KR102229472B1 - Method and system for removing foreign substances on solar panel surface using cluster drone flight - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a system for removing a foreign substance on a surface of a solar panel by using cluster drone flight. The method for removing the foreign substance on the surface of the solar panel comprises the following steps of: dividing, by a ground control device, a total area of a solar panel group into a plurality of zones; allocating, by the ground control device, a foreign substance detection drone for performing a foreign substance detection task for each of the divided zones; transmitting, by the ground control device, a command to each of at least one foreign substance detection drone to perform the foreign substance detection task for inspecting whether the foreign substance exists in the zone to which the foreign substance detection drone is allocated together with location information of the zone to which the foreign substance detection drone is allocated; moving the foreign substance detection drone to the zone to which the foreign substance detection drone is allocated according to the command to perform the foreign substance detection task; allowing the foreign substance detection drone to determine whether the foreign substance exists by capturing an image of the solar panel through a camera provided in the foreign substance detection drone while flying within the zone to which the foreign substance detection drone is allocated and analyzing the captured image; and allowing a foreign substance removal drone to remove the foreign substance when the foreign substance exists according to the determination of whether the foreign substance exists. Accordingly, the foreign substance on the surface of the solar panel is inspected, and the foreign substance existing on the surface of the solar panel is removed.

Description

Method and system for removing foreign substances on the surface of solar panels using swarm drone flight{METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR REMOVING FOREIGN SUBSTANCES ON SOLAR PANEL SURFACE USING CLUSTER DRONE FLIGHT}

The present invention relates to a method and system for removing foreign substances on the surface of a solar panel using a swarm drone flight, and in particular, a foreign substance detecting drone with a camera and a foreign substance removing drone having a nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit. The present invention relates to a method and system for removing foreign substances from the solar panel surface using a swarm drone flight to remove foreign substances from the solar panel surface.

When foreign substances of the solar panel are left unattended, the temperature of the part where the foreign substance exists increases compared to the surrounding part, and if it continues, it causes panel failure of the corresponding part and a decrease in the output of the string unit.

Since this may lower the solar power generation efficiency and lead to a situation that requires panel replacement, the removal of foreign matter is a task that must be managed periodically due to the nature of long-term solar power plants, and solar power O&M (operation and maintenance: operation management, It is also becoming a major item in maintenance) work.

In the case of ground solar power, it is often well managed through panel cleaning or panel cleaning through O&M work.However, in the case of water solar or roof-type solar power, it is often neglected because the accessibility of people and cleaning facilities is very low, and even O&M service is provided. Even if applied, work productivity is low due to accessibility reasons as described above. In addition, floating sunlight or roof-type sunlight is often exposed to bird droppings.

Conventionally, drones are used for defect inspection of solar panels, and in the case of ground solar light, a cleaning robot is installed on the panel to remove foreign matter, but in the case of floating sunlight and roof type solar light, the facility utilization is relatively low for removing foreign substances. have. Therefore, there is a need for a solution to inspect foreign substances and remove spots (excrement, leaves, etc.) on the panel.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and a method and system for removing foreign substances on the surface of a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention include a foreign substance detecting drone equipped with a camera and a nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit. It is possible to inspect foreign matter on the surface of the solar panel and remove foreign matter existing on the surface of the solar panel by using a swarm drone including a foreign material removal drone equipped with a.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for removing foreign matter from a surface of a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes, by a ground control device, dividing the total area of the solar panel group into a plurality of zones, the ground control Allocating, by a device, a foreign material detection drone performing a foreign material detection task for each of the divided areas, the ground control device to each of the at least one foreign material detection drone, along with the location information of the assigned area, and the foreign material of the assigned area Transmitting a command to perform a foreign object detection task to check the existence, the foreign substance detection drone moving to the assigned area according to the command to perform the foreign substance detection task, the foreign substance detection drone is assigned to the Taking a photo of a solar panel through a camera provided in the foreign matter detection drone while flying within the area, and analyzing the captured image to determine the presence of a foreign material, and if a foreign material exists according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, the foreign material It may include the step of causing the removal drone to remove the foreign matter.

In one embodiment, when there is a foreign substance according to the determination of the presence of the foreign substance, the step of causing the foreign substance removal drone to remove the foreign substance comprises: the foreign substance detection drone determining whether the foreign substance removal drone exists within a predetermined distance. Step, and when a foreign material removal drone exists within a certain distance according to the determination of the existence of the foreign material removal drone, the foreign material detection drone sending a command to perform a foreign material removal mission together with the foreign material location information to the foreign material removal drone It may include.

In one embodiment, when a foreign material is present according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, the step of causing the foreign material removal drone to remove the foreign material may include, by the foreign material detection drone, removing the foreign material together with the location information of the foreign material with a ground control device. Transmitting a drone request signal, determining a foreign material removal drone capable of performing a foreign material removal mission by a ground control device receiving the foreign material removal drone request signal, and the ground control device to the determined foreign material removal drone It may include the step of transmitting a command to perform the foreign matter removal task together with the foreign matter location information.

In one embodiment, the step of moving a foreign material removal drone receiving a command to perform the foreign material removal task to a location where a foreign material exists according to the foreign material location information, and the foreign material removal drone is a nozzle provided in the foreign material removal drone It may further include the step of spraying the washing liquid through.

In one embodiment, when the ground control device receives a signal indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed from the foreign material removal drone, determining a foreign material detection drone for confirming the foreign material removal at the location of the foreign material, the ground control device Transmitting a command to perform a residual foreign material detection mission together with the foreign material location information to the foreign material detection drone determined for removal confirmation, the foreign material detection drone according to the command to perform the residual foreign material detection mission of the ground control device The step of moving to the location, and the foreign matter detection drone photographing a solar panel through a camera provided in the foreign matter detection drone above the foreign matter location, and analyzing the photographed image to determine whether there is a residual foreign matter. I can.

In one embodiment, the step of determining the foreign matter detection drone for confirming the removal of the foreign matter at the location of the foreign matter may determine a foreign matter detection drone capable of the ground control device most rapidly performing a residual foreign matter detection task.

In one embodiment, the foreign matter detection drone may include a camera that photographs an RGB image.

In one embodiment, the foreign material removing drone may spray the washing liquid multiple times at various angles through a nozzle at the location of the foreign material.

A system for removing foreign substances from a surface of a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes at least one foreign substance detecting drone having a camera, a cleaning liquid storage unit storing a cleaning liquid, and a nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit. At least one foreign material removal drone and the total area of the solar panel group are divided into a plurality of areas, and a foreign material detection drone that performs a foreign material detection task is assigned to each of the divided areas, and each at least one foreign material detection drone And a ground control device that transmits a command to perform a foreign matter detection task for inspecting the presence of foreign matter in the assigned region together with the location information of the assigned region, and the foreign matter detection drone performs the foreign matter detection task. According to the command to perform, move to the assigned area, and while flying within the assigned area, take a photo of a solar panel through a camera provided in the foreign material detection drone, and analyze the captured image to determine whether there is a foreign material, and the When the foreign material is present according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, the foreign material removal drone may be caused to remove the foreign material.

In one embodiment, when a foreign material is present according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, causing the foreign material removal drone to remove the foreign material, the foreign material detection drone determines whether there is a foreign material removal drone within a certain distance, When a foreign material removal drone exists within a certain distance according to the determination of the existence of the foreign material removal drone, the foreign material detection drone may transmit a command to perform a foreign material removal mission together with the foreign material location information to the foreign material removal drone.

