JP7262827B2 - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Positioning System and Optical Reflector Control Mechanism - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a position measurement system and an optical reflector control mechanism for an unmanned air vehicle, and more particularly to a technique for accurately and stably measuring the position of an unmanned air vehicle during flight.

Unmanned flying objects (unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), drones, etc.) need to know their current position during their flight for autonomous flight and ensuring safety. Acquisition is usually performed by a GPS device (GPS: Global Positioning System) mounted on the vehicle itself.

However, GPS devices are unable to stably provide location information in environments such as under bridges or inside buildings where signals sent from GPS satellites (hereinafter referred to as "GPS signals") are difficult to reach. Can not. Therefore, when flying an unmanned air vehicle in such an environment, it is necessary for a person to visually monitor the unmanned air vehicle during flight, and if autonomous flight or automatic control becomes difficult, it can be switched to manual operation. The problem is that it is necessary to control the robot remotely, and the burden on people involved in monitoring and operation is heavy. Therefore, various mechanisms have been proposed to stably acquire the accurate current position of the unmanned flying object even in such an environment.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an unmanned aircraft flight control system or terrain measurement system using a total station and an unmanned aircraft, the purpose of which is to transmit the flight position of the unmanned aircraft measured by the total station to the unmanned aircraft in real time. A system configured as A total station superimposes measurement data on data transmission light, and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) separates the measurement data from the received light signal to acquire a flight position.

For example, in Non-Patent Document 1, when an unmanned aerial vehicle is flying in a valley in a mountainous area or near a high structure such as an embankment, if the accuracy of GPS positioning information decreases, a total station used in the field of surveying (hereinafter referred to as "TS"), the use of the current position of the unmanned flying object measured by the TS.

For example, in Non-Patent Document 2, for surveying and inspection indoors or in a non-GPS environment, a prism mounted on a drone is irradiated with a laser beam from a TS to measure the position of the drone, and the measurement data is transferred from the draw to the tablet. , and the tablet software calculates the difference between the target point and the drone's current position from the measurement data, and sends movement instructions to the target point to the wireless transmitter ("Propo") used when a person pilots the drone. is also called.).

JP 2020-203664 A

``Development of ``DamLook,'' which improves the efficiency of aerial photography of dam banks and the quality and reproducibility of acquired images by autonomous navigation of UAVs using NEWS total stations, [online], September 17, 2020 Japan, Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd., [searched on April 23, 2021], Internet, <URL: https://www.yachiyo-eng.co.jp/news/2020/09/post_487.html> ``TS Drone Control Software'', [online], September 17, 2020, Jitsuta Co., Ltd., [searched on April 23, 2021], Internet, <URL: https://www.jitsuta.co.jp /service-drone/〉

By the way, in the position measurement of an unmanned air vehicle using a total station (TS) as described in Patent Document 1 to Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, laser light (irradiation light) emitted from the TS is emitted from the TS. It is necessary to mount optical equipment (360-degree prism, retroreflector, retroreflector, retroreflector, corner cube, etc., hereinafter referred to as "optical reflector") to the unmanned air vehicle. be.

However, many of the light reflectors are areas that can effectively reflect the irradiation light sent from the TS (for example, in the case of a 360-degree prism, the surface of the prism body. Hereinafter referred to as the "reflectable area" ), a structure that blocks the incidence of irradiation light into the reflectable area, such as a member for attaching a light reflector to a pole that supports the light reflector by hand by a surveyor, etc., and to prevent damage to the reflector The angle range of the light reflector in which the irradiation light from the TS can effectively enter the reflectable area (hereinafter referred to as the "effective angle") may be provided. ) is limited (that is, there is a “blind spot”).

