KR102527245B1 - A drone and a method for controlling thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a drone and a control method thereof, and relates to a technology for providing useful information to a specific target such as a car through a drone, a device capable of effectively suppressing the flight of the drone, and a control method thereof. According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a drone that is paired with a car and provides information to the car, a sensing unit for sensing a surrounding environment of the drone, a communication unit for receiving vehicle control information from the car, and the received vehicle control Based on the information, an operating mode of the drone is selected, the surrounding environment is sensed according to the operating mode through the sensing unit, and core information serving as a criterion for determining a surrounding situation is extracted from the surrounding environment sensing result, and the core information and a control unit for transmitting information on surrounding conditions of the vehicle determined based on the vehicle to the vehicle through the communication unit, wherein the vehicle control information includes measurement result data of a sensing unit installed in the vehicle and a driver of the vehicle. A drone may be provided, characterized in that it includes a control signal generated when controlling.

Description

A drone and a method for controlling it {A drone and a method for controlling it}

The present invention relates to a drone and a control method thereof, and relates to a technology for providing useful information to a specific target such as a car through a drone, a device capable of effectively suppressing the flight of the drone, and a control method thereof.

In recent years, various studies have been conducted on how to utilize small unmanned aerial vehicles such as multi-copters. Here, the unmanned air vehicle refers to an air vehicle capable of taking off, flying, and landing automatically to achieve a specific purpose without human intervention according to a programmed control method or a control signal transmitted from the outside, and is also called a drone. The use of drones is limitless, ranging from military reconnaissance drones to unmanned cameras and common areas such as unmanned parcel delivery services. In particular, with the development of technology, the weight of the drone itself has become lighter, the operating time has increased, and the role of the drone is becoming more diversified as various sensors are installed.

On the other hand, recently, most vehicles are equipped with a navigation system, and through this, it is very easy to determine one's current location or to check a route to a destination. Navigation provides not only route information but also whether or not traffic flows smoothly, so the driver can control the operation of the vehicle according to road conditions.

Most navigation can indicate the car's position by receiving GPS position coordinates over time from GPS satellites. That is, various types of information are provided to users based on map information embedded in navigation and signals transmitted from satellites. In addition, some of the navigation systems include a function of providing real-time CCTV images provided on the road to drivers through streaming in order to monitor traffic conditions.

However, the real-time CCTV image information that the driver can utilize is extremely limited. First of all, the number of CCTVs installed on each road is not constant, and the driver cannot arbitrarily access all CCTVs and check the images. That is, the access and control of people other than the CCTVs provided for common use are strictly limited. In addition, since most CCTVs have a fixed installation direction, users cannot arbitrarily select images in the desired direction. For this reason, there is currently no method for obtaining image information and the like of the vicinity of one's driving vehicle through CCTV.

Of course, the driver may acquire images around the vehicle through an external camera built into the vehicle itself. Recently, cars of mid-range or higher are often equipped with external video cameras, through which the driver can check not only the front and rear of the car, but also the side. However, this also only provides images within the viewing angle that an external camera can capture. As a simple example, when a large vehicle is located in front of the driver's vehicle, there is currently no traffic system, navigation system, and infotainment system of the vehicle capable of providing the driver with traffic conditions in front of the large vehicle.

In addition, in relation to the operation of the above-mentioned automobile, it is predicted that a platoon composed of a plurality of automobiles will run on the road in the near future before full automation of automobiles. A platoon consists of a leader vehicle that controls the operation of the entire platoon and a member vehicle whose speed and direction are controlled according to the control of the leader vehicle. It is a subject that is being studied worldwide because of its positive effect of increasing capacity and reducing fuel consumption. In the case of the platoon, safety is more important than anything else, and an effective means for sensing the surrounding environment is required to ensure the safety of the platoon. In the case of a general platoon, the detection of the surrounding situation is highly dependent on the performance of the sensing means of each member car and the leader car. When there are many cars that do not belong to the platoon on the road, the sensing ability of each car in the platoon is rapidly degraded. This makes it difficult to prepare for emergencies. That is, even when the sensing ability of the platoon itself is limited, a means for immediately determining the situation around the platoon is required, but there is currently no way to solve this problem.

In this regard, a system in which the above-described drone and traffic, safety, and navigation systems are integrated may be proposed as an alternative. However, at present, research on related fields is insufficient.

Meanwhile, as described above, drones can be used in various fields. Anyone can easily predict that there will be more and more drones for various purposes flying in the air in the future, but it may be necessary to ban drones from flying in preparation for special events or for specific purposes. For example, if there is a key person performing a parade on a road at a specific time, it is necessary to prohibit unauthorized drones from flying on the road for reasons such as safety and security issues. The problem is that currently, it is not easy to set a drone flight prohibition zone according to time or event presence, and apart from this, there are not many ways to forcibly land a drone in flight. In the case of some drone manufacturers, the flight of the drone at an airport or the like is prohibited through a firmware update, but it is not suitable as a method for prohibiting flight only at a specific time and in a specific place. This is because it is not possible to re-modify every drone's firmware right before an event that happens on a regular basis. On the other hand, recently, a method of throwing a net on a drone in flight or shooting a high-output wireless signal to temporarily disable the drone has also been known. However, the method of casting a net is not only inefficient, but also has low accuracy. The method of using a high-power wireless signal is a method that is difficult to utilize in most countries that prohibit electromagnetic wave jamming.

Regarding the various drone accidents that have occurred recently, most people agree that the flight of drones should be suppressed as necessary, but specific and effective measures for this need to be presented.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has an object of providing a method of providing useful information to a specific target such as a car through a drone.

In addition, the present invention also has an object to provide a device capable of effectively suppressing the flight of a drone and a control method thereof.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a drone that is paired with a vehicle and provides information to the vehicle, the drone includes a sensing unit that senses a surrounding environment of the drone; a communication unit that transmits and receives information with an external communication device and receives vehicle control information from the vehicle; and controlling each unit of the drone, selecting an operating mode of the drone based on the received vehicle control information, sensing a surrounding environment according to the operating mode through the sensing unit, and sensing the surrounding environment. a control unit extracting core information that is a criterion for determining a surrounding situation from the result, and transmitting the surrounding situation information of the vehicle determined based on the core information to the vehicle through the communication unit; , wherein the vehicle control information includes measurement result data of a sensing unit installed in the vehicle and a control signal generated when the driver of the vehicle controls the vehicle.

Here, the control unit tracks the movement of the vehicle based on the vehicle control information.

Here, the controller controls the flight of the drone based on a control signal related to steering wheel manipulation of the vehicle, a control signal related to acceleration and deceleration pedal manipulation, and a control signal related to transmission manipulation included in the vehicle control information. Determine direction and flight speed.

Here, the type of the core information is determined in correspondence with the operation mode, and the core information includes whether or not a sound of a preset level or higher is detected, whether a movement of an object moving in a preset direction is detected, and a preset color range. It includes at least one of whether light or color within the sensor is detected and whether motion of an object is detected in a specific area of the sensing unit's sensing range.

Here, the control unit, when vehicle control information satisfying a preset condition is received through the communication unit when the drone operates in the first operation mode, sets the operation mode of the drone to the second operation mode in response to the vehicle control information. Change to operating mode.

Here, the vehicle control information includes driver's motion information detected by the vehicle, and the controller predicts the driver's intention related to driving of the vehicle based on the driver's motion information included in the vehicle control information. and determines the operation mode of the drone based on the predicted driver's intention.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in a drone that provides information to a platoon composed of a leader vehicle and a member vehicle whose operation is controlled by the leader vehicle, the drone a sensing unit that senses the surrounding environment; a communication unit that transmits and receives information with an external communication device and receives platoon control information for adjusting a driving state of the platoon from the leader car; and controlling each unit of the drone, selecting an operating mode of the drone based on the received platoon control information, sensing a surrounding environment according to the operating mode through the sensing unit, and a surrounding situation based on a result of sensing the surrounding environment. a controller that extracts key information that is a criterion for determination and transmits surrounding situation information determined based on the key information to the leader vehicle; wherein the platoon control information includes measurement result data of sensing means mounted on each car of the platoon and a control signal generated when a driver of the leader car controls the leader car. can be provided.

Here, the control unit broadcasts the platoon control information received from the leader car through the communication unit and delivers it to the member cars.

Here, the controller receives measurement result data of the sensing unit of the vehicle from the vehicle included in the platoon through the communication unit, and broadcasts the measurement result data to other vehicles in the platoon.

Here, the platoon control information further includes sensing ability information of each car of the platoon, and the controller obtains sensing ability information of the leader car from the platoon control information received through the communication unit, and the obtained leader car If the sensing ability of the vehicle does not meet the preset minimum sensing ability criterion, the operating mode is changed to a sensing ability supplementary mode, wherein the sensing direction of the drone is the traveling direction of the leader car, and the core The information is the presence or absence of an object approaching the leader vehicle, and the surrounding environment sensed through the sensing unit is transmitted to the leader vehicle in real time.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a control device for managing a plurality of drones providing information to a platoon includes: a communication unit that transmits and receives information to and from an external communication device and receives performance and status information from the drone; and controlling each part of the control device, creating an available drone list, which is a list of drones that can be used in the platoon, based on the performance and state information, and determining an activation order of drones based on the available drone list; Control signals instructing the drone to take off are transmitted in the above order through the communication unit, the status of the activated drone is received through the communication unit, and based on the status of the drone, it is determined whether to replace the activated drone. , When the activated drone needs to be replaced, the status of the drone in the next activation sequence is checked, and a control signal instructing the drone to land is deactivated by transmitting a control signal instructing the drone to land, and control to instruct the drone in the next activation sequence to take off. A drone control device may be provided, which may include a control unit that transmits a signal and updates the list of available drones according to the replacement of the drone.

Here, when an external vehicle intervenes between a first vehicle of the platoon and a second vehicle located behind the first vehicle, when platoon control information instructing maintenance of the platoon formation is received through the communication unit, the The control unit activates the front part or the rear part for supporting the front part or the rear part with respect to the front part of the platoon from the first car to the first car of the platoon and the rear part of the platoon from the second car of the platoon to the last car of the platoon. It is determined whether or not each of the drones supported exists, and a drone in an inactive state is activated by referring to the available drone list for the front-end unit or the rear-end unit without the supporting drone, and the drone supporting the front-end unit and the The activated drone is controlled so that the transmission and reception of the platoon control information between the front-end unit and the rear-end unit is performed through wireless communication between drones supporting the rear-end unit.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in a drone that is paired with a vehicle to be serviced and provides information to the vehicle, the drone includes: a communication unit for transmitting and receiving information to and from an external communication device; a positioning unit that calculates the location of the drone; and controlling each unit of the drone, evaluating whether the drone is a replacement target based on at least one of a flight time, state, and location of the drone, and if the drone is a replacement target, a plurality of standby drones through the communication unit. Transmits an available drone confirmation signal to the available drone confirmation signal, receives drone status and location information, which is a response signal to the available drone confirmation signal, selects a replacement drone based on the drone status and location information, and selects a replacement drone through the communication unit Transmits a signal instructing standby for drone replacement, calculates a drone replacement location based on the location of the drone, the vehicle route information, and the location information of the replacement drone, and transmits the replacement location information to the replacement drone through the communication unit. a control unit that transmits data to a drone and sets a destination of the drone as a preset return location when the drone arrives at the replacement drone location and the replacement drone is paired with the vehicle; A drone may be provided, characterized in that it includes.

Here, the control unit receives a response signal to the signal instructing waiting for drone replacement from the selected replacement drone through the communication unit, and during a predetermined selection confirmation waiting time after transmitting the signal instructing waiting for replacement drone. If the response signal is not received, a replacement drone is selected again.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a drone controller for controlling the flight of a drone, comprising: a first communication unit that transmits and receives information to and from an external communication device and receives location information from a drone to be controlled; a second communication unit receiving a signal for limiting the flight of the drone through a predetermined communication channel, the second communication unit not performing communication before being activated; and detecting a preset trigger signal from the radio signal received by the first communication unit, and activating the second communication unit when the trigger signal is detected to allow the drone to fly within the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range. Receives a flight limit signal limiting the flight limit, and if the current time is included in the flight limit time range and the current position of the drone is included in the flight limit coordinate range, the flight of the drone is stopped based on the flight limit signal. a control unit for generating a drone control signal and transmitting the drone control signal to the drone through the first communication unit; A drone controller comprising a may be provided.

Here, the trigger signal is a preset power change or a preset phase change of a specific DC subcarrier or a specific pilot subcarrier with respect to a communication channel used during wireless communication between the drone and the controller. It is an inducing signal, and the detection of the trigger signal is performed by detecting whether a size change and a phase shift have occurred in a constellation of a radio signal received through the first communication unit.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in a drone, a power unit for performing movement and attitude control of the drone through at least one propeller and a driving means for driving the propeller; a positioning unit that calculates the location of the drone; a first communication unit that transmits and receives information with an external communication device and receives a drone control signal from a drone controller; and a second communication unit configured to receive a signal for limiting flight of the drone through a predetermined communication channel, the second communication unit not performing communication before being activated. and detecting a preset trigger signal from the drone control signal received by the first communication unit, and activating the second communication unit when the trigger signal is detected to limit the flight of the drone within the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range. receives a flight limit signal, transmits the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range to the drone controller through the first communication unit, the current time is included in the flight limit time range, and the current location of the drone A drone may be provided, characterized in that it includes; a controller for controlling the power unit to land according to a predetermined landing processor when it is included in the flight limiting coordinate range.

According to the present invention, the drone can sense the environment around the car and the platoon, and can provide various types of detected information to the driver. Through this, the driver can efficiently set the driving route of the vehicle and can quickly grasp various unexpected situations that may occur while driving the vehicle.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a drone can easily track a vehicle as a tracking target.

In addition, the driver can easily adjust the relative positional relationship between the drone and the car.

In addition, the flight of the drone can be effectively controlled, and accidents that may occur due to the indiscriminate operation of the drone can be prevented in advance.

1 is a diagram showing an example of using a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram showing another embodiment of a drone.
4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method for tracking a car by a drone.
5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention in which a drone tracks a car by utilizing vehicle control information.
FIG. 6 shows the embodiment of FIG. 5(a) in more detail, and shows vehicle control information, a flight direction of a drone according to the vehicle control information, and a sequence of drone control signals.
7 illustrates vehicle control information transmitted to a drone and interpolated vehicle control information.
8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method of controlling a relative positional relationship of a drone with respect to a vehicle based on a manipulation signal of an in-vehicle device included in vehicle control information.
9 is a diagram illustrating a travel photo and video capture support mode of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a diagram illustrating a parking assist mode of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 illustrates an operation method of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a detailed illustration of the operation method of the drone of FIG. 11 .
13 illustrates a key information extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
14 is a diagram illustrating a change in operation mode of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
15 is a diagram illustrating determining an operation mode of a drone by predicting a driver's intention.
16 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of determining an operation mode of a drone by estimating a driver's state.
17 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of determining a drone operation mode by estimating a driver's condition.
18 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a drone is applied to a platoon.
19 is a diagram comparing the detection range of a conventional platoon and a platoon employing a drone.
20 is a diagram illustrating a drone receiving platoon control information with time delay according to location.
21 is a diagram showing how a drone operates according to an operation mode supplementing the sensing capability of a leader car.
22 is a diagram showing the structure and operation method of a drone control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
23 is a diagram illustrating a method in which a platoon is maintained even when an outside vehicle cuts in.
24 is a diagram showing another utilization method of drones for platooning.
25 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method of continuously tracking a car by a drone.
26 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a method of continuously tracking a car by a drone.
27 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a method of continuously tracking a car by a drone.
28 illustrates an example of signals and information that can be transmitted and received between a drone that tracks a car and a drone that will track a new car when a drone that tracks a car is replaced.
29 is a diagram illustrating an example of signals and information that can be transmitted and received between drones when a drone tracking a car selects one of a plurality of standby drones when replacing a drone.
30 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of signals and information that can be transmitted and received between drones when a plurality of drones search for a drone to perform tracking in the following order.
31 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method in which a drone detects an accident point on a road and shares related information.
32 is a view showing a drone controller capable of limiting the flight of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention, a drone whose flight can be limited in a manner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and an operation method of the drone controller and the drone. .
33 is a diagram illustrating a trigger signal transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
34 shows a trigger signal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
35 is a diagram illustrating a method in which a flight limiting device restricts flight of a plurality of drones.
37 is a diagram showing an automatic flight limiting system utilizing an existing monitoring system.

