiction group in the above example, but may be the non-jurisdiction group. To).

The first collision identifying unit 105 determines, for example, the distance between the position of the drone 20 (the drone 20 performing unplanned flight) included in the supplied flight status and the current position of the drone 20 in the acquired flight plan. Based on this, the drone 20 that is likely to collide is identified. Generally, if the flying positions of two drones approach a certain distance or more, the possibility of collision increases. Therefore, the first collision identifying unit 105 identifies a drone 20 having a distance less than the threshold value with respect to the drone 20 that is flying unplanned as a drone 20 having a possibility of collision.

”Here, “there is a possibility of collision” means that the possibility of collision has risen to a predetermined level or higher. For example, even if the drones are 100 m or more apart from each other, the possibility of a collision is not 0 if they continue flying, but it is extremely small, so it is not determined that there is a possibility of a collision. On the other hand, when the distance between the drones approaches a certain distance (distance less than the above-mentioned threshold value), there is no doubt that the possibility of collision will increase depending on the flight direction and the flight speed. Therefore, the first collision identifying unit 105 In such a case, the drone 20 having a possibility of collision is specified.

When the first collision identification unit 105 identifies the drone 20 that may have a collision, the first collision identification unit 105 notifies the avoidance processing unit 106 of the identified drone 20 and the drone 20 that is flying unplanned. The avoidance processing unit 106 performs processing (avoidance processing) for avoiding the collision when the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group is identified as having a possibility of collision. The avoidance processing unit 106 performs, for example, processing for instructing the drone 20 that may collide with the drone 20 that is flying unplanned to stop for a certain period of time as the avoidance processing.

Further, the avoidance processing unit 106 performs processing for instructing to change the flight path of the drone 20 to a flight path capable of avoiding a collision as an avoidance processing. In addition, when the drone 20 performing the unplanned flight is a drone 20 belonging to a jurisdiction group, the avoidance processing unit 106 performs the same instruction to the drone 20 performing the unplanned flight as the avoidance processing. You can go. The avoidance processing unit 106 transmits instruction data indicating the above instruction to, for example, the drone 20 to be instructed.

Upon receiving the instruction data, the flight control unit 201 of the drone 20 to be instructed controls the flight of its own aircraft as instructed. Note that the transmission destination of the instruction data is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a transmitter or personal computer used by the operator. In that case, a radio transmitter, a personal computer, or the like displays the instruction indicated by the instruction data, and the operator looks at it and performs a flight operation according to the instruction. By performing the avoidance process in this manner, it is possible to prevent the drone 20 flying unplanned from colliding with the drone 20 belonging to the same jurisdiction group.

In addition, the first collision identifying unit 105 performs an unplanned flight from the drones 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group based on the flight plan of the drone 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group acquired by the flight plan acquisition unit 104. The drone 20 that may collide with the existing drone 20 is identified. The first collision identifying unit 105 targets the drones 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group and targets the drones 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group by the same method (method using the distance between the drones 20), for example. Identify the drone 20 that has

The first collision identification unit 105 also notifies the avoidance processing unit 106 even when the drone 20 belonging to a group outside the jurisdiction is identified as the drone 20 that may have a collision. Since the avoidance processing unit 106 cannot instruct the drone 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group, the avoidance processing unit 106 may, for example, stop the drone 20 performing the unplanned flight (that is, drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group) or change the flight route. An avoidance process for instructing at least one is performed.

The unplanned flight determination unit 103 also supplies the unplanned flight notification unit 107 with flight information of the drone 20 that is making an unplanned flight. The unplanned flight notification unit 107 transmits the supplied flight information to the other server devices 10 so that the flight status of the drone 20 performing the unplanned flight indicated by the transmitted flight information is displayed in all other server devices. Notify 10.

From here, the function of the server device 10 that is the notification destination of the flight status will be described. The unplanned notification receiving unit 108 of the server device 10 of the notification destination receives the flight information transmitted, thereby receiving the notification of the flight status of the drone 20 performing the unplanned flight. The unplanned notification receiving unit 108 supplies the flight information received as the notification of the flight status to the second collision identifying unit 109 of the own device.

When the second collision identifying unit 109 is notified from another server device 10 of the flight status of the drone 20 that is flying unplanned, the second collision identification unit 109 may have a collision with the notified drone 20 and is under the jurisdiction of its own device. The drone 20 belonging to the group to be specified is specified. The flight plan acquisition unit 104 of the own device supplies the second collision identification unit 109 with the flight plan of the drone 20 belonging to the group under the control of the own device among the acquired flight plans.

The second collision identification unit 109 performs the notified unplanned flight based on the supplied flight information and flight plan, for example, by the same method as the first collision identification unit 105 (method using the distance between the drones 20). The drone 20 that has a possibility of collision is specified for the drone 20 that is in operation and the drone 20 that belongs to the jurisdiction group.

When the second collision identification unit 109 identifies the drone 20 that may have a collision from the drones 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group, the second collision identification unit 109 notifies the avoidance processing unit 106 of the own device of the identified drone 20. When the avoidance processing unit 106 receives the notification of the drone 20 having a possibility of collision, the avoidance processing unit 106 performs the avoidance processing. The avoidance processing performed by the avoidance processing unit 106 is the same as the above-described avoidance processing (stop instruction, flight route change instruction, etc.). The second collision identification unit 109 notifies the collision notification unit 110 of the identified drone 20 and the drone 20 that is flying unplanned.

The collision notification unit 110 specifies when the notification of the drone 20 performing the unplanned flight is received, that is, when the second collision identification unit 109 identifies the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group in which the collision may occur. The notified flight status of the drone 20 is notified to the server device 10 which is the notification source of the flight status indicating the flight out of the flight plan. The collision notification unit 110 makes the above notification by transmitting flight information indicating the flight status of the identified drone 20 to the above-mentioned server 10 as the notification source.

From here, return to the description of the server device 10 that is the notification source of the flight information indicating the flight status of the drone 20 that is flying unplanned. The collision notification receiving unit 111 of the server device 10 of the notification source receives the transmitted flight information, so that there is a possibility of collision with the drone 20 (drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group) performing an unplanned flight. Receive notification of flight status of 20 (drone 20 belonging to non-jurisdiction group).

