JP6570344B2 - Route generation method and system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle route generation method and system.

Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose that a vehicle is moved along a predetermined route.
Patent document 1 is disclosing running an unmanned vehicle by playback driving.
Patent Document 2 discloses that a waypoint is set in advance and the waypoint is traced to an autonomous passenger car.

JP-A-57-55404 Special table 2012-507088 gazette

Conventionally, the route of an unmanned vehicle has been planned based on a map with known coordinates.
Alternatively, the route of a conventional unmanned vehicle is a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a preceding vehicle) equipped with a GPS that is manned or remotely operated and travels in advance in a region where the unmanned vehicle is traveled (hereinafter referred to as a traveling region). The waypoint was generated by thinning out the coordinates from the trajectory.

  Therefore, conventionally, it has been necessary for the preceding vehicle to travel in advance on a route that the unmanned vehicle is to travel. Alternatively, the unmanned vehicle can only be driven at a place where the coordinates are known.

  The present invention has been developed to solve the above-described problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a route generation method and system capable of traveling a vehicle even when the coordinates are unknown or even if a preceding vehicle does not travel in advance. .

According to the present invention, (A) a flying object equipped with a camera that captures a travel area and outputs it as image data is caused to fly over the travel area to capture an image of the travel area of the vehicle with the camera,
(B) determining virtual coordinates on the waypoint image on the image acquired by the camera;
(C) A route generation method is provided, characterized in that the position coordinates of an actual waypoint corresponding to the virtual coordinates are calculated.

The flying object is equipped with a laser irradiation device,
In the above (C),
(C1) The laser irradiation device irradiates the ground with laser light, the camera captures an image of the laser light irradiation point,
(C2) Adjust the irradiation angle of the laser beam of the laser irradiation device, and match the irradiation point coordinates on the image of the irradiation point image displayed on the image with the virtual coordinates,
(C3) The actual position of the irradiation point at the coincidence point when the irradiation point coordinates match the virtual coordinates is calculated as the position coordinates.

  In (C3), the position coordinates include the position of the flying object at the coincidence time calculated by a position sensor, the irradiation angle of the laser light, and the irradiation point of the laser light to the flying object. The distance is calculated from the distance measured by the distance measuring device that measures the distance.

  (D) After (C), the position coordinates are transmitted to the vehicle.

Further, according to the present invention, a flying object flying over the traveling area;
A camera mounted on the flying object and imaging the traveling area from the flying object and outputting it as image data;
A display screen for inputting the image data and displaying the image;
A laser irradiation device that is mounted on the flying object, irradiates laser light from the flying object toward the traveling area, and can adjust the irradiation angle of the laser light;
A control device for controlling the irradiation angle;
An arithmetic unit that calculates the position of the irradiation point of the laser light as position coordinates ,
The display screen displays virtual coordinates on the waypoint image determined on the image acquired by the camera,
The camera captures an image of the irradiation point of the laser beam irradiated to the ground by the laser irradiation device,
The control device controls the irradiation angle so as to match the irradiation point coordinates on the image of the irradiation point image displayed on the image with the virtual coordinates,
The arithmetic unit calculates the actual position of the irradiation point at the coincidence time point when the irradiation point coordinates match the virtual coordinates as the position coordinates of the actual waypoint corresponding to the virtual coordinates, A route generation system is provided.

A vehicle traveling in the traveling area;
A transmitter for transmitting the position coordinates to the vehicle,
The vehicle travels toward the position coordinates.

According to the method and apparatus of the present invention described above, virtual coordinates on the waypoint image are determined on the image captured from the flying object, and the actual position coordinates of the actual waypoint corresponding to the virtual coordinates are calculated. Therefore, the position coordinates of the waypoint can be acquired even if the preceding vehicle does not travel in the travel area in advance.
As a result, the method and apparatus of the present invention can drive the vehicle even if the coordinates are in an unknown travel area or even if the preceding vehicle does not travel in advance in the travel area.

It is explanatory drawing of the route generation system of this invention. It is the figure which looked at the traveling area of the vehicle from the side, and explanatory drawing of the image imaged with the flying body. It is a flowchart of the route generation method of the present invention. It is the figure which looked at the driving | running | working area of the vehicle in a coincidence time point from the side, and explanatory drawing of the image imaged with the flying body.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the common part in each figure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

The present invention is a route generation method and system for generating the route Q of the vehicle 3.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a route generation system 30 according to the present invention.
The route generation system 30 of the present invention includes a flying object 1, a vehicle 3, a camera 23, a display screen 9, a laser irradiation device 11, a position sensor 19, a distance measuring device 25, a computing device 27, and a transmitter 29.

