JPWO2019008669A1 - Flying object control apparatus, flying object control system, and flying object control method - Google Patents

Abstract

Landing place candidates that are within the range in which the flying object (3) can travel and that exist around the route of the vehicle (30A) are determined, and the landing place of the flying object (3) is determined from the landing place candidates. A flight route to the determined landing location is determined, and control information for navigating the determined flight route is transmitted to the flying object (3).

Description

  The present invention relates to an aircraft control apparatus, an aircraft control system, and an aircraft control method for controlling an aircraft.

  In recent years, a system using an unmanned air vehicle that navigates with electric power from a battery has become widespread. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a system for docking an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a vehicle. In this system, the UAV can take off from the vehicle and land on the vehicle. In addition, the UAV can capture an image during the flight, and can stream the captured image to a display in the vehicle. Furthermore, UAV flight can be controlled on the vehicle side.

JP-T-2006-535879

  However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the maximum navigation distance of the flying object is limited to a reciprocable distance to the vehicle in order to return the flying object to the vehicle. If the range in which the flying object can be separated from the vehicle becomes narrow in this way, the range in which information is collected by the flying object is also narrowed, so the amount of information that the flying object 3 can collect around the vehicle cannot be increased.

  This invention solves the said subject, and it aims at obtaining the flying body control apparatus, flying body control system, and flying body control method which can make a flying body navigate to the range farther from the vehicle.

  A flying object control device according to the present invention is a flying object control device that controls a flying object that is powered by battery power, and includes an information acquisition unit, a landing location candidate determination unit, a landing location determination unit, a flight route determination unit, and a communication A processing unit is provided. The information acquisition unit acquires the position information of the vehicle, the position information of the flying object, the remaining amount of power of the battery, the route information of the vehicle, and the position information of the landing place candidate. The landing location candidate determination unit determines landing location candidates that are within the range in which the flying object can navigate and are present around the route of the vehicle, based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit. The landing location determination unit determines the landing location of the flying object from the landing location candidates determined by the landing location candidate determination unit. The flight route determining unit determines a flight route to the landing location determined by the landing location determining unit. The communication processing unit transmits control information for navigating on the flight route determined by the flight route determining unit to the flying object.

  According to the present invention, since the flying object is landed at a landing place in the range where the flying object can be navigated and exists around the route of the vehicle, the flying object can be navigated to a range further away from the vehicle. .

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the aircraft control system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an aircraft control system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flying object control method according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of flying object control in the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example of flying object control according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing category setting processing for a landing place candidate in the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a category selection screen in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a landing place candidate determination process in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing a landing location determination process in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of landing place determination processing in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of landing place determination processing in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of landing place determination processing in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of landing place determination processing in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of landing place determination processing in the first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the aircraft control system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing return processing of a flying object to a vehicle in a second embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the aircraft control system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. 10 is a flowchart showing a flight route change process in the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of a flight route change process in a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of a flight route change process in a third embodiment.

Hereinafter, in order to describe the present invention in more detail, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an aircraft control system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an aircraft control system 1 includes an aircraft controller 2 and an aircraft 3. The flying object control device 2 is a device that controls the flying object 3, and is realized by an in-vehicle device or an information terminal brought into the vehicle by an occupant. For example, the flying object control device 2 may be an in-vehicle navigation system, a smartphone, or a tablet PC. Hereinafter, a case where the flying object control device 2 is a control device provided separately from the vehicle-mounted navigation system will be described as an example. However, the function of the flying object control device 2 may be realized as one function of an in-vehicle navigation system.

As shown in FIG. 1, the flying object control device 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 100, a memory 101, a wireless transceiver 102, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 103, an input device 104, and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). 105.
The flying object 3 includes a CPU 200, a battery 201, a camera 202, a wireless transceiver 203 and a GPS receiver 204, and navigates with the power of the battery 201.

  The CPU 100 is an arithmetic processing circuit that executes various arithmetic processes in the flying object control device 2, and is hardware called a processor, an arithmetic processing circuit, an electric circuit, a controller, and the like. The CPU 100 is configured by one arithmetic processing circuit or a set of two or more arithmetic processing circuits. The CPU 100 can execute a program read from the memory 101. The memory 101 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory).

  The ROM is a non-volatile storage device that stores one or more programs. The RAM is a volatile storage device used as an area where the CPU 100 develops programs or various types of information. The ROM and RAM are configured by, for example, a semiconductor storage device. Although it has been illustrated that the program executed by the CPU 100 is stored in the ROM, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be a non-volatile mass storage device called a storage such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). Further, the memory 101 may be a generic term for storage devices including storage.

  The wireless transceiver 102 is a communication device that performs wireless communication with the flying object 3. For example, the wireless transceiver 102 transmits control information to the flying object 3 and receives information collected by the flying object 3. The control information is information for navigating the flying object 3 on the flight route determined by the flying object control device 2.

  The GPS receiver 103 measures the position of the vehicle based on the GPS signal received from the GPS satellite. The GPS receiver 103 outputs vehicle position coordinates to an in-vehicle navigation system.

The input device 104 is a device that accepts information input, and the accepted information is output to the CPU 100. The input device 104 may be, for example, a touch panel or a hardware button, but may be a remote controller, a gesture operation, or a microphone that collects voice for voice recognition.
The LCD 105 is a display device that displays information based on an instruction from the CPU 100. The display device is not limited to the LCD, and may be, for example, an organic EL (Electroluminescence) or a head-up display.