The collision notification receiving unit 111 supplies the flight information received as the flight status notification to the avoidance processing unit 106. The supplied flight information indicates that the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group may collide with the drone 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group when the unplanned flight is performed. The drone 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group may be identified as the drone 20 that may collide with the first collision identification unit 105, but the identification is not necessarily performed.

For example, if the flight plan of the drone 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group is changed on the same day and the changed flight plan is not delivered, the first collision identifying unit 105 uses the old flight plan and may collide. A certain drone 20 cannot be correctly identified. In that case, the server device 10 that manages the drone 20 whose flight plan has been changed on the day can obtain a new flight plan, and thus the drone 20 that may collide can be correctly identified.

Therefore, when the avoidance processing unit 106 is notified of the flight status of the drone 20 that may collide with the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group from the other server device 10, the avoidance processing unit 106 may collide with the first collision identifying unit 105. Drones 20 (which belong to the jurisdiction group and are unplanned flights) that may collide with the drone 20 (the drone 20 that belongs to the non-jurisdiction group) in the notified flight status, even if the drone 20 that has the potential The avoidance process for the drone 20) is By performing this avoidance processing, it is possible to prevent a collision from occurring because the drone 20 that may possibly collide for the reason described above could not be correctly identified.

In addition, the avoidance processing unit 106 transmits flight information (information indicating the flight status of the aircraft itself) to the drone 20 so that the danger is avoided even before the drone 20 that may collide is identified. The avoidance processing unit 106 in this case is an example of the “instruction unit” of the present invention.In the present embodiment, the avoidance processing unit 106 is instructed as the transmission frequency of the flight information.

The avoidance processing unit 106 determines the transmission method based on the risk degree information, which is information indicating the magnitude of danger when the drone 20 flies, and instructs the transmission of flight information by the determined transmission method. The danger in the flying drone 20 is, for example, a failure or a crash in which flight control becomes ineffective, resulting in damage to the aircraft itself and damage to people and objects. These dangers arise, for example, because the drones 20 contact or collide with each other.

Contact and collision between the drones 20 are more likely to occur as the drones 20 are closer together. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the avoidance processing unit 106 uses the information indicating the density of the drones 20 flying in a certain flight airspace as the risk information of the flight airspace. The density in the flight airspace is represented by, for example, a flight plan and flight information. The flight plan is acquired by the flight plan acquisition unit 104, and the flight information is acquired by the flight information acquisition unit 102.

The flight information acquisition unit 102 and the flight plan acquisition unit 104 are examples of the “acquisition unit” in the present invention. The flight plan acquisition unit 104 supplies the acquired flight plans (both the flight plan of the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group and the flight plan of the drone 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group) to the avoidance processing unit 106 as risk information. The flight information acquisition unit 102 supplies the acquired flight information (flight information of the drone 20 belonging to the jurisdiction group) to the avoidance processing unit 106 as risk information.

Further, the unplanned notification receiving unit 108 acquires the flight status of the drone 20 that is performing an unplanned flight among the drones 20 belonging to the uncontrolled area. For the drone 20 that is flying unplanned, the notified flight status is used rather than the flight plan, so that more accurate density is represented. The unplanned notification receiving unit 108 is also an example of the “acquiring unit” in the present invention. The unplanned notification receiving unit 108 supplies the acquired flight status to the avoidance processing unit 106 as risk level information.

All of the above danger level information can represent the level of danger (the density of the drones 20 in this embodiment) for each flight area. The flight airspace mentioned here is, for example, a flight airspace including one or more cells. For example, in the flight plan shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to estimate the flight period of each cell from the flight airspace and the scheduled flight period. Therefore, the drone 20 should be densely packed in the cells where the estimated period of each drone 20 overlaps. become.

Also, regarding the flight status, it is possible to express the density of each cell because the cell in flight can be known from the flight position and flight time included in the flight status. Therefore, the avoidance processing unit 106 uses the transmission control method according to the magnitude of the risk in the flight air space represented by the risk information acquired by each of the above units, so that the drone 20 flying in the flight air space can obtain the flight information. Instruct to send.

Specifically, the avoidance processing unit 106 instructs control such that the greater the risk represented by the acquired risk information, the more frequently the flight information is transmitted. In the present embodiment, the avoidance processing unit 106 gives this instruction using a frequency table in which the density of the drones 20, the degree of danger (the degree of danger represented by the degree of danger information), and the transmission frequency are associated with each other.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the frequency table. In the example of FIG. 7, the density of the drone 20 is “less than Th1,” “th1 or more and less than Th2,” and “th2 or more” (Th1<Th2), and risk levels of “low”, “medium”, and “high”. , "Every T3", "Every T2" and "Every T1" (T1<T2<T3) are associated with each other. Th1 and Th2 represent the threshold value of the density, and T1 to T3 represent the time intervals of transmission.

The avoidance processing unit 106 first determines the density of the drones 20 in each flight airspace (for example, N (N is a natural number) adjacent cells) from the acquired flight plan and flight conditions (the drone flying in the flight airspace). 20). The avoidance processing unit 106 identifies the degree of risk associated with the calculated congestion degree in the frequency table. The avoidance processing unit 106 determines the transmission frequency associated with the identified risk level in the frequency table as the transmission frequency of the drone 20 that is flying in the flight airspace in which the risk level is identified.

The avoidance processing unit 106 instructs the drone 20 to transmit the flight information at the determined transmission frequency. However, it is not necessary to give an instruction each time the transmission frequency is determined. For example, the avoidance processing unit 106 does not instruct the transmission frequency if it has not changed from the previously determined transmission frequency, and instructs the drone 20 to change to the new transmission frequency if the previously determined transmission frequency has changed. ..

Note that the avoidance processing unit 106 may instruct the transmission at the determined transmission frequency regardless of whether or not the transmission frequency is changed, but the communication amount of the instruction data can be reduced by only making the change. Upon receiving this instruction, the flight information transmitting unit 202 of the drone 20 starts transmitting flight information at the instructed frequency. The avoidance processing unit 106 gives the above instruction only to the drone 20 under its control.