  The flying object 1 flies over the traveling area 21. The flying object 1 may be a drone, a helicopter, or the like, for example. The flying object 1 is equipped with a camera 23 and a laser irradiation device 11. The flying object 1 is preferably one that flies remotely, but may be a manned flying object.

When the flying object 1 is an unmanned flying object, the flying object 1 includes a transceiver 1 a that transmits and receives signals to and from the operation position P. The operation position P is a position away from the flying object 1 and the vehicle 3.
A control device for remotely operating the flying object 1 is provided at the operation position P and outputs a control signal.
The flying object 1 receives the control signal with the transceiver 1a and flies according to the control signal.

  The camera 23 images the travel area 21 from the flying object 1 and outputs the image 5 as image data. The camera 23 is most preferably a video camera capable of capturing moving images, but may be a digital camera capable of high-speed continuous shooting.

  The laser irradiation device 11 irradiates the laser beam T from the flying object 1 toward the traveling area 21. The laser irradiation device 11 is configured to be able to adjust the irradiation angle of the laser light T. For example, a driving device that changes the angle of the laser irradiation device 11 itself may be provided in the flying object 1. The driving device is preferably controlled by a control device mounted on the flying object 1.

  The distance measuring device 25 measures the distance from the irradiation point 13 of the laser light T to the flying object 1. The distance measuring device 25 may be configured integrally with the laser irradiation device 11. That is, the distance measuring device 25 may be a laser radar device that measures the distance from the flying object 1 to the irradiation point 13 by measuring the time from when the laser beam T is irradiated until it is received.

The position sensor 19 detects the position of the flying object 1.
The position sensor 19 is preferably a GPS receiver that calculates and specifies the current position from GPS coordinates received from an artificial satellite. Alternatively, the position sensor 19 may be a geomagnetic sensor that calculates the current position from the geomagnetism, or may be a sensor that specifies other current positions.

The display screen 9 inputs image data and displays the image 5. The display screen 9 may be a personal computer display screen or a screen having a contact sensor.
For example, when the flying object 1 is a manned flying object, the display screen 9 may be provided on the flying object 1.
When the flying object 1 is a flying object flying remotely, the image data is transmitted from the transceiver 1a to the operation position P. In this case, the display screen 9 is installed at the operation position P, receives the image data, and displays the image 5.

  The computing device 27 calculates and outputs the position of the irradiation point 13. When the flying object 1 flies by remote operation, the arithmetic device 27 is preferably provided at the operation position P.

The controller 24 outputs an operation signal to the transmitter 29. The controller 24 preferably has a lever, for example, as shown in FIG. When the operator tilts the lever, the irradiation point 13 moves following the tilt of the lever.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration of the controller 24 may be other.

When the flying object 1 flies by remote control, the display screen 9, the calculation device 27, the transmitter 29, the control device, and the controller 24 are installed at the operation position P.
When the flying object 1 flies by remote control, the transmitter 29 is preferably a transceiver.

  The control signal output from the control device is transmitted from the transmitter 29 and received by the transceiver 1a. The flying object 1 flies according to the control signal.

  The image data transmitted from the flying object 1 is received by the transmitter 29 and output to the display screen 9.

  The operation signal output from the controller 24 is transmitted from the transmitter 29 and input to the control device mounted on the flying object 1 via the transceiver 1a. The control device operates the drive device according to the operation signal. Thereby, the operator at the operation position P can freely move the irradiation point 13 while viewing the display screen 9.

  Also, when the coincidence time point information described later (information on the position of the flying object 1 at the coincidence point described later, the irradiation angle of the laser beam T, and the distance from the flying object 1 to the irradiation point 13) is received from the air vehicle 1, The machine 29 outputs it to the arithmetic unit 27. The computing device 27 calculates the position coordinate X of the waypoint 7 from the coincidence time information.

  The transmitter 29 transmits the position coordinates X calculated by the arithmetic device 27 to the vehicle 3.

  The vehicle 3 includes a receiver 3 a that receives the position coordinate X from the arithmetic device 27. The vehicle 3 travels in the travel area 21 toward the position coordinate X by a known guidance system. The vehicle 3 may be an unmanned vehicle or a manned vehicle carrying a person.