In one embodiment, when a foreign material exists according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, causing the foreign material removal drone to remove the foreign material, the foreign material detection drone uses the ground control device to remove the foreign material along with the location information of the foreign material. The ground control device that transmits the request signal and receives the foreign material removal drone request signal determines a foreign material removal drone capable of performing a foreign material removal mission, and the ground control device determines the foreign material location information and the determined foreign material removal drone. It may include sending a command to perform the debris removal task together.

In one embodiment, the foreign material removal drone may move to a location where the foreign material exists in response to a command to perform the foreign material removal task, and spray a cleaning liquid through a nozzle provided in the foreign material removal drone.

In one embodiment, the ground control device, upon receiving a signal indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed from the foreign material removal drone, determines a foreign material detection drone for confirming the foreign material removal at the location of the foreign material, and the ground control device, the Sends a command to perform a residual foreign material detection mission together with the foreign material location information to the foreign material detection drone determined to confirm the removal of the foreign material, and the foreign material detection drone, according to the command to perform the residual foreign material detection mission of the ground control device. Moving to the location of the foreign material, the foreign material detection drone may further include determining whether there is a residual foreign material by photographing a solar panel through a camera provided in the foreign material detection drone above the location of the foreign material and analyzing the captured image. have.

The method and system for removing foreign substances from the surface of a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention as described above include a foreign substance detecting drone having a camera and a foreign substance removing drone having a nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit. Using a drone, it is possible to inspect foreign matter on the solar panel surface and remove spot-related foreign matter (excrement, leaves, etc.) existing on the solar panel surface.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a system for removing foreign matter on a surface of a solar panel using a swarm drone flight according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view for explaining a method of calibrating a location of a drone using RTK GPS in a system for removing foreign substances on a surface of a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a foreign matter detection drone operating in a system for removing foreign matter from a surface of a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a foreign material removal drone operating in a system for removing foreign materials on a surface of a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a ground control device operating in a system for removing foreign matter from a surface of a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of removing foreign substances on a surface of a solar panel using a swarm drone flight according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7A to 7E are diagrams for explaining an operation of a swarm drone performed by a method of removing foreign matter from a surface of a solar panel using swarm drone flight according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to clarify the technical idea of the present invention. In describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or component may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Constituent elements having substantially the same functional configuration among the drawings are assigned the same reference numerals and reference numerals as much as possible, even though they are indicated on different drawings. For convenience of explanation, if necessary, the device and the method will be described together.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a system for removing foreign matter on a surface of a solar panel using a swarm drone flight according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system for removing foreign matter on the surface of a solar panel using a swarm drone flight according to an embodiment of the present invention includes at least one foreign matter detection drone 100, at least one foreign matter removal drone 200, and a ground control device. 300 and the network 400 may be included.

Here, the swarm drone according to an embodiment of the present invention includes at least one foreign matter detection drone 100 and at least one foreign matter removal drone 200, and uses such a swarm drone on a photovoltaic panel group of a power plant. Foreign matter can be detected and removed. The power plant's solar panel group consists of a plurality of solar panels. The photovoltaic panel group may be installed on a water surface such as a river or a lake, or may be installed on a roof.

At least one foreign matter detection drone 100 may include a camera 141. Foreign matter detection The drone 100 analyzes the image captured by the RGB (EO) camera from the sky above the solar panel and detects whether foreign substances such as branches, leaves, and bird droppings on the solar panel are present in the panel at any location. And, the foreign matter location information including coordinate data of the detected foreign matter or the solar panel in which the foreign matter exists may be transmitted to the foreign matter removing drone 200 through the network 400.

The at least one foreign substance removing drone 200 may include a washing liquid storage unit 243 for storing a washing liquid and a nozzle 241 for spraying a washing liquid stored in the washing liquid storage unit 243. At this time, the foreign substance removal drone 200 may rotate the nozzle 241 at various angles to spray the washing liquid several times. The foreign material removal drone 200 may perform a foreign material removal task by approaching the solar panel at a location of the foreign material and spraying a cleaning liquid through the nozzle 241.

The ground control device 300 includes at least one foreign substance detection drone 100 equipped with a camera 141 and a nozzle 241 for spraying the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit 243. 200) can be assigned individual missions. At this time, since several drones must collaborate to perform one mission, it is important to prevent collisions between drones, and a collision can be prevented only when the drones know where they are. Therefore, RTK-GPS Base can be installed at the power plant site in order to determine the precise location of the drone. This will be described in detail in FIG. 2.

The network 400 is a communication network in which at least one foreign substance detection drone 100, at least one foreign substance removal drone 200, and the ground control device 300 can communicate with each other. It can be composed of various communication networks such as a short-range communication network (PAN; Personal Area Network), a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and a wide area network (WAN). I can. In addition, the network 400 transmits and processes information between distributed components such as objects, and various things intelligent communication (internet of things (IoT), internet of everything (IoE), internet of small things (IoST), etc.)) and / Or can support 5G communication. Since the network 400 is widely known to those skilled in the art, a detailed description will be omitted.

In addition, the at least one foreign matter detection drone 100, at least one foreign matter removal drone 200, and the ground control device 300 may communicate with each other through a base station, but may directly communicate with each other without passing through the base station.

In this way, rather than installing a camera and a cleaning solution/nozzle together on a single drone, it is implemented to have a camera or a cleaning solution/nozzle on a single drone. From a drone's point of view, if the payload becomes heavier, the size of the drone itself increases and the cost of the drone increases. In order to make good use of the concept of swarm drones, a number of relatively inexpensive low-cost drones can be used to share the role (detection/removal) for accomplishing the mission.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a method of correcting a position of a drone using RTK-GPS in a system for removing foreign substances on a surface of a solar panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Previously, the drone calculated the distance between the GPS satellite 20 and the GPS receiver mounted on the drone to obtain the current coordinates. At this time, the distance between the GPS satellite 20 and the drone is calculated based on the arrival time of the radio wave sent from the GPS satellite 20, and the clock mounted on the GPS satellite 20 and the clock mounted on the drone's GPS receiver do not match. There was a problem that an error occurred.

However, when using RTK (Real Time Kinematic), the mobile station (e.g., drone) uses the correction value for the carrier phase of the reference station that has precise location information as a concept of real-time mobile positioning. Positioning results can be obtained.

Therefore, referring to FIG. 2, in the system for removing foreign substances on the surface of a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, for precise location information measurement of cluster drones 100_1, 100_2, 200_1, and 200_2 flying on an aquatic solar panel, RTK-GPS Base (10) can be installed at the power plant site.

At this time, the location where the RTK-GPS Base 10 is installed may be a location in which latitude, altitude, and longitude are known in advance. Therefore, since the RTK-GPS Base 10 knows the current exact location in advance, it can know what the phase error of the received GPS is.

First, the RTK-GPS Base 10 and the swarm drones 100_1, 100_2, 200_1, and 200_2 may receive a GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite 20.

Thereafter, the RTK-GPS Base 10 may generate RTK-GPS correction information based on longitude coordinates and latitude coordinates included in the received GPS signal and transmit it to the ground control device 300.

Thereafter, the ground control device 300 may transmit the RTK-GPS correction information received from the RTK-GPS Base 10 to each of the drones 100_1, 100_2, 200_1, and 200_2.

