JP2016172498A - Flying robot control system and flying robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent obstruction to users in a monitoring area due to action and noise of a flying robot.SOLUTION: Information on cyclic points of circulating cyclic numbers is read (ST1), and information on circulation height range between the read cyclic points is read (ST2), Next, a section up to the first point is selected (ST3), the manned/unmanned state of an area corresponding to the selected section is determined (ST4), circulation height is determined on the basis of the manned/unmanned state from within the circulation height range of the selected section (ST5), and the determined circulation height is stored in a height table (ST6). Processing of ST4 to ST6 is executed for a section up to all points corresponding to the cyclic number.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a flying robot that moves on a patrol route or moves to an arbitrarily designated moving target position and collects security information, and a flying robot control system that controls the flight of the flying robot.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a mobile robot that includes various security sensors and circulates a predetermined route to collect security information. For example, in Patent Document 1 below, when a control device that communicates between a mobile robot and a remote monitoring center determines that the security status of the security device is in security, it transmits a facility security signal to the mobile robot. Thus, it has been proposed to move the mobile robot to a predetermined image monitoring position and to transmit the captured image sent from the image monitoring position to the monitoring center. That is, Patent Document 1 describes a mobile robot that collects security information by moving a patrol route set in advance according to the patrol timing, and moves to a specific image monitoring position when the monitoring room becomes unattended. Control is performed to suppress movement even at the timing.

Japanese Patent No. 4934315

  In Patent Document 1 described above, in consideration of the safety of autonomous traveling, the behavior of patrol by the mobile robot differs between when the monitoring room for emergency stop of the mobile robot from a remote location is manned and when it is unmanned. .

  However, the need for local security in the surveillance area differs from manned and unmanned in remote surveillance rooms. Considering the security of the entire monitoring area, it is preferable that the mobile robot can always make patrols. In this case, the conditions to be considered vary depending on the possibility that a user permitted to exist in the monitoring area, such as a staff member or a resident of a facility serving as the monitoring area, may perform an activity in the monitoring area. For example, when the user is manned to perform activities within the monitoring area, the risk of contact between the mobile robot and the user increases. Also, in the case of a flying robot that moves to the target position by flying means, the accuracy of acquired information such as captured images increases when flying at a low altitude, but because the propeller driving sound and wind noise of the flying robot are loud, the surroundings Noise may be a problem.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a flying robot control system and a flying robot that can reduce the disturbance of the user in the monitoring area due to the behavior and noise of the flying robot. It is what.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a flying robot control system according to the present invention includes a flying means and controls a flying robot that moves to a preset monitoring position in a monitoring area and collects security information. A robot control system,
A storage unit for storing information on the monitoring position, one or more flight paths for moving to the monitoring position, a flight altitude range permitted in the flight path, and a flight altitude condition corresponding to manned and unmanned;
A manned and unattended determination unit for determining whether or not a user is present in the monitoring area;
An altitude determination unit that determines a flight altitude from the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight path to the monitoring position and the manned unmanned determination when moving to the monitoring position;
A flight control unit that drives the flying means to move at a flight altitude determined by the altitude determining unit;
It is provided with.

  In the flying robot control system according to the present invention, the flight altitude condition corresponding to the manned unmanned condition may be set as a higher altitude at least when manned than when unmanned.

  Further, in the flying robot control system according to the present invention, the manned unmanned determination unit determines whether or not the security device is set in a security set mode for detecting entry into the monitoring area, and enters the security set mode. When it is determined that it is set, the monitoring area may be determined to be unattended.

  In the flying robot control system according to the present invention, when the altitude determination unit moves to a movement target position arbitrarily designated in the monitoring area, the movement altitude is set higher as the movement target position is farther from the reference position. May be.

Furthermore, the flying robot according to the present invention is a flying robot that includes a flying unit, moves to a monitoring position set in advance in a monitoring area, and collects security information.
A storage unit for storing information on the monitoring position, one or more flight paths for moving to the monitoring position, a flight altitude range permitted in the flight path, and a flight altitude condition corresponding to manned and unmanned;
A manned and unattended determination unit for determining whether or not a user is present in the monitoring area;
An altitude determination unit that determines a flight altitude from the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight path to the monitoring position and the manned unmanned determination when moving to the monitoring position;
A flight control unit that drives the flying means to move at a flight altitude determined by the altitude determining unit;
It is provided with.

