CN117082458A

CN117082458A - Unmanned aerial vehicle communication method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN117082458A
Application number: CN202210507975.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 方宇哲; 彭文杰; 李�杰
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-10
Filing date: 2022-05-10
Publication date: 2023-11-17
Also published as: WO2023216854A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method, a communication device and a communication system for an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method comprises the following steps: the unmanned aerial vehicle receives first indication information from first communication equipment; the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast a first message according to the first indication information, wherein the first message comprises a first identifier, and the first identifier is used for indicating the identity information of the unmanned aerial vehicle. According to the method, the unmanned aerial vehicle can determine whether to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information, so that the performance of the unmanned aerial vehicle is improved.

Description

Unmanned aerial vehicle communication method, device and system

Technical Field

The embodiment of the application relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a communication method, device and system of an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Background

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV) is becoming more and more popular in today's society, where UAV communication environments differ from common terminals, and UAVs are generally considered to move over the ground, and different types of UAVs may also have different flying heights. As the number of UAVs increases, in some scenarios, management of UAV flight is required, for example, in the vicinity of some infrastructure such as airports and high towers.

How to improve the performance of managing UAVs is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides an unmanned aerial vehicle communication method, device and system, which are used for improving the performance of UAV management.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for communication by a drone, where the method may be performed by the drone, or by a component of the drone (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip, etc.), and the method may include: the unmanned aerial vehicle receives first indication information from first communication equipment; the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast a first message according to the first indication information, wherein the first message comprises a first identifier, and the first identifier is used for indicating the identity information of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

According to the method, the unmanned aerial vehicle determines whether to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information, so that the performance of the unmanned aerial vehicle is improved. For example, the first communication device may both satisfy regulatory requirements and reduce energy consumption of the UAV in view of instructing the drone to broadcast the first message only in a specific region of regulation.

Optionally, the method further comprises: the unmanned aerial vehicle receives second indication information from the first core network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating second area information; the unmanned aerial vehicle determining to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information comprises: the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information and/or the second indication information.

By the method, the unmanned aerial vehicle can determine to broadcast the first message according to the indication information from the first communication equipment and/or the core network equipment, and can accurately determine whether to broadcast the first message, so that power consumption is reduced.

Optionally, the first indication information is used to indicate the first area information.

In a possible manner, the first area information includes one or more of location information, cell information, tracking area information, and notification area information of the access network device.

In a possible manner, the second area information includes one or more of location information, cell information, tracking area information, newly defined area information, and notification area information of the access network device.

In one possible manner, the first indication information is used to instruct the drone to broadcast the first message.

In one possible manner, the unmanned aerial vehicle determining to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information includes:

the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast a first message in a first area according to the first indication information, wherein the first area is a specific area.

In a possible manner, the first message further includes: one or more of location information and flight path information.

In one possible approach, the first identification is predefined, preconfigured or dynamically assigned.

In one possible manner, broadcasting the first message includes: the first message is broadcast on a first interface, which is a PC5 interface.

In one possible manner, broadcasting the first message includes: the first message is encrypted using a public key or a private key.

In one possible way, the first indication information is carried in a system message.

In one possible approach, the second indication information is carried in a non-access stratum message.

In one possible approach, the first identification is a remote ID.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for unmanned aerial vehicle communication, where the method may be performed by a first network device, and may also be performed by a component (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the first network device, and the method may include: the method comprises the steps that first communication equipment determines first area information, wherein unmanned aerial vehicles in a first area need to broadcast first information, and the first information comprises a first identifier which is used for indicating identity information of the unmanned aerial vehicles; the first communication device sends first indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating first area information or used for indicating the unmanned aerial vehicle to broadcast a first message.

According to the method, the first communication equipment sends the first indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, so that the performance of the unmanned aerial vehicle is improved. For example, the first communication device may both satisfy regulatory requirements and reduce energy consumption of the UAV in view of instructing the drone to broadcast the first message only in a specific region of regulation.

Optionally, the first communication device determining the first area information includes: the first communication device receives configuration information from the first core network device, the configuration information being used to indicate the second area information.

Optionally, the first area information comprises one or more of geographical location information, cell information, tracking area information and notification area information of the access network device.

Optionally, the first message further includes: one or more of location information, altitude information, and flight path information.

Optionally, the first identification is predefined, preconfigured or dynamically assigned.

Optionally, the first message is carried in a system message.

Optionally, the first identifier is a remote ID.

