JP7195626B2 - Automatic control system, automatic control method, and automatic control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system capable of controlling multiple drones.

In recent years, drones have been used in various fields such as disaster relief, agriculture, entertainment, and logistics. In particular, an increasing number of carriers have drones for transportation.

However, each carrier decides the flight path of the drone and flies the drone, and as the number of drones increases, it is conceivable that the possibility of collision between the drones increases. On the other hand, there was no system that could control multiple drones with different owners.

The present invention is intended to solve such problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of controlling a plurality of unmanned aircraft owned by different owners.

According to the present invention, the above objects are
[1] An automatic control system for controlling an unmanned aircraft comprising an unmanned aircraft, an unmanned aircraft control device for controlling the unmanned aircraft, and an automatic control device capable of communication connection with the unmanned aircraft control device, the automatic control device is flight route identifying means for identifying the flight path of each unmanned aircraft based on flight plan information of a plurality of unmanned aircraft; information transmitting means, wherein the drone control device includes first flight route information receiving means for receiving flight route information from the automatic control device, and second flight route information transmitting means for transmitting flight route information to the drone. an automatic control system, wherein the drone comprises: second flight route information receiving means for receiving flight route information from the drone control device; and flight control means for controlling flight according to the received flight route information;
[2] If the flight path identified by the flight path identifying means for one unmanned aircraft overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight path identified for another unmanned aircraft, the one unmanned aircraft differs from the other unmanned aircraft. The automatic control system according to [1], which specifies a flight path to fly at an altitude;
[3] The automatic control system according to [1] or [2], wherein the flight path identification means identifies the flight path based on the departure point and destination of the unmanned aircraft;
[4] The automatic control device comprises flightable area storage means for storing a flightable area in which the unmanned aircraft can fly and/or a no-fly area in which the unmanned aircraft cannot fly, and the flight path specifying means The automatic control system according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the flight route is specified as the flight route and/or the flight route is specified as the region excluding the no-fly zone;
[5] Collision possibility prediction in which an automatic control device predicts the possibility of a collision between one unmanned aircraft and another unmanned aircraft based on flight information of one unmanned aircraft and flight information of another unmanned aircraft. means, flight route change information generating means for generating flight route change information for changing the flight route information of one unmanned aircraft when the possibility of collision is predicted, and the generated flight route change information , a first flight route change information transmission means for transmitting to a drone control device corresponding to one drone, wherein the drone control device receives the flight route change information from the automatic control device. A receiving means and a second flight-path change information transmission means for transmitting flight-path change information to one unmanned aircraft, wherein the unmanned aircraft receives the second flight-path change information from the unmanned aircraft control device. means, wherein the flight control means controls the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the received flight route change information;
[6] An automatic control method executed in an automatic control system that controls the unmanned aircraft, comprising an unmanned aircraft, an unmanned aircraft control device that controls the unmanned aircraft, and an automatic control device capable of communication connection with the unmanned aircraft control device A flight route identifying step in which the automatic control device identifies the flight route of each unmanned aircraft based on flight plan information of a plurality of unmanned aircraft; and flight route information regarding the flight route identified by the automatic control device. to the drone control device; a first flight route information receiving step for the drone control device to receive the flight route information from the automatic control device; a second flight-path information transmitting step of transmitting information to the drone; a second flight-path information receiving step of receiving the flight-path information from the drone controller; Therefore, an automatic control method comprising a flight control step for controlling flight;
[7] An automatic control device for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles, comprising: flight route identifying means for identifying flight routes of each unmanned aerial vehicle based on flight plan information of a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles; an automatic control device comprising a first flight route information transmitting means for transmitting flight route information to the drone control device;
can be achieved by