An example of a light reflector is shown in FIG. 8A. The exemplified light reflector 50 is of the type that is attached to the tip of the pole described above, and has a drum-shaped overall shape that is substantially symmetrical about the central axis CC'. As shown in the figure, the exemplified light reflector 50 has a substantially columnar prism body 51 that reflects irradiation light incident from the side of the central axis CC' toward the direction in which the irradiation light is incident. and two flanges 52a and 52b provided at both ends of the prism body 51, and projecting from the flanges 51a in the outer peripheral direction along the central axis CC' of the light reflector 50. and a threaded portion 53 that is screwed onto the end of the pole for attachment to the pole.

FIG. 8B is a diagram showing the reflectable area, effective angle, and blind spot of the light reflector 50 shown in FIG. 8A. As shown in the figure, in the illustrated light reflector 50, the effective angle is restricted by the two flanges 52a and 52b, so a substantially cone-shaped blind spot is formed. As described above, the illustrated optical reflector 50 has a blind spot, which limits the airspace in which the unmanned air vehicle can stably fly autonomously or be automatically controlled.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the effect of blind spots on the flight of the unmanned flying object 100 (light reflector 50), in which the TS 300 and the unmanned flying object 100 in flight are viewed from the side (horizontal to the ground). It is a diagram. Note that the optical reflector 50 is positioned along the central axis C-C' of the optical reflector 50 shown in FIG. is mounted on the unmanned air vehicle 100 in a direction perpendicular to the ground.

As shown in the figure, when the unmanned air vehicle 100 is flying in an airspace below the measurement limit angle α, the TS 300 is within the effective angle, and the light emitted from the TS 300 enters the reflectable area of the light reflector 50. Since it is incident, it is possible to measure the current position of unmanned air vehicle 100 by TS 300 . On the other hand, when the unmanned flying object 100 flies in an airspace exceeding the measurement limit angle α shown in FIG. Therefore, the TS 300 cannot measure the current position of the unmanned air vehicle 100. In this way, when a light reflector having a structure that creates a blind spot is used, the airspace in which position measurement by the TS 300 is possible is limited.

The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and provides a position measurement system for an unmanned air vehicle and an optical reflector control capable of accurately and stably measuring the current position of an unmanned air vehicle during flight. The purpose is to provide a mechanism .

One of the present inventions for achieving the above objects is an unmanned flying object positioning system comprising: a total station installed on the ground; an unmanned flying object equipped with an optical reflector; and an information processing device communicably connected to the unmanned flying object, wherein the total station receives the reflected light returned by the light reflector reflecting the irradiation light emitted toward the unmanned flying object. measuring the TS current position, which is the current position of the unmanned flying object, based on the received reflected light, and transmitting the measured TS current position to the information processing device, the information processing device transmitting the TS from the total station; a current position is received, the received TS current position is transmitted to the unmanned flying object, the unmanned flying object receives the TS current position sent from the information processing device, and the received TS current position , wherein the unmanned flying object has an effective angle, which is a range of angles of incidence on the light reflector that can effectively reflect the irradiation light a control amount for the direction of the effective angle of the optical reflector is calculated based on the received TS current position, and the total station is adjusted to the effective angle based on the control amount wherein the light reflector has an effective angle about a first axis extending at a predetermined angle along the first axis and in the direction of the first axis and the light reflector control mechanism is operated when the unmanned air vehicle is stationary in the air with no wind. a first mechanism for supporting the light reflector such that the angle is horizontal; and a second mechanism for changing the orientation of the effective angle by rotating the light reflector about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. mechanism .

In addition, the problems disclosed by the present application and their solutions will be clarified by the description of the mode for carrying out the invention and the drawings.

