KR102258730B1 - System for controlling cluster flight of unmanned aerial vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is composed of one master group and a plurality of subgroups, wherein the master group and the plurality of subgroups receive an operation signal to fly a master unmanned aerial vehicle, and A plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups including a plurality of sub unmanned aerial vehicles flying while receiving and flying the manipulation signal from the master unmanned aerial vehicle while maintaining a preset position with respect to the master unmanned aerial vehicle; And transmitting the manipulation signal to the master unmanned aerial vehicle to control cluster flight for the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups, but flight information (including speed, direction and distance) of each of the master unmanned aerial vehicle and surrounding environment information (wind speed, And a ground control system for improving the stability of the swarm flight by performing flight control to change the formation of the subgroup based on the master group using the wind direction and altitude).

Description

Cluster flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles {SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING CLUSTER FLIGHT OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle.

In general, drones are remotely controlled through a wireless communication method, developed for military use, and used for simple shooting practice. However, according to the continuous development of electronic communication technology, drones are being expanded and spread not only to military use but also to various other fields.

For example, drones are used in various disasters or accident areas, jungle, remote or volcanic areas that cannot be easily accessed by humans, and are used to understand the situation of the site, rescue lives, or obtain broadcast images. It is used for commercial purposes or applied to security and control services in place of surveillance cameras.

In recent years, according to the generalization of drones, individuals also purchase drones for the purpose of hobby.

A typical configuration of such a drone includes a plurality of fans that output lift, a battery that supplies power to the fan, and a controller. The fan is composed of a motor that generates rotational force by electric power supplied from a battery, and a propeller fixed to a drive shaft of the motor, and a plurality of drones may be required to fly if necessary.

Related prior art is the Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0142686 (name of the invention: a device for generating flight schedule information of a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, a flight control method and an unmanned aerial vehicle of a number of unmanned aerial vehicles, publication date: 2016.12.13) ).

An embodiment of the present invention is to improve the stability of the swarm flight by performing flight control to change the formation of a plurality of subgroups based on the master group using flight information and surrounding environment information of an unmanned aerial vehicle during swarm flight. It provides a swarm flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the problem(s) mentioned above, and another problem(s) not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is composed of one master group and a plurality of subgroups, wherein the master group and the plurality of subgroups receive an operation signal to fly a master unmanned aerial vehicle, and A plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups including a plurality of sub unmanned aerial vehicles flying while receiving and flying the manipulation signal from the master unmanned aerial vehicle while maintaining a preset position with respect to the master unmanned aerial vehicle; And transmitting the manipulation signal to the master unmanned aerial vehicle to control cluster flight for the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups, but flight information (including speed, direction and distance) of each of the master unmanned aerial vehicle and surrounding environment information (wind speed, And a ground control system for improving the stability of the swarm flight by performing flight control to change the formation of the subgroup based on the master group using the wind direction and altitude).

The ground control system initially selects any one of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups as the master group and the remaining unmanned aerial vehicle groups as the subgroup, and after that, each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups The selected master group may be replaced with one of the subgroups based on the flight information and the surrounding environment information acquired by continuously performing wireless communication with the master unmanned aerial vehicle included in the.

The ground control system is stored in the internal memory of each of the unmanned aerial vehicles based on the flight information and the surrounding environment information when the distance between each unmanned aerial vehicle in the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups is out of a preset allowable range. By executing the existing collision avoidance process, flight control may be performed to switch to a direction different from the direction of the flight path currently set for each of the unmanned aerial vehicles.

The ground control system derives calculation information including the relative distance, flight direction, and relative approach speed between unmanned aerial vehicles outside the allowable range based on the flight information, and transfers the computation information to unmanned aerial vehicles outside the allowable range. It can be transmitted and applied to the collision avoidance process.

The master group receives the manipulation signal from the ground control system and flies by receiving the manipulation signal from the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle, and the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle. It includes a plurality of 2-1 sub unmanned aerial vehicle flying while maintaining a preset position based on the vehicle, and the sub group 1-2 receives the operation signal from the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle and flies. Master unmanned aerial vehicle, and a plurality of 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles flying while receiving the operation signal from the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle while maintaining a preset position based on the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle It may include.

