JP2019158635A - Flight route creation device, and flight route creation method - Google Patents

Abstract

To quickly and properly create a flight route of an agriculture-purpose autonomous type UAV enabling a state of a farm field to be appropriately grasped.SOLUTION: A farm field DB 104 is configured to store farm field information including information capable of identifying an existing location, shape and area about one or more farm fields. A photographing range identification unit 112 is configured to identify a photographing range upon photographing the farm field from sky using an UAV2 on the basis of a performance of a camera function of the UAV2. An object farm field identification unit 113 is configured to identify an object farm field serving a photographing object on the basis of instruction information from a user and the farm field information stored in the farm field DB 104. A flight route creation unit 115 is configured to create a flight route of the UAV2 in the sky of the object farm field on the basis of the farm field information on the farm field DB about the object farm field identified by the object farm field identification unit 113, and the photographing range identified by the photographing range identification unit 112.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for generating a flight path of an agricultural autonomous UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that, for example, flies over a field and collects information.

  In the field of agriculture, unmanned aerial vehicles (hereinafter referred to as UAVs) called UAVs and drones are used. Usually, the UAV is operated by remote operation while visually confirming by an operator at the site, but it is necessary to appropriately fly over the field depending on the purpose. For this reason, Patent Document 1 described later discloses an invention related to an unmanned helicopter flight planning device that can create accurate area data and set a flight route of the unmanned helicopter.

  In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, the user moves a flight planning device equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) function around the periphery of the target field, and measures the position and altitude of the end point of the target field. Then, accurate area data for the target field is created. An image of a farm field based on this accurate area data is displayed on the touch panel, and a flight route instruction is input using a touch pen to set a target flight route.

  According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to appropriately set a flight route used for control when an unmanned helicopter autonomously flies and a flight area and a flight route serving as a reference for radio controlled flight.

JP 2002-2111494 A

  In many farms, there are few cases where the fields owned by oneself are gathered in one place, and in many cases, a plurality of fields are owned in a relatively large area. In addition, even in the case of a so-called agricultural corporation that rents a large number of fields and conducts large-scale agriculture, the cultivation target may be a plurality of fields that exist in the jumps borrowed from a plurality of owners.

  In such a case, when the invention disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is applied, the user moves with the flight planning device along the outer periphery of each field that exists in a dispersed manner. It is necessary to perform processing for creating accurate area data for each field. Also, input work for setting the flight route is required. For this reason, in order to set the suitable flight route for every field, much labor and time are required.

  In recent years, in order to realize so-called precision agriculture that enables stable growth of high-quality crops by properly grasping the growth status of the crop and the state of the field and taking appropriate measures in a timely manner, The demand for utilizing UAV is also increasing. That is, it is required to use the UAV so that the situation of the field can be properly grasped.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to enable generation of an agricultural autonomous UAV flight path capable of appropriately grasping the state of an agricultural field appropriately and quickly.

In order to solve the above problems, the flight path generation device of the present invention is
Field information storage means for storing field information including information capable of specifying the location, shape, and area of one or more fields;
Based on the performance of a camera function mounted on a UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle), an imaging range specifying means for specifying an imaging range when shooting the field from above using the UAV;
Target field specifying means for specifying a target field to be imaged based on instruction information from a user and the field information stored in the field information storage means;
The UAV above the target field based on the field information of the field information storage unit for the target field specified by the target field specifying unit and the shooting range specified by the shooting range specifying unit. Flight path generating means for generating a flight path of

  According to this invention, the flight path of the agricultural autonomous UAV can be generated appropriately and quickly without burdening the user with a large load.

It is a figure for demonstrating the structural example of the UAV flight path | route production | generation apparatus 1 of embodiment, and its surrounding environment. It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of the process which the production | generation apparatus of embodiment performs. It is a figure for demonstrating the agricultural field which flies UAV and collects information. It is a figure for demonstrating the agricultural field which flies UAV and collects information. It is a figure for demonstrating the agricultural field which flies UAV and collects information. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the storage data of agricultural field DB. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the storage data of UAVDB. It is a figure for demonstrating the example in the case of specifying an imaging | photography range according to the camera function with which UAV is provided. It is a figure for demonstrating the example in the case of specifying an imaging | photography range according to the camera function with which UAV is provided. It is a figure for demonstrating the production | generation process of the flight path | route in the case of image | photographing the moving image of a target field by UAV. It is a figure for demonstrating the production | generation process of the flight path | route in the case of image | photographing the still image of an object farm field by UAV. It is a figure for demonstrating the production | generation process of the flight path | route in the case of collecting information about all the some target agricultural fields which exist in one agricultural area. It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between an information acquisition level, flight altitude, etc. FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the production | generation process of the flight path information of UAV performed with a production | generation apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the input screen of the condition information used with a management apparatus.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the apparatus and method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Configuration example and surrounding environment of UAV flight path generator 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a UAV flight path generation device (hereinafter simply referred to as a generation device) 1 of this embodiment and its surrounding environment. As shown in FIG. 1, a generation apparatus 1, a plurality of UAVs 2 (1), 2 (2), 2 (3),..., And a UAV operation management apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a management apparatus) 3. Are connected through an IoT (Internet of Things) platform 4 and can communicate with each other. That is, each of the generation device 1, UAV2 (1), 2 (2), 2 (3),..., Management device 3 has a communication function.

  The generation device 1 receives instruction information (condition information) input from the user through the management device 3 through the IoT platform 4, and the flight when the UAV flies over the designated field according to the instruction information. Information indicating the route (flight route information) is generated. Then, the generation device 1 provides the generated flight path information to the UAV intended to fly over the field among the UAVs 2 (1), 2 (2), 2 (3), ... through the IoT platform 4. To do.

  UAV2 (1), 2 (2), 2 (3),... Are unmanned aerial vehicles, and there are various types such as multicopters, fixed wing aircraft, and small helicopters. In this embodiment, UAV2 (1), 2 (2), 2 (3),... Are, for example, a quad-rotor type (quad copter) among multicopters. There are various types of quadcopters, but their basic functions are the same. In the following, UAV2 (1), 2 (2), 2 and 2 are used unless otherwise indicated. (3),... Are collectively referred to as UAV2.

  The UAV 2 includes a GPS function, various sensors such as a six-axis sensor, a direction sensor, and an altitude sensor, and is capable of autonomous flight. The UAV 2 has a camera function and a short-range wireless communication function, and can capture a field from the sky and collect information through the short-range wireless communication function. The UAV 2 that has received the flight path information collects information by autonomously flying over the field instructed by the user based on the flight path information and taking a picture.

  The management device 3 accepts input of information from the user and transmits it to a destination intended for this purpose, or receives information from the destination and displays it. The management device 3 according to this embodiment is used by a user (operator) of the UAV 2 to provide necessary information about the UAV 2, information for specifying a field to collect information by flying over the sky, etc. Condition information) and provide it to the generation apparatus 1. The management device 3 is realized by, for example, a tablet PC (Personal Computer) or a notebook PC, and in this embodiment, is a tablet PC.

