WO2020137554A1 - Drone, method of controlling drone, and drone control program - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To control flight on the basis of the angle of attitude of an aircraft so as to adjust the points at which a chemical agent is dropped and achieve the proper effect of the chemical agent on cultivated land. [Solution] A chemical agent distribution drone (100) comprises a flight controller (21) and a discharge unit (103) that distributes a chemical agent (600) while in flight under the control of the flight controller (21), the drone further comprises: an angle of attitude detector (22) that detects the angle of attitude of the drone; a chemical agent drop point estimation unit (20) that estimates chemical agent drop points for the chemical agent to be discharged from the drone on the basis of the angle of attitude; and a chemical agent drop point controller (30) that controls the working state of the drone on the basis of the estimated chemical agent drop points.　

Description

Drone, drone control method, and drone control program

The present invention relates to a drone, a drone control method, and a drone control program.

　The application of small helicopters (multicopters) commonly called drones is progressing. One of the important fields of application thereof is spraying chemicals such as pesticides and liquid fertilizers on agricultural land (field) (for example, Patent Document 1). In Japan, where farmland is smaller than in Europe and the United States, it is often the case that drones are more suitable than manned airplanes and helicopters.

With technologies such as the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System and RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic-Global Positioning System), drones have become able to accurately know their absolute position in centimeters during flight. Even in a farmland with a narrow and complicated terrain typical of the above, it is possible to autonomously fly with minimal manual operation, and to efficiently and accurately apply a drug.

On the other hand, there were cases where it was difficult to say that safety considerations were sufficient for autonomous flight drones for agricultural drug spraying. A drone loaded with medicines weighs several tens of kilograms, which could have serious consequences in the event of an accident such as falling onto a person. In addition, the drone operator is usually not an expert, so a fool-proof mechanism is necessary, but the consideration for this was also insufficient. Until now, there has been a drone safety technology that is premised on human control (for example, Patent Document 2), but in particular, it addresses the safety issues peculiar to an autonomous flight drone for drug spraying for agriculture. There was no technology to do this.

Also, in a multicopter drone, the flight speed and acceleration of the aircraft are changed by changing the aircraft angle with respect to the traveling direction. In the drug spraying drone, the direction of the drug nozzle changes according to the change in the angle of the machine body, and thus the drop point of the drug changes. If the drug is dropped at an unintended point, the drug may be sprayed to a place where it should not be sprayed, which may contaminate surrounding objects, or the drug may be sprayed excessively to pollute the soil. Moreover, since the drug is not sufficiently dropped in the field, there is a possibility that the effect of the drug may not be sufficiently obtained. Therefore, there is a need for a drone whose flight can be controlled according to the body angle of the drone and which can effectively exert the effect of a drug on a field. Patent Document 3 discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle for chemical liquid spraying, which controls the spraying amount, spraying angle, and spraying direction of the sprayed chemicals based on the flight speed and flight altitude, and the wind direction and wind speed. Further, in Patent Document 3, by controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle toward the windward side based on the detected wind direction and wind speed, even when the airframe is swept away by the wind, the originally intended flight is performed. It is described to pass on the route.

Patent publication gazette JP 2001-120151 Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2017-163265 Patent publication gazette JP 2017-206066

By controlling flight according to the attitude angle of the aircraft, we will provide a drone that can adjust the drop point of the drug and make the effect of the drug on the field effective.

To achieve the above object, a drone according to one aspect of the present invention is a drone for spraying a drug, comprising a flight control unit and a discharge unit for spraying a drug during flight by the flight control unit, A posture angle detection unit that detects a posture angle of the drone, a drug drop point prediction unit that predicts a drug drop point of the drug discharged from the drone based on the posture angle, and the predicted drug drop point And a drug drop point control unit for controlling the work mode of the drone based on the above.

The drug drop point control unit may be configured to increase the speed of the drone when the posture angle with respect to the traveling direction is smaller than that in a windless state.

The drug drop point control unit may be configured to reduce the speed of the drone when the posture angle with respect to the traveling direction is larger than in a windless state.

The working mode is set values of a speed, an altitude, a spraying flow rate of the medicine, a discharge start point at which the medicine is started to be discharged in the linear movement of the drone, and a discharge stop point at which the discharge of the medicine is stopped. Of these, at least one may be included.