The ground control system generates a group reorganization command signal for changing at least one of the number, flight speed, and flight direction of the master group and the subgroup in consideration of the movement of the entire group of unmanned aerial vehicles. It can be transmitted to the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle.

The 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle receives the group reorganization command signal from the ground control system, changes at least one of the number, flight speed, and flight direction of unmanned aerial vehicles in the master group, and transmits the group reorganization command signal to the It is transmitted to the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle, and the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle receives the group reorganization command signal from the 1--1 master unmanned aerial vehicle, and the number of unmanned vehicles in the subgroup, flight speed and flight At least one of the directions can be changed.

The ground control system diagnoses the error or formation departure of each of the 1-1 and 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicles, and the mission of the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle diagnosed as the error or formation departure Acquires performance-related history information from a database, and transmits the history information to any one of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles in the same group, and the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle It is possible to control the mission of any one of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles in the same group to subsequently perform.

The ground control system may transmit the history information to the nearest sub unmanned aerial vehicle or the sub unmanned aerial vehicle having the largest remaining battery capacity in the same group.

The ground control system diagnoses an error or formation departure of each of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles, and when the error or formation departure is confirmed as a result of the diagnosis, the 2-1 sub in the master group Generate a group reorganization command signal for changing at least one of the number, flight speed, and flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle or the 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicle in the sub-group to the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle Can be transmitted.

The ground control system performs flight control so that the unmanned aerial vehicle included in the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups is in an orderly or stable state in a disordered or unstable state within the vehicle group, or flight control so that the entropy of the unmanned aerial vehicle is increased. You can do it.

Details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the stability of the swarm flight is improved by performing flight control to change the formation of a plurality of subgroups based on the master group using flight information and surrounding environment information of the unmanned aerial vehicle during swarm flight. I can.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles are prevented by adaptively reorganizing the formation of an unmanned aerial vehicle squadron in consideration of the degree of proximity between unmanned aerial vehicles, and by changing the flight direction or adjusting the flight speed according to the reorganized formation formation. It can be avoided safely and efficiently, which can increase flight stability and control efficiency.

1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating a cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the master unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG. 1.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the sub unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG. 1.
4 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the ground control center of FIG. 1.
5 is a diagram illustrating an example of group reorganization for a master group and a subgroup according to a group reorganization command according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a cluster flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and/or features of the present invention, and a method of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in a variety of different forms, only these embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to completely inform the scope of the invention to those who have, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. The same reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout the specification.

In addition, a preferred embodiment of the present invention to be implemented below is already provided in each system function configuration in order to efficiently describe the technical components constituting the present invention, or system functions commonly provided in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The configuration will be omitted as much as possible, and a functional configuration that should be additionally provided for the present invention will be mainly described. If a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to easily understand the functions of the components previously used among the functional configurations that are not shown below and are omitted, the configurations omitted as described above. The relationship between the elements and the constituent elements added for the present invention will also be clearly understood.

In addition, in the following description, "transmission", "communication", "transmission", "receive" of signals or information and other terms with similar meanings refer to direct transmission of signals or information from one component to another. Not only that, but it includes things that are transmitted through other components. In particular, "transmitting" or "transmitting" a signal or information to a component indicates the final destination of the signal or information and does not mean a direct destination. The same is true for "reception" of signals or information.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating a cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cluster flight control system 100 of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups 110 and 120 and a ground control system 130.

The plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups 110 and 120 may include one master group 110 and a plurality of subgroups 120. The master group 110 and the plurality of sub-groups 120 may include a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122.

The plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 are airplanes or helicopter-shaped unmanned aerial vehicles capable of flying and controlling by induction of radio waves, and are commonly known as drones, but in the present invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle The aircraft 111, 112, 121, and 122 may be understood as a concept including not only the drone but also sky lanterns using the drone as a power source.

Such a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122 may be divided into master unmanned aerial vehicles 111 and 121 and a plurality of sub unmanned aerial vehicles 112 and 122.

