KR20180061514A - System and method for controlling drone by lte network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a drone control system using an LTE network and a method thereof. The drone control system includes a drone including an LTE wireless communication module and a camera, a smartphone which has a dedicated application to control the drone and includes a wireless communication module, and a server which transmits a control signal to the drone in response to a control signal transmitted from the smartphone, and receives and stores image information transmitted from the drone. According to the present invention, since the control range of the drone is extended and real-time image transmission is enabled, a restriction on distance is solved so that the drone control system can be used in various fields as well as various applications. In addition, an image transmission speed is increased so that the drone control system can be used for various services.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a system and a method for controlling a drones using an LTE network,

The present invention relates to a drones control system and method using an LTE network, and more particularly, to a dron control system and method using an LTE network for extending a control range of a drones and improving a real- will be.

Unmanned aerial vehicles are aircraft that have been designed to allow pilots to perform their assigned duties without boarding.

These unmanned aircraft are also known as "drone" in other names.

As such, the drones are sometimes referred to as the Uninhabited Aerial (UAV) Vehicle (UAV), emphasizing that there is no man on board and there is a remote pilot on the ground.

The drones are typically remotely controlled using short-range wireless communication, such as Bluetooth, or the like, and are usually remotely controlled using a dedicated controller.

Drones, on the other hand, can be used for a variety of missions, often with a camera attached to them to confirm their mission. The image shot by a camera is usually made available via a short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth or the like in a smart phone installed with an application.

The technology for Bluetooth wireless communication processing can be confirmed in Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-0094310 entitled " Method for processing received data in a communication device supporting Bluetooth wireless communication ".

However, short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth has a disadvantage in that the remote control distance is short and control is performed only within a limited area. Further, when there is an obstacle such as a building, the distance of the remote control becomes shorter. In addition, the transmission speed is not fast, and the pairing is often interrupted.

When the remote control distance is distant, there is a problem that it is difficult to transmit the image captured by the camera in real time, and furthermore, when a plurality of cameras are installed in the drones, the real time transmission becomes more difficult.

Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1566341 (Published on November 5, 2015)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a long term evolution (LTE) wireless communication module in a dron, The present invention provides a dron control system and method using an LTE network that extends the control range of the drones and enables real-time image transmission.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drones control system using an LTE network, the system comprising: a dron including an LTE wireless communication module and a camera; A smartphone having a dedicated application for controlling the drones and including a wireless communication module; And a server for transmitting a control signal to the drones corresponding to the control signal transmitted from the smartphone, and receiving and storing the image information transmitted from the drones.

At this time, the server includes an operation server for transmitting the control signal transmitted from the smartphone to the LTE network; And an image storage server for receiving and storing image information transmitted from the drones.

The drones may include an LTE wireless communication module; At least one camera; A progress direction sensor for sensing a progress direction of the drones; And an image selector for transmitting only the images corresponding to the traveling direction of the drones among the images photographed by the cameras to the LTE network.

Meanwhile, the smartphone and the server may be integrally formed.

Meanwhile, in the drones control method using the LTE network of the present invention, the server generates control signals from the transmitted control signals and transmits them to the LTE network; Receiving and storing the image information transmitted from the drones; And transmitting the image information to the terminal through which the steering signal is generated through the LTE network.

At this time, it is preferable that the terminal is a smart phone equipped with a dedicated application. Here, the distance between the smartphone and the drone may be mutually connected by a short distance wireless communication or an LTE network.

The image information may transmit only the image corresponding to the traveling direction of the drones among the images taken from the plurality of cameras to the LTE network.

As described above, according to the drones control system and method using the LTE network according to the present invention, since the control range of the drones can be extended and the real time image transmission can be performed, the restriction on the distance can be solved, , And various applications are possible. In addition, video transmission speed is improved and can be used for various services.

1 is a configuration diagram of a drones control system using an LTE network according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a configuration diagram of a drones according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart of a drones control method using an LTE network according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating an operating environment in a smartphone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "comprising" another element in the description of the invention or in the claims, it is not to be construed as being limited to only that element, And the like.

