UA154105U - THE METHOD OF CONDUCTING AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE LOCATION OF MINES - Google Patents

Abstract

The method of conducting aerial reconnaissance of the locations of mines, in particular on agricultural land, using at least one unmanned aerial vehicle, includes a video surveillance system, a communication unit with the flight control point and a container with marking paint, in which the received intelligence information is transmitted from the aircraft to command post At the first stage of aerial reconnaissance, a general picture of anomalies and damage to the earth's surface in places of probable mine laying is revealed, for which an aircraft flight over the reconnaissance zone at high altitude is provided and, if necessary, comparative frame-by-frame photography covering the topographical picture of the area with probable mine laying. In the case of detection of anomalies in the topography of the reconnaissance zone due to the activities of minelayers, the second stage of reconnaissance is carried out - frame-by-frame discrete photography of these zones at low altitude with the help of this or an additional unmanned aerial vehicle - a quadrocopter equipped with optoelectronic technology with high resolution and on an enlarged scale. With the help of software blocks of the computer of the control point, they compare the frames taken at different heights and from different angles, and make a final conclusion about the laying of mines and mark them with fluorescent paint, to which a substance that repels animals is added.

Description

The useful model belongs to the field of armaments, in particular to methods of aerial reconnaissance using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

The laying of explosive objects, such as mines, shells, etc., is carefully masked, but it is almost impossible to hide the traces of the mining process - they are revealed by changes in the topography of the surface, and it will always differ from the topography of the area that was not touched by the miners. After all, the latter, as a rule, make markings, walk on the ground, remove the top layer of sod, dig a hole, remove soil, etc., and after laying this hole, bury it, return the sod and soil to its place and mask the dangerous place. Obviously, it is extremely difficult to make the consequences of all these operations of a team of miners invisible, especially if you look, for example, at agricultural fields from a height of several tens of meters.

As a result of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, many thousands of square kilometers of Ukrainian land were mined, which will take many years to clear. Where the Russian troops advanced, the aggressors did not create minefields with specific designations and complete maps, but simply mined the small areas they needed - dirt roads, forests and arable land. Some of the unexploded mines and shells lie on arable land, which makes it impossible to sow, mow, or harvest crops. The first stage on the way to the ultimate goal - demining dangerous zones is their detection. For this purpose, aerial reconnaissance specialists are constantly working on the creation of technologies and methods of using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and the creation of maps of minefields.

The patent of the Russian Federation Mo 2485556 (МПКО01М 3/16, Е41Н 11/12, publ. 20.06.2013, Bull. Mo 17) describes the method of searching for and detecting mines and explosive objects using a system consisting of a multisensor module, a telescopic probe, an aerodynamic lifting device, which is on the harness, a video camera, a radar unit, a control unit and a backpack with a computer. The lifting device is a helicopter-type unmanned aerial vehicle fixed on a rod (dipstick) several meters long. The device is managed by the system operator using the remote control. Information from the video camera and multi-sensor unit is sent to the system operator on a display mounted in protective glasses and headphones in a protective helmet after processing in a computer located in the operator's bag. The latter manipulates the aircraft within the limits of visibility - human height - level

From the rise of the multimodule (2-3 meters).

The disadvantage of this method is that the control of the drone is not carried out remotely, but almost manually, the operator sees only a small area of land in front of him and may not notice the consequences of changes in the ground surface that took place during the mining process, especially if they were carefully disguised. In addition, dissolutions are not excluded, the operator can move in the row between min. Therefore, this reconnaissance technique is extremely dangerous for the operator.

Undoubtedly, more effective from the point of view of safety are the methods of conducting aerial reconnaissance with the help of free-flying unmanned aerial vehicles. An example of this is the way in which several aircraft are used in the process of aerial reconnaissance at once, one of which is the base (patent of Ukraine Mo 31235, МПК В64С 31/00, НО4В 7/185, publ. 03/25/2008, Byul. Mo 6). Auxiliary aircraft (drones), smaller in size, capable of flying at low altitudes, are suspended from special pylons under the wing of the base reconnaissance aircraft. The basic aircraft conducts reconnaissance in the area beyond the reach of the enemy's anti-aircraft defenses and transmits information to the control point. After conducting reconnaissance by the base aircraft, the latter drops one or more auxiliary drones and directs them to pre-selected targets, where they conduct reconnaissance at minimum altitudes.