Next, the route generation method of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the traveling area 21 of the vehicle 3 and an explanatory diagram of an image 5 captured by the flying object 1. FIG. 2A is a view of the actual travel area 21 seen from the side, and FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram of the image 5. FIG. 2 assumes the case where the flying object 1 flies by remote control.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the route generation method of the present invention.

  The route generation method of the present invention includes steps S1 to S4.

First, in step S <b> 1, as shown in FIG. 2A, the flying area 21 is made to fly over the flying object 1, and an image 5 of the traveling area 21 of the vehicle 3 is captured by the camera 23 mounted on the flying object 1.
The image 5 is transmitted from the transceiver 1a to the operation position P and displayed on the display screen 9 as shown in FIG. The image 5 is a moving image or an aerial photograph taken from above the traveling area 21. The image 5 is displayed on the display screen 9 in real time.

  Next, in step S2, the operator at the operation position P determines the virtual coordinate Y on the image 5 of the waypoint 7 on the image 5 acquired by the camera 23 while viewing the image 5 displayed on the display screen 9. To do.

  The waypoint 7 means a place where the vehicle 3 should pass. The vehicle 3 travels autonomously by following a plurality of waypoints 7. In the present invention, a plurality of waypoints 7 are set, the position of the waypoint 7 is accurately obtained, and the plurality of waypoints 7 are connected by a line to generate the route Q of the vehicle 3.

  The virtual coordinate Y may be determined when the operator clicks a point on the image 5 with the mouse 10 while looking at the display screen 9 as shown in FIG. Alternatively, when the display screen 9 is a screen provided with a contact sensor, one point on the image 5 may be determined as the virtual coordinate Y by directly touching the display screen 9.

  Since the image 5 is taken from the sky by the flying object 1, the height difference of the plurality of waypoints 7 is difficult to read from the image 5. Therefore, when the waypoint 7 is installed in a place with a large height difference such as a steep slope, the distance between the plurality of virtual coordinates Y seen on the image 5 and the distance between the plurality of waypoints 7 on the actual ground May vary greatly.

  Since the vehicle 3 is a vehicle traveling on the ground, in order to generate the route Q, it is necessary to accurately obtain the position coordinates X of the waypoint 7 including the altitude.

Next, in step S3, the position coordinate X of the actual waypoint 7 corresponding to the virtual coordinate Y is calculated.
Specifically, in step S 3-1, the laser irradiation device 11 irradiates the ground 1 with the laser beam T from the flying object 1, and the camera 23 captures the image 5 of the irradiation point 13 of the laser beam T.

Since the irradiation point 13 reflects and shines on the ground of the traveling area 21, the operator can confirm the irradiation point 13 on the image 5.
Although it is preferable to irradiate the laser beam T so as to irradiate the waypoint 7 from the beginning, it is expected that the position of the irradiating point 13 is deviated from the actual position of the waypoint 7 at the stage of the irradiation.

  That is, since the image 5 is taken from above, for example, the waypoint 7 at an altitude of 5 m and the waypoint 7 at an altitude of 50 m may appear to have the same altitude on the image 5. However, as shown in FIG. 2A, if the altitude is different, the irradiation angle at which the laser beam T should be irradiated varies greatly.

  For example, it is assumed that the operator tries to set the waypoint 7 at the virtual coordinate Y in FIG. 2B while viewing the image 5 in FIG. Since the undulation of the travel area 21 is not known from the image 5, the operator determines that the position coordinate X of the waypoint 7 is the previous waypoint 7 (position coordinate X−1, virtual coordinate Y−1). It is assumed that the laser beam T is irradiated at the same height. Here, for the sake of explanation, the laser beam T irradiated in step S3-1 is referred to as a laser beam T1.