A similar instruction is given to the drone 20 that is flying in a high-risk flight airspace and belongs to a group outside the jurisdiction from the avoidance processing unit 106 of the server device 10 that administers the drone 20. In this way, the drone 20 transmits flight information to the server device 10 under its jurisdiction at a frequency according to the degree of danger of the flight airspace in which the drone is flying.

Note that, in the frequency table, there may be no risk item and only the density and the transmission frequency may be associated. Even in that case, the avoidance processing unit 106 can instruct to transmit the flight information at a frequency associated with the calculated congestion degree. Each device included in the operation management support system 1 performs an instruction process for instructing the drone 20 to control the transmission of flight information according to the degree of danger of the flight airspace based on the above configuration.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the operation procedure of each device in the instruction processing. In FIG. 8, the server device 10 and the drone 20 managed by the server device 10 are shown. The operation procedure is started, for example, when a predetermined time before the earliest flight start time of the controlled drone 20 is reached. First, the server device 10 (flight plan acquisition unit 301) acquires the flight plans of all drones 20 scheduled to fly on the day (step S11). The acquired flight plan is also used as risk information.

Next, the drone 20 (flight information transmitting unit 202) generates flight information indicating the flight status of the own aircraft (step S21), and transmits the generated flight information to the server device 10 by the designated transmission control method. (Step S22). The transmission control at this time is transmission in which the time interval is every T3 as shown in FIG. 7, for example. Upon receiving this flight information, the server device 10 (flight information acquisition unit 102) acquires the flight status indicated by the received flight information (step S23). The acquired flight status is also used as risk information.

Further, the server device 10 (unplanned notification receiving unit 108) acquires the flight status of the drone 20 that is flying unplanned (step S24). Step S24 is an operation performed only when the drone 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group is flying unplanned. This flight status is also used as risk information. The server device 10 (avoidance processing unit 106) calculates the congestion degree of the drone 20 based on the risk degree information (flight plan and flight status) acquired up to that point (step S31).

Next, the server device 10 (avoidance processing unit 106) identifies the transmission control content (transmission frequency in this embodiment) according to the degree of risk represented by the calculated congestion level (step S32). Then, the server device 10 (avoidance processing unit 106) determines whether or not there is the drone 20 whose transmission control content has changed (step S33), and when it determines that there is no (NO) step S22 (receipt of flight information). ) Go back and do the action.

If the server device 10 (avoidance processing unit 106) determines that there is a drone 20 whose transmission control content has changed (YES), the server device 10 (avoidance processing unit 106) flies based on the transmission control content according to the magnitude of the danger to the drone 20. Instruction data for instructing to transmit information is transmitted (step S34). The drone 20 (flight information transmission unit 202) changes the flight information transmission control content in accordance with the instruction indicated by the received instruction data (step S35).

In order to cope with the dangers that the drone 20 may cause during flight, it is desirable that the frequency of flight information transmission is as high as possible and the flight status is acquired in real time. This is because, if the acquired flight status is old, it may happen that the avoidance process does not make it in time and a collision occurs. However, the drone 20 is lightened for flight, and resources used for information processing such as the processor 11 are also limited.

Therefore, it is not desirable that the load of flight information transmission processing is too high. In this embodiment, when the risk is low, the transmission frequency is reduced to reduce the load of the transmission process as compared with the case where the transmission frequency is always increased for safety. On the other hand, when the risk is high, the transmission frequency is increased, so compared to the case where the transmission frequency is always reduced, the flight situation closer to real time is acquired, and the danger occurring during flight is dealt with. Is being carried out more reliably.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the flight plan and flight status, which are information indicating the density of the drones 20, are used as the risk information. These pieces of information are information that the server device 10 acquires for operation management. Therefore, since it is not necessary to newly add a process for acquiring the risk information, the processing load of the server device 10 can be reduced as compared with the case where other information is acquired as the risk information.

[2] Modified Example The above-described embodiment is merely an example of the implementation of the present invention, and may be modified as follows. In addition, the embodiments and the modified examples may be combined as needed. In that case, you may carry out by giving priority to each modified example (it is decided which is prioritized when competing events occur if each modified example is carried out).

Further, as a specific combination method, for example, modification examples in which different parameters are used to obtain a common value (for example, transmission frequency) may be combined, and a common value or the like may be obtained using those parameters together. Further, the values or the like obtained individually may be summed according to some rule to obtain a single value or the like. Further, in those cases, different weighting may be performed for each parameter used.

[2-1] Drone Identification Method The first collision identification unit 105 and the second collision identification unit 109 may identify the drone 20 that may have a collision by a method different from that of the embodiment. For example, the first collision identifying unit 105 may cause a collision when the distance between the position of the drone 20 that is flying unplanned and the current position of the drone 20 in the flight plan is less than a threshold in the embodiment. Identified as drone 20.

The first collision identifying unit 105 may change the threshold according to the positional relationship between the drone 20 that is flying unplanned and the other drone 20 and the flight direction. Specifically, the first collision identifying unit 105 decreases the threshold when the positions of both drones 20 are approaching, and increases the threshold when the positions of both drones 20 are moving away from each other. Further, when the flight airspace is represented by cells as in the embodiment, the cells may be utilized for the identification.

For example, the first collision identifying unit 105 predicts a flight path for a certain period in the future from the flight direction of the drone 20 that is performing unplanned flight, and the distance to the drone 20 that is performing unplanned flight is in that period. A drone 20 that is scheduled to fly a cell that falls below the threshold value may be identified as a drone 20 that has a possibility of collision. In addition, for example, a cell including a flight position included in the flight situation of the drone 20 and a position in the three-dimensional space indicated by the flight altitude indicates an air space in flight of the drone 20.

Therefore, the first collision identifying unit 105 may collide with the drone 20 for which an unplanned flight has been acquired for a flight plan in which the drone 20 is flying in an air space having a predetermined relationship with the air space in which the drone 20 is currently flying. It may be specified as a certain drone 20. The predetermined relationship is, for example, a relationship with the same airspace as the airspace currently in flight. This is because the drones 20 flying in the same airspace may collide with each other.