The present invention relates to a drone and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a method for providing useful information to a specific target such as a car through a drone, a device capable of effectively suppressing the flight of the drone, and a control method thereof. . Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

drone Usage example

1 is a diagram showing an example of using a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention. The drone 100 of FIG. 1 may be paired with the car 200, hover in the space above the car 200 according to a user's manipulation or a preset operation method, and fly in front of the car 200. Situational awareness can be performed. 1 assumes a situation in which a traffic light 400 exists in front of the car 200 and other cars 201 and 202 exist between the traffic light 400 and the car 200 .

In a normal case, in the situation shown in FIG. 1 , the driver of the vehicle 200 has no way to acquire information about the traffic situation in front of the vehicle 201 because the vehicle 201 blocks the view. In particular, as in the case of FIG. 1 , when the vehicle 201 in front belongs to a large vehicle such as a truck or a bus, it is not easy to cope with an unexpected unexpected situation because the situation in front of the vehicle is unknown. In the current navigation system, only information such as speed, driving route or area name is provided to the user, and information such as the driving condition of the car in front, the traffic condition of the car in front of the car in front, the condition of traffic lights on the road, and image information near intersections is provided. It does not provide information about the surrounding environment.

However, as in the case of FIG. 1 , when the vehicle 200 is paired with the drone 100 equipped with various sensing means, the user monitors the situation around the vehicle 200 by receiving various information sensed by the drone 100. can be easily verified. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100 may include a camera capable of capturing still images and moving images as a sensing means, and transmit image information captured through the camera to the vehicle 200 in real time. . In FIG. 1 , a thin solid line va is a guide line for displaying a viewing angle θ of a camera of the drone 100, and a dotted line arrow shows a flow of information between the drone 100 and the vehicle 200. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100 may include a camera equipped with a wide-angle lens as a sensing means, and in this case, it may perform photography for a wide field of view. In addition, the drone 100 may be equipped with a plurality of cameras, and may obtain real-time image information for a plurality of directions and provide the obtained information to the driver. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the driver may check the real-time image provided by the drone 100 through an output means such as a navigation screen of the car 200. According to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the driver can immediately check the driving conditions of the car 201 in front and the car 202 in front of it and the traffic situation in front, and can detect traffic lights 400, obstacles on the road, accidents on the road, etc. You can also easily deal with special events.

That is, the drone of FIG. 1 can be used as one solution to solve the driver's blind spot. Drones can be said to be significant in that they provide information that the existing communication infrastructure cannot provide.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the drone 100 is shown to be a quadcopter including four propellers, but is not limited thereto, and may be provided in various types of air vehicles.

drone's Component

2 is a diagram showing a drone 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to FIG. 2 , the drone 100 may include a control unit 110, a power unit 120, a communication unit 130, and a detection unit 140. Depending on the method of implementing the present invention, each component may be combined with each other and provided as one, and some components may be omitted depending on the method of implementing the present invention.

The control unit 110 may control each unit of the drone 100. The controller 110 may be implemented in the form of hardware or software, and may also exist in the form of a combination of hardware and software. Preferably, the controller 110 may include a microprocessor, but is not limited thereto.

The power unit 120 may control the movement and posture of the drone 100 under the control of the control unit 110 . The power unit 120 may be provided in various ways. According to the method of implementing the present invention, the power unit 120 may be a jet engine emitting a jet stream, or a turbo prop engine in which a propeller and a turbo engine are combined. However, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100 may be a multi-copter including a plurality of propellers. In the case of a multicopter, attitude control in the air is advantageous compared to other types of unmanned aerial vehicles, and hovering that can maintain a continuous aerial flight state at a specific location at a specific altitude is also possible. In this case, the power unit 120 may include at least one propeller and driving means such as a motor for driving the propeller.

The communication unit 130 may perform wireless communication with an external communication device under the control of the control unit 110 . Here, the external communication device may include a car paired with the drone 100, another drone, a wireless terminal such as a smart phone, and a wireless communication base station. The communication unit 130 may perform wireless communication using a short-range wireless communication method such as visible light communication, infrared communication WiFi, and Bluetooth, as well as a communication method such as WCDMA, EV-DO, HSDPA, and LTE.

The control unit 110 may transmit various information generated by the sensing unit 140 to the vehicle through the communication unit 130, and may receive a user's control signal transmitted through a wireless terminal such as a vehicle or a smartphone. there is. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100 can be interlocked with a navigation device mounted on a vehicle, and transmits destination information stored in the navigation device, route information, and location information obtained through GPS through the communication unit 130 to the vehicle. can also be received from According to another embodiment, the drone 100 may receive vehicle control information such as vehicle acceleration, stop, and direction change through the communication unit 130 . The vehicle control information will be described in more detail when describing FIGS. 4 and 5 .

The sensing unit 140 may sense the external environment of the drone under the control of the controller 110 . According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sensing unit 140 may include an image capturing means such as a camera and a sound sensing means such as a microphone. Also, according to a method of implementing the invention, the detector 140 may include a plurality of cameras or a plurality of microphones. In addition, the sensing unit 140 of the drone 100 may include an infrared sensor, and through this, it may easily sense the temperature of an external environment and objects, and obstacles or ice on the road at night. On the other hand, according to the method of implementing the present invention, the drone 100 is a barometer, altimeter, gyroscope, and acceleration sensor that detect the moving speed, altitude, and tilt of the drone 100 under the control of the control unit 110. , a pressure sensor, etc., through which the moving speed, altitude, and inclination of the drone 100 can be detected.

Although not shown in FIG. 2 , the drone 100 may additionally include a positioning unit (not shown) capable of determining the location coordinates of the drone 100 . Through this, the control unit 110 of the drone 100 can independently determine the location coordinates of the drone 100 without the assistance of a vehicle.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a drone that is paired with a car and provides information to the car, a sensing unit for sensing the surrounding environment of the drone, transmitting and receiving information with an external communication device, and receiving vehicle control information from the car Controls a receiving communication unit and each unit of the drone, selects an operating mode of the drone based on the received vehicle control information, senses a surrounding environment according to the operating mode through the sensing unit, and Provided is a drone including a control unit that extracts key information that is a criterion for determining the surrounding situation from a result of sensing the surrounding environment and transmits the surrounding situation information of the car determined based on the key information to the car through the communication unit. can Here, the vehicle control information may include measurement result data of a sensing unit installed in the vehicle and a control signal generated when the driver of the vehicle controls the vehicle. Details related to drone operation, vehicle control information, and core information will be covered in each item described later.

drone's various forms

3 is a diagram showing another embodiment of drones 100' and 100''. FIG. 3(a) shows a case where the drone 100′ has a kite shape, and FIG. 3(b) shows a case where the drone 100″ has a balloon shape. In both cases, a wire may exist between the vehicle 200 and the drones 100' and 100''. According to a method of implementing the present invention, the vehicle 200 and the drones 100' and 100'' may transmit and receive information through wires. In addition, at least one of the vehicle 200 and the drones 100' and 100'' may have a means for adjusting the length of the wire through an operation such as winding or unwinding the wire. In this case, the drones 100' and 100'' can be easily landed on the car through means for adjusting the length of the wire. If the kite-type drone 100' of FIG. 3 (a) or the balloon-type drone 100'' of FIG. 3 (b) has self-movement capability such as a propeller or gas injection means, within the range of the wire The drones 100' and 100'' may move in

As shown in FIG. 3, when the car 200 and the drones 100' and 100'' are connected through a wire, it has been noticed that the drones 100' and 100'' are farther away from the car 200 than a certain extent. It can be prevented. On the other hand, if the drone has a kite shape 100' as shown in FIG. 3(a), it can be easily levitated in the air while the vehicle 200 is running. When the drone has a balloon shape 100'' as shown in FIG. 3(b), it can easily maintain its posture in the air regardless of whether the car 200 is running. Since the drones 100' and 100'' have a structure of a kite or a balloon, energy consumed for the flight of the drone can be conserved, so that efficient power control of the drones 100' and 100'' is possible. Meanwhile, the drones 100' and 100'' of FIG. 3 may exist in a form in which both a kite and a balloon are combined, and may additionally include driving means such as a propeller. Also, regardless of the embodiment of FIG. 3 , a drone in the form of a general multicopter may be connected to the vehicle 200 through a wire. Alternatively, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the drones 100' and 100'' in which wires are omitted may exist.

drone's automobile tracking method

On the other hand, it is necessary to consider a method for effectively tracking a car by a drone in the air when the car is driving. 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method for tracking a car by a drone.

First, a method of calculating the distance and relative direction between the vehicle and the drone using the strength of the wireless signal and the signal transmission time may be considered. As the distance between the car and the drone increases, the signal strength decreases and the signal transmission time increases, so distance calculation based on this is possible. In addition, when at least one of the vehicle or drone is provided with a plurality of antennas for transmitting and receiving radio signals, the direction of the vehicle or drone may be calculated from the difference in signal reception time between the antennas. The drone can track the car by estimating the distance to the car and the direction of the car from at least one of the difference between the strength of the wireless signal measured in real time, the signal transmission time, and the signal reception time between the antennas. In FIG. 4(a), the vehicle 200 is shown as having two wireless antennas. The drone 100 can measure the strengths (RSSI1, RSSI2) of the signals received from the radio signals received from each antenna, and the time taken for the signal to be transmitted from each antenna to the drone 100 (t_delay1, t_delay2) each can be measured. That is, the drone 100 may measure the transmission time (t_trans1, t_trans2) and the reception time (t_receive1, t_receive2) of the signal transmitted from each antenna, respectively. That is, if the signal received by the drone 100 includes transmission time information (t_trans1, t_trans2) of the signal transmitted from each antenna, between the transmission time (t_trans1, t_trans2) and the reception time (t_receive1, t_receive2 ), it is possible to measure the time it takes for the signal to be transmitted (t_delay1, t_delay2), and the time it takes for the signal to be transmitted can be converted into distance information. Accordingly, the drone 100 may estimate the distance and direction of the vehicle 200 based on at least one of signal strength information, signal transmission time information, and signal reception time information. The drone 100 may control a power unit of the drone 100 so that the estimated distance and direction of the vehicle 200 are constantly maintained. However, the foregoing is only one example of the present invention and is not limited thereto.

Alternatively, drones can track cars using GPS location coordinates. As described above, a positioning unit may be included in a drone. According to FIG. 4(b), the car 200 and the drone 100 may respectively receive GPS location coordinates (GPS_car, GPS_drone) from the GPS satellite 500. In addition, the drone 100 may receive real-time GPS location coordinates (GPS_car) of the car from the car 200 as a tracking target. The drone 100 may calculate a movement path for tracking the vehicle 200 as a tracking target based on its current GPS location coordinates (GPS_drone) and the GPS location coordinates (GPS_drone) received from the vehicle. Of course, a large error may occur in the GPS location coordinates depending on the surrounding environment such as a building. However, in general, since a car cannot rapidly change its direction or location, and its driving range is limited to locations such as roads or vacant lots, drones combine the GPS location coordinates of the car received with the map information of the surrounding area stored in advance. Thus, the actual location coordinates of the car can be estimated. According to the method of implementing the present invention, a general navigation algorithm may be built into the drone 100 and the route of the vehicle 200 may be tracked through GPS location coordinates. The drone 100 may constantly maintain a relative positional relationship between the car 200 and the drone 100 based on its GPS location coordinates and the GPS location coordinates of the car 200 . For example, the drone 100 may determine whether a value resulting from subtracting the GPS location coordinates of the car 200 from its own GPS location coordinates is included in a range of preset coordinate values. The drone 100 may control the power unit of the drone so that the resulting value is included in the range. However, a method of tracking a car using GPS location coordinates is not limited to the above.

As another embodiment of the present invention, a drone may track a car using an image capture means such as a camera. According to FIG. 4(c) , the drone 100 may photograph the car 200 using its own image capturing unit included in the sensing unit. In FIG. 4(c), a thin solid line va means the viewing angle of the image capture means of the drone 100, which is only an example, and the range in which the drone 100 can capture an image is not limited thereto. In FIG. 4(c), the picture on the right means image data (img_data) obtained through the image capture unit of the drone 100. The image data may represent one frame of video data photographed by an image photographing means, or may be a still image composed of one sheet. The drone 100 may control the power unit of the drone 100 so that image pattern information (obj_car) of a vehicle to be tracked exists within a preset recognition area (cog_area). Here, the position and size of the recognition area (cog_area) is not limited to the contents of FIG. 4(c), and may exist in plural. In addition, the image pattern information of the vehicle may be normal external image data of the vehicle that can be captured by a drone image capture unit. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a means for transmitting a specific optical signal pattern may be provided outside the vehicle 200, and the drone 100 may be used in the entire image data (img_data) area or the aforementioned recognition area ( The specific optical signal pattern may be detected from the cog_area). Here, the light signal pattern may be information encrypted/encoded in a specific method like a QR code. The drone 100 may control the power unit of the drone so that the specific optical signal pattern is located in the entire area of the image data (img_data) or the recognition area (cog_area). Through this method, the drone 100 can maintain a constant relative positional relationship with the car 200 . However, a method of tracking a vehicle using an image capture unit is not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, according to FIG. 4(d), the drone 100 may receive vehicle control information (car_ctrl_sig) from the car 200. Vehicle control information means a signal generated when a driver manipulates each part of the vehicle 200 . According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control information (car_ctrl_sig) is generated when the measurement result data of the sensing unit mounted on the vehicle 200 and the driver of the vehicle 200 controls the vehicle 200. A control signal may be included. Vehicle control information (car_ctrl_sig) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes vehicle speed information, control signals related to acceleration and deceleration pedal manipulation, control signals related to steering wheel manipulation, control signals related to transmission manipulation, left and right direction indicators blinking, Whether or not headlights and emergency lights are blinking, detection result data from built-in vehicle sensors (tilt, temperature, external camera, proximity sensor), navigation information (car destination, vehicle driving route, area characteristics information where the vehicle is located) and other interworking with the vehicle It may include, but is not limited to, sensing, manipulation, and control signals transmitted from an external terminal. By receiving the vehicle control information (car_ctrl_sig), the drone 100 can detect the speed, acceleration and deceleration, change of direction, etc. of the vehicle 200, and through this, it is possible to estimate the driving path of the vehicle. In addition, the drone 100 may track the car 200 by generating a control signal for controlling a power unit of the drone based on vehicle control information (car_ctrl_sig). According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100 responds to control signals related to steering wheel manipulation of the vehicle 200 included in vehicle control information, control signals related to acceleration and deceleration pedal manipulation, and control signals related to transmission manipulation. Based on this, it is possible to determine the flight direction and flight speed of the drone.

Drone tracking based on the vehicle control information will be described in detail in FIGS. 5 to 7 .

5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention in which drones 100_t1 and 100_t2 track cars 200_t1 and 200_t2 using vehicle control information.

In order for the drone of the filed invention to provide various information to the car, the drone must basically follow the car's movement and move together, and in particular, must be able to respond to sudden changes in the car's driving condition.

When a drone tracks a car by relying only on GPS or camera images in a situation where the road is complicated and there are many buildings around, the tracking performance can be seriously degraded due to GPS signal errors and obstacles. Even in the case of the existing GPS-based navigation, when a car deviate from a set route and rapidly changes direction, it is frequently found that the car's movement is not properly reflected and the wrong location is evaluated as the current location of the car. can According to the embodiment of the invention of the application, the drone can track the movement of the car immediately based on the vehicle control information transmitted from the car.

At the time point t1 in FIG. 5( a ), the steering wheel angle of the automobile 200_t1 is 0 degrees, that is, it is in a straight direction and the speed is 50 km/h. At time t2 in FIG. 5(a), the steering wheel angle of the car 200_t2 is 45 degrees to the left, and the speed is slightly reduced to 40 km/h. A box on the right side of FIG. 5 (a) shows the state and speed of the steering wheel at each point in time. In any case, since the drones 100_t1 and 100_t2 receive vehicle control information including steering wheel angle and speed information of the cars 200_t1 and 200_t2 from the cars 200_t1 and 200_t2, they can constantly check the motion of the cars. can Accordingly, the drone according to the filed invention decelerates when the car decelerates, and rotates to the right when the car turns right, thereby maintaining the relative positional relationship between the car and the drone. Of course, tracking according to the embodiment of FIGS. A combination of methods can be used.