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to control a plurality of drones owned by different owners.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an unmanned aircraft control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a figure showing the flow chart of the flight control processing in the automatic control system concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a figure showing the flowchart of the flight-path identification process in the automatic control system concerning embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow chart of flightable area storage processing in the automatic control system according to the embodiment of the present invention; It is a figure which shows an example of the image image of the flight-path identification process concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the flowchart of the flight route change process in the automatic control system concerning embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments as long as they do not violate the gist of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic control system according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in the figure, the automatic control system comprises a plurality of unmanned aircraft 1 (unmanned aircraft 1a, 1b, . . . 1z), a communication network 2, an unmanned aircraft control device 3, and an automatic control device 4. The drone 1 is connected to a drone controller 3 . Also, the unmanned aircraft control device 3 is connected to the automatic control device 4 via the communication network 2 . Note that the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 and the unmanned aerial vehicle control device 3 and the unmanned aerial vehicle control device 3 and the automatic control device 4 do not have to be connected all the time.

The unmanned aircraft control device 3 is not particularly limited as long as it is a computer device having a control section and an input section. Also, the automatic control device 4 is the same.

The drone controller 3 may be managed by the carrier that owns the drone 1 . Also, there may be a plurality of unmanned aircraft control devices 3, each of which may be owned by a different carrier. The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 and the unmanned aerial vehicle control device 3 can be connected to each other if owned by the same owner, but may not be able to be connected if owned by different owners.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the unmanned aircraft control device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The drone controller 3 comprises a control section 31, a RAM 32, a storage section 33, a graphics processing section 34, a communication interface 35, and an interface section 36, which are connected by an internal bus.

The control unit 31 is composed of a CPU and a ROM. The control unit 31 executes programs stored in the storage unit 33 to control the unmanned aircraft control device 3 . A RAM 32 is a work area for the control unit 31 . The storage unit 33 is a storage area for storing programs and data. The control unit 31 reads programs and data from the RAM 32 and processes them. The control unit 31 outputs a drawing command to the graphics processing unit 34 by processing the program and data loaded into the RAM 32 .

The graphics processing section 34 is connected to the display section 38 . The display unit 38 has a display screen 39 . When the control unit 31 outputs a drawing command to the graphics processing unit 34 , the graphics processing unit 34 outputs a video signal for displaying an image on the display screen 39 . Here, the display unit 38 may be a touch panel having a touch sensor.

The communication interface 35 can be connected to the communication network 2 wirelessly or by wire, and can transmit and receive data to and from the automatic control device 4 via the communication network 2 . Data received via the communication interface 35 is loaded into the RAM 32 and arithmetically processed by the control unit 31 . An external memory 37 (for example, an SD card or the like) is connected to the interface section 36 .

Further, the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 can be adopted as far as necessary for the configuration of the automatic control device 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 has a flight control unit and a sensor, and is not particularly limited as long as it can be connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle control device 3, and conventionally known devices can be used. The unmanned aircraft 1 includes an "unmanned aircraft" as an aircraft type, and an "unmanned ship" and an "unmanned water effect wing ship" as ship types. Here, the term "unmanned water surface effect wing ship" refers to an unmanned vessel capable of flying near the surface of water. The shape of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 may be of the rotary wing type or of the fixed wing type. Further, the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 may be autonomously controlled in flight based on flight route information or the like, or may be controlled in flight by being wirelessly operated by an operator.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention. The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 includes a flight control unit 11, a sensor 12, a camera 13, a conversion unit 14, and antennas 15 (antennas 15a and 15b). The flight control unit 11, the sensor 12, the antenna 15a, the camera 13, the conversion unit 14, and the antenna 15b are each connected by an internal bus. The drone 1 is also connected to the drone controller 3 via an antenna 15 .