The CPU 200 is an arithmetic processing circuit that executes various arithmetic processes in the flying object 3. Details of the CPU 200 are the same as those of the CPU 100.
The battery 201 is a power source that drives the flying object 3 and flies by rotating a propeller with accumulated electric power. Further, the CPU 200, the camera 202, the wireless transceiver 203, and the GPS receiver 204 are driven by the electric power stored in the battery 201.
The camera 202 is an imaging device that images a road situation ahead of the vehicle from the air. The camera 202 is attached to the lower part of the flying body 3, for example. Information captured by the camera 202 is output to the CPU 200.

The wireless transceiver 203 is a communication device that performs wireless communication with the flying object control device 2. For example, the wireless transceiver 203 transmits information captured by the camera 202 to the flying object control device 2 and receives control information from the flying object control device 2. The CPU 200 causes the flying object 3 to travel along the flight route designated by the control information.
The GPS receiver 204 is a device that measures the position of the flying object 3 based on a GPS signal received from a GPS satellite, and outputs the position coordinates of the flying object 3 as a measurement result to the CPU 200.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the flying object control system 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the flying object control device 2 includes an information acquisition unit 20, a landing location candidate determination unit 21, a landing location determination unit 22, a flight route determination unit 23, and a communication processing unit 24.
The flying object 3 includes a flight control unit 30, an imaging processing unit 31, a position information acquisition unit 32, a remaining power acquisition unit 33, and a communication processing unit 34.

  The information acquisition unit 20 acquires the position information of the vehicle on which the flying object control device 2 is mounted, the position information of the flying object 3, the remaining power of the battery 201, the route information of the vehicle, and the position information of the landing place candidates. The information acquisition unit 20 acquires the position information of the vehicle, the route information of the vehicle, and the position information of the landing place candidate from the in-vehicle navigation system, and the position information of the flying object 3 and the battery 201 via the communication processing unit 24. The remaining electric power is acquired from the flying object 3.

Based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 20, the landing location candidate determination unit 21 determines landing location candidates that are within the range in which the flying vehicle 3 can navigate and are present around the route of the vehicle.
The landing location determination unit 22 determines the landing location of the flying object 3 from the landing location candidates determined by the landing location candidate determination unit 21. For example, the landing location determination unit 22 may determine a landing location candidate as far as possible from the vehicle among the landing location candidates. The position as far from the vehicle as possible may be a position where the distance from the destination of the vehicle is the maximum.

  The flight route determination unit 23 determines a flight route to the landing location determined by the landing location determination unit 22. The flight route is a route from the current position of the flying object 3 to the landing location, for example, rising from the current position of the flying object 3 to a predetermined altitude, sailing while maintaining the altitude and landing at the landing location It is a route to do.

The communication processing unit 24 controls the wireless transceiver 102 to communicate with the flying object 3.
For example, the communication processing unit 24 transmits control information to be navigated on the flight route determined by the flight route determination unit 23 to the flying object 3 and receives imaging information captured by the camera 202 from the flying object 3.

The flight control unit 30 is a control unit that controls the flight of the flying object 3 and causes the flying object 3 to travel along the flight route included in the control information from the flying object control device 2.
The imaging processing unit 31 converts information captured by the camera 202 into wireless communication data and outputs the data to the communication processing unit 34.

The position information acquisition unit 32 acquires the position information of the flying object 3 measured by the GPS receiver 204, converts it into wireless communication data, and outputs it to the communication processing unit 34.
The remaining power acquisition unit 33 acquires information indicating the remaining power from the battery 201, converts the information into wireless communication data, and outputs the data to the communication processing unit 34.

The communication processing unit 34 controls the wireless transceiver 203 to communicate with the flying object control device 2. For example, the communication processing unit 34 transmits the position information of the flying object 3 and the remaining power of the battery 201 to the flying object control device 2, and receives control information including the flight route from the flying object control device 2.
The control information received from the flying object control device 2 by the communication processing unit 34 is output to the flight control unit 30.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flying object control method according to the first embodiment.
The landing location candidate determination unit 21 is based on the vehicle position information acquired by the information acquisition unit 20, the position information of the flying object 3, the remaining power of the battery 201, the vehicle route information, and the position information of the landing location candidate. Landing place candidates that are within the range in which the flying vehicle 3 can navigate and that exist around the route of the vehicle are determined (step ST1).
For example, the landing location candidate determination unit 21 specifies a range in which the flying object 3 can navigate from the current position based on the position information of the flying object 3 and the remaining power of the battery 201.
The landing location candidate determination unit 21 outputs, to the landing location determination unit 22, the landing location candidates that are within the specified range and exist around the route of the vehicle among the landing location candidates for which position information has been acquired.

The landing location determination unit 22 determines the landing location of the flying object 3 from the landing location candidates determined by the landing location candidate determination unit 21 (step ST2).
For example, the landing location determination unit 22 determines, as the landing location, candidates that are located as far as possible from the vehicle within the range in which the flying object 3 can travel among the landing location candidates.
Further, the landing location may be determined according to the landing location determination conditions.
For example, the landing location determination unit 22 accepts selection of the determination conditions for the landing location, and determines, from among the landing location candidates, candidates that match the selected determination criteria for the landing location as the landing location.
When a plurality of landing location candidates match the landing location determination conditions, the landing location determination unit 22 may accept the selection of the landing location by the user by presenting these candidates to the user.