5(b) and 5(c) show a method of confirming the direction of a vehicle from vehicle control information according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5(d) is a flowchart showing the method, in particular A method of detecting an angle change of the steering wheel 250 of a vehicle based on motion information of the smart watch 50 included in vehicle control information is illustrated.

As described above, the vehicle control information may include detection, manipulation, and control signals transmitted from an external terminal interlocked with the vehicle. That is, when the user's hands (hand_L, hand_R) manipulate the steering wheel 250 of the vehicle, a terminal such as the smart watch 50 worn on the user's wrist can detect the movement of the user's hands ( S10). In this case, sensors such as an inertial sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a gyroscope built into the smart watch 50 may be utilized. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the user's smart watch 50 may detect clockwise rotation or counterclockwise rotation of the user's hands (hand_L, hand_R), and the rotation direction is the rotation of the steering wheel 250 It can be converted into angle information. For example, the movement of the smart watch 50 is converted into an angle change of the steering wheel 250 based on a combination of a change in the direction of movement of the user's hands (hand_L and hand_R), a change in speed, and a change in acceleration (S20). The step S20 may be performed in either the smart watch 50 or a vehicle. Thereafter, the converted steering wheel angle information may be included in vehicle control information and transmitted to the drone. According to another embodiment of the present invention, motion information of the smart watch 50 may be directly included in vehicle control information, and a drone may convert the motion information into angle information of the steering wheel 250.

FIG. 6 shows the embodiment of FIG. 5(a) in more detail, and shows vehicle control information, a flight direction of a drone according to the vehicle control information, and a sequence of drone control signals.

The first graph and the second graph of FIG. 6 show the angle of the vehicle steering wheel and the vehicle speed over time, respectively. According to FIG. 6, the cars 200_t1 and 200_t2 go straight in the north direction (section t1), decelerate on the left curve road, turn to the left (section t2), get out of the curve road, and recover to the original speed, returning to the left direction. represents the process of going straight to . The steering wheel angle change and speed change of the cars 200_t1 and 200_t2 over time can be included in vehicle control information and transmitted to the drones 100_t1 and 100_t2, and the drones 100_t1 and 100_t2 can control the vehicle control information based on the transmitted vehicle control information. Thus, it can control its own power unit to track the cars 200_t1 and 200_t2. The third graph of FIG. 6 shows the change in the traveling direction of the drone over time, and may be calculated based on the change in vehicle control information according to the first and second graphs of FIG. 6 . The fourth graph of FIG. 6 shows an example of a control signal transmitted from the control unit of the drones 100_t1 and 100_t2 to the power unit in order to catch up with changes in driving conditions of the cars 200_t1 and 200_t2. Control units of the drones 100_t1 and 100_t2 may generate drone control signals for controlling each unit of the drone based on the received vehicle control information. That is, in the straight-going section t1, the control unit of the drones 100_t1 and 100_t2 may transmit control signals for going straight and maintaining speed to the power unit. However, in the section t2 in which the cars 200_t1 and 200_t2 make left turns, the controllers of the drones 100_t1 and 100_t2 can sequentially transmit control signals corresponding to speed reduction, speed maintenance, and speed increase toward the power unit, and continuously A control signal for performing a left turn by an angle may be transmitted. The control signal of the fragmented drone described above is only an example, and the invention of the application is not limited thereto.

7 illustrates vehicle control information transmitted to a drone and interpolated vehicle control information. The upper graph of FIG. 7 shows the change in the angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle over time, and has a continuous value. However, the change in the angle of the steering wheel may be discontinuously transmitted to the drone at predetermined intervals according to a digital processing method. This is shown in the lower graph (trans_val) of FIG. 7 . If the period has a large value, power consumption due to signal transmission can be reduced, but as a result, the movement of the vehicle is not transmitted to the drone in detail, so the tracking performance of the drone may be degraded. In order to prevent this, the drone receiving the vehicle control information (steering wheel angle information according to FIG. 7) may estimate the median value between the values (trans_val) of the received vehicle control information through an interpolation technique, and the interpolated Vehicle control information (inter_val) can be used to accurately track a vehicle.

drone's automatic operation

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone can automatically take off, run, and land, detect the driving state of the vehicle and the surrounding environment, and operate in a manner suitable for each situation. More specifically, the drone may select an operating mode of the drone based on vehicle control information received from the vehicle, and may determine a method for sensing the surrounding environment of the drone based on the operating mode. Here, the method of detecting the surrounding environment of the drone is used for the relative positional relationship of the drone with respect to the car, the direction of the sensing unit of the drone and the setting of the sensing unit (for example, the aperture value of the camera), and the sensing of the surrounding environment. It may include whether or not additional parts (eg, types of lenses) are used. When determining the operation mode, the drone may further use location coordinates or attribute information indicated by the location. Here, the attribute information indicated by the location includes the physical shape of the road (for example, crossroads, three-way intersections, straight roads, curved roads, uphill roads, etc.), components (for example, whether it is an asphalt road), and the name of the place according to the location (for example, parking lots, apartments, basements, tunnels, etc.), statistical information related to location (eg accident rates, weather statistics, etc.) and other settings (eg tourist areas, no-fly zones, etc.).

1) Parking and slow mode

This mode can be selected in situations where the vehicle is moving forward or backward at low speed. That is, when the transmission is in D or R state and vehicle control information indicating that the vehicle is running at a predetermined speed or less is transmitted to the drone, the drone may be located several meters in the air in the direction in which the vehicle is moving, and a wide-angle lens may be used. It is possible to transmit real-time image information of a wide field of view captured using the vehicle. At this time, the driver can check the image of the front or rear of the car transmitted by the drone through a display means such as a car navigation system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it may be assumed that a car travels slowly in a narrow alley. At this time, when the state of the transmission of the vehicle is D and the speed is less than 15 km/h, the operation mode of the drone may be selected as a low speed mode. In this case, the drone may set the relative position of the drone to the car to be 5 meters in front of the car in order to check the situation in front of the car. Conversely, when the vehicle moves at less than 15 km/h with the transmission R, the drone may select an operating mode as a low speed mode. In this case, the drone may set a position 5 meters away from the car in the direction in which the car moves backward as a relative position of the drone. That is, the drone may change its position relative to the vehicle based on vehicle control information transmitted from the vehicle.

2) Driving mode, leading mode

When vehicle control information indicating that the vehicle travels at a speed within a predetermined range is transmitted, the drone may be operated in a driving mode. According to the method of implementing the present invention, the drone can track the car while maintaining a preset relative positional relationship such as an altitude of 3 meters and a rear of the car of 2 meters. Alternatively, the drone can operate in lead mode, flying ahead of the car at an altitude of 3 meters and 3 meters in front of the car. In particular, the reading mode may be activated when a signal related to the operation of the headlight is included in the vehicle control information or when it is indicated that the current time is after sunset. That is, in the reading mode, the drone flies ahead of the car to assist the driver's ability to recognize the situation ahead.

At this time, the drone may maintain a constant relative positional relationship between the vehicle and the drone according to the embodiment of FIG. 4 described above. The drone can sense the environment around the car from its location and transmit relevant information to the car. According to the embodiment according to the present invention, since the drone can track the movement of the car based on the vehicle control information transmitted by the car, even if the drone flies ahead of the car, such as in the reading mode, the car suddenly moves in the direction of the car. In response to the transition, it can fly by imitating the movement of the car, and through this, the relative positional relationship between the car and the drone can be maintained.

3) Lane change mode

This mode can be used when the car changes lanes while driving or tries to enter the road while stopped. This mode can be selected when the vehicle control information transmitted from the vehicle includes signals related to operation of the left/right direction indicators. For example, when the driver flashes the left turn signal, the drone can set its relative position to the car to be 2 meters to the left of the car, and at that relative position, another car approaching from the side or rear of the left side of the car. By taking images and providing them to the driver, blind spots in the driver's field of vision can be eliminated.

This mode may not work if the car is attempting to turn left/right at an intersection or the like. Whether or not the vehicle is located at an intersection can be determined from GPS coordinates, map data, attribute information according to the aforementioned location, and navigation information.

4) regression mode

This mode may operate as a return mode to return to the vehicle when the vehicle or the drone enters an area where drone flight is inappropriate, eg, a no-fly zone. Whether or not the vehicle enters the no-fly zone may be determined from map data embedded in the vehicle or drone, attribute information according to the aforementioned location, and navigation information. In this mode, the drone can be landed/stowed in the car or the position of the drone can be set below the set relative altitude directly above the car.

5) Indoor mode

This mode can be used when the vehicle enters the interior of a building, an underground parking lot or a tunnel. Indoor mode can be selected when the car or drone cannot receive a GPS signal or when the GPS signal is unreliable. Alternatively, when a car or drone receives a specific wireless signal from an RFID installed at an underground parking lot or tunnel entrance, the drone may operate in a return mode. Whether or not the vehicle enters a building or a tunnel may be determined from map data embedded in the vehicle or drone, attribute information according to the aforementioned location, and navigation information. In this mode, the position of the drone can be set below the set relative altitude right above the car.

On the other hand, since it is difficult to receive a GPS signal indoors of a building, a different location calculation method may be applied. For example, the drone may calculate the position of the drone in the indoor space from a combination of a ceiling picture of the space where it is currently located and information on its movement path. The drone may continuously photograph the shape of the ceiling through an upward camera at the same time as it moves, and generate one large picture of the ceiling, that is, a map, based on the photographed ceiling picture based on its movement path information. When the map is partially generated, the drone may determine its location by comparing the map with the shape of the ceiling detected by the camera above. That is, the drone can calculate the position of the drone and the car in the indoor space through a combination of the above-described image-based position calculation and dead reckoning. The drone may produce the map information itself, but may also receive an input from the outside. In this case, the map information may include information about an area in which the vehicle can drive in an indoor space. The information related to the area in which the vehicle can drive may be formed based on lanes on the road detected through an image capture unit provided in the drone.

In this mode, the drone can check for empty parking spaces through sensing means such as cameras. Alternatively, the drone may receive empty parking space information from the management system of the parking lot. The drone may determine an empty parking space based on received parking space information or image information acquired through a camera of the drone, and may transmit the information to the vehicle. In addition, a route from a parking lot entrance to a parking space may be generated based on the above-described map and the determined vacant parking space. The drone may guide a car entering the parking lot entrance to the empty parking space based on the route.

6) Accident detection mode

This mode may be set when a change in the value of specific vehicle control information transmitted from the vehicle exceeds a preset range or when the drone cannot receive vehicle control information from the vehicle for more than a preset time. As an example, information such as a sudden decrease in speed of a car, a sudden change in steering wheel angle, an airbag operation start signal, and various physical changes detected by other users' smart devices and in-vehicle sensors is included in vehicle control information and transmitted to the drone. case can be considered.

When the accident detection mode is started, the drone records the GPS coordinates of the car or drone at the time the mode was started, the video data before the accident detection mode started, and the video data that are continuously filmed thereafter temporarily stored in the buffer in the internal storage. can do. Since drones can take images before and after an accident from a third party's point of view in the air, they can be usefully used in future accident cause analysis and accident/insurance-related lawsuits.

If a wireless channel for communication between drones is separately allocated, the drones may share accident time/location/video information with other drones through the corresponding channel.

7) Traffic congestion mode

For example, if vehicle control information indicating that the speed of the car is 0 to 10 km/h, the transmission status is D or N, and the distance between the vehicle detected by the car sensor is within 2 m is transmitted to the drone, the traffic congestion mode is entered. can be chosen Alternatively, the traffic congestion mode may be activated based on a pattern of vehicle control information, such as continuously detecting operation of an accelerator pedal and a deceleration pedal of a vehicle within a predetermined time period. In this mode, the drone can be operated by rising above a preset altitude, capturing video information of a wide area and transmitting it to the car, or moving forward a relatively preset distance away from the car to grasp the traffic situation in front of the car. there is.

If a wireless channel for communication between drones is separately allocated, the drones may share traffic image information captured by other drones through the corresponding channel.

8) User positioning mode

The relative positional relationship between the drone and the vehicle can be easily changed by a user's manipulation. 8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method of controlling a relative positional relationship of a drone with respect to a vehicle based on a manipulation signal of an in-vehicle device included in vehicle control information. The driver may check the image around the vehicle transmitted by the drone 100 through the display unit 220 such as a navigation device mounted inside the vehicle. If the corresponding display unit 220 is a touch screen, the position of the drone 100 may be adjusted by touching the surface of the display unit 220 with a hand. In FIG. 8, the right side of the broken line shows the actual positional relationship between the car 200 and the drone 100, and the left side of the broken line shows the car and drone icons 222 and 221a and the drone icon output through the display unit 220. Indicates the new position 221b of . 8(a) shows a case where the drone 100 is located behind the vehicle 200. The actual positional relationship between the car 200 and the drone 100 is output through the icons 222 and 221a of the display unit 220, and the driver can easily grasp the approximate position of the drone through this. Meanwhile, according to FIG. 8(b), the driver may set a new location 221b of the drone icon by clicking the right side of the car icon 222. In order for the drone 100 to move to a newly set location, a process of converting a user's manipulation into GPS location coordinates or relative positional relationship information between the drone and the vehicle is required. The conversion process may be performed in at least one of a vehicle or a drone according to a method of implementing the invention. That is, when the user's operation information is transmitted to the drone 100, the drone can convert the operation information into GPS coordinate information or relative positional relationship information between the drone and the car, and control the power unit to move to the corresponding coordinates or location. When GPS location coordinates or relative positional relationship information between the drone and the vehicle are obtained from the car 200, the drone 100 may simply receive the information and move to the corresponding coordinates or location. The position adjustment method of the drone may be possible at any time while the drone is in operation, regardless of the operation mode of the drone. However, the method for adjusting the position of the drone by the driver is not limited to the above.

9) Navigation support mode

It can be activated when the driving route of the vehicle is input through the vehicle's navigation and the driving route information is included in the vehicle control information and transmitted to the drone. When it is detected that the current location of the vehicle is near an intersection such as a three-way intersection or an intersection, the drone may move in advance over the intersection and transmit surrounding traffic situation information to the driver.

10) Travel photo and video recording support mode

9 is a diagram illustrating a travel photo and video capture support mode of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention. 9 is a simplified plan view of an area (T_area) set as a tourist destination, and it is assumed that the upper side of FIG. 9 is the sea and the lower side is the land. A coastal road is provided on the land in FIG. 9 , and cars 200a and 200b are traveling in opposite directions on the coastal road. Car 200a and car 200b are paired with drone 100a and drone 100b, respectively. In FIG. 9 , shaded areas va_a and va_b around each drone 100a and 100b may indicate an image capture range of each drone 100a and 100b.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, based on the location coordinates of the tourist destination T_area, map information of 'recommended filming location', attribute information according to location, or navigation information may be allocated to the corresponding tourist destination. In this case, the cars 200a and 200b or the drones 100a and 100b can recognize that the cars 200a and 200b have entered the tourist destination T_area based on these pieces of information. In this case, recommended shooting movement route information (c_a, c_b) for the drone may be additionally included in the attribute information according to the location. When the cars 200a and 200b enter the corresponding tourist destination T_area, the drones 100a and 100b may deviate from the relative position of each car and enter the flight path according to the recommended shooting route information c_a and c_b. In addition, each of the cars 200a and 200b can be tracked from a long distance based on the vehicle speed and steering wheel angle information of the vehicle control information transmitted by the cars 200a and 200b. At this time, each photographing movement line information (c_a, c_b) may include at least one recommended photographing point (loc1, loc2, loc3, loc4). According to FIG. 9 , the car 200a is moving in the right direction, and the drone 100a can photograph the car 200a while moving along the photographing movement line information c_a. Accordingly, the drone 200a may obtain an image or photo of the vehicle 200a running on the coastal road, and the obtained image or photo may be transmitted to the vehicle 200a. The drone 100a may recognize the direction in which the car 200a is located through GPS location coordinates of the car 200a and the drone 100a, a relative positional relationship between them, or a tracking method according to various embodiments of FIG. 4 .