Optionally, the method further comprises: and sending third indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the third indication information comprises one or more of forced landing information, supervision information of a supervision system and updated flight path information.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for unmanned aerial vehicle communication, where the method may be performed by a first core network device, or may be performed by a component (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the first core network device, and the method may include: the method comprises the steps that first core network equipment determines second area information, wherein unmanned aerial vehicles in the second area need to broadcast first information, and the first information comprises first identifiers used for indicating identity information of the unmanned aerial vehicles; the first core network device sends second indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating second area information.

According to the method, the unmanned aerial vehicle can determine to broadcast the first message according to the indication information from the core network equipment, and can accurately determine whether to broadcast the first message, so that the power consumption is reduced.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, where the device may be an unmanned aerial vehicle, and may also be a chip for an unmanned aerial vehicle. The apparatus has the functionality to implement the above-described first aspect or each of the possible implementation methods of the first aspect. The functions can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a first communication device, and may also be a chip for the first communication device. The apparatus has the function of implementing the second aspect or each possible implementation method of the second aspect. The functions can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus may be a first core network device, and may also be a chip for the first core network device. The apparatus has the function of implementing the above third aspect or each possible implementation method of the third aspect. The functions can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform any of the methods described above for the first to third aspects, each of the possible implementation methods for the first to third aspects.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a unit or means (means) for performing the methods of the first aspect to the third aspect, and each step of any of the possible implementation methods of the first aspect to the third aspect.

In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, which when run on a computer, cause a processor to perform the methods of the first to third aspects described above, any of the possible implementation methods of the first to third aspects.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when run, causes the method of the first to third aspects described above, any of the possible implementation methods of the first to third aspects to be performed.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, including: a processor for performing the methods of the first to third aspects described above, any of the possible implementation methods of the first to third aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including the unmanned aerial vehicle and the first communication device, and optionally, may further include a first core network device. Optionally, UTM nodes and/or drone controllers may also be included. It will be appreciated that interactions between individual network elements or devices in the communication system may be referred to the method described in any of the first to third aspects above.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network coverage of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a communication method of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to a further embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical scheme of the application is exemplified below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The method and the device provided by the embodiment of the application can be used for various communication systems, such as a fourth generation (4th generation,4G) communication system, a 4.5G communication system, a 5G communication system, a 5.5G communication system, a 6G communication system, a system in which a plurality of communication systems are integrated, or a future evolution communication system. Such as long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) systems, new Radio (NR) systems, wireless-fidelity (WiFi) systems, and third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP) related communication systems, among other such communication systems.

As shown in fig. 1, a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system 100 to which embodiments of the present application are applied, the communication system 100 includes at least one UAV110 and at least one access network device 120. Optionally, the communication system further comprises a core network device 130 and/or a drone system traffic management (unmanned aerial system traffic management, UTM) node. UAV110 is connected to access network device 120 in a wireless manner, and access network device 120 is connected to core network device 130 or UTM node in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device 130 and the access network device 120 may be separate and different devices, or the functions of the core network device 130 and the logic functions of the access network device 120 may be integrated on the same device, or the functions of a part of the core network device and the functions of a part of the radio access network device may be integrated on one device. The UAVs and the access network devices can be connected with each other in a wired or wireless mode.

Fig. 1 is only a schematic diagram, and other network devices may be further included in the communication system, such as a UAV controller may be further included in the communication system, where the UAV controller is used to control the UAV, for example, a manipulator may control a flight route and/or a flight speed of the UAV through the UAV controller, and the UTM node may associate the UAV and the UAV controller, so as to implement a control management function for the UAV, and the access network device may provide mobile communication network services for the UAV and the UAV controller. Optionally, the access network device may also associate the UAV and the UAV controller, thereby implementing a control management function for the UAV. Optionally, the UAV controller implements control management functions for the UAV through WiFi or a side-link. Illustratively, the UAV controllers may include a UAV controller 140a and a UAV supervisory controller 140b (also simply referred to as supervisory controller), where supervisory controller 140b has higher control authority over UAV controller 140 a. Fig. 1 illustrates one UAV110 as an example, it being understood that one or more UAVs and corresponding UAV controllers may be included in the system. In the communication system 100, one UAV may correspond to one UAV controller, or a plurality of UAVs may correspond to one UAV controller, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The access network device (also referred to as a network device or a radio access network device in the present application) in the embodiment of the present application may be a base station (bs), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission and reception point (transmission reception point, TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc.; the present application may also be a module or unit that performs a function of a base station part, for example, a Central Unit (CU) or a Distributed Unit (DU). The radio access network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node, or the like. It will be appreciated that all or part of the functionality of the radio access network device of the present application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform, such as a cloud platform. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific technology and the specific equipment form adopted by the wireless access network equipment. For convenience of description, a base station will be described below as an example of a radio access network device.