The master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and 121 may directly or indirectly receive an operation signal transmitted from the ground control system 130 and fly to correspond to the received operation signal. And, the plurality of sub unmanned aerial vehicles (112, 122) receive the operation signal from the master unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 121) and fly, but maintain a preset position based on the master unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 121) You can fly while doing it.

Specifically, the master group 110 may be configured to include a 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and a plurality of 2-1 sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112. The 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 may fly by receiving the manipulation signal from the ground control system 130. The plurality of the 2-1 sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112 receives the operation signal from the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 to fly, but is preset based on the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 You can fly while maintaining your position.

The sub-group 120 may include a 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle 121 and a plurality of 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles 122. The 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle 121 may fly by receiving the manipulation signal from the 1--1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111. The plurality of the 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicle 122 receives the operation signal from the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle 121 to fly, but is preset based on the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle 121 You can fly while maintaining your position.

Initially, the ground control system 130 selects any one unmanned aerial vehicle group preset among the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups 110 and 120 as the master group 110, and selects the remaining unmanned aerial vehicle groups as the sub-group ( 120) can be selected.

After the initial selection process, the ground control system 130 continuously performs wireless communication with the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and 121 included in each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups 110 and 120, and the master unmanned aerial vehicle ( 111, 121) Acquire each flight information (including speed, direction, and distance) and surrounding environment information (including wind speed, wind direction and altitude, etc.), and the selected flight information based on the acquired flight information and surrounding environment information The master group 110 may be replaced with one of the subgroups 120. Of course, the initially selected master group 110 may be continuously maintained.

The ground control system 130 may transmit an operation signal to the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 within the selected master group 110, and accordingly, the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 within the selected master group 110 By transmitting the operation signal received from the ground control system 130 to the master unmanned aerial vehicle 121 in the plurality of sub-groups 110, it is possible to control the swarm flight for the entire plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups (110, 120). I can.

At this time, the ground control system 130 uses the flight information and surrounding environment information of each of the master unmanned aerial vehicles 111 and 121 to form the subgroup 120 based on the master group 110. It is possible to improve the stability of the swarm flight by performing flight control so as to change.

In other words, the ground control system 130 can control the cluster flight of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 in each unmanned aerial vehicle group 110, 120, as well as the unmanned aerial vehicle group ( For 110 and 120, the formation of the subgroup 120 can be stably controlled based on the master group 110 according to the flight situation and the surrounding environment.

When the distance between each of the unmanned aerial vehicles (111, 112, 121, 122) in the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups (110, 120) is out of a preset allowable range, the flight information and the By executing the collision avoidance process stored in the internal memory of each of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 based on the surrounding environment information, each of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 Flight control may be performed to switch to a direction different from the direction of the currently set flight path.

That is, the ground control system 130 derives calculation information including the relative distance, flight direction and relative approach speed between the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 out of the allowable range based on the flight information, and , By transmitting the calculation information to the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 out of the allowable range and applying it to the collision avoidance process, the unmanned aerial vehicles collide with other unmanned aerial vehicles through flight control such as direction change. Can be avoided.

Here, in the collision avoidance process, when the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122 in the mission approach within a certain interval (permissible range), the collision avoidance process is handled by autonomously changing direction or controlling the speed. It may include a program for.

That is, according to the collision avoidance process, through a process of sharing position information and speed information between the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122 through wireless communication, the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122) can be determined whether they have approached within the allowable range, and if it is determined that they have approached, flight control can be performed so that they can autonomously change direction or control their speed. In addition, according to the collision avoidance process, flight control may be performed so that the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121 and 122 may avoid collision by additionally considering collision time.

More specifically, according to the collision avoidance process, each unmanned aerial vehicle 111, 112, 121, 122 is provided in order to determine the position and moving speed of adjacent unmanned aerial vehicles (111, 112, 121, 122). The location identified by the GPS sensor and the moving speed identified by the speed sensor or the acceleration sensor can be shared with each other through wireless communication to determine.

In this case, the collision avoidance process may calculate the moving speed by using the location information for each time checked from the GPS sensor even if the unmanned aerial vehicle 111, 112, 121, 122 is not equipped with a speed sensor or an acceleration sensor. Here, the information on the position and the moving speed may be transmitted to the ground control system 130 if necessary.

