JP7270265B2 - Driving route generation device, driving route generation method, driving route generation program, and drone - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a driving route generating device, a driving route generating method, a driving route generating program, and a drone.

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.

What is also needed is a way to automatically generate driving paths for drones to fly autonomously. Patent Literature 3 discloses a travel route generation system that generates a reciprocating travel route for reciprocating travel and a circuit travel route for circling along an outer peripheral shape in a field. This system is assumed to be a ground traveling type machine such as a seedling planting device.

Patent Literature 4 discloses a travel route generation device that generates a route in the case where the outline of a field has a concave portion that is locally entered inside. Patent Literature 5 discloses an autonomous travel route generation system that generates a travel route that bypasses obstacles that exist within a travel area.

Patent Publication JP 2001-120151 Patent publication publication JP 2017-163265 Patent publication JP 2018-117566 Patent Publication JP 2018-116614 Patent publication JP 2017-204061

To provide a driving route generation device for generating a driving route capable of efficiently moving and maintaining high safety even during autonomous driving.

In order to achieve the above object, a driving route generation device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a no-entry area determination unit that determines a no-entry area around the obstacle based on coordinate information of the obstacle. and a movement-permitted area determination unit that determines a movement-permitted area in which the mobile device can safely move within the target area by excluding the entry-prohibited area from the acquired target area.

The movement permission area determining unit sums at least the height of the ground in the target area, the height of crops growing in the target area, and a margin that can ensure safety when controlling flight, and determines the movement permission. A range in the height direction of the area may be determined.

The no-entry area determination unit may determine the no-entry area based on the coordinate information of the obstacle and the type of the obstacle.

The target area is defined in a three-dimensional direction, and the movement-permitted area determination unit calculates the entry-prohibited area based on coordinate information of the obstacle in a height direction, The movement-permitted area may be generated by excluding the entry-prohibited area from the target area.

an area formulating unit that formulates one or more shaped areas and one or more odd-shaped areas each smaller than the shaped area in the movement-permitted area; and the shaped area and the odd-shaped area. and a route generation unit that generates driving routes of the mobile device using route patterns different from each other.

The area planning unit may be capable of generating a plurality of shaping areas, each of which is a convex polygon, for the movement-permitted area of a concave polygon.

It may further include an outer peripheral area generator that generates an annular outer peripheral area that forms an outer edge of the shaping area, and an outer peripheral route generator that generates a circular driving route that circles the outer peripheral area.

The vehicle may further include an inner area generator that generates an inner area inside the outer peripheral area, and an inner route generator that generates a round-trip driving route to and from the inner area.

It may further include a route generation target area determination unit that determines whether or not a route can be generated for the shaped area and the deformed area based on the driving performance of the mobile device.

The route generation unit is capable of generating a plurality of types of driving routes in the target area, and further includes a route selection unit capable of selecting which driving route is to be determined, wherein the route selection unit selects the input priority It may be configured to select the driving route based on the ranking information.

In order to achieve the above object, a driving route generation method according to one aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: determining the obstacle and a no-entry area around the obstacle based on the coordinate information of the obstacle; and determining a permitted movement area within which the mobile device can safely move within the target area by excluding the prohibited area from the target area.

In order to achieve the above object, a driving route generation program according to one aspect of the present invention includes a command for determining the obstacle and a no-entry area around the obstacle based on the coordinate information of the obstacle; determining a movement-permitted area in which the mobile device can safely move within the target area by excluding the prohibited area from the target area.

To achieve the above object, a drone according to one aspect of the present invention is a drone capable of receiving a driving route generated by a driving route generating device and flying along the driving route, wherein the driving route The generation device is any one of the driving route generation devices described above.

In order to achieve the above object, a drone according to one aspect of the present invention includes a driving route generation device and a flight control unit, wherein the driving route generation device is any one of the above-described It is a driving route generation device.

It is possible to generate a driving route that can move efficiently and maintain a high level of safety even during autonomous driving.