11) Parking assist mode

10 is a diagram illustrating a parking assist mode of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10 shows a parking lot in terms of a plan view, showing a situation in which a drone 100 paired with a car 200 is in flight, and cars 202, 203, 204, 205 and a moving car 201 are present nearby. And the pedestrians p1 and p2 also exist together. In this case, the relative position of the drone 100 may be, for example, 2 to 3 meters away from the center of the car 200 upward. In FIG. 10 , va represents a detection range of the drone 100, and alert_area represents a recognition area for the drone 100 to detect an object approaching the vehicle 100. Although the alert_area of FIG. 10 is illustrated as having a ring shape, it is not limited thereto, and an area within the ring may be recognized. The alert_area is related to core information to be described later, and the core information will be dealt with in more detail when describing FIGS. 11 to 13 .

The drone 100 enters the parking assist mode when the transmission state of the vehicle is one of P, N, D, and R, the speed is less than 15 km/h, and the map information, navigation information, or location-based property information is a parking lot. can be operated Alternatively, the drone 100 enters this mode when the transmission state of the vehicle is one of P, N, D, and R, the speed is less than 15 km/h, and the control signal related to the operation of the warning light is included in the vehicle control information. While operating, it can monitor surrounding objects. In the parking assist mode, as shown in FIG. 10, the drone 100 hovers directly above or around the car 200, and determines whether there are other cars 201, 203 approaching or adjacent to the car, or pedestrians p1 approaching or adjacent to the car 200. may be sensed and transmitted to the vehicle 200 in real time, or real-time image information for the entire va area may be transmitted to the vehicle 200. According to a preferred example of the present invention, the drone 100 may perform wide-field detection through a sensing means such as a camera employing a wide-angle lens or monitor the surroundings of the car 200 from a bird's eye view. , the present invention is not limited thereto.

Although various operating modes of the drone have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto and various operating modes may exist. Meanwhile, the drone may extract core information corresponding to each mode from the result of sensing the surrounding environment. In the description of each operating mode above, it is not specifically described which core information is individually related, but this does not mean that core information is not extracted from each operating mode, and is omitted for simplicity. .

operate in mode Key information according to

11 illustrates an operation method of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention. 11 also shows mutually transmitted and received information between the drone and the vehicle.

Measurement result data of a sensing unit installed in the vehicle and a control signal generated when the driver of the vehicle controls the vehicle may be included in vehicle control information, and the vehicle control information may be transmitted to the drone (S200). The drone may receive vehicle control information and analyze various pieces of information included in the vehicle control information (S100). The drone can select the operation mode of the drone based on the analyzed vehicle control information, and according to FIG. 11, the drone can select the operation mode of the drone as the reading mode. The reading mode of FIG. 11 may be different from the '2) reading mode' described above, or may be an operating method in which the '2) reading mode' and the '9) navigation support mode' are combined. The drone may control each unit of the drone based on the selected reading mode (S120). For example, the drone may set the relative position of the drone to the car to be 4 meters ahead of the traveling direction of the car by controlling the power unit of the drone based on the reading mode. Depending on the reading mode, the drone can sense the situation in front of and around the car through the sensing unit. Various sensing result data sensed by the drone may be transmitted to the vehicle in real time, and the vehicle may receive and output them to the user (S210). The drone can recognize that there is an intersection in the driving direction of the vehicle while operating the reading mode. For example, the drone may recognize the shape of the intersection by analyzing an image of a camera built in a sensing unit. Alternatively, the drone may recognize the intersection by utilizing map information, attribute information according to location, and navigation information. Depending on the operating method of the reading mode, when the intersection is recognized, the drone may move ahead to the intersection and then sense other cars entering the intersection. The drone may extract key information corresponding to the presence or absence of a car entering the intersection from the sensing result data of the surrounding environment or the intersection to be recognized, and transmit the same to the car (S130). Core information is information that is a standard for determining the surrounding situation, and the type of core information can be determined in response to the operation mode of the drone. According to the preferred information of the present invention, the core information includes whether or not a sound of a predetermined level or higher is detected, whether a predetermined sound, voice, image, character, figure, or pattern is recognized, and whether an object corresponding to a predetermined temperature range is detected. Whether or not the movement of an object moving in a preset direction is detected, whether light or color within a preset color range is detected, and whether the movement of an object is detected in a specific area of the sensing unit's detection range, an external communication device It may include at least one of whether specific information is received from, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The drone may share key information indicating the presence of other cars entering the intersection with nearby cars or drones, and at this time, a method such as broadcasting on a preset communication channel or multiple communication channels may be used. Meanwhile, the vehicle may receive core information sent by the drone (S220). In this case, since the core information is highly likely to be information related to safe driving of the vehicle, the core information may be transmitted to the vehicle through a separate communication channel or communication method having extremely low latency. The vehicle may immediately output the received core information to the user or output a warning/warning signal related to the core information (S230).

FIG. 12 is a detailed illustration of the operation method of the drone of FIG. 11 .

According to FIG. 12(a), the drone 100 may receive vehicle control information (car_ctrl_sig) from the car 200 and select a reading mode as an operating mode based on the received vehicle control information (car_ctrl_sig). According to FIG. 12(b), while operating in the reading mode, the drone 100 may recognize an intersection (c_road) ahead and move ahead of the car 200 in the direction where the intersection is located. In FIG. 12(c), the drone 100 may sense a car approaching the intersection c_road through the sensing range va of the sensing unit, and the sensing result data or information sen_info is the car 200 can be sent to Then, according to FIG. 12(d), the drone 100 senses another car 201 entering the intersection c_road, and the sensing result data or information indicates that another car 201 has entered the intersection. Information (key_info) may be extracted and transmitted to the vehicle 200 . Referring to FIG. 12(e), for road and traffic safety, the key information (key_info) may be transmitted to nearby cars 201 and 202. 12(e) shows a broadcasting area of the drone 100.

13 illustrates a key information extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 schematically illustrates an intersection sensed through a sensing unit of a drone (not shown), and shows a situation in which a paired vehicle 200 is traveling in an upward direction. Since a large percentage of traffic accidents occur at intersections, traffic and road safety can be improved if the detection of vehicles entering the intersection from the other direction is performed. According to FIG. 13, when the drone recognizes an intersection while operating in the reading mode, the drone detects an object moving in a direction perpendicular to the driving direction of the vehicle 200, that is, an object moving from left to right or from right to left. This detection may be performed in two specific areas sa1 and sa2 among sensing areas of the drone. That is, area sa1 can be used to detect vehicles entering the intersection from the left side to the right, and area sa2 can be used to detect vehicles entering the intersection from the right side to the left. According to FIG. 13, the drone can successfully detect a car 201 entering from the right to the left in the sa2 area, and from the sensing result data or information, 'a car entering from the right side of the intersection exists' key information can be extracted. The key information can be immediately transmitted to the vehicle 200, and the driver can prepare for it.

In the case of FIG. 10, the drone 100 determines whether an object is recognized or moves in a separate alert_area within the detection range va, thereby extracting key information corresponding to the presence or absence of an adjacent object that may collide with the vehicle 200 can do.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when vehicle control information satisfying a preset condition is received when the drone operates in the first operating mode, the operating mode of the drone is changed to the second operating mode in response to the vehicle control information. can be changed That is, the operation mode of the drone is not fixed, and the operation mode may be changed based on vehicle control information or data as a result of the drone sensing from the surrounding environment.

14 is a diagram illustrating a change in operation mode of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 14( a ), it may be assumed that the drone 100 is operating in driving mode. At this time, the slope value θ of the vehicle of the vehicle control information transmitted from the vehicle 200 may be transmitted, and when the slope value corresponds to a preset range, the drone may switch the operation mode to the uphill mode. According to FIG. 14(b), the relative position of the drone 100 may be adjusted so that the drone 100 flies prior to traveling to the car 200 in response to operation in the uphill mode, and sensing of a wide field of view is performed. (FIG. 14(c)). 14(d) shows an image of a surrounding environment within a detection range va that can be sensed by the drone 100, and a specific area of the detection range may be separately set (sa) to extract core information. The drone 100 may detect the movement or existence of an object approaching from the opposite side, i.e., in the opposite direction to the driving direction of the vehicle in the corresponding area sa, and if the vehicle 201 on the opposite side is detected, key information related thereto is displayed. It can also be generated and transmitted to the automobile 200 and other automobiles 201.

Operation according to driver's intention and condition mode select

Meanwhile, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control information may include driver's motion information sensed from the vehicle. Recently, automobiles often have various detection means such as a black box. When a camera or the like capable of detecting a driver's movement is installed inside a vehicle, the vehicle may include driver's movement information in vehicle control information. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the drone predicts the driver's intention related to the driving of the vehicle based on the driver's motion information included in the vehicle control information, and the drone is controlled based on the predicted driver's intention. operating mode can be determined.

15 is a diagram illustrating determining an operation mode of a drone by predicting a driver's intention.

In general, a person may perform various movements as a pre-action before performing a specific action. For example, when a driver tries to change lanes, they can take actions such as constantly looking at their side mirrors or turning their heads to check the space in the next lane. The camera 230 of the vehicle 200 may detect such a movement and may include movement information related to the driver's behavior of looking at the side mirror in the vehicle control information (car_ctrl_sig). Upon receiving the vehicle control information (car_ctrl_sig), the drone 100 may change the operation mode to the lane change support mode based on the motion information, and accordingly detect cars on the rear 201 and the side of the drone 100. The sensing range (va) can be changed. Alternatively, the drone 100 may set its relative position with respect to the car 200 to the left or right side of the car 200 (ie, the direction of the side mirror that the driver looks at) several meters away. The drone 100 may transmit data or information (sen_info) to the car 200 in real time as a result of sensing the detected images of the rear 201 and the side, and if a car 201 approaching from the rear exists In this case, key information (key_info) warning of this may be transmitted to the vehicle 200 .

Meanwhile, when a sensing means such as a camera is provided inside the vehicle, the driver's condition may be estimated based on a sensing result. In addition, an operation mode of the drone may be determined based on the estimated driver's condition.

16 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of determining an operation mode of a drone by estimating a driver's state. In particular, FIG. 16 assumes a situation in which it is estimated that the driver is dozing off based on the driver's movement. Whether the driver is drowsy driving can be estimated by detecting the movement of the driver's head, the direction of the driver's gaze, whether the driver has closed their eyes, or the like.

In FIG. 16 ( a ), the vehicle 200 may determine that the driver is dozing off based on the driver's motion information detected through the camera inside the vehicle, etc., and transmit related vehicle control information to the drone 100. Alternatively, if the driver's motion information is included in the vehicle control information, the drone 100 may estimate whether the driver is dozing or not based on the motion information. When it is estimated that the driver is drowsy, the drone 100 may be operated in a drowsy driving response mode. In FIG. 16( a ), a dangerous situation in which an accident scene (acc_scene) exists in front of the vehicle 200 is assumed. The drone 100 may move ahead of the car 200 according to the drowsy driving response mode and then change the sensing method and sensing range va to sense the situation in front of the car 200 (FIG. 16(b)). ). According to FIG. 16(c), when an obstacle such as an accident site (acc_scene) exists in front of the drone 100, a virtual limit line (lim) may be set at a location away from the obstacle by a predetermined distance (d). there is. In addition, the drone 100 transmits a control signal (wake_sig) for waking the driver and key information (not shown) indicating whether there is a front obstacle to the car 200 until the car 200 reaches a virtual limit line (lim). can transmit wake_sig may be a control signal itself that activates the seat vibration unit of the vehicle 200 or outputs a specific sound to wake the driver, or may be a trigger signal for starting the operation of the seat vibration unit or sound output unit of the vehicle 200. there is. In FIG. 16(d), when the vehicle 200 crosses the imaginary limit line (lim), the drone 100 may transmit an emergency braking signal (brake_sig) to the vehicle 200 to stop the vehicle 200 from driving. there is.

17 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of determining a drone operation mode by estimating a driver's condition.

In FIG. 17(a), the driver is dozing off, and the drone 100 may recognize that the driver is dozing according to the method described in FIG. 16(a). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100 may be normally mounted on the vehicle 200 and take off only when a specific condition is satisfied to sense the surrounding environment of the vehicle 200. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. When the driver is drowsy, the drone 100 may take off and operate in a drowsy driving response mode. However, the drowsy driving response mode of FIG. 17 may be different from that of FIG. 16 . The drone 100 can detect the situation of the vehicle 200 and the surrounding environment within the detection range va (FIG. 17(c)), and an accident such as a collision between the vehicle 200 and another vehicle 201 may occur. In case of occurrence, it can serve as an airborne black box (Fig. 17(d)).

The situation judgment and mode selection for the surrounding environment of the vehicle may be made by the drone, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the situation judgment and mode selection are made in the vehicle, and the drone may be operated based on the mode selected by the vehicle.

for platoon drone's conjugation example

On the other hand, as mentioned above, it is expected that platoons composed of a plurality of cars will drive on the road in the near future, and it is necessary to improve the sensing ability of the platoons for safe operation of the platoons. At this time, the operation method of providing information to the vehicle described above may be similarly applied to the platoon.

18 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a drone is applied to a platoon.

In FIG. 18, 200LV is a leader car, 200A, 200B, and 200C are member cars, and 200LV, 200A, 200B, and 200C form a platoon. The leader car 200LV controls the operation of the entire platoon, and the operation of the member cars 200A, 200B, and 200C is controlled by the leader car 200LV. Basically, cars included in the platoon transmit and receive mutual information through V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) communication, and platoon control information of the leader car (200LV) is transmitted to member cars (200A, 200B, 200C) through V2V, Each member vehicle (200A, 200B, 200C) senses the surrounding environment, and data or information is transmitted to the leader vehicle (200LV) through V2V.

In FIG. 18, it is assumed that a leader car 200LV and a member car 200C are paired with drones 100A and 100B, respectively. According to an embodiment of the present invention, D2D (Drone to Drone) communication may be established between the drones through a predetermined communication channel. Each of the drones 100A and 100B may sense the surrounding environment according to the method described in FIGS. 1 to 17 and transmit data or information as a result of the sensing to the paired cars 200 LV and 200C, respectively. Meanwhile, each of the drones 100A and 100B may broadcast information for specific distance ranges ba_A and ba_B, and vehicles belonging to the distance range may immediately receive information transmitted by each drone. Such broadcasting communication is advantageous in that all vehicles can acquire the same information almost simultaneously. In addition, since information is transmitted from drones in the air to cars on the ground, it is advantageous to secure Line of Sight (LOS). Although the broadcasting signal from drone 100A may not be delivered to 200B and 200C, which are subordinate cars in the platoon, drone 100B receiving the same content through D2D or broadcasting communication broadcasts the same content, so all cars in the platoon You can share the same information almost simultaneously. Even when the platoon control information generated by the leader car (200LV) is transmitted to the drone 100A, all platoon vehicles can simultaneously receive the platoon control information. Similarly, information sensed by each drone 100A and 100B and each car may be simultaneously transmitted to all platoon cars. That is, if there is at least one car that can transmit and receive information with each drone, the car transmits the information sensed by the drone, and the drone shares the received information between drones through D2D communication and broadcasts again. By repeating the process, the propagation speed and transmission process of information compared to the existing linear V2V can be simplified.

The drones 100A and 100B that can be utilized in Platoon may basically have configurations and operation methods similar to those of the drones described in FIGS. 1 to 17 . That is, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a drone that provides information to a platoon composed of a leader car and member cars whose operation is controlled by the leader car, a sensing unit for sensing the surrounding environment of the drone, external communication A communication unit that transmits/receives information with a device and receives platoon control information for adjusting the operating state of the platoon from the leader car and controls each part of the drone, and selects the operation mode of the drone based on the received platoon control information. and the surrounding environment is sensed according to the operation mode through the sensing unit, core information that is a criterion for determining the surrounding environment is extracted from the surrounding environment sensing result, and the surrounding situation information determined based on the core information is stored in the above environment. A drone including a control unit transmitting to a leader vehicle may be provided. The drone may further include a positioning unit capable of determining location coordinates.

