JP2018112485A - Weather measuring device, weather measuring method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a weather measuring device that is a simple system and can measure meteorological elements as reliable representative values of the entire region.SOLUTION: A weather measuring system has an unmanned flying object 1 capable of performing autonomous flight; the unmanned flying object 1 comprises: a plurality of propellers 6 for obtaining buoyancy; and weather element measuring means 14 arranged at a downstream side of airflow generated by the propellers 6; the unmanned flying object 1 measures weather elements with the weather element measuring means 14 while flying in a specific region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a weather measurement device, a method thereof, and a program.

  Conventionally, a hundred-leaf box and a ventilator are used for weather measurement. In order to measure the state of the air itself while avoiding solar radiation and radiation, a weather measurement device has been proposed in which forced ventilation means is arranged in the ventilation device (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3851954

  By the way, the conditions of solar radiation and radiation are not always the same in places where weather measurement devices such as hundreds of boxes and draft tubes are fixed, and the surrounding conditions. Even if a device measures weather elements such as temperature and humidity while avoiding solar radiation and radiation, it does not always represent the weather elements of the entire region including the place where the weather measurement device is fixed. If a large number of weather measurement devices are arranged in the entire area, the weather elements that represent the entire area can be calculated, but the weather measurement system becomes complicated and expensive.

  The present invention is an attempt to solve such a problem, and is a simple system and a meteorological measurement apparatus, a meteorological measurement method, and a meteorological measurement method capable of measuring meteorological elements as representative values of the entire reliable area. The purpose is to provide a weather measurement program.

  A first invention is a weather measurement system having an unmanned air vehicle capable of autonomous flight, wherein the unmanned air vehicle is disposed downstream of a plurality of propellers for obtaining buoyancy and an air flow generated by the propellers. And the meteorological element measuring means. The unmanned air vehicle is configured to measure a meteorological element by the meteorological element measuring means while flying in a specific area.

  According to the configuration of the first invention, since the meteorological element measuring means is arranged downstream of the air flow generated by the propeller of the unmanned air vehicle, the meteorological element measuring means is not affected by solar radiation or radiation, and the meteorological element measuring means is in a specific area. Since the meteorological element of the air itself can be measured and the meteorological element is measured while flying in the area, a highly reliable meteorological element can be measured as a representative value of the area. Thereby, it is a simple system and the average weather element of the whole area | region can be measured.

  According to a second invention, in the configuration of the first invention, a fixed device information receiving means for receiving fixed device information which is a numerical value of a weather element measured by a fixed weather measuring device fixed in the region, and the unmanned flight A drone information receiving means for receiving drone information that is a numerical value of a meteorological element measured by the body; a difference calculating means for calculating a difference between the numerical value indicated in the fixed device information and the numerical value indicated in the drone information; The weather measurement system is configured to use the difference as correction information for numerical values of weather elements measured by the fixed weather measurement device.

  According to a third invention, in the configuration of the first invention or the second invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to fly over an enlarged area wider than the area, and the weather element is measured in the enlarged area. A meteorological measurement system configured to

  A fourth invention is a weather measurement system configured to update the correction information in any one of the first to third inventions.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the unmanned air vehicle is configured to fly in a plurality of the regions, and natural objects and artificial objects in the regions. A conversion means for determining a flight altitude according to the situation, and converting a numerical value of the weather element measured at each of the flight altitudes into a numerical value of the meteorological element at a reference altitude. It is a meteorological measurement system.

  According to a sixth invention, in any one of the first to fifth inventions, the unmanned air vehicle is configured to measure the weather element at a plurality of flight altitudes in each of the regions. A weather measurement system configured to calculate conversion information for the conversion from the weather elements at the plurality of flight altitudes.

  A seventh invention is a weather measurement system according to any one of the first to sixth inventions, wherein the unmanned air vehicle measures the weather element while turning.