1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a drone according to the present invention; FIG. It is a front view of the said drone. 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. It is a schematic diagram showing the control function of the said drone. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a whole conceptual diagram which shows the appearance of the driving route generation apparatus which concerns on this invention, and a drone, a base station, an operation device, and a coordinate survey apparatus which are connected via a network. It is a functional block diagram of the above-mentioned driving route generation device. It is a schematic diagram showing an example of a farm field for which the driving route generation device generates a driving route, a no-entry area determined near the farm field, and a movable area generated in the farm field. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing how the movable area is divided into an odd-shaped area, an outer peripheral area, and an inner area; An example of a moving area in which the area division necessity determination unit of the driving route generation device performs processing to divide the area, (a) an example of a moving area having a concave portion consisting of two sides, (b) three sides It is an example of a moving area having a recess made of. 4 is a flow chart showing a process of dividing the moving area by the area division necessity determination unit. 4 is a flow chart showing a process in which an area planning unit included in the driving route generation device generates an outer peripheral area, an inner area, and an irregularly shaped area, and determines a route generation target area. It is an example of a route generated in the route generation target area by a route generation unit of the driving route generation device. 4 is a flow chart showing a process in which the route generation unit generates a driving route in the route generation target area;

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.

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. A drone is an example of a mobile device, and can appropriately receive information on a driving route generated by the driving route generating device according to the present invention and fly along the driving route.

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 of flying the Drone 100. Considering the balance of flight stability, aircraft size, and battery consumption, it is equipped with 8 aircraft (4 sets of two-stage rotor blades).

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. It should be noted that some rotor blades 101-3b and motor 102-3b are not shown, but their positions are self-evident and would be in the positions shown if there was a left side view. 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. 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 operating device (not shown) with a dedicated emergency stop function may be used (emergency operating devices such as a large emergency stop button can be (It may be a dedicated device equipped with The controller 401 and the drone 100 perform wireless communication using Wi-Fi or the like.

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. Also, there may be obstacles 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). 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.

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 route (approach route) from the starting 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.

FIG. 7 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 . Flight controller 501 is an example of a flight control unit.

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.

Battery 502 is the means by which flight controller 501 and other components of the drone are powered and may be rechargeable. Battery 502 is connected to flight controller 501 via a power supply unit including a fuse or circuit breaker. The battery 502 may be a smart battery that has a function of transmitting its internal state (accumulated amount of power, accumulated usage time, etc.) to the flight controller 501 in addition to the power supply function.

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 satellites, the GPS module 504 can measure the absolute position of the drone 100 with an accuracy of several centimeters. Since the GPS modules 504 are of high importance, they may be duplicated and multiplexed, and each redundant GPS module 504 may use a different satellite to cope with 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 (further 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 obstacle detection camera 513 is a camera for detecting drone obstacles, 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 obstacle 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 obstacle such as a wire, building, human body, standing tree, bird, or other drone. . 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. A display means such as a liquid crystal display may be used instead of or in addition to the LED. 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. 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.

The drone 100 needs a driving route for efficiently moving to fields of various shapes. That is, the drone 100 needs to fly all over the field when spraying chemicals in a field or when monitoring the field. At that time, by not flying the same route as much as possible, battery consumption and flight time can be shortened. Further, in chemical spraying, if the chemical is sprayed along the same route, the concentration of the chemical along the route may increase. Therefore, the driving route generation device generates a driving route for efficient movement of mobile devices such as the drone 100 based on the coordinate information of the field.

As shown in FIG. 8, the driving route generation device 1 is connected to the drone 100, the base station 404 and the coordinate survey device 2 via the network NW. The driving route generation device 1 may have its function on the farming cloud 405, or may be a separate device. Also, the driving route generating device 1 may be a configuration that the drone 100 has. A field is an example of an area of interest. Drone 100 is an example of a mobile device.

The coordinate surveying device 2 is a device having the function of an RTK-GPS mobile station, and is capable of surveying the coordinate information of a field. The coordinate surveying device 2 is a small device that can be held and walked by the user, such as a rod-shaped device. The coordinate surveying device 2 may be a cane-like device having a length that allows the user to stand upright and hold the upper end while the lower end is on the ground. The number of coordinate surveying devices 2 that can be used to read the coordinate information of a certain field may be one or more. According to a configuration in which coordinate information about one field can be surveyed by a plurality of coordinate surveying devices 2, a plurality of users can each hold a coordinate surveying device 2 and walk in the field, so that surveying work can be simplified. It can be completed in a short time.

