JP7169009B2 - Drone system, drone, moving body, motion determination device, drone system control method, and drone system control program - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a drone system, a drone, a moving body, a motion determination device, a drone system control method, and a drone system control program.

The application of small helicopters (multi-copters), generally called drones, is progressing. One of its important application fields is the spraying of chemicals such as agricultural chemicals and liquid fertilizers on farmlands (fields) (for example, Patent Document 1). In Japan, where farmland is narrower than in Europe and the United States, the use of drones rather than manned airplanes and helicopters is often suitable.

Technologies such as the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System and RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic - Global Positioning System) have made it possible for drones to accurately determine their absolute position in centimeters during flight. Even in farmland with narrow and complex topography typical of , it can fly autonomously with minimal manual operation and can spray chemicals efficiently and accurately.

On the other hand, there were cases where it was difficult to say that consideration of safety was sufficient for autonomous flying drones for spraying agricultural chemicals. Drones loaded with drugs can weigh tens of kilograms, which could lead to serious consequences in the event of an accident such as falling on a person. In addition, drone operators are usually not experts, so a fool-proof mechanism is necessary, but consideration for this has been insufficient. Until now, there have been drone safety technologies premised on human operation (for example, Patent Document 2), but it addresses the unique safety issues of autonomous flying drones, especially for agricultural chemical spraying. The technology to do so did not exist.

In addition, since the amount of resources such as batteries and medicines that can be loaded on the drone is limited, the drone needs to be replenished with resources during work. For example, resources are stored in a moving body such as a light truck waiting around a field, and the drone appropriately interrupts the work and returns to the moving body to replenish the resources. According to this configuration, since the replenishment mechanism is provided on the moving body, the replenishment mechanism can be made to stand by around the field being worked. In other words, drones can replenish resources in a short flight, which is efficient both in terms of energy and time. However, there may be a shortage of resources housed in the mobile. Therefore, there is a need for a system capable of efficiently replenishing resources to a mobile body when the resources contained in the mobile body are insufficient.

In Patent Document 3, a plurality of automated guided vehicles, a main route that guides these automated guided vehicles to work sites, a charging unit that charges each automated guided vehicle, and the number of times each automated guided vehicle travels after charging are recognized. , a centralized control section for receiving a travel request and instructing each automatic guided vehicle to perform a predetermined operation. This control method is based on the travel request frequency distribution that is empirically obtained and converted into data. When the predetermined time set shorter than the time is reached, the automatic guided vehicle is started to run.

However, Patent Literature 3 does not describe replenishing resources to a charging unit that charges an unmanned guided vehicle that performs work.

Patent Publication JP 2001-120151 Patent publication publication JP 2017-163265 Patent publication publication JP-A-4-127303

To provide a drone system capable of efficiently charging a drone even when the amount of electricity stored in the battery of the drone is insufficient during work in a system for managing the process of charging the battery of the drone.

To achieve the above object, a drone system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a drone, a replenishment unit capable of replenishing the drone with energy necessary for flight, and an operation determination device that determines the operation of the drone. , wherein the operation determination device includes a required charge amount acquisition unit that acquires a total charge amount that is required for work of the drone and exceeds the energy that the drone can hold; a charging planning unit that determines a charging plan for charging the drone one or more times and replenishing the drone with energy of the total charging amount.

It may be configured to determine the charging plan that minimizes the sum of the charging time of the drone and the flightable time of the drone due to the energy obtained by charging during the charging time.

The charging plan unit may be configured to determine a charging plan so that the drone is used within a predetermined range in which the charging rate of the drone is lower than a full charge.

The charging plan section may be configured to set a plurality of charging times in the charging plan.

The charging planning unit may be configured to calculate a charging speed during charging and terminate charging when the charging speed becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value.

A charging rate-charging time storage unit that stores a correspondence relationship between the charging rate of the drone and a time required for charging the drone having the charging rate to a predetermined amount, wherein the charging planning unit stores the correspondence Based on the relationship, it may be configured to determine the charging plan.

The drone system includes a plurality of the drones, and when the first drone is being charged by the replenishment unit, the second drone is on the ground and waits, and the first drone finishes charging. After that, the replenishment unit may charge the battery.

The second drone may be configured to hold at least an amount of electricity that can fly from a point where it is waiting to a point where it can be charged in the replenishment unit and land at the point.

The replenishment unit may be arranged on a mobile body on which the drone can land and which can move together with the drone.

The drone system includes a plurality of the drones, and when the drones return to the moving body and another drone has landed on the moving body, the drones land on the ground and stand by, It may be configured to land on the moving body after the other drone takes off.

Further comprising a mobile terminal capable of notifying a user of the status of the drone and the replenishment unit, wherein the mobile terminal notifies the location and status of the drone, the location and status of the replenishment unit, and the completion of work of the drone system. It may be configured to notify the user of at least one of the expected end times.

In order to achieve the above object, a drone system control method according to one aspect of the present invention includes a drone, a replenishment unit capable of charging a battery of the drone, and an operation determination device that determines the operation of the drone. A method of controlling a drone system comprising at least obtaining a total charge required for a task of the drone that exceeds the energy that the drone can hold, and charging one or more times during the task. determining a charging plan for replenishing the drone with the total amount of energy.

In order to achieve the above object, a control program for a drone system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a drone, a replenishment unit capable of replenishing the energy required for flight to the drone, and an operation for determining the operation of the drone. a control program for a drone system comprising at least a determining device, instructions to obtain a total charge required for a task of said drone that exceeds the energy that said drone can hold, and one or more times during said task determining a charging plan for replenishing the drone with the total amount of energy by charging the drone once.
The computer program can be provided by downloading via a network such as the Internet, or can be provided by being recorded on various computer-readable recording media such as a CD-ROM.

In order to achieve the above object, a motion determination device according to one aspect of the present invention is a motion determination device that grasps the position and state of a drone and determines the motion of the drone, the motion determination device comprising: A required charge amount acquisition unit that acquires a total charge amount that is necessary for the work of the drone and exceeds the energy that the drone can hold; a charging planning unit that determines a charging plan for replenishing the charging amount of energy.

In order to achieve the above object, a drone according to one aspect of the present invention includes a drone, a replenishment unit capable of replenishing the drone with energy necessary for flight, an operation determination device that determines an operation of the drone, wherein the operation determination device includes a required charge amount acquisition unit that acquires a total charge amount that is required for the work of the drone and exceeds the energy that the drone can hold; a charging planning unit that determines a charging plan for replenishing the drone with the total amount of energy by charging the drone once or multiple times during work, wherein the drone complies with the charging plan. Based on this, the battery is charged from the replenishment unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a mobile object according to one aspect of the present invention is a mobile object that includes a drone, a replenishment unit capable of replenishing energy required for flight in the drone, and determining the operation of the drone. a moving body included in a drone system including at least a motion determining device, wherein the motion determining device is required to obtain a total charge required for a task of the drone and exceeding the energy that the drone can hold. an amount acquiring unit; and a charging planning unit that determines a charging plan for replenishing the drone with the energy of the total charging amount by charging the drone once or multiple times during the work; A body charges the drone based on the charging plan.

In a system that manages the process of charging a drone's battery, the drone can be efficiently charged even if the drone's battery charge is insufficient during work.