When the tail wind along the traveling direction of the drone is blowing on the drone, the medicine drop point control unit controls the discharge start point and the discharge stop point from the discharge start point and the discharge stop point in a windless state. May also be configured to move backward in the traveling direction.

When the head wind blowing in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the drone is blowing on the drone, the medicine drop point control unit sets the discharge start point and the discharge stop point to the discharge start point and the discharge in a windless state. It may be configured to move forward of the stop point in the traveling direction.

The medicine drop point control unit, when a wind blowing in a direction different from the traveling direction of the drone on a horizontal plane is blowing on the drone, the horizontal position of the drone is the traveling direction left and right side and the windward side. It may be configured to move.

Based on the wind speed of the wind blown on the drone and the altitude of the drone, it is determined whether or not the medicine discharged from the drone is affected by the wind, and the distance at which the medicine is discharged is predetermined. In the above case, it may be configured to further include a correction unit that corrects the medicine dropping point predicted based on the posture angle to the leeward side.

Based on the ground speed calculation unit that calculates the ground speed of the drone, the attitude angle, and at least one of the weight of the drone and the thrust of the propulsion device operated by the flight control unit, the pair of the drone. An airspeed calculation unit that calculates an airspeed and a wind speed calculation unit that calculates a wind speed and a wind direction in a traveling direction based on the ground speed and the air speed may be further provided.

When the absolute value of the posture angle is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, a retreat action is taken, and the retreat action is configured to include at least one action of takeoff prohibition, stop of discharge of the medicine, return, emergency landing, and hovering. May be

When the absolute value of the attitude angle is a predetermined value or more, at least one of the target flight speed and acceleration of the drone may be reduced.

The medicine dropping point control unit divides at least one of a difference between the current posture angle and a posture angle in a windless state, a displacement amount of the medicine dropping point, and a wind speed into a plurality of stages, and the stage is divided. The work mode may be controlled according to the above.

The energy consumption predicting unit that predicts the energy consumption of the drone based on the work mode controlled by the drug drop point control unit may be further provided.

At least one of the replacement timing of the battery mounted on the drone and the predicted value of the flightable time by the battery may be updated based on the energy consumption.

Information of at least one of the replacement timing of the battery and the estimated value of the flight time may be transmitted to the operating device, and the information may be notified to the user via the operating device.

In order to achieve the above object, a drone control method according to another aspect of the present invention is a drone for drug spraying, comprising a flight control unit and a discharge unit for spraying a drug during flight by the flight control unit. A control method, the step of detecting the attitude angle of the drone, the step of predicting a drug drop point of the drug discharged from the drone based on the posture angle, and the predicted drug drop point Based on the operation of the drone.

In order to achieve the above object, a drone control program according to still another aspect of the present invention is a drone for drug spraying, comprising a flight control unit and a discharge unit for spraying a drug during flight by the flight control unit. And a command for detecting a posture angle of the drone, a command for predicting a drug dropping point of the drug discharged from the drone based on the posture angle, and a predicted drug dropping point. And a command to control the working mode of the drone based on.
The computer program can be provided by being downloaded via a network such as the Internet, or can be provided by being recorded in various computer-readable recording media such as a CD-ROM.

By controlling the flight according to the attitude angle of the aircraft, the dropping point of the drug can be adjusted and the effect of the drug on the field can be realized.

1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a drone according to the present invention. It is a front view of the said drone. It is a right view of the said drone. It is a rear view of the said drone. It is a perspective view of the drone. It is the whole conceptual diagram of the medicine distribution system which the drone has. It is the whole conceptual diagram which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of the chemical spray system which the said drone has. It is the whole conceptual diagram concerning a 3rd embodiment of the medicine spraying system which the drone has. It is a schematic diagram showing the control function of the said drone. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the path|route which the said drone flies in a farm field while spraying a chemical|medical agent. FIG. 4 is a schematic left side view showing a state in which the drone is flying, (a) a schematic left side view during hovering, and (b) a schematic left side view during progress. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a configuration of the drone for predicting a dropping point of a medicine discharged from the drone and controlling an operation of the drone. It is a table which shows the direction of the wind which blows on the said drone, and the relationship of the operation|movement of the said drone which changes according to the said direction of the said wind. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge start point and discharge stop point of the chemical|medical agent in the driving route in the field of the said drone. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of controlling a motion of the drone by predicting a dropping point of a medicine.

Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The figures are all examples. In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, certain specific details are set forth in order to facilitate a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, embodiments are not limited to these particular details. Also, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.

In the specification of the present application, the drone, regardless of power means (electric power, prime mover, etc.), control system (whether wireless or wired, and whether it is an autonomous flight type or a manual control type), It refers to all aircraft that have multiple rotors.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the rotor blades 101-1a, 101-1b, 101-2a, 101-2b, 101-3a, 101-3b, 101-4a, 101-4b (also referred to as rotors) are It is a means for flying the drone 100, and in consideration of the stability of flight, the size of the aircraft, and the balance of power consumption, eight aircraft (four sets of two-stage rotary blades) are provided. Each rotor 101 is arranged on four sides of the main body 110 by an arm extending from the main body 110 of the drone 100. That is, the rotating blades 101-1a, 101-1b on the left rear in the traveling direction, the rotating blades 101-2a, 101-2b on the left front, the rotating blades 101-3a, 101-3b on the right rear, and the rotating blades 101-on the right front. 4a and 101-4b are arranged respectively. It should be noted that the drone 100 has the traveling direction downward in the plane of FIG. Rod-shaped legs 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, 107-4 extend downward from the rotation axis of the rotary blade 101.

The motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 102-4a, 102-4b are rotor blades 101-1a, 101-1b, 101-2a, 101-. 2b, 101-3a, 101-3b, 101-4a, 101-4b is a means for rotating (typically an electric motor, but may be an engine, etc.), one for each rotor Has been. The motor 102 is an example of a propeller. The upper and lower rotor blades (eg 101-1a and 101-1b) and their corresponding motors (eg 102-1a and 102-1b) in one set are for drone flight stability etc. The axes are collinear and rotate in opposite directions. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the radial member for supporting the propeller guard, which is provided so that the rotor does not interfere with foreign matter, is not horizontal but has a tower-like structure. This is for promoting the buckling of the member to the outside of the rotary blade at the time of collision and preventing the member from interfering with the rotor.

The drug nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, 103-4 are means for spraying the drug downward, and are equipped with four machines. The medicine nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, 103-4 are examples of ejection parts. In the present specification, the term "medicine" generally refers to pesticides, herbicides, liquid fertilizers, insecticides, seeds, and liquids or powders applied to fields such as water.

The drug tank 104 is a tank for storing the sprayed drug, and is provided at a position close to the center of gravity of the drone 100 and lower than the center of gravity from the viewpoint of weight balance. The drug hoses 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, 105-4 are means for connecting the drug tank 104 and each drug nozzle 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, 103-4, and are rigid. It may be made of the above material and also has a role of supporting the medicine nozzle. The pump 106 is a means for discharging the medicine from the nozzle.

FIG. 6 shows an overall conceptual diagram of a system using an example of drug application of the drone 100 according to the present invention. This figure is a schematic diagram and the scale is not accurate. In the figure, the drone 100, the operation device 401, and the base station 404 are connected to the farm cloud 405, respectively. In addition, the small portable terminal 401a is connected to the base station 404. For these connections, wireless communication may be performed by Wi-Fi, a mobile communication system, or the like, or part or all of them may be connected by wire.

The operation unit 401 is a means for transmitting a command to the drone 100 by the operation of the user 402 and displaying information received from the drone 100 (for example, position, drug amount, battery level, camera image, etc.). Yes, and may be realized by a portable information device such as a general tablet terminal that runs a computer program. Although the drone 100 according to the present invention is controlled to perform autonomous flight, it may be configured so that it can be manually operated during basic operations such as takeoff and return, and in an emergency. In addition to portable information devices, you may use an emergency operating device (not shown) that has a function dedicated to emergency stop (a large emergency stop button, etc., that allows the emergency operating device to respond quickly in an emergency). May be a dedicated device with). Further, in addition to the operation device 401, a small mobile terminal 401a capable of displaying a part or all of the information displayed on the operation device 401, for example, a smartphone may be included in the system. Further, the operation of the drone 100 may be changed based on the information input from the small mobile terminal 401a. The small mobile terminal 401a is connected to the base station 404, for example, and can receive information and the like from the farm cloud 405 via the base station 404.