The flight control unit 11 is composed of a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and controls the flight of the drone 1 based on information obtained from the sensor 12 and/or flight path information from the drone controller 3. . The sensor 12 includes various sensors (not shown) such as a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a magnetic direction sensor, a GPS, an infrared sensor, and a visible light sensor. The tilt, that is, the attitude of the drone 1 is detected by a gyro sensor, the speed of the drone 1 is detected by an acceleration sensor, the altitude of the drone 1 is detected by an air pressure sensor and an ultrasonic sensor, and the direction in which the drone 1 is facing is detected by a magnetic direction sensor. , the latitude and longitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 are detected by GPS, and obstacles around the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 are mainly detected by infrared sensors, visible light sensors, or ultrasonic sensors. The flight controller 11 is connected to the controller 31 of the drone controller 3 via the antenna 15 .

The camera 13 takes pictures of the surroundings of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 . Video data captured by the camera 13 is converted in data format by the conversion unit 14 and transmitted to the drone controller 3 via the antenna 15 . The transmitted video data is processed in the graphics processing section 34 of the drone control device 3 .

Dedicated software for using the automatic control system is installed in the flight control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, the control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle control device 3, and the control unit of the automatic control device 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. ing. By installing dedicated software, it is possible to control multiple drones even when multiple different carriers fly the drones using their own drone controllers.

Next, flight control processing in the automatic control system will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow chart of flight control processing in the automatic control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

First, in the unmanned aircraft control device, flight plan information of the unmanned aircraft is input (step S101). Next, the input flight plan information is transmitted to the automatic control system (step S102). The transmitted flight plan information is received by the automatic control device (step S103). Based on the received flight plan information, flight route identification processing, which will be described later, is performed (step S104), and the flight route of the unmanned aircraft is identified (step S205). Then, flight route information about the specified flight route is transmitted to the unmanned aircraft control device (step S105). The transmitted flight path information is received by the drone controller (step S106). The received flight route information is then transmitted to the unmanned aircraft (step S107). The transmitted flight path information is received by the drone (step S108). Then, flight control is performed according to the received flight route information (step S109), and the flight control process ends.

Flight plan information includes point information regarding the departure and destination of the drone, time information regarding the departure time and arrival time at the destination of the drone, and the maximum speed, maximum altitude, maximum flight time, and maximum communication distance of the drone. , aircraft size (length, width, height), aircraft weight, etc. Furthermore, the point information may include one or more points different from the destination as information on waypoints. Here, the point information may be selected based on waypoint information determined by the government such as the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Alternatively, an arbitrary point may be selected without using predetermined waypoint information. Waypoint information includes latitude, longitude, and/or altitude information. In addition, when waypoint information is arbitrarily determined regardless of the government, it is preferable to set waypoint information within the flyable area and/or outside the no-fly area, which will be described later.

The flight path includes latitude, longitude and altitude information of the path that the drone flies. In addition, the flight route information includes information such as the specified flight route, point information regarding the departure point, destination and/or waypoints, departure and arrival times, flight speed, and predetermined waypoint information. be A method for specifying the flight path is not particularly limited, and a known method is used.

Next, flight route identification processing in the automatic control system will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flowchart of flight route identification processing in the automatic control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In the flight route identification process, first, a flight route is tentatively identified based on the flight plan information received in step S103 (step S201). Then, it is determined whether or not the tentatively identified flight route is within the flightable area and/or outside the flight prohibited area, which will be described later (step S202). If the tentatively identified flight route is within the flightable area and/or outside the no-fly area (Yes in step S202), then whether there are any obstacles on the tentatively identified flight route. (step S203). If there are no obstacles on the tentatively identified flight path (Yes in step S203), then whether the tentatively identified flight path overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight paths of other drones. It is determined whether or not (step S204). If the tentatively identified flight path does not overlap, intersect, or touch the flight paths of other drones (Yes in step S204), the tentatively identified flight path in step S201 is identified as the flight path. (Step S205), the flight route identification process ends.