In addition, the coordinate surveying device 2 can survey information about obstacles in a field. Obstacles include walls, slopes, utility poles, electric wires, etc., which are at risk for the drone 100 to collide with, and various objects that do not require chemical spraying or monitoring.

The coordinate surveying device 2 has an input unit 201 , a coordinate detection unit 202 and a transmission unit 203 .

The input unit 201 is provided at the upper end of the coordinate surveying device 2, and is, for example, a button that receives presses from the user. The user presses the button of the input unit 201 when surveying the coordinates of the lower end of the coordinate surveying device 2 .

Further, the input unit 201 is configured to be able to input information by distinguishing whether the information to be input is coordinates relating to the perimeter of the field or coordinates of the perimeter of the obstacle. Furthermore, the input unit 201 can input the coordinates of the circumference of the obstacle in association with the type of the obstacle.

The coordinate detection unit 202 is a functional unit capable of appropriately communicating with the base station 404 and detecting the three-dimensional coordinates of the lower end of the coordinate surveying device 2 .

The transmission unit 203 is a functional unit that transmits the three-dimensional coordinates of the lower end of the coordinate surveying device 2 at the time of the input to the operation device 401 or the driving route generation device 1 via the network NW based on the input to the input unit 201. be. The transmission unit 203 transmits the three-dimensional coordinates together with the pointing order.

In the step of reading the coordinate information of the field, the user moves the field while holding the coordinate surveying device 2 . First, the three-dimensional coordinates of the field are obtained. The user performs pointing using the input unit 201 on an end point or an end side of the field. Next, the user points with the input unit 201 on the end point or end side of the obstacle.

The three-dimensional coordinates on the end points or edges of the farm field that are pointed and transmitted are received by the driving route generation device 1 by distinguishing between the three-dimensional coordinates of the perimeter of the farm field and the three-dimensional coordinates of obstacles. Also, the pointed three-dimensional coordinates may be received by the receiving unit 4011 of the operation device 401 and displayed by the display unit 4012 . In addition, the operation device 401 determines whether the received three-dimensional coordinates are suitable as the three-dimensional coordinates of the outer circumference of the farm field or the obstacles, and if it is determined that resurveying is necessary, the display unit 4012 instructs the user to remeasure. You can ask for a survey.

As shown in FIG. 9, the driving route generation device 1 includes a target area information acquisition unit 10, a movement-permitted area generation unit 20, an area planning unit 30, a route generation unit 40, and a route selection unit 50.

The target area information acquisition unit 10 is a functional unit that acquires three-dimensional coordinate information transmitted from the coordinate surveying device 2 .

As shown in FIG. 10, the movement-permitted area generation unit 20 designates a movement-permitted area 80i in which the drone 100 moves within the field 80 based on the three-dimensional coordinates acquired by the target area information acquisition unit . The movement permitted area generation unit 20 has an entry prohibited area determination unit 21 and a movement permitted area determination unit 22 .

The prohibited area determination unit 21 determines the prohibited area 81b for the drone 100 based on the three-dimensional coordinates of the obstacles 81a, 82a, 83a, 84a, and 85a acquired by the target area information acquisition unit 10 and the types of the obstacles. , 82b, 83b, 84b, 85b. The no-entry areas 81b, 82b, 83b, 84b, 85b are areas including obstacles 81a, 82a, 83a, 84a, 85a and areas around the obstacles. The no-entry areas 81b, 82b, 83b, 84b, 85b are defined in the horizontal direction and the height direction, and are regions extending in the three-dimensional direction. It is a rectangular parallelepiped area drawn as Note that the no-entry area may be a spherical area drawn around the obstacle. Since the drone 100 flies in the air, it can fly over obstacles depending on the size of the obstacle in the height direction. According to the configuration in which the area above the obstacle is not regarded as a no-entry area depending on the size of the obstacle in the height direction, it is possible to fly efficiently in the field without excessively detouring around the obstacle.