The flight route determination unit 23 determines a flight route to the landing location determined by the landing location determination unit 22 (step ST3). Information indicating the flight route determined by the flight route determination unit 23 is output to the communication processing unit 24.
The communication processing unit 24 transmits, to the flying object 3, control information for navigating on the flight route determined by the flight route determining unit 23 (step ST4).
The control information is received by the wireless transceiver 203 of the flying object 3 and is output to the flight control unit 30 by the communication processing unit 34. The flight control unit 30 causes the flying object 3 to travel along the flight route included in the control information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of the flying object control in the first embodiment. In FIG. 4, the vehicle 30 </ b> A travels along a route 301.
Through the series of processes shown in FIG. 3, a range R0 in which the flying vehicle 3 can navigate from the position of the vehicle 30A is specified, and a landing place P1 around the route 301 is determined within the range R0. The flying object control device 2 navigates the flying object 3 along the flight route from the position of the vehicle 30A to the landing place P1. While navigating to the landing place P1, the flying object 3 captures the road condition ahead of the vehicle 30A with the camera 202 and transmits it to the flying object control device 2.

When the vehicle 3A approaches the landing place P1 after the flying object 3 has landed on the landing place P1 or over the landing place P1, the flying object control device 2 executes the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 again. . As a result, the range R1 in which the flying vehicle 3 can navigate from the landing location P1 is specified, and the landing location P2 around the route 301 within the range R1 is determined.
The flying object control device 2 navigates the flying object 3 along the flight route from the landing place P1 to the landing place P2. While the aircraft 3 navigates to the landing location P2, the camera 202 captures the road condition ahead of the vehicle 30A and transmits it to the aircraft controller 2.

  Similarly, when the vehicle 30A approaches the landing place P2, the flying object control device 2 executes the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 again to identify the range R2 in which the flying object 3 can navigate from the landing place P2, A landing place P3 in the range R2 and around the route 301 is determined. The flying object control device 2 navigates the flying object 3 along the flight route from the landing place P2 to the landing place P3. While navigating to the landing place P3, the flying object 3 captures the road condition ahead of the vehicle 30A with the camera 202 and transmits it to the flying object control device 2.

  When the vehicle 30A approaches the landing place P3, the flying object control device 2 executes the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 again to identify the range R3 in which the flying object 3 can navigate from the landing place P3. Therefore, a landing place P4 around the route 301 is determined. The flying object control device 2 navigates the flying object 3 along the flight route from the landing place P3 to the landing place P4. While navigating to the landing place P4, the flying object 3 captures the road condition ahead of the vehicle 30A with the camera 202 and transmits it to the flying object control device 2.

  When the vehicle 30A approaches the landing place P4, the flying object control device 2 executes the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 again to identify the range R4 in which the flying object 3 can navigate from the landing place P4. The vehicle 3 is made to travel along the flight route from the landing location P4 to the destination. While the aircraft 3 navigates to the destination, the camera 202 images the road condition ahead of the vehicle 30 </ b> A and transmits it to the aircraft controller 2.

  Thus, by repeating the series of processes in FIG. 3, the flying object 3 always navigates the destination of the vehicle 30 </ b> A. In the first embodiment, the maximum navigation distance of the flying object is not limited to the distance that can reciprocate to the vehicle as in the conventional technique, and the flying object 3 can be navigated to a range farther from the vehicle 30A. Thereby, the amount of information that the flying object 3 can collect around the vehicle can be increased.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of the flying object control in the first embodiment, and shows a screen 105 a of the LCD 105. As shown in FIG. 5, a map around the vehicle is displayed on the screen 105 a of the LCD 105. Further, an icon 300 indicating the vehicle 30 </ b> A, a route 301 of the vehicle 30 </ b> A, an icon 3 a indicating the flying object 3, and a landing A mark 3b indicating the place is displayed.

  The information acquisition unit 20 is based on the position information of the vehicle 30A, the position information of the flying object 3, the route 301 of the vehicle 30A, and the information regarding the flight route 310 to the mark 3b of the landing place determined by the flight route determination unit 23. The icon 3 a is displayed on the screen 105 a of the LCD 105 in accordance with the navigation of the flying object 3. The passenger of the vehicle 30A can grasp the position of the flying object 3 by visually recognizing the movement of the icon 3a on the screen 105a.

Next, the category setting for the landing location candidate will be described in detail.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a category setting process for a landing place candidate according to the first embodiment. The memory 101 stores category data of landing place candidates.
The information acquisition unit 20 reads and acquires category data from the memory 101 (step ST1a).
Next, the information acquisition unit 20 displays the category data acquired from the memory 101 on the LCD 105 and accepts the selection (step ST2a).
The information acquisition unit 20 sets the category selected in step ST2a as a landing location candidate selection criterion (step ST3a).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the category selection screen 105b in the first embodiment. In FIG. 7, the category selection screen 105b displays, for example, category display fields 106a, 106b, and 106c for displaying categories and check boxes 106a-1, 106b-1, and 106c-1 for selecting categories. Yes. The information acquisition unit 20 uses the category data acquired from the memory 101 to create the category display fields 106a, 106b, 106c on the category selection screen 105b, and displays the category selection screen 105b on the LCD 105.

The occupant of the vehicle 30 </ b> A uses the input device 104 to check the check boxes 106 a-1, 106 b-1, and 106 c-1 to select a landing place candidate category.
In FIG. 7, both the check box 106 a-1 and the check box 106 b-1 are checked, and it can be seen that a convenience store and a dealer are selected as the landing place candidate categories.

  Further, the information acquisition unit 20 may accept selection of a category using voice recognition by the input device 104. For example, in a state where the category selection screen 105b is displayed on the LCD 105, when the passenger speaks “selects a convenience store and a dealer”, the input device 104 collects the speech 107 and recognizes the speech. The information acquisition unit 20 sets the category recognized by the input device 104 as a landing location candidate selection criterion.