1 is a plan view of a drone included in a drone system according to the present invention; FIG. It is a front view of the drone which the said drone system has. It is a right view of the said drone. It is a rear view of the said drone. It is a perspective view of the said drone. 1 is an overall conceptual diagram of a chemical spraying system that the drone has. FIG. FIG. 4 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a second embodiment of a chemical spraying system that the drone has. It is an overall conceptual diagram showing a third embodiment of a chemical spraying system that the drone has. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the state of arrangement|positioning of the agricultural field which the said drone works, and the automatic driving|running|working permission area which the said mobile body drive|works. It is a schematic diagram showing the control function of the said drone. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the appearance of the mobile body concerning this invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which an upper plate of the moving body on which the drone is placed is sliding backward; 4 is a functional block diagram of the drone, the moving body, and the motion determining device according to the present invention, relating to replenishment of resources for the drone and the moving body; FIG. . It is a graph which shows the relationship of the charge time and charge rate of the battery which the said drone has. It is a graph which shows the relationship between a charging rate and the electrical storage amount of the said battery. (a) A time chart showing an example of the operation of the drone and the mobile object from the start to the end of the total work, (b) a graph showing the completion rate of the work in the field, (c) the charging rate of the battery of the drone. is a graph showing

Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. All figures are illustrative. In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, certain details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, embodiments are not limited to these specific details. Also, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown to simplify the drawings.

First, the configuration of the drone that the drone system according to the present invention has will be described. In the specification of the present application, a drone refers to a power means (electric power, prime mover, etc.), a control method (wireless or wired, and whether it is an autonomous flight type or a manually operated type, etc.), It refers to an aircraft in general that has a plurality of rotor blades.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the rotor blades 101-1a, 101-1b, 101-2a, 101-2b, 101-3a, 101-3b, 101-4a, 101-4b (also called rotors) are: It is a means to fly the drone 100, and considering the balance of flight stability, aircraft size, and power consumption, it is equipped with 8 aircraft (4 sets of two-stage rotor blades). Each rotor 101 is arranged on the four sides of the main body 110 of the drone 100 by means of arms protruding from the main body 110 of the drone 100 . That is, rotor blades 101-1a and 101-1b are on the left rear in the traveling direction, rotor blades 101-2a and 101-2b are on the left front, rotor blades 101-3a and 101-3b are on the right rear, and rotor blades 101- on the right front. 4a and 101-4b are arranged respectively. In addition, the drone 100 makes the downward direction of the paper surface in FIG. 1 the traveling direction. Rod-shaped legs 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, and 107-4 extend downward from the rotating shaft of rotor blade 101, respectively.

Motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 102-4a, 102-4b are equipped with rotors 101-1a, 101-1b, 101-2a, 101- Means for rotating 2b, 101-3a, 101-3b, 101-4a, 101-4b (typically an electric motor, but may be a motor, etc.), one machine provided for one rotor blade It is Motor 102 is an example of a propeller. The upper and lower rotors in one set (e.g. 101-1a and 101-1b) and their corresponding motors (e.g. 102-1a and 102-1b) are used for drone flight stability etc. The axes are collinear and rotate in opposite directions. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the radial members for supporting the propeller guard provided to prevent the rotor from interfering with foreign objects are not horizontal but have a scaffold-like structure. This is to prevent the member from interfering with the rotor by promoting the buckling of the member to the outside of the rotor blade at the time of collision.

Four drug nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, and 103-4 are provided and are means for spraying the drug downward. In the present specification, chemicals generally refer to liquids or powders such as pesticides, herbicides, liquid fertilizers, insecticides, seeds, and water that are applied to fields.

The drug tank 104 is a tank for storing the sprayed drug, and is provided at a position close to and lower than the center of gravity of the drone 100 from the viewpoint of weight balance. The drug hoses 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, 105-4 are means for connecting the drug tank 104 and the drug nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, 103-4, and are hard material, and may also serve to support the drug nozzle. A pump 106 is means for ejecting a drug from a nozzle.

FIG. 6 shows an overall conceptual diagram of a system using an embodiment of the drone 100 for chemical spraying according to the present invention. This figure is a schematic diagram and not to scale. In the figure, drone 100, controller 401, small portable terminal 401a (example of portable terminal), base station 404, and mobile object 406a are connected to farming cloud 405, respectively. These connections may be wireless communication using Wi-Fi, a mobile communication system, or the like, or may be partially or wholly wired.

Drone 100 and mobile object 406a transmit and receive information to each other and operate cooperatively. A departure and arrival point 406 is provided on the moving body 406a. The drone 100 has a flight control unit 21 that controls the flight of the drone 100, and a functional unit that transmits and receives information to and from the moving object 406a.

The operation device 401 is a means for transmitting commands to the drone 100 by the operation of the user 402 and displaying information received from the drone 100 (for example, position, drug amount, remaining battery level, camera image, etc.). Yes, and may be implemented by a portable information device such as a general tablet terminal that runs a computer program. The drone 100 according to the present invention is controlled to fly autonomously, but manual operation may be performed during basic operations such as takeoff and return, and in an emergency. In addition to the portable information device, an emergency operator (not shown) having a dedicated emergency stop function may be used. The emergency operation device may be a dedicated device equipped with a large emergency stop button or the like so that a quick response can be taken in case of emergency. Furthermore, apart from the operation device 401, the system may include a small portable terminal 401a, such as a smart phone, capable of displaying part or all of the information displayed on the operation device 401. FIG. Further, it may have a function of changing the operation of the drone 100 based on information input from the small portable terminal 401a. The small portable terminal 401a is connected to a base station 404, for example, and can receive information and the like from the farming cloud 405 via the base station 404. FIG.

A farm field 403 is a rice field, a field, or the like to which the drone 100 sprays chemicals. In reality, the topography of the farm field 403 is complicated, and there are cases where a topographic map cannot be obtained in advance, or there are cases where the topographic map differs from the situation of the field. Fields 403 are usually adjacent to houses, hospitals, schools, other crop fields, roads, railroads, and the like. Moreover, there may be intruders such as buildings and electric wires in the field 403 .

The base station 404 is a device that provides a Wi-Fi communication base unit function, etc., and may also function as an RTK-GPS base station and provide an accurate position of the drone 100 (Wi-Fi Fi communication master unit function and RTK-GPS base station may be independent devices). Also, the base station 404 may be able to communicate with the farming cloud 405 using a mobile communication system such as 3G, 4G, and LTE. The base station 404 is on board a vehicle 406a along with a point of origin 406 in this embodiment.

The farming cloud 405 is typically a group of computers and related software operated on a cloud service, and may be wirelessly connected to the operation device 401 via a mobile phone line or the like. The farming cloud 405 may analyze the image of the field 403 captured by the drone 100, grasp the growth status of crops, and perform processing for determining the flight route. In addition, the drone 100 may be provided with topographical information and the like of the field 403 that has been saved. In addition, a history of flight and captured images of the drone 100 may be accumulated and various analysis processes may be performed.

The small portable terminal 401a is, for example, a smart phone. The display unit of the small portable terminal 401a displays information about the expected operation of the drone 100, more specifically, the scheduled time for the drone 100 to return to the departure/arrival point 406, and the work to be done by the user 402 when returning. Information such as the content is displayed as appropriate. Also, the operations of the drone 100 and the moving object 406a may be changed based on the input from the small portable terminal 401a. The small portable terminal 401a can receive information from both the drone 100 and the moving object 406a. Information from the drone 100 may also be transmitted to the small portable terminal 401a via the mobile object 406a.

Normally, the drone 100 takes off from the departure/arrival point 406 outside the field 403 and returns to the departure/arrival point 406 after spraying the chemical on the field 403 or when replenishment of the chemical, charging, or the like is required. The flight path (entry path) from the departure/arrival point 406 to the target field 403 may be stored in advance in the farming cloud 405 or the like, or may be input by the user 402 before starting takeoff.

As in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the drone 100 pesticide spraying system according to the present invention includes the drone 100, the operation device 401, the small portable terminal 401a, and the farming cloud 405, each of which is connected to a base station 404. It may be a configuration that

Further, as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 8, in the chemical spraying system for drone 100 according to the present invention, drone 100, operation unit 401, and small portable terminal 401a are each connected to base station 404 and operated. A configuration in which only the device 401 is connected to the farming cloud 405 may be used.