  According to the flying robot control system of the present invention, the storage unit includes information on the monitoring position, one or more flight paths for moving to the monitoring position, a flight altitude range permitted in the flight path, and a flight altitude corresponding to manned and unmanned. Memorize the conditions. The manned / unmanned determination unit performs manned / unmanned determination as to whether or not a user exists in the monitoring area. When the altitude determining unit moves to the monitoring position, the altitude determining unit determines the flight altitude from the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight path to the monitoring position and the flight altitude condition corresponding to the result of the unmanned determination. The flight control unit drives the flying means to move at the flight altitude determined by the altitude determining unit. With this configuration, it is possible to determine the flying altitude of the flying robot when moving to the monitoring position depending on whether or not a user is present in the monitoring area, and to move the flying robot at the determined flying altitude. In addition, since the flying robot is circulated by maneuvering and unattended in the monitoring area with different flight altitudes between the monitoring positions, it is possible to prevent the monitoring area from being disturbed by the behavior of the flying robot and noise. it can.

  Further, according to the flying robot control system of the present invention, the flight altitude condition corresponding to manned and unmanned is set as a higher altitude at least when manned than when unmanned. With this configuration, when there is a person in the monitoring area, the flight altitude is set at a higher altitude than when there is no person in the monitoring area, so the flying robot contacts the person when there is a person in the monitoring area. The flying robot can be moved with a reduced risk.

  Further, according to the flying robot control system of the present invention, the manned / unmanned determination unit determines whether or not the security device is set in the security set mode for detecting entry into the monitoring area, and is set in the security set mode. When it is determined that the monitoring area is unattended, the monitoring area is determined to be unattended. With this configuration, it is possible to determine that the monitoring area is unmanned when the security device in the monitoring area is set to the security set mode. Further, if the security device in the monitoring area is in the security release mode, it can be determined that the user permitted to exist in the monitoring area exists in the monitoring area and the monitoring area is manned.

  Further, according to the flying robot control system of the present invention, the altitude determining unit starts from the reference position (for example, the center position of the robot port where the flying robot waits) when moving to the movement target position arbitrarily designated in the monitoring area. The higher the moving altitude, the higher the moving altitude. With this configuration, the flying robot is set to have a high moving altitude when the moving target position is far from the reference position. Therefore, when the moving target position is far from the reference position, the flying robot moves to the moving target position by increasing the moving speed. Can be made.

  Further, according to the flying robot of the present invention, the storage unit includes the monitoring position information, one or more flight paths for moving to the monitoring position, a flight altitude range permitted in the flight path, and a flight altitude corresponding to manned and unmanned. Memorize the conditions. The manned / unmanned determination unit performs manned / unmanned determination as to whether or not a user exists in the monitoring area. When the altitude determining unit moves to the monitoring position, the altitude determining unit determines the flight altitude from the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight path to the monitoring position and the flight altitude condition corresponding to the result of the unmanned determination. The flight control unit drives the flying means to move at the flight altitude determined by the altitude determining unit. With this configuration, the flying robot can determine the flight altitude when moving to the monitoring position according to whether or not the user exists in the monitoring area based on its own judgment, and can move at the determined flight altitude. . And, since the flying robot circulates with the manned / unmanned users of the monitoring area changing the flight altitudes between the monitoring positions, it is possible to prevent the monitoring area from being disturbed by the behavior of the flying robot and noise. it can.

It is an image figure showing the outline of the flying robot control system concerning the present invention, and is a figure showing an example of the patrol route which a flying robot patrols. It is a mimetic diagram showing the whole flight robot control system composition concerning the present invention. It is a block block diagram of the flying robot in the flying robot control system which concerns on this invention. It is a block block diagram of the flight control apparatus in the flying robot control system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart of the altitude setting process in the flying robot control system according to the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

[Outline of the present invention]
The present invention controls a flying robot that moves a patrol route (flight route) of a preset patrol schedule, moves to an arbitrarily designated moving target position, and collects security information, and controls the flight of the flying robot. The present invention relates to a flying robot control system. The flying robot in this flying robot control system, as a traveling flight for confirming the safety of the monitoring area in normal times, moves at the important monitoring position and stops for a certain time at the important monitoring position (for example, the photographing unit). Shooting). The important monitoring position is an example of the monitoring position in the present invention. In performing this monitoring operation, the flight altitude between important monitoring positions (including between the position where the flying robot takes off and landing and the first and last important monitoring positions) according to manned and unmanned users in the monitoring area is determined. The altitude setting process to be set is executed, and the flying robot is patrolled by varying the flight altitude between the important monitoring positions by manned / unmanned users. As a result, a flying robot control system and a flying robot that prevent the user in the monitoring area from being disturbed by the behavior and noise of the flying robot are realized.

