KR20210037999A - Method of conrolling drone flight - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for controlling the flight of a drone of a drone control PC remotely controlling a drone control device to control the flight of a drone. A drone control PC transmits drone control information for automatic flight of a drone to a drone control device and receives drone flight information from the drone control device. The drone control information includes flight path information of the drone. The drone flight information includes the current location information of the drone.

Description

Drone flight control method{METHOD OF CONROLLING DRONE FLIGHT}

The present invention relates to a method of controlling the flight of a drone that is automatically flying.

As drones are becoming more lightweight and drone control technology advanced, drones can be encountered frequently in our daily lives. Drones are being used in various applications such as surveillance and reconnaissance, broadcasting, parcel delivery, and agriculture, and their use and application range are expected to expand rapidly in the future

For example, drones can be used to investigate, manage, and monitor specific areas that are difficult to access by humans. Drones can move freely and quickly in the air and remotely monitor a specific area through a camera or sensor mounted on the drone.

In the field of drone control, it is common to control the drone while the control device communicates with the drone. In addition, recently, a technology for controlling a drone in the field without being in the field has appeared by controlling the drone control system in the field through a drone control PC in a remote location.

The remote drone control PC transmits flight commands to the drone control device through the server, enabling the on-site drone to fly automatically. At this time, the flight position of the drone flying in the field is transmitted to the remote drone control PC through the server, so that the drone flight status in the field can be monitored by the remote drone control PC.

However, when controlling the automatic flight of a drone in the field through such a remote control PC, there has been a risk of a battery problem of a drone flying in the field or a danger that a drone in automatic flight will collide with external equipment such as specific terrain or heavy equipment.

Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention reached the completion of the present invention after a long period of research and trial and error in order to solve the problems that may occur during automatic flight of a drone through such a conventional remote control.

The present invention provides a drone flight control method capable of controlling drone flight more closely, more specifically, and more precisely when controlling the automatic flight of a drone through the control of a drone control device at a remote location.

Meanwhile, other objects that are not specified of the present invention will be additionally considered within a range that can be easily deduced from the detailed description and effects thereof below.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a drone flight control method of a drone control PC for remotely controlling a drone control device to control a flight of a drone, wherein the drone control PC is the drone control device for automatic flight of the drone. A drone that transmits drone control information and receives drone flight information from the drone control device, wherein the drone control information includes flight path information of the drone, and the drone flight information includes current location information of the drone. Flight control methods are provided.

The control information may further include ID information of the drone, and the drone flight information may further include ID information, flight log, and battery information of the drone.

The drone control device and the drone control PC may be network-connected to each other through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) server.

The drone control device and the drone control PC may be synchronized.

The control information includes manual flight information for temporarily manual control of the drone in automatic flight, and the manual flight information may include a command for at least one of flight stop, flight continuation, and route departure of the drone. .

The flight stop command is a command for hovering the drone, the flight continuation command is a command for resuming flight of the stopped drone, and the route departure command is to separate the drone from the flight path. It may be an order for.

The control information may include photographing information of a camera mounted on the drone.

The photographing information may include information for controlling at least one of a vertical angle, a left and right angle, and a zoom level of the camera at a predetermined point on the flight path.

When the first drone and the second drone are sequentially controlled on the flight path by the control information, and the first drone ends flight at the first point on the flight path and returns to the return position, the second drone The control information for controlling the flight of may include a command for the second drone to start flying at the first point.

The control information for controlling the flight of the first drone includes the remaining battery capacity of the first drone at the first point and the amount of battery required to fly at the minimum flight distance from the first point to the return position. When the difference of is less than or equal to the reference value, the first drone may include an instruction to end the flight at the first point.

If the drone flight control method according to the present invention is used, the drone flight can be controlled more closely, more specifically, and more precisely when controlling the automatic flight of the drone through the control of the drone control device at a remote location.

On the other hand, even if it is an effect not explicitly mentioned herein, it is added that the effect described in the following specification and its provisional effect expected by the technical features of the present invention are treated as described in the specification of the present invention.

1 is a view showing a drone flight control system according to the present invention.
2 is a view showing a flight path setting in a drone flight control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing manual control of a drone in automatic flight in a drone flight control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 to 8 are views showing flight control of a plurality of drones in a drone flight control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The accompanying drawings are exemplified by reference for understanding the technical idea of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereby.