According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the current position of an unmanned air vehicle in flight.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a position measurement system; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an unmanned flying object, and is a diagram of the unmanned flying object viewed from the side; FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the main configuration of an unmanned air vehicle; FIG. It is a block diagram explaining the hardware configuration example of a flight monitoring control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the main functions with which a flight monitoring control apparatus is provided. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a total station (TS); FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the external appearance of a total station (TS). FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the configuration of a light reflector control mechanism; It is a figure explaining the control method of the servomotor by a flight control apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram (side view of a light reflector) showing an example of a light reflector; It is a figure explaining the reflectable area of a light reflector, an effective angle, and a blind spot. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the influence of blind spots on the flight of an unmanned air vehicle;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described below. In the following description, the same or similar configurations may be denoted by common reference numerals and descriptions thereof may be omitted.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a system for measuring the current position of an unmanned air vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "positioning system 1"), which will be described as one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the positioning system 1 includes an unmanned air vehicle 100, a flight monitoring control device 200, and a total station (hereinafter referred to as "TS300").

The unmanned flying object 100 is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), drone) that flies in the air and is used for various purposes such as aerial photography, surveying, condition diagnosis of structures and the like, transportation of luggage, and the like. . The type of unmanned air vehicle 100 is not limited, but may be, for example, a multicopter (quadcopter, hexacopter, octocopter, etc.), rotary wing aircraft (helicopter), fixed wing aircraft (airplane), and the like.

A GPS device (GPS: Global Positioning System) is mounted on the unmanned flying object 100, and the unmanned flying object 100 receives a predetermined number of signals (hereinafter referred to as "GPS signals") sent from GPS satellites. It is possible to fly autonomously by using the current position (hereinafter referred to as "GPS current position") measured by this. Also, the unmanned flying object 100 performs autonomous flight using its own current position (hereinafter referred to as "TS current position") that is measured by the TS 300 and sent via the flight monitoring control device 200. can be done. The unmanned flying object 100 can also fly by remote control using radio signals sent from the flight monitoring control device 200 or a radio transmitter (propo). Note that the GPS current position and the TS current position may be used for purposes other than autonomous flight, for example, when the unmanned flying object 100 is used for the purpose of capturing images or videos of the site, such as information for specifying the capturing position. can also be used for

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the unmanned flying object 100, and is a view of the unmanned flying object 100 viewed from the side. As shown in the figure, the illustrated unmanned air vehicle 100 includes, as its basic framework (frame), a pedestal 11 (cargo bed) for mounting various devices 21 and various payloads 22, and extending substantially horizontally from the pedestal 11. It has a plurality of support arms 13 with thrust mechanisms 12 (propellers, power motors, etc.) provided at the ends thereof, and a plurality of (four in this example) leg portions 14 extending downward from the pedestal 11 .

Below the unmanned air vehicle 100, there is a light reflector 50 that reflects the laser light emitted when the TS 300 measures the TS current position (hereinafter referred to as "irradiation light") in the incident direction of the irradiation light. , a light reflector control mechanism 117 and the like, which will be described later, are mounted. In this example, the light reflector 50 and the light reflector control mechanism 117 are assumed to be mounted on the leg portion 14 of the unmanned air vehicle 100. The position and mounting method are not necessarily limited. For example, when the unmanned flying object 100 mainly flies in an airspace lower than the position where the TS 300 is installed, the optical reflector 50 may be provided above the unmanned flying object 100 . In addition, the unmanned air vehicle 100 is provided with a mechanism (such as a flexible arm) that allows the mounting position of the light reflector 50 to be freely changed, and the mounting position can be changed according to the flight purpose of the unmanned air vehicle 100, the airspace in which the light reflector 50 is to be flown, and the like. You may enable it to adjust flexibly.

Returning to FIG. 1, the flight monitoring controller 200 is, for example, a notebook computer. The flight monitoring control device 200 performs two-way wireless communication with the unmanned flying object 100 . Also, the flight monitoring control device 200 performs two-way communication (wireless communication or wired communication) with the TS 300 . The flight monitoring control device 200 receives the TS current position sent from the TS 300 and transmits (transfers) the received TS current position to the unmanned air vehicle 100 . The flight monitoring control device 200 receives information about the flight state of the unmanned flying object 100 sent from the unmanned flying object 100 (information about itself grasped by the unmanned flying object 100 (current position, attitude, speed, acceleration, angular velocity , angular acceleration, information used for navigation, etc.; ), etc., and monitor and control the received flight state information and operating state information (control of equipment mounted on the unmanned air vehicle 100 and remote control of the flight of the unmanned air vehicle 100). conduct. The flight monitoring control device 200 has a navigation function that guides the unmanned flying object 100 to a destination. The aircraft 100 is remotely controlled.