[Configuration of flying robot control system]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the flying robot control system 1 of the present embodiment is constructed by a roboport 2, a flying robot 3, a flight control device 4, and a monitoring center 5. In FIG. 1, the flying robot 3 in this flying robot control system is, for example, robot port 2 (reference position P0) → important monitoring position P1 → important monitoring position P2 → important monitoring position P3 → important monitoring position P4 → important monitoring position P5 → roboport. 2 When performing the tour of the tour number 1 in which the tour route is determined in the order of the reference position P0, after taking off from the robot port 2, the tour travels in the order of P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, and P1 Stop at P5 for a certain period of time, collect security information (for example, a photographed image), and return to Roboport 2. Note that the flying robot 3 may collect security information while moving. The security information collected by the flying robot 3 is transmitted to the monitoring center 5 via the flight control device 4. The monitoring center 5 displays security information transmitted from the flying robot 3 via the flight control device 4 on a monitor, and performs safety confirmation on the patrol route in the monitoring area E and whether there is an abnormality in the important monitoring position. Hereinafter, the structure of each part which builds the flying robot control system 1 is demonstrated.

  In this example, the important monitoring position is an important position in the monitoring area E that is monitored as a whole, and is a position where the flying robot 3 always stops on the patrol route (flight route). The user is a person who is permitted to exist in the monitoring area E, and excludes an intruder from outside who is not permitted to exist in the monitoring area E.

[Roboport configuration]
The roboport 2 is a standby place for the flying robot 3, and has equipment for taking off and landing the flying robot 3 in response to an instruction from the flight control device 4. Further, the roboport 2 includes a mechanism for accommodating the flying robot 3 in the port when the flying robot 3 is landed. When the flying robot 3 is accommodated in the port, the robot port 2 is brought into contact or non-contact with the flying robot 3. Has a function of supplying power.

[Configuration of flying robot]
The flying robot 3 stands by at the roboport 2 (reference position P0) in a normal state where it has not received a flight instruction from the flight control device 4, and the time of the patrol schedule set in advance by the flight instruction from the flight control device 4 Then, the vehicle flies on a patrol route (flight route) or flies toward a movement target position designated by an instruction from the monitoring center 5.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the flying robot 3 includes a rotor 11, a rotor driving unit 12, a flight state detecting unit 13, a position information receiving unit 14, an altitude sensor 15, a photographing unit 16, an illumination 17, an antenna 18, and a distance measuring sensor 19. , Illuminance sensor 20, storage unit 21, power supply 22, and robot control unit 23.

  The rotor 11 is composed of, for example, four rotating bodies, and is driven by the rotor driving unit 12 so as to fly the body of the flying robot 3 such as ascending, descending, changing direction, and moving forward.

  The rotor drive unit 12 drives each rotating body of the rotor 11 under the control of a rotor control unit 33b described later in order to fly the aircraft of the flying robot 3 such as ascending, descending, changing direction, and moving forward.

  The flight state detection unit 13 detects the flight state of the flying robot 3. For example, the flight state detection unit 13 detects various directions such as an orientation sensor that detects the orientation of the flying robot 3, an acceleration sensor that detects the attitude and acceleration of the flying robot 3, and a gyro sensor. Consists of sensors. The detection results of these various sensors are input to the attitude control means 33 described later as flight state information of the flying robot 3.

  The position information receiving unit 14 detects the current position of the flying robot 3 by using a satellite positioning system such as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). The current position of the flying robot 3 detected by the position information receiving unit 14 is input as position information (GNSS signal) of the flying robot 3 to the self-position positioning means 33a described later.

  The altitude sensor 15 measures the current altitude of the flying robot 3 based on the barometric pressure value of the barometric sensor or a laser light projected and received vertically from the body of the flying robot 3 under the control of the robot controller 23. The current altitude of the flying robot 3 measured by the altitude sensor 15 is input to the self-position positioning means 33a described later as altitude information.

  The imaging unit 16 is configured with, for example, a camera using an image sensor, and captures the surroundings of the flying robot 3 (for example, forward and downward) with a color image. The photographing unit 16 controls photographing permission (prohibition cancellation) / prohibition and photographing angle by photographing control means 34 described later. An image photographed by the photographing unit 16 is input to a photographing control unit 34 described later.

  The illumination 17 is composed of an illumination device such as an LED illumination that assists photographing by the photographing unit 16, and is turned on / off by illumination control means 35 described later. The illumination 17 is turned on when the surroundings of the flying robot 3 in flight are dark and below the set illuminance under the condition that the flying robot 3 is flying below the set altitude. On the other hand, lighting of the illumination 17 is prohibited under the condition that the flying robot 3 is flying above the set altitude.

  The antenna 18 is provided in the robot main body, and performs wireless communication with the flight control device 4 by low power wireless, WiFi communication, or the like.

  The ranging sensor 19 projects and receives electromagnetic waves, visible light, sound waves, etc. in the horizontal direction or vertically downward of the aircraft body of the flying robot 3 under the control of the robot controller 23 and measures the distance between the aircraft body of the flying robot 3 and its surroundings. To do. As the distance measuring sensor 19, for example, a laser sensor, a microwave sensor, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like can be used. The measurement result by the distance measuring sensor 19 is input to the obstacle detection means 32 described later as the surrounding information of the flying robot 3.