  An eighth invention is a meteorological measurement method by a meteorological measurement system having an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of autonomous flight, downstream of an air flow generated by a plurality of propellers for obtaining buoyancy arranged on the unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned air vehicle is a meteorological measurement method for measuring a meteorological element while flying in a specific area by the arranged meteorological element measuring means.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer for controlling a weather measurement system including an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of autonomous flight as a component, and a downstream of an air flow generated by a plurality of propellers for obtaining a buoyancy disposed in the unmanned aerial vehicle The unmanned air vehicle is a meteorological measurement program for causing the unmanned air vehicle to function as a meteorological element measuring unit for measuring a meteorological element while flying in a specific area.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a weather measurement device, a weather measurement method, and a weather measurement program that are simple systems and can measure a weather element as a representative value of the entire reliable area. it can.

It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the weather measurement system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows an unmanned air vehicle. It is a figure which shows the functional block of an unmanned air vehicle. It is a figure which shows the functional block of a base station. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an unmanned air vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a base station. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the weather measurement system which concerns on embodiment of this invention of 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the weather measurement system which concerns on embodiment of this invention of 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the weather measurement system which concerns on embodiment of this invention of 4th embodiment.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described in detail. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified. Note that description of configurations that can be appropriately implemented by those skilled in the art will be omitted, and only the basic configuration of the present invention will be described.

<First embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 1, the weather measurement system of the present embodiment includes an unmanned aerial vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “unmanned aircraft”) 1 and a base station 100 that can communicate with the unmanned aircraft 1. The drone 1 is an example of an unmanned air vehicle. The area P1 is an area of 1.5 meters (m) above the dew field 200, and the ventilation tube type weather measurement device 202 is fixed. The weather measurement device 202 is an example of a fixed weather measurement device. The meteorological measurement device 202 is provided with devices for measuring meteorological elements such as a thermometer, a hygrometer, and a barometer. The meteorological measurement device 202 is provided with a forced ventilation device for reducing the influence of solar radiation from the sun 210 and radiation from the building 212 and the road 214.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drone 1 has a housing 2. Arranged in the housing 2 are a computer that controls each part of the drone 1, an autonomous flight device, a wireless communication device, a positioning device using GPS (Global Positioning System), an inertial sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a battery, and the like.

A round bar-like arm 4 is connected to the housing 2. A motor (not shown) is connected to each arm 4, and a propeller 6 is connected to each motor. As the propeller 6 rotates, a downward airflow is generated, and the drone 1 gains lift.

  A protective frame 8 is connected to the arm 4 to prevent the propeller 6 from coming into direct contact with an external object. The arm 4 and the protective frame 8 are made of, for example, carbon fiber reinforced plastic, and are lightweight while maintaining strength.

Further, a meteorological element measurement device 14 (hereinafter referred to as “measurement device 14”) is connected to the housing 2. The measuring device 14 stores an air temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and an atmospheric pressure sensor in a housing formed in a lattice shape. Solar radiation and radiation are avoided by a housing formed in a lattice shape. The measuring device 14 is disposed downstream of the downward airflow generated by the rotation of the propeller 6. That is, since the measuring device 14 is always disposed at a position that receives the airflow, the state of the air itself can be measured. Furthermore, since the drone 1 operates the measuring device 14 while turning, the measuring device 14 receives airflow due to movement of the drone 1 in addition to airflow for obtaining buoyancy. The state of itself can be measured more accurately.

The air temperature sensor is, for example, a platinum resistance thermometer that utilizes the fact that the resistance value of a platinum resistance thermometer varies with temperature. As a platinum resistance thermometer for weather observation, the resistance value is 92.02Ω at −20 ° C., 100.00Ω at 0 ° C., 107.93Ω at 20 ° C., and from −50 ° C. to 50 ° C. The range can be measured. As a measuring method, a constant current source I is passed through a platinum resistance thermometer, a voltage V at both ends of the resistor is measured, and a resistance value Pt is obtained based on Pt = V / I. Adopt the law. As the humidity sensor, for example, an electric resistance type or capacitance type electric hygrometer is adopted. The numerical value measured by the humidity sensor is corrected by the temperature measured by the temperature sensor. For example, a capacitance-type or vibration-type electric barometer is adopted as the barometric sensor.