The TS 300 shown in FIG. 1 is an instrument equipped with an electro-optical distance measuring instrument and a theodolite, and measures the distance and angle of the light reflector 50 to determine the current position of the light reflector 50 . Measure position. In this embodiment, the TS 300 is of a type provided with a mechanism for automatically tracking the moving light reflector 50 used for surveying (hereinafter referred to as "automatic tracking mechanism"). The TS 300 is fixed at a predetermined position on the ground and used. In this example, the TS 300 is used by being attached to a tripod 350 installed on the ground. The TS 300 irradiates irradiation light toward the light reflector 50 mounted on the unmanned air vehicle 100, and based on the irradiation light and the reflected light returned after the irradiation light is reflected by the light reflector 50 ( For example, by causing them to interfere with each other), the current position of the unmanned air vehicle 100 is measured, and the measured current position (TS current position) is transmitted to the flight monitoring control device 200 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the main configuration of the unmanned air vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the unmanned air vehicle 100 includes a flight control system 111 (FCS: Flight Control System), various sensors 112, an inertial navigation system 113, a GPS device 114, a thrust generator 115, a communication device 116, and an optical reflector. It comprises a control mechanism 117 , a battery 118 and a light reflector 50 . In the above configuration, the flight control device 111, the various sensors 112, the inertial navigation device 113, the GPS device 114, the thrust generator 115, the communication device 116, and the optical reflector control mechanism 117 are connected bidirectionally to each other via an internal bus or the like. Connected in a state where communication is possible.

The flight control device 111 is configured using an information processing device such as a microcomputer, and mainly controls the flight of the unmanned flying object 100 and various operations. The flight control device 111 controls the thrust generator 115 based on information (various measurement values) input from various sensors 112, the inertial navigation system 113, the GPS device 114, and the communication device 116, thereby controlling the unmanned air vehicle 100. Performs flight control and attitude control. The flight control device 111 can implement various functions such as flight control and functions other than flight control by, for example, updating its firmware. A function of controlling the optical reflector control mechanism 117, which will be described later, is implemented in the flight control device 111 by, for example, updating the firmware.

The various sensors 112 are, for example, a 3-axis gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor), a 3-axis acceleration sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a geomagnetic sensor (2-axis, 3-axis), an ultrasonic sensor, and the like. Note that the unmanned air vehicle 100 may not necessarily include all of the sensors shown above, and may include other types of sensors.

The inertial navigation system 113 inputs information (acceleration, angular velocity, etc.) measured by various sensors 112 to a predetermined algorithm (extended Kalman filter (EKF), etc.) and executes it, thereby controlling the unmanned flying object 100. Information such as the current position and current speed is calculated in real time, and the calculated information is input to the flight control device 111 . The flight control device 111 continues flight control of the unmanned air vehicle 100 using information provided by the inertial navigation device 113 when, for example, the current GPS position or the current TS position becomes unavailable.

The GPS device 114 receives GPS signals sent from a predetermined number or more of GPS satellites, calculates the current position (GPS current position), and inputs the calculated current position to the flight control device 111 .

The thrust generator 115 includes a power motor and a motor control device (ESC: Electronic Speed Controller). The motor control device controls rotation of the power motors according to control signals sent from the flight control device 111 .

The communication device 116 performs two-way wireless communication (for example, various protocols using frequencies in the 2.4 GHz band and 5 GHz band) according to a predetermined protocol with the flight monitoring control device 200 and a radio transmitter (propo). data communication, video signal/audio signal transmission, etc.).

