JP6501080B2 - Unmanned aerial vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle control method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device, a mobile unit, a control method, and a program.

Patent Document 1 discloses a camera system. The camera system comprises an external unit and a main unit. When the camera is turned on, exchange of unit information is performed between the main unit and the external unit. The unit information includes information of model number, unit type, manufacturer type, firmware version number, and presence / absence of main body firmware.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-239301

  When the displacement portion held displaceably with respect to the main body portion is displaced, the barycentric positions of the main body portion and the displacement portion may change. As a result, the attitude of the main body may change. It may be required to quickly control the attitude of the main body based on the change in attitude of the main body.

  In one aspect, the control device includes: a first acquisition unit acquiring first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement unit held displaceably with respect to the main body; and the displacement unit based on the first information A prediction unit that predicts the posture of the main body portion after being displaced to the position of the displacement destination, and a control unit that controls the posture of the main body portion based on the posture of the main body portion predicted by the prediction unit.

  The prediction unit may predict the posture of the main body after the displacement unit is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the mass of the displacement unit and the first information.

  The control unit controls the posture of the main body so that the change in the posture of the main body caused by the displacement of the displacement portion to the position of the displacement is suppressed based on the posture of the main body predicted by the prediction unit. You may

  The prediction unit predicts the position of the displacement portion at each of a plurality of timings in a period from the position before displacement to the position of the displacement destination, and the posture of the main portion for each of the plurality of predicted positions. The controller may control the attitude of the main body at each of the plurality of timings based on the attitude of the main body predicted by the predictor with respect to the position of the displacement portion at each of the plurality of timings.

  The control unit is based on the target value of the attitude of the main body, the detection value of the attitude of the main body by the sensor for acquiring the attitude of the main body, and the attitude of the main body predicted by the prediction unit. You may control the attitude.

  The displacement portion may include a movable lens.

  The first information may include information indicating the position of the displacement destination of the movable lens corresponding to the focal length of the lens system including the movable lens.

  The first information may include information indicating the position of the displacement destination of the movable lens corresponding to the focus position of the lens system including the movable lens.

  The storage unit is further provided for storing the position of the center of gravity of the lens apparatus including the lens system in association with a plurality of positions of the movable lens, and the prediction unit stores the position of the movable lens indicated by the first information. The posture of the main body after the movable lens is displaced to the position of the displacement destination of the movable lens indicated by the first information may be predicted based on the position of the center of gravity stored in the unit and the mass of the lens device.

  The movable lens is included in a lens system included in the interchangeable lens that is detachable from the main body, and the control device is configured to replace at least one of the focal length and the focus position of the interchangeable lens from the interchangeable lens mounted on the main body A second acquisition unit may be provided to acquire second information indicating the position of the center of gravity of the lens and the mass of the interchangeable lens.

  The displacement unit may be an imaging device.

  The imaging device may be variably oriented with respect to the main body, and the displacement of the displacement portion may be a change in the orientation of the imaging device.

  The imaging device is attachable to and detachable from the main body portion, and the control device acquires, from the imaging device mounted on the main body portion, a second acquisition unit that acquires second information indicating the gravity center position of the imaging device and the mass of the imaging device. May be equipped.

  In one aspect, the movable body includes the control device and the main body described above.

  In one aspect, the control method includes: acquiring first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement portion held displaceably with respect to the main body; and the displacement portion being a displacement destination based on the first information. The method further comprises the steps of predicting the posture of the main body after being displaced to the position, and controlling the posture of the main body based on the posture of the main body predicted in the predicting step.

  In one aspect, a program causes a computer to execute the control method.

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all of the features of the present invention. A subcombination of these feature groups can also be an invention.

It is a figure showing an example of the composition of a system. An example of a functional block of UAV100 is shown. An example in case the lens apparatus 160 exists in the state of a tele end is shown. An example of lens information stored in the memory 163 is shown. An example of gravity center information is shown. An example of a block diagram regarding attitude control of UAV100 in UAV100 is shown. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control flow which controls the attitude | position of UAV100. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control flow after the UAV control part 104 receives 1st information until it outputs 2nd information to PID control. An example when direction of imaging device 190 changes is shown. 7 shows an example of imaging unit information stored in a memory 146.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through the embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the solution of the invention.

  The claims, the description, the drawings, and the abstract contain matters that are subject to copyright protection. The copyright holder will not object to any copy of these documents as they appear in the Patent Office file or record. However, in all other cases, all copyrights are reserved.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration. The system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 100. The UAV 100 includes a UAV body 101, a gimbal 110, and an imaging device 190. UAV body 101 has a plurality of rotors including rotors 108a and rotors 108b. In some cases, a plurality of rotary wings included in the UAV main body 101 may be collectively referred to as rotary wings 108. The imaging device 190 includes an imaging unit 140 and a lens device 160. The UAV 100 is an example of a moving object that moves with an object. The moving body is a concept including UAVs, other aircraft moving in the air, vehicles moving on the ground, ships moving on the water, and the like.

  The UAV 100 flies by controlling the rotation of the rotary wings 108. The UAV 100 flies using, for example, four rotors 108. The number of rotors 108 is not limited to four. UAV 100 may be a fixed wing aircraft that does not have rotors 108.