The distance from the outer edge of the obstacle to the outer edge of the no entry areas 81b, 82b, 83b, 84b, 85b is determined by the types of the obstacles 81a, 82a, 83a, 84a, 85a. The distance from the outer edge of the obstacle to the outer edges of the no-entry areas 81b, 82b, 83b, 84b, and 85b increases as the risk of the drone 100 colliding with the obstacle increases. For example, in the case of a house, a range of 50 cm from the outer edge of the house is set as a no-entry area, while a range of 80 cm from the outer edge of an electric wire is set as a no-entry area. This is because, in the case of electric wires, in addition to the failure of the drone 100, events such as power transmission failure and electric wire breakage may occur at the time of collision, so the risk of collision is considered to be higher. The no-entry area determination unit 21 stores in advance an obstacle table in which the types of obstacles and the sizes of the no-entry areas are associated, and determines the sizes of the no-entry areas according to the acquired types of obstacles. do.

The movement permitted area determination unit 22 is a functional unit that determines the movement permitted area 80i. Regarding the planar direction of the movement-permitted area 80i, it is assumed that the coordinates on the plane acquired by the target area information acquisition unit 10 of the farm field 80 are at the outer peripheral position of the farm field 80. FIG. Regarding the height direction of the movement permitted area 80i, the movement permitted area determination unit 22 determines the coordinates in the height direction acquired by the target area information acquisition unit 10, that is, the height of the ground of the field 80, the height of the crop, The range in the height direction of the movement permission area 80i is determined by totaling the margins that can ensure safety when controlling flight. The movement-permitted area determination unit 22 determines the movement-permitted area 80i by excluding the prohibited areas 81b, 82b, 83b, 84b, and 85b from the inner area surrounded by the three-dimensional coordinates.

As shown in FIG. 11, the area formulating unit 30 is a functional unit that divides the permitted movement area 80i determined by the permitted movement area generating unit 20 into areas in which the aircraft flies on different route patterns. The area planning section 30 can divide the inside of the movement-permitted area 80i into one or more shaped areas 81i and one or more odd-shaped areas 82i and 83i smaller than the shaped area 81i.

A route pattern is a rule for automatically generating a route according to the shape of a certain area in order to fly comprehensively over the area. Route patterns are broadly classified into route patterns for shaped areas and route patterns for odd-shaped areas.

Further, the route pattern for the shaping area 81i includes an outer pattern that circles the outer periphery of the shaping area 81i and an inner pattern that reciprocates inside the circular route. In the shaped area 81i, an area in which the ball flies according to the outer pattern is called an outer area 811i, and an area in which the ball flies according to the inner pattern is called an inner area 812i. Features of the odd-shaped area, the outer peripheral area, and the inner area will be described later.

The area planning unit 30 has an area division necessity determination unit 31 , a shaped area generation unit 32 , and an odd-shaped area generation unit 33 .

The area division necessity determination unit 31 is a functional unit that determines whether it is necessary to divide the movement permitted area into a plurality of shaping areas. The area division necessity determination unit 31 divides the movement permitted area, especially when the movement permitted area has a concave polygonal shape when viewed from above. A concave polygon is a polygon in which at least one of the interior angles of the polygon is greater than 180°, in other words a polygon with a concave shape.

12(a), (b), and FIG. 13, the process of determining whether or not the area division necessity determining unit 31 needs to divide the movement permitted area 90i and performing area division will be described.

A movement-permitted area 90i shown in FIG. 12(a) has a concave portion 93i formed of two sides, a side 91i and a side 92i, when viewed from above. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, when the area division necessity determination unit 31 determines that there is a concave portion 93i consisting of two sides (S11), the longer side 91i of the two sides 91i and 92i is selected as the determination target side. , the length is calculated (S12). Area division necessity determination unit 31 does not perform area division when no concave portion is found in movement-permitted area 90i.