Based on the control signal sent from the flight control device 111, the light reflector control mechanism 117 controls the area of the light reflector 50 that can effectively reflect the irradiation light sent from the TS 300 (hereinafter referred to as " It controls the orientation (direction) of the angle range (hereinafter referred to as the “effective angle”) of the light reflector 50 that can be incident on the light reflector 50 (hereinafter referred to as the “effective angle”). Details of the light reflector control mechanism 117 will be described later.

The battery 118 is, for example, a lithium polymer secondary battery, and supplies electric power necessary for driving each component of the unmanned air vehicle 100 .

FIG. 4A is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the flight monitoring control device 200. As shown in FIG. The flight monitoring control device 200 is configured using an information processing device (computer), and includes a processor 201 (CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), etc.), a main storage device 202 (ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), nonvolatile memory (NVRAM (Non Volatile RAM)), etc.), auxiliary storage device 203 (SSD (Solid State Drive), hard disk drive, optical storage device (CD (Compact Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), etc.)), input device 204 (keyboard, mouse, touch panel, recording medium reading device, etc.), output device 205 (display device (LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc.), audio output device (speaker, etc.), etc.) , and a communication device 206 (wireless communication module, wired communication module, serial communication module, etc.). The communication device 206 realizes wireless communication with the unmanned air vehicle 100 and communication with the total station 300 (wireless communication or wired communication). Note that an operating system, a file system, a DBMS (DataBase Management System), various application software, and the like, for example, are appropriately introduced into the flight monitoring control device 200 .

FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating the main functions of the flight monitoring control device 200. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the flight monitoring control device 200 has functions of a storage section 210, a flight management section 220, a flight monitoring control section 230, a TS current position receiving section 240, and a TS current position transmitting section 250. FIG. These functions are realized by the processor 201 reading out and executing a program stored in the main storage device 202, or by functions originally provided in the hardware of the flight monitoring control device 200. FIG.

Among the functions described above, the storage unit 210 stores flight management information 211 , flight monitoring information 212 , and TS current position 213 . The flight management information 211 includes information on the flight of the unmanned air vehicle 100 (flight plan, flight record (flight log), etc.). Flight monitoring information 212 includes operating state information and flight state information sent from unmanned air vehicle 100 . The TS current position 213 is the TS current position received from the TS 300 and transmitted (transferred) to the unmanned air vehicle 100 .

The flight management unit 220 manages the flight plan of the unmanned air vehicle 100, the flight route, the flight performance, and the information related to work and tasks (such as photography) performed during the flight as flight management information 211. FIG. The flight management unit 220 is a user interface for the user to manage (register, edit, delete, etc.) flight plans, flight routes, flight records, device control plans related to work performed by the unmanned air vehicle 100 during flight, and the like. I will provide a.

The flight monitoring control unit 230 manages the above-described operating state information and flight state information sent from the unmanned flying object 100 as flight monitoring information 212, and monitors and controls the unmanned flying object 100, for example, according to the flight plan. It also performs remote control of the unmanned air vehicle 100 and remote control for ensuring safety during flight.

TS current position receiving section 240 receives the TS current position from TS 300 and stores it as TS current position 213 . The TS current position transmission unit 250 transmits (transfers) the TS current position to the unmanned air vehicle 100 . The time from when the TS current position receiving unit 240 receives the TS current position from the TS 300 to when the TS current position transmitting unit 250 transmits (transfers) the TS current position to the unmanned flying object 100 is It should be short enough not to interfere with flight.

FIG. 5A shows a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the TS 300 (total station), and FIG. 5B shows an example of the appearance of the TS 300 (a view of the TS 300 viewed from the front). As shown in FIG. 5A, the TS 300 includes a microcomputer 311 (CPU, MPU, etc.), a storage device 312 (ROM, RAM, non-volatile memory, etc.), a user interface 313 (keyboard, touch panel, display device (LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) etc.), an audio output device (speaker, etc.), a communication device 314 , a light wave range finder 315 , a theodolite 316 (theodolite), and an automatic tracking mechanism 317 .