  The IoT platform 4 includes the Internet, a mobile phone network, a general public telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN), and the like, and provides an environment in which devices connected thereto can communicate with each other. In this embodiment, as a wireless LAN, for example, a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standard can be used.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an outline of processing performed by the generation apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. As described above, the generation device 1 of this embodiment generates flight path information of the UAV 2 based on the instruction information provided through the management device 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), it is possible to acquire image data with a required accuracy by photographing the field from above the field so that all the target field HJ can be observed. The UAV flight route information to be generated is generated (first object). Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the data sensor SS is installed in the field to be observed, the flight path of the UAV 2 that enables collection of detection results from the data sensor through short-range wireless communication Generate information (second purpose).

  Here, the data sensor SS has a sensor function for detecting various information and a short-range wireless communication function according to the cultivated crop and the field environment, and can transmit the detected information by short-range wireless communication. As described above, the detection result is transmitted by the short-range wireless communication because there is a case where it is not possible to connect to the IoT platform 4 in the first place when the field is a large-scale field or a mountain field. In addition, even if connection to the IoT platform 4 is possible, a relatively large transmission output is required for the connection, and power consumption is increased, so that a battery with a large capacity is required. This is because the installation of the SS at a low cost may be hindered.

  The data sensor SS includes, for example, “temperature, humidity, illuminance, rainfall, wind direction, wind speed” detection sensor, “water level, water temperature” detection sensor, “soil temperature, moisture content, electrical conductivity” detection. There are sensors, “leaf water content” detection sensors, “carbon dioxide concentration” detection sensors, and the like.

<Specific Configuration of Generating Device 1>
The generation device 1 has the configuration shown in the upper block diagram of FIG. The communication I / F 101 realizes a communication function. Although not shown, the control unit 102 is a computer device unit including a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a nonvolatile memory, and the like, and controls each unit of the generation device 1. To do. The storage device 103 includes a large-capacity recording medium such as a hard disk, and performs writing / reading / storing / deleting data on the recording medium.

  Each of the farm field DB 104, the UAB DB 105, and the research data DB 107 is a collection of information arranged in an organic manner so as to be convenient for accumulation, search, update, and the like, and is created on a large-capacity recording medium such as a hard disk. The character “DB” in the agricultural field DB 104 or the like is an abbreviation for “database”. The flight path information file 106 stores and holds flight path information for each UAV 2 generated by the generating apparatus 1 and is created on a large-capacity recording medium such as a hard disk. These databases and files will be described.

  The agricultural field DB 104 stores and holds information related to the agricultural field for collecting information by flying the UAV 2. 3-5 is a figure for demonstrating management of the agricultural field which flies UAV2 and collects information. As shown in FIG. 3, the location of each farm can be specified by lot number. However, there is a possibility that there is a farm field that is not registered, and a so-called one-stroke land is not necessarily a single farm field that is divided by a bank or the like. This is because a single land may be divided into a plurality of fields and cultivated. In addition, in this specification, one field means the field used as each cultivation unit divided by the edge etc.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, no area features other than the field such as roads and buildings are included, and an agricultural area composed of one or more fields is assigned an area number and managed. In other words, in the agricultural area, the inside of the outer peripheral portion is only the field, and the outer side of the outer peripheral portion is an area configured by other than the agricultural features. In this case, the shores separating the fields are regarded as a part of the fields. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 3, there are six agricultural areas having area numbers “0001” to “0006”, and roads are provided outside the outer periphery of each area. .

  A plurality of fields are present inside the outer peripheries of the agricultural areas “0001” to “0006”, for example, as indicated by dotted lines in the agricultural area “0001” in FIG. That is, each of the agricultural fields “0001” in FIG. 3 divided by dotted lines becomes one piece of the farm field divided by the shore. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the farm number is assigned to each farm field and managed. As a result, each farm field as a farming unit can be identified by the farm area number and the farm field number, such as the farm field "0001" in the farm area "0001".

  However, sufficient management is not possible if only one field can be identified. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when focusing on the agricultural areas “0001” and “0002”, the farm fields included in the agricultural areas “0001” and “0002” are any one of farmers A, B, C, and D. Has been cultivated by. Thus, there are few cases where a plurality of fields in one agricultural area are cultivated by one farmer, and a plurality of fields in one agricultural area are cultivated by different farmers. There are many. Of course, there is a case where one farmer cultivates a farm field that is continuous in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, but the farm field that each farmer cultivates jumps into the agricultural areas “0001” and “0002”. Existing.

  FIG. 5 focuses on only the farm fields that are farmed by the farmer A in the agricultural areas “0001” and “0002”. As described above, in the agricultural areas “0001” and “0002”, it is difficult to observe each state of the farm field cultivated by the farmer A, which exists in a flying manner, with the eyes of humans and to appropriately grasp the state. . Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to grasp who is the manager of each field in each agricultural area, and to manage the field for each manager. In addition, some farms have a data sensor SS installed, so that the presence or absence of the data sensor SS is installed for each farm, and if installed, the installation position of the data sensor SS is also managed. ing.

  As described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, the field DB 104 manages information related to the field for each of the fields for which each one (one sheet) is specified. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of data stored in the agricultural field DB 104. As shown in FIG. 6, information on the farm field is managed for each place, each area, and each farm field. The location is information indicating an approximate location range where the farm field specified by the lot number exists, and indicates the location range of the farm field in the form of “XX prefecture ΔΔ city xxx town”, for example. The area ID is information that identifies an agricultural area that is located in the location range indicated by the place and includes one or more farm fields. The area polygon is a set of position information that makes it possible to specify the shape and area of the agricultural area specified by the area ID.

  Specifically, the area polygon of the agricultural area existing on the flat ground is 2D (2-Dimensions) data including a plurality of latitude and longitude information that makes it possible to specify the shape and area of the agricultural area. In addition, the area polygon of the agricultural area on the slope is a 3D (3-Dimensions) composed of a plurality of latitude / longitude information that makes it possible to specify the shape and area of the agricultural area and a height from a reference position such as altitude. ). The agricultural area on the slope is, for example, an area composed of a plurality of farm fields provided on a slope of a mountain, an agricultural area composed of one or more terraced rice fields, and terraced fields.

  And farm field ID is the information for specifying the farm field of 1 sheet which is a cultivation unit as shown in FIG. 3, FIG. The field polygon is a set of position information that enables the shape and area of the field identified by the field ID to be identified. Basically, as in the case of the area polygon, the field polygon of the field existing on the flat ground is 2D (2-Dimensions) data composed of a plurality of latitude / longitude information that makes it possible to specify the shape and area of the field. . The field polygon of the field on the slope is 3D (3-Dimensions) composed of a plurality of latitude / longitude information that can specify the shape and area of the field and a height from a reference position such as altitude. .

