KR102550589B1 - Mobile network-based multi-radio controllable unmanned aerial vehicle and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a multi-radio controllable switching device based on a mobile communication network. A mobile communication network-based multi-radio controllable switching device includes an antenna unit that receives a control signal of an unmanned aerial vehicle from a remote place, a flight controller that generates an operation signal of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle according to the control signal received from the antenna unit, and controls the flight, and a flight controller Or, based on the signal received from the antenna unit, the mission processing unit that handles the overall control of the unmanned aerial vehicle. It is connected to the mission processing unit and is connected to the mission processing unit to control the control right of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle according to the type of control signal received from the antenna unit. and a broadband communication module for receiving a switching command for switching the control right of the unmanned aerial vehicle by creating a wireless communication channel with at least one remote base station under the control of a switching control unit transmitting a control right transfer signal and a mission processing unit.

Description

Mobile network-based multi-radio controllable unmanned aerial vehicle and method for controlling the same}

The present invention relates to a radio controllable unmanned aerial vehicle and a method for controlling the same, and more particularly, to a multi-radio controllable unmanned aerial vehicle based on a 4th/5th generation mobile communication network and a method for controlling the same.

As technology on unmanned aerial vehicle systems (UAV systems) develops, unmanned aerial vehicles are used in various fields (forest fire monitoring, cargo transportation, crop control, fire suppression, crime enforcement, cadastral investigation, port management, submarine drones, etc.) are utilizing

An unmanned aerial vehicle is an air vehicle that flies automatically or semi-automatically according to a pre-programmed route on the ground without an actual pilot directly boarding, mounted mission equipment, ground control equipment (GCS), communication equipment (data link), support equipment, and operating personnel. refers to the entire system of

Unmanned aerial vehicles and model aircraft are classified by whether or not they are mounted on the flight vehicle in the flight control system (FCS). In other words, if an autopilot is included, it is an unmanned aerial vehicle even if it is small in size, and if it is not included, it is a model aircraft no matter how large it is.

In the case of carrying out a multi-point mission using such an unmanned aerial vehicle, it is designed so that control can be automatically transferred to a new control area when it is out of the control area of a specific point. The problem is that as the activity range of the unmanned aerial vehicle performing missions via these multi-points widens, problems such as the range or conversion method of control over the unmanned aerial vehicle and security may occur. In order to solve these problems, it is required to develop a multi-wireless controller switching device based on a mobile communication network of a new method in which the switching range of control rights is innovatively improved and an unmanned aerial vehicle using the same.

Patent Document 1: Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1661861 (Announcement date: 2016.09.26) Patent Document 2: Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1851237 (Announcement date: 2018.04.17)

The present invention, devised by the above-described need, expands the spatial range of the control right by switching the control of the unmanned aerial vehicle in a broadband manner based on a 4G / 5G mobile communication network, and replaces the mechanical switching circuit with an SSR circuit to reduce the error rate An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication network-based multi-radio controllable unmanned aerial vehicle and a method for controlling the same.

In order to achieve the above object, an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of multi-radio control based on a mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an antenna unit for receiving a control signal of the unmanned aerial vehicle from a remote place; a flight control unit that controls the flight by generating an operation signal of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the control signal received from the antenna unit; a mission processing unit that processes overall control of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the signal received from the flight control unit or the antenna unit; a switching control unit that is connected to the mission processing unit and transmits a control right conversion signal to the mission processing unit in order to control the control right of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the type of the control signal received from the antenna unit; and a wireless communication unit configured to create a wireless communication channel with at least one remote base station under the control of the mission processing unit and receive a switching command for switching the control right of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle.

In this case, the antenna unit may be composed of a plurality of wireless antennas that receive control signals in an effective wireless manner at a predetermined communication distance.

Here, three wireless antennas may be used.

Meanwhile, the flight controller may control the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to a control signal received through the antenna unit or the wireless communication unit.

On the other hand, the mission processing unit analyzes the control signal received from the antenna unit to determine whether it is a no control signal, and in the case of a no control signal, to execute a process of switching the control right for the corresponding antenna to another controller. may be transmitted to the switching control unit.

In this case, the switching control unit may execute a process of switching the control right for the corresponding antenna to another antenna based on the switching signal received from the task processing unit.

A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention includes an antenna unit receiving a control signal of the unmanned aerial vehicle from a remote place, and flight control by generating an operation signal of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle according to the control signal received from the antenna unit. A flight control unit, a mission processing unit that processes overall control of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the signal received from the flight control unit or the antenna unit, and is connected to the mission processing unit and is connected to the corresponding control signal according to the type of control signal received from the antenna unit. In order to control the control right of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a switching control unit that transmits a control right conversion signal to the mission processing unit and a wireless communication channel is created with at least one remote base station under the control of the mission processing unit to switch the control right of the unmanned aerial vehicle. A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle including a wireless communication unit receiving a switching command, comprising: receiving, by the antenna unit, a control signal from a remote controller; controlling, by the flight control unit, an operation of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle according to a control signal received from the antenna unit; The task processing unit, determining the type of control signal received from the antenna unit; and performing, by the switching control unit, a process of switching a connection to at least one of a controller connected to the antenna unit or the wireless communication unit according to a determination result of the task processing unit.

