JP2008203097A - Supporting device for aerial photography plan - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a support device for aerial photography plan which supports devising of an aerial photography plan for photographing an object to be photographed from a safe flight course. <P>SOLUTION: Air areas where there is existence of threat, and the like from other parties is predicted are kept, beforehand by changing information on the areas into a database as an air area restrictive information DB; and when a flyable air area is calculated at aerial photographing of the target object, first a photographable air area where the target object can be photographed aerially on a predetermined condition is calculated; and afterwards, air areas which are in this air area restrictive information DB are removed as entry-restricted air areas from photographable air areas, and its result is displayed graphically as a flyable air area in an aerial photographing. Moreover, a flight course is drawn, on the basis of a positional information input of a series of flight passing points, and whether this flight course is located inside the flight air area is verified. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an aerial shooting plan support apparatus, and more particularly to an aerial shooting plan support apparatus that supports the planning of a shooting plan that can be safely shot when shooting a target aerial photograph.

  Conventionally, when an aerial photograph is taken, a photographing plan is prepared by linking with a flight plan in advance. In other words, on the premise that a region to be imaged or a target target is imaged from directly above, a flight course is set so as to cover these regions or objects, and a specific flight plan is created. Then, shooting points and shooting intervals in the flight course are set based on conditions such as topography and shooting equipment, and reflected in the shooting plan.

  In creating a series of these plans, basically, a flight course is designated in advance and it is determined whether or not the subject can be photographed. That is, first, for example, a flight plan is drawn up on a map paper, and a shooting plan is drawn up so that the shooting target region or target target can be shot most efficiently under the flight plan. Therefore, it is necessary to have skill when drafting the entire plan, and it is necessary to perform a thorough check in advance so as not to generate a shooting missing area. Therefore, an apparatus for supporting the creation of the plan is disclosed (for example, , Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for simulating a shooting plan in which the ratio of a shooting missing area is less than or equal to a desired value by resetting a shooting start position on the flight course that has been set. Has been. Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus for calculating a shooting course so as to satisfy specified side lap values and overlap values in consideration of terrain and aircraft shake.
JP 2001-141452 (6th page, FIG. 1) JP 2006-145357 A (page 28, FIG. 5)

  By the way, when aerial shooting is performed on an object, it is desirable that the object be as close to the object as possible and photographed immediately above or near the object. However, it is not always possible to set a flight course directly above or in the vicinity of a subject to be photographed due to air route settings, topography, the presence of obstacles, and the like. Further, even when approaching the target, for example, when it is determined that the other party has a defense means such as a warning radar or a ground-to-air guided bullet for the photographing target, the defense means possessed by the other party It must be an aerial photography plan while maintaining a distance that can avoid the threat based on the latest situation.

  In addition, in order to find a better shooting point for shooting the target target, instead of deciding the shooting point first and then deciding the shooting point, set the optimal flight course for shooting in the airspace where you can fly safely It was hoped that it would be possible to support when planning.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an aerial shooting plan support apparatus capable of supporting the planning of an aerial shooting plan in which a shooting target can be shot from a safe flight course. And

  In order to achieve the above object, an aerial shooting plan support apparatus according to the present invention has aerial space restriction information in which entry restrictions on a predetermined airspace are set, and aerial shooting that supports the planning of a shooting plan when shooting aerial photographs. A planning support device, which stores in advance flight specifications for each aircraft, imaging specifications for each imaging equipment, map information including altitude data, and flight information including air route information, and database means for managing these, sky Operation input means for receiving an aerial shooting condition input by an operator including the operation for specifying the aircraft, the imaging equipment, and the aerial shooting target used for shooting, and the database means based on the aerial shooting conditions from the operation input means Aerial imaging condition processing means for calculating the aerial imageable airspace of the aerial object, a flying airspace calculating means for calculating a flightable airspace within the imageable airspace based on the airspace restriction information, and Characterized by comprising a display means for displaying the row can airspace in two or three dimensions.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the aerial photography plan assistance apparatus which can support the planning of the aerial photography plan which can image | photograph the imaging | photography object from a safe flight course can be obtained.