The collision avoidance process is configured to autonomously avoid a collision using location information and movement speed information shared between the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122, but adjacent unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112 , 121, 122) face each other and fly in an approaching direction, the collision time is relatively short compared to the case of cross-flight, so normal avoidance may be difficult.Thus, collision avoidance is more effective through the calculation of the collision time. It can be configured to be done safely and accurately.

The calculation process of the collision time will be described in detail with reference to Equations 1 to 3 below. The collision avoidance process may calculate a collision time from a geometric relationship using a position and a moving speed between adjacent unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122.

That is, when two unmanned aerial vehicles are adjacent, each position is P1, P2, and each movement speed is V1, V2, the relative distance Pr and the relative speed Vr between the two unmanned aerial vehicles are obtained by the following equation (1). I can.

[Equation 1]

In addition, the relative approach speed Vr between the two unmanned aerial vehicles can be obtained by the following equation (2).

[Equation 2]

Therefore, the collision time tc between the two unmanned aerial vehicles can be calculated by the following equation (3) representing the relationship between time, speed, and distance.

[Equation 3]

In addition, the collision avoidance process may perform a process of changing the direction of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122 at risk of collision. That is, when the collision time calculated by Equations 1 to 3 becomes less than the reference time required for collision avoidance, the collision avoidance process changes the direction of the adjacent unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122. So that you can perform flight control.

At this time, the reference time required for the collision avoidance may be set based on the maneuverability and turn rate of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122, and the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 ), since it is a parameter related to the frequency of information update, it is preferable to set it to an appropriate value through simulation in consideration of the mission environment and the performance of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122.

The ground control system 130 considers the movement of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups (110, 120), and the unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 112, 121, 122) in the master group (110) and the sub-group (120). A group reorganization command signal for changing the number of ), flight speed, and flight direction may be generated, and the generated group reorganization command signal may be transmitted to the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111.

Then, the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 receives the group reorganization command signal from the ground control system 130, as shown in FIG. 5, the unmanned aerial vehicle 111 in the master group 110, 112) You can change the number, flight speed and direction of flight. In addition, the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 may transmit the group reorganization command signal to the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle 121.

Accordingly, the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle 121 receives the group reorganization command signal from the 1--1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111, and in the sub-group 120 as shown in FIG. It is possible to change the number, flight speed, and flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle (121, 122).

In this way, the number of unmanned aerial vehicles (111, 112, 121, 122) in the same group (110, 120), as well as changing the flight speed and flight direction, as shown in Figure 5, climate conditions such as wind speed, wind direction, etc. Etc.), the existing subgroup 120 may be changed to the new master group 110, and the existing master group 110 may be changed to the subgroup 120. In this case, the ground control system 130 changes the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle 121 of the existing subgroup 120 to a new 1-1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111, and The vehicle 111 can be changed to the 1-2 master unmanned vehicle 121.

Meanwhile, the ground control system 130 may diagnose errors or formation departures of the 1-1 and 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicles 111 and 121, respectively. The ground control system 130 may obtain history information related to the mission performance of the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and 121 diagnosed as the error or formation departure from a database (not shown). have. For reference, history information related to the mission performance of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122 is stored in the database, and the history information can be continuously updated.

The ground control system 130 transmits the history information to any one of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles 112 and 122 in the same group (110, 120), and the 1-1 or Control so that any one of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles 112 and 122 in the same group (110, 120) performs the mission of the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 121). I can.

At this time, the ground control system 130 may transmit the history information to the nearest sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112 and 122 or the sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112 and 122 with the largest remaining battery capacity within the same group 110 and 120. have. This is to allow the sub unmanned aerial vehicle (112, 122) to continue the mission of the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 121) more stably.

The ground control system 130 may diagnose errors or formation departures of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles 112 and 122, respectively. When the error or departure from the formation is confirmed as a result of the diagnosis, the ground control system 130 is the second-first sub-unmanned aerial vehicle 111 in the master group 110 or the second-second second in the sub-group 120 A group reorganization command signal for changing the number, flight speed, and flight direction of the sub unmanned aerial vehicle 122 may be generated. The ground control system 130 may transmit the generated group reorganization command signal to the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicles 111 and 121.