  The illuminance sensor 20 is provided as necessary, and detects the brightness around the flying robot 3. The detection result of the illuminance sensor 20 is input to the illumination control means 35 described later as illuminance information.

  The storage unit 21 sequentially stores images captured by the imaging unit 16 when the flying robot 3 is flying.

  The power source 22 is composed of a rechargeable battery such as a lithium polymer battery, for example, and supplies necessary power to each part of the flying robot 3.

  The robot controller 23 performs overall control of the entire flying robot 3, and as shown in FIG. 3, the communication control means 31, the obstacle detection means 32, the attitude control means 33, the imaging control means 34, and the illumination control means. 35.

  The communication control means 31 wirelessly communicates with the flight control device 4 via the antenna 18, and various information (instructions for a traveling route from the flight control device 4 to the flying robot 3, instructions for a target position and speed, take-off instructions, feedback) Instructions, flight state information, position information, altitude information, etc. from the flying robot 3 to the flight control device 4 are transmitted and received. Moreover, the communication control means 31 transmits the live image which the imaging | photography part 16 image | photographed to the flight control apparatus 4 by radio | wireless communication.

  The obstacle detection means 32 determines the presence or absence of an obstacle around the flying robot 3 based on the surrounding information of the flying robot 3 detected by the distance measuring sensor 19.

  The attitude control means 33 controls the attitude of the flying robot 3 in flight based on various detection signals from the flight state detector 13, position information from the position information receiver 14, and altitude information from the altitude sensor 15. Yes, it includes self-positioning means 33a and rotor control means 33b.

  The self-positioning means 33a calculates the self-position (latitude, longitude, altitude) using the position information (GNSS signal) received by the position information receiving unit 14 and the altitude information measured by the altitude sensor 15.

  When the rotor control means 33b receives a flight instruction from the flight control device 4, the rotor control means 33b moves while avoiding obstacles around the flight altitude of the altitude table stored in the storage unit 42 described later corresponding to the current flight path. As described above, the altitude and speed of the flying robot 3 are controlled by controlling the rotor drive unit 12.

  The imaging control unit 34 performs processing such as the start and end of imaging of the imaging unit 16, acquisition of an image captured by the imaging unit 16, and transmission of a live image from the communication control unit 31 to the flight control device 4. Further, the photographing control means 34 controls photographing permission (prohibition cancellation) / prohibition and photographing angle in accordance with an instruction from the flight control device 4.

  The illumination control means 35 transmits the brightness information of the captured image or the illuminance information of the illuminance sensor 20 provided as necessary to the flight control device 4, and in accordance with the instruction from the flight control device 4 accompanying this transmission, Control on / off.

  The illumination control unit 35 determines whether or not the illuminance around the flying robot 3 is less than or equal to the set illuminance from the luminance information of the captured image or the illuminance information of the illuminance sensor 20 and transmits the determination result to the flight control device 4. You can also

[Configuration of flight control device]
The flight control device 4 is installed, for example, at a predetermined location in the monitoring area or in the vicinity of the monitoring area. The flight control device 4 includes a monitoring device function that performs wireless communication with the flying robot 3 and gives various control instructions to the flying robot 3 based on various information transmitted from the flying robot 3. When the flight control device 4 receives various instructions from the monitoring console 5a of the monitoring center 5 such as a flight instruction of the flying robot 3 to an arbitrarily designated movement target position and a shooting instruction by the flying robot 3, the flying robot 4 Various control instructions are given.

  The flight control device 4 controls the flight of the flying robot 3, and includes a communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, and a control unit 43 as shown in FIG.

  The communication unit 41 performs wireless communication such as low-power radio and WiFi communication with the flying robot 3 and receives information such as position (latitude, longitude, altitude) and speed as flight state information from the flying robot 3. Then, various control signals corresponding to the received information are transmitted to the flying robot 3. In addition, when the communication unit 41 receives a flight instruction of the flying robot 3 from the monitoring table 5 a of the monitoring center 5, the communication unit 41 transmits various control signals according to the flight instruction to the flying robot 3. Further, the communication unit 41 transmits the image captured by the imaging unit 16 of the flying robot 3 to the monitoring center 5 via a virtual dedicated network (VPN) constructed on a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet.