As shown in FIG. 9, the drone 100 flies over fields 403a and 403b and performs work in the fields. The moving body 406a automatically travels in the automatic operation permitted area 90 provided around the fields 403a and 403b. The automatic driving permitted area 90 is, for example, a farm road. Fields 403a and 403b and automatic operation permitted area 90 constitute a work area. Automatic operation permission area 90 includes movement permission area 901 in which mobile object 406a can move but drone 100 cannot land, and mobile object 406a can move and drone 100 can land on mobile object 406a. It is subdivided into a landing clearance area 902 and . Reasons why the drone 100 cannot land include, for example, obstacles 80 such as guardrails, utility poles, electric wires, warehouses, and graves that are installed between the area and the field 403a.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of drones 100a and 100b (hereinafter also referred to as first drone 100a and second drone 100b) simultaneously fly to one farm field 403a (example of work area) to perform work. may The work performed by the first drone 100a is an example of the first work, and the work performed by the second drone 100b is an example of the second work. The first work includes an operation of flying along the first driving route 51 comprehensively set in the first work area 403c that is part of the field 403a. The second work includes an operation of flying the second driving route 52 comprehensively set in the second work area 403d, which is an area other than the first work area 403c in the farm field 403a. The drones 100a and 100b fly along the first and second driving routes 51 and 52 to spray chemicals and photograph the inside of the field 403a.

The first driving route 51 includes a start point 51s, a worked route 51a, an unworked route 51b, and an end point 51e. The first drone 100a starts flying from the start point 51s and flies to the end point 51e. Let the route already flown by the drone 100a be a completed route 51a, and the route to be flown from now on be a non-worked route 51b. Similarly, the second driving path 52 comprises a start point 52s, a worked path 52a, an unworked path 52b, and an end point 52e. The second drone 100b starts flying from start point 52s and flies to end point 52e. Let the route already flown by the drone 100b be the completed route 52a, and the route to be flown from now on be the unworked route 52b.

A plurality of moving bodies 406A and 406b (hereinafter also referred to as first moving body 406A and second moving body 406B) run within the automatic operation permitted area 90. A plurality of drones 100a and 100b and a plurality of moving bodies 406A and 406B included in drone system 500 are connected to each other via a network and centrally managed by operation determining device 40 described later with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the numbers of drones and moving bodies are the same, but they do not have to be the same. If the number of drones and moving bodies is the same, one drone can be mounted on each moving body, so all drones can be loaded on the moving body and the drones can be brought in from outside the work area. In addition, although a moving object cannot replenish resources for multiple drones at the same time, if the same number of drones and moving objects are included in the drone system 500, all drones can be replenished with resources at the same time.

The operation determination device 40 may be an independent device, or may be mounted on any of the configurations included in the drone system 500, such as the plurality of drones 100a and 100b, the plurality of moving bodies 406A and 406B, or the farming cloud 405. may

The drone 100 takes off from the mobile object 406a and performs work in the fields 403a and 403b. The drone 100 interrupts the work as appropriate during the work in the fields 403a and 403b, returns to the moving body 406a, and replenishes the battery 502 and the chemical. When the work of a predetermined field is completed, the drone 100 rides on the moving body 406a to move to the vicinity of another field, then takes off again from the moving body 406a, and starts working on the other field. In this way, the movement of the drone 100 within the automatic operation permitted area 90 is basically carried out on the mobile body 406a, and the mobile body 406a transports the drone 100 to the vicinity of the field where the work is to be performed. With this configuration, the battery 502 of the drone 100 can be saved. In addition, since the moving body 406a stores the battery 502 and the medicine that can be replenished to the drone 100, according to the configuration in which the moving body 406a moves to the vicinity of the field where the drone 100 is working and stands by, the drone Replenishment of resources to 100 can be done efficiently.

An area outside the automatic operation permitted area 90 is an automatic operation non-permitted area 91 . The automatic operation permitted area 90 and the automatic operation prohibited area 91 are partitioned by partition members 407a, 407b, 407c, 407d, and 407e. The automatic driving permitted area 90 and the automatic driving non-permitted area 91 are separated by various obstacles and the like, and roads are continuously formed. It may be placed on the road. In other words, the partition members 407a, 407b, 407c, 407d, and 407e are arranged at entrances to the automatic operation permitted area 90.

The partition member 407 is a member for partitioning the work area, which is the field 403 and its surrounding area, and is moved when the moving body 406a and the drone 100 work, and is, for example, a color cone (registered trademark) or a triangular cone. , corn bars, barricades, field arches, fences, etc. The partitioning member 407 may be physically partitioned or may be partitioned by light rays such as infrared rays. The partition member 407 is mainly used to notify intruders outside the work area that work is in progress and to restrict entry into the work area. Therefore, it is a member that an intruder can visually recognize even from a distance. In addition, since the partition member 407 is installed by the user 402 at the start of work, it is preferable that installation and removal be easy. Multiple partition members 407 may be included within the drone system 500 . The partitioning member 407 may detect that an intruder has entered the work area and transmit the intrusion information to the moving body 406a, the operation device 401, the small portable terminal 401a, and the like. Intruders include people, cars, and other moving objects.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram showing control functions of an embodiment of the chemical spray drone according to the present invention. The flight controller 501 is a component that controls the entire drone, and specifically may be an embedded computer including a CPU, memory, related software, and the like. Flight controller 501 controls motors 102-1a and 102-1b via control means such as ESC (Electronic Speed Control) based on input information received from operation device 401 and input information obtained from various sensors described later. , 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, and 104-b, the flight of the drone 100 is controlled. The actual rotation speeds of motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, and 104-b are fed back to flight controller 501 to ensure normal rotation. It is configured to be able to monitor whether or not Alternatively, an optical sensor or the like may be provided on the rotor blade 101 and the rotation of the rotor blade 101 may be fed back to the flight controller 501 .

The software used by the flight controller 501 is rewritable through a storage medium or the like, or through communication means such as Wi-Fi communication or USB, in order to extend/change functions or correct problems. In this case, protection is provided by encryption, checksum, electronic signature, virus check software, etc. to prevent rewriting by unauthorized software. Also, part of the calculation processing used for control by the flight controller 501 may be executed by another computer existing on the operation device 401, on the farming cloud 405, or at another location. Due to the high importance of flight controller 501, some or all of its components may be duplicated.

The flight controller 501 communicates with the controller 401 via the Wi-Fi slave device function 503 and via the base station 404, receives necessary commands from the controller 401, and sends necessary information to the controller. You can send to 401. In this case, the communication may be encrypted to prevent fraudulent acts such as interception, impersonation, and device hijacking. The base station 404 also has a function of an RTK-GPS base station in addition to a Wi-Fi communication function. By combining the signals from the RTK base station and the signals from the GPS positioning satellite, the flight controller 501 can measure the absolute position of the drone 100 with an accuracy of several centimeters. Due to the high importance of the flight controller 501, it may be duplicated or multiplexed, and each redundant flight controller 501 should use a different satellite in order to cope with the failure of a particular GPS satellite. may be controlled.

The 6-axis gyro sensor 505 is means for measuring the acceleration of the drone body in three mutually orthogonal directions, and is means for calculating the velocity by integrating the acceleration. The 6-axis gyro sensor 505 is means for measuring changes in the attitude angle of the drone body in the three directions described above, that is, angular velocity. The geomagnetic sensor 506 is a means of determining the direction of the drone body by measuring geomagnetism. The air pressure sensor 507 is a means of measuring air pressure, and can also indirectly measure the altitude of the drone. The laser sensor 508 is means for measuring the distance between the drone body and the ground surface using reflection of laser light, and may be an IR (infrared) laser. Sonar 509 is a means of measuring the distance between the drone body and the ground using the reflection of sound waves such as ultrasonic waves. These sensors may be selected according to the drone's cost targets and performance requirements. Also, a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) for measuring the inclination of the airframe, a wind sensor for measuring wind force, etc. may be added. Also, these sensors may be duplicated or multiplexed. If there are multiple sensors for the same purpose, the flight controller 501 may use only one of them and switch to an alternative sensor if it fails. Alternatively, multiple sensors may be used at the same time and a failure is assumed to occur if their measurements do not match.

