WO2017211030A1

WO2017211030A1 - Communications control method and device for unmanned aerial vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2017211030A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/102118
Authority: WO
Inventors: 郝祁; 兰功金; 卜亚圣
Original assignee: 南方科技大学
Priority date: 2016-06-07
Filing date: 2016-10-14
Publication date: 2017-12-14
Also published as: CN105892492A

Abstract

A communications control method, device and non-transient computer-readable storage medium for an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method comprises: a control terminal reading first location information from a positioning module, and first antenna angle information indicated by a first electronic compass (110); according to said first location information and received second location information of an unmanned aerial vehicle, calculating the relative location of the unmanned aerial vehicle relative to the control terminal (120); and, according to the first antenna angle information and the relative location of said unmanned aerial vehicle relative to the control terminal, generating a control signal so as to control a drive module to drive the first antenna to point toward the unmanned aerial vehicle (130).

Description

UAV communication control method and device

Technical field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to drone technology, for example, to a drone communication control method and apparatus.

Background technique

The drone communicates with the ground control terminal in real time during flight. For example, the control terminal transmits flight instructions to control the flight of the drone, and the drone sends the captured image and video to the control terminal for storage or direct display.

The related drones use traditional omnidirectional antennas to transmit and receive communication signals (such as control signals, digital transmission signals, and picture transmission signals) during communication. That is, the control terminal uses an omnidirectional antenna to transmit a full range of communication signals to the space, and the drone performs signal reception within the effective communication distance of the control terminal signal. The drone also transmits an omnidirectional signal to the space through the omnidirectional antenna, and the control terminal receives the return signal of the drone within the effective communication distance of the signal transmitted by the drone.

Since the communication between the UAV and the control terminal belongs to point-to-point communication, the related art adopts an omnidirectional antenna to transmit and receive communication signals, which has the disadvantages of large communication power consumption, short distance, and large interference.

Summary of the invention

The present disclosure provides a UAV communication control method and apparatus for reducing the communication power consumption of the UAV and the control terminal, improving the endurance capability of the UAV, increasing the communication distance, and reducing the communication signal pair. Communication interference in the surrounding environment.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a drone communication control method, including:

The control terminal reads the first location information in the positioning module and the first antenna angle information indicated by the first electronic compass;

Calculating a relative position of the drone relative to the control terminal according to the first location information and the received second location information of the drone;

And generating, according to the first antenna angle information and the relative position, a control signal to control the driving module to drive the first antenna to the drone.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a drone communication control method, including:

The UAV reads the second position information in the positioning unit and the second antenna angle information indicated by the second electronic compass;

Calculating, according to the second location information and the received first location information of the control terminal, a relative location of the control terminal relative to the drone;

And generating a control signal according to the second antenna angle information and the control terminal relative to the relative position to control the driving unit to drive the second antenna to point to the control terminal.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a UAV communication control apparatus, including:

a first positioning module, configured to acquire first location information of the control terminal;

a first electronic compass configured to obtain first antenna angle information;

The controller is configured to read the first location information and the first antenna angle information, and calculate, according to the first location information and the received second location information of the drone, the UAV Generating a control signal according to the relative position of the control terminal and according to the first antenna angle information and the relative position;

The first driving module is configured to drive the first antenna to the drone according to the control signal, wherein the first positioning module, the first electronic compass and the first driving module are respectively connected to the controller.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a UAV communication control apparatus, including:

a second positioning module, configured to acquire second location information of the drone;

a second electronic compass configured to obtain second antenna angle information;

The controller is configured to read the second location information and the second antenna angle information, and calculate, according to the second location information and the received first location information of the control terminal, the control terminal relative to the location Determining a relative position of the drone, and generating a control signal according to the second antenna angle information and the control terminal relative to the relative position;

The second driving module is configured to drive the second antenna to the drone according to the control signal, wherein the second positioning module, the second electronic compass and the second driving module are respectively connected to the controller.

The present disclosure also provides a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions arranged to perform the above method.

The disclosure improves the communication power consumption, the short distance and the high interference caused by the omnidirectional antenna transmitting and receiving communication signals by the UAV and the control terminal in the related art, and reduces the communication between the UAV and the control terminal. The power consumption improves the endurance of the drone, and the communication distance increases, which also reduces the communication interference of the communication signal to the surrounding environment.