  The best mode for carrying out the aerial shooting plan support apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an aerial shooting plan support apparatus according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the aerial shooting plan support apparatus includes an operation unit 11, an aerial shooting condition processing unit 12, a flying air space calculation unit 13, a display processing unit 14, a display 15, a communication unit 16, and a database management unit. 17. The database managed by the database management unit 17 includes an aircraft specification DB 18, an imaging equipment specification DB 19, a map information DB 20, a flight information DB 21, and an airspace restriction information DB 22.

  The operation unit 11 accepts various operations by an operator including an aerial shooting condition input operation and a flight pass point position information input operation. The input aerial conditions include the aircraft and equipment used for aerial photography, information on the target position and area for aerial photography, as well as the aerial image to be acquired, such as image resolution and overlap rate. A parameter indicating a condition is included and sent to the aerial shooting condition processing unit 12. Further, the position information of the flight passage point is expressed as, for example, three-dimensional position information combining latitude / longitude and altitude information, and is sent to the flight air space calculation unit 13 for drawing a flight course.

  The aerial shooting condition processing unit 12 searches and refers to the aircraft specification DB 18, the imaging equipment specification DB 19, the map information DB 20, and the flight information DB 21 managed by the database management unit 17 based on the aerial shooting conditions from the operation unit 11. Calculate the target available airspace for aerial photography. The aircraft specification DB 18 stores in advance a database of aircraft performance that can be used for aerial photography, and flight performance specifications such as the cruising distance, flight speed, and flightable altitude for each model. The photographic equipment specification DB 19 holds various photographic equipment names that can also be used for aerial photography, and specifications such as photographic angle range, resolution, and movable range for each equipment.

  The map information DB 20 is a topographic map including elevation information about a predetermined area, and is stored in a database as a numerical map, for example. The flight information DB 21 holds information on airfields, air security facilities, control / instrument approach methods, etc., in addition to air route information such as air route magazines and air route magazines.

  The flying airspace calculation unit 13 calculates an airspace that is not restricted by the airspace restriction information DB 22 as a flightable airspace within the target imageable airspace calculated by the aerial shooting condition processing unit 12. The airspace restriction information DB 22 holds airspace information that predicts the presence of threats from the opponent, such as the air defense information of the opponent, such as coverage information of the opponent's warning radar and range coverage information of surface-to-air guided bullets. The The flightable airspace is an airspace that excludes predicted airspace such as the presence of these threats in the imageable airspace, and the flight airspace calculation unit 13 calculates the flightable airspace. Further, a flight course is drawn based on the position information of the plurality of flight passage points from the operation unit 11, and it is verified whether or not the drawn flight course is within this flightable airspace.

  The display processing unit 14 creates display data of various display screens including the two-dimensional and three-dimensional displays of the flightable airspace and the flight course calculated by the flight airspace calculation unit 13. The display unit 15 receives display data of various display screens created by the display processing unit 14 and displays it on the screen. The communication unit 16 is an interface for connecting to other systems and the like through a communication line, and exchanges various data including update data of the airspace restriction information DB 22 with other systems and the like via this interface. The database management unit 17 manages registration, reference, and update of each of the above-described aircraft specification DB 18, imaging equipment specification DB 19, map information DB 20, flight information DB 21, and airspace restriction information DB 22.

  The aerial shooting plan support apparatus having the above-described configuration can be implemented on a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. An example of the configuration of a computer system for realizing such an aerial photography plan support apparatus is illustrated in FIG. This computer system includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, an input device 203, a display device 204, an HDD 205, an external storage device 206, and a communication device 207.