Thereafter, each of the drones 100_1, 100_2, 200_1, 200_2 uses the RTK-GPS correction information from the ground control device 300 to correct the error of the GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite 20 to be accurate within 5cm. You can create location information.

In one embodiment, the RTK-GPS Bace 10 may transmit RTK-GPS correction information to each of the drones 100_1, 100_2, 200_1, and 200_2. Therefore, each drone (100_1, 100_2, 200_1, 200_2) uses the RTK-GPS correction information received from the RTK-GPS Bace (10) to correct the error of the GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite 20 within 5cm. It can generate accurate location information.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a foreign material detection drone operating in a foreign material removal system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a foreign object detection drone 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a detection drone communication unit 110, a detection drone position measurement unit 120, a detection drone driving unit 130, a photographing unit 140, A detection drone sensing unit 150, a detection drone storage unit 160, and a detection drone control unit 170 may be included.

The detection drone communication unit 110 may be connected to the network 400 to perform communication with the foreign substance removal drone 200 or the ground control device 300. The detection drone communication unit 110 includes not only short-range wireless communication such as ZigBee and Bluetooth, but also a cellular communication network such as 2G/3G, LTE (Long Term Evolution), and LTE-A (LTE-Advance), and wireless communication such as Wi-Fi. Data can be transmitted and received by communicating through various wireless communication methods such as a network, but the communication method is not limited thereto.

The detection drone communication unit 110 receives a command from the ground control device 300 or transmits a command to the foreign material removal drone 200, and transmits data on the operation state of the foreign material detection drone 100 to the ground control device 300. Can be transmitted.

In addition, the detection drone communication unit 110 may receive RTK-GPS correction information in real time from the ground control device 300. The detection drone location measurement unit 120 may generate very precise drone location information with a location error within 5 cm by using the RTK-GPS correction information transmitted through the detection drone communication unit 110. In this case, the RTK-GPS correction information is not limited to being transmitted from the ground control device 300, and may be transmitted in real time from the RTK-GPS Base 10 installed in the power plant.

The detection drone location measurement unit 120 may generate drone location information indicating the current location of the foreign object detection drone 100. The detection drone location measurement unit 120 may provide drone location information to the detection drone control unit 170 or transmit the drone location information to the ground control device 300 through the detection drone communication unit 110.

At this time, the detection drone position measuring unit 120 measures the current position of the foreign object detection drone 100 in real time, and can generate very precise drone position information with a position error within 5 cm. That is, the detection drone position measurement unit 120 corrects a satellite signal (eg, a GPS signal) received from the GPS satellite 20 according to the RTK-GPS correction information, and provides a precise drone position including GPS coordinate data in real time. Can generate information.

The detection drone driving unit 130 may independently control the rotation of a plurality of propellers to generate power for the flight of the foreign matter detection drone 100. That is, the detection drone driving unit 130 enables the foreign substance detection drone 100 to fly by using a power engine such as a motor coupled to each propeller. The detection drone driving unit 130 may move the foreign matter detection drone 100 to an assigned area or a designated location according to a control signal from the detection drone control unit 170.

The photographing unit 140 may take an image through the camera 141 provided in the foreign matter detection drone 100. That is, the photographing unit 140 may capture an image through the camera 141 when it arrives at a location of a foreign object on the solar panel according to a control signal from the detection drone control unit 170.

In one embodiment, the foreign matter detection drone 100 includes a camera 141 for capturing an RGB image, and analyzes the RGB image captured through the camera to obtain tree branches, leaves, and bird droppings on the surface of the solar panel. It is possible to determine whether or not the same spot-like foreign matter exists.

The detection drone sensing unit 150 may include one or more sensors for sensing at least one of information in the foreign matter detection drone 100 and information about the surrounding environment surrounding the foreign matter detection drone 100. For example, the detection drone sensing unit 150 includes a position sensor (eg, a GPS module), a proximity sensor, a weight detection sensor, an illuminance sensor, a touch sensor, an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, a gravity sensor, a gyroscope sensor, and a motion sensor. Sensor, RGB sensor, infrared sensor, ultrasonic sensor, light sensor (e.g. camera), microphone, weight sensor, battery gauge, environmental sensor (e.g. barometer, hygrometer, thermometer, radiation sensor, heat sensor) , Gas detection sensor, etc.).

The detection drone storage unit 160 may store data supporting various functions of the foreign matter detection drone 100. The detection drone storage unit 160 may store a plurality of application programs or applications driven by the foreign material detection drone 100, data for the operation of the foreign material detection drone 100, and commands. At least some of these application programs may be downloaded from an external server through wireless communication. In addition, a foreign substance detection program through image analysis may be stored in advance in the detection drone storage unit 160.

The detection drone control unit 170 may control the overall operation of the foreign matter detection drone 100.

The detection drone control unit 170 is a command to perform a foreign object detection mission to inspect the presence of foreign substances in the assigned area together with the location information of the assigned area received from the ground control device 300 through the detection drone communication unit 110 Accordingly, the foreign matter detection drone 100 may be controlled to perform a foreign matter detection task in the area assigned to it. At this time, the location information of the assigned area may include location information of the vertex of the responsible area assigned to the foreign matter detection drone 100.

That is, the detection drone control unit 170 may control the drone driving unit 130 to move to the assigned area according to a command to perform a foreign object detection task of the ground control device 300. At this time, the detection drone control unit 170 may control the detection drone driving unit 130 to move to the assigned area after setting a flight path to the corresponding area.

When the detection drone control unit 170 arrives at a location corresponding to the assigned area, after setting the inspection route within the assigned area, the detection drone driving unit 130 and the photographing unit ( 140).

The detection drone control unit 170 may determine whether a foreign material exists by taking a picture of a solar panel through the camera 141 provided in the foreign material detection drone 100 while flying within the assigned area and analyzing the captured image. The detection drone control unit 170 may analyze an image captured by the photographing unit 140 to detect the presence of a foreign substance in a panel at a location. At this time, the detection drone control unit 170 may detect the presence of the foreign material in the panel at which location by analyzing the RGB image captured of the foreign material such as tree branches, leaves, and bird droppings on the solar panel.

The detection drone control unit 170 may determine whether the foreign material removal drone 200 exists within a predetermined distance when the foreign material is present according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material. When the foreign material removal drone 200 exists within a certain distance according to the determination of the existence of the foreign material removal drone 200, the detection drone control unit 170 transmits the foreign material to the corresponding foreign material removal drone 200 through the detection drone communication unit 110. A command to perform a foreign object removal task can be sent along with the location information. In this case, the foreign matter location information may include a solar panel in which the foreign matter exists or coordinate data of the detected foreign matter.

If the foreign material removing drone 200 does not exist within a certain distance according to the determination of the existence of the foreign material removing drone 200, the detection drone control unit 170 may use the detection drone communication unit 110 to provide the ground control device 300 With the location information of the foreign material, a request signal for the drone 200 for removing the foreign material may be transmitted.

In addition, the detection drone control unit 170 is in accordance with the command to perform the residual foreign matter detection mission together with the foreign matter location information received from the ground control device 300 through the detection drone communication unit 110, the foreign matter detection drone 100 is It can be controlled to fly to and perform the task of detecting residual foreign matter.