The present invention relates to a technique for operating a drones and a technique for processing an image, in which a user manipulates the drones through an application other than a dedicated controller and uses the LTE wireless communication to expand the control range of the drones It aims to improve the image transmission speed.

1 is a configuration diagram of a drones control system using an LTE network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a drones control system using an LTE network according to the present invention includes a drones 1 including an LTE wireless communication module and a camera, and a dedicated application for controlling the drones 1, A server 2 for transmitting a control signal to the drone 1 in response to a control signal transmitted from the smartphone 2 and receiving and storing the image information transmitted from the drone 1; 3).

At this time, the wireless communication module configured in the smartphone 2 may be an LTE wireless communication module for connection to the LTE network 4. [

The server 3 includes an operation server 31 for transmitting a control signal transmitted from the smartphone 2 to the LTE network 4 and an image server for receiving and storing image information transmitted from the drones 1 And a server 32.

The configuration for controlling the drones 1 via the server 3 is described in this embodiment. However, the system can be configured only by the smartphone 2 and the drones 1, The function of the server 3 should be included in the smartphone 2, and the server 3 may be integrated into the smartphone 2 as an example.

In the drones control system using the LTE network according to the present invention configured as described above, the smart phone 2, the drone 1, and the server 3 are connected to each other using the LTE network 4. Of course, the interconnection may be made through the connection service to the 4G communication network. The smartphone 2 and the drone 1 are paired with each other by executing a dedicated application installed in the smartphone 2 and then the initial setting process of the drone 1 is performed to maintain the flight ready state. At this time, when the steering signal is generated through the dedicated application, the steering signal is transmitted to the server 3 through the LTE network 4, and the server 3 generates the control signal and transmits it to the drones 1. In this way, the flight of the drones 1 is controlled via the server 3, and at this time, when there is a request for image information, the camera is operated to transmit image information to the server 3. The server 3 receives and stores the image information. Of course, it is preferable to transmit the image information to the smartphone 2 at the same time so that the image information can be also confirmed on the smartphone 2. If a plurality of cameras are installed in the drone 1, it is preferable to selectively control the cameras so that real-time image information can be transmitted.

2 is a configuration diagram of a drones according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the drones 1 according to the present invention include an LTE wireless communication module, at least one camera, a progress direction sensor for sensing the traveling direction of the drones 1, To the LTE network 4, only an image corresponding to the traveling direction of the drones 1 among the images.

The drones 1 according to the present invention configured as described above can drive a plurality of cameras to capture images in all directions. Further, only a specific camera can be driven by the control of the smart phone 2. [ Alternatively, it is also possible to transmit only specific image information among the generated image information to the LTE network 4 using an image selection technique.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the case of driving the camera facing the traveling direction through the detection of the traveling direction is explained, but the traveling camera may be rotated in the traveling direction by using the rotating camera.

Hereinafter, the drones control method using the LTE network of the present invention using the system configured as described above will be described.

3 is a flowchart of a drones control method using an LTE network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, a dedicated program installed in the smartphone 2 is executed (S1). The dedicated program includes a pairing and manipulation function between the smartphone 2 and the drone 1.

As power is supplied to the drone 1, pairing between the smartphone 2 and the drone 1 is automatically performed (S2).

At this time, when the distance between the smartphone 2 and the drones 1 is within the set distance in the pairing of the smartphone 2 and the drones 1, the pairing is performed through short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth If the distance between the smartphone 2 and the dron 1 exceeds the set distance, an authentication process such as a unique number is performed through the LTE network 4, Pairing is preferably performed.

When the pairing is performed between the smartphone 2 and the drone 1, an initial setting process for the flight of the drone 1 is performed (S3). When the initial setting process is completed, the flight preparation state is maintained.

At this time, if a user operation is performed based on the operation environment displayed on the smartphone 2 as shown in FIG. 4 (S4), the smartphone 2 generates a control signal and transmits it to the server 3 (S5).

The server 3 generates a control signal corresponding to the control signal and transmits it to the drones 1 through the LTE network 4 (S6).

Thus, the control corresponding to the control signal is performed in the drone 1 (S7). At this time, the control signal includes a flight control signal, a camera driving signal, a flight end signal, a video information selection signal, and the like.