The communication device 314 is configured using a wireless communication module, a wired communication module, Bluetooth (registered trademark), a serial communication module (USB module, RS-232C module, etc.), etc., and communicates with the flight monitoring control unit 230 ( wireless communication or wired communication).

The light wave rangefinder 315 irradiates an object with irradiation light (laser light), receives the reflected light of the irradiation light from the object, and measures the distance to the light reflector 50 based on the irradiation light and the received reflected light. Measure distance.

The theodolite 316 is configured using a telescope, a spherical telescope, an angle indicator, etc., and measures the angle of the object (light reflector 50) in the horizontal and vertical planes.

The microcomputer 311 calculates the position of the object based on the distance to the object measured by the optical rangefinder 315 and the angle of the object in the horizontal and vertical planes measured by the theodolite 316, and indicates the calculated position. Information (eg, location information expressed in absolute or relative coordinates) is provided to the user via user interface 313 . Also, the microcomputer 311 transmits position information (eg, TS current position) to the flight monitoring control device 200 via the communication device 314 .

The automatic tracking mechanism 317 is configured so that the direction of the irradiation light emitted by the optical rangefinder 315 (or the direction of the optical axis of the light receiving window (light It includes a rotation mechanism (control motor, electronic components for controlling the control motor, etc.) for controlling (automatic sighting and automatic tracking) so that the direction of the device 50) is always directed.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the configuration of an optical reflector control mechanism 117 that is mounted on the unmanned air vehicle 100 and that controls the support and rotation of the optical reflector 50. As shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the light reflector control mechanism 117 includes a mounting fixture 1171 that is fastened and fixed to one of the legs 14 of the unmanned flying object 100 with bolts/nuts or the like, extends from the mounting fixture 1171, and is attached to the unmanned flying object. A plate-shaped servo fixing base 1172 supported so as to be horizontal (parallel to the ground) when the 100 is in a state of being stationary in the air in no wind (hereinafter referred to as a "stable state"), and a servo fixing base. A servo motor 1173 is fixed to 1172 so that the motor rotation shaft 11173 faces downward, and an L-shaped member 1174 is fixed to the motor rotation shaft 11731 and supports the light reflector 50 in a suspended manner. It is assumed that the light reflector 50 has the structure shown in FIG. 8A and has the reflective area, effective angle, and dead angle shown in FIG. 8B.

The L-shaped member 1174 is fixed to the motor rotation shaft 11731 at a predetermined position within the plane of one rectangular plate 1174a that forms the L-shape. The light reflector 50 is attached to the L-shaped member 1174 by screwing the screw portion 53 into a predetermined position in the plane of the other rectangular plate 1174b. Rectangular plate 1174a is provided so as to be horizontal to the ground when unmanned air vehicle 100 is in a stable state. Also, the central axis C-C' of the optical reflector 50 is adjusted to be parallel to the ground when the unmanned air vehicle 100 is in a stable state.

Drive power is supplied to the servomotor 1173 from the battery 118 via a power supply line (not shown). A control signal line (not shown) of the servomotor 1173 is connected to the flight control device 111 . During flight of the unmanned air vehicle 100, the rotation of the motor rotation shaft 11731 of the servomotor 1173 is controlled by the flight control device 111 through the control signal line. During flight of the unmanned air vehicle 100, the flight control device 111 controls the rotation of the motor rotation shaft 11731 of the servo motor 1173 so that the effective angle of the optical reflector 50 always faces the direction of the TS300. The optical reflector 50 is provided so that its central axis CC′ is perpendicular to the motor rotation axis 11731 of the servomotor 1173, and the optical reflector 50 is positioned when the unmanned air vehicle 100 is in a stable state. One axis is controlled by one servomotor 1173 so that the central axis CC' rotates in a plane parallel to the ground. The method of controlling the direction of the effective angle of the light reflector 50 is not necessarily limited, and the light reflector 50 may be controlled with a higher degree of freedom (biaxial or triaxial).