That is, the detection drone control unit 170 may control the drone driving unit 130 to move to the location of the foreign material in accordance with a command to perform the residual foreign material detection task of the ground control device 300. In this case, the detection drone control unit 170 may control the detection drone driving unit 130 to move to the foreign material location after setting a flight path to the location of the foreign material.

When the detection drone control unit 170 arrives at a location corresponding to the location of the foreign material, the detection drone control unit 170 controls the photographing unit 140 to photograph the solar panel through the camera 141 provided in the foreign material detection drone 100 above the location of the foreign material. And, by analyzing the captured image, it is possible to determine whether there is a residual foreign matter.

When there is no residual foreign material according to the determination of the presence of the residual foreign material, the detection drone control unit 170 transmits a signal indicating that the removal of the foreign material at the location of the foreign material has been completed to the ground control device 300 through the detection drone communication unit 110. I can.

When there is a residual foreign material according to the determination of whether there is a residual foreign material, the detection drone control unit 170 determines whether the foreign material removing drone 200 exists within a certain distance to remove the residual foreign material at the location of the foreign material, and It is possible to transmit a command to the removal drone 200 to perform a foreign substance removal mission, or to request the foreign substance removal drone 200 from the ground control device 300.

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a foreign material removing robot operating in a foreign material removing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the foreign matter removal robot 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a removal drone communication unit 210, a removal drone position measurement unit 220, a removal drone driving unit 230, a cleaning unit 240, A removal drone sensing unit 250, a removal drone storage unit 260, and a removal drone control unit 270 may be included.

The removal drone communication unit 210 may be connected to the network 400 to perform communication with the foreign object detection drone 100 or the ground control device 300. The removal drone communication unit 210 includes not only short-range wireless communication such as ZigBee and Bluetooth, but also cellular communication networks such as 2G/3G, LTE (Long Term Evolution), and LTE-A (LTE-Advance), and wireless communication such as Wi-Fi. Data can be transmitted and received by communicating through various wireless communication methods such as a network, but the communication method is not limited thereto.

The removal drone communication unit 210 may receive a command from the foreign material detection drone 100 or the ground control device 300 and transmit data on the operation state of the foreign material removal drone 200 to the ground control device 300.

In addition, the removal drone communication unit 210 may receive RTK-GPS correction information in real time from the ground control device 300. The removal drone location measurement unit 220 may generate very precise drone location information with a position error within 5 cm by using the RTK-GPS correction information transmitted through the removal drone communication unit 210. In this case, the RTK-GPS correction information is not limited to being transmitted from the ground control device 300, and may be transmitted in real time from the RTK-GPS Base 10 installed in the power plant.

The removal drone location measurement unit 220 may generate drone location information indicating the current location of the foreign material removal drone 200. The removal drone location measurement unit 220 may provide the drone location information to the removal drone control unit 270 or may transmit the drone location information to the ground control device 300 through the removal drone communication unit 210.

At this time, the removal drone location measuring unit 220 measures the current location of the foreign substance removal drone 200 in real time, and can generate very precise drone location information with a location error within 5 cm. That is, the removal drone position measurement unit 220 corrects a satellite signal (eg, a GPS signal) received from the GPS satellite 20 according to the RTK-GPS correction information, and provides a precise drone position including GPS coordinate data in real time. Can generate information.

The removal drone driving unit 230 may independently control rotation of a plurality of propellers to generate power for the flight of the foreign substance removal drone 200. That is, the removal drone driving unit 230 enables the foreign substance removal drone 200 to fly by using a power engine such as a motor coupled to each propeller. The removal drone driving unit 230 may move the foreign matter detection drone 200 to a designated position according to a control signal from the detection drone control unit 270.

The washing unit 240 may spray the washing liquid stored in the washing liquid storage unit 243 through the nozzle 241 to remove foreign substances from the solar panel. In this case, the washing unit 240 may rotate the nozzle 241 at various angles according to the control of the detection drone controller 260 and control to spray the washing liquid several times. Here, the washing unit 240 may maximize the effect of the washing liquid by controlling the nozzle 241 to be sprayed with a term in the middle rather than continuous spraying.

The removal drone sensing unit 250 may include one or more sensors for sensing at least one of information in the foreign material removal drone 200 and information on the surrounding environment surrounding the foreign material removal drone 200. For example, the removal drone sensing unit 250 includes a position sensor (eg, a GPS module), a proximity sensor, a weight detection sensor, an illuminance sensor, a touch sensor, an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, a gravity sensor, a gyroscope sensor, and a motion sensor. Sensor, RGB sensor, infrared sensor, ultrasonic sensor, light sensor (e.g. camera), microphone, weight sensor, battery gauge, environmental sensor (e.g. barometer, hygrometer, thermometer, radiation sensor, heat sensor) , Gas detection sensor, etc.).

The removal drone storage unit 260 may store data supporting various functions of the foreign material removal drone 200. The removal drone storage unit 260 may store a plurality of application programs or applications driven by the foreign material removal drone 200, data for the operation of the foreign material removal drone 200, and commands. At least some of these application programs may be downloaded from an external server through wireless communication. In addition, a program for cleaning liquid management or nozzle control may be stored in advance in the removal drone storage unit 260.

The removal drone controller 270 may control the overall operation of the foreign substance removal drone 200.

The removal drone control unit 270 includes the foreign material location information received from the foreign material detection drone 100 or the ground control device 300 through the removal drone communication unit 210, and according to the command to perform the foreign material removal mission, the foreign material removal drone 200 ) Can be controlled to perform the foreign matter removal task at the location of the foreign matter. In this case, the foreign matter location information may include a solar panel in which the foreign matter exists or coordinate data of the detected foreign matter.

That is, the removal drone control unit 270 removes the foreign material removal drone 200 so that the foreign material removal drone 200 moves to the location where the foreign material exists in accordance with the command to perform the foreign material removal mission of the foreign material detection drone 100 or the ground control device 300. The driving unit 230 can be controlled.

The removal drone control unit 270 controls the removal drone driving unit 230 so that the distance between the solar panel and the foreign material removal drone 200 descends to a certain distance when the foreign material arrives above the solar panel, and The washing unit 240 may be controlled to spray the washing liquid through the nozzle 241.

Upon completion of the spraying of the cleaning liquid, the removal drone control unit 270 may transmit a signal indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed to the ground control device 300 along with location information of the foreign material through the removal drone communication unit 210.

5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a ground control device operating in a foreign matter removal system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, the ground control device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control device communication unit 310, an RTK-GPS Base management unit 320, a swarm drone information management unit 330, and a power plant information management unit 340. ), a power plant sub-zone management unit 350, a task designation management unit 360 for each drone, a mission performance monitoring unit 370, and a flight information monitoring unit 380.

The control device communication unit 310 may be connected to the network 400 to communicate with at least one foreign substance detecting drone 100 or at least one foreign substance removing drone 200. The control device communication unit 310 communicates with various wireless communication methods such as a cellular communication network such as 2G/3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and LTE-Advance (LTE-A), and a wireless network such as Wi-Fi to provide data It can transmit and receive, but is not limited to this communication method.

The control device communication unit 310 may transmit a command to the foreign substance detection drone 100 or the foreign substance removal drone 200, and may receive data on the operation state of the foreign substance detection drone 100 or the foreign substance removal drone 200. .

The RTK-GPS Base management unit 320 may manage the RTK-GPS Base 10 installed at the power plant site in order to measure precise location information of the swarm drone flying on the solar panel. At this time, the location where the RTK-GPS Base 10 is installed may be a location in which latitude, altitude, and longitude are known in advance.