Note that, in addition, for example, a relationship of the same airspace as the airspace in which the unplanned flight drone 20 is currently flying or an airspace adjacent thereto may be used as the predetermined relationship. Further, when the flight direction of the drone 20 is limited, such as a flight route for transportation, air spaces adjacent to each other only in the front and rear in the flight direction may be included in the air spaces having a predetermined relationship. Since the identification based on the cell (flight airspace) is performed in this manner, the process of calculating the distance between the drones 20 becomes unnecessary.

The processing load tends to be smaller if it is determined whether the cell contains coordinates (whether the coordinates are within a fixed range) than when the distance between the three-dimensional coordinates is calculated. Therefore, according to the present modification, the processing load when identifying the drone 20 that may have a collision can be reduced as compared to the case where the drone 20 is based on the distance between the drones 20.

On the other hand, the possibility of collision varies depending on where you fly in the cell, but it is not possible to judge on the basis of the detailed possibility of collision on a cell-by-cell basis. When the distance between the drones 20 is used as in the embodiment, the drone 20 having a possibility of collision can be specified with higher accuracy as compared with the case where the determination is made in units of cells.

The second collision identification unit 109 may also use the same identification method as the above-described first collision identification unit 105. For example, when the second collision identification unit 109 indicates unplanned flight and is notified of the flight status of the drone 20 belonging to the non-jurisdiction group, the second collision identification unit 109 flies in an airspace having a predetermined relationship with the airspace in which the drone 20 is flying. The drone 20 belonging to the interval group for which the flight plan to be acquired is identified as the drone 20 having a possibility of collision.

The concept of the prescribed relationship is as described above. In this case as well, the load of the processing (identification processing) when identifying the drone 20 with the possibility of collision can be reduced as compared with the case where the drone 20 is based on the distance between the drones 20. Further, when the distance between the drones 20 is used as in the embodiment, the drone 20 having a possibility of collision can be specified with higher accuracy than in the case where the determination is made in cell units.

In addition to the above method, the first collision identification unit 105 and the second collision identification unit 109 may identify the drone 20 that may have a collision based on the flight direction or the flight speed of the drone 20, for example. In that case, for example, even if the distances between the drones 20 are the same, the identification is performed when the flight directions are opposite to each other as having a higher possibility of collision than in the opposite directions.

Specifically, for example, the first collision identifying unit 105 sets the threshold value of the distance between the drones 20 facing each other in the flight direction (when the distance is less than the threshold value, there is a possibility of collision) to the direction of the opposite flight direction. The drone 20 is set to be larger than the threshold value of the distance between the drones 20 to identify the drone 20 having a possibility of collision. In addition, the first collision identifying unit 105 increases the threshold value of the distance between the drones 20 as the flight speed increases. The second collision identifying unit 109 can identify the drone 20 that may have a collision by the same method. In any case, the accuracy of identifying the drone 20 having a possibility of collision can be improved as compared with the case where the flight direction or the flight speed is not used.

[2-2] Flight Information The flight status indicated by the flight information transmitted by the drone 20 may be different from that in the embodiment. For example, since the flight direction and the flight speed can be calculated from the change amount of the flight position and the flight altitude, the flight information does not have to include the flight direction and the flight speed. Further, for example, if it is decided to fly at a certain flight altitude in a certain area, the flight information may not include the flight altitude.

In addition, when the drone 20 has a function of detecting the distance and direction of surrounding flying objects (mainly other drones 20), flight information indicating flight conditions indicating that the flying object exists at the detected distance and direction. May be obtained. This flight situation can also be used to judge the possibility of collision between the drones 20. In short, any information may be included in the flight information as long as it can be utilized for at least one of the determination of unplanned flight and the determination of the possibility of collision between the drones 20.

[2-3] Transmission Control Content: Flight Information Item The flight information transmission control is not limited to the transmission frequency described in the embodiments. The avoidance processing unit 106 may instruct, for example, to increase the number of items of information included in the flight information as the risk represented by the risk information acquired by the flight information acquisition unit 102 or the like increases. In this case, the avoidance processing unit 106 gives this instruction using an item table in which the degree of congestion of the drone 20, the degree of danger, and the item of flight information are associated with each other.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the item table. In the example of FIG. 9, the density of the drone 20 is “less than Th1,” “th1 or more and less than Th2,” and “th2 or more” (Th1<Th2), and risk levels of “low”, “medium”, and “high”. , “Flight position, flight time”, “Flight position, flight time, flight direction” and “Flight position, flight time, flight direction, flight speed” are associated with each other.

The avoidance processing unit 106 calculates the congestion degree from the flight plan and the flight situation acquired in the same manner as in the embodiment, and sets the flight information items associated with the same degree of danger as the calculated congestion degree in the item table. The flight airspace with the specified risk is determined as an item of flight information of the drone 20 in flight. In this modification, for example, flight information including only “flight position, flight time” is transmitted at the start of flight.

After that, when the flight airspace with the risk level “medium” appears, the avoidance processing unit 106 associates the drone 20 that is flying in the flight airspace and belongs to the jurisdiction group with the risk “medium”. Instruct to send flight information including “Flight position, flight time, flight direction” as items. In response to this instruction, the drone 20 transmits flight information including items according to the degree of danger of the flight area in which the drone is flying to the server device 10 in its jurisdiction.

For example, even when the flight information includes only the flight position and the flight time, the method using the distance between the drones 20 described in the embodiment or the method using the flight airspace during flight described in the modification is used. It is possible to identify the drone 20 that may have a collision. On the other hand, in order to use the method using the flight direction or the flight speed described in the above modification, such information is required.

In this modification, it is possible to specify the drone 20 having a possibility of collision in a flight area having a high degree of risk by a method using a flight direction or a flight speed with higher accuracy. On the other hand, when the degree of risk is low, the number of flight information items is reduced to reduce the load of transmission processing. Although the flight direction and the flight speed can be obtained from the time series changes in the flight position and the flight time, the identification of the drone 20 having the possibility of collision is delayed by the time required for the calculation. In this modification, such a delay can be prevented by including the flight direction and the flight speed in the items.