The disadvantage of this method is that the final result of its implementation is exclusively the collection and transmission of intelligence information, which relates to the detection of locations of deployment of enemy troops, their movement, but not mines, shells, etc.

The closest analogue is the method of conducting aerial reconnaissance of the locations of mines, in particular on agricultural land, using at least one unmanned aerial vehicle, which contains a video surveillance system, a communication unit with the flight control point and a container with marking paint, in which the received intelligence information transferred from the aircraft to the command post (patent of Ukraine Mo 148667, IPC):

B24C 39/02, Vb640 1/16, publ. 09/01/2021, Bul. Mo 35).

The disadvantage of the closest analogue is its low productivity, the need to survey the entire agricultural field with accuracy to the size of the inductor. So, the metal detector (inductor) has a diameter of 0.4-0.5 m, i.e. 0.2 m", and is effective at a distance of no more than 15-20 cm from the ground surface. The ratio of one hectare to the area of the inductor is 104: 0.2-50x103. According to this reconnaissance method, it is necessary to evaluate 50 thousand plots of 0.2 m - 60 1 ha with a length of 1 km require from 20 to 30 flights at low altitude with low speed,

and this is extremely unprofitable. There are many metal objects in agricultural fields, each of which will trigger an inductor, and these false signals will need to be dealt with.

In addition, the method proposed in this method of marking the location of detected explosive objects with paint does not take into account the factor that between the moment of marking and the moment when sappers arrive at the marked place, a certain period of time can pass, which can be extremely dangerous for the lives of animals (or people) who may be in this place.

The basis of the useful model is the task of increasing the effectiveness of aerial reconnaissance of mine locations by detecting the places of their laying based on surface anomalies caused by the work of miners, in particular by conducting reconnaissance with the help of one or more drones, which at different heights collect and analyze information about changes in state surface, as a result of which safety and high search efficiency are ensured, the costs of researching large areas are significantly reduced.

The task is solved by the fact that in the method of conducting aerial reconnaissance of the locations of mines, in particular on agricultural land, with the help of at least one unmanned aerial vehicle, which contains a video surveillance system, a communication unit with the flight control point and a container with marking paint, in which the obtained reconnaissance information is transmitted from the aircraft to the command post, according to a useful model, at the first stage of aerial reconnaissance, a general picture of anomalies and damage to the earth's surface in places of probable mine laying is detected, for which it is ensured that it flies over the reconnaissance zone at a high altitude and, if necessary , comparative frame-by-frame photography covering the topographical picture of the area with probable laying of mines, and, in case of detection of anomalies in the topography of the reconnaissance area from the activities of minelayers, carry out the second stage of reconnaissance - frame-by-frame discrete photography of these zones at low altitude with the help of this or an additional unmanned aerial vehicle - quadcopter, equipped with optoelectronic technology with high resolution and on an enlarged scale, after which, with the help of software blocks of the computer of the control point, the frames taken at different heights and from different angles are compared and the final

According to the conclusion on the laying of mines, they are marked with fluorescent paint, to which a substance that repels animals is added.

In case of uncertainty in the results of the received video-optical information, before transferring the coordinates of the discovered place of probable mine laying to the command post, it can be examined for the presence of metal using a portable inductor, radar, probe, which are placed on board the quadcopter.

A distinguishing feature of the method of conducting aerial reconnaissance from the features of the analogue is that the places of laying of explosive objects are detected by anomalies and changes in the earth's surface, which are the result of the mining process. This is achieved with the help of drone flights at different heights with optoelectronic study of traces of mining. The use of a useful model is safe and most effective in the study of agricultural fields, land plots, large areas with minimal subjective influence of the operator conducting reconnaissance.

The risk of subjective influence is reduced if the general coordinates are provided by one operator, and the clarification of the results by the second, with a drone equipped with instruments.