The RTK-GPS Base management unit 320 may transmit RTK-GPS correction information including an error of the GPS signal received from the RTK-GPS Base 10 installed at the power plant site to each drone. At this time, each drone receiving the RTK-GPS correction information may correct an error of the GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite 20 using the RTK-GPS correction information to generate accurate location information within 5 cm.

In one embodiment, the RTK-GPS Bace 10 may transmit RTK-GPS correction information to each drone. Therefore, each drone can generate accurate location information within 5 cm by correcting the error of the GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite 20 using the RTK-GPS correction information received from the RTK-GPS Bace 10. .

The swarm drone information management unit 330 may manage information of a swarm drone including at least one foreign matter detection drone 100 and at least one foreign matter removal drone 200. The swarm drone information management unit 330 performs a foreign matter detection drone 100 or a solar panel foreign matter removal mission that performs a foreign matter detection mission of a solar panel of a power plant according to whether the drone has a camera or a nozzle/washing liquid storage unit. It can be separated and managed by the drone 200 that removes foreign substances.

The power plant information management unit 340 may manage power plant information including information on the total area of the solar panel group of the power plant. The power plant's solar panel group consists of a plurality of solar panels. The photovoltaic panel group may be installed on a water surface such as a river or a lake, or may be installed on a roof.

The power plant sub-zone management unit 350 may divide and manage the total area of the photovoltaic panel group of the power plant into a plurality of zones. In this case, the power plant sub-zone information management unit 350 may store vertex location information of each divided zone.

In one embodiment, the power plant sub-zone management unit 350 may classify the zone by subdividing the total area of the solar panel group as the number of cluster drones increases. Through this, since the swarm drone performs the task of detecting foreign substances and removing foreign substances at the same time, the overall operation time can be greatly shortened.

The mission designation management unit 360 for each drone may designate and manage at least one foreign matter detection drone 100 and at least one foreign matter removal drone 200.

That is, the drone-specific mission designation management unit 360 may allocate the foreign matter detection drone 100 that performs the foreign matter detection task for each divided zone. In addition, the mission designation management unit 360 for each drone transmits a command to perform a foreign matter detection mission to inspect the presence of foreign matter in the assigned area along with the location information of the assigned area to at least one foreign matter detection drone 100 can do. In this case, the location information of the assigned area may include location information of the vertex of the corresponding area. Upon receiving the command to perform the foreign matter detection mission, the foreign matter detection drone 100 may move to the assigned area and inspect the solar panel within the corresponding area.

In addition, when the foreign material removal drone 200 receives a command to perform a foreign material removal mission along with the foreign material location information, the drone-specific mission designation management unit 360 performs a foreign material removal mission to move to the location where the foreign material exists according to the location information of the foreign material. Can be specified. At this time, the foreign material removal drone 200 may wait at a starting point or a predetermined location, or may fly together when the foreign material detection drone 100 moves to an assigned area.

The mission performance monitoring unit 370 may monitor a mission performance state for each drone. That is, the mission performance monitoring unit 370 determines the foreign material detection drone 100 to perform the foreign material detection mission or the foreign material removal drone 200 to perform the foreign material removal mission according to the request message of each drone, and commands the determined drone. Can be sent.

Specifically, when the foreign matter detection drone 100 performing the foreign matter detection mission detects a foreign matter, it transmits a command to perform the foreign matter removal mission together with the foreign matter location information to the foreign matter removal drone 200 located closest to the current location. can do. However, when there is no foreign substance removal drone 200 near the current location, the foreign substance detection drone 100 may transmit a foreign substance removal drone 200 request signal to the ground control device 300 together with the foreign substance location information.

At this time, when the mission performance monitoring unit 370 receives the foreign material removal drone 200 request signal from the foreign material detection drone 100 performing the foreign material detection mission, the foreign material removal drone 200 capable of performing the foreign material removal mission Can be determined. Here, the foreign material removal drone 200 capable of performing the foreign material removal mission may be a foreign material removal drone 200 in the air at a starting point or a predetermined location, or in flight around a solar panel. The mission performance monitoring unit 370 may transmit a command to perform the foreign material removal mission together with the foreign material location information to the determined foreign material removal drone 200.

In one embodiment, the mission performance monitoring unit 370 may determine the foreign material removal drone 200 to perform the foreign material removal task according to the remaining amount of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid storage unit of the foreign material removal drone 200. That is, when the remaining amount of the remaining cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid storage unit of the foreign substance removing drone 200 is less than or equal to a preset remaining amount, a command to fill the cleaning liquid may be transmitted. Upon receiving the command to fill the washing liquid, the foreign substance removal drone 200 may move to a starting point or a position where the washing liquid can be filled.

When the mission performance monitoring unit 370 receives a signal indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed from the foreign material removal drone 200, the foreign material detection drone 100 may determine the foreign material removal at the location of the foreign material. At this time, the mission performance monitoring unit 370 may determine the foreign matter detection drone 100 capable of performing the task of detecting the residual foreign matter most quickly.

In addition, the mission performance monitoring unit 370 may transmit a command to perform a residual foreign matter detection mission together with foreign matter location information to the foreign matter detection drone 100 determined to confirm removal of the foreign matter. At this time, the determined foreign substance detection drone 100 may or may not be the same as the foreign substance detection drone 100 that initially detected the foreign substance at the corresponding foreign substance location.

The mission performance monitoring unit 370 may receive a signal indicating that removal of the foreign material at the location of the foreign material has been completed when the residual foreign material does not exist according to the determination of the presence of the residual foreign material from the foreign material detection drone 100.

The flight information monitoring unit 380 may monitor flight information to prevent a collision between drones using the location information of the swarm drones. At this time, the flight information monitoring unit 380 may receive error-corrected current location information from each drone, and monitor flight information using the location information of each drone.

The flight information monitoring unit 380 may monitor the flight information of the drones to determine whether a collision between drones or a path obstruction according to terrain and features existing on the flight path of the drones, and correct the flight path. For example, when it is determined that there is a risk of collision between drones, the flight information monitoring unit 380 transmits a signal that there is a risk of collision to each drone, or transmits a corrected movement path by correcting the flight path of each drone. can do.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of removing foreign substances on a surface of a solar panel using a swarm drone flight according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, in step S605, the ground control device 300 may divide the total area of the solar panel group into a plurality of areas. That is, the ground control device 300 may store vertex location information of each divided zone.

In one embodiment, the ground control device 300 may divide the area by subdividing the total area of the solar panel group as the number of drones in the cluster increases. Through this, since the swarm drone performs the task of detecting foreign substances and removing foreign substances at the same time, the overall operation time can be greatly shortened.

In step S610, the ground control device 300 may allocate a foreign substance detection drone 100 that performs a foreign substance detection task for each of the divided areas.

In one embodiment, the ground control device 300 may allocate the area in charge of the foreign material detection drone 100 in consideration of the number of divided areas and the number of foreign material detection drones 100. For example, if the number of divided areas and the number of foreign material detection drones 100 are the same, one foreign material detection drone 100 may be allocated per area. Alternatively, if the number of foreign material detection drones 100 is greater than the number of divided areas, a plurality of foreign material detection drones 100 may be allocated per area. In addition, if the number of foreign matter detection drones 100 is less than the number of divided areas, one foreign matter detection drone 100 may be assigned to a plurality of areas.