[2-4] Transmission control: transmission destination There are other flight information transmission control contents. The flight information transmitting unit 202 of the drone 20 transmits the flight information only to the server device 10 in the embodiment, but in the present modification, the flight information is required for two or more external devices that perform processing related to the flight of the own aircraft. Can be transmitted according to The two or more external devices are, for example, the plurality of server devices 10 when the main server device 10 and the sub server device 10 that control the drone 20 exist.

The main and sub server devices 10 may be prepared by a business operator who administers the drone 20, or may be prepared by another business operator who assists the jurisdiction of the business operator. The auxiliary business operator is, for example, a business operator who administers another drone 20 or a business operator who operates the integrated management device 30. The purpose of controlling the drone 20 with the plurality of server devices 10 is, for example, to back up when the main server device 10 cannot identify the drone 20 that may collide for some reason (when a specific omission occurs). This is because (to specify instead).

In this modification, the avoidance processing unit 106 instructs that the greater the risk represented by the risk information acquired by the flight information acquisition unit 102, the greater the number of destinations to which the flight information is transmitted. The avoidance processing unit 106 gives this instruction using, for example, a destination table in which the degree of congestion of the drones 20, the degree of danger, and the destination of flight information are associated.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the destination table. In the example of FIG. 10, the density of the drone 20 is “less than Th1,” “greater than or equal to Th1 and less than Th2,” and “greater than or equal to Th2” (Th1<Th2), and risks of “low”, “medium”, and “high”. , "Main server device", "main server device + 1 sub server device" and "main server device + 2 sub server devices" are associated with the destinations, respectively.

The avoidance processing unit 106 calculates the congestion degree from the flight plan and the flight situation acquired in the same manner as in the embodiment, and determines the transmission destination associated in the transmission destination table with the same degree of danger as the calculated congestion degree. The flight airspace with the specified degree is determined as the destination of the flight information of the drone 20 in flight. In this modification, for example, flight information is transmitted only to the “main server device” at the start of flight.

After that, when a flight airspace with a risk level of "large" appears, the avoidance processing unit 106 associates the drone 20 that is flying in the flight airspace and belongs to the jurisdiction group with the risk level of "high". Instructing the transmission of flight information with “main server device+two sub server devices” as the destination. By this instruction, the drone 20 transmits flight information not only to the main server device but also to the two sub server devices.

In this modified example, when the risk is high, the identification is performed by a plurality of units, and the drone 20 that may have a collision is less likely to be omitted. On the other hand, when the degree of risk is low, the number of destinations is reduced to reduce the processing load on the sub server device. As a result, compared with the case where flight information is constantly transmitted to all the destinations, the resources required for the sub server device can be reduced, and the cost burden on the business operator who prepares the sub server device can be reduced.

[2-5] Risk information: Population density The risk information is not limited to the information (flight plan and flight status) described in the embodiments. For example, information indicating the population density on the ground around the flight airspace may be used as the risk information of the flight airspace.

∙ Population density is represented by the type of land on the ground, for example. The type of land is, for example, a type in which land is classified according to use, such as residential land, commercial land, industrial land, agricultural land, and forest land. For example, there are many people in a residential area and few people in a forest area, and the type of land indicates the tendency of a large number of people there. Since the time for flying the drone 20 is basically in the daytime, the risk level information only needs to represent the number of people during the day.

In this modified example, the server device 10 stores in advance map data representing a map of a region where a flight is scheduled to be carried out according to a flight plan and a type of land in the region. For classification of land types, for example, registered land marks may be used, or color coding (color coding of houses, shops, factories, etc.) made on a commercially available map may be used.

The avoidance processing unit 106 identifies the position of each flight airspace on the map, and acquires the type of land around that position from the map data as risk information. The avoidance processing unit 106 in this case is an example of the “acquisition unit” of the present invention. The avoidance processing unit 106 associates the type of land on the ground, the density of population, the degree of danger, and the transmission frequency when the transmission frequency is instructed as the transmission control content of the flight information as in the embodiment. This is done using a frequency table.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the frequency table of this modification. In the example of FIG. 11, the types of land such as “agricultural land, forest land”, “industrial land” and “residential area, commercial area”, population density of “low”, “medium” and “high”, and “low” , "Medium" and "high" are associated with the transmission frequencies "every T3", "every T2" and "every T1", respectively.

The avoidance processing unit 106 identifies the population density associated in the frequency table with the type of land on the ground acquired for each flight airspace. Then, the avoidance processing unit 106 sets the transmission frequency that is associated with the same degree of risk as the identified population density in the frequency table to the flight in which the type of land on the ground that is associated with the population density is acquired. The airspace is determined as the transmission frequency of the flight information of the drone 20 in flight.

In this modified example, the drone 20 that is flying in an area with a low population density has a low transmission frequency to reduce the transmission processing load. On the other hand, the frequency of transmission of the drone 20 that is flying in an area with a high population density is increased so that the danger can be transmitted more reliably. In this way, it is possible to reduce the load of the transmission process and reduce the possibility of injuring a person even if the drone 20 falls.

In this modification, transmission control parameters other than the transmission frequency may be used. Even when those transmission control parameters are used, the effects described in the above-described modified examples (specific realization with higher accuracy and cost burden of the sub server device suppressed) are realized.

[2-6] Risk information: weather conditions The risk information is not limited to the above information. For example, information indicating the weather condition in the flight airspace may be used as the risk information of the flight airspace. Since the drone 20 is easily affected by wind and rain, the risk of the drone 20 falling increases as the wind speed and precipitation increase.

In this modification, the avoidance processing unit 106 uses a weather forecast service or the like to acquire information indicating weather conditions. The avoidance processing unit 106 in this case is an example of the “acquisition unit” of the present invention. When the transmission frequency is designated as the transmission control parameter of the flight information as in the embodiment, for example, the avoidance processing unit 106 uses a frequency table in which the weather condition in the flight airspace, the degree of danger, and the transmission frequency are associated with each other. Leverage instructions.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the frequency table of this modification. In the example of FIG. 12A, wind speeds of “less than Th11”, “Th11 or more and less than Th12”, and “Th12 or more” (Th11<Th12), and risk levels of “low”, “medium”, and “high”, The transmission frequencies of “every T3”, “every T2”, and “every T1” are associated with each other.