  The sensor flag is information indicating whether or not the data sensor SS is installed in the field identified by the field ID. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 6, the data sensors SS are installed in the farm fields “0001”, “0003”, and “0004”, but the data sensors SS are not installed in the farm field “0002”. It is shown. The sensor position is latitude / longitude information indicating the installation position in the case of a field where the data sensor SS is installed. As described above, since the data sensor SS is not installed in the field “0002”, it is indicated that it is not applicable (N / A (not applicable)).

  The cropping crop is information indicating a crop cultivated in the field identified by the field ID. In this embodiment, it is shown that paddy rice is cultivated in each of the farm fields “0001”, “0002”, “0003”, and “0004”. That is, it can be understood that each of the farm fields “0001”, “0002”, “0003”, and “0004” is a paddy field.

  The manager is information indicating a manager who cultivates and manages the field specified by the field ID, and includes, for example, information such as a manager's name and a manager code assigned to each manager in advance. is there. The manager may be a private person such as a farmer or a so-called agricultural corporation. With the information indicating this manager, it is also possible to collect information sequentially in order by the UAV 2 for all the fields cultivated by the same manager.

  The representative point is latitude / longitude information indicating the position of the representative point of the field identified by the field ID. As the representative point, for example, the center position or a predetermined end point of the field is selected. This representative point is used, for example, when creating a route that efficiently patrols the farm field cultivated by the same manager without duplication. Briefly, a patrol route is created so as to pass through a representative point of a field that is cultivated by the same manager. As described above, the storage data described with reference to FIG. 6 is stored and managed in the agricultural field DB 104.

  The UAVDB 105 stores and holds information related to the UAV 2 that flies over the target field and collects information about the field. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of data stored in the UAVDB 105. The aircraft ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the UAV2, and the IP address is the identification on the IoT platform that identifies the UAV2 when communicating with the UAV2 identified by the aircraft ID through the IoT platform 4. Information. The aircraft type is information indicating the type of aircraft, such as whether the UAV 2 specified by the aircraft ID is a quadcopter, a fixed wing aircraft, or a small helicopter.

  The camera performance is information indicating the performance of the camera function included in the UAV 2 specified by the machine ID, and the type of the image sensor (imaging device) of the camera unit used, the focal length normally used at the time of shooting, and other information Consists of. The information indicating the camera performance is used when specifying the imaging range when the UAV 2 flies and images the farm field. The other performance includes various pieces of information related to the performance of the UAV 2 specified by the aircraft ID. For example, various information regarding the performance of the UAV 2 such as flight time and flight speed are stored.

  Such information is input through the management device 3 and transmitted to the generation device 1 via the IoT platform 4, for example. The generating apparatus 1 receives the transmitted UAV-related information through the communication I / F 101 and stores this information in the UAVDB 105 for each UAV 2 for management.

  The flight path information file 106 stores and holds flight path information generated for each UAV 2 in the flight path generation unit 115 described later. The flight path information stored in the flight path information file 106 is provided to the target UAV 2 through the communication I / F 101 and the IoT platform 4.

  The research data DB 107 stores and holds research data collected by the UAV 2 that flies in accordance with the flight path information generated by the flight path generation unit 115 described later. The research data has been transmitted from the UAV 2 to the generation device 1 via the IoT platform 4. In the generation apparatus 1, the transmitted research data is received through the communication I / F 101, and is stored and managed in the research data DB 107 for each UAV.

  The condition setting unit 111, the imaging range specifying unit 112, the target farm field specifying unit 113, the sensor position specifying unit 114, and the flight path generating unit 115 generate various flight paths for the target UAV 2 in the generating device 1. A processing unit that performs processing. Each part will be described. First, under the control of the control unit 102, the condition setting unit 111 receives information such as information for identifying a field to be collected from the management apparatus 3 through the IoT platform 4 and information such as a machine ID for identifying a UAV to be used. The process of accepting and providing and setting necessary information for each unit is performed.

  Specifically, the condition setting unit 111 sets the machine ID of the UAV to be used in the instruction information (condition information) received from the management device 3 to the imaging range specifying unit 112 and instructs to specify the imaging range. In addition, the condition setting unit 111 specifies information for specifying the field among the information received from the management device 3, that is, information indicating the location, the area ID for agriculture, the field ID, or the manager of the field. Set in the unit 113 and issue an instruction to specify the field in which the UAV 2 is to fly.

  The imaging range specifying unit 112 refers to the UAVDB 105 based on the UAV2 machine ID to be used set by the condition setting unit 111 and performs processing for specifying the imaging range based on the UAV2 camera function to be used. FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are diagrams for explaining an example in the case where the shooting range is specified according to the camera function of the UAV 2 to be used. The shooting range when the subject is shot with the camera is obtained by the equations (A), (B), and (C) in FIG.

  That is, the horizontal shooting range (m) is obtained by multiplying the distance KR (m) to the subject by the horizontal size HS (mm) of the image sensor as shown in the equation (A) in FIG. It is obtained by dividing by the distance FL (mm). Note that (m) and (mm) are units of length. Similarly, the vertical shooting range (m) is obtained by multiplying the distance KR (m) to the subject by the vertical size VS (mm) of the image sensor as shown in the equation (B) in FIG. It can be obtained by dividing by the focal length FL (mm). Further, the diagonal imaging range (m) is obtained by multiplying the distance KR (m) to the subject by the diagonal size DS (mm) of the image sensor as shown in the equation (C) in FIG. And dividing by the focal length FL (mm).

  Therefore, if the format of the image sensor of the camera function provided in the UAV2 is known, the horizontal size, vertical size, and diagonal size of the image sensor can be determined, and the focal length when shooting and the distance to the subject (flying altitude when shooting) If you know, you can specify the shooting range. Here, it is assumed that the focal length is specified in advance for each image sensor, and the distance to the subject (photographing altitude) is also predetermined in order to capture an image with a target resolution. In this example, it is assumed that the distance to the subject (flying altitude) is 5 m.

  In the UAV2 camera function to be used, it is assumed that the format of the image sensor is “APS-C” as shown in FIG. The horizontal size of the “APS-C” image sensor is 23.4 mm, and the vertical size is 16.7 mm. Then, it is assumed that the focal length suitable for photographing a farm field with a target resolution is “24 (mm)”. In this case, the horizontal shooting range can be calculated as “4.875 (m)” from the equation (A) in FIG. 8, and the vertical shooting range is calculated as “3.479 (m)” from the equation (B) in FIG. it can.

  Thus, in the case of this example, in the shooting range specifying unit 112, the range (shooting range) Rng that can be shot by the camera function of the UAV2 to be used is specified as the range indicated by the rectangle in FIG. Then, the shooting range specifying unit 112 records information indicating the specified shooting range Rng (horizontal shooting range (m) × vertical shooting range (m)), for example, in a predetermined area of the storage device 103. Thereby, the information indicating the recorded photographing range Rng can be read and used as necessary, and is used when generating a flight path for each field.