  The gimbal 110 supports the imaging unit 140 and the lens device 160 so that the attitude of the imaging device 190 with respect to the gimbal 110 can be changed. The gimbal 110 may rotatably support the imaging device 190 about at least one axis. For example, the gimbal 110 rotatably supports the imaging device 190 about each of the pitch axis, the roll axis, and the yaw axis. The gimbal 110 may hold the imaging unit 140 or may hold the lens device 160.

  The imaging unit 140 generates and records image data of an optical image formed through the lens device 160. The lens device 160 is a so-called interchangeable lens. The lens device 160 is attachable to and detachable from the imaging unit 140.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a functional block of the UAV 100. The UAV 100 includes a UAV main body 101, a gimbal 110, and an imaging device 190. The UAV main body 101 includes a communication interface 102, a UAV control unit 104, a sensor 120, a memory 106, a driver 107, a detection unit 105, a motor 109, and a rotary wing 108.

  The driver 107 and the motor 109 function as a drive unit for moving the UAV 100. The driver 107 drives the motor 109. The motor 109 drives the rotary wings 108. One motor 109 is provided for each of the plurality of rotary wings 108. The driver 107 controls the rotational speed of each drive shaft of the motor 109. The rotation speed is, for example, the number of rotations per unit time. The rotary wings 108 are rotated by rotation of the corresponding drive shaft of the motor 109. The UAV 100 flies as the rotor 108 rotates.

  The communication interface 102 communicates with an external transmitter. Communication interface 102 receives various commands from a remote transmitter. The UAV control unit 104 controls the flight of the UAV 100 according to the command received from the transmitter. The UAV control unit 104 controls the gimbal 110, the imaging unit 140, and the lens device 160.

  The UAV control unit 104 may be configured by a microprocessor such as a CPU or an MPU, or a microcontroller such as an MCU. The memory 106 stores programs necessary for the UAV control unit 104 to control the gimbal 110, the imaging unit 140, and the lens device 160. The memory 106 may be a computer-readable recording medium, and may include at least one of SRAM, DRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory such as USB memory. The memory 106 may be provided in the housing of the UAV 100. The memory 106 may be provided to be removable from the housing of the UAV 100. The UAV control unit 104 may cause the UAV 100 to function as a control device. In this case, a program for adjusting the attitude of the UAV 100 is read from the memory 106 and executed. The UAV control unit 104 may cause the UAV 100 to function as a control device.

  The detection unit 105 detects the situation of the UAV 100 or the situation around the UAV 100. The detection unit 105 detects, for example, a position including the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the UAV 100, and an azimuth corresponding to the heading of the UAV 100. The detection unit 105 may include an imaging device for sensing that captures the periphery of the UAV 100.

UAV control unit 104 includes a confirmation unit 188. The confirmation unit 188 performs pre-flight initialization of the UAV 100. The confirmation unit 188 performs operation confirmation of the driver 107, the motor 109, the rotary wing 108, and the detection unit 105. The confirmation unit 188 may perform operation confirmation of the driver 107, the motor 109, the rotary wings 108, and the detection unit 105 before the flight of the UAV 100. The confirmation unit 188 may execute operation confirmation of various sensors that detect the state of the UAV 100. An example of a period in which the initialization is performed is a period from when the UAV 100 is powered on to when the UAV 100 starts moving.

  The sensor 120 is a sensor for acquiring the attitude of the UAV main body 101. The sensor 120 may detect the attitude of the gimbal 110. The sensor 120 may be a gyro sensor. The detected value of the posture by the sensor 120 is output to the UAV control unit 104. The UAV control unit 104 controls the UAV main body 101 and the gimbal 110 based on the detected value of the attitude by the sensor 120.

  The gimbal 110 rotatably supports the imaging device 190 about at least one axis. The gimbal 110 may rotatably support the imaging device 190 about the yaw axis, the pitch axis, and the roll axis. The UAV control unit 104 outputs an operation command to the gimbal 110. The motion command includes a target value of yaw angle, a target value of pitch angle, and a target value of roll angle. The yaw angle is a rotation angle of the imaging device 190 around the yaw axis. The pitch angle is a rotation angle of the imaging device 190 around the pitch axis. The roll angle is a rotation angle of the imaging device 190 around the roll axis. The gimbal 110 rotates the imaging device 190 about at least one of the yaw axis, the pitch axis, and the roll axis in accordance with the operation command acquired from the UAV control unit 104. The gimbal 110 controls the yaw angle, the pitch angle and the roll angle to their respective target values. Thereby, the orientation of the imaging device 190 is controlled.

  The imaging unit 140 includes an imaging control unit 142, an imaging element 144, and a memory 146. The imaging control unit 142 may be configured by a microprocessor such as a CPU or an MPU or a microcontroller such as an MCU. The imaging control unit 142 controls the imaging unit 140 and the lens device 160 in accordance with the operation command of the imaging unit 140 and the lens device 160 from the UAV control unit 104. The memory 146 may be a computer readable recording medium, and may include at least one of a SRAM, a DRAM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, and a flash memory such as a USB memory. The memory 146 may be provided inside the housing of the imaging unit 140. It may be provided to be removable from the housing of the imaging unit 140.