The avoidance processing unit 106 determines the transmission frequency associated with the same degree of risk as the wind speed acquired as the weather condition of the flight airspace in the destination table as the transmission frequency of the flight information of the drone 20 in flight in the flight airspace. To do. In the example of FIG. 12B, the precipitation amounts “less than Th21”, “third or more and less than Th22” and “th22 or more” (Th21<Th22) and dangers of “low”, “medium” and “high”. The degree and the transmission frequency of “every T3”, “every T2”, and “every T1” are associated with each other.

The avoidance processing unit 106 sets the transmission frequency associated in the transmission destination table to the same degree of risk as the amount of precipitation acquired as the weather condition of the flight airspace, as the transmission frequency of the flight information of the drone 20 flying in the flight airspace. decide. In addition, when both the wind speed and the precipitation amount are acquired as the weather condition, the avoidance processing unit 106 determines the transmission frequency associated with the higher risk level.

In this modification, even if the weather conditions change during flight, flight information is sent at a frequency that matches the changed weather conditions. As a result, as compared with the case where the above instruction is not issued, a quick avoidance process can be executed in a situation where the risk of falling has increased due to changes in weather conditions, and the possibility of the drone 20 falling is reduced. Also in this modification, the flight information item and the transmission destination may be used as the transmission control parameters, and the effects described in the above modifications are realized.

[2-7] Risk information: Airspace altitude The risk information is not limited to the above information. For example, the higher the flight altitude of the drone 20, the greater the impact at the time of dropping, and the greater the degree of damage to people and objects, and the possibility that the drone 20 may fall if flight control becomes impossible due to a failure or the like. There is a greater risk of falling into an unexpected area due to the spread of the area.

On the other hand, if the flight altitude is too low, if the aircraft descends from the normal flight state for some reason, the risk of falling will increase immediately before the flight state is restored. Therefore, information indicating the altitude of the flight area may be used as the risk information of the flight area. The altitude of the flight airspace is represented by the flight plan (represented by the altitude of the cell) and the flight condition (represented by the flight altitude of the drone 20) as in the embodiment.

Therefore, in this modification, the flight information acquisition unit 102, the flight plan acquisition unit 104, and the unplanned notification reception unit 108 are examples of the “acquisition unit” of the present invention. The altitude of the flight airspace is represented by, for example, the lowest position in the flight airspace or the position at the center thereof (as long as the position is represented by a certain rule). When the transmission frequency is designated as the transmission control parameter of the flight information as in the embodiment, for example, the avoidance processing unit 106 uses a frequency table in which the altitude of the flight airspace, the degree of danger, and the transmission frequency are associated with each other. Give this instruction.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the frequency table of this modification. In the example of FIG. 13, the flight airspace altitudes of “less than Th31”, “Th31 or more and less than Th32”, “Th32 or more and less than Th33”, and “Th33 or more” (Th31<Th32<Th33) and “medium” or “low”. , "Medium" and "high" are associated with transmission frequencies "every T2", "every T3", "every T2" and "every T1", respectively.

The avoidance processing unit 106 sets the transmission frequency associated with the same degree of danger as the altitude of the flight airspace indicated by the acquired risk information in the destination table to the transmission frequency of the flight information of the drone 20 flying in the flight airspace. To decide. For example, if the altitude of the flight airspace is "less than Th31", the risk level is "medium", so the transmission frequency "every T2" is determined, and if the altitude of the flight airspace is "Th33 or higher", the risk level is "high". The transmission frequency "every T1" is determined.

In this modification, the transmission frequency is reduced for the drone 20 that is flying in a low-risk flight area to reduce the transmission processing load. On the other hand, with respect to the drone 20 that is flying in a high-risk flight area, the frequency of transmission is increased to enable quick avoidance processing and reduce the possibility of the drone 20 falling. Also in this modification, the flight information item and the transmission destination may be used as the transmission control parameters, and the effects described in the above-described modification are realized.

[2-8] Peripheral information The risk information described in each example is the risk of collision of the drones 20 (when the positions of the drones 20 are close to each other) or the risk of falling (when the wind speed or precipitation increases, etc.) ) May be represented. In that case, the avoidance processing unit 106 may increase the amount of information to be acquired and utilize it in order to avoid those risks.

In this modification, the avoidance processing unit 106 issues an instruction to cause another drone 20 flying around a position where a collision or a drop is predicted to transmit information (surrounding information) around the predicted position. The avoidance processing unit 106 in this case is an example of the “second instruction unit” in the present invention. The peripheral information is, for example, the flight status of the drone 20 flying around the predicted position. When the drone 20 has a function of detecting another flying object (drone, bird, etc.) by an infrared sensor or the like, the detection result is also included in the peripheral information.

The avoidance processing unit 106, for example, when the first collision identification unit 105 or the second collision identification unit 109 identifies the drone 20 that may have a collision, the current position, flight direction, and flight speed of the drone 20. From this, the position where the collision is predicted is calculated. The predicted position may be calculated by the first collision identification unit 105 or the second collision identification unit 109. The avoidance processing unit 106 identifies the drone 20 flying around the calculated predicted position (for example, the drone 20 whose distance from the predicted position is less than the threshold).

The avoidance processing unit 106 transmits instruction data for instructing transmission of peripheral information to the identified drone 20. Upon receiving this instruction, the flight information transmitting unit 202 of the drone 20 transmits the instructed peripheral information, for example, the flight status of the own aircraft or the detection result of another flight object to the server device 10. When the avoidance processing unit 106 receives the transmitted peripheral information, the avoidance processing unit 106 performs the avoidance processing according to the peripheral situation indicated by the peripheral information.