  The target field specifying unit 113 refers to the field DB 104 as necessary based on information indicating the location, the agricultural area ID, the field ID, or the field manager from the condition setting unit 111 and causes the UAV 2 to fly. Is identified. In this example, the field ID for each place (region) and for each agricultural area is information indicating the target field. When a location, an agricultural area ID, and a field ID are provided from the condition setting unit 111, the information is information indicating a target field on which the UAV 2 is to fly. Then, the target field specifying unit 113 records information indicating the specified target holding in, for example, a predetermined area of the storage device 103. Thereby, the information indicating the specified target farm can be read and used as necessary, and is used by the sensor position specifying unit 114 and the flight path generating unit 115.

  The sensor position specifying unit 114 refers to the field DB 104 based on the information indicating the target field specified by the target field specifying unit 113 and confirms whether the data sensor SS is installed in the target field. Then, when the data sensor SS is installed in the target field, the sensor position specifying unit 114 specifies the installation position (sensor position) of the sensor, and can record and use it in a predetermined area of the storage device 103. To.

  The flight path generation unit 115 generates UAV2 flight path information used for collecting information of one or more target farm fields identified by the target farm field identification unit 113. Specifically, when a plurality of target fields are specified in one agricultural area, the flight path generation unit 115 circulates all the target fields without fail and uses each UAV2 camera function to UAV2 flight path information for photographing the entire surface of the farm field is generated. In addition, the target farm in which the data sensor SS is installed is generated including flight path information that approaches a position where communication with the data sensor SS is possible by short-range communication and collects detection results.

  Below, the process of the flight path | route production | generation part 115 is demonstrated concretely. First, the case where the flight path information in the case of flying over one target field is described. In addition, when image | photographing a target agricultural field using the camera function of UAV2, there exists a case where a moving image is image | photographed and a still image. Each case will be described below.

<Flight path generation process when shooting video>
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a flight path generation process when a moving image of the target field is captured by the UAV2. First, as shown in FIG. 10A, the flight path generation unit 115 identifies the shape and area of the target farm field HJ identified by the target farm field identification unit 113 using the farm field polygons in the farm field DB 104. And the flight path | route production | generation part 115 determines the start position S and goal position G of UAV2 about an object agricultural field. In this case, the start position S and the goal position G can be input and set by the user through the management device 3, for example. In addition, a basic start position S and goal position G may be set in advance for each field, and these may be managed in the field DB 104 and used as necessary.

  Furthermore, the flight path generation unit 115 can shoot the entire surface of the target field without any problem by arranging the imaging range Rng specified by the imaging range specification unit 112 so as to cover the entire surface of the target field HJ whose shape and area are specified. In this way, the position of the photographing range Rng is determined. Note that, as described with reference to FIG. 9, the specified shooting range is usually obtained up to the mm (millimeter) unit. For example, the range is a unit of 50 cm (centimeter), and the adjacent shooting ranges are slightly different from each other. It is desirable to overlap. For example, in the case of the shooting range shown in FIG. 9 (4.875 m × 3.479 m), the shooting range used can be set to, for example, (4.5 m × 3 m), so that shooting can be performed with a margin.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 10A, seven shooting ranges Rng are arranged in the horizontal direction in the drawing, and three shooting ranges Rng are arranged in the vertical direction in the drawing, so that 7 × 3 = It can be confirmed that the entire surface of the target field HJ can be covered without any hail by the 21 imaging ranges Rng. Then, the flight path generation unit 115 sets the flight path RT1 from the start position S to the center position P1 of the imaging range including the start position S. Further, the flight path generation unit 115 sets the flight path so as to pass through the centers of the respective imaging ranges Rng arranged in a single stroke.

  Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 10A, a route connecting the center position P1 and the center position P2 of the imaging range at the left and right ends of the upper stage is set as the flight path RT2, and the imaging range of the right end of the upper stage and the middle stage is set. A route connecting the center position P2 and the center position P3 is set as the flight route RT3. Further, a route connecting the center position P3 and the center position P4 of the shooting range at the left and right ends of the middle stage is set as the flight path RT4, and a route connecting the center position P4 and the center position P5 of the shooting range on the left end side of the middle stage and the lower stage. Is set as the flight path RT5. Further, a route connecting the center position P5 and the center position P6 of the imaging range at the left and right ends of the lower stage is set as the flight route RT6.

  Further, the flight path generation unit 115 sets a path connecting the center position P6 of the lower right imaging range and the sensor position SP of the data sensor SS as the flight path RT7, and connects the sensor position SP and the goal position G. The route is set as the flight route RT8. Then, the flight path generation unit 115 generates information indicating a flight path including a direction, a distance, and a height for each set flight path. Since the start position S and the goal position G are positions, they are specified by latitude and longitude.

  Then, the flight path generation unit 115 performs the flight shown in FIG. 10B based on the start position S and goal position G and the flight paths R1 to R8 set as described with reference to FIG. Route information is generated and stored in the flight route information file 106. As shown in FIG. 10B, the flight path information includes a file name, an aircraft ID, and an IP address as header information. The file in which the series of flight path information is stored can be specified by the file name. Further, it is possible to specify UAV2 (UAV2 used for information collection) instructed through the management apparatus 3 by the machine ID. The UAV 2 on the IoT platform 4 can be specified by the IP address, and communication can be performed.

  Then, a plurality of pieces of information (data) indicating each flight path including “No.”, “classification”, “movement instruction”, and “operation instruction” are collected to generate flight path information. “No.” is a sequence number. “Category” indicates the type of individual data constituting the flight path information. As shown in FIG. 10B, “0” for “start position”, “1” for “flight path”, If it is “goal position”, it is determined as “9”. The “movement instruction” is the substance of the flight path, and is information including the direction, distance, and height (altitude) of the flight. The “operation instruction” instructs an operation (process) to be performed by the UAV 2 and, as shown in FIG. 10B, “moving image capturing start”, “moving image capturing end”, “sensor data collection”, and the like. Can be directed. Note that (S) described in the “operation instruction” column of FIG. 10B indicates the start position, and (P1), (P2),..., (P6) indicate the center position of each shooting range. The description of (SP) indicates the sensor position, and the description of (G) indicates the goal position.

  Therefore, the flight path information shown in FIG. 10B is the center position P1 → P2 → P3 → P4 of each imaging range from the start position S at the flight altitude of 5 m as described with reference to FIG. → P5 → P6 → P7 → P8 followed by flight path information to reach the goal position G. Then, at the center position P1, moving image shooting starts, at the center position P6 of the shooting range, moving image shooting ends, and at the sensor position SP, an instruction is given to collect (receive) detection results from the data sensor SS. It has become. In this way, it is possible to generate flight path information that indicates the flight path of the UAV 2 so that a moving image can be captured without fail and the detection results are collected from the data sensor SS.