The unmanned aerial vehicle in the embodiment of the application can also be called a terminal device, and the terminal device can also be called a terminal, a User Equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, and the like. Terminals may be widely applied to various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-device (vehicle to everything, V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (internet of things, ioT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autopilot, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a computer with a wireless receiving and transmitting function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, intelligent household equipment and the like. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific technology and the specific equipment form adopted by the terminal. For convenience of description, a terminal is described below as an example of a drone.

In the embodiment of the present application, the functions of the base station may be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or may be performed by a control subsystem including the functions of the base station. The control subsystem comprising the base station function can be a control center in the application scene of the terminal such as a smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, smart city and the like. The functions of the terminal may be performed by a module (e.g., a chip or a modem) in the terminal, or by a device including the functions of the terminal.

In the embodiment of the present application, UTM is a network element introduced at the network side to manage the unmanned aerial vehicle service, and in one possible implementation, the network element may be a core network element (for example, a functional entity disposed in the core network) or an independent control network element. The UTM node may also be referred to as a UTM module or UTM network element or UTM entity, etc.

In addition, to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of the present application, terms related to UAV management are described.

The UAV identity. In one possible implementation, for better management of the UAV, an identification requirement for the UAV is proposed, for example, by remote identity (remote ID) identification of the UAV. The remote ID is information that the UAV provides to other devices or control platforms in flight for receiving or determining identity and/or location information of the UAV. When a UAV appears to fly in an unsafe manner or should not be allowed to fly, the remote ID may be used to help identify the UAV or to help find a control platform or control station that controls the UAV. remote ID lays the foundation for the security requirements required for more complex UAV operations. It will be appreciated that the remote ID may be other information that enables identification of the UAV, such as other information that identifies UAV identity information, and the application is described using this identification as a remote ID.

Tracking Area (TA). TA is a concept set up by the communication system for location management of the terminal. Which is defined as a free moving area where the terminal does not need an update service. The TA function is to manage the terminal location, and may be divided into paging management and location update management. The terminal informs the core network of the tracking area of the terminal through the tracking area registration. In general, TA is a cell-level configuration, multiple cells can configure the same TA, and one cell can belong to only one TA. The tracking area identity (tracking area identity, TAI) is an identity of each TA that is different from other TAs, and the TAI may consist of public land mobile communication (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN) and tracking area code (tracking area code, TAC), i.e. TAI = PLMN + TAC. A plurality of TAs form a TA List (TA List) and are simultaneously allocated to a terminal, and the terminal does not need to perform tracking area update (tracking area update, TAU) when moving in the TA List so as to reduce frequent interaction with network equipment; when a terminal enters a TA area which is not in a registered TA list, TAU needs to be executed, and in general, a core network reallocates a group of TAs to the terminal, wherein the newly allocated TAs can also contain some TAs in the original TA list; in addition to this, the terminal will also regularly make a TAU to let the core network know the location of the terminal.

Notification area (radio access network based notification area, RNA) based access network device. The composition of RNA is mainly two kinds, one is a cell list, and the other is a TAC identifier or a tracking area code identifier. The final serving base station before the terminal enters the INACTIVE state will configure the terminal with RNA, meaning that no RNA update (RNAU) is required as the terminal moves within range of RNA. If the terminal gets out of the RNA, RNAU is initiated, and besides, TAU is also periodically done, so that the final service base station knows the position of the terminal.

The system information (system information, SI) is a message sent from the cell to the terminal, and in the NR system, the minimum system information (minimum system information, MSI) and other system information (other system information, OSI) are divided, wherein the minimum system information includes a master information block (master information block, MIB) and a system message block 1 (system information block 1, sib1) and is periodically transmitted. Where SIB1 may also be referred to as a remaining minimum system message (remaining minimum SI, RMSI), MSI generally includes system messages including cell selection and initial access information and scheduling information of other SIs, and all system messages except MIB and SIB1 may be referred to as OSI, which is transmitted in a systemization message (SIB 2 and above), not periodically transmitted for base station power saving, but transmitted based on a request.