Further, the camera 10 is disposed in the housing 2 via the fixing device 12. The camera 10 is a visible light camera or a near infrared camera, but may be a switchable hybrid camera. The fixing device 12 is a three-axis fixing device (so-called gimbal) that can minimize blurring of an image captured by the camera 10 and can control the optical axis of the camera 10 in an arbitrary direction.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the drone 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the drone 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 50, a storage unit 52, a wireless communication unit 54, a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit 56, an inertial sensor unit 58, a drive control unit 60, image processing, and the like. A unit 62, a weather measurement unit 64, and a power supply unit 66.

  The drone 1 can communicate with the base station 100 by the wireless communication unit 54. The drone 1 receives an instruction such as starting from the base station 100 by the wireless communication unit 54.

  The drone 1 can measure the position of the drone 1 itself by the GPS unit 56 and the inertial sensor unit 58. The GPS unit 56 basically receives radio waves from three or more GPS satellites and measures the position of the drone 1. The inertial sensor unit 58 measures the position of the drone 1 by accumulating the movement of the drone 1 from the starting point using, for example, an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor. The position information of the drone 1 is used for determining the movement route of the drone 1 and for autonomous movement.

  The image processing unit 62 allows the drone 1 to operate the camera 10 and acquire an external image.

  The drone 1 operates the measuring device 14 by the meteorological measurement unit 64 and measures temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure.

  The drive control unit 60 controls the rotation of each motor (not shown) connected to each propeller 6 so that the drone 1 can control the posture such as vertical movement, air suspension, and tilt.

  The power supply unit 66 is a replaceable rechargeable battery, for example, and supplies power to each unit of the drone 1.

  The storage unit 52 stores various data and programs necessary for autonomous movement, such as data indicating a movement plan for autonomous movement from the starting point to the target position, and information indicating the topography, shape, and structure position of the planned work area. In addition, the following programs are stored.

  The storage unit 52 stores a flight control program, a drive control program, and a measurement program. The CPU 100 and the flight control program are examples of flight control means. The CPU 100 and the drive control program are examples of drive control means. The CPU 100 and the measurement program are examples of weather element measurement means.

  The drone 1 controls autonomous flight of the drone 1 by a flight control program. Specifically, the drone 1 adjusts the output of each motor (not shown) and flies over a predetermined route and altitude. The drone 1 turns, for example, a radius of 5 meters (m) around the coordinates where the weather measurement device 202 is fixed.

The drone 1 controls the output of the motor connected to the propeller 6 by the above-described drive control program.

  The drone 1 measures the weather element by the measuring device 14 according to the measurement program. For example, the drone 1 flies along a route R having a radius of 5 meters (m) and an altitude of 1.5 meters (m) with the coordinates of the weather measurement device 202 located in the region P1 as the middle, and the temperature, humidity, and A meteorological element called atmospheric pressure is measured. For example, the measurement is performed for 30 seconds (s), and the average value in that time is used as the value of each weather element. The drone 1 transmits the numerical value of each weather element to the base station 100. Unlike the present embodiment, the drone 1 measures, for example, every 1 second (s), transmits the numerical value of each meteorological element to the base station 100, and in the base station 100, 30 seconds (s ) May be calculated.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the base station 100. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the base station 100 includes a CPU 110, a storage unit 112, a communication unit 114, an image processing unit 116, a drone control unit 118, a drone charging unit 120, and a power supply unit 122.

  The base station 100 can communicate with the drone 1 and the weather measurement device 202 through the communication unit 114. The base station 100 is configured to process an image received from the drone 1 by the image processing unit 116. The base station 100 instructs the drone 1 to start and return by the drone control unit 118. The base station 100 is configured to charge the battery of the drone 1 by the drone charging unit 120.

  The storage unit 112 of the base station 100 stores an unmanned aircraft control program, a fixed device weather element information reception program, an unmanned aircraft weather information reception program, and a correction information generation program. The CPU 110 and the drone control program are examples of drone control means. The CPU 110 and the fixed device meteorological element information receiving program are examples of fixed device meteorological information receiving means. The CPU 110 and the unmanned aircraft meteorological element information receiving program are examples of unmanned aircraft weather information receiving means. The CPU 110 and the correction information generation program are examples of correction information generation means.

  The base station 100 instructs the drone 1 to start, return, etc. by the drone control program.