  The imaging element 144 is held inside the casing of the imaging unit 140, generates image data of an optical image formed through the lens device 160, and outputs the image data to the imaging control unit 142. The imaging control unit 142 stores the image data output from the imaging element 144 in the memory 146. The imaging control unit 142 may output image data to the memory 106 via the UAV control unit 104 and store the image data.

  The lens device 160 includes a lens control unit 162, a memory 163, a lens 164, a lens 166, and a lens 168. The lens 164, the lens 166, and the lens 168 form a lens system. The lens 164, the lens 166, and the lens 168 are disposed inside the barrel of the lens device 160. Some or all of the lens 164, the lens 166, and the lens 168 may be held displaceably along the optical axis. The lens displaceable along the optical axis is an example of a movable lens. The lens control unit 162 moves at least one of the lens 164, the lens 166, and the lens 168 along the optical axis in accordance with an instruction from the imaging control unit 142. The image formed by the lens of the lens device 160 is captured by the imaging unit 140.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the UAV 100 includes the UAV control unit 104, the imaging control unit 142, and the lens control unit 162 will be described. However, UAV control unit 104, the processing to be executed two or three may be performed in one control unit in the imaging control unit 142 and the lens controller 162,.

  In the UAV control unit 104, the first acquisition unit 170 acquires first information indicating the position of the displacement destination of the displacement portion held displaceably with respect to the UAV main body 101. The movable lens included in the lens device 160 is an example of a displacement unit. The imaging device 190 is an example of a displacement unit. The UAV main body 101 is an example of a main body.

  The prediction unit 130 predicts the attitude of the UAV main body 101 after the displacement unit is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information. The control unit 180 controls the attitude of the UAV main body 101 based on the attitude of the UAV main body 101 predicted by the prediction section 130.

  The prediction unit 130 predicts the attitude of the UAV main body 101 after the displacement portion is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information and the mass of the displacement portion. The control unit 180 controls the UAV main body 101 so that the change in the attitude of the UAV main body 101 caused by the displacement of the displacement portion to the position of the displacement destination is suppressed based on the attitude of the UAV main body 101 predicted by the prediction unit 130. Control the attitude of

  The prediction unit 130 predicts the position of the displacement portion at each of a plurality of timings in a period from the position before displacement to the displacement destination position. The prediction unit 130 predicts the attitude of the UAV main body 101 for each of the plurality of predicted positions. The control unit 180 controls the posture of the UAV main body 101 based on the posture of the UAV main body 101 predicted by the prediction unit 130 with respect to the position of the displacement portion at each of the plurality of timings.

  The control unit 180 controls the attitude of the UAV body 101 based on the target value of the attitude of the UAV body 101, the detected value of the attitude of the UAV body 101 by the sensor, and the attitude of the UAV body 101 predicted by the prediction unit 130. Do. The control unit 180 performs feedforward control based on the attitude of the UAV main body 101 predicted by the prediction unit 130.

  When the displacement portion includes a movable lens, the first information may include information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the movable lens corresponding to a focal length of a lens system including the movable lens. The first information may be information indicating a change destination of the focal length. The first information may include information indicating the position of the displacement destination of the movable lens corresponding to the focus position of the lens system including the movable lens. The first information may be information indicating a change destination of the focus position.

  The memory 106 stores the barycentric position of the lens apparatus including the lens system in association with a plurality of positions of the movable lens. The prediction unit 130 associates the position of the displacement destination of the movable lens indicated by the first information with the position of the center of gravity stored in the memory 106 and the mass of the lens apparatus to indicate the displacement of the movable lens indicated by the first information. The posture of the UAV main body 101 after the movable lens is displaced to the previous position is predicted.

  When the movable lens is included in the lens system included in the interchangeable lens that can be attached to and detached from the UAV main body 101, the second acquiring unit 172 can set the focal distance and focus position of the interchangeable lens from the interchangeable lens attached to the UAV main body 101. Second information indicating the position of the center of gravity of the interchangeable lens corresponding to at least one and the mass of the interchangeable lens may be acquired. The second acquiring unit 172 may acquire the second information in a period in which the pre-flight initialization of the UAV 100 is performed.

  When the imaging device 190 is provided to be variable in direction with respect to the UAV main body 101, the imaging device 190 is an example of a displacement unit. The displacement of the displacement portion corresponds to the change in the orientation of the imaging device.

  The imaging device 190 may be removable from the UAV body 101. In this case, the second acquisition unit 172 may acquire, from the imaging device 190 mounted on the UAV main body 101, second information indicating the gravity center position of the imaging device 190 and the mass of the imaging device. The second acquiring unit 172 may acquire the second information in a period in which the pre-flight initialization of the UAV 100 is performed.

  FIG. 3 shows an example where the lens apparatus 160 is in the tele end state. The state of the lens device 160 shown in FIG. 3 is different from the state of the lens device 160 shown in FIG. For example, FIG. 1 shows the lens apparatus 160 in the wide end state. Except for this point, the state of UAV 100 shown in FIG. 3 is the same as the state shown in FIG.