In step S202, if the tentatively identified flight path is not within the flightable area and/or outside the no-fly area (No in step S202), in step S203, if there is an obstacle on the tentatively identified flight path (No in step S203), and in step S204, if the tentatively identified flight route overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight route of another unmanned aircraft (No in step S204), step S201 is repeated again. provisional identification of the flight path of

In step S201, a flight route is tentatively identified based on the departure point and the destination. In that case, the flight route may be tentatively identified so as to reach the destination by tracing waypoints near the departure point. By tracing the waypoints near the departure point and tentatively identifying the flight route so as to arrive at the destination, it is possible to reduce the processing load related to identifying the flight route, / Or, it becomes easier to tentatively identify a flight route outside the no-fly zone.

Also, the flight route may be tentatively specified so that the unmanned aircraft passes through one or more waypoints until it reaches its destination.

Next, the flightable area storage processing will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow chart of the flightable area storage process in the automatic control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the flightable area storage process, the automatic control device inputs the flightable area and/or the flight prohibited area (step S301). Then, the entered flightable area and/or no-flying area are stored (step S302), and the flightable area storage process ends.

Here, the flightable area refers to the area in which the unmanned aircraft can fly, and may be the flightable area stipulated by the Civil Aviation Law and the ordinances of local governments. It may also refer to a flightable area arbitrarily determined by an aircraft manager. In addition, the no-fly area refers to an area where unmanned aircraft cannot fly. It may also refer to a no-fly zone arbitrarily determined by the aircraft manager. Furthermore, all areas that are not no-fly areas may be flight-allowed areas, or there may be areas that correspond to neither the no-fly areas nor the flight-allowed areas.

The flyable area and the no-fly area may be identified based on the latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the area. Further, in step S202, whether or not the tentatively identified flight route is within the flightable area and/or outside the no-fly area depends on whether the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the tentatively identified flight route are within the flightable area. It may be determined based on whether or not it is included in the latitude, longitude, and altitude inside and/or outside the no-fly area.

In step S203 of the flight route identification process, on the temporarily identified flight route, there is an obstacle corresponding to a natural object such as a mountain and/or an artificial object such as a building that exceeds the altitude of the temporarily identified flight route. Determine whether or not Information on the ground surface, such as the altitude of natural objects such as mountains and/or man-made objects such as buildings, may be stored in the automatic control device 4 in the above-described flightable area storage processing.

By the way, when the flight route identification processing is performed for a plurality of unmanned aircraft, the flight route identification processing is sequentially performed from the previously input flight plan information. Therefore, in step S204, if the tentatively identified flight path overlaps, intersects, or touches the previously identified flight path of another unmanned aircraft, the flight path based on the subsequently input flight plan information , the provisional identification of the flight path in step S201 is performed again. At this time, tentative identification is performed so that the flight route based on the flight plan information input later has an altitude different from the previously identified flight routes of other unmanned aircraft. At that time, which unmanned aircraft has a higher flight path may be specified based on the airframe performance information of the unmanned aircraft. For example, a drone with a high maximum speed is considered to take less time to reach altitude than a drone with a low maximum speed. You can do it. In addition, when the flight route is tentatively identified so as to have an altitude different from that of other drones, the entire flight route may be made to have an altitude different from that of the other drones. , at least part of the flight path may be at an altitude different from that of other drones.

Here, the tentatively identified flight route overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight route of another unmanned aircraft, which means that the other unmanned aircraft is predicted to fly at the same time, taking into account the departure time, arrival time, and flight speed. may overlap, intersect, or abut the flight path of the drone, and may overlap, intersect, or abut the flight paths of other drones flying on the same day.

Flight paths overlap means that the flight paths overlap; flight paths intersect means that the flight paths intersect; and flight paths tangent means that the flight paths share a tangent line at the point of contact. In addition, flight paths that overlap, intersect, or touch mean that at least a portion of the flight paths overlap, intersect, or touch.