In some special cases, special periods of time may take regulatory action to limit flight to a particular area, and the UAV knows which areas are particular areas, and what actions the UAV may have on the air interface after knowing the particular areas all need to be studied at present. In order to facilitate UAV management, the UAV may broadcast its remote ID, but the UAV always broadcasts the remote ID to generate larger energy consumption, and in order to improve performance of UAV management, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method 300 of an unmanned aerial vehicle, as shown in fig. 3, including:

optional step S310: the first communication device sends first indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Correspondingly, the unmanned aerial vehicle receives first indication information from the first communication device.

It is easy to understand that in the embodiment of the present application, the timing or the triggering condition for the first communication device to send the first indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle is not limited.

For example, when the first communication device determines that the drone is within the first area, the first communication device sends first indication information to the drone for instructing the drone to begin broadcasting the first identification. The method further includes determining, by the first communication device, a first area, wherein the drone in the first area needs to broadcast a first message, the first message including a first identification, the first identification being used to indicate identity information of the drone.

The first identifier is used for indicating identity information of the UAV to equipment of a receiving end. Alternatively, the first identification may be a remote ID. Alternatively, the first identifier may have a plurality of possible manners of determination or assignment. For example, the UAV provides a remote ID by a UAS service provider (UAS service supplier, USS); alternatively, the UAV registers with UTM during boot/flight, and the remote ID is assigned by UTM and is variable during each flight; as another example, stored in a UAV, distributed by the manufacturer, etc.

For another example, after receiving the message of the other network element or the platform, the first communication device sends the first indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle management platform or the core network device sends indication information to the first communication device, wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to broadcast the first identifier, or the indication information is used for indicating that the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to broadcast the region (also referred to as a specific region) information of the first identifier. One possible way is to configure the information of the specific area to the first communication device by operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) or AMF or UTM. I.e. the first communication device receives configuration information from the first core network device, the configuration information being used to indicate the second area, which is a specific area (i.e. the drones in the specific area need to broadcast the first identification), or which is a normal area (i.e. the drones in the area need not broadcast the first identification). For example, when the first communication device determines that the unmanned aerial vehicle is in a specific area, first indication information is sent to the unmanned aerial vehicle.

In one possible manner, the first indication information is used to instruct the drone to broadcast the first message. For example, the first indication information may be bit information, and illustratively, the first indication information is 1 bit, and when the first indication information is "1", the first indication information is used to indicate that the unmanned aerial vehicle broadcasts the first message, and when the first indication information is "0", the first indication information is used to indicate that the unmanned aerial vehicle does not need to broadcast the first message. Of course, other implementations of the first indication information are also possible for indicating that the drone broadcasts the first message. For example, the first indication information includes information indicating that the unmanned aerial vehicle is in a regulatory region, or the first indication information includes information indicating that the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to indicate identity information. The embodiments of the present application are not limited.

In yet another possible manner, the first indication information is used to indicate a first area (may also be referred to as first area information). It is easy to understand that the first indication information is used to indicate the first area may be understood that the first indication information is used to indicate that the UAV in the first area needs to broadcast the identity information of the UAV. Or, the first indication information is used for indicating the first area as a specific area, where the specific area refers to that the UAV needs to broadcast identity information in the area. Alternatively, the specific area may be predefined or preconfigured.

Optionally, the first area information includes one or more of location information, cell information, tracking area information, and notification area information of the access network device. That is, the range of the first area may be indicated using the first indication information. It is easy to understand that the first area information may also be newly introduced or newly defined area information. For example, a defined area is newly defined, and a new area division manner is adopted.

Wherein the location information may also be referred to as area information, may be represented by including longitude, latitude, and altitude. Or the location information may be geographical location information such as the new XX street in the purdong new region of the Shanghai city.

The cell information may be represented by a cell identity. For example, the first indication information indicates a cell list constituting the first area.

The altitude information may be the altitude relative to the ground, or the altitude relative to the sea level (altitude), or the altitude relative to some reference point (relative altitude).

The time information may be absolute time information or time information, for example, indicating a period of time for which the UAV needs to broadcast the first message when within the first area.

The tracking area information or the notification area information of the access network device may correspond to the first area. For example, it may refer to a TA or RNA that indicates correspondence to the first region, in which the UAV needs to broadcast the first message.