  The focal length of the lens device 160 is adjusted by displacing the movable lens of the lens device 160. The focus position of the lens device 160 is adjusted by displacing the movable lens of the lens device 160. The displacement of the movable lens changes the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160. The position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 changes due to the displacement of the movable lens barrel that holds the movable lens and the lens frame, in addition to the displacement of the movable lens. By changing the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160, the position of the center of gravity of the UAV 100 changes.

  G1 indicates the position of the center of gravity of the UAV 100 when the UAV 100 is in the state of FIG. G2 indicates the position of the center of gravity of the UAV 100 when the UAV 100 is in the state of FIG. When the UAV 100 is changed from the state shown in FIG. 1 to the state of the tele end, the change of the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 changes the position of the center of gravity of the UAV 100 from the position of G1 to the position of G2. Therefore, even when the lens unit 160 is in the tele end state, for example, the rotational speed of the rotary wing 108a needs to be reduced and the rotary speed of the rotary wing 108b needs to be increased in order to prevent the attitude of the UAV 100 from changing. There is.

  The control unit 180 controls the attitude of the UAV 100 by feedback control using the detection value of the attitude of the UAV 100 by the sensor 120. For example, the control unit 180 controls the attitude of the UAV 100 by PID control. Thus, for example, when a change in the attitude of the UAV 100 occurs, the rotational speed of the rotary wing 108 is increased or decreased so as to cancel the change in the attitude of the UAV 100.

  The control unit 180 controls the attitude of the UAV 100 by feedforward control based on the displacement of the movable lens of the lens device 160, in addition to feedback control. Specifically, the prediction unit 130 predicts the change in the attitude of the UAV 100 using the amount of change in the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 caused by the displacement of the movable lens and the mass of the lens device 160. The control unit 180 adds the feedforward compensation value corresponding to the predicted change in the attitude of the UAV 100 to the input of PID control in synchronization with the displacement of the movable lens of the lens device 160. Thus, it is possible to calculate in advance the change in the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 and to control the rotational speed of the rotary blade 108 promptly. Therefore, compared with the case where only feedback control is used without using feedforward control, it is possible to suppress the vibration of UAV 100 that is caused due to the change in the position of the center of gravity of lens device 160.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of lens information stored in the memory 163. Lens information includes lens type ID, mass information, and gravity center information. The lens type ID is, for example, a model number of the lens. The mass information is information indicating the mass of the lens device 160. The gravity center information is information indicating the gravity center position of the lens device 160.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the barycentric information. The gravity center information includes the lens position and the gravity center position corresponding to the lens position. When the lens device 160 has one movable lens, the lens position indicates the position of the one movable lens. The barycentric position indicates the barycentric position of the lens device 160 when the movable lens is at the corresponding lens position. When the lens device 160 has two or more movable lenses, the lens position indicates the position of each of the two or more movable lenses. The position of the center of gravity indicates the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 when the movable lens is at the position of each movable lens indicated by the corresponding lens position. Thus, the barycentric information associates the barycentric position of the lens device 160 with the plurality of lens positions.

  The position of the center of gravity may be coordinates of the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 when the predetermined reference position is the origin. The reference position may be, for example, the position of the imaging element 144 of the imaging unit 140. The reference position may be provided on the optical axis of the lens device 160. The position of the center of gravity may be the distance from the imaging device 144 measured along the optical axis. When the lens device 160 is an interchangeable lens, the reference position may be provided in the mounting surface of the imaging unit 140 for mounting the lens device 160.

  In the UAV control unit 104, the second acquisition unit 172 acquires lens information stored in the memory 163 through the lens control unit 162 and the imaging control unit 142. For example, the second acquisition unit 172 stores the acquired lens information in the memory 106. The lens information stored in the memory 106 is used for processing of the prediction unit 130 and the control unit 180.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of a block diagram related to attitude control of the UAV 100 in the UAV 100. The block diagram is shown as summing point 200, transfer element 210, transfer element 220, transfer element 230, add point 202, transfer element 240, operator 250, transfer element 260, transfer element 270, transfer element 280, and add point Including 204.

  In the block diagram of FIG. 6, the control target is the UAV 100 represented by the transfer element 230. The control amount is the angular velocity of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 or the attitude angle of the UAV 100. The angular velocity of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 is detected by the sensor 120 represented by the transfer element 240. The state variable of the value detected by the sensor 120 is converted to the state variable of the attitude angle by the operator 250 which is an integral element.

  R represents a state variable of the target value of the attitude angle of the UAV 100. The summing point 200 adds the state variables of the target value. The summing point 200 subtracts state variables of the output of the operator 250. The transfer element 210 represents PID control of the control unit 180. Specifically, the transfer element 210 represents an operation in which the control unit 180 generates a drive signal for the driver 107 based on the error signal. The transfer element 220 is a transfer element that represents an operation in which the driver 107 generates a drive current of the motor 109 based on the drive signal. The transfer element 230 represents a phenomenon in which the angular velocity of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 changes as the motor 109 is driven by the drive current to rotate the rotary blade 108. The joint point 202 adds the state variable of the angular velocity of the attitude angle generated by the action other than the rotary blade 108 to the state variable of the angular velocity of the attitude angle of the UAV 100. The transfer element 210, the transfer element 220, the transfer element 230, the adding point 202, the transfer element 240, the operator 250, and the adding point 200 form a feedback control system.