The field 403 is a rice field, a field or the like to which the drug is sprayed by the drone 100. Actually, the topography of the farm field 403 is complicated, and there are cases where the topographic map cannot be obtained in advance or the topographic map and the situation at the site are inconsistent. Normally, the farm field 403 is adjacent to a house, a hospital, a school, another crop farm field, a road, a railroad, and the like. Further, there may be obstacles such as buildings and electric wires in the field 403.

The base station 404 is a device that provides a master device function of Wi-Fi communication, etc., and may also function as an RTK-GPS base station to provide an accurate position of the drone 100 (Wi- The base unit function of Fi communication and RTK-GPS base station may be independent devices). In addition, the base station 404 may be capable of communicating with the farm cloud 405 using a mobile communication system such as 3G, 4G, or LTE. In this embodiment, the base station 404 is loaded on the moving body 406a together with the departure point 406.

The farm cloud 405 is a group of computers typically operated on a cloud service and related software, and may be wirelessly connected to the operation unit 401 via a mobile phone line or the like. The farming cloud 405 may analyze the image of the field 403 captured by the drone 100, grasp the growth status of the crop, and perform processing for determining the flight route. Further, the drone 100 may be provided with the stored topographical information of the field 403 and the like. In addition, the history of the flight of the drone 100 and captured images may be accumulated and various analysis processes may be performed.

Normally, the drone 100 takes off from a landing point 406 outside the field 403 and returns to the landing point 406 after spraying a drug on the field 403, or when it becomes necessary to replenish or charge the drug. The flight route (intrusion route) from the landing point 406 to the target field 403 may be stored in advance in the farm cloud 405 or the like, or may be input by the user 402 before the start of takeoff.

As in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, in the drug spraying system of the drone 100 according to the present invention, the drone 100, the operation device 401, the small portable terminal 401a, and the farm cloud 405 are connected to the base station 404, respectively. It may be configured.

Further, as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 8, in the drug spraying system of the drone 100 according to the present invention, the drone 100, the operation device 401, and the small portable terminal 401a are connected to the base station 404, respectively. Only the operation device 401 may be connected to the farm cloud 405.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram showing the control function of the embodiment of the drug spraying drone according to the present invention. The flight controller 501 is a component that controls the entire drone, and specifically may be an embedded computer including a CPU, memory, related software, and the like. The flight controller 501, based on the input information received from the operation unit 401 and the input information obtained from various sensors described later, via the control means such as ESC (Electronic Speed Control), the motors 102-1a, 102-1b. , 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, 104-b are controlled to control the flight of the drone 100. The actual rotation speed of the motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, 104-b is fed back to the flight controller 501 to perform normal rotation. It is configured so that it can be monitored. Alternatively, the rotary blade 101 may be provided with an optical sensor or the like and the rotation of the rotary blade 101 may be fed back to the flight controller 501.

The software used by the flight controller 501 can be rewritten through storage media or the like for function expansion/change, problem correction, etc., or through communication means such as Wi-Fi communication or USB. In this case, encryption, checksum, electronic signature, virus check software, etc. are used to protect the software from being rewritten by unauthorized software. Further, a part of the calculation process used by the flight controller 501 for control may be executed by another computer existing on the operation unit 401, the farm cloud 405, or another place. Since the flight controller 501 is highly important, some or all of its constituent elements may be duplicated.

The flight controller 501 communicates with the operation unit 401 via the Wi-Fi cordless handset 503 and further via the base station 404, receives a necessary command from the operation unit 401, and outputs necessary information to the operation unit 401. Can be sent to. In this case, the communication may be encrypted to prevent illegal acts such as interception, spoofing, and hijacking of the device. The base station 404 has a function of an RTK-GPS base station in addition to a communication function by Wi-Fi. By combining the signal from the RTK base station and the signal from the GPS (GNSS) positioning satellite, the flight controller 501 can measure the absolute position of the drone 100 with an accuracy of about several centimeters. Since the flight controller 501 is highly important, it may be duplicated/multiplexed, and in order to cope with the failure of a specific GPS satellite, each redundant flight controller 501 should use a different satellite. It may be controlled.