In step S615, the ground control device 300 transmits a command to perform a foreign matter detection task to inspect the presence of foreign matter in the assigned area together with the location information of the assigned area to at least one foreign matter detection drone 100 can do. In this case, the location information of the assigned area may include location information of the vertex of the corresponding area.

In step S620, the foreign matter detection drone 100 may move to the assigned area according to a command to perform a foreign matter detection mission of the ground control device 300. At this time, when receiving a command to perform a foreign matter detection mission, the foreign matter detection drone 100 may set a flight path to a corresponding area and then move to the assigned area.

In step S625, the foreign material detection drone 100 photographs the solar panel through the camera 141 provided in the foreign material detection drone 100 while flying within the assigned area, and determines whether there is a foreign material by analyzing the captured image. can do. At this time, the foreign material detection drone 100 may determine whether a foreign material exists while flying according to a preset route within the assigned area after setting the inspection route within the assigned area.

In one embodiment, the foreign matter detection drone 100 includes a camera 141 for capturing an RGB image, and analyzes the RGB image captured through the camera to obtain tree branches, leaves, and bird droppings on the surface of the solar panel. It is possible to determine whether or not the same spot-like foreign matter exists.

If there is no foreign substance according to the determination of the existence of the foreign substance, the foreign substance detection drone 100 continues to inspect the other region if the inspection region remains, and in step S680, if there is no more inspection region, the operation can be terminated. have.

When the foreign material is present according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, the foreign material removal drone may be caused to remove the foreign material.

Specifically, in step S630, when there is a foreign substance according to the determination of the presence of the foreign substance, the foreign substance detecting drone 100 may determine whether the foreign substance removing drone 200 exists within a predetermined distance.

In step S635, if the foreign material removal drone 200 exists within a certain distance according to the determination of the existence of the foreign material removal drone 200, the foreign material detection drone 100 is sent to the foreign material removal drone 200 along with the location information of the foreign material. Commands can be sent to perform debris removal tasks. In this case, the foreign matter location information may include a solar panel in which the foreign matter exists or coordinate data of the detected foreign matter.

If the foreign material removal drone 200 does not exist within a certain distance according to the determination of the existence of the foreign material removal drone 200, in step S685, the foreign material detection drone 100 is used with the foreign material location information to the ground control device 300. The foreign substance removal drone 200 may transmit a request signal.

In step S690, the ground control device 300 receiving the foreign material removal drone 200 request signal may determine the foreign material removal drone 200 capable of performing the foreign material removal mission. Here, the foreign material removal drone 200 capable of performing the foreign material removal mission may be a foreign material removal drone 200 in the air at a starting point or a predetermined location, or in flight around a solar panel.

In step S695, the ground control device 300 may transmit a command to perform the foreign matter removal mission together with the foreign matter location information to the determined foreign matter removal drone 200.

In step S640, the foreign material removal drone 200 that has received the command to perform the foreign material removal task may move to a location where the foreign material exists according to the location information of the foreign material.

In step S645, when the foreign material removal drone 200 arrives at the location of the foreign material, the cleaning liquid may be sprayed through a nozzle provided in the foreign material removal drone 200.

In one embodiment, the foreign matter removing drone 200 may spray the washing liquid multiple times at various angles through a nozzle. At this time, the foreign substance removing drone 200 may spray the washing liquid at regular intervals with a term in the middle rather than continuously spraying the cleaning liquid through the nozzle.

In step S650, when the spraying of the washing liquid is completed, the foreign material removal drone 200 may transmit a signal indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed to the ground control device 300 together with the location information of the foreign material.

In step S655, when receiving a signal from the foreign material removal drone 200 indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed, the ground control device 300 may determine the foreign material detection drone 100 for confirming the removal of the foreign material at the location of the foreign material. At this time, the determined foreign substance detection drone 100 may or may not be the same as the foreign substance detection drone 100 that initially detected the foreign substance at the corresponding foreign substance location.

In one embodiment, the ground control device 300 may determine the foreign matter detection drone 100 that can perform the task of detecting the residual foreign matter most quickly.

In step S660, the ground control device 300 may transmit a command to perform the residual foreign matter detection mission together with the foreign matter location information to the foreign matter detection drone 100 determined to confirm the removal of the foreign matter.

In step S665, the foreign matter detection drone 100 may move to the foreign matter location according to a command to perform a residual foreign matter detection task of the ground control device 300.

In step S670, the foreign matter detection drone 100 may photograph a solar panel through a camera provided in the foreign matter detection drone 100 in the air above the foreign matter location, and analyze the photographed image to determine whether there is a residual foreign matter.

In step S675, when there is no residual foreign material according to the determination of whether the residual foreign material exists, the foreign material detection drone 100 may transmit a signal indicating that the foreign material removal at the location of the foreign material has been completed to the ground control device 300.

If there is a residual foreign material according to the determination of whether there is a residual foreign material, the foreign material detection drone 100 may return to step S630 to remove the residual foreign material at the location of the foreign material and determine whether the foreign material removal drone exists within a certain distance. have.

7A to 7E are diagrams for explaining an operation of a swarm drone performed by a method of removing foreign matter from a surface of a solar panel using a swarm drone flight according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, FIG. 7A is an exemplary view for explaining that the ground control apparatus 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention divides a power plant area into a plurality of areas.

Information on the total area of the solar panel group 1 of the power plant may be previously stored in the ground control device 300. The ground control device 300 may divide the total area of the solar panel group 1 into a plurality of areas R1 to R3.

In this case, the ground control apparatus 300 may store GPS coordinates of vertices of each of the plurality of regions R1 to R3. For example, GPS coordinates of 6 vertices (P1 to P6) are stored corresponding to the R1 area, GPS coordinates of 6 vertices (P7 to P12) are stored corresponding to the R2 area, and 4 corresponding to the R3 area. GPS coordinates of the vertices R1 and P13 to P15 may be stored.

In one embodiment, the ground control device 300 may divide the solar panel group 1 into a plurality of areas in consideration of the number of foreign matter detection drones 100 and/or foreign matter removal drones 200. For example, the ground control device 300 may further subdivide the photovoltaic panel group 1 to divide the area as the number of foreign matter detection drones 100 and/or foreign matter removal drones 200 increases.

In addition, when the solar panel group 1 is divided into a plurality of regions R1 to R3, the ground control device 300 may allocate a foreign substance detection drone 100 that performs a foreign substance detection task for each region. In this case, the area in charge of the foreign material detection drone 100 may be allocated in consideration of the number of divided areas and the number of the foreign material detection drone 100. For example, if the number of divided areas and the number of foreign material detection drones 100 are the same, one foreign material detection drone 100 may be allocated per area. Alternatively, if the number of foreign material detection drones 100 is greater than the number of divided areas, a plurality of foreign material detection drones 100 may be allocated per area. In addition, if the number of foreign matter detection drones 100 is less than the number of divided areas, one foreign matter detection drone 100 may be assigned to a plurality of areas.

In FIGS. 7B to 7E below, a first foreign substance detection drone 100_1 is allocated to the first region R1, a second foreign substance detection drone 100_2 is allocated to the second region R2, and the third region R3 It is assumed that the third foreign substance detection drone 100_3 is assigned to ).

FIG. 7B illustrates that the first to third foreign matter detection drones 100_1, 100_2, and 100_3 move to an assigned area, take pictures while flying over the solar panel, and inspect foreign matters.