  The transfer element 260 represents an operation in which the lens control unit 162 outputs first information for displacing the movable lens. When the movable lens is displaced according to the first information, the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 changes. The change in the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 changes the angular velocity of the attitude angle of the UAV 100. The transfer element 270 represents a phenomenon in which the angular position of the lens device 160 changes due to the output of the first information, and the angular velocity of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 changes. The addition point 204 performs addition of state variables of the amount of change in angular velocity of the attitude angle. The joint point 204 performs addition of state variables representing the amount of change in angular velocity of the attitude angle due to disturbance. As the disturbance, a change in the attitude angle of the UAV 100 due to wind or the like can be exemplified. The state variable output by the summing point 204 is added at the summing point 202 to the state variable of the angular velocity of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 output by the transfer element 230.

  The transfer element 280 represents an operation in which the prediction unit 130 generates a predicted value of the change amount of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 based on the first information. The addition point 200 performs addition of a state variable indicating the predicted value generated by the prediction unit 130. Thus, the state variable of the predicted value generated by transfer element 280 is added to the input of the control loop as a feedforward compensation value.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a control flow for controlling the attitude of the UAV 100. In S310, the lens control unit 162 outputs the first information to the movable lens. The first information is information indicating that the movable lens of the lens device 160 is displaced.

  For example, when the lens control unit 162 obtains from the imaging control unit 142 a command to change the focal length of the lens device 160, the future position which is the position of the displacement destination of one or more movable lenses of the lens device 160 and the displacement timing And decide. The future position of the movable lens is determined by the focal length. The displacement timing may be the time at which the movable lens starts displacement. For example, the lens control unit 162 determines to start displacement of the movable lens after 30 ms. The displacement timing may be the time when the movable lens ends displacement. The first information includes information indicating the future position of the movable lens and the displacement timing. The first information is also output to the UAV control unit 104 through the imaging control unit 142.

  In S320, the movable lens is displaced based on the first information. In S330, the control unit 180 outputs the second information to the PID control at the timing when the movable lens is displaced. The second information is information indicating a feedforward compensation value. An example of the process in S330 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In S340, the sensor 120 detects the angular velocity of the gimbal 110 to detect the angular velocity of the attitude angle of the UAV 100. In S350, the driver 107 controls the rotational speed of the rotary wing 108. For example, an error signal of the addition value of the target value of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 and the feedforward compensation value and the detection value of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 by the sensor 120 is input to the PID control of the control unit 180. In PID control of the control unit 180, a drive signal of the driver 107 is generated based on the error signal. The rotational speed of the rotary wing 108 is controlled by the driver 107 driving the motor 109 in accordance with the drive signal.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a control flow from the reception of the first information to the output of the second information to the PID control by the UAV control unit 104. In S400, the first acquisition unit 170 receives the first information. In S410, the first acquisition unit 170 acquires the current position, the future position, the displacement speed, the displacement start time, and the attitude angle of the UAV 100 of the movable lens of the lens device 160. The first acquisition unit 170 acquires the current position and displacement speed of the movable lens from the lens control unit 162.

In S4 2 0, the prediction unit 130 calculates the stop time of the movable lens. The stop time is the time at which the displacement of the movable lens ends. The prediction unit 130 calculates the stop time of the movable lens based on the current position, the future position, and the displacement velocity of the movable lens of the lens device 160.

  In S430, the prediction unit 130 determines whether the current time coincides with the stop time of the movable lens or whether the current time has passed the stop time of the movable lens. If the current time coincides with the stop time of the movable lens or the current time passes the stop time of the movable lens, the control flow is ended. If the current time is before the stop time of the movable lens, the process proceeds to S440.

  In S440, the prediction unit 130 acquires the frame time of the main control loop. The main control loop is, for example, a feedback loop shown in FIG. The frame time is the control period in the feedback loop.

  In S450, the prediction unit 130 generates a predicted value of the amount of change of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 in each frame between the displacement start time and the stop time of the movable lens. For example, when the period from the displacement start time to the displacement end time is 10 ms and the frame time is 1 ms, the prediction unit 130 generates a predicted value of the amount of change of the attitude angle of the UAV 100 in each of 10 frames. . The predicted value of the amount of change in attitude angle of the UAV 100 in each frame is an example of a feedforward compensation value in each frame.

  The prediction unit 130 predicts the amount of change in the posture angle in each frame based on the amount of change in the position of the center of gravity from the current position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 and the mass of the lens device 160. The prediction unit 130 specifies the mass of the lens device 160 from the lens information shown in FIG. The prediction unit 130 specifies the amount of change of the center-of-gravity position of the lens device 160 using the center-of-gravity information shown in FIG. For example, the prediction unit 130 identifies the current center-of-gravity position of the lens device 160 based on the current position of the movable lens. The prediction unit 130 identifies the gravity center position of the lens device 160 in each frame based on the position of the movable lens in each frame. The prediction unit 130 identifies the amount of change in the position of the center of gravity in each frame based on the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 in each frame and the current position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160.