Since the position coordinate X and the position coordinate X-1 are different in height, the laser beam T1 is positioned between the position point X and the waypoint 7 of the position coordinate X-1 (the position of the irradiation point 13 in FIG. 2A). ). On the image 5, an irradiation point image 15 is displayed between the virtual coordinate Y and the virtual coordinate Y-1 (FIG. 2B).
Therefore, even if the laser beam T is directly applied to the waypoint 7, there is a possibility that the laser beam T is irradiated to a position (position of the irradiation point 13) that is shifted from the position coordinate X of the waypoint 7.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the traveling area 21 of the vehicle 3 at the coincidence time point and an explanatory diagram of an image 5 captured by the flying object 1. FIG. 4A is a diagram of the actual travel area 21 viewed from the side, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram of the image 5.
Next, in step S <b> 3-2, the irradiation point coordinates on the image 5 of the irradiation point image 15 displayed on the image 5 are matched with the virtual coordinates Y by adjusting the irradiation angle of the laser light T <b> 1 of the laser irradiation device 11. . Specifically, the operator operates the controller 24 while viewing the image 5 to adjust the irradiation angle of the laser light T of the laser irradiation apparatus 11, and the irradiation point image 15 displayed on the display screen 9 is set to the virtual coordinate Y. Move. Since the image 5 is displayed on the display screen 9 in real time, if the irradiation point 13 moves, the irradiation point image 15 also moves. That is, when the laser beam T that irradiates the waypoint 7 is the laser beam T2, the irradiation angle of the laser beam T1 is moved by θ ° in FIG. Match.

  Next, in step S3-3, the actual position of the irradiation point 13 at the time when the irradiation point coordinate matches the virtual coordinate Y (hereinafter, the matching time point) is calculated as the position coordinate X.

For example, the operator may press a predetermined button installed in the computing device 27 at the moment (coincidence time) when the irradiation point coordinates match the virtual coordinates Y. When the button is pressed, a measurement command signal is output from the computing device 27. The measurement command signal is received by the transceiver 1a via the transmitter 29. The transceiver 1a outputs the received measurement command signal to the position sensor 19, the laser irradiation device 11, and the distance measuring device 25. The position sensor 19, the laser irradiation device 11, and the distance measuring device 25 simultaneously measure the position of the flying object 1, the irradiation angle of the laser light T, and the distance from the flying object 1 to the irradiation point 13. Information on the position of the flying object 1, the irradiation angle of the laser light T, and the distance from the flying object 1 to the irradiation point 13 (matching point information) is output to the arithmetic unit 27 via the transceiver 1a and the transmitter 29. The
Thereby, the arithmetic unit 27 can acquire coincidence time information.

  Alternatively, the coincidence time information may always be acquired in association with time and stored in the storage device, and the information corresponding to the coincidence time may be extracted from the storage device later. The storage device is preferably installed at the operation position P. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the storage device may be installed in the flying object 1.

  Thereby, the arithmetic unit 27 can obtain the exact position coordinate X of the irradiation point 13 from the coincidence time information. Since this position coordinate X is the position of the irradiation point 13 at the moment when the irradiation point image 15 overlaps the waypoint 7 on the image 5, it can be said that it is the position coordinate X of the waypoint 7.

  Thus, by repeating steps S1 to S3, the position coordinates X of the plurality of waypoints 7 can be accurately obtained. As a result, the route generation method of the present invention generates the route Q of the vehicle 3 even when the coordinates are in the traveling region 21 or the preceding vehicle does not travel in advance in the conventional manner. Can do.

  In the route generation method of the present invention, the vehicle 1 can be made to fly simultaneously with the traveling of the vehicle 3 so that the generation of the route Q and the autonomous traveling of the vehicle 3 can be performed simultaneously.

  A conventional unmanned vehicle reads a route to a destination in advance and traces the route, so that it can travel only a predetermined route. Therefore, the conventional unmanned vehicle cannot change the route while traveling.

  On the other hand, the route generation method of the present invention transmits the generated route Q (that is, a plurality of position coordinates X) from the computing device 27 to the vehicle 3 in step S4 after step S3. The vehicle 3 travels autonomously up to the received position coordinate X of the waypoint 7.

  Thereby, the route Q can be changed while the vehicle 3 is traveling. That is, since the flying object 1 flies over the traveling area 21, the vehicle 3 is also displayed in the image 5 transmitted from the flying object 1. Therefore, by repeating steps S <b> 1 to S <b> 4, the operator can determine or change the route Q while looking at the state of the travel area 21. Moreover, the vehicle 3 can receive the waypoint 7 sequentially by repeating steps S1 to S4.