Next, the landing location candidate determination process will be described in detail.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a landing location candidate determination process in the first embodiment.
The information acquisition unit 20 acquires the position information of the landing location candidates that match the landing location candidate selection criteria from the map information used in the navigation system (step ST1b).
Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 20 acquires vehicle position information, position information of the flying object 3, remaining power of the battery 201, and vehicle route information.
The information acquired by the information acquisition unit 20 is output to the landing location candidate determination unit 21.

  The landing location candidate determination unit 21 is based on the vehicle position information acquired by the information acquisition unit 20, the position information of the flying object 3, the remaining power of the battery 201, the vehicle route information, and the position information of the landing location candidate. Landing place candidates that are within the range in which the flying object 3 can navigate and that exist around the route of the vehicle are determined (step ST2b). Thereby, landing place candidates belonging to the category selected by the passenger of the vehicle 30A are determined. In the example of FIG. 7, convenience stores and dealers that exist within the range in which the flying object 3 can navigate and that exist around the route of the vehicle are landing place candidates. Thereby, the place suitable for the passenger | crew's preference of vehicle 30A can be set to the landing place of the flying body 3. FIG.

Next, the landing place determination process will be described in detail.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a landing location determination process in the first embodiment.
The memory 101 stores landing place determination condition data.
The landing location determination unit 22 reads out and acquires landing location determination condition data from the memory 101, displays this data on the LCD 105, and accepts selection (step ST1c).
For example, similarly to the selection screen shown in FIG. 7, the landing location determination unit 22 displays a selection screen having a landing location determination condition display field and a check box on the LCD 105, and determines the determination conditions using the input device 104. Accept selection.

  The landing location determination unit 22 determines, from among the landing location candidates acquired by the information acquisition unit 20, a candidate that satisfies the landing location determination condition selected in step ST1c as a landing location (step ST2c). The conditions for determining the landing location include the distance from the flying object 3, the navigation time of the flying object 3, the presence / absence of a fee to be paid, the road width of the traveling path of the vehicle 30 </ b> A, the height difference between the position of the landing location candidate and the position of the vehicle 30 </ b> A It includes at least one of the size of the parking lot, the route change amount to the landing location, and the user setting. Thereby, even if it is a place where the occupant of the vehicle 30A has no land intuition, the landing place of the flying object 3 can be determined according to the landing place determination conditions.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of the landing location determination process in the first embodiment.
On the screen shown in FIG. 10, a map around the vehicle is displayed. On this map, an icon 300 indicating the vehicle 30A, a route 301 of the vehicle 30A, an icon 3a indicating the flying object 3, and an icon indicating a landing place candidate. 108a and 108b are displayed. The flying object 3 can navigate within the range R.

  When the condition regarding the “distance from the flying object 3” is selected as the determination condition of the landing place, the landing place determining unit 22 determines the candidate having the shortest distance from the flying object 3 as the landing place among the landing place candidates. To do. For example, when the distance between the landing place candidate indicated by the icon 108a and the flying object 3 is 5 km and the distance between the landing place candidate indicated by the icon 108b and the flying object 3 is 3 km, the landing of the icon 108b close to the flying object 3 A place candidate is determined as a landing place.

In addition, when the condition regarding “the navigation time of the flying object 3” is selected as the determination condition of the landing place, the landing place determination unit 22 selects the candidate having the shortest time for the flying object 3 to navigate among the landing place candidates. Decide where to land.
For example, when the navigation time of the flying object 3 to the landing location candidate indicated by the icon 108a is 10 minutes and the navigation time to the landing location candidate indicated by the icon 108b is 5 minutes, the navigation time of the flying object 3 is short. The landing location candidate 108b is determined as the landing location.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an outline of the landing location determination process in the first embodiment.
The screen shown in FIG. 11 displays a map around the vehicle as in FIG. 10, and on this map, an icon 300 of the vehicle 30A, a route 301 of the vehicle 30A, an icon 3a of the flying object 3, and a landing place candidate Icons 108a and 108b are displayed. In addition to these, an icon 108c indicating the destination of the route 301 is displayed in FIG.
Note that the flying object 3 can navigate within the range R.

When the condition regarding the “distance from the flying object 3” is selected as the determination condition of the landing place and the distance range between the vehicle 30A and the destination of the route 301 falls within the threshold range, the landing place determination unit 22 The ground is also added as a landing site candidate. The landing place determination unit 22 determines a candidate having the shortest distance from the flying object 3 among these landing place candidates as the landing place.
For example, the distance between the destination indicated by the icon 108c and the flying object 3 is any of the distance between the landing place candidate indicated by the icon 108a and the flying object 3, and the distance between the landing place candidate indicated by the icon 108b and the flying object 3. Is shorter, the landing location determination unit 22 determines a destination close to the flying object 3 as the landing location.

When the condition regarding the “traveling time of the flying object 3” is selected as the determination condition of the landing place and the distance range between the vehicle 30A and the destination of the route 301 falls within the threshold range, the landing place determination unit 22 The ground is also added as a landing site candidate. The landing location determination unit 22 determines a candidate with the shortest time for the flying vehicle 3 to travel among these landing location candidates.
For example, the navigation time of the aircraft 3 to the destination indicated by the icon 108c is the navigation time of the aircraft 3 to the landing location candidate indicated by the icon 108a and the navigation time of the aircraft 3 to the landing location candidate indicated by the icon 108b. When shorter than any of them, the landing place determination part 22 determines the destination close to the flying body 3 as a landing place.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an overview of the landing location determination process in the first embodiment, and shows the situation around the vehicle 30A. In FIG. 12, a vehicle 30A travels on a highway 109, and the destination of the vehicle 30A is ahead of the highway 109. A building 110a exists on the general road leaving the highway 109, and a service area 110b exists on the highway 109.
It is assumed that the building 110a and the service area 110b are within a range in which the flying object 3 can navigate.