DRAWINGS

1 is a flowchart of a drone communication control method according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure;

2 is a flowchart of a drone communication control method according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure;

3 is a schematic diagram showing relationship between an antenna pointing and a drone position according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure;

4 is a schematic view showing decomposition of an angle α according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure;

5 is a flowchart of a drone communication control method according to Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure;

6 is a structural diagram of a drone communication control apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure;

7 is a schematic structural diagram of a drone communication control apparatus according to Embodiment 6 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a drone provided by Embodiment 6 of the present disclosure for controlling directional antenna movement by a control device.

detailed description

The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the disclosure and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, it should be noted that, for the convenience of description, only some but not all of the structures related to the present disclosure are shown in the drawings.

Embodiment 1

1 is a flowchart of a UAV communication control method according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The present embodiment is applicable to a situation in which a control terminal and a UAV communicate, and the method can be performed by a control terminal such as a ground console.

In step 110, the control terminal reads the first location information in the positioning module and the first antenna angle information indicated by the first electronic compass.

The positioning module can be integrated in the control terminal, and the position information of the control terminal can be obtained in real time. The positioning module can be positioned by using a Global Positioning System (GPS) method. The first location information acquired by the positioning module can be transmitted to the controller of the control terminal in real time. The electronic compass is used to indicate the angle of the first antenna, and the angle information of the control terminal can be transmitted through the electronic compass The angle value of the first antenna is obtained. The first antenna includes a directional antenna.

In step 120, a relative position of the drone relative to the control terminal is calculated according to the first location information and the received second location information of the drone.

The first location information, that is, the location information of the control terminal itself, can be obtained by the positioning module to obtain the latitude and longitude value of the control terminal, and the real-time location of the drone that controls the terminal to perform information interaction is defined as the second location information. Similarly, the second location information may be a latitude and longitude information value of the drone, and the control terminal may obtain a relative position of the drone relative to the control terminal according to the latitude and longitude value of the location and the latitude and longitude value of the drone.

In step 130, a control signal is generated according to the first antenna angle information and a relative position of the drone relative to the control terminal to control the driving module to drive the first antenna to the drone.

Exemplarily, after the controller of the control terminal generates the control signal, it sends it to the PTZ drive circuit, and the PTZ drive circuit drives the PTZ motor to rotate so that the first antenna is directed to the UAV.

According to the technical solution of the embodiment, the control terminal controls the directional antenna movement according to the relative position of the drone and itself, and points to the unmanned aerial vehicle in real time. Since the directional antenna transmits and receives electromagnetic waves in a specific direction, the capability is far stronger than the related omnidirectional. The antenna has stronger anti-interference ability, reduces the communication power consumption of the drone and the control terminal, improves the endurance of the drone, increases the communication distance, and reduces the communication of the communication signal to the surrounding environment. interference.

On the basis of the foregoing technical solution, before the control terminal reads the first location information in the positioning module and the first antenna angle information indicated by the first electronic compass, the method may further include: the control terminal sends the connection instruction, and The drone establishes a communication connection; or the control terminal receives a connection instruction sent by the drone, and establishes a communication connection with the drone. After the control terminal and the drone are initialized, the communication link between the control terminal and the drone is started. Correspondingly, during initialization, the antenna is reset to the preset position, which may be reset to the antenna slot.

On the basis of the foregoing technical solution, after the control terminal reads the first location information in the location module, the method may further include: sending the first location information to the drone. In this solution, the control terminal transmits its own position information to the drone, so that the drone can drive the directional antenna of the drone to the control terminal by the same principle, thereby improving the communication efficiency between the control terminal and the drone. To reduce noise interference.

Embodiment 2

2 is a flowchart of a method for controlling communication of a drone according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. On the basis of the first embodiment, a method for adjusting a first antenna is provided.

In step 210, the control terminal reads the first location information in the positioning module and the first antenna angle information indicated by the first electronic compass.

In step 220, a three-dimensional coordinate system with the control terminal as an origin is established, and the drone is calculated in the three-dimensional coordinate system according to the first position information and the second position information of the received drone. The coordinate value in .