When the camera driving signal is transmitted before and after the flight, the camera installed in the drones 1 is driven. At this time, the camera can be selectively driven in response to the detection signal of the progress direction sensor. Only images photographed from the camera can be transmitted to the server 3 and / or the smartphone 2 via the LTE network 4. [ Meanwhile, the image photographed through the camera may be transmitted to the smartphone 2 from the server 3 after being stored in the server 3 (S8).

On the other hand, it is also possible to transmit image information generated from a plurality of cameras to the LTE network 4 only in the image information generated from the corresponding direction in accordance with the traveling direction. At this time, the remaining image information may be separately stored in the memory configured in the drone 1. On the other hand, when the video information selection signal is transmitted from the smartphone 2, the user may transmit the desired video information regardless of the progress direction.

[Example]

1, the system to which the present invention is applied includes an LTE network 4 for connecting a dron 1, a smart phone 2 (dedicated application) and a server 3, And a server 3 for transmitting the image information to the smartphone 2 and for storing a dedicated application, operation and image for operating the drones 1.

The dedicated application illustrated in FIG. 1 is installed in the smartphone 2 of the client and transfers the function to be used by the user to the drone 1.

The LTE network 4 illustrated in FIG. 1 is used for moving requests of clients and information of various sensors in the drone 1.

The drone 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 performs work according to the operation of the client, and the posture control and the movement control are solved within the drone 1.

The server 3 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an image storage server 32 and an operation server 31.

Information entered from a camera included in the drones 1 is stored in the image storage server 32 illustrated in FIG.

The operation server 31 illustrated in FIG. 1 has an operation server 31 for information that a client has operated using a dedicated application.

The LTE network (4) is based on the 3.5G (3.5G) Wibro mobile communication technology of the IEEE family and is based on an upstream bandwidth of 10 MHz and a downlink bandwidth of 10 MHz.

The drones 1 include a digital camera, a dongle module capable of LTE communication, a single board computer, a central processing unit of at least 700 MHz single core, a memory device of 256 MB or more, and an operating system of Raspbian 3.18 or higher.

The dedicated application is designed as a marshmallow version of Android 6.0 or later, and is horizontal fixed. It also supports all Android-based mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets.

The server includes a central processing unit, a data storage device, a memory device and an operating system including a RAM and a ROM, a 100 MHz P54C of Intel Corporation designed for 32 bits, a Motorola 120 MHz Power PC 604 designed for 32 bits or a 166 MHz Ultra SPARC- .

The video storage server 32 records and stream video information transmitted from the drones 1.

The operation server 31 transmits Throttle, Roll, Yaw, and Pitch 4 channel operation information to be used for operating the drone 1.

The server includes an application program for streaming video information and transmitting operation information.

3, the 'initial screen' and the 'operation screen' displayed when the drones 1 are operated are shown in FIG.

When a client executes a dedicated application using their own smartphone 2, the 'initial screen' illustrated in FIG. 4 is displayed. You can check basic operation method and precautions in 'Initial Screen'.

In the present embodiment, when the smart phone 2 and the drones 1 are paired, the dedicated application provides the information of the drones 1 to the LTE network 4. The image storage server 32 can provide the image to the viewer constituting the screen of the smartphone 2 in the dedicated application. The client confirms the state of the drones 1 and operates the drones 1 through the LTE network 4 via the operation server 31 via the direction key configured in the 'operation screen'.

In the present embodiment, when the drones 1 are manipulated, when the control signal generated through the operation button on the 'operation screen' in the dedicated application is transmitted to the server 3 via the LTE network 4, The control signal generated through the operation server 31 is generated and transmitted to the drone 1 so that the flight control is performed in the drone 1. Of course, camera control and image processing control including flight control are also performed.

In the 'initial screen' illustrated in FIG. 4, the basic operation method and the attention screen displayed on the 'initial screen' through the movement display at the lower right portion are continuously moved. When the schedule screen is over, the movement display on the lower right side is changed and the dedicated application and drones (1) are connected.