The basic aircraft equipped with optoelectronic equipment first flies over the earth's surface at a high altitude, collects and transmits intelligence data to the control point.

It detects patterns of surface anomalies, covering a wide field of vision - roads, paths, geodetic and other reference marks, etc. If the situation requires more detailed information about the location of soil surface anomalies, it flies at lower altitudes and captures relevant information from different angles.

In case of doubt, reconnaissance is carried out more thoroughly, at an increased scale, increased resolution and from different angles. At the same time, similar footage taken from areas adjacent to the probable place of laying mines is compared with areas where the miners did not reach.

The study of the places of probable laying of mines is carried out by a hovering drone (quadrocopter) with the help of generally accepted metal detecting equipment - inductor, radar, probe, etc. These portable devices are on board the drone. Before demining, sappers use practically the same means, but they are more energy-intensive and stationary.

After a comparative analysis of optical images - close-up from a great height and images made from a low height at a high resolution, the coordinates of the given reconnaissance location are fixed with fluorescent paint with an animal-repelling solvent.

The method is carried out as follows:

The stage of surveying the earth's surface begins at a high altitude along the probable boundaries of the mine passage, which are determined based on all available evidence (documents), taking into account the terrain, surrounding roads along which animals, people, etc. move. This is how a map of the routes of the primary flights of the drone is compiled - with optoelectronic devices and the primary survey of the territory from a high altitude, a general picture of the field and the detection of anomalies in the topography of the studied area, where the miners probably worked, are obtained. Detailed study of potential laying sites begins in the second stage, at low altitude, with a resolution of at least twice that of high-altitude imaging. When studying potential laying sites, optoelectronic equipment should distinguish on the earth's surface details of 0.3-3.0 cm in size with the possibility of 5-10-fold increase due to changing the scale of the digital image. With such a relatively low resolution, clods of earth, traces of miners, the nature of dents in the soil, damaged grass, etc. are revealed. This is especially convincing when compared to image frames of nearby areas of the field where miners were not working.

Search footage of anomalies on the earth's surface during the flight of the drone at high altitude is carried out with a step greater than 4-6 m. As a rule, miners adhere to this distance for their own safety. After the detection of several locations of laying explosive objects, a repeated flight of the drone at high altitude can establish the scheme, the order of rows and the probable distances between the zones of laying explosive objects, which is extremely important for the organization of subsequent demining operations with the use of special equipment.

The proposed technology for detecting explosive objects based on anomalies in the topography of the earth's surface minimizes gaps and provides opportunities to significantly reduce search costs and possible human casualties when demining large areas and agricultural lands

of Ukraine.

Claims (2)

USEFUL MODEL FORMULA 1. A method of conducting aerial reconnaissance of mine locations, in particular on agricultural land, using at least one unmanned aerial vehicle, which includes a video surveillance system, a communication unit with the flight control point and a container with marking paint, in which the received intelligence information is transmitted from the board aircraft to the command post, which is distinguished by the fact that at the first stage of aerial reconnaissance, a general picture of anomalies and damage to the earth's surface in places of probable mine laying is revealed, for which the aircraft flies over the reconnaissance zone at high altitude and, if necessary, comparative frame-by-frame photography is provided with coverage of the topographical picture of the area with probable laying of mines, and, in the case of detection of anomalies in the topography of the reconnaissance zone due to the activities of minelayers, the second stage of reconnaissance is carried out - frame-by-frame discrete photography of these zones at low altitude with the help of this or an additional unmanned aerial vehicle - a quadcopter equipped with an optoelectronic with high-resolution equipment and on a larger scale, after which, with the help of computer software units of the control point, they compare the frames taken at different heights and from different angles, and make a final conclusion about the laying of mines and mark them with fluorescent paint, to which a substance is added , which scares away animals. 2. The method according to claim 1, which differs in that, in the case of uncertainty in the results of the received video-optical information, before transferring the coordinates of the detected place of probable mine laying to the command post, it is examined for the presence of metal using a portable inductor, radar, probe, which are placed on board the quadcopter.