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the antenna pointing and the position of the drone according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. Wherein, the control terminal is the origin of the three-dimensional coordinate system, and the coordinate value of the drone in the three-dimensional coordinate system is obtained according to the position of the control terminal and the position information of the drone. For example, the coordinate value is (x, y). , z), where x, y, and z are 50, 50, and 40, respectively.

In step 230, the pointing direction of the first antenna and the angle of the drone are obtained according to the coordinate value and the first antenna angle information.

As shown in FIG. 3, the angle α between the two is obtained according to the coordinate values of the drone in the three-dimensional coordinate system and the orientation of the first antenna. Correspondingly, the angle β of the second antenna pointing of the drone and the control terminal can be obtained.

In step 240, a control signal is generated to control the direction in which the drive module drives the first antenna and the angle of the drone is zero.

In the process of generating the control signal, the controller decomposes the angle α in FIG. 3 into a control vector in two directions, as shown in FIG. 4 , which is a decomposition of the angle α provided in the second embodiment of the present disclosure. schematic diagram. The angle α is respectively decomposed into an α _xy vector and an α _xz vector, and the pan-tilt motor is controlled to rotate the α1 angle in the xz direction and the α2 angle in the xy direction, respectively, so that the first antenna points to the position of the drone.

In the technical solution of the embodiment, the control terminal reduces the communication power consumption of the drone and the control terminal by driving the antenna to the position of the drone, thereby improving the endurance capability of the drone and increasing the communication distance. The communication interference of the communication signal to the surrounding environment is reduced.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, the method may further include: calculating a linear distance between the control terminal and the drone according to the first location information and the second location information; and according to the straight line The distance adjusts the power consumption of the transmission module in real time. As shown in FIG. 3, the figure indicates the linear distance from the control terminal to the drone, and the power consumption of the transmission module is adjusted in real time according to the distance. Alternatively, the longer the distance, the power consumption of the transmission module is increased. The shorter the transmission power consumption of the transmission module is reduced. Can be tested during the process The relationship between the antenna communication power consumption and the communication distance is measured and stored in the database. In the subsequent transmission process, the controller adjusts the transmission module according to the correspondence between the communication distance recorded in the database and the communication power consumption. Power consumption, by way of example, the transmission module may include a picture transmission unit and a data transmission unit.

Embodiment 3

5 is a flowchart of a UAV communication control method according to Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, reference may be made to a scheme in which the control terminal controls the first antenna to point to the UAV in the foregoing embodiment. In this embodiment, the UAV The second antenna that controls itself is pointed to the control terminal in real time.

In step 310, the drone reads the second position information in the positioning unit and the second antenna angle information indicated by the second electronic compass.

In step 320, a relative position of the control terminal relative to the drone is calculated according to the second location information and the received first location information of the control terminal.

In step 330, a control signal is generated according to the second antenna angle information and a relative position of the control terminal relative to the drone to control the driving unit to drive the second antenna to the control terminal.

The technical solution provided by the embodiment reduces the communication power consumption of the UAV and the control terminal, improves the endurance capability of the UAV, increases the communication distance, and reduces the communication interference of the communication signal to the surrounding environment. .

On the basis of the above technical solution, before the UAV reads the second location information in the positioning unit and the second antenna angle information indicated by the second electronic compass, the method further includes: the UAV sends a connection instruction, Establishing a communication connection with the control terminal; or receiving the connection instruction sent by the control terminal by the drone, and establishing a communication connection with the control terminal.

On the basis of the foregoing technical solution, after the UAV reads the second location information in the positioning unit, the method further includes: sending the second location information to the control terminal.

On the basis of the foregoing technical solution, calculating the relative position of the control terminal relative to the drone according to the second location information and the received first location information of the control terminal may include: establishing the The human machine is a three-dimensional coordinate system of the origin, and the coordinate value of the control terminal in the three-dimensional coordinate system is calculated according to the second position information and the received first position information of the control terminal; The second antenna angle information obtains an angle between a pointing direction of the second antenna and the control terminal.

On the basis of the foregoing technical solutions, generating a control signal to control the driving unit to drive the second antenna to the control terminal may include: generating a control signal to control a driving unit to drive the pointing direction of the second antenna and an angle between the control terminal is zero.