When the photovoltaic panel group 1 is divided into a plurality of areas (R1 to R3), the ground control device 300 allocates a foreign material detection drone 100 for performing a foreign material detection task for each area, and the first to third Foreign matter detection drones 100_1 to 100_3 may be sent a command to detect foreign matter in each assigned area. In this case, the location information of the assigned area may include location information of the vertex of the corresponding area.

The first to third foreign matter detection drones 100_1 to 100_3 may move to the assigned areas R1 to R3 in accordance with an order to perform a foreign matter detection task of the ground control device 300 to inspect foreign matter. That is, when the first to third foreign matter detection drones 100_1, 100_2, and 100_3 are assigned to the first to third zones R1, R2, R3, respectively, the first foreign matter detection drone 100_1 is in the first zone ( In R1), the second foreign matter detection drone 100_2 may perform a foreign matter detection task in the second zone R2, and the third foreign matter detection drone 100_3 may perform a foreign matter detection task in the third zone R3.

The first to third foreign matter detection drones 100_1, 100_2, and 100_3 set the inspection route in each of the assigned areas (R1 to R3), and then fly according to a preset route within the assigned area, while the foreign matter detection drone ( 100_1 to 100_3) photographing a solar panel through a camera and analyzing the photographed image may determine whether there is a foreign substance.

The first and second foreign matter removal drones 200_1 and 200_2 can fly together when the first to third foreign matter detection drones 100_1 to 100_3 depart to perform a foreign matter detection mission, and are located close to the solar panel. You can wait for an order for the debris removal mission while waiting at. Alternatively, the first and second foreign material removal drones 200_1 and 200_2 may be waiting at the starting point and then move to the corresponding location in accordance with the command to perform the foreign material removal mission of the ground control device 300 to perform the foreign material removal mission. have.

Meanwhile, the first to third foreign matter detection drones 100_1 to 100_3 and the first and second foreign matter removal drones 200_1 and 200_2 deliver the RTK-GPS correction information generated by the RTK-GPS Base 10 installed in the power plant. By using the received RTK-GPS correction information, it is possible to generate very precise drone location information with a location error within 5cm.

7C illustrates that the first foreign matter detection drone 100_1 detects foreign matter in the first area R1 allocated to it.

The first foreign material detection drone 100_1 may determine whether a foreign material exists by analyzing an image captured through a camera while flying along the inspection path within the first area assigned to it. When the first foreign material detection drone 100_1 determines that a foreign material exists, that is, when it detects a foreign material, it commands the first foreign material removal drone 200_1 existing within a certain distance to perform a foreign material removal task along with the location information of the foreign material. Can be sent. In this case, the foreign matter location information may include a solar panel in which the foreign matter exists or coordinate data of the detected foreign matter.

If the first foreign material detection drone 100_1 does not exist within a certain distance, that is, if there is no foreign material removal drone 200 in flight, the foreign material location information is provided on the ground control device 300 Together with the foreign matter removal drone 200 may transmit a request signal. The ground control device 300 receiving the request signal for the foreign material removal drone 200 determines the foreign material removal drone 200 capable of performing the foreign material removal mission, and the determined foreign material removal drone 200 includes information on the location of the foreign material and the foreign material. Commands can be sent to perform the removal task

Thereafter, the first foreign matter detection drone 100_1 continues to inspect other areas if the inspection area remains, and may end the operation when there is no more inspection area.

7D is an exemplary view for explaining an operation of performing a foreign matter removal task of the first foreign matter removal drone 200_1 that has received a command to perform a foreign matter removal task from the first foreign matter detection drone 100_1.

The first foreign material removal drone 200_1 that has received a command to perform a foreign material removal task from the first foreign material detection drone 100_1 may move to the corresponding foreign material location. In this case, the first foreign material removal drone 200_1 may move to the corresponding foreign material location in accordance with a command from the ground control device 300 to perform a foreign material removal mission.

After that, when the first foreign material removing drone 200_1 arrives at the corresponding foreign material location, the first foreign material removing drone 200_1 may descend to a predetermined height and spray the cleaning liquid through a nozzle provided in the first foreign material removing drone 200_1. The first foreign substance removal drone 200_1 may spray the washing liquid multiple times at various angles through a nozzle.

When the first foreign material removal drone 200_1 completes spraying of the cleaning liquid, it may transmit a signal indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed to the ground control device 300 together with the location information of the foreign material.

The first foreign substance removal drone (200_1), which has completed the order for the foreign substance removal mission, waits at a predetermined location and waits for an order to perform the foreign substance removal at the next foreign substance location, or the charging station to fill the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit. You can move to the location, or you can return to the starting point and wait.

7E is an exemplary diagram for explaining an operation of performing a residual foreign matter detection task of the second foreign matter detection drone 200_2 that has received a command to perform a residual foreign matter detection task from the ground control device 300.

When the ground control device 300 receives a signal indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed from the first foreign material removal drone 200_1, the ground control device 300 can perform the remaining foreign material detection task as quickly as possible to check whether the foreign material has been removed at the corresponding foreign material location. The second foreign material detection drone 100_2 may be determined as a foreign material detection drone. At this time, the second foreign material detection drone 100_2 determined for the residual foreign material detection task may or may not be the same as the first foreign material detection drone 100_1 that detected the foreign material at the corresponding foreign material location.

The ground control device 300 may transmit a command to perform a residual foreign matter detection mission together with foreign matter location information to the second foreign matter detection drone 100_2 determined to confirm foreign matter removal.

The second foreign material detection drone 100_2 may move to the location of the foreign material according to an instruction to perform a residual foreign material detection task of the ground control device 300.

The second foreign material detection drone 100_2 may photograph a solar panel through a camera provided in the second foreign material detection drone 100_2 above the location of the foreign material, and analyze the captured image to determine whether there is a residual foreign material.

When the residual foreign matter does not exist according to the determination of the presence of the residual foreign matter, the second foreign matter detection drone 100_2 may transmit a signal indicating that the foreign matter removal at the location of the foreign matter has been completed to the ground control device 300.

If there is a residual foreign material according to the determination of whether there is a residual foreign material, the second foreign material detection drone 100_2 may perform the processes of FIGS. 7C to 7E again to remove the residual foreign material at the location of the corresponding foreign material. That is, if the second foreign matter detection drone 100_2 determines that the residual foreign matter exists, it may transmit a command to perform rework along with the transfer of the location information of the foreign matter to the nearby foreign matter removal drone.

So far, the present invention has been looked at in detail with respect to the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. These embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, but are merely illustrative, and should be considered from a descriptive point of view rather than a restrictive point of view. The true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined not by the above description, but by the technical spirit of the appended claims. Although specific terms have been used in the present specification, they are used only for the purpose of describing the concept of the present invention, and not for limiting the meaning or limiting the scope of the present invention described in the claims. Each step of the present invention does not necessarily have to be performed in the order described, and may be performed in parallel, selectively or individually. Those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible without departing from the essential technical idea of the present invention claimed in the claims. It is to be understood that equivalents include not only currently known equivalents, but also equivalents to be developed in the future, that is, all components invented to perform the same function regardless of the structure.