  The CPU 201 controls the entire computer system and executes various processes according to programs for realizing various functions developed in the memory 202. The input device 203 includes a man-machine interface such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a data media drive such as FD and CD for data transmission and reception, and an input operation for the above-described aerial shooting conditions and position information of the flight passage point. In addition to accepting various operations performed by the operator, it accepts electronic data in the database.

  The display device 204 includes, for example, a CRT display or an LCD display, and performs various types of display including character display according to an input operation by an operator, and two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphic displays such as the calculated flightable airspace and flight course. The HDD 205 stores various programs for realizing various functions, and these programs are transferred to the memory 202 and executed when a function execution request is made. The external storage device 206 is a large-capacity storage device, and stores various data including the above-described aircraft specification DB 18, imaging equipment specification DB 19, map information DB 20, flight information DB 21, and airspace restriction information DB 22. The communication device 207 includes a communication interface such as a modem or a LAN adapter, for example, and is connected to a communication line to perform data communication with other devices.

  Next, the operation of the aerial shooting plan support apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the flowchart of FIG. 3, and the explanatory diagram of FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the aerial shooting plan support apparatus according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 3, first, the aircraft specification DB 18, the photographing equipment specification DB 19, the map information DB 20, and the flight information DB 21 are set in advance and updated to the latest contents. Data setting and updating are performed under the management of the database management unit 17. The air space restriction information DB 22 is also updated to the latest contents based on data and the like sent via the communication unit 16 under the management of the database management unit 17 (ST301).

  Next, when an aerial shooting condition is input by an operator or the like, the operation unit 11 receives this. The aerial shooting conditions include the aircraft model used for aerial shooting, the name of the photographing equipment, the position information of the aerial shooting target, the parameter conditions of the aerial shooting image to be acquired, and the like. For the aerial shooting target, either pinpoint designation or area designation may be used, and it is also possible to designate and input a plurality of objects at the same time. The input aerial shooting condition is input to the operation unit 11 and then sent to the aerial shooting condition processing unit 12 (ST302).

  The aerial shooting condition processing unit 12 receives the aerial shooting conditions from the operation unit 11 and calculates the target target shooting airspace while referring to each database under the management of the database management unit 17. That is, the aircraft specifications DB 18 is searched for aircraft specifications used for aerial photography, and the imaging equipment specifications DB 19 is searched and referenced for camera equipment specifications. Etc. and the map information DB 20 and the flight information DB 21 are searched and referenced based on the position information of the aerial object to identify the topography and the air route around the aerial object, and the specified parameter conditions are satisfied An air space in which an aerial image to be acquired can be acquired is calculated as a shootable air space. In addition, when a plurality of objects are designated, an air space in which these aerial images can be acquired simultaneously can be set as an imageable air region. Then, the calculated shootable airspace is sent to the flying airspace calculator 13 (ST303).

  An aerial image satisfying the aerial shooting condition can be acquired from within the shootable airspace calculated by the aerial shooting condition processing unit 12. However, in order to perform aerial photography more safely, it is necessary to consider the presence of threats from the other party during aerial photography. The airspace where the threat from the other party is predicted is retained in the airspace restriction information DB 22 while being updated to the latest contents.

  The flying air space calculation unit 13 treats the air space indicated in the air space restriction information DB 22 as an air space provided with an entry restriction, and refers to the air space restriction information DB 22, and the imageable air space calculated by the aerial shooting condition processing unit 12. The airspace excluding the airspace indicated in the airspace restriction information DB 22 is calculated from the inside. This is defined as a flightable airspace, and an airspace that can fly during aerial photography. The calculation result is sent to the display processing unit 14, for example, display data for three-dimensional graphical display is generated, and then sent to the display unit 15 for display (ST304).

  Further, when a series of positional information such as waypoints and flight passing points indicating a flight course is input from the operator after the flightable airspace is displayed, the input information is input by the operation unit 11. After the processing, it is sent to the flying air space calculation unit 13 (ST305). The flying air space calculation unit 13 draws a flight course based on the series of position information. Then, it is verified whether or not the flight course is within the calculated flightable airspace, and the result is displayed on the display unit 15 in a graphical manner with the flight course superimposed on the flightable airspace display (ST306).