  The storage unit 42 is composed of, for example, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and includes position information of the robot port 2 serving as a reference position, flight path (circulation path), important monitoring position information (position coordinate information), flight altitude range (cyclic altitude range), It stores flight altitude conditions and patrol schedules. The flight path is at least one or more paths for moving to an important monitoring position. The important monitoring position information includes a patrol number numbered for each flight route, position information of a plurality of important monitoring positions corresponding to the patrol number (for example, latitude and longitude on the flight area map), and between each important monitoring position. This is movement section information for identifying a movement section (including movement section information between the robot port 2 where the flying robot 3 takes off and landing and the first and last important monitoring positions). The flight altitude range is an altitude range (for example, a range of 3 to 7 m from the ground surface) in which flight is allowed for each moving section of the flight path. The flight altitude condition is a condition of a flight altitude corresponding to manned or unmanned, and is set as a higher altitude at least when manned than when unmanned. The traveling schedule is a schedule indicating which important monitoring positions in the monitoring area E are to be visited in what order, and is set in advance for each monitoring area E by operation of the monitoring console 5a of the monitoring center 5.

  In addition, the storage unit 42 communicates with the flying robot 3, a flying area map that represents the area in which the flying robot 3 flies in three dimensions of latitude, longitude, and altitude, monitoring area information that is various information regarding the monitoring area E, and the like. In addition to these, various parameters for controlling the flight of the flying robot 3 and various programs for realizing the functions of the flight control device 4 are stored.

  The storage unit 42 includes a plurality of areas E1 to E5 in the monitoring area E and a traveling point as information for determining whether the area corresponding to the moving section selected by the manned / unmanned judging means 43a described later is present. Information in which the (important monitoring positions P1 to P5) or the movement sections M1 to M6 are associated and tabulated is stored in advance. Specifically, for example, in the circulation route of the circulation number 1 in FIG. 1, a plurality of areas E1 to E5 in the monitoring area E and the important monitoring positions P1 to P5 or the movement sections M1 to M6 that are the circulation points are associated with each other. The converted information is stored in the storage unit 42. In addition, the information is stored in the storage unit 42 as information on areas E1 to E5 existing within the set distance range from the traveling points (important monitoring positions P1 to P5) or the moving sections M1 to M6 on the map (flight region map). You can also. Specifically, for example, in the circulation route of the circulation number 1 in FIG. 1, information on the areas E1 to E5 existing within the set distance range from the important monitoring positions P1 to P5 or the movement sections M1 to M6 that are the circulation points on the map. The data is stored in the storage unit 42.

  The control unit 43 reads the software module from the storage unit 42, performs each process by a CPU or the like, and performs overall control of each unit. The manned / unmanned determination unit 43a, the altitude determination unit 43b, the altitude table generation unit 43c, the flight A control unit 43d, an imaging control unit 43e, and a state confirmation unit 43f are provided.

  The manned / unmanned determination means 43a determines whether the user exists in the target area in the monitoring area E or not. Specifically, in the areas E1 to E5 of the monitoring area E shown in FIG. 1, in order to detect an intruder into the monitoring area E from the outside, for example, an infrared sensor, a laser sensor, a microwave sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, A security device (not shown) configured with various detection sensors such as an image sensor is arranged. When the manned unmanned determination means 43a determines whether or not the security device is set in the security set mode for detecting intrusion into the target area (E1 to E5), and determines that the security set mode is set. It is determined that the target areas (E1 to E5) of the monitoring area E are unmanned.

  Here, the security set mode refers to detection when various detection sensors as a security device detect an intruding object (for example, a suspicious person or a suspicious vehicle) entering the target area (E1 to E5) of the monitoring area E. In this mode, an abnormality is determined by an intruding object in the target areas (E1 to E5) of the monitoring area E in accordance with the detection signal of the sensor. On the other hand, the security release mode is a mode in which abnormality determination based on an intruding object is not performed even when a detection signal is input from a detection sensor as a security device.

  Note that the security device is not limited to a detection sensor, and any device that can grasp the presence / absence of intrusion for each of the areas E1 to E5 of the monitoring area E, for example, manages an entry / exit history for each of the areas E1 to E of the monitoring area E. It can also be configured with an entrance / exit management device. In addition, the manned / unattended determination unit 43a is not limited to this, and may be any device as long as it can determine whether a user is present in the target area. For example, it may be determined whether it is manned or unmanned based on whether or not this can be detected by means for receiving the user's RF-ID.

  When the altitude determination means 43b moves to the important monitoring positions P1 to P5, the altitude determining means 43b has a flight altitude range (cyclic altitude range) corresponding to the flight route (movement section M1 to M6) to the important monitoring positions P1 to P5, and manned unmanned. The flight altitude is determined according to the flight altitude condition corresponding to the determination result of the determination means 43a. For example, when it is determined that it is manned, the upper limit value of the flight altitude range or an altitude in the vicinity thereof is determined as the flight altitude, and when it is determined that it is unmanned, the lower limit value of the flight altitude range or an altitude in the vicinity thereof is determined as the flight altitude. Note that how the flight altitude is set from the flight altitude range by manned or unmanned people is stored in advance as a flight altitude condition.