When the length of the side 91i is equal to or greater than a predetermined value determined based on the effective width of the drone 100, the area division necessity determination unit 31 determines that the area including the side 91i needs to be divided (S13), The movement permitted area 90i is divided into two areas 901i and 902i (S14). Next, it is determined whether or not there is a concave portion in the divided area (S15). If a recess is found, return to step S12. If no concave portion is found, it is determined that further division is unnecessary, and the process ends.

The dividing line 94i is a side forming the edge of the smaller area after division, and is determined to be parallel to the edge 95i opposite to the dividing line 94i. According to this configuration, when the drone 100 makes a round-trip flight in the divided area, it is possible to fly more comprehensively within the area.

At least one shaping area can be generated for each of a plurality of areas divided and generated by the area division necessity determination unit 31 . The shaping area 81i has a shape and area that can be used to generate an outer peripheral area 811i and an inner area 812i. The outer area 811i is an annular area that has the effective width of the drone 100, and the inner area 812i requires a width that is the effective width of the drone 100 minus the allowable overlapping width. Therefore, when the length of the side (91i) is equal to or greater than three times the effective width of the drone 100 minus the allowable overlap width, the area division necessity determining unit 31 divides the area. Note that the effective width of the drone 100 is, for example, the spraying width of the drug in the case of the drone for spraying drugs. Also, the effective width of the drone 100 is the monitorable width if it is a surveillance drone.

A movement-permitted area 100i shown in FIG. 12(b) has a concave portion 110i formed by three sides, namely, a side 111i, a side 112i, and a side 113i, which are adjacent to each other in this order when viewed from above. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, when the area division necessity determination unit 31 determines that there is a concave portion 110i having three sides 111i to 113i (S11), the longer of the opposing sides 111i and 113i of the concave portion 110i Using the side 111i of , as the determination target side, the length is calculated (S12). When the length of the side 111i is equal to or greater than a predetermined value determined based on the effective width of the drone 100, the area division necessity determination unit 31 determines that the area including the side 111i needs to be divided (S13), A division line (121i) divides the movement permitted area 100i into two areas 1001i and 1002i (S14).

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a concave portion in the divided area (S15). If a recess is found, return to step S12. In the example of the movement-permitted area 100i, the area division necessity determining unit 31 determines that the area after division needs to be further divided (S13), and divides the area 1001i into two areas 1003i and 1004i by the division line 122i. Divide (S14).

Parting lines 121i and 122i are defined from both ends of the bottom side 113i of the recess 110i toward the left and right sides 101i and 102i of the movement-permitted area 100i. The division lines 121i and 122i are sides that constitute the edge sides of the smaller area after division, and are determined to be parallel to the opposing edge sides 103i and 104i. According to this configuration, when the drone 100 makes a round-trip flight in the divided area, it is possible to fly more comprehensively within the area.

Note that the area division necessity determining unit 31 may be configured to determine whether or not to divide the target area instead of the movement-permitted area.

The shaping area generation unit 32 is a functional unit that generates a shaping area for each of one or a plurality of areas generated by the area division necessity determination unit 31 .

As shown in FIG. 11, the shaping area generator 32 generates a convex polygon with the largest area inside the movement-permitted area 80i as a shaping area 81i. A convex polygon is a polygon whose interior angles are all less than 180°.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the shaping area generator 32 has an outer area generator 321 and an inner area generator 322 . In the example of FIG. 11, the outer peripheral area generation unit 321 sets the annular area having the effective width of the drone 100, which forms the outer edge of the shaping area 81i, as the outer peripheral area 811i. Also, the inside area generation unit 322 sets the inside of the outer peripheral area 811i as an inside area 812i.

The odd-shaped area generation unit 33 is a functional unit that generates a unique-shaped area in each of one or a plurality of areas generated by the area division necessity determination unit 31 .

The odd-shaped areas 82i and 83i are areas each having a smaller area than the shaped area 81i, and are areas in which the outer peripheral area and the inner area cannot be defined. More specifically, the odd-shaped areas 82i and 83i have the shortest side length of less than three times the effective width of the drone 100 minus the allowable overlap width. In the example of FIG. 11, two odd-shaped areas 82i and 83i are defined.