  An example of the display screen of the flightable airspace and the flight course is simply modeled and shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 4, the target target, the flightable airspace, the flight course, and the like are graphically displayed in a three-dimensional manner with the terrain around the target target for aerial photography as the background. Furthermore, various data held in the apparatus can be simultaneously superimposed and displayed, such as the calculated shootable airspace and the airspace provided with entry restrictions based on the airspace restriction information DB22.

  Based on these displays, the operator repeats verification of various flight courses including, for example, when an unscheduled avoidance action is required (ST307). After the verification is completed (Y in ST307), the flight course whose verification has been completed is held in the apparatus in preparation for subsequent processing (ST308). Then, the above-described operation is repeated until the end of the device operation is instructed.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the airspace in which the presence of a threat from the other party is predicted is stored as an airspace restriction information database, and the flightable airspace is calculated when shooting the target target. First, after calculating the shootable airspace where the target target can be aerial photographed under a predetermined condition, the airspace indicated in this airspace restriction information DB is excluded from the shootable airspace as an airspace with entry restrictions. is doing. That is, a safer air area in which the presence of a threat from the other party is difficult to be predicted within the imageable air area is calculated, and this is displayed as a flightable air area at the time of aerial photography. As a result, it is possible to support the creation of an aerial photography plan that can be taken from a flight course in a safe airspace.

  Further, a flight course is drawn based on a series of position information input of flight passing points, and it is verified whether or not this flight course is in the above-described flight airspace. As a result, it is possible to set an optimal flight course for aerial photography and to ensure a safe aerial photography plan. In addition, for example, a flight course for unscheduled avoidance behavior can be verified, and the entire planning of the flight course can be made easier.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment.

The block diagram which shows one Example of the aerial photography plan assistance apparatus which concerns on this invention. The block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the computer system for implement | achieving the aerial photography plan assistance apparatus which concerns on this invention. The flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the aerial photography plan assistance apparatus which concerns on this invention. The figure which models and shows an example of a display screen.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Operation part 12 Aerial imaging condition process part 13 Flight space calculation part 14 Display process part 15 Display 16 Communication part 17 Database management part 18 Aircraft specification DB
19 Camera Equipment Specifications DB
20 Map information DB
21 Flight information DB
22 Airspace restriction information DB

Claims (5)

An aerial shooting plan support apparatus that has airspace restriction information that sets entry restrictions on a predetermined airspace, and supports the planning of a shooting plan when shooting an aerial photograph,
Database means for storing flight information including flight specifications for each aircraft, shooting specifications for each photographic equipment, map information including altitude data, and flight information including air route information in advance,
Operation input means for receiving input of aerial shooting conditions by the operator including the aircraft, the photographing equipment, and the aerial shooting target specifying operation used for aerial shooting;
Aerial shooting condition processing means for calculating a shootable airspace of the aerial shooting object with reference to the database means based on the aerial shooting conditions from the operation input means;
A flying air space calculating means for calculating a flightable air space in the air space that can be photographed based on the air space restriction information;
An aerial shooting plan support apparatus comprising display means for displaying the flightable airspace in two dimensions or three dimensions.   The aerial shooting plan support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the entry restriction for the predetermined airspace is set based on the air defense information of the other party.   The shootable air space calculated by the aerial shooting condition processing means is an air space where a plurality of aerial shooting targets are included in the aerial shooting conditions, and the sky shooting target can be simultaneously shot. The aerial shooting plan support apparatus according to claim 2.   The flight air space calculation means receives position information of a plurality of continuous flight passage points, and verifies whether or not a flight course drawn by these is included in the calculated flightable air space. The aerial shooting plan support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit, wherein the database unit also manages the airspace restriction information and receives and updates update data of the airspace restriction information via the communication unit. The aerial shooting plan support apparatus according to claim 1.

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