JP2023042705A - Flying object control system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a flying object control system capable of accurately moving a flying object to a target position.SOLUTION: A flying object control system 10 includes: a carrier vehicle 50 which moves on the ground; and a flying object 40 which floats in the air from the carrier vehicle 50 and flies. The carrier vehicle 50 includes a flight control part for controlling the movement of the flying object 40. When a distance between the hovering flying object 40 and a target position of a movement destination of the flying object 40 is shorter than a movement resolution of the flying object 40, the flight control part moves the flying object 40 to the target position by the combination of the movement at the a distance equal to or higher than the movement resolution.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an aircraft control system having an aircraft that flies in a warehouse or the like.

As a technique for managing packages in a warehouse, there has been proposed a method of managing the presence or absence of packages in a warehouse and the installation location thereof by reading an identification code assigned to the package. Recently, by using drones that fly inside the warehouse to obtain information on packages stored on high racks in the warehouse, it is possible to reduce the load of inspection and inventory work of packages in the warehouse. Techniques have also been proposed.

For example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2 propose a package management system that includes a drone equipped with a camera that captures images of packages in a warehouse, and a mobile device that is connected to the drone by a cable and moves in the warehouse. there is Since the cable to the mobile device is used to charge the power supply for driving the drone, it is possible to acquire images over a long period of time using the drone's camera.

JP 2017-218325 A JP 2019-167177 A

Here, when managing packages using a drone, it is necessary to move the hovering drone to the target position with high accuracy. It is not possible to move the drone finely. Therefore, if the movement distance between the drone and the target position to which the drone moves is shorter than the movement resolution, the drone cannot be moved to the target position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems described above, and to provide an aircraft control system capable of accurately moving an aircraft to a target position.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an aircraft control system of the present invention includes a carrier that moves on the ground and an aircraft that levitates in the air from the carrier, and the carrier comprises the above-mentioned A control unit for controlling the movement of the flying object, wherein when the distance between the hovering flying object and a target position to which the flying object moves is shorter than the movement resolution of the flying object, The flying object is moved to the target position by a combination of movements at distances equal to or greater than the movement resolution.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an aircraft control system capable of moving an aircraft to a target position with high accuracy.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an aircraft control system and a baggage management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an example of functional blocks of an aircraft and a carrier that constitute an aircraft control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the flying object during hovering according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a movement route of an aircraft.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention can be implemented in various embodiments, and is not limited to the embodiments described below.

<Configuration of aircraft control system and baggage management system>
FIG. 1 is an example of the configuration of an aircraft control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The aircraft control system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is configured as part of a baggage management system 20 . The aircraft control system 10 includes a carrier 50 that moves on the ground and an aircraft 40 (such as a drone) that floats in the air. The cargo management system 20 includes a cargo management device 60 in addition to the aircraft control system 10, and uses the information acquired by the aircraft control system 10 to manage the cargo 4 stacked in multiple stages on the multi-level racks 3 in the warehouse 1. to manage.

The baggage 4 is given a unique identification code 5 for identifying itself, and is an image captured by an imaging unit 41 (more specifically, a camera; the same applies to other imaging units) mounted on the flying object 40. Each parcel 4 can be identified by the identification code 5 read from. The cargo management system 20 uses the identification code 5 read from the image captured by the imaging unit 41 mounted on the aircraft 40 flying in the warehouse 1 to manage the presence or absence of the cargo 4 in the warehouse 1 and the installation position. conduct.

The flying object 40 hovers while following the transport vehicle 50 moving on a predetermined route, and sequentially images the identification code 5 given to the luggage 4 by the imaging unit 41 . For the packages 4 stacked vertically, the flying object 40 moves up and down while hovering to sequentially image the identification code 5 of each package. "Hovering" in this embodiment includes a mode of staying in place while maintaining altitude and a mode of changing altitude while maintaining horizontal position. The flying object 40 reads the identification code 5 appearing in the captured image obtained by this imaging, and transmits code information of the read identification code 5 to the transport vehicle 50 . The transmitted code information is transmitted from the transport vehicle 50 to the parcel management device 60 . The parcel management device 60 receives the code information of the identification code 5 from the transport vehicle 50 . The parcel management device 60 manages the presence or absence of the parcel 4 in the warehouse 1 and the installation position based on the received code information. The presence or absence of the package 4 in the warehouse 1 can be managed by grasping the identification code 5 , and the position of the package 4 can be managed by associating it with the position of the transport vehicle 50 in the warehouse 1 .