1: Solar Panel Group 10: RTK-GPS Base
20: GPS satellite 100: foreign object detection drone
110: detection drone communication unit 120: detection drone position measurement unit
130: detection drone driving unit 140: photographing unit
141: camera 150: detection drone sensing unit
160: detection drone storage unit 170: detection drone control unit
200: foreign matter removal drone 210: removal drone communication department
220: removal drone position measuring unit 230: removal drone driving unit
240: washing unit 241: nozzle
243: washing liquid storage unit 250: removal drone sensing unit
260: removal drone storage unit 270: removal drone control unit
300: ground control device 310: control device communication unit
320: RTK-GPS Base management unit 330: Swarm drone information management unit
340: Power plant information management department 350: Power plant sub-zone management department
360: Drone-specific assignment management unit 370: Mission performance monitoring unit
380: flight information monitoring unit 400: network

Claims (13)

Dividing, by the ground control device, the total area of the photovoltaic panel group into a plurality of zones;
Allocating, by the ground control device, a foreign material detection drone for performing a foreign material detection task for each of the divided areas;
Transmitting, by the ground control device, a command to perform a foreign matter detection task for inspecting the presence of foreign matter in the assigned area together with the location information of the assigned area to each of the at least one foreign matter detection drone;
Moving the foreign matter detection drone to the assigned area according to an instruction to perform the foreign matter detection task;
While the foreign material detection drone flies within the allocated area, photographing a solar panel through a camera provided in the foreign material detection drone and analyzing the captured image to determine whether there is a foreign material; And
When the foreign material is present according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, causing the foreign material removal drone to remove the foreign material,
The foreign material detection drone and the foreign material removal drone,
Using the GPS correction information received from the RTK-GPS Base installed at an arbitrary latitude, altitude, and longitude, the flight is performed while correcting the error of the GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite,
The foreign substance removal drone,
The cleaning solution is sprayed a number of times at regular time intervals at various angles through the nozzle at the location of the foreign substance,
When the foreign material is present according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, the step of causing the foreign material removal drone to remove the foreign material,
Transmitting, by the foreign substance detection drone, a foreign substance removal drone request signal together with foreign substance location information to a ground control device;
Determining a foreign substance removal drone capable of performing a foreign substance removal task according to the remaining amount of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid storage unit of the foreign substance removal drone by the ground control device receiving the foreign substance removal drone request signal; And
And transmitting, by the ground control device, a command to perform a foreign material removal task together with the foreign material location information to the determined foreign material removal drone. The method of claim 1,
When the foreign material is present according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, the step of causing the foreign material removal drone to remove the foreign material,
Determining, by the foreign material detection drone, whether a foreign material removal drone exists within a predetermined distance; And
In response to the determination of the existence of the foreign material removal drone, when a foreign material removal drone exists within a certain distance, the foreign material detection drone transmits a command to perform a foreign material removal mission together with the foreign material location information to the foreign material removal drone. Method for removing foreign substances on the surface of a solar panel, characterized in that. delete The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Moving the foreign material removal drone, which has received the command to perform the foreign material removal task, to a location where the foreign material exists according to the foreign material location information; And
The foreign material removing method further comprises the step of spraying the cleaning liquid through a nozzle provided in the foreign material removing drone by the foreign material removing drone. The method of claim 1,
When the ground control device receives a signal indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed from the foreign material removal drone, determining a foreign material detection drone for confirming the removal of the foreign material at a location where the foreign material exists;
Transmitting, by the ground control device, a command to perform a residual foreign matter detection task together with foreign matter location information to the foreign matter detection drone determined to confirm removal of the foreign matter;
Moving, by the foreign material detection drone, to a location where the foreign material exists in response to an instruction to perform a residual foreign material detection task of the ground control device; And
The foreign material detection drone photographing a solar panel through a camera provided in the foreign material detection drone above the location of the foreign material and analyzing the captured image to determine whether there is a residual foreign material. How to remove foreign substances on the solar panel surface. The method of claim 5,
The step of determining the foreign matter detection drone for confirming the removal of the foreign matter at the location where the foreign matter exists,
The foreign matter removal method on the surface of a solar panel, characterized in that the ground control device determines a foreign matter detection drone capable of performing the task of detecting residual foreign matter most quickly. The method of claim 1,
The foreign object detection drone,
A method of removing foreign matter on a surface of a solar panel, comprising a camera for capturing an RGB image. delete At least one foreign matter detection drone having a camera;
At least one foreign matter removal drone having a cleaning liquid storage unit for storing a cleaning liquid and a nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit; And
The total area of the photovoltaic panel group is divided into a plurality of areas, and foreign material detection drones performing the foreign material detection task are assigned to each of the divided areas, and the location information of the assigned area and It includes a ground control device that transmits a command to perform a foreign matter detection task to inspect the presence of foreign matter in the allocated area together,
The foreign object detection drone,
Move to the assigned area in accordance with the command to perform the foreign matter detection task,
While flying within the assigned area, a solar panel is photographed through a camera provided in the foreign material detection drone, and the captured image is analyzed to determine whether there is a foreign material,
If there is a foreign substance according to the determination of the existence of the foreign substance, the foreign substance removal drone is made to remove the foreign substance,
The foreign material detection drone and the foreign material removal drone,
Using the GPS correction information received from the RTK-GPS Base installed at an arbitrary latitude, altitude, and longitude, the flight is performed while correcting the error of the GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite,
The foreign substance removal drone,
The cleaning solution is sprayed a number of times at regular time intervals at various angles through the nozzle at the location of the foreign substance,
When a foreign material exists according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, causing the foreign material removal drone to remove the foreign material,
The foreign material detection drone transmits a foreign material removal drone request signal along with the location information of the foreign material to the ground control device,
The ground control device receiving the foreign material removal drone request signal determines a foreign material removal drone capable of performing the foreign material removal task according to the remaining amount of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid storage unit of the foreign material removal drone
And transmitting, by the ground control device, a command to perform a foreign material removal task together with the foreign material location information to the determined foreign material removal drone. The method of claim 9,
If a foreign material exists according to the determination of the presence of the foreign material, causing the foreign material removal drone to remove the foreign material,
The foreign material detection drone determines whether there is a foreign material removal drone within a certain distance,
When a foreign material removal drone exists within a certain distance according to the determination of the existence of the foreign material removal drone, the foreign material detection drone transmits a command to perform a foreign material removal task together with the foreign material location information to the foreign material removal drone. System for removing foreign substances on the surface of solar panels delete The method of claim 9 or 10,
The foreign substance removal drone,
In accordance with the command to perform the foreign matter removal task, it moves to the location where the foreign matter exists,
A system for removing foreign substances on a surface of a solar panel, characterized in that spraying a cleaning solution through a nozzle provided in the foreign substance removing drone. The method of claim 9,
The ground control device, upon receiving a signal indicating that the foreign material removal task has been completed from the foreign material removal drone, determines a foreign material detection drone for confirming the foreign material removal at a location where the foreign material exists,
The ground control device transmits a command to perform a residual foreign matter detection mission together with foreign matter location information to the foreign matter detection drone determined to confirm the removal of the foreign matter,
The foreign matter detection drone moves to a location where the foreign matter exists in accordance with an instruction to perform a residual foreign matter detection task of the ground control device,
The foreign material detection drone further comprises determining whether there is a residual foreign material by photographing a solar panel through a camera provided in the foreign material detection drone in the sky above a location where the foreign material exists, and analyzing the captured image. A system for removing foreign substances on the surface of a solar panel.

Images