The 'operation screen' illustrated in FIG. 4 has a 4-channel button for manipulating the movement of the dron 1 at the left lower end. There is a button for manipulating the throttle and pitch in the lower right part, and a button for manipulating the yaw and roll in the lower left part. In addition, the entire 'operation screen' shows the screen delivered to the dedicated application through the LTE network 4 in the image storage server 32 in real time.

On the other hand, after the pairing of the smartphone 2 and the drone 1 is performed, whether or not the drone 1 is operated through the throttle and the yaw is checked, and the power of the drone 1 is operated by changing this value.

Then, when recording of the dedicated application is started in the activated drone 1, the recorded image is transmitted to the image storage server 32 through the LTE network 4, and the image storage server 32 displays the corresponding image through the dedicated application do.

As described above, the present invention provides a system for operating a drones 1 equipped with an LTE wireless communication module on a smart phone 2 or the like to increase the transmission speed of image information and realize a high-quality image. The present invention also provides a system that can mount various sensors of the drone 1 and provide video information of a camera as well as a detection signal to the server 3 and / or the smartphone 2 through the LTE network 4 at the same time have.

In one or more exemplary implementations, the functions presented herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via one or more instructions or code on a computer readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media and communication media including any medium for facilitating transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any general purpose computer or any available medium that can be accessed by a special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise any form of computer readable medium, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage media, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, But not limited to, a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a general purpose processor, or any other medium that can be accessed by a particular processor.

In addition, any connection means may be considered as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted over a wireless technology such as a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or infrared radio, and microwave from a web page, server 3, , Wireless technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or infrared radio, and microwave may be included within the definition of such medium. The discs and discs used here include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, DVDs, floppy discs, and Blu-ray discs where disc plays the data magnetically, As shown in FIG. The combinations may also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements, components, logical blocks, modules, and algorithm steps described above may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations thereof. In order to clarify the interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules and steps have been described in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement these functions in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions are not necessarily outside the scope of the invention.

The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described in connection with the present disclosure may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, Or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination designed to implement the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor; In an alternative embodiment, such a processor may be an existing processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as, for example, a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or a combination of such configurations.

For a hardware implementation, the various illustrative logic, logic blocks, and modules of processing units described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented with one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs) Such as digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, general purpose processors, Controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, it may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration). Additionally, at least one processor may include one or more modules capable of implementing one or more of the steps and / or operations described herein.

In addition, various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. Moreover, steps and / or operations of a method or algorithm described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Additionally, in some aspects, steps or acts of a method or algorithm may be present as a machine-readable medium, or as a combination of at least one or any combination of codes or instructions on a computer-readable medium, It can be integrated into computer program stuff. The term article of manufacture as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any suitable computer-readable device or medium.

The description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features presented herein.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention.

1: Drones
2: Smartphone
3: Server

Claims (8)

A dron including an LTE wireless communication module and a camera;
A smartphone having a dedicated application for controlling the drones and including a wireless communication module; And
And a server for transmitting a control signal to the drones in response to the control signal transmitted from the smartphone, and receiving and storing the image information transmitted from the drones.
The method according to claim 1,
The server comprises:
An operation server for transmitting a control signal transmitted from the smartphone to an LTE network; And
And an image storage server for receiving and storing the image information transmitted from the drones.
The method according to claim 1,
The drones,
LTE wireless communication module;
At least one camera;
A progress direction sensor for sensing a progress direction of the drones; And
And an image selector for transmitting only the image corresponding to the traveling direction of the drones from the images taken by the cameras to the LTE network.
The method according to claim 1,
A drones control system using an LTE network in which the smartphone and the server are integrally formed.
The server,
Generating a control signal from the transmitted control signal and transmitting the generated control signal to the LTE network;
Receiving and storing the image information transmitted from the drones; And
And transmitting the image information to the terminal through which the control signal is generated through the LTE network.
5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the terminal is a smartphone with a dedicated application installed therein. 6. The method of claim 5,
And a dron control method using an LTE network interconnected with short-range wireless communication or LTE network corresponding to the distance between the smartphone and the drones.
5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the image information is transmitted to an LTE network only in an image corresponding to a traveling direction of the dron among images photographed from a plurality of cameras.

Images