The route generation target area determination unit 34 is a functional unit that determines whether or not each area 811i, 812i, 82i, 83i to be determined is an area in which route generation is possible, and determines the target area for route generation. be. This is because the shaped area 81i and the deformed areas 82i and 83i may not be drivable due to their shapes. The route generation target area determination unit 34 determines whether or not the area is an area in which route generation is possible based on a predetermined value determined based on the driving performance of the drone 100 . The driving performance of the drone 100 includes the run-up distance required for the drone 100 to reach constant speed operation and the stopping distance required for the drone 100 to stop after constant speed operation. Also, the driving performance of the drone 100 includes the effective width in chemical spraying and surveillance.

When the long side of the outer peripheral area 811i is less than a predetermined value determined based on the approach distance required for the drone 100 to reach constant speed operation and the stopping distance required for stopping, the route generation target area determining unit 34 determines that the outer periphery A decision is made not to generate a route for the area 811i. For example, when the long side of the outer peripheral area 811i is less than the sum of the approach distance and the stop distance, it is determined not to generate the route. Also, when the shortest side of the outer peripheral area 811i is less than a predetermined value determined based on the effective width of the drone 100, route generation is not performed. More specifically, when the shortest side of the outer peripheral area 811i is less than the effective width of the drone 100, route generation is not performed. This is because, if it is less than the predetermined value, a route that circles the outer peripheral area 811i cannot be generated.

Similarly, the route generation target area determination unit 34 determines that the long side of the inner area 812i is less than a predetermined value determined based on the start-up distance required for the drone 100 to reach constant speed operation and the stopping distance required for stopping. , it decides not to generate the route. For example, when the long side of the inner area 812i is less than the sum of the approach distance and the stop distance, it is determined not to generate the route. When the shortest side of the inner area 812i is less than a predetermined value determined based on the effective width of the drone 100, it is determined not to generate the route. More specifically, when the shortest side of the inner area 812i is less than twice the effective width of the drone 100 minus the overlap tolerance, no path is generated.

In addition, the route generation target area determination unit 34 determines whether or not the drone 100 can be driven for each of the determined odd-shaped areas 82i and 83i. The route pattern for the odd-shaped areas 82i and 83i is a route that flies in one direction in the direction of the long side, or a route that makes one round trip. Therefore, when the shortest sides of the odd-shaped areas 82i and 83i are less than a predetermined value determined based on the effective width of the drone 100, the route generation target area determination unit 34 prevents the drone 100 from operating in the odd-shaped area. make a decision. More specifically, when the shortest sides of the odd-shaped areas 82i and 83i are less than the allowable overlap, it is determined not to operate. The overlap tolerance may be 10% of the effective width of the drone 100, for example.

Also, when the long sides of the irregularly shaped areas 82i and 83i are less than a predetermined value determined based on the start-up distance required for the drone 100 to reach constant speed operation and the stopping distance required for stopping, the operation is not performed. make a decision. For example, when the long sides of the deformed areas 82i and 83i are less than the sum of the approach distance and the stopping distance, no driving is performed.

The area planning section 30 may transmit information on the area to be planned to the operation device 401 and display it on the operation device 401 . In addition, when there is an area where driving is prohibited, a warning display to that effect may be provided.

In this example, the outer peripheral area 811i, the inner area 812i, and the odd-shaped area 83i are drivable areas, and the odd-shaped area 82i is a non-drivable area.

With reference to FIG. 14, the process from acquiring the target area information to determining the route generation target area will be described.

First, the target area information acquiring unit 10 acquires coordinate information regarding the field (S21). In addition, the target area information acquisition unit 10 acquires coordinate information regarding obstacles (S22). Note that steps S21 and S22 may be performed in any order and may be performed simultaneously.

Next, the movement-permitted area generation unit 20 generates a movement-permitted area based on the coordinate information regarding the farm field and the obstacle (S23).

The area division necessity determining unit 31 determines whether or not it is necessary to divide the movement permitted area based on the shape and size of the movement permitted area (S24). If division is necessary, the area division necessity determination unit 31 divides the movement permitted area into a plurality of areas (S25).

The shaping area generation unit 32 generates a shaping area in each of the plurality of areas divided by the movement permission area or the area division necessity determination unit 31, and further generates an outer area and an inner area in each shaping area (S26 ).