The 6-axis gyro sensor 505 is a means for measuring acceleration of the drone aircraft in three directions orthogonal to each other (further, a means for calculating speed by integrating acceleration). The 6-axis gyro sensor 505 is a means for measuring the change in the attitude angle of the drone aircraft in the three directions described above, that is, the angular velocity. The geomagnetic sensor 506 is a means for measuring the direction of the drone body by measuring the geomagnetism. The atmospheric pressure sensor 507 is a means for measuring the atmospheric pressure, and can indirectly measure the altitude of the drone. The laser sensor 508 is a means for measuring the distance between the drone body and the ground surface by utilizing the reflection of laser light, and may be an IR (infrared) laser. The sonar 509 is a means for measuring the distance between the drone body and the ground surface by using the reflection of sound waves such as ultrasonic waves. These sensors may be selected depending on the drone's cost goals and performance requirements. Further, a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) for measuring the tilt of the machine body, a wind force sensor for measuring wind force, and the like may be added. Further, these sensors may be duplicated or multiplexed. If there are multiple sensors for the same purpose, the flight controller 501 may use only one of them and, if it fails, switch to another sensor. Alternatively, a plurality of sensors may be used simultaneously, and if the measurement results do not match, it may be considered that a failure has occurred.

The flow rate sensor 510 is a means for measuring the flow rate of the medicine, and is provided at a plurality of places on the path from the medicine tank 104 to the medicine nozzle 103. The liquid shortage sensor 511 is a sensor that detects that the amount of the medicine has become equal to or less than a predetermined amount. The multi-spectral camera 512 is a means for photographing the field 403 and acquiring data for image analysis. The obstacle detection camera 513 is a camera for detecting a drone obstacle, and since the image characteristics and the orientation of the lens are different from those of the multispectral camera 512, the obstacle detection camera 513 is a device different from the multispectral camera 512. The switch 514 is a means for the user 402 of the drone 100 to make various settings. The obstacle contact sensor 515 is a sensor for detecting that the drone 100, in particular, its rotor or propeller guard portion has come into contact with an obstacle such as an electric wire, a building, a human body, a tree, a bird, or another drone. .. The cover sensor 516 is a sensor that detects that the operation panel of the drone 100 and the cover for internal maintenance are open. The drug injection port sensor 517 is a sensor that detects that the injection port of the drug tank 104 is open. These sensors may be selected according to the drone's cost targets and performance requirements, and may be duplicated or multiplexed. In addition, a sensor may be provided at the base station 404 outside the drone 100, the operation device 401, or other places, and the read information may be transmitted to the drone. For example, a wind sensor may be provided in the base station 404, and information regarding wind force/wind direction may be transmitted to the drone 100 via Wi-Fi communication.

The flight controller 501 sends a control signal to the pump 106 to adjust the medicine ejection amount and stop the medicine ejection. The current status of the pump 106 (for example, the number of rotations) is fed back to the flight controller 501.

LED107 is a display means for informing the drone operator of the status of the drone. Display means such as a liquid crystal display may be used instead of or in addition to the LEDs. The buzzer 518 is an output means for notifying a drone state (especially an error state) by a voice signal. The Wi-Fi slave device function 519 is an optional constituent element for communicating with an external computer or the like for the transfer of software, for example, separately from the operation unit 401. In addition to or in addition to the Wi-Fi cordless handset function, other wireless communication means such as infrared communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), NFC, or wired communication means such as USB connection May be used. Further, instead of the Wi-Fi slave device function, the mobile communication systems such as 3G, 4G, and LTE may be able to communicate with each other. The speaker 520 is an output means for notifying the drone state (particularly, the error state) by the recorded human voice or synthesized voice. Depending on the weather conditions, it may be difficult to see the visual display of the drone 100 in flight, and in such a case, it is effective to communicate the situation by voice. The warning light 521 is a display means such as a strobe light for informing the state of the drone (in particular, an error state). These input/output means may be selected according to the cost target and performance requirements of the drone, and may be duplicated/multiplexed.