  The base station 100 receives meteorological element information indicating the numerical value of the meteorological element from the meteorological measurement apparatus 202 by the fixed apparatus meteorological element information receiving program. The base station 100 receives weather element information from the weather measurement device 202, for example, every 1 second (s).

  The base station 100 receives weather element information indicating a numerical value of the weather element from the drone 1 by the unmanned aircraft weather element information receiving program.

  The base station 100 calculates, for each weather element, the difference α between the weather element received from the weather measurement device 202 and the weather element received from the drone 1 for each weather element using the correction information generation program. For example, the difference in temperature is α1, the difference in humidity is α2, and the difference in atmospheric pressure is α3. If the numerical value of the meteorological element acquired from the drone 1 is the average value of the time between the time t and the time t + Δt as the predetermined time, the same based on the numerical value of the meteorological element received from the meteorological measurement device 202 The average value in the time zone is calculated and used. Δt is, for example, 30 seconds (s).

  For each weather element, the base station 100 sets the difference α as a correction value for each weather element measured by the weather measurement device 202. Even if there is no weather element information from the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, the numerical value of the meteorological element by the subsequent measurement of the meteorological element by the meteorological measurement device 202 can be corrected by the difference α (α1, α2, α3). With this correction, the weather element information output from the weather measurement device 202 becomes a more reliable numerical value as the representative value of the region P1.

The correction value (difference α) may be transmitted from the base station 100 to the weather measurement device 202 and used by the weather measurement device 202 itself to correct the measurement value, or by an external device such as the base station 100. You may use in order to correct | amend the weather element information received from the weather measurement apparatus 202. FIG.

The difference α is calculated at regular intervals, for example, recalculated every 24 hours. Thereby, the difference α itself can be corrected according to the actual weather conditions.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the drone 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Upon receiving a start instruction from the base station 100, the drone 1 starts (step ST1), determines that the measurement position has been reached (step ST2), measures a meteorological element (step ST3), and sends the weather to the base station 100. Element information is transmitted (step ST4). When it is determined that the measurement is complete (step ST5), the drone 1 returns to the base station (step ST6).

  The operation of the base station 100 will be described using FIG. The base station 100 receives weather element information from the weather measurement device 202 (step ST101), and receives weather element information from the drone 1 (step ST102). Step ST101 and step ST102 may be performed at the same time, but may not be performed at the same time if weather element information in the same time range is finally received. Subsequently, the base station 100 calculates the difference between the weather element information from the weather measurement device 202 and the weather element information from the drone 1 in the same time range (step ST103). Subsequently, in the subsequent measurement, the base station 100 corrects the weather element information received from the weather measurement device 202 with the difference (step ST104).

<Second Embodiment>
The second embodiment will be described with respect to differences from the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the drone 1 flies not only in the region P1 but also in the region P1 and wider than the region P1, and measures meteorological elements. In the measurement by the meteorological measurement device 202, it is assumed that the meteorological elements measured in the area P1 represent the meteorological elements in a wide area including the area P1, but in the second embodiment, the meteorological elements are actually wide. Since the meteorological element of the area is measured, the representative value of the meteorological element having higher reliability can be measured for the area including the area P1.

<Third embodiment>
In the third embodiment, parts different from the second embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the drone 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) also flies in areas P2, P3, and P4 other than the area P1. At this time, the weather information may be measured by flying the areas P1 to P4 with only one unmanned aircraft 1, but in order to measure the weather information in the same time range, a plurality of unmanned aircraft 1 (1A, 1A, It is desirable to use 1B, 1C, 1D). And in 3rd embodiment, the meteorological measurement apparatus 202 arrange | positioned in a fixed position does not exist. The base station 100 uses the information indicating the weather element received from the drone 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) for the determination of the weather and the like. Thereby, a meteorological element can be measured without arranging the meteorological measurement device 202 at a fixed position.