The transport vehicle 50 includes an imaging unit 51, a central processing unit 52, a flight control unit 58, a charging port 59, etc., and transports them, as will be described later. The aircraft 40 takes off and lands on the charging port 59 . When the aircraft 40 lands, the charging port 59 charges the batteries 46 (FIG. 2) of the aircraft 40 in a non-contact manner. The transport vehicle 50 may be configured to transport the flying object 40 that has landed on the transport vehicle 50 and/or transport the cargo 4 loaded thereon.

The transport vehicle 50 moves in the warehouse 1, and the flying object 40 is at a predetermined position above the transport vehicle 50 (relative position in the horizontal direction with respect to the transport vehicle 50. The altitude is controlled by another arbitrary method). It hovers and follows the movement of the carrier 50 so as to hover at this predetermined position. The flying object 40 performs autonomous control using an optical flow sensor 49 ( FIG. 2 ) mounted on the flying object 40 and also performs hovering control based on a control signal from the carrier 50 . Autonomous control using the optical flow sensor 49 may be performed using one or a plurality of upward markers provided on the carrier 50 as a mark.

The transport vehicle 50 includes an upward imaging unit 51 that captures an image of a downward marker 48 provided at the bottom of the aircraft 40 . The orientation of the imaging unit 51 is fixed. Based on the position and size of the marker 48 captured in the captured image obtained by the imaging unit 51 , the guided vehicle 50 adjusts its position and attitude so that the aircraft 40 hovers over a predetermined position in the sky above the guided vehicle 50 . Control. The marker 48 may serve as a mark for hovering control, and is made up of a light emitting body such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamp here. . The marker 48 may be composed of an illumination unit provided to illuminate the imaging target below when an image is acquired by the optical flow sensor 49 . Since the marker 48 is a luminous body, the marker 48 becomes clear in the captured image even if the inside of the warehouse 1 is dark. Furthermore, since the marker 48 is the illumination unit, the components originally required for the autonomous control of the flying object 40 can be used, eliminating the need to provide a new marker.

In the present embodiment, the position and attitude of the flying object 40 are controlled by the control signal from the carrier 50 based on the captured image in which the marker 48 of the flying object 40 is captured. Even if the autonomous control of hovering by 40 becomes unstable, the flying object 40 can fly while following the movement of the carrier 50 .

Although the package management system 20 of FIG. 1 is intended for a multi-tiered rack warehouse in which packages 4 are stored in multi-tiered racks 3, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is a flat storage system in which packages 4 are stacked in multiple levels. It can also be applied to warehouses and the like.

<Structure of flying object and transport vehicle>
FIG. 2 is an example of functional blocks of an aircraft and a carrier that constitute an aircraft control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The transport vehicle 50 has a travel function for self-propelled within the warehouse 1 . The carrier 50 includes an imaging unit 51 that captures an image of the marker 48 of the aircraft 40, a charging port 59 that charges the battery 46 of the aircraft 40, and performs processing such as control of the driving unit 53 and transmission/reception of information. a driving unit 53 including a motor and wheels for traveling in the warehouse 1; a wireless unit 54 for wirelessly communicating with the aircraft 40 and the package management device 60; It comprises a memory 55 , a battery 56 for operating each section, and a flight control section 58 for controlling the position and attitude of the aircraft 40 based on the captured image captured by the imaging section 51 . The charging port 59 charges the battery 46 of the aircraft 40 with the power of the battery 56 in a non-contact manner. The charging port 59 may include a charging terminal that contacts the flying object 40 for charging. The transport vehicle 50 can self-travel along a predetermined route in the warehouse 1 by any method such as automatic operation. Since the flying object 40 follows the transport vehicle 50 , the flight route of the flying object 40 is defined by the self-running route of the transport vehicle 50 .