The odd-shaped area generation unit 33 sets the area other than the shaping area in the movement-permitted area as the odd-shaped area (S27).

Next, the route generation target area determining unit 34 determines whether or not the drone 100 can be operated for each defined area (S28). When it is determined that the drone 100 cannot be driven, the route generation target area determining unit 34 removes the area from the movement permitted area (S29). Finally, the route generation target area determining unit 34 determines the drivable area as the route generation target area (S30).

A route generation unit 40 shown in FIG. 9 is a functional unit that generates a driving route in a route generation target area based on a route pattern. The route generation unit 40 has an outer route generation unit 41, an inner route generation unit 42, an irregular area route generation unit 43, and a route connection unit 44.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 15, the outer circumference route generation unit 41 is a functional unit that generates a circular driving route 811r in the outer circumference area 811i. The circular driving route 811r is a route that makes one circuit around the outer peripheral area 811i. Although it is counterclockwise in this embodiment, it may be clockwise.

The inner route generator 42 is a functional unit that generates a round-trip driving route 812r in the inner area 812i. The round-trip driving route 812r is a route to and from the inner area 812i. The round-trip driving route 812r is continuously generated along the direction of the longest long side 813i among the sides of the inner area 812i, and is a route along the direction of the short side 814i, which is the shorter of the sides adjacent to the long side. It is generated to change direction above. The driving route along the long side 813i direction may or may not be parallel to the long side 813i. Further, the driving paths along the long side 813i direction may or may not be parallel to each other.

The odd-shaped area route generation unit 43 is a functional unit that generates an odd-shaped area driving route 83r in the odd-shaped area 83i. The odd-shaped area driving route 83r is a route that flies in one direction in the long side direction of the odd-shaped area 83i, or a route that makes one round trip.

The route connecting unit 44 is a functional unit that connects the circuit driving route 811r, the round-trip driving route 812r, and the odd-shaped area driving route 83r. According to this configuration, even when the route is generated by dividing into a plurality of areas, it is possible to minimize the duplication of routes and generate an efficient driving route.

As shown in FIG. 16, first, the outer route generating unit 41 generates a circular driving route 811r that circulates the outer circumferential area 811i (S41). Next, the inner route generation unit 42 generates a round-trip driving route 812r that reciprocates the inner area 812i (S42). The odd-shaped area route generation unit 43 generates an odd-shaped area driving route 83r that flies in one direction or round-trips the odd-shaped area 83i (S43). The order of steps S41 to S43 is random and may be performed simultaneously. The route connecting unit 44 connects the circuit driving route 811r, the round-trip driving route 812r, and the odd-shaped area driving route 83r (S44).

According to the configuration in which a convex polygon shaped area is generated and the driving route is generated separately for the shaped area and the irregularly shaped area, the inner area can also be generated as a convex polygon similar in shape to the outer circumference of the shaped area. Therefore, a round-trip operation can be performed with a minimum of overlapping routes. Therefore, it is possible to comprehensively drive the target area in a short time. In other words, efficient driving routes can be generated in terms of work time, drone battery consumption, and drug consumption. In addition, in the chemical spraying drone, the risk of redundantly spraying the chemical is reduced, and a high level of safety can be maintained.

The route generation unit 40 shown in FIG. 9 may be capable of generating multiple types of driving routes in the route generation target area. The route selection unit 50 can select which driving route to determine. The user may determine a driving route by viewing a plurality of generated driving routes.

Further, the route selection unit 50 may allow the user to input priority order information. For example, the user inputs to the operation device 401 which of the working time, the battery consumption of the drone 100, and the medicine consumption is given the highest priority. Also, the operation device 401 may be capable of inputting an index to be given the second highest priority. The route selection unit 50 selects the driving route that best matches the input priority among the plurality of driving routes. According to this configuration, it is possible to efficiently generate a route according to the user's policy.

According to this configuration, it is possible to generate a driving route that allows efficient movement and maintains high safety even during autonomous driving.

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 machines in general that operate autonomously. It can also be applied to drones that fly autonomously for purposes other than agriculture. It can also be applied to a machine that runs autonomously on the ground.