Flow rate sensors 510 are means for measuring the flow rate of the drug, and are provided at multiple locations along the path from drug tank 104 to drug nozzle 103 . A liquid shortage sensor 511 is a sensor that detects when the amount of medicine has fallen below a predetermined amount. Multispectral camera 512 is a means of photographing field 403 and acquiring data for image analysis. The intruder detection camera 513 is a camera for detecting drone intruders, and is a separate device from the multispectral camera 512 because its image characteristics and lens orientation are different from those of the multispectral camera 512 . Switch 514 is a means for user 402 of drone 100 to make various settings. The intruder contact sensor 515 is a sensor for detecting that the drone 100, especially its rotor or propeller guard portion, has come into contact with an intruder such as an electric wire, building, human body, standing tree, bird, or other drone. . Note that the intruder contact sensor 515 may be replaced by the 6-axis gyro sensor 505. The cover sensor 516 is a sensor that detects that the operation panel of the drone 100 and the internal maintenance cover are open. A drug inlet sensor 517 is a sensor that detects that the inlet of the drug tank 104 is open. These sensors may be selected, duplicated or multiplexed depending on the drone's cost targets and performance requirements. Also, a sensor may be provided outside the drone 100 at the base station 404, the controller 401, or at another location to transmit the read information to the drone. For example, a wind sensor may be provided in the base station 404 to transmit information on wind power and wind direction to the drone 100 via Wi-Fi communication.

The flight controller 501 transmits a control signal to the pump 106 to adjust the medicine ejection amount and stop the medicine ejection. The current status of the pump 106 (eg, number of revolutions, etc.) is configured to be fed back to the flight controller 501 .

The LED 107 is display means for informing the operator of the drone of the state of the drone. Display means such as a liquid crystal display may be used in place of or in addition to LEDs. The buzzer 518 is an output means for informing the state of the drone (especially error state) by means of an audio signal. A Wi-Fi slave device function 519 is an optional component for communicating with an external computer or the like for transferring software, for example, separately from the operation device 401 . In place of or in addition to the Wi-Fi slave unit function, infrared communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), other wireless communication means such as NFC, or wired communication means such as USB connection may be used. Also, instead of the Wi-Fi slave device function, it may be possible to communicate with each other by mobile communication systems such as 3G, 4G, and LTE. The speaker 520 is output means for notifying the state of the drone (especially error state) by means of recorded human voice, synthesized voice, or the like. Weather conditions can make it difficult to see the visual display of the drone 100 in flight, and in such cases, audible status communication is effective. A warning light 521 is a display means such as a strobe light that indicates the state of the drone (especially an error state). These input/output means may be selected, duplicated or multiplexed according to the drone's cost targets and performance requirements.

Configuration of moving object A moving object 406a shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 receives information possessed by the drone 100 and appropriately notifies the user 402, or accepts input from the user 402 and transmits it to the drone 100. It is a device. Also, the moving body 406a can move with the drone 100 loaded. The moving object 406a can be driven by the user 402, or can move autonomously. It should be noted that the moving body 406a in the present embodiment is assumed to be a vehicle such as an automobile, more specifically a light truck, but it may be a suitable moving body capable of traveling on land such as a train, a ship or a plane. It can be a body. The driving source of the moving body 406a may be gasoline, electricity, a fuel cell, or any suitable source.

The moving body 406a is a vehicle in which a passenger seat 81 is arranged in front in the traveling direction and a loading platform 82 is arranged in the rear. Four wheels 83, which are examples of moving means, are drivably arranged on the bottom side of the moving body 406a. A user 402 can get into the passenger seat 81 .

The passenger seat 81 is provided with a display unit 65 for displaying the state of the moving object 406a and the drone 100. FIG. The display unit 65 may be a device having a screen, or may be realized by a mechanism for projecting information onto the windshield. Further, in addition to the display section 65, a rear display section 65a may be installed on the rear side of the vehicle body 810 covering the passenger seat 81. FIG. The angle of the rear display unit 65a with respect to the vehicle body 810 can be changed left and right, and the user 402 working behind and on the left and right sides of the loading platform 82 can view the screen and obtain information.

A base station 404 having a shape in which a disk-shaped member is connected to the upper part of a round bar extends above the passenger seat 81 at the front left end of the loading platform 82 of the moving body 406a. Note that the shape and position of the base station 404 are arbitrary. According to the configuration in which the base station 404 is located on the passenger seat 81 side of the loading platform 82, compared to the configuration in which the base station 404 is located behind the loading platform 82, the base station 404 is less likely to interfere with takeoff and landing of the drone 100.

The carrier 82 has a luggage compartment 821 that stores the battery 502 of the drone 100 and the drug to be replenished in the drug tank 104 of the drone 100 . The luggage compartment 821 is an area surrounded by the vehicle body 810 that covers the passenger seat 81 , a rear plate 822 , a pair of side plates 823 and 823 , and an upper plate 824 . The rear plate 822 and the side plates 823 are also called "tilts". Rails 825 are arranged on both ends of the upper portion of the rear plate 822 along the upper ends of the side plates 823 to reach the vehicle body 810 on the back side of the passenger seat 81 . The top plate 824 is a landing/departure area where the drone 100 is placed and is a landing/departure point 406 from which the drone 100 can take off and land. The rails 825 are ribs projecting upward from the plane of the top plate 824 to prevent the drone 100 riding on the top plate 824 from slipping out of the left and right ends of the moving body 406a. Further, a rib 8241 is formed on the rear side of the top plate 824 so as to protrude upward to the same extent as the rail 825 .

A warning light 830 that indicates that the drone system 500 is working may be arranged on the upper part of the vehicle body 810 and on the rear side of the rear plate 822 in the traveling direction. The warning light 830 may be a display that distinguishes between work and non-work by color scheme or blinking, or may be capable of displaying characters or patterns. Also, the warning light 830 on the upper part of the vehicle body 810 may extend up to the upper part of the vehicle body 810 and display on both sides. According to this configuration, even when the drone 100 is placed on the loading platform 82, the warning can be visually recognized from behind. In addition, the warning can also be visually recognized from the front of the traveling direction of the moving body 406a. Since the warning light 830 can be visually recognized from the front and rear, it is possible to partially omit the trouble of installing the partition member 407 .

The top plate 824 may be manually slidable, or may be slid automatically using a rack and pinion mechanism or the like. When the top plate 824 is slid rearward, articles can be stored in the luggage compartment 821 from above the loading platform 82, and articles can be taken out. In addition, in the configuration in which the top plate 824 slides backward, the drone 100 can take off and land at the departure/arrival point 406 because the top plate 824 and the vehicle body 810 are sufficiently separated.

The top plate 824 is provided with four leg receiving portions 826 to which the legs 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, and 107-4 of the drone 100 can be fixed. The foot receiving part 826 is a disc-shaped member having a truncated cone-shaped concave upper surface, which is installed one by one at positions corresponding to the four legs 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, and 107-4 of the drone 100, for example. be. It should be noted that the bottom of the truncated cone-shaped recess of the foot receiving portion 826 and the tips of the feet 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, and 107-4 may be shaped so as to be fittable with each other. When landing on the footrest 826, the feet 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, 107-4 of the drone 100 slide along the conical surface of the footrest 826, and the feet 107-1, 107-2, 107 reach the bottom of the truncated cone. -3,107-4 tips are induced. The drone 100 can be automatically or manually fixed to the foot support portion 826 by an appropriate mechanism, and even when the moving body 406a carries the drone 100 thereon, the drone 100 can be secured without excessive vibration or falling. can be safely transported. In addition, the moving body 406a can detect whether the drone 100 is fixed to the foot support section 826 or not.