According to the method and apparatus of the present invention described above, the virtual coordinate Y on the image 5 of the waypoint 7 is determined on the image 5 taken from the flying object 1, and the actual waypoint 7 corresponding to the virtual coordinate Y is determined. The position coordinate X is calculated. Therefore, the position coordinate X of the waypoint 7 can be acquired even if the preceding vehicle does not travel in the travel area 21 in advance.
As a result, the method and apparatus of the present invention can cause the vehicle 3 to travel even if the coordinates are in the traveling area 21 whose coordinates are unknown, or even if the preceding vehicle does not travel in advance in the traveling area 21.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 Aircraft 1a Transceiver 3 Vehicle 3a Receiver 5 Image
7 waypoints, 9 display screen, 10 mouse, 11 laser irradiation device,
13 Irradiation point, 15 Irradiation point image, 19 Position sensor, 21 Traveling area,
23 cameras, 24 controllers, 25 ranging devices, 27 computing devices,
29 transmitter, 30 route generation system, P operation position, Q route,
T, T1, T2 laser beam, X, X-1 position coordinates, Y, Y-1 virtual coordinates

Claims (7)

(A) A flying body equipped with a camera that captures a travel area and outputs it as image data is caused to fly over the travel area to capture an image of the travel area of the vehicle.
(B) determining virtual coordinates on the waypoint image on the image acquired by the camera;
(C1) The laser irradiation apparatus mounted on the flying object irradiates the ground with laser light, the camera captures an image of the laser light irradiation point,
(C2) Adjust the irradiation angle of the laser beam of the laser irradiation device, and match the irradiation point coordinates on the image of the irradiation point image displayed on the image with the virtual coordinates,
(C3) A path characterized by calculating the actual position of the irradiation point at the coincidence point when the irradiation point coordinates match the virtual coordinates as the position coordinates of the actual waypoint corresponding to the virtual coordinates. Generation method. In (C3), the position coordinates are the position of the flying object at the coincidence time calculated by the position sensor, the irradiation angle of the laser light, and the distance from the irradiation point of the laser light to the flying object. The route generation method according to claim 1 , wherein the route generation method is calculated from a distance measured by a distance measuring device that measures the distance. (A) A flying body equipped with a camera that captures a travel area and outputs it as image data is caused to fly over the travel area to capture an image of the travel area of the vehicle.
(B) determining virtual coordinates on the waypoint image on the image acquired by the camera;
(C) calculating the position coordinates of an actual waypoint corresponding to the virtual coordinates ;
(D) after said (C), transmitting the position coordinates to the vehicle, ROUTE generation how to characterized in that. An aircraft flying over the driving range,
A camera mounted on the flying object and imaging the traveling area from the flying object and outputting it as image data;
A display screen for inputting the image data and displaying the image;
A laser irradiation device that is mounted on the flying object, irradiates laser light from the flying object toward the traveling area, and can adjust the irradiation angle of the laser light;
A control device for controlling the irradiation angle;
An arithmetic unit that calculates the position of the irradiation point of the laser light as position coordinates ,
The display screen displays virtual coordinates on the waypoint image determined on the image acquired by the camera,
The camera captures an image of the irradiation point of the laser beam irradiated to the ground by the laser irradiation device,
The control device controls the irradiation angle so as to match the irradiation point coordinates on the image of the irradiation point image displayed on the image with the virtual coordinates,
The arithmetic unit calculates the actual position of the irradiation point at the coincidence time point when the irradiation point coordinates match the virtual coordinates as the position coordinates of the actual waypoint corresponding to the virtual coordinates, Route generation system. A vehicle traveling in the traveling area;
A transmitter for transmitting the position coordinates to the vehicle,
The route generation system according to claim 4 , wherein the vehicle travels toward the position coordinates. A position sensor for detecting the position of the flying object;
A distance measuring device for measuring the distance from the irradiation point to the flying object,
The arithmetic unit is configured to input the position information of the aircraft at the coincidence time point input from the position sensor, the irradiation angle at the coincidence point of time, and the irradiation point from the coincidence time point input from the distance measuring device to the flying object. The path generation system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the actual position of the irradiation point is calculated from the distance information. An aircraft flying over the driving range,
A camera mounted on the flying object and imaging the traveling area from the flying object and outputting it as image data;
A display screen for inputting the image data and displaying the image;
A vehicle traveling in the traveling area;
A transmitter for transmitting the position coordinates to the vehicle;
An arithmetic device that calculates the position coordinates of the actual waypoint corresponding to the virtual coordinates on the image of the waypoint determined on the image acquired by the camera ,
The transmitter transmits the position coordinates calculated by the arithmetic unit to the vehicle;
The route generation system , wherein the vehicle travels toward the position coordinates .

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