  Note that the flight speed of the UAV 2 is determined in advance so as to be an appropriate speed at which a highly accurate moving image can be captured. Of course, the user of UAV2 can also set the flight speed.

<Flight path generation processing when shooting still images>
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a flight path generation process in the case where a still image of the target farm is photographed by the UAV2. As in the case of the flight path generation process when shooting the moving image described with reference to FIG. 10A, the shape and area of the target field are specified, and the start position and goal position specifying process in the target field are performed. Do. Further, as in the case of the flight path generation process when shooting the moving image described with reference to FIG. 10A, the flight path generation unit 115 covers the entire surface of the target farm field HJ whose shape and area are specified. In addition, by arranging the shooting ranges Rng specified by the shooting range specifying unit 112, the position of the shooting range Rng is determined so that the entire surface of the target field can be shot without any hesitation.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 11A, seven shooting ranges are arranged in the horizontal direction in the figure, and three shooting ranges are arranged in the vertical direction in the figure, so that 7 × 3 = 21 shooting ranges. By this, it can be confirmed that the entire surface of the target field HJ can be covered without any defects. Then, the flight path generation unit 115 specifies the center positions S1, S2, S3,..., S19, S20, and S21 of the 21 shooting ranges as shooting positions for shooting a still image. Then, as in the case of shooting a moving image, the flight path generation unit 115 sets the flight path so that it passes through the centers of the respective shooting ranges Rng arranged with a single stroke.

  Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 11A, a route connecting the start position S and the center position S1 of the first imaging range from the left in the upper stage is set as the flight route Ra. Further, a route connecting the center position P1 of the first shooting range from the left end of the upper stage and the center position S2 of the second shooting range is set as the flight path Rb, and is the same as the center position S2 of the second shooting range. A route connecting the center position S3 of the third imaging range is set as the flight route Rc. Similarly, a route that sequentially connects the center positions of adjacent shooting ranges when the centers of the arranged shooting ranges Rng are drawn with a single stroke is a flight route. Then, the center positions S1, S2, S3,..., S19, S20, S21 of each shooting range are shooting positions for shooting a still image.

  Also in the case of the example shown in FIG. 11A, the flight path generation unit 115 sets the path connecting the center position S21 of the lower right imaging range and the sensor position SP of the data sensor SS as the flight path Rv. The route connecting the sensor position SP and the goal position G is set as the flight route Rw. Then, the flight path generation unit 115 generates information indicating the direction, distance, height, and flight path for each set flight path. Since the start position and the goal position are positions, they are specified by latitude and longitude.

  Then, the flight path generation unit 115 performs the flight shown in FIG. 11B based on the start position S and goal position G and the flight paths Ra to Rv set as described with reference to FIG. Route information is generated and stored in the flight route information file 106. As shown in FIG. 11B, the header information includes a file name, an aircraft ID, and an IP address, as in the case of the flight route information described with reference to FIG. In addition, a plurality of pieces of data indicating each flight path including “No.”, “classification”, “movement instruction”, and “operation instruction” are gathered to generate a series of flight path information. This is similar to the case of the flight route information described using (B).

  In addition, the contents of the information “No.”, “classification”, “movement instruction”, and “operation instruction” are the same as those in the case of the flight path information described with reference to FIG. However, in the case of the flight route information shown in FIG. 11B, in the “operation instruction”, an instruction is issued to shoot a still image at the center positions S1, S2, S3,. Note that (S) described in the “operation instruction” column of FIG. 11B indicates the start position, and (S1), (S2),..., (S21) indicate the center position of the shooting range (SP The description of () indicates the sensor position, and the description of (G) indicates the goal position.

  Accordingly, the flight path information shown in FIG. 11B is the center position S1 → S2 → S3 →... → of the imaging range from the start position S at a predetermined altitude as described with reference to FIG. It follows flight path information to reach the goal position G following S21 → SP. Then, a still image is taken at each of the center positions P1, P2, P3,..., P21, and an instruction is given to perform processing for collecting (receiving) detection results from the data sensor SS at the sensor position SP. Yes. In this way, flight path information for instructing the flight path of the UAV 2 can be generated so as to capture still images of the target farm field HJ and collect detection results from the data sensor SS.

  Note that the flight speed of the UAV 2 is determined in advance so as to be an appropriate speed at which a high-precision still image can be captured when a still image of a farm field is captured from 5 m above the center of each imaging range. . For this reason, in the sky 5 m above the center of each imaging range, it is possible to take a still image of the field and take it to the next imaging range. In this case, information for instructing to stop when taking a still image may be put in the operation instruction field of the flight path information. The user of UAV2 can also set the flight speed and the still instruction at the time of shooting.

  In this manner, depending on whether a moving image is shot or a still image is shot for each target field HJ, flight route information (route path information) is used in the manner shown in FIGS. 10B and 11B. Is recorded in the flight path information file 106 and prepared for provision to the UAV 2.

  It should be noted that the position at which the flight of UAV 2 is started (the first position to skip) is obtained by calculation based on the field polygon of the target field and the start position S. For example, the start position S can be skipped and set to the initial position. However, based on the field polygon of the target field and the start position S, the flight can be started safely such that the starting position is 5 m north from the start position S so as to be away from the target field ( Location).

  Further, as described above, the shooting range (shootable range) is obtained by calculation from the specifications of the UAV2 camera function and the flight altitude. Further, the shooting start position and the shooting end position are obtained by calculation from the field polygon and the shooting range. Further, as described above, each flight route (route path) can be set based on the field polygon, the shooting range, and the center position of the shooting range. The shooting position (shooting point) when shooting a still image can be set based on the field polygon, the shooting range, and the center position of the shooting range. Then, a flight path (route path) can be set by connecting adjacent shooting positions.

  Note that the flight path to the data sensor (sensor unit) SS differs depending on the order of shooting the field and obtaining the detection result from the data sensor. In the case of the example described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the field is first photographed, and when the photographing is completed, the detection result is obtained from the data sensor. In this case, the flight path to the data sensor SS can be specified based on the photographing end position, the sensor position SP, and the distance at which communication with the data sensor is possible. In addition, when the detection result from the data sensor is acquired first, the flight path to the data sensor SS can be specified based on the start position S, the sensor position SP, and the distance at which communication with the data sensor is possible. .

<Flight path when there are multiple target fields in one agricultural area>
When the information collection target is only one field, as described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the flight path may be generated only for the target field. However, as described with reference to FIG. 5, there is a case where it is desired to collect information collectively with all the 13 fields managed by the farmer A in the agricultural area “0001” as target fields. In such a case, a series of flight paths is generated by combining a flight path that circulates a plurality of target fields within one agricultural area and a flight path for each target field.