In describing the present invention, when it is determined that the subject matter of the present invention may be unnecessarily obscured as matters that are obvious to those skilled in the art with respect to known functions related to the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The terms used in the present 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 indicates otherwise. In the present application, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features. It is to be understood that the presence or addition of elements or numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof does not preclude in advance.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the drone flight control method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components are assigned the same reference numbers and overlapped therewith. Description will be omitted.

1 is a view showing a drone flight control system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the drone flight control system includes a drone 10, a drone control device 20, a drone control PC 30, and may further include a VPN server 100.

The drone 10 may be provided with a plurality of propellers as an unmanned aerial vehicle (unmanned aerial vehicle). The drone 10 may be controlled wirelessly by receiving a signal for control information. The drone 10 may include a communication module for transmitting and receiving signals. Meanwhile, the drone 10 may include a battery, and the battery may be rechargeable.

The drone 10 may be provided with a camera so as to photograph a flight area while flying. The camera mounted on the drone 10 can be controlled wirelessly.

The drone 10 equipped with a camera may play a role of monitoring the flight area. The flight area may be a construction site, and the drone 10 flying through the construction site may play a role of grasping the state of the construction site. Alternatively, the drone 10 may serve to inspect the exterior walls and exteriors of facilities such as buildings and dams. In the present invention, the role of the drone 10 is not limited.

In order for the drone 10 to perform a given role, a plurality of drones 10 may be implemented. Each of the plurality of drones 10 may include a wireless communication module and a camera.

The drone control device 20 is a device capable of controlling the flight of the drone 10 and may be a radio controller (RC) controller, and may be implemented as an application of a computer, a controller, a mobile phone, or a smart device. The drone control device 20 wirelessly transmits a signal for control information to the drone 10. The drone control device 20 may include a communication module that transmits and receives signals. Meanwhile, the drone control device 20 may control a camera mounted on the drone 10.

The drone control device 20 and the drone 10 transmit and receive signals of a specific frequency. For example, frequencies of 27 MHz band, 40 MHz band, 70 MHz band, and 2.4 GHz band may be used, but are not limited thereto.

The drone control device 20 may use a plurality of channels for transmitting and receiving signals. The controllable flight range may vary depending on the number of channels. The drone control device 20 can control the take-off (flying start, float, raise), landing (flight end, lowering), flight speed, flight direction (front, rear, up, down, left and right), and flight mode of the drone 10. In addition, the drone control device 20 may control the angle and zoom of the camera.

The drone control device 20 is provided with a display, and a photographed image of the drone 10 may be displayed on the display.

The drone control PC 30 is a PC that remotely controls the drone control device 20, and a command input to the drone control PC 30 is transmitted to the drone control device 20, and as a result, the drone 10 is controlled. Can be. The drone control PC 30 may communicate with the drone control device 20 to exchange signals.

The drone control device 20 and the drone control PC 30 may be network-connected to each other through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) server.

The VPN server 100 may execute various software based on an operating system (OS), that is, a system. Operating systems may include mobile computer operating systems such as Android OS, iOS, Windows Mobile OS, Bada OS, Symbian OS, and Blackberry OS, and computer operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Unix, MAC, AIX, and HP-UX.

The VPN server 100 includes a communication module, and as a short-range communication module, NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth, Zigbee, UWB (Ultra-wideband) methods, etc. can be used. 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE, LTE-A, WiBro (Wireless Broadband Internet), Wi-Fi, etc. can be used, and power line communication (PLC), other Internet, and SNS can be used as wired communication.

The VPN server 100 may store control information received from the drone control PC 30 and flight information of the drone 10 received from the drone control device 20.

As a storage medium, flash memory type, hard disk type, multimedia card micro type, card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory, etc.), RAM (RAM ) And at least one of a ROM type may be used.

The drone 10 flight control method according to the drone flight control system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a drone control PC 30 that remotely controls the drone control device 20 to control the flight of the drone 10, As the drone 10 flight control method, the drone control PC 30 transmits the drone 10 control information for automatic flight of the drone 10 to the drone control device 20, and the drone control device It is possible to receive the drone 10 flight information from (20).