On the other hand, the ground control system 130, the unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 112, 121, 122) included in the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups (110, 120) is in a disordered state or Flight control may be performed from an unstable state to an orderly state or a stable state, or flight control may be performed to increase the entropy of the unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 112, 121, 122). In other words, the ground control system 130 may perform flight control of the unmanned aerial vehicle 111, 112, 121, and 122 by applying the concept of an entropy design. Here, entropy refers to a degree of disorder, and entropy design refers to a design concept that uses a degree of disorder or takes into account movements occurring in a natural environment.

The ground control system 130 performs flight control so that the unmanned aerial vehicle 111, 112, 121, 122 in an unstable or disordered state within the vehicle group is in a stable state or an orderly state. In the unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 112, 121, 122) can be prevented from colliding with each other or from leaving the mission flight. For example, the ground control system 130 analyzes the posture and flight status information of each of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122 included in the corresponding vehicle group, 122) is in a stable or unstable state, and by controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 112, 121, 122) judged to be flying in an unstable or disordered state to fly in a stable or orderly state, it is also a mission for the entire group of aircraft. It is initially set according to, so the formation can be maintained.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and 121 of FIG. 1.

1 and 2, the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111, 121 includes a first wireless communication unit 210, a first driving sensor unit 220, a first camera 230, a first lighting 240, Including a first microphone 250, a first position detection unit 260, a first flight control unit 270, a first storage unit 280, a first power supply unit 290, and a first driving unit 295 Can be configured.

The master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and 121 may acquire data necessary for flight from the first navigation sensor unit 220 and acquire an external image by the first camera 230. The master unmanned aerial vehicle 111, 121 receives flight data from the first navigation sensor unit 220, and an operation signal received by the first wireless communication unit 210 through the first flight control unit 270 A control signal corresponding to can be output.

Here, the first flight control unit 270 controls to transmit the image acquired through the first camera 230 through the first wireless communication unit 210, and at the same time, the first wireless communication unit 210 It is possible to control to transmit the received manipulation signal and its own location data acquired by the first location detection unit 260.

The master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and 121 controls the rotation of the propeller through a plurality of first driving units 295 respectively controlled by a control signal of the first flight control unit 270 to provide a driving force required for flight and direction change. It may be generated, and power required for operation may be supplied through the first power supply unit 290.

Here, the first navigation sensor unit 220 may include a single or a plurality of sensors for detecting speed, posture or inclination, and surrounding obstacles required for flight control. The first wireless communication unit 210 may be implemented using various communication methods that enable wireless communication, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or various RF signals.

In addition, the first location detection unit 260 receives the radio waves generated from the satellite to obtain data on the current location of each of the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111, 121, and calculates its own location by GPS, altitude measurement It may include an altimeter for, and furthermore, may further include a three-dimensional position sensor. The first driving unit 295 may include a motor to which a propeller is fixed to a shaft. The first power supply unit 290 may be implemented as a rechargeable rechargeable battery, or alternatively, may be implemented as a general battery.

The master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and 121 may irradiate light to the photographing area of the first camera 230 through the first lighting 240 and transmit external audio through the first microphone 250. It may be collected and provided with the image or as separate data. In addition, the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and 121 may store various acquired data, set values, and data or programs necessary for operation in the first storage unit 280.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112 and 122 of FIG. 1.

1 and 3, the sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112, 122 includes a second wireless communication unit 310, a second driving sensor unit 320, a second camera 330, a second lighting unit 340, Including a second microphone 350, a second position sensing unit 360, a second flight control unit 370, a second storage unit 380, a second power supply unit 390, and a second driving unit 395 Can be configured.

Referring to FIG. 3, the sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112 and 122 may acquire data necessary for flight from the second navigation sensor unit 320 and acquire an external image by the second camera 330. have. The sub unmanned aerial vehicle (112, 122) receives flight data from the second navigation sensor unit 320, the operation signal received by the second wireless communication unit 310 through the second flight control unit (370) A control signal corresponding to can be output.

Here, the second flight control unit 370 controls to transmit the image acquired through the second camera 330 through the second wireless communication unit 310, and at the same time, the second wireless communication unit 310 It is possible to control to transmit a received manipulation signal and its own location data acquired by the second location sensor 360.