It may be appreciated that the first indication information may also indicate the first area by other information, for example, the first area is represented by adopting a reference coordinate manner, so long as the first area can be indicated, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The system information carries first indication information, which is used for indicating the first area. The first region may be represented by cell information or region information (zone) or TA or RNA. Wherein the first communication device (e.g., the gNB) may add an indication of whether the cell is a specific area in the system information. For example, the gNB may add indication information indicating whether the cell is a specific area in the system information MIB, if the indication information is true or 1, it indicates that the cell accessed by the unmanned aerial vehicle is a specific area, otherwise if the indication information is false or 0 or the MIB does not include the indication information, it indicates that the cell is not a specific area. The zone information zone may be represented by specific geographic information, such as longitude and latitude, and optionally may also include altitude information of the corresponding location. The TA/RNA may correspond to a particular region. As can be shown in the system information which TA/RNA(s) correspond to a particular region, the cells in these TA/RNAs require the UAV to broadcast a Remote ID on the PC5 port.

And S320, the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast a first message according to the first indication information, wherein the first message comprises a first identifier, and the first identifier is used for indicating the identity information of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

In one possible manner, the drone determines to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information. For example, the first indication information is 1 bit, and when the first indication information is "1", the first indication information is used for indicating the unmanned aerial vehicle to broadcast the first message.

In another possible manner of determining to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information, the drone determines to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information and information from other network elements or platforms, and/or information from inside the drone. That is, the drone may determine to broadcast the first message based on the first indication information, one or more of information inside the drone and information from other network elements or platforms.

The information inside the unmanned aerial vehicle may include position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, flight route information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, flight authority information and the like, for example, the unmanned aerial vehicle determines that the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to broadcast the first message or does not need to broadcast the first message according to the information inside the unmanned aerial vehicle. For example, the drone determines that its own location is within a first region indicated by the first indication information, the first region being a restricted region, and the drone determines that the first message needs to be broadcast.

For example, the information from the other network element or platform may include information indicating the second area information. Wherein the second area information may be an area where the first message needs to be broadcast (e.g. the area is indicated by a white list) or an area where the first message does not need to be broadcast (e.g. the area is indicated by a black list). For example, the second area information may be a white list or a black list, and illustratively, the unmanned aerial vehicle in the area corresponding to the white list needs not to broadcast the first message, and the unmanned aerial vehicle in the area corresponding to the black list needs to broadcast the first message. The other network elements or platforms may be core network devices or unmanned aerial vehicle control platforms or unmanned aerial vehicle controllers, or other network elements or platforms that can interact with the unmanned aerial vehicle, or other unmanned aerial vehicles.

It is easy to understand that there are many possible ways for the unmanned aerial vehicle to obtain information from other network elements or platforms, and the embodiment of the present application is described by taking other network elements or platforms as core network devices.

In a possible manner, the method 300 further includes S330: the unmanned aerial vehicle receives second indication information from the first core network device, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating second area information.

Optionally, determining, by the unmanned aerial vehicle in step S320, to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information includes: the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information and the second indication information.

In a possible manner, the second area information includes one or more of location information, cell information, tracking area information, and notification area information of the access network device. The relevant description about the location information, the cell information, the tracking area information and the notification area information of the access network device may refer to the relevant description about the first area information, and will not be described again. It is easy to understand that the second area information may also be newly introduced or newly defined area information. For example, a defined area is newly defined, and a new area division manner is adopted. For example, the second area information may be newly defined area information, and the corresponding relationship between the second area information and the first communication device (for example, a base station) needs to be defined in advance by the core network/the third party platform, and is configured to the first communication device through an OAM mode.

Illustratively, the unmanned aerial vehicle determining to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information and the second indication information includes:

the first indication information indicates a first area, for example, the first indication information indicates a cell to which the unmanned aerial vehicle is currently connected, the second indication information indicates a second area, for example, the second indication information indicates a blacklist, and the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast the first message according to whether the currently connected cell is in the blacklist or whether the currently connected cell needs to broadcast identification information. The embodiment of the application is not limited, and the unmanned aerial vehicle determines the manner of broadcasting the first message according to one or more of the first indication information, the second indication information and the information in the unmanned aerial vehicle, that is, the method can be realized in the unmanned aerial vehicle, and when the unmanned aerial vehicle determines that the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to broadcast the first message according to one or more of the first indication information, the second indication information and the information in the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast the first message. Wherein the need for the drone to broadcast the first message may include the drone determining that it is currently in the regulatory region.

By way of example, the application provides several possible implementations of the unmanned aerial vehicle after receiving the first indication information,

when the unmanned aerial vehicle performs cell selection/reselection/switching to the service cell, and reads the system information of the service cell,

if the first indication information indicates that the serving cell is a particular area, the UAV broadcasts a first message, such as turning on broadcasting a first identification on the PC5 port.