A circular light 850 that displays a guideline for the take-off and landing positions of the drone 100 is arranged in the approximate center of the top plate 824 . Circumferential light 850 is formed by a group of light emitters arranged in a substantially circular shape, and the group of light emitters can be individually blinked. In this embodiment, four large light emitters 850a are arranged at approximately 90-degree intervals on the circumference, and two small light emitters 850b are arranged at regular intervals between the large light emitters 850a. Circumferential light 850 is constructed. Circumferential light 850 displays the flight direction after takeoff of drone 100 or the direction in which drone 100 flies when landing by lighting one or more of light emitter groups 850a and 850b. Circumferential light 850 may be composed of a single annular light emitter that can partially blink.

A pair of side plates 823 are hinged to the loading platform 82 at their bottom edges, and can be tilted outward. FIG. 12 shows a state in which the side plate 823 on the left side in the traveling direction is tilted outward. When the side plate 823 falls outward, it becomes possible to store and take out stored items from the side of the moving body 406a. The side plate 823 is fixed substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the luggage compartment 821, and the side plate 823 can also be used as a workbench.

A pair of rails 825 constitutes a mode switching mechanism. A hinge connecting the side plate 823 and the loading platform 82 may also be included in the form switching mechanism. In the configuration in which the top plate 824 is arranged to cover the upper side of the luggage compartment 821 and the side plates 823 stand up to cover the sides of the luggage compartment 821, the moving body 406a moves. When the moving body 406a is stationary, the upper plate 824 is switched to the rearward sliding form or the side plate 823 is tilted, and the user 402 can approach the inside of the luggage compartment 821. FIG.

The drone 100 can replenish the energy required for flight while landing at the departure/arrival point 406 . For example, battery 502 can be charged. A charging device for the battery 502 is stored in the luggage compartment 821, and the battery 502 stored in the luggage compartment 821 can be charged. Further, the drone 100 may include an ultracapacitor mechanism instead of the battery 502, and a charger for the ultracapacitor may be stored in the luggage compartment 821. In this configuration, the battery 502 mounted on the drone 100 can be rapidly charged via the legs of the drone 100 when the drone 100 is fixed to the foot rests 826.

The drone 100 can replenish the medicine stored in the medicine tank 104 while landing at the departure/arrival point 406 . The luggage compartment 821 stores appropriate components for dilution and mixing, such as a dilution and mixing tank for diluting and mixing the drug, a stirring mechanism, and a pump and hose for sucking up the drug from the dilution and mixing tank and injecting it into the drug tank 104. may have been Further, a replenishing hose that extends from the luggage compartment 821 to the upper side of the top plate 824 and is connectable to the injection port of the chemical tank 104 may be arranged.

A waste liquid groove 840 and a waste liquid hole 841 for guiding the drug discharged from the drug tank 104 are formed on the upper surface side of the top plate 824 . Two liquid waste grooves 840 and two liquid waste holes 841 are arranged so that the liquid waste grooves 840 are positioned below the drug nozzle 103 regardless of whether the drone 100 lands on the left or right side of the moving body 406a. ing. The waste liquid groove 840 is a groove having a predetermined width, which is formed substantially straight along the length direction of the moving body 406a along the position of the drug nozzle 103, and slightly extends toward the passenger seat 81 side. Inclined. At the end of the waste liquid groove 840 on the passenger seat 81 side, a waste liquid hole 841 is formed to pass through the upper surface plate 824 and guide the chemical liquid into the luggage compartment 821 . The waste liquid hole 841 communicates with a waste liquid tank 842 installed in the luggage compartment 821 and substantially directly below the waste liquid hole 841 .

When injecting the medicine into the medicine tank 104, an air bleeding operation is performed to discharge gas, mainly air, filling the medicine tank 104 to the outside. At this time, an operation for discharging the medicine from the discharge port of the medicine tank 104 is required. Also, after the drone 100 finishes its work, it is necessary to discharge the medicine from the medicine tank 104 . According to the configuration in which the waste liquid groove 840 and the waste liquid hole 841 are formed in the top plate 824, when the drone 100 is arranged on the top plate 824 and the drug is injected into and discharged from the drug tank 104, the waste liquid is discharged into the waste liquid tank. It can be guided to 842 and can be safely drugged and discharged.

Configuration of Drone, Moving Body, and Motion Determining Device of Drone System As shown in FIG. 13, drone system 500 includes drone 100, first moving body 406A, second moving body 406B and motion determining device . The drone 100, the first mobile body 406A, the second mobile body 406B, and the motion determining device 40 are configured to be connected to each other via a network NW, for example. Note that the network NW may be entirely wireless, or partially or wholly wired. In addition, the specific connection relationship is not limited to that shown in the figure, and each component may be connected directly or indirectly.

In this embodiment, there are one drone and two moving bodies, but there may be more. Also, the number of drones and moving bodies may be the same or may be different. A plurality of drones can take off and land on any of the plurality of moving bodies 406A and 406B, and can replenish resources. Note that replenishment of resources is a concept that includes replenishment of the battery 502 and replenishment of medicines.

Drone 100 includes flight control unit 21 , on-board resource acquisition unit 22 and battery 502 .

The flight control unit 21 is a functional unit that operates the motor 102 of the drone 100 and controls flight, takeoff and landing of the drone 100 . The flight control unit 21 is implemented by the functions of the flight controller 501, for example.

The mounted resource acquisition unit 22 is a functional unit that acquires the amount of resources mounted on the drone 100, that is, the amount of electricity stored in the battery 502 and the amount of medicine. The on-board resource acquisition unit 22 includes a power storage amount acquisition unit 221 and a medicine amount acquisition unit 222 .

The power storage amount acquisition unit 221 is a functional unit that acquires the power storage amount of the battery 502 mounted on the drone 100 . The amount of power stored in the battery 502 refers to the amount of energy that can operate the drone 100 without replenishment of resources. Battery 502 may be any type of energy supply, such as a primary battery, secondary battery, capacitor, or fuel cell.

The stored electricity amount acquisition unit 221 may acquire information from another configuration for measuring the stored electricity amount of the battery 502, or the stored electricity amount acquisition unit 221 may measure the stored electricity amount of the battery 502 itself.

The drug amount acquisition unit 222 is a functional unit that estimates the current storage amount of the drug in the drug tank 104 . The drug amount acquisition unit 222 may estimate the storage amount from the weight of the drone 100 measured by the weight measurement unit 211a. Further, the drug amount acquisition unit 222 may have a function of estimating the liquid level in the drug tank 104, for example. The drug amount acquisition unit 222 may estimate the storage amount using a liquid level gauge, a water pressure sensor, or the like arranged in the drug tank 104 . When the drone 100 is in operation, the drug amount acquisition unit 222 calculates the drug ejection amount by integrating the ejection flow rate from the drug tank 104 measured by the flow rate sensor 510, and determines the drug ejection amount from the initially loaded drug amount. The amount of storage may be estimated by subtracting .

The first mobile unit 406A includes a luggage compartment 821a, a storage resource acquisition unit 31a, a landing detection unit 32a, and a replenishment unit 33a. The second moving body 406B includes a luggage compartment 821b, a storage resource acquisition unit 31b, a landing detection unit 32b, and a replenishment unit 33b. The configurations of the first moving body 406A and the second moving body 406B are substantially the same. Luggage compartments 821a and 821b have the same configuration as luggage compartment 821 described above.

The accommodation resource acquisition units 31a and 31b are functional units that measure the amount of resources held by the moving bodies 406A and 406B. The amount of resources includes the number of charged batteries 502 and the amount of medicine. In addition, the amount of resources may be the remaining charge capacity of the equipment that charges the battery 502 . If the drones 100a and 100b are configured to be driven by fuel cells, it may be the amount of fuel gas, such as hydrogen gas, that can be stored in the drones 100a and 100b. The amount of resources prepared for the moving bodies 406A and 406B may be obtained manually by the user 402, or may be obtained automatically. As an example of an automatic acquisition configuration, a configuration may be employed in which the weight of a predetermined range in luggage compartment 821 is measured in order to acquire the drug amount. Further, in order to obtain the number of charged batteries 502, in addition to the weight of the luggage compartment 821 within a predetermined range, the storage amount of the batteries 502 may be measured.