  In S460, the control unit 180 determines whether the current time is before the displacement start time of the movable lens. If the current time is earlier than the displacement start time of the movable lens, the determination of S460 is repeated until the current time coincides with the displacement start time of the movable lens or the current time exceeds the displacement start time of the movable lens. If the current time coincides with the displacement start time of the movable lens or the current time exceeds the displacement start time of the movable lens, the process proceeds to S470.

  In S470, the control unit 180 starts output of the predicted value of the amount of change in attitude angle in each frame predicted by the prediction unit 130 in S450. For example, the control unit 180 outputs the predicted value of the amount of change in attitude angle in each frame predicted by the prediction unit 130 to PID control in the corresponding frame. The frame that starts to output the predicted value of the amount of change of the attitude angle may not be the frame corresponding to the displacement start time. The frame that starts to output the predicted value of the change amount of the attitude angle may be a frame after the frame corresponding to the displacement start time. If the correspondence with the frame in the feedback loop is maintained, the output of the predicted value of the amount of change in attitude angle may be started from the frame after the frame corresponding to the displacement start time. When the control unit 180 outputs the predicted value of the change amount of the attitude angle in the frame corresponding to the displacement stop time, the control flow ends.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of a state in which the orientation of the imaging device 190 has changed. The state of the imaging device 190 shown in FIG. 9 is different from the state of the imaging device 190 shown in FIG. For example, in FIG. 9, the pitch angle of the imaging device 190 is changed. Except for this point, the state of the UAV 100 shown in FIG. 9 is the same as the state shown in FIG.

  G3 indicates the position of the center of gravity of the UAV 100 when the UAV 100 is in the state of FIG. When the pitch angle of the imaging device 190 is changed to the state of FIG. 9 from the state in which the UAV 100 is shown in FIG. 1, the barycentric position of the UAV 100 changes from the position of G1 to the position of G3. Therefore, in order to prevent the attitude of the UAV 100 from changing, for example, it is necessary to increase the rotational speed of the rotary wing 108a and to lower the rotational speed of the rotary wing 108b.

  The control unit 180 controls the attitude of the UAV 100 by feedforward control based on the change in the direction of the imaging device 190, as in the case where the position of the center of gravity of the lens device 160 changes. Specifically, prediction unit 130 uses the amount of change in the position of the center of gravity of imaging unit 140 and lens unit 160 caused by the change in the orientation of imaging unit 140, the mass of imaging unit 140, and the mass of lens unit 160. , Predict changes in attitude of UAV 100. As described above, the prediction unit 130 predicts the amount of change in the attitude of the UAV 100 using the amount of change in the position of the center of gravity of the imaging device 190 caused by the change in the direction of the imaging device 190 and the mass of the imaging device 190. The predicted value of the amount of change in attitude of the UAV 100 is generated as a feedforward compensation value.

  The control unit 180 adds the generated feedforward compensation value to the input of PID control in synchronization with the change in the orientation of the imaging device 190. As a result, it is possible to calculate in advance the change in the position of the center of gravity of the imaging device 190 and to control the rotational speed of the rotary blade 108 promptly. Therefore, the fluctuation of the UAV 100 can be suppressed as compared with the case where only the feedback control is used without using the feedforward control.

  The change in the position of the center of gravity of the imaging device 190 caused by the change in pitch angle has been described with reference to FIG. The center-of-gravity position of the imaging device 190 changes due to not only the change of the pitch angle but also the change of the yaw angle. Therefore, the barycentric position of the imaging device 190 changes with the combination of the pitch angle and the yaw angle. In this embodiment, it is assumed that there is no change due to the change of the roll angle. When the gravity center position of the imaging device 190 is on the roll axis, the gravity center position of the imaging device 190 does not change due to the change of the roll angle.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of imaging unit information stored in the memory 146. The imaging unit information includes imaging unit type ID, mass information, and gravity center position information. The imaging unit type ID is, for example, a model number of the imaging unit 140. The mass information is information indicating the mass of the imaging unit 140. The gravity center position information is information indicating the gravity center position of the imaging unit 140.

  The barycentric position may be coordinates that are represented with a predetermined reference position as an origin. The reference position may be, for example, a gripping position at which the gimbal 110 grips the imaging unit 140. The reference position may be provided on the pitch axis.

  In the UAV control unit 104, the second acquisition unit 172 acquires imaging unit information stored in the memory 146 through the imaging control unit 142. For example, the second acquisition unit 172 stores the acquired imaging unit information in the memory 106. The imaging unit information stored in the memory 106 is used for processing of the prediction unit 130 and the control unit 180.