Or if the first indication information indicates the Zone of the specific area, the UAV firstly determines the position of the UAV, determines whether the current position of the UAV is in the Zone, and if so, the UAV broadcasts a first message.

Or if the first indication information indicates that the serving cell is the cell indicated in the specific area TA/RNA, the UAV broadcasts the first message.

As another example, the first indication information indicates a first area (e.g., a serving cell of the drone), the second indication information from the core network device indicates a second area (e.g., a list of cells that need to broadcast the first message) in which the drone determines to broadcast the first message based on the first area (e.g., the serving cell of the drone is contained within the list of cells that need to broadcast the first message). It will be readily appreciated that, by way of example only, the cell information may be replaced by other area information, for example, the cell information may be replaced by location information, and the drone may determine to broadcast the first message based on the current location contained within the location area where the first message is to be broadcast. That is, the drone receives the second area information from the core network, receives the first area information from the first network device, and if the first area belongs to or does not belong to the second area information received from the core network, the drone turns on broadcasting the first message.

It is to be understood that the above several possible implementations of the unmanned aerial vehicle after receiving the first indication information and/or the second indication information are merely examples, and are not limited to other ways of determining that the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to broadcast the first message according to one or more of the first indication information, the second indication information and information inside the unmanned aerial vehicle.

the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast a first message in a first area according to the first indication information, wherein the first area is a specific area. It is to be understood that a specific area in the embodiments of the present application may be understood as a management area, a specific area, or a limited area, etc.

In a possible manner, the first message further includes: one or more of location information and flight path information. That is, the UAV may broadcast a Remote ID over the PC5 port, and may also broadcast its current location and altitude information, current flight speed, flight route, etc. for supervision.

In one possible approach, the first identification is predefined, preconfigured or dynamically assigned. Optionally, the first identifier is a remote ID. Of course, the first identifier may also be other information capable of identifying the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the embodiment of the application is not limited.

In one possible manner, the unmanned aerial vehicle broadcasting the first message includes: the first message is broadcast on a first interface, which is a PC5 interface. Or, the unmanned aerial vehicle broadcasts the first message through WiFi, and the embodiment of the application is not limited. Illustratively, a PC5 port broadcast specific destination ID (DST ID) is used for a ground supervision system, and information such as Remote ID is carried through upper layer signaling such as PC5-S message; optionally, a new upper protocol layer may be introduced for the UAV, where the protocol layer is used to carry the broadcast information content of the UAV; information such as Remote ID can also be carried in the form of application data and broadcast over the PC5 port. Optionally, the unmanned aerial vehicle broadcasting the first message includes: the first message is encrypted using a public key or a private key. In one possible way, the first indication information is carried in a non-access stratum message.

Alternatively, the UAV may also make decisions based on the monitored cell system information, without being limited to the serving cell, as shown in fig. 2 below. Currently, the UAV is in the service range of cell1 and cell2, the cell serving the UAV is cell1, cell1 is not in a specific area, and cell2 is in a specific area. When the drone reads the system information for cell2 indicating that cell2 is within a particular area, although cell2 is not servicing the UAV at this time, the UAV may turn on the broadcast on PC5 for security purposes. In addition, considering the UAV power consumption problem, a threshold may be preconfigured on the UAV side, where the threshold may be one or more of reference signal received power (Reference signal received power, RSRP) and reference signal received quality (Reference signal received quality, RSRQ), and when the received system information is greater than the threshold, the broadcast on the PC5 port is turned on.

Optionally, the method 300 further includes: and managing the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the first identifier.

For example, the first communication device manages the drone according to the first identification. Or, after receiving the broadcast of the PC5 of the UAV, the ground supervision system may communicate with a UTM or other system, so as to find a controller of the UAV or give an instruction to the UAV through the UTM or other system, where the instruction for the subsequent possible behavior of the UAV is: forcing UAV descent, supervisory systems take over UAVs, issuing new flight paths to UAVs to instruct UAVs to follow-up flights, and the like.

That is, the unmanned aerial vehicle may be managed by one or more of the first communication device, the first core network device, the ground supervision system, or the controller of the UAV, the present application being exemplified by the management of the first communication device.

The first communication device may be configured to send third indication information to the drone, the third indication information including one or more of indication forced landing information, regulatory system regulatory information, and updated flight path information. Correspondingly, the unmanned aerial vehicle receives third indication information from the first communication device.

According to the method, the unmanned aerial vehicle determines information such as broadcast Remote ID according to one or more of the first indication information, information in the unmanned aerial vehicle and information from other network elements or platforms, and the like, so that excessive resources are avoided being consumed while supervision is met.