  FIG. 12 shows a case where 13 fields managed by the farmer A in the agricultural area “0001” are set as target fields and information is collected for all the 13 target fields as in the case shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the production | generation process of the flight path | route. As shown in FIG. 12, there are 48 farm fields (paddy fields) in the agricultural area “0001”, and 13 farm fields indicated by shading are farm fields managed by the farmer A. And

  First, the flight path generation unit 115 refers to the farm field DB 104 and identifies the representative points of the 13 target farm fields managed by the farmer A in the agricultural area “0001”. Then, as indicated by the straight arrows in FIG. 12, for example, the field at the uppermost left of the agricultural area “0001” is the start field A, the field at the uppermost right is the goal field B, and the representative points of each target field Specify the flight path that you want to pass in a single stroke. Thereby, a rough flight route about the agricultural area “0001” can be specified, and the start position S and the goal position G can be specified for each target farm field.

  In this case, in each target field, the start position S is set in the direction in which the solid line arrow indicating the rough flight path enters, and the goal position G is set in the direction in which the solid line arrow goes out. Further, the start position S of the start field A can be set by the user, or can be set by calculating backward from the goal position G of the start field A specified from the rough flight path. The goal position G of the goal field B can be set by the user or can be set from the start position S of the goal field B specified from the rough flight path.

  Then, for each target field, the predetermined start position S and goal position G are taken into consideration, and the flight path is generated for each target field by the method described with reference to FIG. 10 or the method described with reference to FIG. Thus, in the agricultural area “0001”, it is possible to fly over all 13 fields managed by the farmer A and collect information about all 13 fields. Here, the information collection includes capturing a moving image or a still image and collecting detection results from an installed data sensor.

  In the case of this example, as shown in FIG. 12, the UAV 2 first carries the truck TK to the farm field (start farm field A) at the uppermost left end of the agricultural area “0001” to start flight. Then, the truck TK moves to the vicinity of the uppermost right field (the goal field B) of the agricultural area “0001”, flies according to the generated flight path information, and collects the UAV 2 that has finished collecting information. . Thereafter, the user moves to the next target agricultural area “0002” and can collect information by UAV2. Thus, since information collection by UAV2 can be performed for each agricultural area and for each field, UAV2 does not affect features other than those for agriculture.

  In addition, although demonstrated here that the flight path | route production | generation part 115 produces | generates the patrol path | route (rough flight path | route) which patrols each object farm field automatically, it does not restrict to this. The order in which the target plurality of target fields are visited can be input by the user through the management device 3, for example, and an instruction can be provided to the generation device 1. That is, it is possible to form a patrol route according to a user instruction.

[Information acquisition level and flight altitude, etc.]
In the embodiment described above, it has been described that the flight altitude of the UAV2 is 5 m, and that the focal length is determined according to the image sensor of the camera function mounted on the UAV2. However, it is not limited to this. Actually, the flight altitude and the focal length are determined according to the information acquisition level and the image sensor. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the information acquisition level and the flight altitude.

  When photographing a target field using the camera function of the UAV2, the flight height of the UAV2 is different depending on the purpose of photographing, and the focal length is also changed. For example, if the target farm is a paddy field and you want to observe whether the rice is not diseased or pests inhabited, you can clearly see the state of the rice leaf surface and the state of the ear. In addition, it is necessary to take highly accurate images. On the other hand, if it is only necessary to observe the rough growth state of paddy rice, it is not necessary to take a highly accurate image as compared to the case of pest observation. The information acquisition level also varies depending on the crops cultivated in the field. For example, the information acquisition level is different between the case of observing paddy rice and the case of observing a fruit tree because the size of the entire crop and the harvest are different. As described above, the information acquisition level is a level required to appropriately obtain target information from the image information.

  For this reason, the flight altitude and focal length are determined in advance according to the information acquisition level of the image to be captured, that is, the level of definition of the image to be captured. FIG. 13A is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the information acquisition level and the flight altitude at the time of shooting. For example, a level 1 is set when a high-accuracy image needs to be taken to observe a pest, and a level 2 is set when an image with a somewhat rough accuracy is needed to observe a rough growth state. . In FIG. 13A, when a level 1 image needs to be shot, the flying altitude at the time of shooting is 5 m, and when a level 2 image can be shot, the flying altitude at the time of shooting is 10 m. It can be specified in advance. Note that the advance setting such that the flight altitude at the time of shooting the level 1 image is 5 m and the flight altitude at the time of shooting the level 2 image is 10 m is, for example, actually performing test shooting using the UAV2. Can be set appropriately.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 13B, for example, based on the image actually captured using the UAV2, according to the format of the image sensor of the camera function mounted on the UAV2, and the information acquisition level, A table can be created by determining the flight altitude and focal length for shooting. The table can be recorded in a predetermined area of the storage device 103 and read and used as necessary.

  In the case of the example of FIG. 13B, if the image sensor mounted on the UAV 2 is “APS-C” in the case of level 1 for pest observation, the flight altitude is 5 m and the focal length is 24 mm. Is done. Similarly, if the image sensor mounted on the UAV 2 is “Four Thirds”, the flight altitude is 5 m and the focal length is 20 mm. Further, in the case of level 2 where growth observation is performed, if the image sensor mounted on the UAV 2 is “APS-C”, the flight altitude is 10 m and the focal length is 30 mm. Similarly, if the image sensor mounted on the UAV 2 is “Four Thirds”, the flight altitude is 10 m and the focal length is 25 mm.

  As described above, the flight altitude and the focal length are determined according to the information acquisition level and the image sensor, and these are tabulated and registered in the storage device 103. Thereby, the flight altitude at the time of shooting and the focal length of the camera function can be appropriately determined according to the required information acquisition level and the UAV 2 to be used.

[Summary of Processing of Generating Device 1]
FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the UAV 2 flight path information generation process performed by the generation apparatus 1. The process illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 14 is a process executed by the control unit 102 of the generation apparatus 1 when an access is made from the management apparatus 3 through the IoT platform 4.

  First, in order to receive necessary information from the user through the management device 3, the control unit 102 provides an input screen or the like and performs processing for receiving condition information (instruction information) from the management device 3 (step S <b> 101). . FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a condition information input screen used in the management apparatus. In this embodiment, the input screen is provided from the generation device 1 to the management device 3, for example. In step S <b> 101, the control unit 102 provides a first input screen for condition information shown in FIG. 15A and receives an instruction input for a place and an agricultural area through the management device 3. Next, the control unit 102 provides a second input screen for the condition information shown in FIG. 15B, and accepts the field ID, manager, altitude setting, machine ID, and image type through the management device 3.

  The agricultural area ID can also be input through a map relating to the agricultural area displayed on the lower side of the first input screen by inputting information corresponding to the lot number in the place input field. Similarly, the field ID can also be input through a map regarding the field displayed on the lower side of the second input screen in accordance with the input agricultural area ID. The maps in these cases are not shown in FIG. 1 according to the information about the fields in the field DB 104 and, if necessary, but map data of the map DB provided in the generation device 1 or the map DB connected to the IoT platform 4 is used. Formed using.