On the basis of the above technical solution, the method may further include: calculating a linear distance between the UAV and the control terminal according to the second location information and the first location information; and according to the straight line The distance adjusts the power consumption of the transmission unit in real time.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of a UAV communication control apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure. The UAV communication control apparatus includes: a first positioning module 1, a first electronic compass 2, a controller 3, and a first driving module 4, The first positioning module 1, the first electronic compass 2 and the first driving module 4 are respectively connected to the controller 3.

The first positioning module 1 is configured to acquire first location information of the control terminal.

The first electronic compass 2 is arranged to acquire first antenna angle information.

The controller 3 is configured to read the first position information and the first antenna angle information, and calculate, according to the first position information and the second position information of the received drone, the relative of the drone And generating a control signal according to the relative position of the control terminal and according to the first antenna angle information and the relative position.

The first driving module 4 is arranged to drive the first antenna to the drone according to the control signal.

The technical solution of the embodiment reduces the communication power consumption of the drone and the control terminal, improves the endurance capability of the drone, increases the communication distance, and reduces the communication interference of the communication signal to the surrounding environment.

On the basis of the foregoing technical solution, the controller 3 may be further configured to: establish a three-dimensional coordinate system with the control terminal as an origin, according to the first location information and the received second location information of the drone Calculating a coordinate value of the drone in the three-dimensional coordinate system; and obtaining an angle between a pointing direction of the first antenna and the drone according to the coordinate value and the first antenna angle information.

On the basis of the above technical solution, the controller 3 may further be configured to: calculate a linear distance between the control terminal and the drone according to the first location information and the second location information; The linear distance adjusts the power consumption of the transmission module in real time, and the transmission module is connected to the controller.

The embodiment provides a UAV communication control device, including: a second positioning module, a second electronic compass, a controller, and a second driving module, wherein the second positioning module, the second electronic compass, and the second The drive modules are each connected to the controller.

The second positioning module is configured to acquire second position information of the drone.

The second electronic compass is configured to acquire second antenna angle information.

The controller is configured to read the second location information and the second antenna angle information, and calculate, according to the second location information and the received first location information of the control terminal, the control terminal relative to the a relative position of the drone, and generating a control signal according to the second antenna angle information and a relative position of the control terminal relative to the drone.

The second driving module is configured to drive the second antenna to the drone according to the control signal.

On the basis of the foregoing technical solution, the controller may be further configured to: establish a three-dimensional coordinate system with the UAV as an origin, and calculate according to the second location information and the received first location information of the control terminal. Obtaining coordinate values of the control terminal in the three-dimensional coordinate system; and obtaining an angle between a pointing direction of the second antenna and the control terminal according to the coordinate value and the second antenna angle information.

On the basis of the foregoing technical solution, the controller may be further configured to: calculate a linear distance between the UAV and the control terminal according to the second location information and the first location information; The linear distance adjusts the power consumption of the transmission unit in real time, and the transmission unit is connected to the controller. The above product can perform the method provided by any embodiment of the present disclosure, and has the corresponding functional modules and beneficial effects of the execution method.

Embodiment 6

This embodiment can provide an optional example based on the above embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a drone communication control apparatus according to Embodiment 6 of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, the control terminal and the drone exchange information through respective directional antennas. In the initialization phase, the drone and the control terminal establish a communication link, and locate their own location information through their respective GPSs and transmit them to the other party. The GPS is connected to the controller to transmit the positioning information to the controller, and the electronic compass transmits the angle information of the directional antenna to the controller, and the controller sends the signal to the digital transmission/transmission transceiver module to complete the interaction through the directional antenna. When both the UAV pan/tilt and the control terminal obtain their own position information and the relative position information of the other party, the controller sends a control signal to drive the PTZ drive module to control the corresponding movement of the PTZ to direct the directional antenna to the other party. Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 8 , FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a drone provided by Embodiment 6 of the present disclosure. A schematic diagram of controlling the movement of the directional antenna. Correspondingly, the control terminal controls the structure of the directional antenna through the control device to be the same. Among them, the gimbal is located on the tripod and can be rotated horizontally and vertically. The directional antenna is mounted on the gimbal and can move with the rotation of the gimbal. The other side of the gimbal is equipped with a battery, an electronic compass, a controller, a GPS, and a number. Modules such as pass/map and drive circuits.