In the measurement by the drone 1, the area and altitude where the drone 1 flies are not limited as the weather measurement device 202 is fixed at a specific position. For this reason, for example, in the summer afternoon when local thunderstorms are likely to occur, by measuring the meteorological elements with the areas P1 to P4 being close to each other, the difference in meteorological elements in a relatively narrow geographical range can be obtained. The difference information shown can be obtained, and the difference information can be used for local weather differences.
<Fourth embodiment>
In the fourth embodiment, parts different from the third embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 9, the drone 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) also flies in areas P2, P3, and P4 other than the area P1. At this time, the flight altitude at which the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) flies in each of the areas P1 to P4 varies depending on the natural objects and artifacts in each area P1.
For example, the altitude H1 is applied to the area P1, the altitude H2 is applied to the area P2, the altitude H3 is applied to the area P3, and the altitude H4 is applied to the area P4. However, since the meteorological elements in each area P1 cannot be compared unless the altitudes of each area P1 are aligned in the measurement of meteorological elements, the base station 100 has a conversion program in the storage unit 112 (see FIG. 4). The meteorological element received from the drone 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) is converted into a numerical value of a reference altitude (for example, 1.5 meters (m) above the ground) according to the altitude. The CPU 110 (see FIG. 4) and the conversion program are examples of conversion means. As basic information for conversion, general information such as the relationship between altitude increase and temperature decrease, the relationship between temperature and humidity, and the relationship between altitude and atmospheric pressure may be used. 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) is obtained from the measured value. For example, even if the region P4 is a valley of a high-rise building and the drone 1D cannot turn in a low sky, it can take off from the low sky. For this reason, the drone 1D measures the weather element in the low sky near the takeoff position, and then measures the weather element in the sky. Thereby, the difference (converted value) between the weather element in the low sky and the weather element in the sky can be acquired. This conversion is applied to an average value in a specific time range obtained by turning in the sky.

  Thereby, even if it is a case where an ideal dew field cannot be ensured, the representative value of the weather element of a specific area | region can be obtained.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, and the like within a scope in which the object of the present invention can be achieved are included in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Unmanned aerial vehicle 2 Case 6 Propeller 14 Meteorological element measuring device 202 Weather measuring device

Claims (9)

A weather measurement system having an unmanned air vehicle capable of autonomous flight,
The unmanned air vehicle is
With several propellers to get buoyancy,
Meteorological element measuring means disposed downstream of the air flow generated by the propeller;
Have
The unmanned air vehicle is configured to measure a weather element by the weather element measuring means while flying in a specific area.
Weather measurement system. Fixed device information receiving means for receiving fixed device information which is a numerical value of a weather element measured by a fixed weather measuring device fixed in the region;
Unmanned aircraft information receiving means for receiving unmanned aircraft information which is a numerical value of a weather element measured by the unmanned air vehicle;
A difference calculating means for calculating a difference between the numerical value indicated in the fixed device information and the numerical value indicated in the drone information;
Have
The difference is configured to be used as correction information for numerical values of meteorological elements measured by the fixed weather measurement device.
The meteorological measurement system according to claim 1. The unmanned air vehicle is
It is designed to fly over a larger area than the area,
Configured to measure the weather element in the enlarged region;
The weather measurement system according to claim 1 or 2. Configured to update the correction information;
The meteorological measurement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The unmanned air vehicle is configured to fly in a plurality of the regions,
It is configured to determine the flight altitude according to the situation of natural objects and artifacts in each of the areas,
Conversion means for converting the numerical value of the meteorological element measured at each flight altitude into the numerical value of the meteorological element at a reference altitude;
The meteorological measurement system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: The unmanned air vehicle is configured to measure the weather element at a plurality of flight altitudes in each of the regions;
It is configured to calculate conversion information for the conversion from the weather element at the plurality of flight altitudes,
The weather measurement system according to claim 5.   The weather measurement system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the unmanned air vehicle measures the weather element while turning. A weather measurement method using a weather measurement system having an unmanned air vehicle capable of autonomous flight,
The unmanned aerial vehicle measures a meteorological element while flying in a specific area by means of a meteorological element measuring unit arranged downstream of the air flow generated by a plurality of propellers for obtaining buoyancy arranged in the unmanned aerial vehicle. Weather measurement method. A computer that controls a weather measurement system that has an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of autonomous flight,
The unmanned aerial vehicle measures a meteorological element while flying in a specific area by means of a meteorological element measuring unit arranged downstream of the air flow generated by a plurality of propellers for obtaining buoyancy arranged in the unmanned aerial vehicle. Meteorological element measuring means,
Weather measurement program to function as.