(Technically Remarkable Effects of the Present Invention)
The driving route generation device according to the present invention generates a driving route that allows efficient movement and maintains high safety even during autonomous driving.

Claims (14)

a no-entry area determination unit that determines a no-entry area around the obstacle and the obstacle based on the coordinate information of the obstacle;
a movement-permitted area determination unit that determines a movement-permitted area in which the mobile device can safely move within the target area by excluding the entry-prohibited area from the acquired target area;
with
The no-entry area determination unit determines a distance from the outer edge of the obstacle to the outer edge of the no-entry area based on the type of the obstacle.
Driving route generator.
The no-entry area determination unit pre-stores an obstacle table in which the type of the obstacle and the size of the no-entry area are associated, and refers to the obstacle table to determine whether the entry is prohibited from the outer edge of the obstacle. determining the distance to the outer edge of the area by the type of the obstacle;
The driving route generation device according to claim 1.
The movement permission area determining unit sums at least the height of the ground in the target area, the height of crops growing in the target area, and a margin that can ensure safety when controlling flight, and determines the movement permission. determine the height extent of the area,
The driving route generation device according to claim 1 or 2 .
The no-entry area determination unit determines the no-entry area based on the coordinate information of the obstacle and the type of the obstacle.
The driving route generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .
the area of interest is defined in three dimensions,
The movement-permitted area determination unit calculates the prohibited-entry area based on coordinate information in the height direction of the obstacle, and excludes the prohibited-entry area defined in a three-dimensional direction from the target area. generate a permitted movement area,
The driving route generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .
an area formulating unit that formulates one or more shaped areas and one or more odd-shaped areas each having a smaller area than the shaped area in the movement-permitted area;
a route generation unit that generates a driving route of the mobile device using different route patterns in the shaped area and the deformed area;
further comprising
The driving route generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 .
The area planning unit is capable of generating a plurality of shaping areas, each of which is a convex polygon, for the movement-permitted area of a concave polygon.
The driving route generation device according to claim 6 .
Further comprising: an outer peripheral area generation unit that generates an annular outer peripheral area that forms the outer edge of the shaping area;
The driving route generation device according to claim 6 or 7 .
Further comprising an inner area generation unit that generates an inner area inside the outer peripheral area, and an inner route generation unit that generates a round-trip driving route to and from the inner area,
The driving route generation device according to claim 8 .
Further comprising a route generation target area determination unit that determines whether or not a route can be generated based on the driving performance of the mobile device for the shaped area and the deformed area,
The driving route generation device according to any one of claims 6 to 9 .
The route generation unit is capable of generating a plurality of types of driving routes in the target area, and further includes a route selection unit capable of selecting which driving route is to be determined, wherein the route selection unit selects the input priority selecting a driving route based on ranking information;
The driving route generation device according to any one of claims 6 to 10 .
the computer
determining the obstacle and a no-entry area around the obstacle based on the coordinate information of the obstacle;
determining a movement-permitted area in which the mobile device can safely move within the target area by excluding the prohibited area from the acquired target area;
determining the distance from the outer edge of the obstacle to the outer edge of the prohibited area based on the type of the obstacle;
, a driving route generation method.
a command for determining the obstacle and a no-entry area around the obstacle based on the coordinate information of the obstacle;
a command to determine a movement-permitted area in which a mobile device can safely move inside the target area by excluding the prohibited area from the acquired target area;
a command for determining a distance from the outer edge of the obstacle to the outer edge of the prohibited area according to the type of the obstacle;
A driving route generation program that causes a computer to execute.
A drone comprising a driving route generation device and a flight control unit,
The driving route generation device is
a no-entry area determination unit that determines a no-entry area around the obstacle and the obstacle based on the coordinate information of the obstacle;
a movement-permitted area determination unit that determines a movement-permitted area in which the drone can safely move within the target area by excluding the entry-prohibited area from the acquired target area;
with
The no-entry area determination unit determines a distance from the outer edge of the obstacle to the outer edge of the no-entry area based on the type of the obstacle.
drone.

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