In the technical solution provided by the embodiment, during the communication process, the drone and the control terminal respectively make the directional antenna point to the other party through the movement of the gimbal, thereby reducing the communication power consumption of the drone and the control terminal, and improving the drone The endurance capability increases the communication distance and reduces the communication interference of the communication signal to the surrounding environment.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions arranged to perform the methods of the above embodiments.

Industrial applicability

The UAV communication control method and apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure reduce communication power consumption of the UAV and the control terminal, improve the endurance capability of the UAV, increase the communication distance, and reduce the communication signal pair. Communication interference in the surrounding environment.

Claims

A drone communication control method includes:

The control terminal reads the first location information in the positioning module and the first antenna angle information indicated by the first electronic compass;

Calculating a relative position of the drone relative to the control terminal according to the first location information and the received second location information of the drone;

And generating, according to the first antenna angle information and the relative position, a control signal to control the driving module to drive the first antenna to the drone.
The method of claim 1, before the control terminal reads the first location information in the location module and the first antenna angle information indicated by the first electronic compass, the method further includes:

The control terminal sends a connection instruction to establish a communication connection with the drone; or the control terminal receives the connection instruction sent by the drone, and establishes a communication connection with the drone.
The method of claim 1, after the control terminal reads the first location information in the location module, the method further includes:

Sending the first location information to the drone.
The method according to claim 1, wherein calculating the relative position of the drone relative to the control terminal based on the first location information and the received second location information of the drone includes:

Establishing a three-dimensional coordinate system with the control terminal as an origin, and calculating coordinate values of the drone in the three-dimensional coordinate system according to the first position information and the second position information of the received drone; as well as

And determining an angle of the first antenna and an angle of the drone according to the coordinate value and the first antenna angle information.
The method of claim 4 wherein a control signal is generated to control drive module drive Pointing the first antenna to the drone includes:

A control signal is generated to control the direction in which the driving module drives the first antenna and the angle of the drone is zero.
The method of any of claims 1-5, further comprising:

Calculating a linear distance between the control terminal and the drone according to the first location information and the second location information;

The power consumption of the transmission module is adjusted in real time according to the linear distance.
A drone communication control method includes:

The UAV reads the second position information in the positioning unit and the second antenna angle information indicated by the second electronic compass;

Calculating, according to the second location information and the received first location information of the control terminal, a relative location of the control terminal relative to the drone;

And generating a control signal according to the second antenna angle information and the control terminal relative to the relative position to control the driving unit to drive the second antenna to point to the control terminal.
The method according to claim 7, wherein calculating the relative position of the control terminal relative to the drone according to the second location information and the received first location information of the control terminal comprises:

Establishing a three-dimensional coordinate system with the unmanned aerial vehicle as an origin, and calculating coordinate values of the control terminal in the three-dimensional coordinate system according to the second position information and the received first position information of the control terminal;

Obtaining an angle between a pointing direction of the second antenna and the control terminal according to the coordinate value and the second antenna angle information.
A drone communication control device includes:

a first positioning module, configured to acquire first location information of the control terminal;

a first electronic compass configured to obtain first antenna angle information;

The controller is configured to read the first location information and the first antenna angle information, and calculate, according to the first location information and the received second location information of the drone, the UAV Generating a control signal according to the relative position of the control terminal and according to the first antenna angle information and the relative position;

The first driving module is configured to drive the first antenna to the drone according to the control signal, wherein the first positioning module, the first electronic compass and the first driving module are respectively connected to the controller.
A drone communication control device includes:

a second positioning module, configured to acquire second location information of the drone;

a second electronic compass configured to obtain second antenna angle information;

The controller is configured to read the second location information and the second antenna angle information, and calculate, according to the second location information and the received first location information of the control terminal, the control terminal relative to the location Determining a relative position of the drone, and generating a control signal according to the second antenna angle information and the control terminal relative to the relative position;

The second driving module is configured to drive the second antenna to the drone according to the control signal, wherein the second positioning module, the second electronic compass and the second driving module are respectively connected to the controller.
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions arranged to perform the method of any of claims 1-6 or 7-8.