In the above method embodiment, the sequence number of each process does not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not limit the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application. And it is possible that not all of the operations in the method embodiments described above are to be performed.

It should be understood that in the above-described method embodiments, the drone, the first communication device, and the first core network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments, these steps or operations are only examples, and embodiments of the present application may also include performing other operations or variations of the various operations. In addition, the first, second and various numerical numbers in the various embodiments of the present application are merely for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication device which is used for correspondingly realizing the method of the embodiment. It should be understood that the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments and the descriptions of the method embodiments correspond to each other, and thus, descriptions of details not shown may be referred to the above method embodiments, and for the sake of brevity, some parts of the descriptions are omitted.

As shown in fig. 4, the communication apparatus 400 may include: at least one transceiver unit 410 and at least one processing unit 420. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise at least one storage unit 430, wherein the storage unit 430 may be coupled to the transceiver unit 410 and/or the processing unit 420. For example, the storage unit 430 may be used to store computer-executable instructions and/or other information such as data. The processing unit 420 may read the instructions or data stored in the storage unit 430, and implement a corresponding scheme.

It should be noted that, the transceiver unit 410 in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as a communication unit (module) or a communication interface, and the processing unit 420 may be referred to as a processing module or a processor. The storage unit 430 may also be referred to as a memory module or a memory.

The communications apparatus 400 may correspond to operations or steps of implementing the method embodiment of fig. 3, corresponding to a drone, a first network device, a first core network device, a drone controller, a UTM node, respectively.

In a possible implementation manner, when the communication apparatus 400 implements operations or steps corresponding to the unmanned aerial vehicle in the method embodiment shown in fig. 4, the transceiver unit 410 is configured to receive first indication information from the first communication device;

the processing unit 420 is configured to determine to broadcast a first message according to the first indication information, where the first message includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate identity information of the communication device. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 410 may receive second indication information from the first core network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the second area information. Optionally, the processing unit 420 is configured to determine to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information and/or the second indication information. Optionally, the processing unit 420 is configured to determine, according to the first indication information, to broadcast the first message in a first area, where the first area is a specific area.

In a possible implementation manner, when the communication apparatus 400 implements operations or steps corresponding to the first network device in the method embodiment shown in fig. 3, the processing unit 420 is configured to determine first area information, where the drone in the first area needs to broadcast a first message, where the first message includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate identity information of the drone; the transceiver unit 410 is configured to send first indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first area information or is used to indicate the unmanned aerial vehicle to broadcast the first message. Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is configured to receive configuration information from the first core network device, where the configuration information indicates the second area. The processing unit 420 is configured to determine the first area according to the second area. Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is configured to send third indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, where the third indication information includes one or more of forced landing information, regulatory system regulatory information, and updated flight path information.

In a possible manner, when the communication apparatus 400 implements operations or steps corresponding to the first core network device in the method embodiment shown in fig. 4, the processing unit 420 is configured to determine second area information, where the drone in the second area needs to broadcast a first message, where the first message includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate identity information of the drone; the transceiver unit 410 is configured to send second indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, where the second indication information is used to indicate the second area information.

It is to be understood that each of the above units may be provided separately or may be integrated, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

A "module" or "unit" in various embodiments of the application may refer to an application specific integrated circuit ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other devices that may provide the functionality described above.

Fig. 5 shows a communication device 500 according to a further embodiment of the application. The communication device 500 may respectively implement any function corresponding to each of the unmanned aerial vehicle or unmanned aerial vehicle controller or UTM node or access network device in the above-described method embodiments. The communication device 500 includes: at least one processor 501 (illustrated in fig. 5 to include one processor description) and at least one memory 502 (illustrated in fig. 5 to include one memory description). The memory may store instructions (or may be called programs or codes) and/or data, and the processor 501 is coupled to the memory 502, for example, the processor 501 may call the instructions and/or data in the memory 502, so that the communication device may implement any operation or step corresponding to each of the unmanned aerial vehicle or unmanned aerial vehicle controller or UTM node or access network device in the above embodiments of the method, respectively.