In this case, when the task processing unit determines a no control signal as the type of the control signal, the controller connected to the other antenna except for the controller connected to the corresponding antenna unit is connected to the controller so as to generate a switch signal of the switching control unit. can do.

In this case, the switching control unit may switch to connect to a controller connected to a side receiving a control signal equal to or greater than a preset threshold value among the antenna unit or the wireless communication unit based on the switching signal.

In this case, the switching control unit may control at least one of a plurality of solid state relays individually connected to the mission processing unit through a plurality of GIPOs.

In this case, the wireless communication unit may receive a switching signal of a controller received from a repeater relaying a 4G or 5G wireless communication network from a remote central control server and transmit it to the mission control unit.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, by switching the control right of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the 4G / 5G mobile communication network, the user can participate more stably than before, or the control spatial range is expanded,

In addition, compared to conventional switching devices, an error rate generated when switching control rights is reduced.

1 is a block diagram illustratively illustrating an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of multi-radio control based on a mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating the transfer of the control right of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention;
3 is a block diagram for illustratively explaining the operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a diagram for exemplarily explaining the configuration of a switching control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG. 3;
5 is a flowchart for illustratively explaining a method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention, and
6 illustrates an example of executing a process of switching an antenna of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Since the present invention can make various changes and have various embodiments, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. Like reference numerals have been used for like elements throughout the description of each figure.

Terms such as first, second, A, and B may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The term “and/or” includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

It is understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element, it should be understood that no other element exists in the middle.

Terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, the terms "include" or "have" are intended to designate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features It should be understood that the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not precluded.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in the present application, they should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. don't

1 is a block diagram illustrating an illustrative example of an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of multi-radio control based on a mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 includes a plurality of wireless communication antennas 110, a flight control unit 120, a mission processing unit 130, a switching control unit 140, and a broadband communication module 150. The wireless communication antenna 110 is an antenna that transmits and receives signals in a radio frequency (Radio Frequency) band. It consists of a plurality and can receive control signals from a plurality of remote controllers. The flight control unit 120 may control the flight by converting the control signal received from the plurality of wireless communication antennas 110 into a flight control signal for controlling the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle. When the flight control unit 120 receives a control signal from a controller (not shown) located on the ground, it generates a flight control signal to perform flight control according to the control signal, controls each element (motor, rotor, propeller, wing, etc.) You can control the flight direction, rotation direction, flight speed, and altitude. The mission processing unit 130 may be implemented as a single board computer that controls the overall operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The mission processing unit 130 controls detailed operations of various components constituting the unmanned aerial vehicle, and generally handles control tasks of the unmanned aerial vehicle, such as power supplied to each component, power distribution, and signal transmission between components. In addition, the mission processing unit 130 processes various signals received from the antenna unit 110, the flight control unit 120, the switching control unit 140, and the broadband communication module 150 to record flight records and flight conditions of the unmanned aerial vehicle. , flight mission information can be judged in real time and the corresponding mission can be processed. The switching control unit 140 generates a switching signal for switching the control right to at least one of the plurality of antennas when the strength of the control signal received from the antenna unit 110 is weakened and receives the switching control signal from the task processing unit 130. When determining that the furnace controller signal is received from the antenna unit 110 by the task processing unit 130, the broadband communication module 150 sets up a wireless communication channel that connects the control right to the remote control server 200 connected by broadband communication. generate

2 is a diagram illustratively illustrating the transfer of the control right of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 , a control signal received from the first controller RC1 having the control right in the first area while the unmanned aerial vehicle performs a mission in the first area and moves to the second area to the next area. If the strength of is equal to or less than the first magnitude, the task processing unit determines that the furnace controller signal has been received and executes a process of switching the control right to the second controller RC2. At this time, in the case of the present invention, in order to prevent a situation in which the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle is not controlled because a controller having a new control right has not been searched, the control server 200 connected by the broadband communication module 150 controls the conversion. The command is received and the control right is transferred to the second controller RC2 having control right in the second area. In this way, it is possible to fundamentally solve the problem that the control right is lost while the UAV moves from the first area to the second area, and the UAV enters a failsafe mode and cannot retrieve the UAV.