The sub unmanned aerial vehicle (112, 122) controls the rotation of the propeller through a plurality of second driving units (395) respectively controlled by the control signal of the second flight control unit (370) to control the propulsion force required for flight and direction change. It may be generated, and the power required for operation may be supplied through the second power supply unit 390.

Here, the second navigation sensor unit 320 may include a single or a plurality of sensors for detecting speed, posture or inclination, and surrounding obstacles required for flight control. The second wireless communication unit 310 may be implemented using various communication methods that enable wireless communication, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or various RF signals.

In addition, the second position detection unit 360 receives the radio waves generated from the satellite to obtain data on the current position of each of the sub unmanned aerial vehicles 112 and 122, and calculates its own position by GPS, altitude measurement. It may include an altimeter for, and furthermore, may further include a three-dimensional position sensor. The second driving unit 395 may include a motor to which a propeller is fixed to a shaft. The second power supply unit 390 may be implemented as a rechargeable rechargeable battery, or alternatively, may be implemented as a general battery.

The sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112 and 122 may irradiate light to the photographing area of the second camera 330 through the second illumination 340, and transmit external audio through the second microphone 350. It may be collected and provided with the image or as separate data. In addition, the sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112 and 122 may store various acquired data, set values, and data or programs necessary for operation in the second storage unit 380.

The sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112, 122 is the sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112 based on the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111, 121 by the ground control center 130 through the second flight control unit 370, It is possible to control so that a plurality of flight positions of 122) are set and stored in the second storage unit 380 as data.

The sub unmanned aerial vehicle 112 and 122 may control the second driving unit 395 to correspond to the selected flight position when the ground control center 130 selects any one of a plurality of flight positions during flight. .

4 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the ground control center 130 of FIG. 1.

1 and 4, the ground control center 130 includes a wireless communication unit 410, a group selection unit 420, a diagnosis unit 430, a database (DB) linkage unit 440, and a ground control unit ( 450), and a controller 460.

The wireless communication unit 410 performs wireless communication with the master unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 121) included in each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups (110, 120), the flight information of each of the master unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 121) And it is possible to obtain information about the surrounding environment of each of the master unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 121).

The group selection unit 420 initially selects one of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups 110, 120 as the master group 110, and selects the remaining unmanned aerial vehicle groups as the sub-group ( 120) can be selected. And, after that, based on the flight information and the surrounding environment information obtained by continuously performing wireless communication with the master unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 121) included in each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups (110, 120), the The selected master group 110 may be replaced with one of the subgroups 120.

The diagnosis unit 430 may diagnose errors or formation deviations of the 1-1 and 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicles 111 and 121, respectively.

The DB linking unit 440 may obtain history information related to the mission performance of the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 and 121 diagnosed as the error or formation departure from the database.

The ground control unit 450 transmits a manipulation signal to the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 in the master group 110 and transmits the manipulation signal to the master unmanned aerial vehicle 121 in the sub-group 110, so that the plurality of It is possible to control the swarm flight for the unmanned aerial vehicle group (110, 120).

In this case, the ground control unit 450 changes the formation of the subgroup 120 based on the master group 110 using flight information and surrounding environment information of each of the master unmanned aerial vehicles 111 and 121 By performing flight control, the stability of swarm flight can be improved.

When the distance between each of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 in the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups (110, 120) is out of a preset allowable range, the ground control unit 450 includes the flight information and the By executing the collision avoidance process stored in the internal memory of each of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 based on the surrounding environment information, each of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 Flight control may be performed to switch to a direction different from the direction of the currently set flight path.

The ground control unit 450 transmits the history information to any one of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles 112 and 122 in the same group (110, 120), and Control so that any one of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles 112 and 122 in the same group (110, 120) performs the mission of the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle (111, 121). I can.

The control unit 560 includes the ground control center 130, that is, the wireless communication unit 410, the group selection unit 420, the diagnosis unit 430, the DB linking unit 440, the ground control unit ( 450), etc. can be controlled overall.