As described above, by performing the determinations in steps S202 to S204, collisions with obstacles and other unmanned aircraft can be performed based on the departure point and destination, and within the flight-flyable area and/or outside the no-fly area. is identified as the flight route in step S205.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an image image of the flight route identification process according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7(a) is an overall view of the image, and FIG. 7(b) is a perspective view of the flight path portion of the image so that the altitude of the flight path can be easily seen. The image 50 may be displayed on the display screen of the drone control device 3 and/or the automatic control device 4 . The image 50 of FIG. 7(a) shows the flyable area 51 and the no-fly area 52 stored in step S302. An arbitrarily determined waypoint icon 57 is shown in the image 50 of FIG. 7(a). When a departure point and a destination are selected from arbitrarily determined waypoints for the unmanned aerial vehicle 1a and a flight route is specified, as illustrated, a departure point icon 53a corresponding to the flight plan information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1a, and A destination icon 54a may be shown. The flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1a identified in step S205 is shown as a flight path 56a. Assume that the flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1b is specified after the flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1a is specified. When the departure point icon 53b and the destination icon 54b corresponding to the flight plan information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1b are arranged as shown in FIG. It becomes like the temporary flight route 55b. Since the flight route 56a and the provisional flight route 55b intersect, the determination in step S204 is No, and the provisional identification of the flight route is performed again in step S201. In step S201, as shown in FIG. 7B, the flight path 56b of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1b is specified to be at a different altitude from the flight path 56a of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1a.

In this way, based on the flight plan information of a plurality of drones, the flight route of each drone is specified, and the flight of the drone is controlled according to the specified flight route information. It is possible to control multiple drones.

In addition, by identifying the flight path based on the departure point and destination of the unmanned aircraft, the unmanned aircraft can autonomously fly from the departure point to the destination without an operator.

Furthermore, the automatic control device stores a flightable area where the drone can fly or a no-fly area where the drone cannot fly, and specifies the flightable area as a flight route, or an area excluding the no-fly area is specified as the flight path, it becomes possible for the unmanned aircraft to autonomously fly in a flightable area without an operator.

In addition, if the flight path temporarily identified for an unmanned aircraft overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight path identified for another unmanned aircraft, the flight path may be adjusted so that the unmanned aircraft and the other unmanned aircraft fly at different altitudes. By specifying the route, it is possible to control multiple drones so that collisions between the drones can be avoided even if the flight paths of the multiple drones overlap, intersect, or touch.

By performing flight control processing as described above, unmanned aircraft whose flight is controlled according to the flight route information specified by the automatic control system (hereinafter referred to as autonomously flying unmanned aircraft) avoid collision. It is possible. On the other hand, an unmanned aerial vehicle operated by a pilot (hereinafter referred to as a "controlled unmanned aerial vehicle") is flying autonomously because its flight is not controlled according to the flight path information specified by the automatic control system. It can collide with drones.

However, an unmanned aerial vehicle in which dedicated software for using the automatic control system of the present invention is installed in the flight control unit does not transmit flight information to the unmanned aerial vehicle control device 3 during flight even if the pilot is controlling the aircraft. is sent. Therefore, by performing the following flight path change processing, the flight path of the autonomously flying drone is changed so as to avoid collision between the autonomously flying drone and the controlled drone. becomes possible.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flowchart of flight route change processing in the automatic control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

First, flight information is transmitted from an autonomously flying unmanned aircraft and a controlled unmanned aircraft to the unmanned aircraft control device 3 (step S401). Next, flight information is received by the drone controller 3 (step S402). The received flight information is transmitted to the automatic control device 4 (step S403). Flight information is received in the automatic control device 4 (step S404). Based on the received flight information, the possibility of collision of the autonomously flying unmanned aircraft is predicted (step S405). If there is a possibility of collision with the autonomously flying unmanned aerial vehicle (Yes in step S406), flight route change information is generated for changing the flight route information of the autonomously flying unmanned aerial vehicle. (Step S407). Then, the generated flight route change information is transmitted to the unmanned aircraft control device 3 corresponding to the autonomously flying unmanned aircraft (step S408). The flight route change information is received by the drone controller 3 (step S409). The received flight route change information is transmitted to the autonomously flying drone (step S410). Flight route change information is received by the autonomously flying unmanned aircraft (step S411). In accordance with the received flight route change information, the flight of the autonomously flying unmanned aircraft is controlled (step S412), and the flight route change process ends. Note that if there is no possibility of collision with the autonomously flying unmanned aircraft (No in step S406), the flight path change process ends.