The flight control unit 58 controls the flying object 40 so that the flying object 40 hovers at a predetermined position in the sky above the carrier 50 by using the captured image in which the marker 48 of the flying object 40 is captured by the upward imaging unit 51 . It transmits control signals to control the position and attitude of the aircraft 40 .

The flying object 40 includes an imaging unit 41 for imaging the identification code 5 of the luggage 4 , and a central unit for reading the identification code 5 from the captured image obtained by the imaging unit 41 and transmitting code information of the identification code 5 . A processing unit 42, a driving unit 43 including a motor for driving a propeller 47, a radio unit 44 for wirelessly communicating with the aircraft 40, a memory 45 for storing various information, and a battery for operating each unit. 46, a propeller 47 for making the aircraft 40 fly, and a marker 48 directed toward the ground. Air vehicle 40 also includes an optical flow sensor 49 for autonomous control. The radio unit 44 transmits code information to the carrier 50 and receives control signals for controlling the position and attitude of the aircraft 40 generated by the flight control unit 58 from the carrier 50 .

The central processing unit 42 drives and controls the propeller 47 by controlling the driving unit 43 . This drive control includes the above-described autonomous control using the optical flow sensor 49 and flight control (movement control) performed based on control signals from the flight control unit 58 . In this way, by using both the autonomous control and the control from the transport vehicle 50 for the drive control of the propeller 47, that is, the position control of the flying object 40, even if the autonomous hovering control of the flying object 40 becomes unstable. , the flying object 40 can be hovered while following the movement of the carrier 50 or the like.

<Hovering control of flying object>
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the flying object 40 during hovering according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, when the hovering flying object 40 moves from a predetermined position above the carrier 50 (here, directly above the charging port 59 of the carrier 50), the flying object 40 The aircraft 40 is controlled to move to a predetermined position above the carrier 50 based on a control signal from the carrier 50 based on the captured image of the marker 48 . In addition, in FIG. 3, the marker 48 and the like appearing in the captured image are exaggeratedly drawn large.

At the stage (1) in FIG. 3, the carrier 50 is moving, or the flying object 40 moves for some reason (for example, air currents caused by air conditioning) even though the carrier 50 is stopped, The flying object 40 is displaced from the predetermined position. The relative position of the flying object 40 with respect to the carrier 50 can be controlled by the position of the marker 48 appearing in the captured image captured by the imaging unit 51 . The flight control unit 58 controls and moves the flying object 40 during hovering so that the marker 48 shown in the captured image moves to a specific position (position corresponding to the predetermined position) on the captured image. In this control, the predetermined position becomes the target position to which the flying object 40 is moved. If the target position is located diagonally in front of the flying object 40, the flying object 40 rotates on the spot and moves to the target position. Normally, the flight controller 58 linearly moves the vehicle 40 to the target position. However, here, the movement distance for moving the flying object 40 to the target position is assumed to be a distance shorter than its own movement resolution (minimum movement amount). Therefore, the flying object 40 cannot be directly linearly moved to the target position (the specific position on the captured image). It is assumed that the flying object 40 can move by a distance of its own movement resolution (minimum movement amount)×N (natural number).

As described above, when the distance between the hovering flying object 40 and the destination target position is shorter than the movement resolution of the flying object 40, the flight control unit 58, as shown in (2) of FIG. Control is performed to move the flying object 40 to the target position by a combination of movements at a distance equal to or greater than the movement resolution (a control signal is sent to the flying object 40 to move it). For example, as shown in (2) of FIG. 3, the flight control unit 58 defines an isosceles triangle whose base is the distance from the current position of the aircraft 40 to the target position, with the two sides of the distance equal to or greater than the movement resolution being the equilateral sides. to move the flying object 40 along the route of . This movement includes in-place rotation and linear movement of the vehicle 40 . Such movement allows the flight control unit 58 to move the flying object 40 to the target position. In particular, by using an isosceles triangle for the movement path, the flying object 40 can be easily guided to the target position by changing the angle between two equilateral sides according to the distance from the current position of the flying object 40 to the target position. can. The movement path may be two sides of a triangle with the base extending from the current position of the aircraft 40 to the target position, and the triangle may be a triangle including one side orthogonal to the base and an oblique side.