The drone control device 20 and the drone control PC 30 may be synchronized with each other. That is, when control information is transmitted from the drone control PC 30 to the drone control device 20 via the VPN server 100, the drone control device 20 may be driven according to the control information. According to this, the drone 10 can be remotely controlled by the drone control PC 30 without directly controlling the drone control device 20 in the flight area (construction site, etc.).

The control information is information for controlling the drone 10, and may include ID information, flight route information, and camera photographing information of the drone 10.

The ID information of the drone 10 may include a unique identification number, a unique identification character, etc. that can identify the drone 10. Depending on the ID information of the drone 10, flight route information, camera photographing information, and the like may be applied to the corresponding drone 10.

The flight path information of the drone 10 is information on a path necessary for the automatic flight of the drone 10. Specifically, the flight path information may include a flight start point, an arrival point, a transit point, a flight direction, a flight altitude, and the like of the drone 10. In addition, the control information or flight path information may further include a flight speed of the drone 10, a flight mode, and the like.

When such control information is input from the drone control PC 30 and input to the drone control device 20 through the VPN server 100, the flight of the drone 10 is performed by the drone control device 20 according to a preset flight path. It can be done automatically.

2 is a view showing the flight path setting in the drone flight control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 shows a screen of the drone control PC 30. 2 is an example, and the present invention is not limited by the drawings.

The drone control PC 30 may designate the drone 10 and set a flight path for automatic flight of the drone 10. The flight path can be set as a starting point, a destination point, a stopover point, etc. In addition, the flight path may be set as a path drawn directly on the map. Meanwhile, when setting a flight route, the route can be saved or the saved route can be called. When the flight path setting is completed, automatic flight can be started through buttons such as'start automatic flight','raise (float)', and'takeoff'.

In addition to setting the flight path, the drone control PC 30 may provide confirmation of drone information, view of a drone list, setting of a flight area, and confirmation of a flight area.

Meanwhile, the drone control PC 30 may designate the drone 10 and set a photographing method of a camera mounted on the drone 10. In this case, the control information transmitted from the drone control PC 30 may further include camera photographing information. The camera photographing information may be separately input when setting the flight path of the drone 10, and when setting the flight path in the drone control PC 30 shown in FIG. 2, it may be made using a camera angle/zoom level button, etc. .

The photographing information may include information for controlling at least one of a tilt, a yaw, and a zoom level of the camera at a predetermined point on the flight path.

Specifically, when shooting a specific object in a specific area by automatic flight of the drone 10, when setting the flight path, the values of the desired camera's up and down angles, left and right angles, and zoom levels for each desired point on the flight path. By inputting, the camera of the drone 10 can be controlled according to the input information.

Here, the desired point is input as location information including any one of latitude, longitude, and altitude, and the desired point may be directly selected on the map if necessary. In addition, the vertical angle, the left and right angle, and the zoom level of the camera may be input as a preset number.

For example, in the case of the drone 10 inspecting the exterior of a building, the angle of the camera may vary in a path going up along the exterior wall of a building and a path flying along the rooftop of a building. In addition, in the case of the drone 10 inspecting the construction site, the zoom level value is set low at the point where the area where a lot of soil is accumulated is photographed, so that during actual flight, it is possible to zoom out at that point.

3 is a view showing manual control of a drone in automatic flight in a drone flight control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 shows the drones 10, 11, and 12 in automatic flight. In FIG. 3, three drones 10, 11, and 12 with unique IDs D2012, D2034, and D2056 are shown as being in automatic flight.

The drone control PC 30 is for the drone 10 in automatic flight, checks the drone ID information, checks the flight log, view the camera footprint, checks the location of the drone, corrects the flight path, checks the flight path. Etc. can be provided.

Meanwhile, the control information may include manual flight information for temporarily manually controlling the drone 10 in automatic flight. The manual flight information may include a command for at least one of flight stop, flight continuation, and route departure of the drone 10.

Here, the flight stop is a command for hovering the drone 10, the flight continuation is a command for restarting the flight of the stopped drone 10, and the path departure is from the flight path. It may be a command for leaving the drone 10.