  The altitude table generating unit 43c stores the flight altitude determined by the altitude determining unit 43b in the storage unit 42 as an altitude table associated with the flight path (movement sections M1 to M6).

  The flight control unit 43d acquires flight state information, position information, and altitude information from the flying robot 3 via the communication unit 41, and sends control signals related to the flight of the flying robot 3 such as the movement target position and speed of the flying robot 3. It transmits to the flying robot 3 via the communication unit 41 and controls the flight of the flying robot 3. For example, if the flying altitude of the flying robot 3 is equal to or higher than a preset altitude, the speed is controlled so that the flying robot 3 flies at a high speed (for example, 5 to 15 m / s). Further, if the flying altitude of the flying robot 3 is less than the set altitude, the flying robot 3 flies at a low speed (for example, 2 to 3 m / s: a speed that can be avoided when an obstacle is detected) below the reference speed. Control the speed.

  The imaging control means 43e controls imaging by the imaging unit 16 of the flying robot 3, and an imaging permission signal (imaging prohibition release signal) based on altitude information at the current position acquired from the flying robot 3 via the communication unit 41. Alternatively, a photographing prohibition signal is transmitted to the flying robot 3 via the communication unit 41. For example, when the altitude information of the flying robot 3 at the current position is equal to or higher than the set altitude, a shooting prohibiting signal for prohibiting shooting by the shooting unit 16 is transmitted to the flying robot 3 via the communication unit 41. On the other hand, when the altitude information of the flying robot 3 at the current position is less than the set altitude, a shooting permission signal (shooting prohibition release signal) that permits shooting by the shooting unit 16 is transmitted to the flying robot 3 via the communication unit 41. To do. Note that the imaging control unit 43e may transmit an imaging angle control signal for controlling the imaging angle of the imaging unit 16 to the flying robot 3 via the communication unit 41 as necessary.

  Further, the imaging control means 43e determines whether or not the illuminance around the flying robot 3 in flight is equal to or less than the set illuminance using the luminance information and illuminance information of the captured image acquired from the flying robot 3, and the determination result Based on the altitude information described above, an on / off control signal for turning on / off the illumination 17 of the flying robot 3 is transmitted to the flying robot 3. For example, when the flying robot 3 is flying at night below the set illuminance and the flying robot 3 is flying above the set altitude, an off control signal is sent via the communication unit 41 to prohibit the lighting 17 from being turned on. 3 to send. In contrast, when the flying robot 3 is flying at night below the set illuminance and the flying robot 3 is flying below the set altitude, the on-control signal is sent via the communication unit 41 to turn on the illumination 17. Send to the robot 3.

  When a determination result indicating whether or not the illuminance around the flying robot 3 in flight is equal to or lower than the set illuminance is transmitted from the flying robot 3, the illumination 17 of the flying robot 3 is turned on / off based on the determination result. The imaging control means 43b transmits an on / off control signal to be turned off to the flying robot 3. The current time can also be used to determine whether the illuminance around the flying robot 3 in flight is equal to or lower than the set illuminance.

  The state confirming unit 43f confirms the state of the flying robot 3, and periodically confirms whether or not the function of the flying robot 3 is normal when the flying robot 3 is waiting at the robot port 2.

[About monitoring center configuration]
As shown in FIG. 2, the monitoring center 5 includes a monitoring console 5a such as a terminal device that receives an image captured by the flying robot 3 via the flight control device 4 and displays the received image. The monitoring center 5 can also instruct the start of altitude setting processing described later by operating the monitoring console 5a. Further, the monitoring center 5 operates the monitoring console 5a at the discretion of the monitoring person to fly the flight robot 3 to an arbitrary place (flight route instruction, movement target position / speed instruction, takeoff instruction, return instruction). Etc.). For example, when the monitor finds an intruding object (for example, a suspicious vehicle or a suspicious person) into the monitoring area E from the video displayed on the monitor table 5a, the monitor operates the monitor table 5a to set the flying robot 3 on the site. The movement target position (latitude, longitude) to be directed to is set, and the set movement target position is transmitted as a control signal to the flying robot 3 via the flight control device 4.

[About advanced settings processing]
Next, altitude setting processing executed by the flight control device 4 will be described with reference to FIG. The altitude set by the altitude setting process is used when the flying robot 3 makes a patrol flight in which a monitoring operation is performed by stopping at a critical monitoring position for a certain period of time while moving at a plurality of important monitoring positions. Here, an altitude setting process in the case where the flying robot 3 patrols the flight route (movement sections M1 to M6) of the patrol number 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described as an example.