  Further, the farm field ID can also be used to collectively designate a plurality of farm fields managed by the manager in the designated agricultural area by inputting the manager. The altitude setting can be set according to, for example, selection input of pest observation (level 1) or growth observation (level 2), and the aircraft ID assigned to the UAV 2 to be flying is input. The image type is information indicating whether to shoot a moving image or a still image.

  Then, the control unit 102 controls the target field specifying unit 113 to specify the field that is the flight target of the UAV 2 based on the condition information from the management device 3 (step S102). That is, it is specified which field and which agricultural field of which place is the target agricultural field. Moreover, in step S102, when the data sensor SS is installed in the specified target field, the sensor position SP is also specified.

  Thereafter, the control unit 102 controls the shooting range specifying unit 112 to calculate and specify a shooting range when shooting the target farm using the UAV 2 to be used (step S103). In this step S103, the imaging range specifying unit 112, based on the input altitude setting and the aircraft ID, based on the image sensor mounted on the UAV 2 used, the flight altitude, and the focal length, FIG. The shooting range is specified by the calculation described with reference to FIG.

  And the control part 102 discriminate | determines whether the target agricultural field identified in step S102 is one (step S104). It is assumed that it is determined in the determination process in step S104 that there is one target field. In this case, under the control of the control unit 102, the flight path generation unit 115 generates flight path information when the UAV 2 flies over the one target field and stores it in the flight path information file 106 (step S105). . In step S105, flight path information is generated in consideration of the shape and area of the target field identified in step S102, the imaging range identified in step S103, and whether to capture a moving image or a still image. Further, when the data sensor SS is installed, the flight path information is generated so as to collect data in consideration of the sensor position SP. That is, the process in step S105 is the process described with reference to FIG.

  When it is determined in step S104 that there is not one target field, the flight path generation unit 115 performs the following steps S106 to S109 under the control of the control unit 102. First, the flight path generation unit 115 refers to the farm field DB 104, acquires each representative point of the plurality of identified target farm fields, and, as described with reference to FIG. A simple flight path) is generated (step S106).

  Next, the flight path generation unit 115 identifies the start position and the goal position of each of the plurality of target farm fields (step S107). Thereafter, the flight path generation unit 115 generates flight path information over each target farm (step S108). In step S108, the start position and goal position specified in step S107, the shape and area of each target field specified in step S102, the shooting range specified in step S103, and whether a moving image or a still image is to be shot. Considering this, flight path information is generated. Further, when the data sensor SS is installed, the flight path information is generated so as to collect data in consideration of the sensor position SP. That is, the process of step S108 performs the process described with reference to FIG. 10 or FIG. 11 for each of a plurality of target farm fields.

  Then, the flight path generation unit 115 generates flight path information capable of photographing the whole of the plurality of target fields in one agricultural area, and stores it in the flight path information file (step S109). Specifically, in step S109, a series of routes from the patrol route (patrol flight route) that patrols each target field identified in step S106 and the flight path for flying over each target field formed in step S108 are obtained. Flight route information is generated.

  And after the process of step S105 and the process of step S109, the control part 102 provides the flight path information stored in the flight path information file 106 with respect to UAV2 of flight object (step S110). The process shown in FIG. In this way, a user who intends to collect information from a target field using UAV2 can easily input flight path information for appropriately flying UAV2 to be used by inputting predetermined condition information. It can be generated quickly and set in UAV2.

[Operation of UAV2]
As described above, the UAV 2 includes a GPS function, various sensors such as a six-axis sensor, a direction sensor, and an altitude sensor, and is capable of autonomous flight. USV2 has a camera function and a short-range wireless communication function. In addition, a memory having a relatively large storage capacity for storing and holding captured images and detection outputs of the data sensors is also provided. Therefore, the UAV 2 that has received the flight path information from the generation device 1 through the IoT platform 4 autonomously flies over the field designated by the user based on the flight path information. Then, the farm field is photographed to obtain image information of the farm field, and the detection results are collected from the data sensor SS installed in the farm field and stored in the memory of the own machine.

  The field image information captured by the UAV 2 and the collected detection results from the data sensor SS are transmitted to the generation device 1 through the IoT platform 4 and stored in the research data DB 107. The data stored in the data research DB 107 can be referred to, for example, by an administrator of a farm field such as a farmer using the communication device such as the management device 3 or a personal computer to access the generation device 1 through the IoT platform 4. You can download and save.

[When the field is slanted with terraced rice fields and terraced fields]
<When the field is terraced rice fields or terraced fields>
When the field is a terraced rice field or terraced field, the elevation in each field is almost uniform. For this reason, what is necessary is just to make it the flight altitude in each agricultural field be 5 m from the ground and water surface of the said agricultural field. However, when moving from field to field, when moving from the field currently in flight to a higher field, an ascending flight path is formed in the flight path (route path) moving from the current field to the next field. . On the other hand, when moving from a field that is currently flying to a lower field, a flight path that descends is formed in a flight path (route path) that moves from the current field to the next field.

  For this reason, when the farm field is a terraced rice field or terraced field, the height information from the reference position such as the altitude of each farm field is also stored in the farm field DB 104 so that the degree of ascent and descent can be increased. You can specify how much you should go up or down.

<When the field is inclined>
For example, when the farm field is an inclined land provided on a slope of a mountain, the height from a reference position such as an altitude is different in the farm field. For this reason, the inside of the agricultural field that is an inclined land is divided into, for example, several meters square, thereby forming a mesh structure, and height information from a reference position such as an altitude for each mesh is grasped and stored in the agricultural field DB 104. Then, when the flight path is generated, the flight altitude may be adjusted according to height information such as the altitude of each mesh.

[Effect of the embodiment]
The generation device 1 according to the embodiment described above appropriately receives information from the field based on the instruction from the user who uses the UAV 2, the data regarding the field stored in the field DB 104, and the camera performance of the UAV 2 to be used. Flight route information to be collected can be generated appropriately and quickly. Thereby, it is possible to obtain image information that allows observation of the details of each field to be managed. Accordingly, it is possible to promptly respond to pests and pests and more appropriately grasp the growth state, and it is possible to grasp the information in a shorter time than before.

  Further, since the UAV 2 can also collect the detection results of the data sensor SS installed in the field, the data sensor SS does not need to have a high-output communication function that can be directly connected to the IoT platform 4. Therefore, the data sensor SS can be an inexpensive one having a short-range wireless communication function, and can be installed without omission in a necessary place. Thereby, since more data sensors SS can be installed in the field than before, fine management is possible.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, the flight altitude is described as being determined to be 5 m or 10 m, for example, according to the information acquisition level, but is not limited thereto. As described above, since the field DB 104 also manages information indicating the cultivated crops, the flight altitude can be adjusted according to the crops. For example, in the case of annual grass such as paddy rice, it is not necessary to adjust the flight altitude. However, in the case of a tree (fruit tree) such as a mandarin orange or apple, the height of the tree, for example 2 m, is set at the set flight altitude. The flight altitude correction process such as adding is performed.