The flight control device 111 determines the current direction of the axis of the unmanned air vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as “axis direction θd”), which is specified based on information from various sensors 112 (eg, a geomagnetic sensor), and the flight direction. Based on the azimuth where the TS 30 exists as seen from the unmanned flying object 100 (hereinafter referred to as "TS azimuth θt"), which is specified based on the TS current position sent from the monitoring control device 200, the servo motor 1173 The rotation is controlled so that the effective angle of the light reflector 50 is always directed toward the TS 30 . Although the method of setting the axis is not necessarily limited, in the present embodiment, the axis is set in a predetermined direction parallel to the ground through the center of gravity of the unmanned flying object 10 when the unmanned flying object 10 is in a stable state (for example, It shall be a straight line extending in the direction that coincides with the orientation of the neck).

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the control method of the servo motor 1173 by the flight control device 111, and is a diagram looking down on the unmanned air vehicle 100 and TS 300 in flight. As shown in the figure, the flight control device 111 controls the light reflector 50 by an angle based on the difference between the TS heading θt and the axis heading θd (θt−θd) (hereinafter referred to as “control angle θp”). , so that the TS 300 is always within the effective angle of the light reflector 50 (so that the irradiation light from the TS 300 is always within the effective angle).

Note that the flight control device 111 preferably controls the orientation of the effective angle, that is, the direction perpendicular to the center axis CC' of the light reflector 50 through the center of the effective angle (the prism body of the light reflector 50 in FIG. 8A). The servomotor 1173 is controlled so that the direction passing through the center (center) of 51 and perpendicular to the central axis CC′ coincides with the direction of TS 300 . As a result, for example, even if the attitude of the unmanned flying object 100 suddenly changes due to a gust during flight, the TS 300 can always enter the effective angle. During flight of the unmanned air vehicle 100, the central axis CC' of the light reflector 50 is maintained parallel to the ground. Rotate 360 degrees in the plane. Therefore, both when unmanned flying object 100 flies at a high altitude and when flying at a low altitude, the direction of the effective angle can be oriented in the direction of TS 300, and the unmanned flying object 100 can be positioned over a wide airspace. can be measured by the TS300.

As described above, the position measurement system 1 of the present embodiment notifies the TS current position, which is the current position of the unmanned flying object 100 measured by the TS 300, to the unmanned flying object 100 via the flight monitoring control device 200. , the unmanned air vehicle 100 controls the servo motor 1173 with a control amount calculated based on the TS azimuth θt specified from the TS current position and the axis azimuth θd obtained from various sensors (eg, a geomagnetic sensor). Since the direction of the effective angle of the light reflector 50 is controlled to face the direction of the TS 300, it is possible to accurately and stably measure the current position of the unmanned air vehicle 100 over a wide airspace.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the above description is for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from its spirit, and that equivalents thereof are included in the present invention. For example, the above embodiments have been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. Moreover, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of the above embodiment with another configuration.

For example, the TS current position measured by the TS 300 can be used to manage the route actually flown by the unmanned flying object 100, or to accurately determine the position of a work target when the unmanned flying object 100 performs some work. You may use as information etc. for specifying.

In the above embodiments, the drum-shaped light reflector 50 was exemplified, but the present invention can also be applied to a case where a light reflector having a structure other than the drum-shaped one is used.

In the above embodiment, the TS current position is transferred to the unmanned flying object 100 via the flight monitoring control device 200. The TS current position may be sent directly to 100 .