  In the altitude setting process of FIG. 5, when a tour start is input manually from the remote monitoring center 5 a predetermined time before the tour start time set as the tour schedule, the preset travel parameter generation time is set. It starts at any timing. For example, in the case of a patrol schedule for patrol number 1 shown in FIG. 1 patrolling every 2 hours from 9:00, if the predetermined time is 15 minutes, for example, 8:45 15 minutes before 9:00. Start the altitude setting process.

  When the altitude setting process starts at the above timing, the patrol point information of the patrol number that the flying robot 3 patrols is read (ST1). When the flying robot 3 patrols the flight route of the tour number 1 shown in FIG. 1, the tour point information (coordinate information) of the tour number 1, that is, the important monitoring position information of the important monitoring positions P <b> 1 to P <b> 5 is read from the storage unit 42. .

  Next, information on the flight altitude range (touring altitude range) for each moving section based on the patrol point information is read (ST2). In the flight route of the patrol number 1 shown in FIG. 1, the moving section M1 between the roboport 2 and the first important monitoring position P1, the moving sections M2, M3, M4, M5 between the important monitoring positions P1 to P5, the last Information on the flight altitude range in the movement section M6 between the important monitoring position P5 and the roboport 2 is read from the storage unit 42.

  Next, a section (moving section) from the robot port 2 to the first point (first important monitoring position) is selected (ST3). In the flight route with the circulation number 1 shown in FIG. 1, the movement section M1 from the roboport 2 to the first important monitoring position P1 is selected.

  Next, it is determined whether the area corresponding to the selected section is manned or unmanned (ST4). When the movement section M1 from the roboport 2 to the first important monitoring position P1 is selected in the flight route of the tour number 1 shown in FIG. 1, the presence or absence of the area E1 corresponding to the movement section M1 is determined. The determination of whether the area E1 corresponding to the movement section M1 is manned or unmanned can be made in the movement section M1 if the corresponding security device is set to the security set mode for detecting entry into the area E1 corresponding to the movement section M1. It is determined that the corresponding area E1 is unattended. On the other hand, if it is set to the security release mode that does not detect entry into the area E1 corresponding to the movement section M1, it is determined that the area E1 corresponding to the movement section M1 is manned.

  Next, the flight altitude (cyclic altitude) of the selected section is determined from the flight altitude range according to the manned and unmanned state (ST5). When it is determined that the area E1 corresponding to the selected movement section M1 is manned in the flight route of the traveling number 1 shown in FIG. 1, for example, the upper limit value of the flight altitude range is determined by the flight altitude. On the other hand, when it is determined that the area E1 corresponding to the selected movement section M1 is unmanned, for example, the lower limit value of the flight altitude range is determined as the flight altitude.

  Next, the determined altitude is stored in the altitude table of the storage unit 42 as the flight altitude of the selected section (ST6). For example, when the selected section is the moving section M1 in the flight route of the traveling number 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the lower limit value of the flight altitude range is determined as the flight altitude, the determined flight altitude is stored in the altitude table of the storage unit 42. To remember.

  And it is discriminate | determined whether the flight altitude of the area to all the points corresponding to a circulation number was set (ST7). In the case of the patrol route of the patrol number 1 shown in FIG. 1, the flight altitudes of the sections M1 to M6 to all the points P1 to P5 corresponding to the patrol number 1 (and the reference position P0 of the last roboport 2) are set. If it is determined that there is no, a section to the next point is selected, and the process proceeds to ST4. Then, the processing of ST4 to ST7 is repeatedly executed until the flight altitudes of the sections M1 to M6 up to all the points P1 to P5 (and the reference position P0 of the last roboport 2) corresponding to the patrol number 1 are set.

  As described above, the flight control device 4 executes the above-described altitude setting process before the flight of the flying robot 3. When the flight control device 4 instructs the flying robot 3 to make a patrol, the flight control device 4 obtains the position information of each important monitoring position in the flight path of the patrol number to be visited and the flight altitude of the altitude table corresponding to each important monitoring position. Transmit to the flying robot 3. The flying robot 3 circulates each important monitoring position on the flight path while avoiding obstacles around the flight altitude according to the position information transmitted from the flight control device 4 and the flight altitude for each flight path (movement section). Security information (for example, a photographed image by the photographing unit 16) is collected at each important monitoring position and returned to the robot port 2. The security information collected by the flying robot 3 is transmitted to the monitoring center 5 via the flight control device 4 and displayed on the monitoring console 5a of the monitoring center 5 for safety confirmation.