Here, the flight information includes information such as flight latitude, longitude, altitude, direction, speed, etc. of the unmanned aircraft. Flight information is sensed by the drone's GPS, barometric pressure, ultrasonic, magnetic heading, and/or acceleration sensors. Alternatively, the flight information may include surrounding obstacles detected by an infrared sensor, visible light sensor, or ultrasonic sensor, and/or image information captured by the camera 13 .

A conventionally known method can be used for predicting the possibility of collision in step S405. For example, the flying direction and speed of the unmanned aircraft are expressed as a vector, and the latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the autonomously flying unmanned aircraft and the controlled unmanned aircraft are used to determine the possibility of collision using trigonometry. It is also possible to predict gender.

Collision may also be physical contact between an autonomously flying drone and a piloted drone. It may be possible to approach within The predetermined distance at this time may be, for example, 1 m, 5 m, or 10 m. The predetermined distance is preferably determined in consideration of the size of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the accuracy of latitude, longitude, and altitude information resulting from the performance of the GPS, atmospheric pressure sensor, and ultrasonic sensor.

In the determination of whether or not there is a possibility of collision in step S406, if the flight path of the autonomously flying unmanned aircraft is not changed, the collision between the autonomously flying unmanned aircraft and the controlled unmanned aircraft is determined. It may be determined that there is a possibility of collision when the possibility of collision is greater than 0%, and the possibility of collision between the autonomously flying drone and the piloted drone is 30% or more. It may be determined that there is a possibility of collision at times, and there is a possibility of collision when the probability of collision between the autonomously flying drone and the piloted drone is 50% or more. It may be determined that

The flight route change information generated in step S407 is information for changing the flight route information used for controlling the flight of the autonomously flying unmanned aircraft in step S109. Specifically, information on the specified flight path for an autonomously flying drone to fly to a point away from the previously controlled drone and then head to a new destination from that point, or It refers to information such as information about the flight path specified so that the drone that is being piloted will hover in place until there is no chance of colliding with the drone that is being piloted, and then head back to the destination. It should be noted that, when specifying a flight route to a new destination from a point away from the unmanned aircraft being steered, the description of the flight route specifying processing in FIG. 5 can be employed within a necessary range.

In this way, the possibility of collision between one unmanned aircraft and another unmanned aircraft is predicted based on the flight information of one unmanned aircraft and the flight information of other unmanned aircraft, and the possibility of collision is predicted. In this case, flight route change information for changing the flight route information of one unmanned aircraft is generated, and the unmanned aircraft autonomously flies by controlling the flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the flight route change information. It is possible to control a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles so as to avoid collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles, even when there is a mixture of unmanned aerial vehicles that are currently in operation and unmanned aerial vehicles that are being operated.

1: unmanned aircraft 2: communication network 3: unmanned aircraft control device 4: automatic control device 11: flight control unit 12: sensor 13: camera 14: conversion unit 15: antenna 31: control unit 32: RAM
33: Storage unit 34: Graphic processing unit 35: Communication interface 36: Interface unit 37: External memory 38: Display unit 39: Display screen 50: Image image 51: Flight possible area 52: Flight prohibited area 53: Departure point icon 54: Destination icon 55: Temporary flight path 56: Flight path 57: Waypoint icon

Claims (9)