The flight stop command is a command to stop the flight using the flight stop button when there is a concern about a collision with external equipment such as heavy equipment for the drone 10 in automatic flight, and can make the drone 10 fly in place. .

The flight continuation command is a command to cancel hovering, and according to the flight continuation command, the drone 10 that was flying in place can continue to fly in the existing flight path.

The route departure command may be a command for disengaging the drone 10 from the flight route in the case where it is possible to avoid an unexpected situation only by deviating from the preset flight route. According to the route departure command, the drone 10 leaves the flight path and can move to any one location designated by the drone control PC 30. Such a route departure command may be input from the drone control PC 30 with a'departure' or'click&move' button.

This manual control may be used at an urgent moment of the drone 10, and when the flight route information and the manual flight information are input together in the control information, the manual flight information may take precedence. However, according to a command to terminate manual control, such as a flight continuation command, the drone 10 will automatically fly again.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the drone control PC 30 may receive flight information of the drone 10 from the drone control device 20. The drone 10 flight information may include current location information of the drone 10. In addition, the drone 10 flight information may further include ID information, flight log, and battery information of the drone 10.

The current location information of the drone 10 may be obtained by a GPS mounted on the drone 10 and may be expressed in x-y-z coordinates. The current location information of the drone 10 may be output to the drone control PC 30. 3 shows the location of the drones 10, 11, and 12 according to the current location information of the drones 10, 11, and 12 on a map. In addition, the current location information of the drones 10, 11, and 12 in the drone control PC 30 of FIG. 3 may be output as a numerical value in the drone location check.

The ID information of the drone 10 may include a unique identification number, a unique identification character, etc. that can identify the drone 10. According to the ID information of the drone 10, the flight log and battery information for the corresponding drone 10 may be output to the drone control PC 30. In the drone control PC 30 of FIG. 3, ID information of the drones 10, 11, and 12 may be output through checking drone information.

The flight log refers to the flight record of the drone 10, and may include a record of a flight time, a record of a flight path, and the like. In the drone control PC 30 of FIG. 3, the flight log of the drones 10, 11, and 12 may be output through checking the flight log.

The battery information refers to information on the remaining amount of a battery installed in the drone 10, and the battery information may be updated in real time. In the drone control PC 30 of FIG. 3, battery information of the drones 10, 11, and 12 may be output through checking drone information.

The drone control PC 30 may control a plurality of drones D1, D2, and D3. The drone control PC 30 may independently control a plurality of drones D1, D2, and D3. That is, the drone control PC 30 may independently set a flight path and a photographing method for a plurality of drones D1, D2, and D3.

In addition, the drone control PC 30 may link and control a plurality of drones D1, D2, and D3. The batteries of the drones D1, D2, and D3 are limited, so if the drones D1, D2, and D3 continue to fly, the battery capacity is consumed. If the flight area (F) of the drones (D1, D2, D3) is larger than the battery capacity of the drones (D1, D2, D3), multiple drones (D1, D2, D3) sequentially determine the flight area (F). You can fly.

In this case, the flight paths of the plurality of drones D1, D2, and D3 are all set identically, but may be set to sequentially fly one of the plurality of drones D1, D2, D3. That is, the first drone D1 and the second drone D2 may be sequentially controlled on the flight path according to the control information.

When the first drone (D1) ends the flight at the first point on the flight path, the control information for controlling the flight of the second drone (D2) is the second drone (D2) starts flying at the first point. May include an order to do.

In addition, the control information for controlling the flight of the first drone D1 includes the remaining battery capacity of the first drone D1 at the first point and the minimum flight distance from the first point to the return position. When the difference in the amount of battery required to fly is less than or equal to the reference value, the first drone D1 may include a command to end the flight at the first point.

4 to 8 are views showing flight control of a plurality of drones in the drone flight control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 to 8, the first drones D1 to the third drones D3 are sequentially controlled on one path, and each drone D1 flies in a unit path.

Referring to FIG. 4, the first drone D1 may start from the start point S1 of the entire flight path. Referring to FIG. 5, since the battery of the first drone D1 is consumed and the remaining battery power is insufficient, the flight of the first drone D1 is terminated at the first point S2. The first drone D1 returns to the start point S1 of the entire flight path, and hereinafter, this point is referred to as the return position.