The landing detection units 32a and 32b are functional units that detect whether or not the drone 100 has landed on the moving objects 406A and 406B. The landing detection units 32a and 32b are configured to detect the feet 107-1 to 107-4 of the drone 100, for example, touch switches and capacitance sensors mounted on the foot receiving unit 826. , 406B to detect whether it has landed. When there are a plurality of drones 100 in the drone system 500, the landing detection units 32a and 32b acquire the unique information of the drones 100 from the legs 107-1 to 107-4 to determine which drone 100 has landed. may be identifiable. Also, the landing detection units 32a and 32b may identify the landing drone 100 by acquiring the position information of each drone 100 using RTK-GPS or the like.

Replenishment units 33a and 33b are functional units that replenish resources to drones 100 landing on moving bodies 406A and 406B. As described above, the replenishment units 33a and 33b can charge the batteries 502 mounted on the drones 100 landing on the moving bodies 406A and 406B. Further, the replenishment units 33a and 33b can replenish the medicine stored in the medicine tank 104. As shown in FIG.

The motion determination device 40 is a functional unit that determines the work plan of the drone 100 and the moving body 406a. Operation determination device 40 includes resource replenishment determination unit 41 , notification unit 42 , priority switching unit 43 , charging plan unit 44 , and landing position determination unit 45 .

The resource replenishment determination unit 41 determines whether or not the amount of resources accommodated in each of the moving bodies 406A and 406B satisfies a predetermined condition, and determines to replenish the resources to the moving bodies 406A and 406B. It is a functional part that

The resource replenishment determination unit 41 includes a mobile resource acquisition unit 411 that acquires the amount of resources accommodated in the mobile units 406A and 406B. The mobile object resource acquisition unit 411 acquires the amount of resources accommodated for each of the plurality of mobile objects 406A and 406B included in the drone system 500. FIG. The mobile resource acquisition unit 411 may acquire the amount of resources via the accommodation resource acquisition units 31a and 31b of the mobile units 406A and 406B, respectively.

The resource replenishment determination unit 41 determines to replenish resources to the moving bodies 406A and 406B, for example, when the amount of resources accommodated in the moving bodies 406A and 406B is less than a predetermined amount. When the drone system 500 includes a plurality of moving bodies 406a as in the present embodiment, whether or not to replenish resources is determined for each of the moving bodies 406A and 406B.

In addition, the resource replenishment determining unit 41 refers to the work plan of the drone 100, and when the amount of resources housed in the moving bodies 406A and 406B is less than the planned value for replenishing the drone 100 in the work plan, A decision may be made to replenish resources for the mobiles 406A, 406B. When the drone system 500 includes a plurality of mobile bodies 406a as in the present embodiment, the replenishment plan for each mobile body 406a scheduled in the work plan is referenced, and resources are allocated to the mobile bodies 406A and 406B. You may decide to supplement.

The resource replenishment decision unit 41 decides to move the moving bodies 406A and 406B for which resource replenishment is decided to a resource replenishable position. The positions where resources can be replenished are, for example, the ends of the automatic operation permitted area 90 of the moving bodies 406A and 406B. The edge of the automatic driving permitted area 90 includes the entire border between the automatic driving permitted area 90 and the automatic driving non-permitted area 91 . The user 402 transports the resource from a separate warehouse and transports the resource to the vicinity of the outer circumference of the automatic operation permitted area 90 . According to the configuration in which the moving bodies 406A and 406B move to the end of the automatic operation permitting area 90 for resource replenishment, the user 402 approaches the moving bodies 406A and 406B from outside the automatic driving permitting area 90 and moves. Bodies 406A, 406B can be replenished with resources. If an intruder such as a person or a car including the user 402 enters the automatic operation permitted area 90, there is a risk of colliding with the moving objects 406A and 406B or the drone 100. FIG. In addition, when an intruder enters the automatic operation permitted area 90, there may be a configuration that stops the operation of the moving bodies 406A and 406B or the drone 100. FIG. According to this configuration, the user 402 can replenish resources without intruding into the automatic operation permitted area 90, so that it is safe and the operation of the moving objects 406A, 406B or the drone 100 can be continued.

When the moving objects 406A and 406B need to be replenished with resources, the resource replenishment determination unit 41 notifies various components in the drone system 500, such as the operation device 401 and the small portable terminal 401a, via the notification unit 42. Notice. The notification unit 42 is a functional unit that transmits information indicating that resource replenishment is necessary to various components within the drone system 500 .

The operating device 401 and the small portable terminal 401a that have received the notification notify the user 402 and urges the mobile units 406A and 406B to replenish the inventory. At this time, the operation device 401 and the small portable terminal 401a may refer to the work plan and display the amount of resources to be replenished for each of the moving bodies 406A and 406B. In addition, the operation device 401 and the small portable terminal 401a refer to the work plan, calculate the estimated time that the drones 100a and 100b will return for replenishment, or the time required to return based on the current time, and By when the replenishment of is required may also be displayed. According to this configuration, even when the user 402 is far away from the fields 403a and 403b, it is possible to receive the notification regarding stock replenishment through the small portable terminal 401a. In this system, the drones 100a and 100b and the moving bodies 406A and 406B operate automatically, respectively, so the work by the user 402 is almost limited to restocking the moving bodies 406A and 406B. Therefore, by making it possible to notify the remote user 402 of inventory replenishment information, the user 402 does not need to be in the fields 403a and 403b all the time.

Note that the operator 401 and the small portable terminal 401a, along with the above-mentioned information, the current position and working status of the drone 100 and the moving object 406a, that is, information on whether the drone 100 is spraying, photographing, or preparing; and information as to whether or not the moving object 406a is moving. In addition, the operation device 401 and the small portable terminal 401a display the progress of work in the field 403, that is, information indicating whether the work is progressing or waiting for the intervention of the user 402, whether the work is completed, and the work completion rate. may

The small portable terminal 401a may display only a part of the information displayed on the operation device 401, or may report only a part of the information by a separate reporting means such as sound. . For example, in the small portable terminal 401a, there is information at the time when the user 402 needs to intervene, such as when resources for the 4406a need to be replenished, or when the total work is completed and cleanup is needed, and information on each time. It may be configured such that only information related to prediction is displayed on the small portable terminal 401a. Also, the user 402 may be notified at the time when the moving body 406a needs to be replenished with resources, when the total work is completed, and when an abnormality occurs.

Note that the inventory may be replenished from another moving body that has sufficient resources, or from a separate warehouse. The operating device 401 or the small portable terminal 401a may display which resource is to be replenished. By replenishing from another moving body, it is possible to reduce the time and effort required to store it in the warehouse from the moving body after the completion of the work. Therefore, it may be decided to prioritize replenishment from another mobile unit.

The priority switching unit 43 is a functional unit that switches whether the operation determining device 40 gives priority to the total working time or the total amount of electricity to determine the work plan. When the user 402 is in the vicinity of the field 403 and is monitoring the work, it is desirable that the work be completed quickly. It saves money and may be desired. The priority switching unit 43 may determine the priority based on an input from the user 402. FIG. Also, the priority switching unit 43 determines whether or not the user 402 is monitoring the work in the field 403 based on the position information of the small portable terminal 401a possessed by the user 402, and can switch the priority. may be configured.

The charging plan unit 44 determines a charging plan for charging the battery 502 of the drone 100 with the amount of electricity stored for the total charging rate. The charging plan is a part of the work plan, and includes the timing, charging time, and number of charging times for drone 100 to return to mobile objects 406A and 406B for charging. The timing of charging is, for example, the time of charging, or the elapsed time from a predetermined reference time such as when the drone 100 takes off to the time of charging. The charging time is the time for charging each charge. The number of times of charging is the number of times charging is performed within the work plan.