Multiple unmanned aircraft owned by multiple different owners, an unmanned aircraft control device for controlling the unmanned aircraft, and an automatic control device capable of communication connection with the unmanned aircraft control device to control the unmanned aircraft. a system,
the automatic control device
Based on flight plan information of a plurality of unmanned aircraft owned by a plurality of different owners, flight paths of the plurality of unmanned aircraft are calculated so that the flight paths of the unmanned aircraft do not overlap, intersect, or touch each other. flight path calculation means;
a first flight route information transmitting means for transmitting information on the calculated flight route to the drone control device;
The drone controller
a first flight route information receiving means for receiving flight route information from an automatic control device;
A second flight route information transmission means for transmitting flight route information to the drone,
the drone
a second flight route information receiving means for receiving flight route information from the drone control device;
and flight control means for controlling flight in accordance with received flight path information. When the flight path calculated for one unmanned aircraft by the flight path calculation means overlaps, intersects, or touches the flight path calculated for another unmanned aircraft, the one unmanned aircraft and the other unmanned aircraft fly at different altitudes. 2. The automatic control system of claim 1, wherein the flight path is calculated to 3. The automatic control system according to claim 1, wherein the flight path calculation means calculates the flight path based on the departure point and destination of the unmanned aircraft. the automatic control device
a flightable area storage means for storing a flightable area in which the drone can fly and/or a no-fly area in which the drone cannot fly;
4. The automatic control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flight route calculation means calculates the flight route in the possible flight area and/or calculates the flight route in an area excluding the no-fly area. the automatic control device
collision possibility prediction means for predicting the possibility of collision between one unmanned aircraft and another unmanned aircraft based on flight information of one unmanned aircraft and flight information of other unmanned aircraft;
flight route change information generating means for generating flight route change information for changing information on the flight route of one unmanned aircraft when the possibility of a collision is predicted;
a first flight route change information transmitting means for transmitting the generated flight route change information to a drone control device corresponding to one drone;
The drone controller
A first flight route change information receiving means for receiving flight route change information from an automatic control device and a second flight route change information transmitting means for transmitting flight route change information to one unmanned aircraft,
the drone
a second flight route change information receiving means for receiving flight route change information from the drone control device;
5. The automatic control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the flight control means controls flight of the unmanned aircraft according to the received flight route change information. The flight path calculation means sets one point selected from the predetermined points as the departure point, further sets another point selected from the predetermined points as the destination, and calculates the destination point selected from the predetermined points. The automatic control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which calculates a flight route passing through points other than the one point and other points. The flight route change information generating means generates flight route change information for changing the flight route to a flight route from the point not included in the calculated flight route to the selected destination. The automatic control system according to claim 5 or 6. Multiple unmanned aircraft owned by multiple different owners, an unmanned aircraft control device for controlling the unmanned aircraft, and an automatic control device capable of communication connection with the unmanned aircraft control device to control the unmanned aircraft. An automatic control method implemented in a system, comprising:
Based on the flight plan information of a plurality of unmanned aircraft owned by a plurality of different owners, the automatic control system controls the flight paths of the plurality of unmanned aircraft so that the flight paths of each unmanned aircraft do not overlap, intersect, or touch each other. a flight route calculation step of calculating a flight route;
A first flight route information transmission step in which the automatic control device transmits information on the calculated flight route to the drone control device;
a first flight route information receiving step in which the drone control device receives flight route information from the automatic control device;
a second flight path information transmission step in which the drone control device transmits flight path information to the drone;
a second flight path information receiving step in which the drone receives flight path information from the drone control device;
and a flight control step in which the drone controls flight according to the received flight path information. An automatic control device for controlling multiple drones owned by multiple different owners ,
Based on flight plan information of a plurality of unmanned aircraft owned by a plurality of different owners, flight paths of the plurality of unmanned aircraft are calculated so that the flight paths of the unmanned aircraft do not overlap, intersect, or touch each other. flight path calculation means;
and a first flight route information transmitting means for transmitting information of the calculated flight route to the drone control device.

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