For example, if there are few other drones 20 around the predicted position, the avoidance processing unit 106 reduces the flight speed of the identified drone 20 to avoid collision and continue flight to some extent. If there are many drones 20, stopping the specified drone 20 more reliably avoids a collision. Further, when the other drone 20 exists on the right side of the predicted position as viewed from the identified drone 20, the avoidance processing unit 106 causes the left side of the predicted position to fly on a route that detours to avoid a collision.

The drone 20 that has been given the avoidance instruction will fly differently from the scheduled flight, so there is no guarantee that it will collide with other drones 20. In this modified example, the avoidance process is performed based on the surrounding information as well, so that not only the collision with another drone 20 that may collide is avoided, but also the collision with another air vehicle around the predicted position. Can be avoided.

If the drone 20 flying around the predicted position has an anemometer or a precipitation meter, the wind speed or precipitation amount may be transmitted as the surrounding information. In that case, the avoidance processing unit 106 performs the avoidance processing based on the weather condition of the predicted position. The avoidance processing unit 106 stops the drone 20 before the predicted position, just in case, for example, if wind or rain is strong, and if the wind or rain is weak, only avoids the collision by reducing the flight speed. Also in this case, the possibility of collision can be reduced as compared with the case where there is no peripheral information.

[2-9] Instruction Timing In the embodiment, the avoidance processing unit 106 instructs the drone 20 in flight about the content of the transmission control, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the content of the transmission control is previously instructed before the flight starts. You may keep it. Even before the start of flight, the density of the drone 20 at a certain point in the future in each flight area can be calculated from the flight plan and the flight conditions of other drones 20 that have already started flying.

The avoidance processing unit 106 then calculates the congestion degree of the drone 20 in each flight airspace for each future time, and transmits for each flight airspace in which the drone 20 to be instructed will fly according to the calculated congestion degree. Determine the frequency. The avoidance processing unit 106 instructs the drone 20 to be instructed to transmit the flight information at the determined transmission frequency when flying in each flight area. It should be noted that when the density of each flight airspace has changed since the start of flight, the avoidance processing unit 106 may reissue an instruction based on the changed density.

Also, even if the transmission control content is an item of flight information or a destination, it is possible to instruct in advance in the same manner. The same applies when the information indicating the population density on the ground or the altitude of the flight airspace is used as the risk information. Further, it is possible to preliminarily instruct the weather condition by using the information of the weather forecast. According to this modification, for example, when the drone 20 flies in an area where communication is poor, it is possible to easily avoid a collision by giving an instruction in advance before the flight starts.

[2-10] Unit of Danger Level Information In the embodiment, the risk level information indicating the magnitude of the risk for each flight area is used, but the unit is not limited to this. For example, risk degree information indicating the magnitude of danger for each time period may be used. The risk level for each time zone is, for example, low at 9 to 10 o'clock, medium at 10 to 11 o'clock, and high at 11 to 13 o'clock. The avoidance processing unit 106 determines the degree of danger for each time zone based on the number of drones 20 flying in each time zone indicated by the flight plan, for example.

Note that risk information indicating the magnitude of danger in each time zone may be used for each flight area. Further, in the case of the server device 10 which is only under the jurisdiction of the drone 20 having a very limited flight range and flight time zone, risk information indicating the degree of danger on the day without distinguishing the flight airspace and the time zone (for example, the day) Information indicating only the number of drones 20 flying to the vehicle) may be used. In short, any information may be used as the risk degree information as long as it represents the magnitude of danger when the drone 20 flies.

[2-11] Narrowing down notification destinations In the embodiment, the unplanned flight notification unit 107 notifies all other server devices 10 of the flight status of the drone 20 that is making an unplanned flight. However, the notification destinations are narrowed down. But it's okay. The unplanned flight notification unit 107 may narrow down the notification destinations only to the server device 10 that manages the drone 20 that is identified as having the possibility of collision with the drone 20 that is performing the unplanned flight, for example. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the load of the processing (communication processing, specific processing, etc.) by the notification of the drone 20 that is performing the unplanned flight, as compared with the case where the narrowing is not performed.

[2-12] Flight Plan The way of expressing the flight plan may be different from that of the embodiment. For example, the flight plan may be represented using coordinates in a three-dimensional space without using cells. In that case, for example, in a three-dimensional coordinate system, a mathematical expression expressing a flight route by a line, a mathematical expression expressing a boundary surface of a flight airspace, or the like may be used. Further, the flight plan may be represented only by the information of the departure place, the waypoint, and the arrival place instead of the route on the way. Even in that case, if it is decided to move linearly between the respective positions or to move along a predetermined route, it is possible to judge the route to actually fly.

Also, it is desirable to know the detailed flight schedule period, but for example, it is sufficient to know only the scheduled departure time and the scheduled arrival time. Even in that case, for example, by calculating the average flight speed, it is possible to determine at what time and in what area the flight is in progress. In short, the flight plan may be represented in any form as long as it can determine the unplanned flight by comparing it with the flight information.

[2-13] Aircraft In the embodiments, a rotary wing aircraft is used as a vehicle that performs autonomous flight, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be an airplane-type flying body or a helicopter-type flying body. In short, any flying body that can fly by the operation of the operator and has a function of acquiring inspection data may be used.

[2-14] Device that realizes each function The device that realizes each function shown in FIG. 4 is not limited to the above-mentioned device. For example, the integrated management device 30 may implement part of the functions implemented by the server device 10. Further, for example, when the jurisdiction company is small and the number of drones 20 under jurisdiction is small, a device used by an operator such as a radio transmitter or a personal computer may realize each function of the server device 10. In short, each function shown in FIG. 4 may be realized in the entire operation management support system 1.

[2-15] Category of Invention In addition to the information processing devices such as the server device 10 and the integrated management device 30 described above, the present invention relates to an information processing system including these information processing devices and a flying body such as the drone 20 (operation management The support system 1 can also be regarded as an example thereof. Further, the present invention can be understood as an information processing method for realizing the processing executed by those information processing apparatuses, and as a program for causing a computer that controls those information processing apparatuses to function. This program may be provided in the form of a recording medium such as an optical disc having the program stored therein, or may be provided in the form of being downloaded by a computer via a network such as the Internet and installed and made available. May be done.