In the same way, the strength of the control signal received from the second controller RC2 having the control right in the second area while performing the mission in the second area and moving to the third area, the next area, is the second area. If it is less than or equal to the size, the task processing unit determines that the furnace controller signal has been received and executes a process of switching the control right to the third controller RC3. Here, in order to prevent a situation in which the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle is not controlled because a controller having a new control right has not been searched for, a conversion control command is received from the control server 200 connected by the broadband communication module 150, and , and transfers the control right to the third controller RC3 having the control right in the third area. That is, the broadband wireless communication module 150 is configured to solve the problem of becoming uncontrollable in a situation where the control right in the second area is out of range and the control right in the third area is not yet converted to control right in the third area. To receive a control transfer command from the second controller RC to the third controller RC3 from the remote control server 200 so that the third controller RC3 having the control right in can have the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle. do.

Therefore, in the case of the present invention, control can be assigned only in the limit of the predetermined wireless communication distance (1 ~ 2KM), and the uncontrollable situation that occurs in the case of automatic control change is blocked in advance, resulting in fail-safe of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The irreversible problem can be fundamentally solved.

Meanwhile, when the control right is switched from the first controller to the second controller, the remote control server 200 may send a notification of the control right switching by transmitting a vibration signal to the second controller.

3 is a block diagram for illustratively explaining the operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3 , the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is flight controlled by a remote controller 300 using a plurality of antennas 110 . The problem situation is that when the controller 300 is out of the communication distance, a fail-safe situation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 occurs, and in this situation, the control right of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 disappears and the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 becomes unrecoverable. can In order to prevent this, when a failsafe situation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 occurs, the central control server 200 having broadband communication connected by the broadband wireless communication module 150 responds to the failsafe situation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. In order to do this, a switch switching command is generated, and the mission computer of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is remotely connected to command the switch switching. That is, even in a fail-safe situation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, the remote central control server 200 does not lose control over the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and the strength of the control signal on the moving path of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 increases. It is possible to continuously maintain the control right for the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 by automatically switching the control right to a controller having a predetermined size or larger. It is preferable that the broadband wireless communication network between the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the central control server 200 is built using a wireless communication method such as 4G and 5G.

Meanwhile, the mission processing unit 130 may include a flight deceleration control unit corresponding to the magnitude of a signal received from a controller having control authority in a specific area. The flight deceleration control unit may control the flight speed to be reduced in proportion to the strength of the signal strength when the strength of the signal received in the first area is less than a specific level when flying from the first area to the second area. Therefore, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is controlled by the first controller RC1 in the first area and then abruptly switched by the second controller RC2 in the second area. Signal switching can be performed stably in safe mode. In addition, the mission processing unit 130 includes a flight acceleration control unit and calculates a time delayed from the constant speed flight by the flight deceleration control unit to accelerate the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 for a certain period of time so as to arrive at the same destination as when operating in constant speed flight. can make it time.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a switching controller of the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG. 3 by way of example. Referring to FIG. 4 , the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is characterized in that it further includes a switching control unit 140 to control switching between the mission processing unit 130 and the antenna unit 110. The switching control unit 140 may be extended to the GPIO and various terminals of the mission processing unit 130 . The switching control unit 140 may implement a switching operation using a plurality of SSR elements individually installed on the GPIO terminals of the task processing unit 130 . An input signal of low voltage (3~5V) is input to the individual SSR element, and an active high signal is output as an output signal from the internal light receiver (phototransistor). convey The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 automatically performs a pairing process between the controller and the receiver by checking RSSI of a signal received from the wireless controller when the remote wireless controller is at least a certain distance away. In FIG. 4, four SSR elements are individually connected to the GPIOs of the mission processing unit 130, and in the case of the antenna unit 110, pairing between adjacent wireless controllers is automatically switched due to switching control of the individual SSR elements. Even in a no-control state, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be controlled by maintaining pairing with the controller. In particular, in the no-control state, the user directly clicks the number of the plurality of antennas of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and the click signal selected by the user turns on/off the signal line of the corresponding antenna, so that the radio closest to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 It is characterized by being paired with a controller.

5 is a flowchart for illustratively explaining a method of controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5 , the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 enters the mission area and receives a control signal through the first antenna RC1 (S501). The mission processing unit 130 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 analyzes the type of the first control signal received from the first antenna RC1, and if the corresponding control signal is a normal control signal (S501-Yes), processing according to the control signal is performed. Execute (S503). If the control signal is not a normal control signal and the control right cannot be maintained (S502-No), the task processing unit 130 connects the GPIO to the control right for the first controller connected to the first antenna RC1 to another controller. A control signal for controlling the connected switching controller 140 is generated (S504). At this time, the mission processing unit 130 may automatically generate such a controller automatic conversion signal by pre-installed embedded software, and receives a conversion command signal from the remote control server 200 connected by the broadband wireless communication module 150 and , A control signal for switching the control right of the controller may be generated based on the received conversion command signal. The switching controller 140 operates the switching device SSR2 of the specific port P2 (S505). The task processing unit 130 activates the second antenna RC2 connected to the corresponding port P2 among the ports of the GPIO by the switching control unit 140 to connect the radio channel with the second controller connected to the corresponding channel (S506). . The task processing unit 130 executes a process of switching the control right by the second controller connected to the second antenna RC2 (S507).