In this case, the platoon control information may include measurement result data of sensing means mounted on each car of the platoon and a control signal generated when the driver of the leader car controls the leader car. The platoon control information is information corresponding to the vehicle control information of FIGS. 1 to 17 , and it can be said that the concept is expanded to correspond to platoons that control a plurality of vehicles. The platoon control information includes the vehicle control information of the leader car, and additionally, the control signal of the leader car that controls the overall operation of the platoon, information on the number of cars constituting the platoon, destination/route information of each car, and detection of each car. It may further include capability information, distance between each car, wireless communication connection status between each car, number of cars paired with drones, and location information on a platoon. However, information included in the platoon control information is not limited thereto.

On the other hand, as described above, the information in the platoon can be quickly and efficiently shared to each car with the help of relaying and broadcasting of drones. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit of the drone may broadcast platoon control information received from the leader car through the communication unit and transmit it to the member car. Meanwhile, the control unit of the drone may receive measurement result data of a sensing means of the car from a car included in the platoon through the communication unit, and broadcast the measurement result data to other cars in the platoon.

In the case of employing a drone in Platoon, the detection capability of Platoon can be expanded as described above. 19 is a diagram comparing the detection range of a conventional platoon and a platoon employing a drone. In FIG. 19 , a shaded portion represents a detection range of a vehicle or a drone. 19(a) shows the detection range of a conventional platoon. It can be assumed that a platoon consists of a leader car 200LV and member cars 200A, 200B, and 200C. In this case, since the sensing range of each car in the platoon is blocked by the surrounding cars, the movement of the car (rectangular box) existing beyond the car blocking the sensing range of the platoon cannot be detected. 19(b) shows the detection range when drones 100A, 100B, and 100C are employed in Platoon according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to FIG. 19(b), motions of all cars on the road can be detected. can In other words, with the help of the drone's sensing capability, Platoon can detect a range that was previously undetectable, so it can detect and prepare for an emergency more quickly when it occurs. Of course, as described above, drones rarely block LOS in communication with cars, so when a drone is employed in a platoon, it is very advantageous in propagating information within the platoon. In particular, when an outside vehicle intervenes in the middle of a platoon, the V2V communication connection within the platoon may be disconnected by the intervening vehicle, which may cause the platoon to be divided into two. The fragmentation of these platoons reduces the efficiency of the entire platoon, and there is no way to smoothly deal with the problem of interfering with an external vehicle as an existing platoon. However, if drones are employed in Platoon, Platoon's communication uses not only the existing V2V, but also communication between Platoon and drones, D2D, and drone broadcasting, so that Platoon's communication will remain valid even if there is an intervening vehicle. can

Meanwhile, drones employed in platoons may automatically provide information for platoons according to FIGS. 1 to 17 described above. At this time, the operating mode of the drone may be determined based on the vehicle control information of the paired vehicle, or may be collectively operated according to the same operating mode based on the vehicle control information of the leader vehicle included in the platoon control information.

20 is a diagram illustrating a drone receiving platoon control information with time delay according to location. In FIG. 20 , arrows connected from the leader vehicle 200LV to the drones 100A, 100B, and 100C indicate transmission of platoon control information.

When there are a plurality of drones providing information to the platoon, and the operation mode is determined based on the platoon control information of the leader car (200LV) or tracking is performed, a time delay according to the location of the drones (100A, 100B, 100C) is applied Platoon control information needs to be transmitted individually to each drone. Alternatively, each drone may receive the platoon control information at the same time, but the platoon control information to which each drone has its own time delay based on its position in the platoon may be used. For example, it can be assumed that the entire platoon enters a road that curves to the left. Normally, the leader car (200LV) will turn the steering wheel to the left first because it is located at the front of the platoon. However, the subsequent member cars 200A, 200B, and 200C are still going straight, and the drones 100B and 100C flying above the platoon will be the same. In this case, if the time-delayed platoon control information is directly used for tracking by the subsequent drones 100B and 100C, the drones 100B and 100C may ignore the formation of the entire platoon and immediately turn left. Of course, in some cases, it may be necessary to determine an immediate tracking method and operation mode using platoon control information without time delay.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the platoon control information further includes sensing capability information of each car of the platoon, and the control unit of the drone determines the sensing capability of the leader car from the platoon control information received through the communication unit. Information is obtained, and when the obtained sensing capability of the leader vehicle does not meet a predetermined minimum sensing capability criterion, the operating mode may be changed to a mode supplementing the sensing capability of the leader vehicle. At this time, in the sensing capability supplement mode, the sensing direction of the drone is the traveling direction of the leader car, the key information is whether there is an object approaching the leader car, and the surrounding environment sensed through the sensing unit is displayed in real time. can be transmitted to the leader car.

21 is a diagram showing how a drone operates according to an operation mode supplementing the sensing capability of a leader car. In FIG. 21 , a solid line indicates a flow of data or information as a result of sensing the surrounding environment detected by the drone.

As mentioned above, existing platoons are often divided by intruding cars. At this time, if a car that does not have proper sensing ability becomes the leader car of the divided platoon, the safety of the entire platoon may be significantly lowered. However, in the existing Platoon, there is no way to solve this problem. However, if drones are applied to Platoon, these problems can be easily overcome. That is, the detection range of the drone is very wide compared to that of a vehicle on the ground, and the information sensed by the drone can be easily transmitted to the vehicle on the platoon. 21 assumes a situation in which the sensing ability of the leader vehicle 200LV does not meet the preset minimum sensing ability standard. According to FIG. 21, the leader vehicle (200LV) is in a situation where there is no paired drone. In this case, the leader vehicle 200LV can compensate for its own lack of sensing ability by receiving data or information as a result of sensing the surrounding environment of the drone 100 from the member vehicle 200A paired with the drone 100 in a V2V manner. . Alternatively, although not shown in FIG. 21 , the leader vehicle 200LV may receive surrounding environment sensing result data broadcast by the drone 100 .

If the number of cars included in the platoon is large and the number of drones that can be used in the platoon is large, a plan to effectively manage the plurality of drones must be prepared. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a control device for managing a plurality of drones providing information to a platoon may be provided.

22 is a diagram showing the structure and operation method (S300 to S360) of the control device that manages the plurality of drones, that is, the drone control device 900.

According to FIG. 22 (a), the drone control device 900 transmits and receives information with an external communication device (S300), and each unit of the communication unit 920 and drone control device 900 receives performance and status information from the drone. control, create an available drone list, which is a list of drones that can be used in Platoon, based on the performance and status information (S310), determine the activation order of drones based on the available drone list (S322), and Control signals instructing takeoff are transmitted in the order through the communication unit (S320), the status of the activated drone is received through the communication unit (S332), and the activated drone is replaced based on the status of the drone. (S330), and if replacement of the activated drone is required, check the status of the drone in the next activation sequence (S340), transmit a control signal instructing the drone to land to the drone requiring replacement, and deactivate it. It may include a control unit 910 that transmits a control signal instructing take-off to drones in an activation sequence (S350) and updates the available drone list according to the replacement of the drone (not shown). At this time, when generating the list of available drones, the controller 910 may refer to the destinations of cars paired with each drone (S312), and refer to information such as the number of cars in the platoon, weather, and traffic conditions (S314) You may. If necessary, the controller 910 may select a leader drone from among the drones to control the drones and to be in charge of communication connection between the drones and the drone control device 900 (S316). At this time, the leader drone may be determined based on the drone's battery state and sensing capability. Meanwhile, when the activated drone is replaced, the replacement drone may succeed to information about the role and operation mode of the previously activated drone before take-off (S352).

The drone control device 900 may exist as a separate and independent device, but may also exist as a component of a processor of a leader car or a drone, or may exist in the form of a processing module in the form of software. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone control device 900 may be included in the control unit of the leader car or the control unit of the drone.

As described above, when a drone is added to a platoon, the platoon may remain undivided even if an external vehicle intervenes in the platoon. 23 is a diagram illustrating a method in which a platoon is maintained even when an outside vehicle cuts in.

According to FIG. 23, the original platoon was composed of cars 200LV, 200A, 200B, and 200C. At this time, FIG. 23 assumes a situation in which an outside vehicle 200_I intervenes between member vehicles 200A and 200B. In the case of the existing platoon, V2V communication between cars 200A and 200B can be disconnected by car 200_I, and accordingly, the platoon consists of a front part (P1) composed of cars 200LV and 200A and a rear part (P1) composed of cars 200B and 200C. ) can be divided into In this case, the leading car 200B of the rear end can be named a new platoon leader car 200LV2. However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, even if the vehicle 200_I intervenes in the platoon, the wireless communication between the vehicle 200A and the vehicle 200B can be effectively maintained, and thus the platoon may not be divided. That is, due to the wireless communication relay of the drone 100A for the front end P1 and the drone 100B for the rear end P2, information exchange between the front end P1 and the back end P2 can be effectively performed. . The role of these drones is valid even if the platoon is divided into a front end (P1) and a back end (P2), but in various situations (eg platoon combination, etc.), there may be a need for the two platoons to exchange information with each other. can At this time, the drones of each platoon may support wireless communication of both platoons by performing wireless communication in a D2D manner.

That is, in a situation where an external vehicle 200_I is sandwiched between the first vehicle 200A of the platoon and the second vehicle 200B located behind the first vehicle 200A, the platoon control instructs the maintenance of the platoon in formation. When the information is received by the drone control device, the drone control device controls the platoon front part P1 from the first car 200LV of the platoon to the first car 200A and from the second car 200B of the platoon to the first car 200B of the platoon. With respect to the platoon rear part (P2) up to the rearmost car (200C) of the platoon, it is determined whether the front part (P1) or the activated drones (100A, 100B) supporting the rear part (P2) exist, respectively. and activates a drone that is not activated by referring to the available drone list for the front-end unit (P1) or the back-end unit (P2) without the supporting drone, but the drone supporting the front-end unit (P1) 100A and the drone 100B supporting the rear-end unit P2 through wireless communication to transmit and receive the platoon control information between the front-end unit P1 and the rear-end unit P2. You can control your drone.

24 is a diagram showing another utilization method of drones for platooning. In particular, FIGS. 24(a) to 24(c) relate to a method of using a drone when changing the entire lane of a platoon, and FIGS. It shows how to infer the intention and adjust the distance between the platoon cars. In FIG. 24 , shaded marks indicate the detection range of each drone.

A typical platoon consists of cars arranged in a row. If the number of cars included in the platoon is large, it is often impossible to change lanes for the entire platoon depending on road conditions. On the other hand, when the platoon changes lanes, it is necessary to secure a space for the entire platoon, and it is necessary to check whether there is no other car in the target lane or whether another car is approaching. At this time, in many cases, it is difficult to confirm such an adjacent lane with the detection range of the existing platoon. However, when the drone according to the present invention supports platoon, this problem can be easily solved. That is, in FIG. 24(a), drone 100B and drone 100C can easily sense that there is an outside car 200_J in the next lane, and by transmitting this to the leader car (200LV), the driver of the leader car does not have enough space for a platoon. can confirm that it is not. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the driver of the leader car can blink the direction indicator for lane change, and each drone receiving platoon control information including a signal related thereto is changed to the platoon lane change mode, It can work by checking if there is space (emp_space) for a platoon in the direction the turn signal is pointing. If there is a space (emp_space) for the platoon (FIG. 24(b)), the driver of the leader car of the platoon can change the lane of the entire platoon by manipulating the steering wheel of the leader car. According to another embodiment of the present invention, drones 100A, 100B, and 100C may operate in advance to occupy the corresponding empty space (emp_space) right before the platoon lane change (FIG. 24). (c)).

Meanwhile, the drone for platooning can infer the intent of an outside car wanting to join the lane in which the platoon is going. That is, according to FIG. 24(d), the drone 100B may sense blinking of the right direction indicator lamp of the outside vehicle 200_J and may notify the leader vehicle 200LV of the fact. With the help of these drones, the distance between the outside car (200_J) and the adjacent platoon cars 200A and 200B can be extended automatically or controlled by the leader car, and the position of each drone (100A, 100B, 100C) is also readjusted. It can be. Finally, the outer car 200_J can be placed between the member cars 200A and 200B of the platoon.

common/shared drone's control method

The configurations mentioned above are a way for a specific drone to provide continuous service for a specific car or platoon. Here, considering the drone's flight time and battery limitations, a method of continuously providing services to a specific tracking target (car or platoon) by a plurality of drones will be discussed.

25 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method in which drones 100A, 100B, and 100C continuously track the vehicle 200. According to FIG. 25, the road is divided into three zones (sections A, B, and C), and one drone is assigned to each zone. Of course, the number of zones and the number of drones for each zone are not limited thereto.

In FIG. 25(a), the car 200 is located in section A, and accordingly, the drone 100A in section A is tracking the car 200. At this time, the drones 100B and 100C of the other two sections may be in a state of preparation. Of course, if there are different cars in each section, each drone may individually track the cars located in each section. 25(b) and 25(c) show cases where the car 200 is located in section B and section C, respectively, and drones in each section can track the car 200 entering the corresponding area. . By dividing and operating drones according to zones, maintenance and management of drones can be easily performed.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a method of continuously tracking the car 200 by the drones 100A and 100B.

According to FIG. 26 (a), the car 200 is driving on the road of section A, and the drone 100A allocated to the section A is tracking the car 200. When the position of the car 200 is close to the boundary line (dashed line) between the two sections, at least one of the drone 100A, the station 300A in section A, and the external drone operation control server is sent to the station 300B in section B. A control signal corresponding to preparation for tracking or waiting for tracking may be transmitted. Then, the station 300B of section B may transmit a take-off instruction signal or a take-off waiting signal to the drone (eg, 100B) it possesses. Alternatively, at least one of the drone 100A, the station 300A of section A, and an external drone operation control server may directly transmit a signal to prepare for tracking of the vehicle 200 to the drone 100B of section B. In FIG. 26( a ), only the flow of information from the station 300A of section A to the station 300B of section B is shown (dashed arrow), but is not limited thereto.

The drone 100B may take off from the station in section B according to the received control signal and move to a boundary point between sections A and B. 26(b) shows the moment when the drone tracking the car 200 is replaced from 100A to 100B. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100B may receive information related to the vehicle 200 to be tracked from at least one of the drone 100A, stations 300A and 300B, the vehicle 200, and an external drone operation control server. The vehicle-related information is necessary to keep the object tracked by the drone 100B and the object tracked by the drone 100A the same, and the identification code, vehicle number, and external appearance of the vehicle that can be obtained from the vehicle control information of the vehicle 200 At least one of related information may be included.

According to FIG. 26(c), the car 200 driving on the road of section B is tracked by the drone 100B, and the drone 100A returns to the station 300A. When the distance between the drone 100B and the car 200 or the distance between the drone 100B and the drone 100A is less than a preset value, the drone 100B recognizes (recognizes) the car 200 as a tracking target based on the received car-related information. Do it. When the drone 100B successfully recognizes the tracking target vehicle 200 and starts tracking, the drone 100A transmits a tracking stop signal to at least one of the stations 300A, 300B, the vehicle 200, and an external drone operation control server, and the station 300A can be returned to A signal for starting tracking of the drone 100B may also be transmitted to at least one of the stations 300A and 300B, the vehicle 200, and an external drone operation control server.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing another embodiment of a method of continuously tracking the car 200 by the drones 100A and 100B. According to FIG. 7 , the station 300 may be located at a boundary point (one-dotted chain line) between sections A and B, but is not limited thereto.

In FIG. 27 (a), the car 200 is driving on the road of section A, and the drone 100A is tracking the car 200. When the distance between at least one of the drone 100A and the car and the station 300 is equal to or less than a preset value, the station 300 may transmit a take-off start signal to the drone 100B in possession. At this time, the drone 100B may be in a state of receiving vehicle-related information for tracking the vehicle 200 in advance. The drone 100B taking off from the station 300 performs a process of recognizing (recognizing) the car 200 based on car-related information. When the drone 100B successfully recognizes the vehicle 200 to be tracked and starts tracking, the drone 100A stops tracking and lands at the station 300 to prepare for the next tracking. Of course, as in the case of FIG. 26, a tracking start signal and a tracking stop signal according to replacement of a drone tracking the car 200 may be transmitted to at least one of the station, the car 200, and an external drone operation control server. Then, according to FIG. 27(b), tracking of the car 200 may be performed by the drone 100B.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, replacement of a drone tracking the vehicle 200 may be performed in a transition area located between the two sections. According to FIG. 26, although the ranges of the two sections are shown as not overlapping each other, they may overlap each other according to the method of implementing the present invention, and the transition area may be located in a region corresponding to the intersection of the two sections. . However, the location of the transition area is not limited thereto.