  The prediction unit 130 and the control unit 180 are based on the lens information shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 and the imaging unit information shown in FIG. 10, an imaging device in combination of the position, pitch angle and yaw angle of the movable lens of the lens device 160 The center of gravity position of 190 can be calculated. The prediction unit 130 and the control unit 180 can calculate the mass of the imaging device 190 based on the lens information shown in FIG. 4 and the imaging unit information shown in FIG. The prediction unit 130 and the control unit 180 can calculate a change in the position of the center of gravity when changing at least one of the position of the movable lens of the lens device 160 and the orientation of the imaging device 190. Thereby, the prediction unit 130 and the control unit 180 can calculate the change in the barycentric position predicted when changing at least one of the position of the movable lens of the lens device 160 and the orientation of the imaging device 190. The prediction unit 130 and the control unit 180 can predict the change in the attitude angle of the UAV 100 or the change in the angular velocity of the attitude angle based on the calculated change in the position of the center of gravity of the imaging device 190 and the mass of the imaging device 190.

  A control system corresponding to the change in the orientation of the imaging device 190 can be realized by adding a state variable and a transfer element related to the change in the orientation of the imaging device 190 to the control system shown in FIG.

  The control flow corresponding to the change in the orientation of the imaging device 190 can be realized by adding the control related to the change in the orientation of the imaging device 190 in addition to the control related to the displacement of the lens in the control flow shown in FIGS. For example, in the control flow shown in FIG. 7, information indicating the displacement of the movable lens and the deflection of the imaging device 190 may be applied as the first information. In the control flow shown in FIG. 8, in addition to the position and displacement speed of the movable lens, control on the orientation and the deflection speed of the imaging device 190 may be applied.

  In the above embodiment, the lens device 160 is an interchangeable lens. However, the lens device 160 may be provided integrally with the imaging unit 140. In this embodiment, the imaging device 190 including the lens device 160 and the imaging unit 140 may be detachable from the gimbal 110.

  In the embodiment in which the lens device 160 is provided integrally with the imaging unit 140, the imaging device 190 including the lens device 160 and the imaging unit 140 may not be removable from the gimbal 110. The imaging device 190 may be fixed to the gimbal 110.

  The movable lens and the imaging device 190 in the above embodiment are an example of a displacement unit. When the lens device 160 does not have a movable lens, or when the amount of change in the position of the center of gravity of the UAV 100 due to the displacement of the movable lens is smaller than a predetermined value, only the imaging device 190 can be employed as a displacement unit. If the orientation of the imaging device 190 is fixed, or if the amount of change in the position of the center of gravity of the UAV 100 due to a change in the orientation of the imaging device 190 is smaller than a predetermined value, it can.

  The displacement portion may be a member other than the movable lens and the imaging device 190. For example, the displacement portion may be a member such as a movable arm. The displacement portion is not limited to the member attached to the UAV 100. The displacement portion may include a member gripped by the UAV 100. Any member that can be actively displaced by the UAV 100 can be regarded as a displacement portion.

  At least one of the steps shown in the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware or a program instructing relevant hardware. The program may be stored in a computer readable recording medium. The recording medium may include at least one of a ROM, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be added to the above embodiment. It is also apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such alterations or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The execution order of each process such as operations, procedures, steps, and steps in the apparatuses, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, the specification, and the drawings is particularly “before”, “preceding” Etc., and can be realized in any order as long as the output of the previous process is not used in the later process. With regard to the operation flow in the claims, the specification, and the drawings, even if it is described using “first,” “next,” etc. for convenience, it means that it is essential to carry out in this order. It is not a thing. The description of "vertical" may be in the "intersecting" state.

100 UAV
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 UAV main body 102 Communication interface 104 UAV control part 105 Detection part 106 Memory 107 Driver 108 Rotary wing 109 Motor 110 Gimbal 120 Sensor 130 Prediction part 140 Imaging part 142 Imaging control part 144 Imaging element 146 Memory 160 Lens apparatus 162 Lens control part 163 Memory 164, 166, 168 Lens 170 First acquisition unit 172 Second acquisition unit 180 Control unit 188 Confirmation unit 190 Imaging device 200, 202, 204 Combined point 210, 220, 230, 240, 260, 270, 280 Transmission element
250 operators

Claims (20)