[2-16] Functional Blocks The block diagrams used in the description of the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by an arbitrary combination of at least one of hardware and software. The method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited.

That is, each functional block may be realized by using one device physically or logically coupled, or directly or indirectly (for example, two or more devices physically or logically separated). , Wired, wireless, etc.) and may be implemented using these multiple devices. The functional blocks may be realized by combining the one device or the plurality of devices with software.

Functions include judgment, decision, judgment, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, observation, Broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, assigning, etc., but not limited to these. I can't. For example, a functional block (configuration unit) that causes transmission to function is called a transmission unit (transmitting unit) or a transmitter (transmitter). In any case, as described above, the implementation method is not particularly limited.

[2-17] Input/output direction Information and the like (see the item “Information, signal”) can be output from the upper layer (or lower layer) to the lower layer (or upper layer). Input/output may be performed via a plurality of network nodes.

[2-18] Handling of input/output information, etc. The input/output information, etc. may be stored in a specific place (for example, a memory) or may be managed using a management table. Information that is input/output may be overwritten, updated, or added. The output information and the like may be deleted. The input information and the like may be transmitted to another device.

[2-19] Judgment Method The judgment may be performed by a value (0 or 1) represented by 1 bit, a true/false value (Boolean: true or false), or a numerical value. (For example, comparison with a predetermined value) may be performed.

[2-20] Processing Procedure, etc. The processing procedure, sequence, flowchart, etc. of each aspect/embodiment described in the present disclosure may be interchanged as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[2-21] Handling of input/output information The input/output information may be stored in a specific place (for example, a memory) or may be managed by a management table. Information that is input/output may be overwritten, updated, or added. The output information and the like may be deleted. The input information and the like may be transmitted to another device.

[2-22] Software Software, whether called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or any other name, is an instruction, instruction set, code, code segment, program code, program. , Subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., should be broadly construed.

Also, software, instructions, information, etc. may be sent and received via a transmission medium. For example, software may be wired technology (coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), etc.) and wireless technology (infrared,
At least one of these wired and wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission medium when transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of the microwaves and the like.

[2-23] Information, Signals The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description include voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any of these. May be represented by a combination of

[2-24] "Judgment", "Decision"
The terms "determining" and "determining" as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Judgment", "decision" means, for example, judgment (judging), calculation (calculating), calculation (computing), processing (processing), derivation (deriving), investigating (investigating), searching (looking up, search, inquiry) (Eg, searching in a table, a database, or another data structure), considering ascertaining as “judging” or “deciding”, and the like.

In addition, "decision" and "decision" include receiving (eg, receiving information), transmitting (eg, transmitting information), input (input), output (output), access (accessing) (for example, accessing data in a memory) can be regarded as “judging” and “deciding”. In addition, "judgment" and "decision" are resolving,
This may include considering selections, selections, establishments, comparisons, etc. as “judgments” and “decisions”. That is, the “judgment” and “decision” may include considering some action as “judgment” and “decision”. In addition, "determination (decision)" may be read as "assuming,""expecting,""considering," and the like.

[2-25] Meaning of “based on” As used in this disclosure, the description “based on” does not mean “based only on,” unless expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[2-26] "Different"
In the present disclosure, the term “A and B are different” may mean “A and B are different from each other”. The term may mean that “A and B are different from C”. The terms "remove", "coupled" and the like may be construed as "different" as well.

[2-27] "and", "or"
In the present disclosure, for the configurations that can be implemented by “A and B” or “A or B”, the configuration described in one expression may be used as the configuration described in the other expression. For example, when "A and B" is described, it may be used as "A or B" as long as it is practicable without inconsistency with other descriptions.

[2-28] Variations of Aspect, etc. Each aspect/embodiment described in the present disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or may be switched according to execution. Further, the notification of the predetermined information (for example, the notification of “being X”) is not limited to the explicit notification, and is performed implicitly (for example, the notification of the predetermined information is not performed). Good.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented as modified and changed modes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure defined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is for the purpose of exemplification, and does not have any restrictive meaning to the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Operation management support system, 10... Server device, 20... Drone, 30... Integrated management device, 101... Flight plan transmission part, 102... Flight information acquisition part, 103... Unplanned flight determination part, 104... Flight plan acquisition part , 105... First collision identification unit, 106... Avoidance processing unit, 107... Unplanned flight notification unit, 108... Unplanned notification receiving unit, 109... Second collision identification unit, 110... Collision notification unit, 111... Collision notification reception Flight control unit, 202 Flight information transmission unit, 301 Flight plan acquisition unit, 302 Flight plan storage unit, 303 Flight plan distribution unit.

Claims

An acquisition unit that acquires risk level information indicating the magnitude of danger when the air vehicle flies,
When the flight body transmits flight information indicating the flight status of the aircraft, the flight body transmits the flight information to the flight body according to the degree of danger represented by the acquired risk information. An information processing apparatus comprising: an instruction unit for instructing.
The risk information includes information indicating the magnitude of the danger for each flight area,
The said instruction|indication part instruct|indicates that the flying body which flies in the said flight airspace transmits the said flight information according to the magnitude of the danger in the flight airspace which the said acquired risk degree information represents. Information processing device.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the instruction unit gives an instruction to increase the transmission frequency of the flight information as the risk represented by the acquired risk information increases.
The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the instruction unit instructs that the number of items of information included in the flight information increases as the risk represented by the acquired risk information increases.
The aircraft is capable of transmitting the flight information to two or more external devices that perform processing related to the flight of the aircraft.
The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction unit instructs to increase the number of transmission destinations of the flight information as the risk represented by the acquired risk information increases.
When the obtained risk information indicates the risk of collision or falling of the flying object, surrounding information about the vicinity of the position of another flying object flying around the position where the collision or falling is predicted. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second instruction unit that gives an instruction to transmit.
The risk information indicates at least one of a density of flying objects flying in the flight area, a population density of the ground around the flight area, a weather condition in the flight area, or an altitude of the flight area. 6. The information processing device according to any one of 6.