The charging planning unit 44 includes a charging rate acquiring unit 441 , a required charging amount acquiring unit 442 and a charging rate-charging time storage unit 443 .

The charging rate acquisition unit 441 is a functional unit that acquires the current charging rate of the battery 502 mounted on the drone 100 . The charging rate is also referred to as SOC (state of charge), which is the remaining rate of the fully charged state of the battery 502 excluding the amount of discharged electricity, and is also referred to as remaining capacity. The charging rate acquisition unit 441 acquires the stored power amount from the stored power amount acquisition unit 221 of the drone 100 . Also, the charging rate acquisition unit 441 may be configured to measure the amount of charge in the batteries 502 of the drones 100 landing on the moving bodies 406A and 406B.

The required charge amount acquisition unit 442 is a functional unit that acquires the total charge amount required for completing the work plan of the drone 100 . The work plan is work to be performed by flying over one or more fields, such as chemical spraying or monitoring work. The work plan includes operations for drones 100 to return to moving bodies 406A and 406B, charge batteries 502, and resume work on fields. The total charge also includes the storage of battery 502 required to return for charging. Since the total charge includes the operation of charging during the work plan, it may exceed the energy that the drone 100 can hold, that is, it may exceed 100% in terms of charging rate. A work plan is developed automatically or manually based on the work area information specified by the user 402 or another configuration.

The charging rate-charging time storage unit 443 is a functional unit that stores the charging rate of the battery 502 and the required time for charging a drone having the charging rate to a predetermined amount in association with each other.

As shown in FIG. 14, the charge rate and duration of battery 502 are non-linear. When the charging rate is small, charging for a short period of time can greatly increase the charging rate. If the charge rate is large, more time is required to increase the charge rate. In the example shown in the figure, when charging is started at a charging rate of 0%, the charging rate reaches 80% in the first 30 minutes. On the other hand, it takes an additional 150 minutes to charge from 80% to 100%.

The charging rate-charging time storage unit 443 stores the correspondence relationship between the charging rate and the charging time as shown in FIG. The charging rate-charging time storage unit 443 may store a plurality of combinations of charging rates and charging times as a table, or may hold them as mathematical expressions. The charging rate-charging time storage unit 443 may store different correspondence relationships for each individual battery 502 . This is because the battery 502 deteriorates due to the number of times it is used, etc., and the corresponding relationship may differ for each battery 502 . The charging rate-charging time storage unit 443 may be configured to call the correspondence used for calculation based on the information stored in the battery 502, such as the usage history. Also, the charging rate-charging time storage unit 443 may be configured to calculate and store the corresponding relationship. The charging rate-charging time storage unit 443 may correct the correspondence relationship according to other factors such as temperature.

The charging planning unit 44 may determine the time to return the drone 100 by predicting the time when the amount of charge in the battery 502 becomes less than a predetermined amount. Also, the charging planning unit 44 may be configured to be able to determine conditions for terminating charging and resuming work. For example, the charging planning unit 44 may be configured to terminate charging and resume work in the field when the charging rate meets a predetermined condition. Furthermore, the charging scheduler 44 may be configured to terminate charging when the charging rate reaches or exceeds a predetermined value. The predetermined value may be, for example, less than 70% or less than 50%. Furthermore, the charging planning unit 44 may be configured to measure the amount of stored electricity or the charging rate during charging as needed, calculate the charging speed, and terminate charging when the charging speed becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value. Since the charging speed decreases as the charging rate rises, the charging efficiency can be improved by performing charging in a range where a predetermined charging speed or higher is exhibited.

As shown in FIG. 15, the charging rate and the amount of charge of battery 502 are substantially linear. The amount of stored electricity corresponds to the energy required for the operation of the drone 100 and is not related to the charging rate of the battery 502 . That is, for example, the amount of energy generated by discharging the battery 502 with a charging rate of 100% to 90% and the amount of energy generated by discharging the battery 502 with a charging rate of 20% to 10% They are almost identical. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, the charging time differs depending on the charging rate, and charging of the same amount of electricity is faster in the lower charging rate range. Therefore, by determining the rate of increase in the charging rate to the charging time, that is, the work plan of the Drone 100 to work while repeatedly charging in the high charging speed range, the time required for charging is shortened and work efficiency is improved. can be made

The charging planning unit 44 calculates the total work including work interruption time for charging based on the time required for charging the drone 100 (charging time), the charging rate obtained by the charging, and the flightable time based on the charging rate. Determine the charging plan that will result in the shortest time. More specifically, the charging plan unit 44 determines a charging plan that minimizes the sum of the charging time and the flightable time. The charging plan unit 44 may determine the charging plan so that the charge rate is used within a predetermined range lower than the full charge.

Using the example of FIG. 16, the flow from start to finish of the total work will be described. As shown in FIG. 16(a), the total working time is the sum of moving body-field moving times 60a to 60h, in-field working times 61a to 61d, and charging times 62a to 62c. First, the drone 100 moves from the moving body 406a to the farm field 403 over the moving body-farm field movement time 60a. When the drone 100 reaches the field 403, it performs field work during field work times 61a to 61d. The drone 100 appropriately interrupts the work in the field, returns to the moving body 406a over the moving body-to-field moving times 60b, 60d, and 60f, and charges for the charging times 62a to 62c. After a predetermined charge, the drone 100 returns to the field 403 at mobile-to-field travel times 60c, 60e, and 60g, and resumes field work. When the work in the field is completed, it returns to the moving body 406a with the movement time between the moving body and the field of 60h, and completes the total work. Although the number of times of charging is three in this embodiment, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, according to the configuration in which the number of times of charging is set multiple times, even when the amount of energy that can be charged to the drone 100 is small, the charging is automatically repeated, and the total work time is long. The energy retention function unit such as the battery 502 mounted on the drone 100 can be configured to be small and lightweight. In addition, since the battery is charged a plurality of times, repeating the charging within a high charging speed range is more effective in shortening the total working time.

As shown in FIG. 16(b), the work completion rate of field work is 0% at the start of the total work. The work completion rate increases during the field work hours 61a to 61d, and does not change during the work interruption times 63a to 63c, which are the total work hours excluding the field work times 61a to 61d. The work completion rate reaches 100% at the end of the field work time 61d.

As shown in FIG. 16(c), the charging rate of the battery 502 mounted on the drone 100 decreases during the flight times 64a to 64d excluding the charging times 62a to 62c, and increases during the charging times 62a to 62c. . Note that the manner in which the charging rate rises during the charging times 62a to 62c corresponds to FIG. 14 and is nonlinear. For example, the drone 100 can fly for about 10 minutes by charging for about 30 minutes.

In addition to the flight time 64a based on the amount of electricity stored at the start of work, the sum of one work interruption time 63a and the flight time 64b obtained from the work interruption time is integrated for the number of times of charging, and movement at the start and end The total working time can be calculated by adding the 60a and 60h travel times between the body and the field. The charging plan unit 44 determines the charging plan by determining the charging rate at the time of work interruption that minimizes the total work time and the time for one work interruption.

The charge time 62c for the last charge of the total work may be different than the other charge times 62a, 62b. In particular, the last charging time 62c may be shorter than the other charging times 62a, 62b. This is because, in most cases, the last in-field work time 61d of the total work is shorter than the other in-field work times 61a to 61c, and therefore it is sufficient to charge the power storage amount necessary to complete the work. By configuring in this way, the charging time 62c can be shortened, and the total working time can be shortened.