  Further, since the farm field is photographed from above using the camera function of UAV2, there may be a case where distortion occurs in the photographed image. For this reason, the captured image may be corrected using, for example, a distortion correction technique such as ortho.

  The field DB 104 also stores information indicating the manager for each field. For this reason, an administrator is added to the flight path information, and information indicating the flight execution date is also added. Thereby, the flight plan of the UAV 2 that receives the flight path information from the generation device 1 can be managed by the generation device 1. For this reason, the production | generation apparatus 1 can produce | generate flight path information so that several UAV2 may not fly in the same agricultural area. That is, the flight plan can be managed by the generation device 1.

  Moreover, the near field communication function with which data sensor SS is provided can use the thing of a Bluetooth (trademark) specification, for example. Of course, other standards may be used.

  Further, as described above, when there are a plurality of farm fields with different managers in one agricultural area, and when patroling farm fields managed by the same manager, all the farm fields are visited at once. There is no need. That is, one agricultural area may be further divided into several divided areas, and flight path information may be generated for the divided areas. As a division method, a K-Means method or the like can be used.

  In addition, when the time in which the UAV 2 can fly is long or in the future, the flight path information can be generated over a plurality of agricultural areas.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image information collected by the UAV 2 and the detection output of the data sensor are transmitted to the generation device 1 and stored therein. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The image information collected by the UAV 2 and the detection output of the data sensor can be provided from the UAV 2 to the management apparatus 3 by wire or wirelessly and can be made available through the management apparatus 3 immediately after collection.

  The flight path information can also be provided from the management device 3 to the UAV 2.

  In the above-described embodiment, the flight altitude of UAV2 has been described as being 5 m and 10 m, but is not limited thereto. In order to capture a highly accurate image, 3 m to 5 m is preferable, and if necessary, the altitude can be further lowered. Moreover, when it is necessary to look at the state of the entire field, it is possible to set the height to 10 m or more according to the shape and area of the field. In short, as described with reference to FIG. 13A, an appropriate flight altitude can be selected according to the purpose.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where an image of a farm field is taken has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the present invention can also be applied to agricultural chemical spraying and seed spraying. In this case, a flight range information may be generated by specifying a spraying range based on the spraying function of agricultural chemicals and seeds mounted on the UAV 2 and using the spraying range as the above-described photographing range. In the case of pesticide and seed spraying, it is necessary to strictly determine the spraying range so as not to affect other fields. In this case, too, the flight altitude is a demand factor when determining the spraying range.

  In the above-described embodiment, the generation device 1 has the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, but is not limited thereto. For example, the farm field DB 104, the UAV DB 105, the flight path information file 106, and the research data DB 107 may be provided on the Internet. In addition, each function of the condition setting unit 111, the imaging range specifying unit 112, the target field specifying unit 113, the sensor position specifying unit 114, and the flight path generating unit 115 may be realized by a different server device on the Internet. . That is, the generation device 1 can of course be configured as a so-called cloud system.

[Others]
As is clear from the description of the embodiment described above, the function of the field information storage unit in the claims is realized by the field DB 104 of the generation device (hereinafter simply referred to as a generation device) 1 of the embodiment. ing. Further, the shooting range specifying means of the claims is realized by the shooting range specifying unit 112 of the generating apparatus 1. Moreover, the function of the target field specifying means in the claims is realized by the target field specifying unit 113 of the generating device 1. In addition, the flight path generation unit 115 of the generation device 1 realizes the function of the flight path generation means in the claims.

  A method for performing the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 is the one to which an embodiment of a flight path generation method according to the present invention is applied. Further, the flight path generation apparatus of the present invention can be realized by creating a program for performing the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 and mounting the program on the information processing apparatus. That is, the functions of the condition setting unit 111, the shooting range specifying unit 112, the target field specifying unit 113, the sensor position specifying unit 114, and the flight path generating unit 115 of the generating apparatus shown in FIG. It can also be realized as a function of the control unit 102 by a program.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... UAV flight route production | generation apparatus, 101 ... Communication I / F, 102 ... Control part, 103 ... Memory | storage device, 104 ... Farm field DB, 105 ... UAVDB, 106 ... Flight route information file, 107 ... Research data DB, 111 ... Conditions Setting unit 112 ... Shooting range specifying unit 113 113 Target field specifying unit 114 114 Sensor position specifying unit 115 Flight path generating unit 2 UAV 3 UAV operation management device 4 IoT platform

Claims (6)

Field information storage means for storing field information including information capable of specifying the location, shape, and area of one or more fields;
Based on the performance of a camera function mounted on a UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle), an imaging range specifying means for specifying an imaging range when shooting the field from above using the UAV;
Target field specifying means for specifying a target field to be imaged based on instruction information from a user and the field information stored in the field information storage means;
The UAV above the target field based on the field information of the field information storage unit for the target field specified by the target field specifying unit and the shooting range specified by the shooting range specifying unit. A flight path generation device comprising: a flight path generation means for generating the flight path. The flight path generation device according to claim 1,
The flight path generation unit generates a plurality of the target fields based on the field information of the field information storage unit for the plurality of target fields when a plurality of target fields are specified by the target field specifying unit. Generating a flight path that enables flight over a plurality of the target farm fields by generating a patrol path for patrol and generating a flight path over each target farm field in consideration of the tour path. A flight path generator. The flight path generation device according to claim 1 or 2,
The flight range generation device characterized in that the shooting range specifying means specifies a shooting altitude according to a required information acquisition level, and specifies the shooting range using the shooting altitude. The flight path generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The field information storage means includes height information about the field,
The flight path generation unit generates the flight path of the UAV in consideration of height information about the field of the field information storage unit. The flight path generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
In the field information storage unit, information indicating the installation position of the sensor unit is provided for the field provided with the sensor unit having a function of detecting the state of the field and transmitting the detection result by short-range wireless communication. Remembered,
When the UAV has a short-range wireless communication function and can collect detection results from the sensor means, the flight path generation means considers the installation position of the sensor means of the field information storage means. And generating the flight path. A flight path generation method performed by a flight path generation device,
Based on the performance of a camera function mounted on a UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle), a shooting range specifying step for specifying a shooting range when shooting a field from the sky using the UAV;
The input instruction information from the user and the information stored in the field information storage means for storing the field information including information capable of specifying the location, shape and area of one or more fields Based on the target field identification step for identifying the target field to be imaged,
Flight of the UAV over the target field based on the field information of the field information storage means for the target field specified in the target field specifying step and the shooting range specified in the shooting range specifying step A flight path generation method comprising: a flight path generation step of generating a path.

Images