28 illustrates an example of signals and information that can be transmitted and received between a drone 100A that tracks a car and a drone 100B that will track a new car when a drone that tracks a car is replaced. 28 may represent a drone replacement situation in a transition area. Meanwhile, in FIG. 28, the receiving side of each signal may transmit an ACK signal informing the transmitting side that the signal has been normally received, but in FIG. 28, the transmission and reception of the ACK signal is omitted. Alternatively, for example, if the drone 100B location information request signal transmitted from the drone 100A is safely delivered to the drone 100B, the drone 100B may substitute the transmission of the ACK signal by transmitting the drone 100B location information. Such an ACK system may be equally applied to other signals. According to FIG. 28, the drone 100A tracking the car can recognize that at least one of itself or the car entered the transition area based on GPS coordinates (S400A). Here, the transition area may mean specific GPS coordinates or a range of GPS coordinates, but is not limited thereto. In step S400A, it is described that the drone is replaced when the drone or the car enters the transition area, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the drone itself is replaced based on information such as the drone's location, status, flight time, battery charge, etc. You can check whether it is a target or not.

The drone 100B to track a new car may be waiting for tracking in a station or in the air (S400B). When the drone 100A recognizes the transition area, it may transmit a drone replacement standby signal to the drone 100B (S401). When the drone 100B receives a drone replacement standby signal, the drone 100B may stop ancillary work being performed in the drone 100B and switch to a replacement standby state. Meanwhile, the drone 100A may transmit tracking target vehicle recognition related information (S402) and tracking target vehicle route information to the drone 100B (S403), and may also transmit a signal requesting location information of the drone 100B (S404). The drone 100B may transmit its own GPS coordinate information to the drone 100A in response to the received location information request signal (S405).

The drone 100A may calculate a drone replacement position based on its own GSP coordinates and the GPS coordinates of the drone 100B (S406). The drone replacement location represents a location where the drones 100A and 100B are actually replaced, and may be expressed as GPS coordinates, but is not limited thereto. And, the drone replacement location may be provided within the aforementioned transition area. Meanwhile, the drone replacement location may be configured with a combination of GPS coordinates within a specific range. That is, the time for the drones 100A and 100B to reach the drone replacement position may vary due to changes in the distance between the drones 100A and the drone 100B and other weather conditions and traffic conditions. This is to prepare for this. Since the drone 100A is currently tracking the car, if the drone 100A has car route information received from the car navigation device, the car route information can be referred to when calculating the drone replacement location. In addition, the drone 100A may further receive flight speed information of the drone 100B, and may calculate a time or time range for reaching the drone replacement position by referring to the flight speed of the drone 100A and the drone speed of the drone 100B. Through this, the two drones can arrive at the drone replacement position almost simultaneously, and the replacement of drones can be performed smoothly. The calculated drone replacement position may be transmitted to the drone 100B (S407).

The drone 100B may control its power unit to move to the received drone replacement position (S408). If the drone replacement location is composed of a combination of GPS coordinates in a specific range, the drone 100B may move to a GSP coordinate corresponding to an intermediate point of the coordinate range. For example, GPS coordinates are expressed in three-dimensional coordinates of x, y, and z, and the range of GPS coordinates is 10 to 14 in the x-axis direction, 12 to 20 in the y-axis direction, and 20 to 20 in the z-axis direction. 22, the drone 100B can move to the GPS coordinates of (12, 16, 21). Of course, the foregoing is only an example of the coordinates to which the drone 100B will move and the method of calculating the coordinates, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

The two drones mutually exchange location information such as GPS coordinates according to a preset cycle (S409), and the drone 100A changes the drone replacement location based on the drone replacement location and the mutual location information, and transmits it to the drone 100B. there is. That is, since the position of the drone 100A tracking the car depends on the position of the car, the position of the car and the drone 100A may be determined according to changes in surrounding conditions or environment, such as traffic conditions. In this case, for example, if the drone 100A is determined to be unable to arrive at the drone replacement location at the originally scheduled time because the traffic situation around the car is worse than expected, or if the car's moving speed is below a preset threshold, the drone 100A can reset the existing drone replacement location to a place closer to drone 100A. However, the drone 100A resets the replacement position of the drone is not limited thereto. In order to perform the above process, the drone 100A may receive road traffic condition information through a communication unit, and may also receive operation-related information such as speed from a vehicle to be tracked.

When the two drones arrive at the drone replacement position or when the distance between the two drones is less than a preset value, drone 100A may transmit a drone replacement start signal to drone 100B (S410). Accordingly, the drone 100B may recognize the vehicle according to the tracking target vehicle recognition-related information received from the drone 100A (S411). The information related to vehicle recognition may be vehicle-specific identification information included in vehicle control information of the vehicle, vehicle image information, and the like. For example, the drone 100B may recognize a car by detecting an image pattern such as a license plate or exterior of the car using an image capture means such as a built-in camera. Alternatively, the drone 100B detects the distance between the drone 100B and the car by utilizing information such as vehicle-specific identification information included in a radio signal transmitted from the vehicle (eg, vehicle control information), radio signal strength, and signal transmission time. By doing so, it is possible to determine whether or not the vehicle is recognized. When performing the car recognition process, the drone 100B can establish a wireless communication link with the car to be tracked, enabling constant wireless signal transmission between them.

When the drone 100B successfully recognizes the car to be tracked, the drone 100B may transmit a tracking target car recognition completion signal to the drone 100A (S412), and the drone 100A receiving the signal sends a drone replacement completion signal to the drone 100B or station or drone It can be transmitted to an external server that controls the operation of (S413). When the transmission of the drone replacement completion signal is completed, the drone 100A may return to the station to which it originally belonged or to the nearest station (S414A). Alternatively, the drone 100A may wait in the air for the next car tracking. The drone 100B performs vehicle tracking on behalf of the drone 100A (S414B).

29 is a diagram illustrating an example of signals and information that can be transmitted and received between drones when a drone tracking a car selects one of a plurality of standby drones when replacing a drone. In FIG. 29 , drone 100A represents a drone tracking a car, and drones 100B to 100E represent drones not tracking a vehicle.

The drone 100A may evaluate whether it is subject to replacement based on at least one of its own flight time, state, and location (S500A). For example, the drone 100A may recognize a transition area based on GPS coordinates during tracking, and at this time, the drone 100A may recognize itself as a replacement target. In this case, the drone 100A may transmit an available drone confirmation signal through the communication unit (S501). Upon receiving the available drone confirmation signal, the drone 100B to drone 100E may transmit drone state and location information to drone 100A (S502). The drone status and location information may serve as an ACK signal for the available drone identification signal. The drone state and location information may include information such as drone flight time, flight distance, power charging amount of the drone, and GPS location coordinates.

The drone 100A may select a replacement drone based on drone status and location information transmitted from each drone (S503). According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100A may select a drone located at the closest distance as a replacement drone based on distance information calculated from its own GPS location coordinates and the GPS location coordinates of each drone. Alternatively, the drone 100A may select a drone with the highest amount of power charge as a replacement drone based on information on the amount of power charge of the drone. The drone 100A may select a replacement drone by combining both of the above methods. The drone 100A first selects drones charged with power equal to or higher than a predetermined charge limit, and among the drones primarily selected, the drone 100A selects a replacement drone. The nearest drone can be selected as the replacement drone. However, the method in which the drone 100A selects a replacement drone is not limited thereto.

According to FIG. 29 , drone 100A selects drone 100B as a replacement drone. The drone 100A may transmit a drone replacement waiting signal to the drone 100B (S504), and may additionally transmit tracking target vehicle-related information (S505) and tracking target vehicle path information (S506). Unlike the case of FIG. 28 , since the drone 100A has already received the location information of each drone in the previous process, the process of separately requesting location information from the drone 100B can be omitted.

The drone 100A can calculate the drone replacement position by using its GPS location coordinates and the GPS location coordinates of the drone 100B (S507A), and this information can be shared with the drone 100B through a wireless network. Subsequent processes are omitted because they overlap with those described in FIG. 8 .

Meanwhile, drone 100E, like drone 100B, was not currently performing tracking, but was not selected as a replacement drone for drone drone 100A. In this case, the drone 100E may wait for the drone replacement standby signal to be transmitted for a preset time, and if the drone replacement standby signal is not received during that time, it may return to an initial state in preparation for tracking (S507E).

Although FIG. 29 shows a process of searching for a replacement drone by only one drone, that is, drone 100A, a plurality of drones may each search for a drone to perform tracking in the following order. 30 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of signals and information that can be transmitted and received between drones when a plurality of drones search for a drone to perform tracking in the following order. In FIG. 29, the signal flow between drone 100A and drone 100B or between drone 100A and drone 100C is indicated by a broken line to prevent confusion in displaying signal flow, and between drone 100D and drone 100B, or between drone 100D and drone 100C. The signal flow between them is indicated by a solid line.

In FIG. 30 , drones 100A and 100D are tracking different cars, and drones 100B and 100C are not tracking. Drone 100A and Drone 100D can recognize the transition area during car tracking or determine whether they are subject to replacement based on their status, location, etc. (S600A, S600D), and each drone to perform tracking in the next turn independently can explore Drone 100A and drone 100D can transmit an available drone confirmation signal (S601A, S601D), and drone 100B and drone 100C receiving it can transmit drone status and location information to drone A and drone D, respectively (S602A, S602D ). When drone 100B and drone 100C transmit drone status and location information, they may transmit a signal having a structure that does not specify a recipient.

Drone 100A and drone 100D may select a replacement drone based on the received drone status and location information (S603A, S603D). Problems can arise when two drones choose the same drone as their replacement drone. That is, as shown in FIG. 30, drone 100B, which is the same as drone 100A and drone 100D, can be selected as a replacement drone. By separately defining a processing method in preparation for this, confusion that may occur during drone operation can be prevented.

First of all, the drone 100A and drone 100D transmit a drone replacement waiting signal (S604A, S604D), but do not immediately continue the follow-up process for drone replacement. Receive a response signal. And, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100B transmits a tracking declaration signal for a specific drone as a response signal immediately after receiving the drone replacement standby signal or within a predetermined time after receiving the drone replacement standby signal (S605). . The tracking declaration signal may include information publicly notifying which drone the corresponding drone will perform tracking on behalf of in the future. According to FIG. 30, drone 100B can receive drone replacement standby signals from drone 100A and drone 100D at the same time. In this case, drone 100B determines that the drone replacement standby signal of drone 100A received even slightly earlier is valid, and then drone 100A A tracking declaration signal indicating that the car will be tracked may be transmitted instead of (S605). Meanwhile, the drone 100B may receive a drone replacement standby signal from a plurality of drones at the same time. In this case, the drone 100B may select a random drone based on a random number and transmit a tracking declaration signal for the drone. Alternatively, if the drone replacement waiting signal includes location information of each drone (ie, GPS coordinates of drone 100A and drone 100D, etc.), a large tracking declaration signal may be transmitted to the closest drone in distance. The drone 100A and the drone 100D may perform a process of retransmitting a drone replacement waiting signal or selecting a replacement drone again when the tracking declaration signal is not received within the aforementioned selection confirmation waiting time. 30 illustrates a situation in which the drones 100A and 100D receive the tracking declaration signal sent from the drone 100B within the selection confirmation waiting time. Here, since the drone 100B transmits a tracking declaration signal for the drone 100A, the drone 100A and the drone 100B may continue the follow-up process for replacing the drone (S606A, S606B). However, since the replacement drone selection failed, the drone 100D may perform a process of selecting a replacement drone again (S606D).

Meanwhile, according to the method of implementing the present invention, the transition area described above may be expressed as a value in the time domain rather than spatial coordinates, and more specifically, may mean a replacement period based on the flight time of the drone. For example, the drone may perform a drone replacement process for a time corresponding to a transition area of 30 minutes after car tracking for 3 hours. When the drone tracking the car reaches the operating time period corresponding to the transition time, drone replacement may be performed according to the methods of FIGS. 28 to 30 .

28 to 30 described above relate to the flow of signals and information between drones, but may also be viewed as the flow of signals and information between a drone performing tracking and a station accommodating drones in standby. For example, in FIG. 29 , the drone 100A spatially or temporally reaching the transition area may transmit an available drone confirmation signal. The surrounding stations receiving this signal can transmit the status and location information of the drones they house to the drone 100A. Thereafter, the drone 100A may select a replacement drone based on the status and location information of the drone transmitted from the station, and may transmit a drone replacement standby signal to the station having the corresponding drone. The station may launch a corresponding drone from the station according to the received drone replacement standby signal to perform a subsequent drone replacement process.

In addition, replacement of drones tracking cars can be controlled in a variety of ways. Depending on the method of implementing the present invention, whether or not to replace the drone may be determined based on the flight distance or flight time of the drone. This method can be efficiently utilized when a vehicle frequently travels back and forth between sections. For example, it may be assumed that a vehicle drives on a road provided between sections A and B. Drivers may frequently travel back and forth between sections A and B for their own purposes, and may frequently travel between sections A and B within a short period of time due to the characteristics of the road (roads with many turns, etc.). According to the above method, whenever the vehicle crosses the boundary between sections, there is a complication in that the drones in each section have to be replaced. Of course, in this case, by adjusting the areas of the sections A and B (eg, making the entire road belong to section A), only one section of the drone may be tracked when a car is located on the road. However, this may not be the intrinsic solution. In this case, the drone for the car may be operated in a manner unrelated to the division of the section by assigning a drone waiting at a station adjacent to the car and replacing the drone based on the flight time of the drone. there is. Or, basically, it is operated in a way based on a section or transition area, but if the car moves to another section or transition area again within a preset time after the drone is replaced, the drone currently tracking is configured to continue tracking the car. You can do it.

This is described in relation to FIG. 29 as follows. Although not shown in FIG. 29 , the drone 100A may store time information in an internal storage or the like when tracking starts. Afterwards, when the transition area is detected, the drone 100A may calculate the tracking execution time based on the current time information and the above-described tracking start time information. The drone 100A may operate in such a way that it does not transmit an available drone confirmation signal when the tracking execution time is less than a predetermined tracking execution threshold, and does not perform subsequent processes for selecting a replacement drone and replacing the drone. In addition, the drone 100A may store time information at which an event in which a transition area is detected occurs in an internal storage, and may set this as the first time. Thereafter, when an event in which the transition area is detected again occurs, the drone 100A may set the time at which the corresponding event occurred as the second time. Drone 100A does not transmit an available drone confirmation signal when the tracking time between the first time and the second time is less than the tracking limit, and also performs subsequent processes for selecting a replacement drone and replacing the drone. It may work in a way that doesn't. Thereafter, the second time is changed to the first time, and the drone 100A sets the occurrence time of a transition area detection event to be generated later to the second time.

However, a method of continuously tracking a car by a drone is not limited to the above.

On the other hand, while the shared drone is operating, an unexpected situation may occur and the drone may move away from the vehicle, which is a tracking target, by a predetermined distance or more. For example, a drone may fly in an unwanted direction due to a gust of wind due to deteriorating weather conditions, or a car may not be tracked due to a failure of a sensing unit built into the drone. In addition, it is necessary to prepare for the loss of a drone for a car for various reasons.

When the drone for the car moves away from the car by a predetermined distance or more, the drone may transmit a warning signal to the car. Meanwhile, a drone for a car may determine a communication method with the car based on the distance information. For example, a drone for a car may perform wireless communication with the car through a 3G communication network when the distance is more than 1 km from the car. In this case, the drone for the vehicle may obtain the GPS location coordinates of the vehicle or the GPS location coordinates of the destination from the vehicle through the above communication method, and may move to an area indicated by the GPS location coordinates of the vehicle or the GPS location coordinates of the destination. .

Alternatively, the drone for a car may be operated in such a way that it automatically returns to a specific return location, such as a preset collection point or a nearby station, when it moves away from the car by a predetermined distance or more. In particular, when the drone for a car is lost and the power charge level of its built-in battery is less than a reference value, it may be operated in a manner of moving to the nearest recovery point. In this case, a separate drone waiting at a station closest to the vehicle may be assigned to the corresponding vehicle.