The processors and transceivers described in the various embodiments of the present application may be implemented on integrated circuits (integrated circuit, ICs), analog ICs, radio frequency integrated circuits RFICs, mixed signal ICs, application specific integrated circuits (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), printed circuit boards (printed circuit board, PCB), electronics, and the like. The processor and transceiver may also be fabricated using various 1C process technologies such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (complementary metal oxide semiconductor, CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (positive channel metal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (Bipolar Junction Transistor, BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc. Alternatively, the processor may comprise one or more processors, for example one or more CPUs, which in the case of a single CPU may be a single core CPU or a multi-core CPU. The transceiver is used for transmitting and receiving data and/or signals, and for receiving data and/or signals. The transceiver may include a transmitter for transmitting data and/or signals and a receiver for receiving data and/or signals, which may also be a communication interface. The memory includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (random access memory, RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable memory (erasable programmable read only memory, EPROM), and compact disc read-only memory (compact disc read-only memory, CD-ROM) for storing associated instructions and/or data.

In one possible design, the chips mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may implement the relevant functions implemented by the processor, or may implement the relevant functions implemented by the processor and the transceiver, or may implement the relevant functions implemented by the processor, the transceiver, and the memory. The chip can be a field programmable gate array for realizing related functions, an application specific integrated chip, a system chip, a central processing unit, a digital signal processing circuit, a microcontroller, a programmable controller or other integrated chips.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which when executed implements the communication method in any of the method embodiments described above.

The present application also provides a computer program product which, when executed, implements the communication method of any of the method embodiments described above.

The present application also provides a communication system, which may include a drone, and may further include one or more of a drone controller, a first network device, and a first core network device.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, specific working procedures of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to corresponding procedures in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not repeated herein.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, produces a flow or function in accordance with embodiments of the present application, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that contains an integration of one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid state disk Solid State Drive (SSD)), etc.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art will readily recognize that variations or substitutions are within the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the unmanned aerial vehicle receives first indication information from first communication equipment;

the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast a first message according to the first indication information, wherein the first message comprises a first identifier, and the first identifier is used for indicating the identity information of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: the unmanned aerial vehicle receives second indication information from first core network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating second area information;

the unmanned aerial vehicle determining to broadcast a first message according to the first indication information comprises:

and the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast the first message according to the first indication information and/or the second indication information.

3. The method of claim 2, the first indication information being for indicating first area information.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the first area information comprises one or more of location information, cell information, tracking area information and notification area information of an access network device.

5. The method according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the second area information comprises one or more of location information, cell information, tracking area information and notification area information of an access network device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the drone to broadcast the first message.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the drone determining to broadcast a first message from the first indication information comprises:

and the unmanned aerial vehicle determines to broadcast the first message in a first area according to the first indication information, wherein the first area is a specific area.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first message further comprises: one or more of location information and flight path information.

9. The method according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first identification is predefined, preconfigured or dynamically allocated.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein broadcasting the first message comprises:

the first message is broadcast on a first interface, which is a PC5 interface.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein broadcasting the first message comprises:

and encrypting the first message by adopting a public key or a private key.

12. The method according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first indication information is carried in a system message.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the first identity is a remote identity, remote ID.

14. The method according to claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the method further comprises:

third indication information is received from the first communication device or the second communication device, the third indication information including one or more of information indicating forced landing, regulatory system regulatory information, and updated flight path information.

15. A method of communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that first communication equipment determines first area information, wherein a first message needs to be broadcast by a unmanned aerial vehicle in the first area, the first message comprises a first identifier, and the first identifier is used for indicating identity information of the unmanned aerial vehicle;

The first communication device sends first indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the first area information or used for indicating the unmanned aerial vehicle to broadcast the first message.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first communication device determining the first region information comprises:

the first communication device receives configuration information from a first core network device, the configuration information indicating a second area.

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the first area information comprises one or more of geographical location information, cell information, tracking area information, and notification area information of an access network device.

18. The method of any of claims 15 to 17, wherein the first message further comprises: one or more of location information, altitude information, and flight path information.

19. The method according to any of claims 15 to 18, wherein the first identification is predefined, preconfigured or dynamically allocated.

20. The method according to any of claims 15 to 19, wherein the first message is carried in a system message.

21. The method of any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein the first identity is a remote identity, remote ID.

22. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, further comprising:

and sending third indication information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the third indication information comprises one or more of forced landing information, supervision information of a supervision system and updated flight path information.

23. A communication device, comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 14.

24. A communication device, comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 15 to 22.

25. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions, which when executed cause a computer to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 14 or 15 to 22.

26. A communication device, characterized by comprising means for implementing a control method of a drone according to any one of claims 1-14.

27. A communication device, characterized by comprising means for implementing a control method of a drone according to any one of claims 15-22.

28. A communication system comprising a communication device according to claim 26 and a communication device according to claim 27.