6 is a diagram illustrating an example of executing a process of switching an antenna of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6 , the remote central control server 200 displays a screen through which the user can directly select a controller for the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 in a no-control state through the display 220 . In FIG. 6, when one of SwitchingButton (1P), SwitchingButton (2P), and SwitchingButton (3P) is selected, a conversion signal that automatically switches switching to the selected antenna is included in the control signal so that the unmanned aerial vehicle through the 4G or 5G communication network. It is transmitted to the task processing unit 130 via the wireless communication unit 150 of (100). The task processing unit 130 transmits a switching signal to the switching control unit 140 according to the switching signal, and the switching control unit 140 generates a control signal for switching the previous antenna to another antenna according to the switching signal. On the other hand, the remote central control server 200 has a switch change prediction unit to predict the time and point of occurrence of the control right change signal, and the prediction is displayed on the user's display 220 . For example, the switch switching prediction unit stores location information for a specific area where a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles are switched and switched, and the flight remaining until the stored specific area is switched based on the flight speed and flight time of the flying unmanned aerial vehicle. By displaying the time on the user's display 220, the user can predict when switching of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is required. In addition, the switch switching prediction unit is provided with an UAV model confirmation unit to classify and store location information for a specific area that is switched and switched for each UAV model, and display information on the same model as the flying UAV to the user ( 220), it is possible to provide information by reducing deviations in which the sensitivity of the receiver may be different for each model.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be manufactured in a variety of different forms, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs can make other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. It will be appreciated that this can be implemented. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as illustrative in all respects and not limiting.

100: drone
110: antenna unit
120: flight control
130: mission processing department
140: switching control unit
150: broadband communication module
200: remote central control server
210: remote wireless communication unit
220: Remote central control server display

Claims (10)

In a mobile communication network-based multi-radio controllable unmanned aerial vehicle,
an antenna unit for receiving a control signal of the unmanned aerial vehicle from a remote place;
a flight control unit that controls the flight by generating an operation signal of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the control signal received from the antenna unit;
a mission processing unit that processes overall control of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the signal received from the flight control unit or the antenna unit;
a switching control unit that is connected to the mission processing unit and transmits a control right conversion signal to the mission processing unit in order to control the control right of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the type of the control signal received from the antenna unit; and
A broadband communication module for generating a wireless communication channel with at least one remote base station under the control of the mission processing unit and receiving a conversion command for switching the control right of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle;
The antenna unit is composed of a plurality of wireless communication antennas that receive control signals in an effective wireless manner at a predetermined communication distance,
Characterized in that the flight control unit controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to a control signal received through the antenna unit or the broadband communication module.
Multi-radio controllable UAV based on mobile communication network.
delete delete delete delete An antenna unit that receives a control signal of the unmanned aerial vehicle from a remote location, a flight controller that controls flight by generating an operation signal of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle according to the control signal received from the antenna unit, and a signal received from the flight controller or the antenna unit Based on the mission processing unit that processes the overall control of the unmanned aerial vehicle, it is connected to the mission processing unit and transmits a control right conversion signal to the mission processing unit in order to control the control right of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle according to the type of control signal received from the antenna unit. Controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle including a switching control unit for transmitting and a broadband communication module for generating a wireless communication channel with at least one remote base station under the control of the mission processing unit and receiving a switching command for switching the control right of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle in the method,
receiving, by the antenna unit, a control signal from a remote controller;
controlling, by the flight control unit, an operation of the corresponding unmanned aerial vehicle according to a control signal received from the antenna unit;
The task processing unit, determining the type of control signal received from the antenna unit; and
The switching control unit performs a process of switching a connection to at least one of the controller connected to the antenna unit or the broadband communication module according to the determination result of the task processing unit,
When the task processing unit determines a no control signal as the type of control signal, it generates a switching signal of the switching control unit to perform a process of switching the connection to a controller connected to another antenna except for a controller connected to the corresponding antenna unit,
Characterized in that the switching control unit switches to be connected to a controller connected to a side receiving a control signal equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold among the antenna unit or the broadband communication module based on the switching signal,
How to control an unmanned aerial vehicle.
delete delete According to claim 6,
Characterized in that the switching control unit controls at least one of a plurality of solid state relays individually connected to the mission processing unit through a plurality of GIPOs,
How to control an unmanned aerial vehicle. delete

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