According to the embodiments of FIGS. 29 to 30 described above, the drone 100A tracking a car may receive drone state and location information from candidate drones to track a car in the following order, and based on the information, a replacement drone may be selected. You can choose. That is, if the power charge of the drone waiting for tracking is low, it can be implemented in a way that the replacement drone is not selected, so there is little room for power problems with the drone tracking the car.

Of course, in an area where drones or stations are sparsely deployed, it may be necessary for one drone to track a car to be tracked for a long time. As another example, if a car stays in a specific area (specific section) for a long time, the flight time of a drone tracking the car will inevitably be long, and battery problems may occur.

When the power charge amount of the drone battery is less than or equal to the reference value, the drone may replace the drone according to the drone replacement method according to the embodiment of FIGS. 29 to 30 . 29 and 30, the drone replacement determination step (S500A, S600A) is replaced with the drone state analysis step and the drone replacement start determination step according to the drone state analysis result, so that when other problems occur as well as the battery of the drone, the drone It can be operated so that the replacement of When it is determined that a problem has occurred in the drone itself, the drone may transmit the problem to at least one of other drones, stations, and an external drone operation control server, so that the drone can be effectively managed.

Public drone and public drone of the system Example

As mentioned above, the uses of drones are endless. Public drones and public drone systems may be operated for public use by road management entities or organizations related to safety and crime prevention.

In the case of the shared drone described above, it may be implemented in a form of providing various information to a specific vehicle while moving together, and at least part of the operation of the shared drone may be controlled by a driver's manipulation. Slightly different from this, public drones operate according to programmed or scheduled routes, and can perform recognition of vehicles existing within their detection range, but can be operated in a way that does not allow control by a general driver. . Of course, they are similar to each other in that general drivers can make a car operation plan or promote their own safety by utilizing various information provided by the public drone and the public drone system. However, the operating method of the shared drone and the public drone is not limited to the above.

31 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method in which the drone 100 detects an accident point on a road and shares related information. In FIG. 31, 400 denotes a traffic light, 450 denotes an image output device such as an electronic display board installed on a road, and 300 denotes a station. 600 indicates an external server, which may include a drone operation control server, a road management entity such as road construction, or a server such as a fire station, hospital, and police station. In FIG. 11, dotted arrows indicate the flow of information.

According to FIG. 31 , the drone 100 may recognize an accident scene (acc_scene) on the road and perform monitoring activities for the accident scene. Whether an accident has occurred and whether or not there is an abnormality on the road can be detected through various sensors such as a camera, an infrared camera, and a microphone of the sensing unit built into the drone 100. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the drone 100 can monitor roads in a specific area and vehicles on the road, and when an accident or road anomaly is detected, the drone 100 transmits related information to the station 300, the road It can be immediately transmitted to the car 200 and the external server 600 above. If the traffic control system can be utilized, the information detected by the drone 100 can be transmitted to the electronic signboard 450 under the control of road construction by the external server 600, and accordingly, the electronic signboard 450 is Information such as related text information or an image captured by the drone 100 may be output. In addition, the yellow or red light of the traffic light 400 may be blinked by the control of road construction by the external server 600 to alert the driver. Meanwhile, the station 300 may substitute another drone to monitor the road in place of the drone 100 performing surveillance activities on the accident site. In addition, the station 300 may receive battery power charge information from the drone 100 that monitors the accident point, and when the power charge reaches a predetermined threshold value, other drones in standby may receive corresponding information. It may also be possible to conduct surveillance activities at the accident site. Replacement of the drone 100 may be performed according to the method of FIGS. 29 to 30 described above.

for cars/platoons drone's flight restrictions

Meanwhile, a situation in which drones are provided for every car and a plurality of drones are flying on the road can be imagined. If a drone is operated without any restrictions in an urban area where there are many obstacles and is very congested, serious damage may occur due to collisions and falls.

In preparation for this, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the drone may operate within a range of a preset operating space based on a vehicle as a tracking target. The operation space may have a three-dimensional shape, and in particular, the range in the horizontal direction allowed to operate the drone may be determined to be different depending on the height, but the shape of the operation space is not limited thereto.

For example, in an area with many trees on both sides of the road, an operating space range may be set so that the drone stays only in the front or rear of the moving direction of the car. As another example, if an overpass or the like exists right above the road on which the car is driving, it may be difficult to locate the drone above the car. In this case, an operating space range may be set so that the drone stays collectively outside the range of the overpass and on the right side of the traveling direction of the vehicle. As another example, in an urban area where there are many overpasses and overpasses, the operation space of drones may be reduced or drones may not be operated. Meanwhile, even in the same area, if a specific event such as an accident occurs, the operation of the drone may be prohibited. That is, the size, shape, etc. of the operating space may be determined based on at least one of the location, time, whether a specific event occurs in the area where the vehicle exists, the number of cars and drones within a preset distance range, other traffic situation information, and the type of vehicle. can be determined In addition, based on the above conditions, it may be determined whether or not the position manipulation of the drone is possible. For example, it is possible to prevent the driver from arbitrarily adjusting the relative positional relationship between a car and a drone in an urban area. Since the drone stays in a specific direction of the car and the driver cannot change it, the handling of drone collision preparation and avoidance can be more easily performed.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, information related to the size and shape of the operating space may be stored in a database, and at least one of the car and the drone may receive the operating space-related information from the database. In the database, whether or not the location of the drone described above can be manipulated may also be stored. Through this, whether the drone can be operated or not and the operating range can be appropriately limited according to time, location, and surrounding conditions. In addition, the database may be updated at predetermined intervals or immediately when a specific event occurs.

Through the configuration described above, it is possible to properly control the operation range of the drone, and it is possible to prevent accidents that may occur due to the indiscriminate operation of the drone.

However, the configuration related to the operating space range of the drone is not limited to the above.

in the car the drone landed method

We can think of various ways to land the drone at a specific location on the car. First of all, the drone must be able to recognize the location of the landing site in the car. To this end, methods of various embodiments of FIG. 4 described above may be utilized. For example, the drone may determine that there is a landing site within an imaginary square formed by lights provided at four corners of the car. The drone may recognize the light of the vehicle light through a built-in camera. Alternatively, the drone may move to the landing point in the vehicle by controlling the power unit so that the optical signal output from the optical signal output means separately provided at the landing point belongs to a specific area of image data acquired through the camera of the drone. However, the method in which the drone recognizes the landing point in the vehicle and moves to the landing point is not limited thereto.

According to the method of carrying out the present invention, the landing point in the vehicle may be provided in the form of a basket including a bottom surface and a side wall formed on the rim of the bottom surface. When the distance between the landing site and the drone is equal to or less than a predetermined safety distance, the vehicle drone may be seated at the basket-shaped landing site by stopping the operation of the power unit. Alternatively, the landing point in the vehicle may include at least one coil unit, and the drone may be pulled in an electromagnet method by controlling a current flowing through the coil unit.

Meanwhile, as described in FIG. 3 , the drone may be connected to the vehicle through a wire, and the distance between the drone and the vehicle may be adjusted by operating a wire length adjusting unit provided in at least one of the vehicle and the drone. When the wire is installed at the landing site, the distance between the drone and the car can be reduced by winding the wire through the wire length adjusting means, and through this, the drone can be seated at the landing site in the car.

However, the method in which the drone recognizes the landing point in the car and lands at the landing point is not limited thereto.

at a specific time and in a specific place drone no-fly plan

As mentioned above, as time goes by, the number of drones used for various purposes is explosively increasing, and accordingly, not only drone crashes and falls, but also various privacy and security problems occur. In order to solve this problem, a method for freely prohibiting the flight of drones at any time and at any place is required.

32 is a drone controller capable of limiting the flight of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 32(a), 700), and a drone whose flight can be limited in a manner according to an embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 32( b), 800) and the operation method of the drone controller and the drone (FIG. 32(c)).

According to FIG. 32(a), the drone controller 700 according to an embodiment of the present invention transmits and receives information with an external communication device and includes a first communication unit 720 for receiving location information from a control target drone, and a preset communication channel. The second communication unit 730 for receiving the signal for limiting the flight of the drone and the first communication unit 720 detect a preset trigger signal from the received wireless signal, and the trigger signal is detected In this case, the second communication unit 730 is activated to receive a flight limit signal for limiting the flight of the drone in the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range, and the current time is included in the flight limit time range and the drone's current When the position is included in the flight limit coordinate range, a drone control signal for stopping the flight of the drone is generated based on the flight limit signal, and the drone control signal is transmitted to the drone through the first communication unit 720. It may include a control unit 710 that transmits.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second communication unit 730 may not perform communication before being activated, but is not limited thereto. Since the first communication unit 720 of the drone controller 700 corresponds to the communication unit of the other device described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The second communication unit 730 may receive a flight limit signal for limiting flight of the drone within a flight limit time range and a flight limit coordinate range according to a preset communication channel and communication method. The communication channel and communication method used by the second communication unit 730 may be separately configured to restrict drone flight, and may be equally used by drone manufacturers, drones, and radio signal/radio-related organizations. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, since it is not desirable to always receive a flight limit signal through the second communication unit 730 in terms of energy efficiency and efficient use of wireless resources, the flight limit signal is received until activated. may not perform the operation. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The second communication unit 730 may be activated when a trigger signal is detected from a radio signal received through the first communication unit, but the activation method of the second communication unit 730 is not limited thereto. In addition, the second communication unit 730 may correspond to a normal communication module, and thus may receive a flight limit signal through a method such as Wi-Fi, LTE, or Bluetooth. In addition, the second communication unit 730 and the first communication unit 720 may be provided in one configuration.

The trigger signal is a signal notifying that a flight restriction signal containing specific contents related to the flight restriction of a drone will be transmitted within a preset short time after the trigger signal. The trigger signal will be dealt with in more detail when describing FIGS. 33 and 34 .

According to FIG. 32(b), a power unit 840 that controls the movement and posture of the drone through at least one propeller and a driving means that drives the propeller, and a positioning unit 850 that calculates the position of the drone A first communication unit 820 for transmitting and receiving information with an external communication device and receiving a drone control signal from a drone controller and a second communication unit 830 for receiving a signal restricting the flight of the drone through a preset communication channel, and The first communication unit 820 detects a preset trigger signal from the received drone control signal, and when the trigger signal is detected, the second communication unit 830 is activated to control the flight limit within the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range. Receives a flight limit signal for limiting the flight of the drone, transmits the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range to the drone controller through the first communication unit 820, and the current time is within the flight limit time range and a control unit 810 controlling the power unit to land according to a preset landing processor when the current position of the drone is included in the flight limiting coordinate range. Some of the above components may be omitted or certain components may be combined with other components according to a method of implementing the present invention. According to the method of implementing the present invention, the drone 800 may omit the second communication unit 830 and may receive a drone control signal based on a flight limit signal from the drone controller.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second communication unit 830 may not perform communication before being activated, but is not limited thereto. Descriptions of the first communication unit 820, the second communication unit 830, the power unit 840, and the positioning unit 850 of the drone 800 are redundant and thus omitted.

32(c) is a diagram illustrating an operation method of the drone controller 700 and the drone 800 according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, the drone controller 700 and the drone 800 may receive radio signals through the first communication units 720 and 820 (S710). At this time, the controller 710 of the drone controller and the controller 810 of the drone may determine whether a trigger signal included in the received radio signal is detected (S720). If the trigger signal is not detected, the control unit 710 of the drone controller and the control unit 810 of the drone may return to receiving a radio signal (S710). If a trigger signal is detected, the controller 710 of the drone controller and the controller 810 of the drone may activate the second communication units 730 and 840, respectively. In this case, the control unit of the drone may notify the drone controller of the fact that the trigger signal is detected (not shown). The control unit 710 of the drone controller and the control unit 810 of the drone may receive a flight limit signal for limiting the flight of the drone in the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range through the second communication units 730 and 830. . Here, the flight limit signal may include a flight limit command related to a specific method for limiting the flight of the drone. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the flight limit command may be configured as follows.

Flight Restriction Command 1: The fact that drone flight is prohibited is notified to the drone operator through light, sound, video, vibration, etc., inducing the drone operator to voluntarily stop the drone flight.

Flight restriction order 2: The drone operator is notified of the prohibition of flight, and control over the drone is partially lost after a preset grace period (e.g., altitude restriction).

Flight limit command 3: Forcibly returns the drone to a specific location (drone pilot's GPS coordinates, drone controller's GPS coordinates, specific home GPS coordinates, or moves to a specific safe area)

Flight limit command 4: Immediately land the drone in a direct downward direction from its current location.

Flight Restriction Order 5: Control of drone transferred to authorized person

Flight Restriction Command 6: Immediately cuts off the drone's power, causing the drone to crash.

In the case of Flight Limit 1, the drone operator can only see a simple warning notification, but in the case of Flight Limit 2, the drone operator partially loses control of the drone. Flight restriction order 3 or flight restriction order 6 correspond to cases in which the drone operator is completely deprived of control over the drone. In general, as the method of the flight limiting command 1 is changed to the method of the flight limiting command 6, the flight of the drone is more actively restrained.

A specific operating method of the drone controller 700 or the drone 800 according to the flight restriction command may be provided as follows. If the drone 800 receives the flight limit command, the drone 800 may immediately transmit the flight limit command to the drone controller to notify the user. Hereinafter, it will be described from the viewpoint of the drone controller 700.

In the case of the flight restriction command 1, the drone operator 700 is not subject to a separate restriction in flying the drone. However, the drone controller may output information indicating that the flight of the drone is restricted in the current region according to the flight restriction command 1 information included in the flight restriction signal through a display means or the like.

In the case of the flight restriction command 2, the drone controller 700 outputs information indicating that the flight of the drone is restricted and grace time information through a display unit or the like. If the drone continues to fly within the no-fly coordinate range even after the grace period has elapsed, the drone controller 700 increases the speed and altitude of the drone, or directs the drone to the center of the no-fly coordinate range. It can work in such a way that it ignores the manipulator's manipulations to point it. Depending on the method of setting the flight limit command, the grace time may be determined within a time range of 0 to several minutes.

In the case of flight limit command 3, the drone controller 700 transmits a forced return (or go home) control signal to the drone and ignores other manipulations by the drone pilot.

In the case of flight limit command 4, the drone controller 700 may transmit a control signal for lowering the drone's propeller rotation speed or drone's altitude. Likewise, other operations by the drone operator are ignored.

In the case of flight restriction command 5, the drone controller 700 transmits a unique master code capable of exclusively controlling the drone to the flight restriction device having external authority through the second communication module 730 and transmits the drone operator's other master code. manipulation is ignored. At this time, the existing master code already possessed by the drone controller 700 may be invalidated or deleted. The master code unique to the drone is given by the drone manufacturer when the drone is manufactured, and the right to control the drone can be secured by inputting a wireless signal including the master code to the drone. The flight limiting device receiving the master code can control the flight of the corresponding drone through its own input means or another drone controller.

In the case of the flight limit command 6, the drone immediately cuts off power supplied to the power unit 740 upon receiving a control signal or flight limit command related to the flight limit command 6 from the drone controller. Accordingly, the drone can be instantly crashed or destroyed. Such flight restriction orders can be used in emergency situations such as terrorism.

Meanwhile, after receiving the flight limit signal, the control unit 810 of the drone transmits the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range included in the received flight limit signal or flight limit signal to the drone controller through the first communication unit 820. can be transmitted (not shown). The control unit 710 of the drone controller and the control unit 810 of the drone may determine whether the current time is included in the flight limit time range (S760) and the current position of the drone is included in the flight limit coordinate range (S750). there is. If the current time is included in the flight limit time range and the current position of the drone is included in the flight limit coordinate range, the control unit 710 of the drone controller and the control unit 810 of the drone may respectively perform subsequent processing related to prohibiting drone flight. Yes (S770). At this stage, the aforementioned flight restriction command may be referred to. In this subsequent processing step, the control unit 710 of the drone controller may generate a drone control signal for stopping the flight of the drone and transmit it to the drone through the first communication unit 720 . The control unit 810 of the drone may control the power unit 840 to land according to a predetermined landing process. However, the follow-up processing method related to flight prohibition of the drone controller 700 and the drone 800 is not limited thereto.