The apparatus described above may be implemented as a hardware component, a software component, and/or a combination of a hardware component and a software component. For example, the devices and components described in the embodiments include, for example, a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable array (FPA), It may be implemented using one or more general purpose or special purpose computers, such as a programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications executed on the operating system. Further, the processing device may access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to the execution of software. For the convenience of understanding, although it is sometimes described that one processing device is used, one of ordinary skill in the art, the processing device is a plurality of processing elements and/or a plurality of types of processing elements. It can be seen that it may include. For example, the processing device may include a plurality of processors or one processor and one controller. In addition, other processing configurations are possible, such as a parallel processor.

The software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of these, configuring the processing unit to operate as desired or processed independently or collectively. You can command the device. Software and/or data may be interpreted by a processing device or, to provide instructions or data to a processing device, of any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage medium or device. , Or may be permanently or temporarily embodyed in a transmitted signal wave. The software may be distributed over networked computer systems and stored or executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored on one or more computer-readable recording media.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a cluster flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The cluster flight control method of an unmanned aerial vehicle described herein is only one embodiment of the present invention, and various steps may be added as necessary, and the following steps may also be performed by changing the order. The invention is not limited to each step and its sequence described below.

1 and 6, in step 610, the ground control system 130 may select any one of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups 110 and 120 as the master group 110. have.

Next, in step 620, the ground control system 130 selects the remaining unmanned aerial vehicle groups excluding the master group 110 from among the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups 110 and 120 as the sub-group 120. I can.

Next, in step 630, the ground control system 130 performs wireless communication with the master unmanned aerial vehicle 111 in the master group 110, In addition to flight information and surrounding environment information, flight information and surrounding environment information of each of the master unmanned aerial vehicles 111 in the subgroup 120 may be obtained.

Next, in step 640, the ground control system 130 includes the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups 110 and 120 and each of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112 and 121 in the selected master group 110. , 122), it is possible to transmit an operation signal for the cluster flight control.

Next, in step 650, the ground control system 130 controls the flight to change the formation of the subgroup 120 based on the master group 110 using the acquired flight information and surrounding environment information. You can do it.

If there is a risk of collision between the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122 during the process of flight control (the "Yes" direction of 660), the ground control system 130 in step 670 is the unmanned aerial vehicle By executing the collision avoidance process stored in the internal memory of the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, 122, fly to switch to a direction different from the direction of the flight path currently set in the unmanned aerial vehicles (111, 112, 121, 122). Control can be performed.

On the other hand, if there is no risk of collision between the unmanned aerial vehicles 111, 112, 121, and 122 during the process of flight control (the “No” direction of 660), the present embodiment may be terminated.

The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the embodiment, or may be known and usable to those skilled in computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CDROMs and DVDs, and magnetic-optical media such as floptical disks. A hardware device specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as magneto-optical media and ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language codes such as those produced by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operation of the embodiment, and vice versa.

Although the embodiments have been described by the limited embodiments and drawings as described above, various modifications and variations can be made from the above description to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the described techniques are performed in a different order from the described method, and/or components such as systems, structures, devices, circuits, etc. described are combined or combined in a form different from the described method, or other components Alternatively, even if substituted or substituted by an equivalent, an appropriate result can be achieved.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents to the claims also fall within the scope of the following claims.

110: master group
111: 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle
112: 2-1 sub unmanned aerial vehicle
120: sub group
121: No. 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle
122: 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicle
130: ground control system
410: wireless communication unit
420: group selection section
430: diagnostic unit
44: DB linkage unit
450: ground control
460: control unit

Claims (11)