  When the condition regarding “presence / absence of fee to be paid” is selected as the determination condition of the landing place, the landing place determination unit 22 determines a candidate that does not require a charge for collecting the flying object 3 from the landing place candidates as the landing place. . For example, if the building 110a closer to the flying object 3 than the service area 110b is determined as the landing location, the vehicle 30A must leave the highway 109 to collect the flying object 3 at the building 110a. In this case, the vehicle 30A needs to return to the highway 109 and go to the destination, and the highway fee is extra.

Therefore, for example, the landing location determination unit 22 automatically determines whether or not there is a fee to be paid based on road information included in the route information of the vehicle 30A, so that the service area 110b that does not require a highway fee is detected as a flying object. 3. Determine the landing location.
The landing location determination unit 22 automatically determines whether there is a fee to be paid based on the facility information included in the route information of the vehicle 30A, thereby determining a parking lot that does not require a fee as the landing location of the flying object 3. May be.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an outline of the landing location determination process in the first embodiment.
On the screen shown in FIG. 13, a map around the vehicle is displayed as in FIG. 10, and on this map, an icon 300 of the vehicle 30A, a route 301 of the vehicle 30A, an icon 3a of the flying object 3, and a landing place candidate Icons 111a and 111b are displayed.
Note that the flying object 3 can navigate within the range R.

When the condition regarding the “road width of the travel path of the vehicle 30A” is selected as the determination condition of the landing location, the landing location determination unit 22 has a wide road width of the travel route from the landing location candidate to the vehicle 30A toward the landing location candidate. The candidate is determined as the landing location.
For example, in FIG. 13, the road width of the travel path toward the landing location candidate indicated by the icon 111a is wider than the road width of the travel path toward the landing location candidate indicated by the icon 111b. The landing location determination unit 22 automatically determines the road width of the travel path of the vehicle 30A based on the road information included in the route information of the vehicle 30A, so that the landing location candidate indicated by the icon 111a facing the wide road Determine the landing location.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an outline of the landing location determination process in the first embodiment.
The screen shown in FIG. 14 displays a map around the vehicle in the same manner as in FIG. 10. On this map, an icon 300 of the vehicle 30A, a route 301 of the vehicle 30A, an icon 3a of the flying object 3, and a destination are displayed. An icon 111c is displayed. Note that the flying object 3 can navigate within the range R. If the distance range between the vehicle 30A and the destination of the route 301 is within the threshold range, and there are no landing location candidates within the range R and around the route 301 of the vehicle 30A, the landing location determination unit 22 The landing location is determined from the positional relationship between the flying object 3, the destination, and the vehicle 30A.

The landing location determination unit 22 automatically determines the positional relationship between the flying object 3, the destination, and the vehicle 30A based on the position information of the flying object 3 and the position information of the vehicle 30A acquired by the information acquisition unit 20, When the flying vehicle 3 is closer to the vehicle 30A than the destination, the vehicle 30A is determined as the landing location.
On the other hand, when the flying object 3 is closer to the destination than the vehicle 30A, the landing location determination unit 22 determines the destination as the landing location.
In the example shown in FIG. 14, since the flying object 3 indicated by the icon 3a is closer to the vehicle 30A indicated by the icon 300 than the destination indicated by the icon 111c, the landing location determination unit 22 sets the vehicle 30A indicated by the icon 300 to the landing location. To decide. In this case, the flying object 3 returns to the vehicle 30A.

When the condition relating to “the height difference between the position of the landing place candidate and the position of the vehicle 30 </ b> A” is selected as the landing place determination condition, the landing place determination unit 22 lands a candidate having a small difference in height among the landing place candidates. Decide on a location.
For example, the landing place determination unit 22 identifies the height difference between the position of the landing place candidate and the position of the vehicle 30A based on the road information included in the route information of the vehicle 30A, and flies the candidate having the minimum height difference. Decide where the body 3 will land. As a result, it is possible to determine a place where the vehicle 30A is easy to go with little difference in height as the landing place.

Further, when a condition related to “the area of the parking lot” is selected as the determination condition for the landing location, the landing location determination unit 22 determines a candidate having a wide parking lot as a landing location among the landing location candidates.
For example, the landing location determination unit 22 automatically determines the size of the parking lot that is a landing location candidate based on the facility information included in the route information of the vehicle 30A. At this time, the landing location determination unit 22 determines the candidate having the largest parking area as the landing location of the flying object 3. Thereby, a parking lot with a wide parking lot and a low possibility of being full can be determined as a landing location.

When a condition relating to “route change amount to landing place” is selected as the landing place determination condition, the landing place determination unit 22 determines a landing place candidate whose route change amount is smaller than the threshold as the landing place. To do.
For example, the landing location determination unit 22 determines the landing location candidate as the landing location based on the route information of the vehicle 30A when the change amount of the route toward the landing location candidate by the vehicle 30A is less than the threshold. Thereby, a landing place candidate with a small route change amount can be determined as a landing place.