When the drone 800 does not include the second communication unit 830, the drone 800 may notify the drone controller of trigger signal detection. Upon receiving the fact that the trigger signal is detected, the drone controller may activate its second communication unit and then transmit a drone control signal for prohibiting the flight of the drone to the drone based on the received flight restriction signal.

According to the method of implementing the present invention, the drone 800 of FIG. 32 may be the drone of FIGS. 1 to 31.

33 is a diagram illustrating a trigger signal transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 33, a thin solid line represents a wireless signal between the drone 800 and the drone controller 700, a thick solid line represents a trigger signal, and a broken line represents a flight limit signal. 1000 is a flight limiting device 1000 that is a subject that transmits a trigger signal and a flight limiting signal. In FIG. 33, it is assumed that the drone controller 700 can receive a flight limit signal. Although not shown in the drawing, the flight limiting device 1000 may include a control unit for controlling the operation of each part of the communication unit and the flight limiting device 1000 for transmitting a trigger signal and a flight limiting signal.

The drone 800 and the drone controller 700 may transmit and receive wireless signals in a conventional manner, and accordingly, the drone 800 may fly under the control of the drone controller 700. At this time, the flight limit device 1000 may transmit a trigger signal. The trigger signal may affect or cause interference to a radio signal between the drone 800 and the drone controller 700, but should not be to the extent of interfering with communication between the two. Here, the effect on the radio signal may be to induce a magnitude and phase change with respect to a specific frequency signal of a preset channel, but is not limited thereto. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the trigger signal may be overridden with a radio signal between the drone 800 and the drone controller 700. Since the trigger signal causes a change in a radio signal between the drone 800 and the drone controller 700, the drone 800 or the drone controller 700 can detect the change in the radio signal. When the drone 800 detects a change in the radio signal, it may notify the drone controller 700 that a trigger signal has been detected. The drone controller 700 may also detect a trigger signal from a change in a radio signal. Thereafter, the drone controller 700 may activate the second communication unit and may receive the flight limit signal transmitted from the flight limiting device 1000 through the second communication unit. The drone controller 700 may check specific details of the flight restriction based on the received flight restriction signal.

34 shows a trigger signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 34 , a thick arrow indicates a DC tone-based trigger signal and a broken line arrow indicates a pilot tone-based trigger signal. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the trigger signal is based on a preset DC subcarrier or a preset pilot subcarrier for a communication channel used during wireless communication between the drone and the controller. A signal inducing a set power change or a preset phase change, and the detection of the trigger signal detects whether a magnitude change and phase shift have occurred in a constellation of a wireless signal received through the first communication unit. can be done in this way.

34 assumes that wireless communication between a drone and a drone controller is a Wi-Fi method using a 2.5 GHz or 5 GHz band, but the content of the present invention is not limited thereto. The trigger signal according to the present invention may be configured based on a tone in consideration of a non-overlapping 20 MHz channel. That is, the trigger signal may be configured in such a way that power of a certain level or higher is transmitted to a 20 MHz subcarrier so that the trigger signal can be received while the drone and the drone controller perform wireless communication. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a trigger signal may be configured in such a way that power having a predetermined size is transmitted to a DC subcarrier in which signal transmission is not performed in Wi-Fi or a pilot subcarrier having no effect on signal transmission. However, the configuration method of the trigger signal is not limited thereto. When this trigger signal is applied to the radio signal between the drone and the drone controller, the size change and phase shift of the constellation of the radio signal occur in the drone or drone controller receiving the radio signal. Whether or not the trigger signal is detected may be determined based on whether or not the trigger signal is generated.

The flight limiting device according to the present invention can limit the flight of a plurality of drones within the reach of the trigger signal. 35 is a diagram illustrating a method in which the flight limiting device 1000 limits flight of a plurality of drones. In FIG. 35, a solid line rectangle no_fly represents a flight limiting coordinate range, black circles 700A to 700E are drone controllers, and 1000 is a flight limiting device. In FIG. 35, the dashed line circle means the distance range that the trigger signal transmitted from the flight limiting device can reach, and the one-dotted chain line means the distance range that the flight limiting signal sent from the flight limiting device can reach.

According to FIG. 35 , it is assumed that five drones 800A to 800E are controlled by respective drone controllers 700A to 700E. When the rectangular flight restriction zone no_fly is set by drone regulations or a temporary event, the flight restriction device 1000 may transmit a trigger signal in a broadcast manner. According to FIG. 35, the drone controllers 700A to 700D can directly receive a trigger signal, but the drone controller 700E cannot receive it. In this case, as described above, the drone 800E may receive the trigger signal, and the drone 800E may notify the drone controller 700E of the detection of the trigger signal. The drone controller receiving the trigger signal or being notified of the fact that the trigger signal is detected may prepare for receiving the flight restriction signal (eg, activating the second communication unit). Thereafter, the flight limiting device 1000 may transmit a flight limiting signal forbidding flight in no_fly to each drone controller in a multicast manner. Upon receiving this, each drone controller can determine whether each drone is located in no_fly and control the flight of the drone according to the determination result. In FIG. 35 , drones 800A, 800D, and 800E are located at no_fly, and therefore, drone controllers 700A, 700D, and 700E may transmit a drone control signal controlling the operation of the drone according to a flight limit command included in the flight limit signal. Through the above process, the flight of the drones 800A, 800D, and 800E may be simultaneously restricted by one flight control device 1000.

It is possible to consider the application method of the aforementioned flight limiting device. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the flight limiting device may be configured in the form of a drone. 36 shows an example of utilization of a flight limiting device provided in the form of a drone. In FIG. 36 , a broken line means a trigger signal, a dotted line means a flight limit signal, and a solid arrow means wireless signal transmission and reception between a drone and a drone controller.

That is, since the flight limiting device 1000 is configured in the form of a drone, a trigger signal or a flight limiting signal may be transmitted in the air. In order to smoothly limit the drone's flight, a trigger signal or a flight limit signal must be transmitted to the intended area, but it is not easy to transmit the two signals over a wide range in a city center with many obstacles such as buildings. However, as the flight limiting device 1000 takes the form of a drone as shown in FIG. 36, the trigger signal or the flight limiting signal is smoothly transmitted to the drones 800A, 800B, 800C or the drone controllers 700A, 700B, 700C over obstacles. It can be. In addition, since the drone-type flight limiting device 1000 has excellent mobility, it is possible to perform flight limiting over a very wide area by utilizing one drone-type flight limiting device 1000 .

Meanwhile, the flight limiting method or flight limiting device of a drone according to the present invention may be utilized by being fused with an existing monitoring system. 37 is a diagram showing an automatic flight limiting system 2000 utilizing an existing monitoring system.

In FIG. 37, 1100 denotes an existing CCTV, 1200 denotes a drone control server, and c_place denotes a place crowded with people. Conventionally, according to drone regulations, flying drones in crowded places is prohibited. Since a person may or may not exist in a specific place depending on time, the no-fly zone may need to be set or released flexibly according to the presence or absence of a person. At this time, whether a person exists in c_place can be detected by the CCTV 1100, and whether a person exists in the corresponding place can be determined by the drone control server 1200. That is, the drone control server 1200 may set no_fly, a no-fly zone, for c_place based on the number of floating population in c_place detected by the CCTV 1100.

37, the drone control server 1200 can check whether a no-fly zone is currently set in c_place. Also, the drone control server 1200 can check whether the drone 800 exists on the no_fly set as a no-fly zone through the CCTV 1100. When the drone 800 exists in a no-fly zone, the drone control server 1200 notifies the flight restriction device 1000 installed at the nearest location in the zone. The flight limiting device 1000 may transmit a trigger signal and a flight limiting signal near c_place, and accordingly, the drone controller 700 sequentially receives the trigger signal and the flight limiting signal, and controls the drone to limit the flight of the drone. The signal is transmitted to the drone 800.

Although the present invention has been described above through specific examples, those skilled in the art will be able to make modifications and changes without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, what can be easily inferred from the detailed description and examples of the present invention by a person in the technical field to which the present invention belongs should be construed as belonging to the scope of the present invention.

100: drone
200: car

Claims (17)

In a drone that is paired with a car and provides information to the car,
a sensing unit that senses a surrounding environment of the drone;
a communication unit that transmits and receives information with an external communication device and receives vehicle control information from the vehicle; and
Each unit of the drone is controlled, an operating mode of the drone is selected based on the received vehicle control information, and a surrounding environment is sensed according to the operating mode through the sensing unit, and the surrounding environment is sensed as a result. a control unit extracting core information that is a criterion for determining a surrounding situation from the external environment, and transmitting the surrounding situation information of the vehicle determined based on the core information to the vehicle through the communication unit; including,
The vehicle control information includes measurement result data of a sensing unit installed in the vehicle and a control signal generated when the driver of the vehicle controls the vehicle,
The type of core information is determined corresponding to the operation mode;
The key information above is
Whether or not a sound higher than the preset level was detected,
whether the movement of an object moving in a preset direction has been detected;
whether light or color within the preset color range was detected; and
Characterized in that it includes at least one of whether the motion of the object is detected in a specific area of the detection range of the sensing unit
drone.
According to claim 1,
The control unit,
The drone, characterized in that for tracking the movement of the vehicle based on the vehicle control information. According to claim 2,
The controller controls the flight direction and control of the drone based on control signals related to steering wheel manipulation of the vehicle, control signals related to acceleration and deceleration pedal manipulation, and control signals related to transmission manipulation included in the vehicle control information. A drone, characterized in that for determining the flight speed.

delete According to claim 1,
The control unit,
Changing the operation mode of the drone to a second operation mode in response to the vehicle control information when vehicle control information satisfying a predetermined condition is received through the communication unit when the drone operates in the first operation mode. Features drones. According to claim 1,
The vehicle control information includes driver's motion information detected by the vehicle;
The control unit,
The drone characterized by predicting the driver's intention related to driving of the vehicle based on the driver's motion information included in the vehicle control information, and determining an operating mode of the drone based on the predicted driver's intention. . In a drone that provides information to a platoon composed of a leader vehicle and a member vehicle whose operation is controlled by the leader vehicle,
a sensing unit that senses a surrounding environment of the drone;
a communication unit that transmits and receives information with an external communication device and receives platoon control information for adjusting a driving state of the platoon from the leader car; and
Controls each unit of the drone, selects an operating mode of the drone based on the received platoon control information, senses the surrounding environment according to the operating mode through the sensing unit, and determines the surrounding situation from the result of sensing the surrounding environment a control unit for extracting key information that is a criterion of the key information and transmitting surrounding situation information determined based on the key information to the leader vehicle; including,
The platoon control information includes measurement result data of sensing means mounted on each car of the platoon, a control signal generated when the driver of the leader car controls the leader car, and sensing capability information of each car of the platoon, ,
The control unit,
The detection capability information of the leader vehicle is obtained from the platoon control information received through the communication unit, and the operation mode is changed to a detection capability complement mode when the obtained detection capability of the leader vehicle does not meet a preset minimum detection capability standard. but
The detection ability complement mode,
The sensing direction of the drone is the traveling direction of the leader car, the key information is the presence or absence of an object approaching the leader car, and the surrounding environment sensed through the sensing unit is transmitted to the leader car in real time. drone to do.
According to claim 7,
The control unit,
The drone characterized in that the platoon control information received from the leader vehicle is broadcasted through the communication unit and transmitted to the member vehicle. According to claim 7,
The control unit,
The drone of claim 1 , wherein the drone receives measurement result data of a sensing unit of the vehicle from the vehicle included in the platoon through the communication unit, and broadcasts the measurement result data to other vehicles in the platoon.

delete In the control device for managing a plurality of drones that provide information to the platoon,
a communication unit that transmits and receives information with an external communication device and receives performance and status information from the drone; and
Controls each part of the control device, creates an available drone list, which is a list of drones that can be used in the platoon, based on the performance and status information, determines the activation order of drones based on the available drone list, and Control signals instructing the drone to take off are transmitted through the communication unit in the above order, receiving the status of the activated drone through the communication unit, and determining whether to replace the activated drone based on the status of the drone; When the activated drone needs to be replaced, the state of the drone in the next activation sequence is checked, and a control signal instructing the drone to land is deactivated by transmitting a control signal instructing the drone to be replaced, and a control signal instructing the drone in the next activation sequence to take off and a control unit that transmits and updates the available drone list according to the replacement of the drone. According to claim 11,
When an external vehicle intervenes between a first vehicle of the platoon and a second vehicle located behind the first vehicle, when platoon control information instructing to maintain the platoon in formation is received through the communication unit,
The control unit,
Regarding the platoon front part from the frontmost car of the platoon to the first car and the platoon rear part from the second car of the platoon to the last car of the platoon,
Determine whether or not there are activated drones supporting the front end or the back end, respectively;
Activate a drone that is not activated by referring to the available drone list for the front-end unit or the rear-end unit without the supporting drone,
Drone control characterized in that the activated drone is controlled so that the transmission and reception of the platoon control information between the front-end unit and the rear-end unit is performed through wireless communication between the drone supporting the front-end unit and the drone supporting the rear-end unit. Device. In a drone that is paired with a vehicle to be serviced and provides information to the vehicle,
a communication unit that transmits and receives information with an external communication device;
a positioning unit that calculates the location of the drone; and
Controls each part of the drone, evaluates whether the drone is a replacement target based on at least one of flight time, state, and location of the drone, and if the drone is a replacement target, sends a message to a plurality of waiting drones through the communication unit. Transmits an available drone confirmation signal, receives drone status and location information, which is a response signal to the available drone confirmation signal, selects a replacement drone based on the drone status and location information, and sends a drone to the replacement drone selected through the communication unit. Transmits a signal indicating waiting for replacement, calculates a drone replacement location based on the location of the drone, the car route information, and the location information of the replacement drone, and transmits the replacement location information to the replacement drone through the communication unit a control unit that transmits data to the drone, and sets the destination of the drone as a preset return location when the drone arrives at the replacement drone location and the replacement drone is paired with the car; A drone comprising a. According to claim 13,
The control unit,
Receiving a response signal to a signal instructing standby for drone replacement from the selected replacement drone through the communication unit;
and selecting a replacement drone again if the response signal is not received during a predetermined selection confirmation waiting time after transmitting the signal instructing to wait for the replacement of the drone. In the drone controller for controlling the flight of the drone,
a first communication unit that transmits and receives information with an external communication device and receives location information from a control target drone;
a second communication unit receiving a signal for limiting the flight of the drone through a predetermined communication channel, the second communication unit not performing communication before being activated; and
The first communication unit detects a preset trigger signal from the received radio signal, and when the trigger signal is detected, the second communication unit is activated to allow the drone to fly within the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range. Receiving a limiting flight signal, and stopping the flight of the drone based on the flight limiting signal when the current time is included in the flight limit time range and the current position of the drone is included in the flight limit coordinate range. a control unit generating a drone control signal and transmitting the drone control signal to the drone through the first communication unit; A drone controller comprising a. According to claim 15,
The trigger signal is
A signal inducing a preset power change or a preset phase change of a specific DC subcarrier or a specific pilot subcarrier with respect to a communication channel used during wireless communication between the drone and the controller,
Detection of the trigger signal,
The drone controller, characterized in that carried out by a method of detecting whether a size change and a phase shift in the constellation of the radio signal received through the first communication unit have occurred. For drones,
a power unit controlling movement and attitude of the drone through at least one propeller and a driving means for driving the propeller;
a positioning unit that calculates the location of the drone;
a first communication unit that transmits and receives information with an external communication device and receives a drone control signal from a drone controller; and
a second communication unit receiving a signal for limiting the flight of the drone through a predetermined communication channel, the second communication unit not performing communication before being activated; and
Detecting a preset trigger signal from the drone control signal received by the first communication unit, and activating the second communication unit when the trigger signal is detected to limit the flight of the drone within the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range. Receives a flight limit signal, transmits the flight limit time range and the flight limit coordinate range to the drone controller through the first communication unit, the current time is included in the flight limit time range, and the current location of the drone A drone characterized in that it includes a; control unit for controlling the power unit to land according to a predetermined landing processor when it is included in the flight limit coordinate range.

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