One master group including a master unmanned aerial vehicle and a plurality of sub unmanned aerial vehicles and a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups consisting of a plurality of sub-groups, and a ground control system for controlling swarm flight for the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups In the swarm flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle,
When the distance between each unmanned aerial vehicle in the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups is out of a preset allowable range, the ground control system is based on the flight information and surrounding environment information of each of the unmanned aerial vehicles. Execute the collision avoidance process stored in the internal memory, but derive calculation information including the relative distance, flight direction, and relative approach speed between unmanned aerial vehicles outside the allowable range based on the flight information, and the calculation information It is applied to the collision avoidance process by transmitting to unmanned aerial vehicles outside the allowable range,
In the collision avoidance process, a location identified from a GPS sensor provided in each unmanned aerial vehicle and a moving speed identified from a speed sensor or an acceleration sensor are shared through wireless communication to identify the speed sensor or the acceleration. When the sensor is not provided, the movement speed is calculated using the location information by time identified from the GPS sensor,
The collision avoidance process is configured to autonomously avoid collision by using the location information and movement speed information shared between the respective unmanned aerial vehicles, but when adjacent unmanned aerial vehicles face each other and fly in an approaching direction, they cross-flight each other. In consideration of the fact that the collision time is relatively shorter than that of the case, and it is difficult to normally avoid it, by additionally using the collision time derived by Equations 1 to 3 below, the direction of the flight path currently set for the unmanned aerial vehicles is different A swarm flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that it performs flight control to avoid a collision between unmanned aerial vehicles by switching to a direction.
[Equation 1]

[Equation 2]

[Equation 3]

Here, P ₁ , P ₂ , V ₁ , V ₂ represent respective positions and moving speeds when two unmanned aerial vehicles are adjacent, and P _r , V _r , t _c represent the relative distance, relative speed, and Represents the collision time.
The method of claim 1,
The ground control system
Initially, one of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups previously set is selected as the master group, the remaining unmanned vehicle groups are selected as the subgroup, and thereafter, the master unmanned vehicle included in each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups A swarm flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that replacing the selected master group with one of the subgroups based on the flight information and the surrounding environment information obtained by continuously performing wireless communication with the vehicle.
delete delete The method of claim 1,
The master group is
The 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle receiving and flying an operation signal from the ground control system, and the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle receiving and flying the operation signal from the first-first unmanned aerial vehicle, but in advance based on the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle Including a plurality of 2-1 sub unmanned aerial vehicle flying while maintaining the set position,
The subgroup is
The 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle receiving and flying the manipulation signal from the 1-1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle, and the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle receiving the manipulation signal from the flying vehicle, but the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle A cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a plurality of second-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles flying while maintaining a preset position based on the vehicle.
The method of claim 5,
The ground control system
By generating a group reorganization command signal for changing at least one of the number, flight speed, and flight direction of the master group and the subgroup in consideration of the movement of the entire group of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, the first-1 A cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that transmission to the master unmanned aerial vehicle.
The method of claim 6,
The 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle
Receives the group reorganization command signal from the ground control system, changes at least one of the number, flight speed, and flight direction of unmanned aerial vehicles in the master group, and transmits the group reorganization command signal to the 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle And
The 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle
A cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that for changing at least one of the number, flight speed, and flight direction of the number of unmanned aerial vehicles in the sub-group by receiving the group reorganization command signal from the 1-1 master unmanned aerial vehicle.
The method of claim 5,
The ground control system
Diagnosing each error or formation departure of the 1-1 and 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicles, and history information related to the mission performance of the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle diagnosed as the error or formation departure Is obtained from the database, and the history information is transmitted to any one of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles in the same group, so that the mission of the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle is the same. A cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that controlling any one of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles in the group to subsequently perform.
The method of claim 8,
The ground control system
A cluster flight control system of an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that transmitting the history information to the nearest sub unmanned aerial vehicle in the same group or the sub unmanned aerial vehicle having the largest remaining battery capacity.
The method of claim 5,
The ground control system
When the error or formation departure of each of the 2-1 and 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicles is diagnosed, and the error or formation departure is confirmed as a result of the diagnosis, the 2-1 sub unmanned aerial vehicle or the sub in the master group A group reorganization command signal for changing at least one of the number, flight speed, and flight direction of the 2-2 sub unmanned aerial vehicle in the group is generated and transmitted to the 1-1 or 1-2 master unmanned aerial vehicle. A cluster flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles.
The method according to any one of claims 1, 2, 5 to 10,
The ground control system,
It characterized in that it performs flight control so that the unmanned aerial vehicle included in the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle groups is in an orderly or stable state from a disordered state or an unstable state within the air vehicle group, or performs flight control to increase the entropy of the unmanned vehicle A cluster flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles.

Images