When the condition regarding “user setting” is selected as the determination condition of the landing place, the landing place determination unit 22 determines the candidate selected by the user from the landing place candidates as the landing place.
For example, the landing location determination unit 22 presents landing site candidates that are within the range in which the flying vehicle 3 can navigate and exists around the route 301 of the vehicle 30A to the passenger of the vehicle 30A, and selects the landing location candidates. Accept. Presenting the landing site candidates to the occupant may display a list of landing site candidates or display icons of the landing site candidates on a map around the vehicle.
When a landing location candidate is selected using the input device 104, the landing location determination unit 22 determines the selected candidate as a landing location.

As described above, in the flying object control apparatus 2 according to the first embodiment, the information acquisition unit 20 includes the position information of the vehicle 30A, the position information of the flying object 3, the remaining power of the battery 201, the route information of the vehicle 30A, and Obtain location information for landing location candidates. Based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 20, the landing location candidate determination unit 21 determines landing location candidates that are within the range in which the flying object 3 can navigate and that exist around the route of the vehicle 30 </ b> A. The landing location determination unit 22 determines the landing location of the flying object 3 from the landing location candidates determined by the landing location candidate determination unit 21. The flight route determination unit 23 determines a flight route to the landing location determined by the landing location determination unit 22. The communication processing unit 24 transmits to the flying object 3 control information for navigation on the flight route determined by the flight route determining unit 23.
As described above, since the flying object 3 is landed at a landing place that is within the navigable range of the flying object 3 and is present around the route of the vehicle 30A, the flying object 3 is navigated to a range farther from the vehicle 30A. Can do. Thereby, the amount of information that the flying object 3 can collect around the vehicle can be increased.

In the flying object control apparatus 2 according to the first embodiment, the information acquisition unit 20 receives the designation of the category and obtains the position information of the landing place candidates belonging to the designated category.
By configuring in this way, a location that matches the preference of the occupant of the vehicle 30A can be set as the landing location of the flying object 3.

  In the flying object control apparatus 2 according to the first embodiment, the landing place determination unit 22 receives selection of the determination condition of the landing place, and the flying object 3 is within a navigable range and exists around the route of the vehicle. Among the landing location candidates, a landing location candidate that matches the selected landing location determination condition is determined as the landing location. In particular, the conditions for determining the landing location include the distance from the flying object 3, the navigation time of the flying object 3, the presence or absence of a fee to be paid, the road width of the vehicle, the height difference between the position of the candidate landing location and the position of the vehicle, It includes at least one of the area of the parking lot, the amount of route change to the landing location, and the user setting. By configuring in this manner, the landing location of the flying object 3 can be determined in accordance with the determination conditions for the landing location even in a place where the occupant of the vehicle 30A does not feel the land.

  In the flying object control apparatus 2 according to the first embodiment, the LCD 105 provided in the vehicle 30A displays the landing place and the flying object 3 determined by the landing place determination unit 22 on a map around the vehicle 30A. With this configuration, the passenger of the vehicle 30 </ b> A can grasp the position of the flying object 3 by visually recognizing the display on the LCD 105.

So far, the configuration in which the flying object control system 1 includes the flying object control device 2 and the flying object 3 has been described, but the first embodiment is not limited to this structure.
For example, the flying object control system 1 may be configured to include an in-vehicle device, a flying object, and a server. In this configuration, the in-vehicle device includes a communication processing unit 24. The server also includes an information acquisition unit 20, a landing location candidate determination unit 21, a landing location determination unit 22, and a flight route determination unit 23. The flying object has the same configuration as that shown in FIG. The flight route determined by the server is transmitted to the in-vehicle device and the flying object. The in-vehicle device presents the flight route to the occupant, and the flying object navigates along the flight route. Even if comprised in this way, the effect similar to the above is acquired.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an aircraft control system 1A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 15, the same components as those in FIG. The flying object control device 2A is a device that controls the flying object 3, and is realized by an in-vehicle device or an information terminal brought into the vehicle by an occupant.
The flying object control apparatus 2A includes an information acquisition unit 20, a landing location candidate determination unit 21, a landing location determination unit 22, a flight route determination unit 23A, a communication processing unit 24, and a feedback determination unit 25.
The return determination unit 25 determines whether the flying object 3 can return from the landing location to the vehicle 30A.
The flight route determination unit 23A determines the flight route from the landing location to the vehicle 30A when the return determination unit 25 determines that the return is possible.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing return processing of the flying object 3 to the vehicle 30A in the second embodiment. The series of processes in FIG. 16 is executed after the process shown in FIG. 3 is completed and the flying object 3 navigates to the landing location.
In step ST1d, the feedback determination unit 25 determines whether or not the flying object 3 can return to the vehicle 30A. For example, the feedback determination unit 25 confirms whether the distance between the vehicle 30A and the landing location is equal to or less than a threshold based on the location information of the vehicle 30A and the location information of the landing location acquired by the information acquisition unit 20. . When the distance between the vehicle 30A and the landing location is equal to or less than the threshold value, the feedback determination unit 25 determines that the flying object 3 can return to the vehicle 30A. On the other hand, if the distance between the vehicle 30A and the landing location exceeds the threshold value, the feedback determination unit 25 determines that the flying object 3 cannot return to the vehicle 30A.

When it is determined that the flying object 3 cannot return to the vehicle 30A (step ST1d; NO), the feedback determination unit 25 repeats the process of step ST1d.
When it is determined that the flying object 3 can return to the vehicle 30A (step ST1d; YES), the feedback determination unit 25 determines the position information of the vehicle 30A, the route information of the vehicle 30A, the position information of the flying object 3, and the position information of the landing location. Is output to the flight route determination unit 23A.
In response to the flight route determination request from the feedback determination unit 25, the flight route determination unit 23A determines the flight route from the landing location to the vehicle 30A (step ST2d).