As shown in FIG. 10, the drone 100 performs reciprocating flight in the field 403 to perform scanning, and sprays the drug. That is, the drone 100 moves linearly in the field 403 (hereinafter, also referred to as “linear movement”), and when it reaches the vicinity of the end of the field 403, it stops the spraying of the medicine and turns. repeat. During and before and after the turning, the speed of the drone 100 becomes a predetermined value or less, and an excessive amount of the drug may be dropped, so the spraying of the drug is stopped. The turning method is not limited to turning in which the nose is rotationally moved in the traveling direction, and may include appropriate movement in which the direction of the nose is finally turned. The drone 100 has a planned driving route in the field 403 in advance and performs flight along the driving route. The operation route is calculated by the farm cloud 405, the drone 100, or another external device based on the size and shape of the farm field 403. Of the driving routes, the route in which the spraying of the drug is planned, that is, the route of straight line movement is a continuous connection of the drug dropping points in a windless state.

As shown in FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b), the drone 100 changes its speed and acceleration by tilting its posture angle. Assuming the attitude angle θ, as shown in FIG. 11( a ), the attitude angle θ when the drone 100 is hovering on the spot in a windless state is 0 for both the roll angle and the pitch angle. In the calm state, the medicine 600 is dropped just below the medicine nozzle 103.

As shown in Fig. 11(b), when wind is blowing on the drone 100, the drone 100 suppresses the movement of the drone 100 due to the wind by generating speed and acceleration that oppose the wind. That is, the drone 100 leans a large distance toward the windward.

　For example, if the drone 100 is blowing wind at 1 km/h, the drone 100 leans toward the upwind direction and exerts a speed of 1 km/h in order to stay there and hover. In other words, in order to make the speed of the drone 100 actually achieved with respect to the ground, that is, the ground speed of the drone 100 zero, the drone 100 has an airspeed equivalent to the wind speed of the wind in the upwind direction. Demonstrate. The airspeed is the speed when the propulsion unit of the drone 100 realizes a predetermined ground speed by converting the operating force exerted in consideration of the influence of the wind into the speed in the windless state. Conversely, by subtracting the ground speed from the air speed, the wind speed of the wind blowing on the drone 100 can be obtained.

The displacement amount D between the drug drop point when the drone 100 is flying at an altitude L from the ground and the attitude angle is 0 degrees and the drug drop point when the attitude angle is θ is Asked for.
D=L×tan θ (1)

In addition, the drone 100 operates the propulsion device so as to exert an airspeed that is the sum of the ground speed and the wind speed in order to achieve a predetermined ground speed with respect to the ground.

Wind can blow on the drone 100 from any direction of 360 degrees. In the following description, among the components of the wind velocity vector of the wind blown to the drone 100 that are horizontal to the ground, the wind in the same direction as the intended direction of the drone 100 is the “tailwind”, and the wind that blows in the opposite direction. Is also referred to as "head wind", and the wind blowing in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction is also referred to as "cross wind". The pitch angle of the drone 100 changes in a tailwind or a headwind. In a crosswind, the roll angle of the drone 100 changes. The actual wind is a wind in which a tail wind, a head wind, and a cross wind are combined, but in the following description, the actual wind will be decomposed into each direction for description.

Note that the pitch angle of the drone 100 will be larger than during constant speed flight during acceleration/deceleration, regardless of the effect of the blowing wind. Therefore, the subsequent control may be performed based on the posture angle during acceleration/deceleration.

When the drone 100 tilts, the drug hoses 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, 105-4 attached to the drone 100 and the drug nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3 fixed to the drug hoses 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, 105-4, 103-4 is inclined and the ejection direction of the medicine 600 is changed. Therefore, the dropping point of the drug 600 changes according to the posture angle of the drone 100. Therefore, the drone 100 according to the present invention controls the work mode of the drone 100 in accordance with the posture angle of the drone 100 in order to drop the medicine 600 at an intended point.

The work mode of the drone 100 includes at least one of the speed, altitude, horizontal position of the drone 100, the spray flow rate of the medicine 600, and the set values of the discharge start point and the discharge stop point of the medicine 600.