Further, in the above embodiment, the axis azimuth θd is obtained using the geomagnetic sensor, but the axis azimuth θd is obtained by other methods such as calculation using values of an angular velocity sensor or an angular acceleration sensor. You may make it

1 position measurement system, 50 light reflector, 51 prism main body, 52a, 52b flanges, 53 screw portion, 100 unmanned air vehicle, 111 flight control device, 112 various sensors, 113 inertial navigation device, 114 GPS device, 115 thrust generation Device, 116 Communication device, 117 Light reflector control mechanism, 1171 Mounting tool, 1172 Servo fixing base, 1173 Servo motor, 1174 L-shaped member, 1174a, 1174b Rectangular plate, 118 Battery, 150 Leg, 200 Flight monitoring control device, 201 processor, 202 main storage device, 203 auxiliary storage device, 204 input device, 205 output device, 210 storage section, 211 flight management information, 212 flight monitoring information, 213 TS current position, 220 flight management section, 230 flight monitoring control section , 240 TS current position receiver, 250 TS current position transmitter, 300 total station, 311 microcomputer, 313 user interface, 314 communication device, 315 optical rangefinder, 316 theodolite, 317 automatic tracking mechanism

Claims (9)

A total station installed on the ground,
an unmanned air vehicle equipped with a light reflector;
an information processing device communicably connected to the total station and the unmanned air vehicle;
with
The total station is
Receiving reflected light returned from the light reflected by the light reflector from the light emitted toward the unmanned aircraft;
measuring the TS current position, which is the current position of the unmanned air vehicle, based on the received reflected light;
transmitting the measured TS current position to the information processing device;
The information processing device
receiving the TS current position from the total station;
transmitting the received TS current position to the unmanned air vehicle;
The unmanned air vehicle
receiving the TS current position sent from the information processing device, and performing flight control based on the received TS current position;
An unmanned air vehicle positioning system,
The unmanned air vehicle
a light reflector control mechanism for controlling the direction of an effective angle, which is the range of angles of incidence on the light reflector capable of effectively reflecting the irradiation light;
calculating a control amount for the direction of the effective angle of the optical reflector based on the received TS current position;
controlling the optical reflector control mechanism so that the total station enters the effective angle based on the control amount;
The light reflector has the effective angle that extends laterally of the first axis along the first axis at a predetermined angle, and has a blind angle that extends at a predetermined angle in the direction of the first axis,
The light reflector control mechanism includes: a first mechanism for supporting the light reflector so that the first axis is horizontal during flight of the unmanned air vehicle; a second mechanism for changing the direction of the effective angle by rotating about a second axis to change the direction of the first axis;
An unmanned aerial vehicle positioning system. The unmanned air vehicle positioning system according to claim 1,
The light reflector is
A columnar prism that reflects incident irradiation light toward the direction in which the irradiation light is incident;
brim portions provided at both ends of the prism;
has
The first axis is the central axis of the prism,
The blind spot is formed by blocking the incidence of the irradiation light directed toward the light reflector into the prism by the collar.
An unmanned aerial vehicle positioning system. The unmanned air vehicle positioning system according to claim 2,
The prism is a 360° prism,
An unmanned aerial vehicle positioning system. The unmanned air vehicle positioning system according to claim 1,
the second mechanism includes a servo motor that rotates the light reflector about the second axis ;
An unmanned aerial vehicle positioning system. The unmanned air vehicle positioning system according to claim 1,
The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a sensor that acquires an axis direction, which is the direction that the axis of the unmanned air vehicle is currently facing, and calculates the control amount based on the TS current position and the axis direction.
An unmanned aerial vehicle positioning system. The unmanned air vehicle positioning system according to claim 5 ,
wherein the unmanned air vehicle calculates the control amount based on the difference between the TS current position and the axis heading;
An unmanned aerial vehicle positioning system. The unmanned air vehicle positioning system according to claim 5 ,
The sensor is a geomagnetic sensor that detects the axis direction,
An unmanned aerial vehicle positioning system. The unmanned air vehicle positioning system according to claim 1,
The unmanned flying object performs autonomous flight or flight by remote control from the outside based on the TS current position,
An unmanned aerial vehicle positioning system. The optical reflector control mechanism in the unmanned air vehicle positioning system according to claim 1,
comprising the first mechanism and the second mechanism,
Light reflector control mechanism.

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