For example, the flight control unit 58 determines the position of the marker 48 in the captured image captured by the imaging unit 51 (for example, the center position of the marker 48) and the specific position of the captured image (the position corresponding to the target position). A distance is derived based on the captured image. If the derived distance is shorter than a predetermined distance (a distance corresponding to the distance of the movement resolution of the flying object 40 in real space), the flight control unit 58 calculates the distance stored in the memory 55, for example. , information on the path along which the flying object 40 moves (such as information specifying the angles of the two sides other than the base of the triangle and the movement distance), and the information on the route of the flying object 40 by referring to a table or the like showing the relationship between It acquires the information, and transmits a control signal to the flying object 40 to move the flying object 40 based on the information. The flying object 40 can move to the target position as shown in (3) of FIG. 3 by moving according to the control signal. The flying object 40 moves in a direction different from the target position by rotating and linearly moving so as to move to the real space position corresponding to the position of the dotted line marker in FIG. 3(2). After that, the flying object 40 rotates at the real space position and then linearly moves toward the target position.

The flying object 40 lands at the charging port 59 of the transport vehicle 50 by descending as it is when it is at the predetermined position (target position) above the transport vehicle 50 . As a result, the battery 46 (FIG. 2) of the aircraft 40 is charged with the electric power of the battery 56 (FIG. 2) of the transport vehicle 50 . During this downward hovering, hovering control using the marker 48 may be performed, thereby correcting the horizontal position of the aircraft 40 .

The number and arrangement of markers 48 are not limited to the form described above. For example, it is possible to change the number and placement positions of the markers 48 according to various forms of the flying object 40 and adopt a control algorithm for the flying object 40 according to the form of the markers 48 .

<Effects of the present embodiment, etc.>
As in the present embodiment, when the distance between the hovering flying object 40 and the target position to which the flying object 40 moves is shorter than the movement resolution of the flying object 40, the flying object 40 is moved to the moving resolution or more. The aircraft 40 can be moved to the target position with high accuracy by moving to the target position by a combination of distance movements. In particular, in this embodiment, the aircraft 40 is moved so that the marker 48 appearing in the captured image captured by the imaging unit 51 of the transport vehicle 50 moves to a specific position corresponding to the target position of the captured image. By moving to the target position by the above combination, the flying object 40 can be moved to the target position easily and accurately.

It should be noted that the movement path by a combination of movement at a distance equal to or greater than the movement resolution is arbitrary regardless of the two sides of the triangle. When the amount of movement of the flying object 40 takes a value that can be changed continuously over the movement resolution (minimum movement distance), as shown in FIG. may pass the target position by , and may be controlled to move to the target position by linear movement M2, which is a distance equal to or greater than the movement resolution but is shorter than the linear movement M1 and in the opposite direction.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Warehouse, 2... Target, 3... Multistage rack, 4... Package, 5... Identification code, 10... Aircraft control system, 20... Package management system, 40... Aircraft, 41... Imaging unit, 42... Central processing unit , 43... Drive unit, 44... Wireless unit, 45... Memory, 46... Battery, 47... Propeller, 48... Marker, 49... Optical flow sensor, 50... Carrier, 51... Imaging unit, 52... Central processing unit, 53 Drive unit 54 Radio unit 55 Memory 56 Battery 58 Flight control unit 60 Baggage management device.

Claims (2)

Equipped with a carrier that moves on the ground and a flying object that floats in the air from the carrier and flies,
The transport vehicle includes a control unit that controls the movement of the flying object,
When a distance between the hovering flying object and a target position to which the flying object moves is shorter than the moving resolution of the flying object, the control unit moves the flying object at a distance equal to or greater than the moving resolution. moving to the target position by a combination of movements;
Aircraft control system. The flying vehicle comprises a marker directed toward the ground,
The transport vehicle further includes an imaging unit that captures an image of the marker,
The control unit moves the flying object to the target position by the combination so that the marker appearing in the captured image captured by the imaging unit moves to a specific position corresponding to the target position of the captured image. ,
The flight control system of claim 1.

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