Subsequently, the communication processing unit 24 transmits to the flying object 3 control information for navigating on the flight route determined by the flight route determining unit 23A (step ST3d).
The control information is received by the wireless transceiver 203 of the flying object 3 and is output to the flight control unit 30 by the communication processing unit 34. The flight control unit 30 causes the flying object 3 to travel along the flight route included in the control information. Thereby, the flying body 3 returns to the vehicle 30A. Since the flying object 3 returns to the vehicle 30A, it is not necessary for the vehicle 30A to go to the landing location to collect the flying object 3, and the convenience of the system is improved.

  As described above, the flying object control apparatus 2A according to the second embodiment includes the feedback determination unit 25. The return determination unit 25 determines whether the flying object 3 can return from the landing location to the vehicle. The flight route determination unit 23A determines the flight route from the landing location to the vehicle when the return determination unit 25 determines that the return is possible. By configuring in this way, it is not necessary for the vehicle 30A to collect the flying object 3 to the landing location, and the convenience of the system is improved.

So far, the configuration in which the aircraft control system 1A includes the aircraft control device 2 and the aircraft 3 has been described, but the second embodiment is not limited to this configuration.
For example, the flying object control system 1A may be configured to include an in-vehicle device, a flying object, and a server. In this configuration, the in-vehicle device includes a communication processing unit 24. The server also includes an information acquisition unit 20, a landing location candidate determination unit 21, a landing location determination unit 22, a flight route determination unit 23, and a feedback determination unit 25. The flying object has the same configuration as that shown in FIG.
The flight route determined by the server is transmitted to the in-vehicle device and the flying object. The in-vehicle device presents the flight route to the occupant, and the flying object navigates along the flight route. Even if comprised in this way, the effect similar to the above is acquired.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an aircraft control system 1B according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In FIG. 17, the same components as those in FIG. The flying object control device 2B is a device that controls the flying object 3, and is realized by an in-vehicle device or an information terminal brought into the vehicle by an occupant.
The flying object control device 2B includes an information acquisition unit 20, a landing location candidate determination unit 21A, a landing location determination unit 22, a flight route determination unit 23, a communication processing unit 24, and a reroute determination unit 26.
The reroute determination unit 26 determines whether or not the route of the vehicle 30A has been rerouted.
When the reroute determination unit 26 determines that the route of the vehicle 30A has been rerouted, the landing location candidate determination unit 21A has a landing location that is within the range in which the flying vehicle 3 can navigate and that exists around the rerouted route. Determine candidates.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flight route changing process in the third embodiment.
18 is executed after the process shown in FIG. 3 is completed and the flying object 3 navigates to the landing location.
The reroute determination unit 26 determines whether the route of the vehicle 30A has been rerouted based on the route information of the vehicle 30A acquired by the information acquisition unit 20 (step ST1e).

When the route of the vehicle 30A is not rerouted (step ST1e; NO), the reroute determination unit 26 repeats the process of step ST1e.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the route of the vehicle 30A has been rerouted (step ST1e; YES), the reroute determination unit 26 acquires the position information of the vehicle 30A acquired by the information acquisition unit 20, the position information of the flying object 3, and the battery 201. The remaining power, the route information after reroute, and the position information of the landing location candidate are output to the landing location candidate determination unit 21A.

Based on the information input from the reroute determination unit 26, the landing location candidate determination unit 21A determines landing location candidates that are within the range in which the flying object 3 can navigate and exist around the rerouted route (step ST2e). ).
The landing location determination unit 22 determines the landing location of the flying object 3 from the landing location candidates determined by the landing location candidate determination unit 21A (step ST3e).
The flight route determination unit 23 determines a flight route to the landing location determined by the landing location determination unit 22 (step ST4e).

The communication processing unit 24 transmits to the flying object 3 control information for navigating on the flight route determined by the flight route determining unit 23 (step ST5e).
The control information is received by the wireless transceiver 203 of the flying object 3 and is output to the flight control unit 30 by the communication processing unit 34. The flight control unit 30 causes the flying object 3 to travel along the flight route included in the control information. Thereby, the flying body 3 can navigate to a landing place around the rerouted route.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an outline of the flight route change process (before reroute) in the third embodiment. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an outline of the flight route change process (after reroute) in the third embodiment. 19 and 20, a map around the vehicle is displayed as in FIG. 10. On this map, an icon 300 of the vehicle 30A, a route 301 of the vehicle 30A, an icon 3a of the flying object 3, and Icons 112a to 112c indicating buildings are displayed.
Note that the flying object 3 can navigate within the range R.

  The vehicle 30A indicated by the icon 300 is heading to the destination along the route 301 indicated by the broken line, and the landing location of the flying object 3 is determined as a building (a building indicated by the icon 112a) existing around the route 301. Yes. When the vehicle 30A stops at the building indicated by the icon 112b, the navigation system mounted on the vehicle 30A reroutes to the route 302 from the building indicated by the icon 112b to the destination. The flying object control device 2B determines the building indicated by the icon 112c as the landing location among the landing location candidates existing around the route 302. As a result, the flying object 3 can be landed around the route 302 where it can be easily recovered from the vehicle 30A, and the convenience of the system is improved.

As described above, the flying object control apparatus 2B according to the third embodiment includes the reroute determination unit 26. The reroute determination unit 26 determines whether or not the route of the vehicle 30A has been rerouted. When the reroute determination unit 26 determines that the route of the vehicle 30A has been rerouted, the landing location candidate determination unit 21A is within the range in which the flying vehicle 3 can navigate and exists in the vicinity of the rerouted route. To decide.
With this configuration, the flying object 3 can be landed at a place where it can be easily collected around the rerouted route, and the convenience of the system is improved.