With multiple rotors,
A first acquisition unit that acquires first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement unit held displaceably with respect to the main body;
A prediction unit that predicts the posture of the main body after the displacement unit is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the mass of the displacement unit and the first information;
A control unit that controls the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary wings based on the attitude of the main body predicted by the prediction unit. The control unit is configured to change the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary blades based on the attitude of the main body section predicted by the prediction section, thereby causing the displacement section to be displaced to the position of the displacement destination. as the change component of orientation is suppressed, unmanned aircraft according to claim 1 for controlling a posture of the main body portion. With multiple rotors,
A first acquisition unit that acquires first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement unit held displaceably with respect to the main body;
Based on the first information, the position of the displacement portion at each of a plurality of timings within a period from the position before displacement to the position of the displacement destination is predicted, and a plurality of the predicted positions are predicted. A prediction unit that predicts the attitude of the main body for each of the positions;
At each of the plurality of timings, the rotational speed of the plurality of rotary blades is changed based on the posture of the main body portion predicted by the prediction unit with respect to the position of the displacement portion at each timing. Control unit to control the attitude
An unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with With multiple rotors,
A first acquisition unit that acquires first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement unit held displaceably with respect to the main body;
A prediction unit that predicts the posture of the main body after the displacement unit is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information;
The plurality of target values of the attitude of the main body, the detected values of the attitude of the main body by a sensor for acquiring the attitude of the main body, and the attitudes of the main body predicted by the prediction unit Controlling the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speed of the rotary wing ;
An unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with With multiple rotors,
A first acquisition unit that acquires first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement unit held displaceably with respect to the main body;
A prediction unit that predicts the posture of the main body after the displacement unit is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information;
A control unit configured to control the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary wings based on the attitude of the main body predicted by the prediction unit;
Equipped with
The unmanned aerial vehicle wherein the displacement portion includes a movable lens. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 5 , wherein the first information includes information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the movable lens corresponding to a focal length of a lens system including the movable lens. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 5 or 6 , wherein the first information includes information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the movable lens corresponding to a focus position of a lens system including the movable lens. The storage device is further provided with a storage unit for storing the position of the center of gravity of a lens apparatus including the lens system in association with a plurality of positions of the movable lens.
The prediction unit associates the first information with the position of the center of gravity stored in the storage unit in association with the position of the displacement destination of the movable lens indicated by the first information, and the mass of the lens device. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein the attitude of the main body after the movable lens is displaced to the position of the displacement destination of the movable lens indicated by. The movable lens is included in a lens system included in an interchangeable lens that is detachable from the main body portion,
The unmanned aerial vehicle is
The second information indicating the position of the center of gravity of the interchangeable lens and the mass of the interchangeable lens corresponding to at least one of the focal length and the focus position of the interchangeable lens is acquired from the interchangeable lens mounted on the main body The unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 5 to 8, comprising an acquisition unit. With multiple rotors,
A first acquisition unit configured to acquire first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the imaging device held displaceably with respect to the main body;
A prediction unit that predicts the attitude of the main body after the imaging device is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information;
A control unit configured to control the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary wings based on the attitude of the main body predicted by the prediction unit;
An unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with The imaging device is provided with a variable orientation with respect to the main body portion.
The displacement of the imaging device, an unmanned aircraft according to claim 10 wherein the change in orientation of the imaging device. The imaging device is removable from the main body,
The unmanned aerial vehicle is
From the imaging device mounted on the body portion, unmanned aircraft according to claim 10 or 11 comprising a second acquisition unit for acquiring second information showing a mass center of gravity and the imaging device of the imaging apparatus. With multiple rotors,
A first acquisition unit that acquires first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of a displacement unit held displaceably with respect to a main body, before the displacement unit is displaced to the position of the displacement destination;
A prediction unit that predicts the attitude of the main body after the displacement unit is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information before the displacement unit is displaced to the position of the displacement destination ;
A control unit configured to control the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary wings based on the attitude of the main body predicted by the prediction unit;
An unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle,
Acquiring first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement unit held displaceably with respect to the main body of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
Predicting the attitude of the main body after the displacement portion is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the mass of the displacement portion and the first information;
Controlling the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary wings of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the attitude of the main body predicted in the predicting step. .   A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle,
  Acquiring first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement unit held displaceably with respect to the main body of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
  Based on the first information, the position of the displacement portion at each of a plurality of timings within a period from the position before displacement to the position of the displacement destination is predicted, and a plurality of the predicted positions are predicted. Predicting the attitude of the body for each of the positions;
  In each of the plurality of timings, the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary wings of the unmanned aerial vehicle are changed based on the attitude of the main body portion predicted in the step of predicting the position of the displacement portion at each timing. Controlling the attitude of the main body,
A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:   A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle,
  Acquiring first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement unit held displaceably with respect to the main body of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
  Predicting an attitude of the main body after the displacement portion is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information;
  The target value of the attitude of the main body, the detected value of the attitude of the main body by a sensor for acquiring the attitude of the main body, and the attitude of the main body predicted in the predicting step. Controlling the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speeds of a plurality of rotary wings of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and
A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:   A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle,
  Acquiring first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of the displacement unit held displaceably with respect to the main body of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
  Predicting an attitude of the main body after the displacement portion is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information;
  Controlling the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary wings of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the attitude of the main body predicted in the predicting step;
Equipped with
  The displacement portion includes a movable lens
Control method of unmanned aerial vehicles.   A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle,
  Acquiring first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of an imaging device held displaceably with respect to a main body of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
  Predicting an attitude of the main body after the imaging device is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information;
  Controlling the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary wings of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the attitude of the main body predicted in the predicting step;
A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:   A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle,
  Acquiring first information indicating a position of a displacement destination of a displacement unit held displaceably with respect to a main body of the unmanned aerial vehicle before the displacement unit is displaced to the position of the displacement destination;
  Predicting the attitude of the main body portion after the displacement portion is displaced to the position of the displacement destination based on the first information before the displacement portion is displaced to the position of the displacement destination;
  Controlling the attitude of the main body by changing the rotational speeds of the plurality of rotary wings of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the attitude of the main body predicted in the predicting step;
A method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising: The program for making a computer perform the control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 14 to 19 .

Images