Referring to FIG. 6, the second drone D2 starts flying at a first point S2, which is a point where the first drone D1 has finished flying. Referring to FIG. 7, since the battery of the second drone D2 is consumed and the remaining battery power is insufficient, the flight of the second drone D2 is terminated at the second point S3. The second drone D2 returns to the return position at the second point S3. Referring to FIG. 8, the third drone D3 starts flying at the second point S3, which is the point where the second drone D2 has finished flying. The third drone D3 may fly to the destination point S4 of the entire flight path and then end the flight. The third drone D3 returns to the return position at the destination point S4.

Here, among the entire paths S1 to S4, the unit path of the first drone (D1) is S1 to S2, the unit path of the second drone (D2) is S2 to S3, and the unit path of the third drone (D3) is It becomes S3~S4.

However, the unit path of each drone D1 is not set from the beginning, and may be determined according to the remaining battery capacity of the flying drone D1.

In FIG. 5, the first point S2 is a point at which the difference between the remaining battery capacity of the first drone D1 and the amount of battery required to fly at the minimum flight distance d1 to the return position S1 becomes less than the reference value. to be. The first drone D1 moves from the first point S2 to the return position according to the minimum flight distance d1.

In FIG. 7, the second point S3 is a point at which the difference between the remaining battery capacity of the second drone D2 and the amount of battery required to fly with the minimum flight distance d2 to the return position S1 becomes less than the reference value. to be. The second drone D2 moves from the second point S3 to the return position according to the minimum flight distance d2.

According to this method, when a plurality of drones D1 sequentially fly, no single point in the entire flight path is omitted, and battery consumption can be minimized. If the drone (D1) flight area is a large site, it may not be possible to perform the entire activity in one flight due to the battery capacity limitation.According to the above method, the user sets a separate flight path for each drone (D1) each time. There is no discomfort to do.

The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the description and expression of the embodiments explicitly described above. In addition, it is added once again that the scope of protection of the present invention may not be limited due to obvious changes or substitutions in the technical field to which the present invention pertains.

10, 11, 12, D1, D2, D3: drone
20: drone control system
30: drone control PC
100: VPN server

Claims (10)

As a drone flight control method of a drone control PC that remotely controls a drone control device to control the flight of a drone,
The drone control PC transmits drone control information for automatic flight of the drone to the drone control device, and receives drone flight information from the drone control device,
The drone control information includes flight path information of the drone,
The drone flight information includes current location information of the drone,
Drone flight control method. The method of claim 1,
The control information further includes ID information of the drone,
The drone flight information further includes ID information, flight log, and battery information of the drone,
Drone flight control method. The method of claim 1,
The drone control device and the drone control PC are network-connected to each other through a VPN (Virtual Private Network) server,
Drone flight control method. The method of claim 3,
The drone control device and the drone control PC are synchronized,
Drone flight control method. The method of claim 1,
The control information includes manual flight information for temporarily manual control of the drone in automatic flight,
The manual flight information includes a command for at least one of flight stop, flight continuation, and route departure of the drone,
Drone flight control method. The method of claim 5,
The flight stop command is a command for hovering the drone,
The flight continuation command is a command for resuming flight of the drone that has stopped flying,
The route departure command is a command for leaving the drone from the flight path,
Drone flight control method. The method of claim 1,
The control information is characterized in that it includes the photographing information of the camera mounted on the drone,
Drone flight control method. The method of claim 7,
The shooting information is,
Including information for controlling at least one of a vertical angle, a left and right angle, and a zoom level of the camera at a predetermined point on the flight path,
Drone flight control method. The method of claim 1,
The first and second drones are sequentially controlled on the flight path by the control information,
When the first drone ends flight at the first point on the flight path and returns to the return position,
The control information for controlling the flight of the second drone,
Including a command to the second drone to start flying at the first point,
Drone flight control method. The method of claim 9,
The control information for controlling the flight of the first drone,
When the difference between the remaining battery capacity of the first drone at the first point and the amount of battery required to fly at the minimum flight distance from the first point to the return position is less than a reference value, the first drone Containing an order to end the flight at the point,
Drone flight control method.

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