So far, the configuration in which the flying object control system 1B includes the flying object control device 2 and the flying object 3 has been described, but the third embodiment is not limited to this structure.
For example, the flying object control system 1B may be configured to include an in-vehicle device, a flying object, and a server. In this configuration, the in-vehicle device includes a communication processing unit 24. The server also includes an information acquisition unit 20, a landing location candidate determination unit 21, a landing location determination unit 22, a flight route determination unit 23, and a reroute determination unit 26. The flying object has the same configuration as that shown in FIG.
The flight route determined by the server is transmitted to the in-vehicle device and the flying object. The in-vehicle device presents the flight route to the occupant, and the flying object navigates along the flight route. Even if comprised in this way, the effect similar to the above is acquired.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and within the scope of the present invention, each free combination of the embodiments or any component modification or embodiment of the embodiments. It is possible to omit arbitrary components in each of the above.

  Since the flying object control apparatus according to the present invention can navigate the flying object to a range farther from the vehicle, it is suitable for an information collecting system that collects information on road conditions ahead of the vehicle with the flying object, for example.

  1, 1A, 1B Aircraft Control System, 2, 2A, 2B Aircraft Control Device, 3 Aircraft, 3a, 108a-108c, 111a-111c, 112a-112c, 300 Icon, 3b Mark, 20 Information Acquisition Unit, 21 , 21A Landing location candidate determination unit, 22 Landing location determination unit, 23, 23A Flight route determination unit, 24, 34 Communication processing unit, 25 Return determination unit, 26 Reroute determination unit, 30 Flight control unit, 30A Vehicle, 31 Imaging processing Unit, 32 position information acquisition unit, 33 remaining power acquisition unit, 100, 200 CPU, 101 memory, 102, 203 wireless transceiver, 103, 204 GPS receiver, 104 input device, 105 LCD, 105a screen, 105b category selection Screen, 106a to 106c Category display column, 106a-1 to 106c-1 Kkubokkusu, 107 speech, 109 highway, 110a buildings, 110b service areas, 201 battery, 202 camera, 301 and 302 routes 310 the flight route.

Claims (9)

A flying object control apparatus for controlling a flying object that is powered by battery power,
An information acquisition unit for acquiring vehicle position information, position information of the flying object, remaining power of the battery, route information of the vehicle, and position information of landing place candidates;
Based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, a landing location candidate determination unit that determines a landing location candidate that is within a range in which the flying object can be navigated and exists around the route of the vehicle;
A landing location determination unit that determines the landing location of the flying object from the landing location candidates determined by the landing location candidate determination unit;
A flight route determination unit that determines a flight route to the landing location determined by the landing location determination unit;
A vehicle control apparatus comprising: a communication processing unit that transmits control information to be navigated on a flight route determined by the flight route determination unit to the aircraft. A return determination unit for determining whether or not the flying object returns to the vehicle from a landing location;
The flying object control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flight route determination unit determines a flight route from a landing place to the vehicle when the return determination unit determines that the return is possible. The aircraft control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition unit receives specification of a category and acquires position information of landing place candidates belonging to the specified category. The landing location determination unit receives selection of a determination condition of a landing location, is within a range in which the flying object can be navigated, and among the landing location candidates existing around a route of the vehicle, The aircraft control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a landing location candidate that matches the determination condition is determined as a landing location. A reroute determination unit for determining whether the route of the vehicle has been rerouted;
The landing location candidate determination unit is a landing location that is within a range in which the flying object can be navigated and exists around the rerouted route when the reroute determination unit determines that the route of the vehicle has been rerouted. The aircraft control device according to claim 1, wherein a candidate is determined. The conditions for determining the landing location are the distance from the flying object, the navigation time of the flying object, the presence / absence of a fee to be paid, the width of the traveling path of the vehicle, the difference in height between the position of the landing candidate and the position of the vehicle, The vehicle control device according to claim 4, comprising at least one of a width of a parking lot, a route change amount to a landing location, and a user setting. The aircraft control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display device included in the vehicle displays the landing location and the flying object determined by the landing location determination unit on a map around the vehicle. A flying object control system for controlling a flying object by battery power,
An information acquisition unit for acquiring vehicle position information, position information of the flying object, remaining power of the battery, route information of the vehicle, and position information of landing place candidates;
Based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, a landing location candidate determination unit that determines a landing location candidate that is within a range in which the flying object can be navigated and exists around the route of the vehicle;
A landing location determination unit that determines the landing location of the flying object from the landing location candidates determined by the landing location candidate determination unit;
A flight route determination unit for determining a flight route to the landing location determined by the landing location determination unit,
A flying object control system, wherein the flying object is navigated on a flight route determined by the flight route determination unit. A flying object control method for controlling a flying object that is powered by battery power,
An information acquisition unit acquiring position information of the vehicle, position information of the flying object, remaining power of the battery, route information of the vehicle, and position information of a landing place candidate;
A landing location candidate determining unit, based on the information acquired by the information acquiring unit, determining landing location candidates that are within a range in which the flying object can be navigated and that exist around the route of the vehicle;
A step of determining a landing location of the flying object from a landing location candidate determined by the landing location candidate determination unit;
A step of determining a flight route to a landing location determined by the landing location determination unit;
And a step of transmitting, to the flying object, control information for causing the communication processing unit to navigate on the flying route determined by the flying route determining unit.

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