The landing position determination unit 45 is a functional unit that determines the landing positions of the drones 100a and 100b. For example, the landing position determination unit 45 is a functional unit that determines on which of the plurality of moving bodies 406A and 406B each is to land. In a configuration in which one drone system 500 has multiple moving bodies 406A and 406B, multiple moving bodies 406A and 406B exist around fields 403a and 403b. According to the landing position determination unit 45, the drone 100 does not need to land on the mobile bodies 406A and 406B that have taken off, and can land by determining the mobile bodies 406A and 406B that more closely match the conditions. Also, the landing position determining unit 45 may determine to land the drones 100a and 100b not only on the moving bodies 406A and 406B but also on the ground. For example, as described below, if multiple drones wish to land on the same vehicle 406A, 406B, one may decide to land on the ground and wait.

The landing position determination unit 45 includes a power storage amount acquisition unit 451 and a movement information acquisition unit 452 .

The power storage amount acquisition unit 451 is a functional unit that acquires the power storage amount of the battery 502 .

The movement information acquisition unit 452 acquires movement information of the moving bodies 406A and 406B, including the positions of the moving bodies 406A and 406B and the time required for the moving bodies 406A and 406B to reach the planned landing position of the drone 100. do. The mobility information may also include the amount of resources housed in each of the mobiles 406A, 406B. Further, the movement information may include information on whether or not the drone 100 has landed on the moving objects 406A, 406B.

The landing position determining unit 45 determines to land the drones 100a and 100b on the moving bodies 406A and 406B that have the amount of resources required to replenish the drone 100 among the plurality of moving bodies 406A and 406B. good. In addition, the landing position determination unit 46 determines that the drones 100a and 100b should be landed on the mobile body with the least amount of resources among the mobile bodies 406A and 406B that have the amount of resources required to replenish the drones 100a and 100b. may decide. The resource may be the amount of battery 502 held, or the amount of medicine held. Depending on the type of resource replenished when the drone 100 lands, it may be determined based on which of the battery 502 or the drug is retained to sort out the moving bodies 406A and 406B. According to this configuration, it is sufficient to replenish resources only for specific moving bodies, so the moving distance of the inventory of the moving bodies 406A and 406B and the number of times of replenishing the inventory can be reduced.

The landing position determining unit 45 may determine to land the drone 100 on one of the plurality of moving bodies 406A and 406B to which other drones 100 have not landed. The other drone 100 cannot be landed on the mobile object on which one drone 100 is landing. Therefore, according to this configuration, multiple drones 100a and 100b can simultaneously land on moving bodies 406A and 406B without interference. That is, it is possible to simultaneously replenish resources for a plurality of drones 100a and 100b, shorten the total work time, and efficiently perform work.

The landing position determination unit 45 determines that a plurality of drones 100a and 100b are scheduled to land on the same moving object 406A, and that one drone 100a is returning to the moving object 406A and the other drone 100b lands on the moving object 406A. If so, it may decide to land the drone 100b on the ground, wait, and then land on the moving object 406A after the other drone 100b takes off. At this time, the drone 100b may be configured to land and stand by while the amount of power storage required for standby and landing on the moving object 406A is ensured.

In this description, an agricultural chemical spraying drone has been described as an example, but the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to general drones for other purposes such as shooting and monitoring. . It is particularly applicable to machines that operate autonomously. Further, the moving body is not limited to a vehicle, and may be of any suitable configuration.

(Technically Remarkable Effects of the Present Invention)
In the drone system according to the present invention, in the system that manages the process of charging the battery of the drone, the battery of the drone can be efficiently charged even when the amount of charge in the battery of the drone is insufficient during work.

Claims (16)

drone and
a replenishment unit capable of replenishing the drone with energy necessary for flight;
a motion determination device that determines a motion of the drone;
A drone system comprising at least
the drone has a work plan that requires a total charge that exceeds the energy that the drone can hold;
The action determining device is
a required charge amount acquisition unit that calculates the total charge amount required to complete the work plan ;
a charging planning unit that determines a charging plan for replenishing the total amount of energy to the drone by presetting multiple charging timings during the work included in the work plan ;
comprising
drone system.
The charging timing is a time to start charging the drone, which is specified by the passage of time from a predetermined reference time.
The drone system of claim 1.
By determining each charging time at the plurality of charging timings for the drone, the total of the charging time for the drone and the flightable time of the drone due to the energy obtained by charging the charging time is determining the shortest charging plan;
The drone system according to claim 1 or 2.
The charging plan unit determines the charging plan so that the drone is used within a predetermined range where the charging rate is lower than the full charge.
A drone system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The charging planning unit calculates a charging speed during charging, and terminates charging when the charging speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined value.
A drone system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
further comprising a charging rate-charging time storage unit that stores a correspondence relationship between the charging rate of the drone and the time required to charge the drone having the charging rate to a predetermined amount;
The charging plan unit determines the charging plan based on the correspondence relationship.
A drone system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The drone system includes a plurality of the drones, and when the first drone is being charged by the replenishment unit, the second drone is on the ground and waits, and the first drone finishes charging. after charging by the replenishment unit,
A drone system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The second drone lands at least a flightable charge amount from a standby point to a chargeable point in the replenishment unit and lands at the point.
The drone system according to claim 7.
The replenishment unit is arranged on a mobile body on which the drone can land and which can move together with the drone.
A drone system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
The drone system includes a plurality of the drones, and when the drones return to the moving body and another drone has landed on the moving body, the drones land on the ground and stand by, landing on the mobile object after the other drone takes off;
A drone system according to claim 9 .
further comprising a mobile terminal capable of notifying the user of the state of the drone and the replenishment unit;
The mobile terminal notifies the user of at least one of the position and state of the drone, the position and state of the replenishment unit, and an expected end time when the work of the drone system will end.
Drone system according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
drone and
a replenishment unit capable of charging the battery of the drone;
a motion determination device that determines a motion of the drone;
A drone system control method comprising at least
the drone has a work plan that requires a total charge that exceeds the energy that the drone can hold;
calculating the total amount of charge required to complete the work plan ;
determining a charging plan for replenishing the drone with energy of the total charging amount by presetting multiple charging timings during the work included in the work plan ;
A method of controlling a drone system, including;
drone and
a replenishment unit capable of replenishing the drone with energy necessary for flight;
a motion determination device that determines a motion of the drone;
A drone system control program comprising at least
the drone has a work plan that requires a total charge that exceeds the energy that the drone can hold;
an instruction to calculate the total amount of charge required to complete the work plan ;
a command for determining a charging plan for replenishing the drone with energy of the total charging amount by presetting multiple charging timings during the work included in the work plan ;
Drone system control program, including;
A motion determination device that grasps the position and state of a drone and determines the motion of the drone,
the drone has a work plan that requires a total charge that exceeds the energy that the drone can hold;
The action determining device is
a required charge amount acquisition unit that calculates the total charge amount required to complete the work plan ;
a charging planning unit that determines a charging plan for replenishing the total amount of energy to the drone by presetting multiple charging timings during the work included in the work plan ;
comprising
Action decision device.
drone and
a replenishment unit capable of replenishing the drone with energy necessary for flight;
a motion determination device that determines a motion of the drone;
A drone included in a drone system comprising at least
the drone has a work plan that requires a total charge that exceeds the energy that the drone can hold;
The action determining device is
a required charge amount acquisition unit that calculates the total charge amount required to complete the work plan ;
a charging planning unit that determines a charging plan for replenishing the drone with energy of the total charging amount by presetting multiple charging timings during the work included in the work plan ;
with
the drone is charged from the replenishment unit based on the charging plan;
drone.
drone and
a mobile body comprising a replenishment unit capable of replenishing the energy required for flight in the drone;
a motion determination device that determines a motion of the drone;
A mobile object included in a drone system that includes at least
the drone has a work plan that requires a total charge that exceeds the energy that the drone can hold;
The action determining device is
a required charge amount acquisition unit that calculates the total charge amount required to complete the work plan ;
a charging planning unit that determines a charging plan for replenishing the drone with energy of the total charging amount by presetting multiple charging timings during the work included in the work plan ;
with
the mobile body charges the drone based on the charging plan;
Mobile.

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