  By the way, the flying robot 3 may be caused to fly to an arbitrary movement target position in the monitoring area for purposes other than patrol. In this case, the altitude determination means 43b sets the center position of the roboport 2 where the flying robot 3 stands by as the reference position P0, and sets the altitude when the movement target position is further away from the reference position P0 to set the altitude to be higher. Store in the altitude table. As a result, the flying robot 3 is set so that the moving altitude is higher as the moving target position from the reference position P0 is farther. Therefore, the flying robot 3 can move at high speed in the sky with almost no obstacles, and can safely reach the moving target position. It can move at high speed and shorten the arrival time.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the flight control device 4 executes the altitude setting process shown in FIG. 5 has been described as an example, but the altitude setting process may be executed by the flying robot 3 itself. In this case, the position information, flight path, important monitoring position information (position coordinate information), flight altitude range (traveling altitude range), and flight altitude conditions of the roboport 2 are stored in the storage unit 21 of the flying robot 3. Further, the flying robot 3 is manned to determine whether a user is present in the monitoring area depending on whether the security device is set in a security set mode for detecting entry into the target area (E1 to E5). Manned and unmanned judging means (equivalent to the manned and unmanned judging means 43a of the flight control device 4) for performing unmanned judgment, and when moving to the important monitoring position, the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight path to the important monitoring position and the manned unmanned judgment Altitude determining means (corresponding to the altitude determining means 43b of the flight control device 4) for determining the flight altitude according to the flight altitude condition corresponding to the result of the above, and an altitude table in which the flight altitude determined by the altitude determining means is associated with the flight path As an altitude table generating means (corresponding to the altitude table generating means 43c of the flight control device 4) stored in the storage unit 21 as shown in FIG. To perform a constant process. As a result, the rotor control means 32b controls the rotor drive unit 12 to drive the rotor 11 so that the flying robot 3 moves at the flying altitude determined by the altitude setting process during patrol.

  Although the best mode of the flying robot control system and the flying robot according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited by the description and drawings according to this mode. That is, it is a matter of course that all other forms, examples, operation techniques, and the like made by those skilled in the art based on this form are included in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flying robot control system 2 Roboport 3 Flying robot 4 Flight control apparatus 5 Monitoring center 5a Monitoring table 11 Rotor 12 Rotor drive part 13 Flight state receiving part 14 Position information receiving part 15 Altitude sensor 16 Imaging part 17 Illumination 18 Antenna 19 Ranging sensor DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Illuminance sensor 21 Memory | storage part 22 Power supply 23 Robot control part 31 Communication control means 32 Obstacle detection means 33 Attitude control means 33a Self-position positioning means 33b Rotor control means 34 Shooting control means 35 Illumination control means 41 Communication part 42 Storage part 43 Control Part 43a Manned and unmanned judging means 43b Altitude determining means 43c Altitude table generating means 43d Flight control means 43e Imaging control means 43f Condition confirmation means E Monitoring area E1, E2, E3, E4, E5 Area P0 Reference position P1, P2, P3, P4 , P5 heavy Monitoring positions M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6 movement section

Claims (5)

A flying robot control system for controlling a flying robot that includes a flying means and moves to a preset monitoring position in a monitoring area and collects security information,
A storage unit for storing information on the monitoring position, one or more flight paths for moving to the monitoring position, a flight altitude range permitted in the flight path, and a flight altitude condition corresponding to manned and unmanned;
A manned and unattended determination unit for determining whether or not a user is present in the monitoring area;
An altitude determination unit that determines a flight altitude from the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight path to the monitoring position and the manned unmanned determination when moving to the monitoring position;
A flight control unit that drives the flying means to move at a flight altitude determined by the altitude determining unit;
A flying robot control system comprising: 2. The flying robot control system according to claim 1, wherein the flight altitude condition corresponding to the manned unmanned is set as a higher altitude at least when manned than when unmanned. The manned and unattended determination unit determines whether or not a security device is set in a security set mode for detecting intrusion into the monitoring area, and the monitoring is performed when it is determined that the security device is set in the security set mode. The flying robot control system according to claim 1, wherein the area is determined to be unmanned. The altitude determination unit, when moving to a movement target position arbitrarily designated in the monitoring area, sets the movement altitude higher as the movement target position is farther from the reference position. The flying robot control system according to any one of the above. A flying robot having a flying means and collecting security information by moving to a preset monitoring position in a monitoring area;
A storage unit for storing information on the monitoring position, one or more flight paths for moving to the monitoring position, a flight altitude range permitted in the flight path, and a flight altitude condition corresponding to manned and unmanned;
A manned and unattended determination unit for determining whether or not a user is present in the monitoring area;
An altitude determination unit that determines a flight altitude from the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight altitude range corresponding to the flight path to the monitoring position and the manned unmanned determination when moving to the monitoring position;
A flight control unit that drives the flying means to move at a flight altitude determined by the altitude determining unit;
A flying robot characterized by comprising:

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