Also, if wind is blowing around the drone 100, it is expected that the discharged drug 600 will be blown away by the wind until it reaches the field or crop, and the drug 600 will be dropped at a point different from the windless state. To be done. In the drone 100 of the present embodiment, since the downwash wind force generated by the rotor blade 101 is sufficiently large, in most cases, the drug 600 dropped downward from the drone 100 reaches the ground or crop without being swept by the wind. To do. For example, the wind speed of downwash is about 20 m/sec to 45 m/sec, whereas the wind speed of naturally blowing wind is usually about 3 m/sec to 5 m/sec, and the downwash wind speed is the same as that of the blowing wind. Big enough in comparison. However, when the wind having a wind speed higher than a predetermined speed is blowing on the drone 100, the drone 100 corrects the predicted drug drop point in consideration of the wind speed of the wind. That is, the total displacement amount Dt of the drug dropping point during the flight of the drone 100 is a value obtained by adding the displacement amount D according to the posture angle θ and the displacement amount d of the drug dropping point due to the wind.

Also, if the altitude L from the ground of the drone is higher than the normal altitude assumed by the drone 100 by a predetermined amount or more, the drug may be swept away by the wind. Therefore, the drone 100 determines whether or not to consider the influence of the wind based on the altitude of the drone 100 and the wind speed of the wind blowing on the drone 100, and based on the wind speed, the predicted drug drop point. To correct.

Note that in this description, the speed and acceleration of the drone 100, and the wind speed are all vectors regardless of whether or not they are explicitly indicated, and are concepts that include directions in addition to absolute values.

As shown in FIG. 12, the drone 100 includes a drug drop point prediction unit 20 as a configuration for predicting the drop point of the drug 600 discharged from the drone 100. Further, the drone 100 includes a drug drop point control unit 30 as a configuration for controlling the drop point of the drug 600. Furthermore, the drone 100 includes the energy consumption prediction unit 40 as a configuration for predicting the energy consumption that is changed by controlling the drug drop point.

The drug drop point prediction unit 20 includes a flight control unit 21, an attitude angle detection unit 22, an altitude calculation unit 23, a correction unit 24, and an escape determination unit 25.

The flight control unit 21 is a functional unit that controls the thrust generated in the drone 100 by adjusting the operation of the propulsion device of the drone 100, and is realized by the flight controller 501, for example. The propulsion device of the drone 100 is, for example, the rotor 101 and the motor 102. The flight control unit 21 controls the thrust generated by each rotor 101 by adjusting the rotation speed of each motor 102. The flight control unit 21 can independently control the number of rotations of each motor 102, and tilts the drone 100 by making the number of rotations of one or more motors 102 different from the number of rotations of other motors 102, It exerts speed and acceleration. More specifically, the height of the machine body part in which the rotation speed of the motor 102 is large rises as compared with the height of the machine body part in which the rotation speed is small. The flight control unit 21 can control the roll angle and the pitch angle of the drone 100.

The attitude angle detection unit 22 is a functional unit that detects the attitude angle of the flying drone 100, particularly the roll angle and the pitch angle. The posture angle detection unit 22 can detect the posture angle by, for example, a 6-axis gyro sensor 505 or an appropriate level. Specifically, the attitude angle is obtained by integrating the angular velocity ω acquired by the 6-axis gyro sensor 505.

The altitude calculation unit 23 is a functional unit that calculates the altitude of the drone 100, particularly the altitude L of the drug nozzle 103 of the drone 100 with respect to the ground. The altitude calculation unit 23 can calculate the altitude L using, for example, the sonar 509, the laser sensor 508, or the RTK-GPS (GPS module RTK504-1, 504-2).

As shown in FIG. 11(b), the drug drop point prediction unit 20 can determine the displacement amount D of the drug drop point by D=L×tan θ based on the posture angle and the altitude L. The roll angle contributes to the amount of displacement along the traveling direction, and the pitch angle contributes to the amount of displacement laterally in the traveling direction.

The correction unit 24 determines whether or not the drug discharged from the drone 100 is affected by the wind, based on the wind speed of the wind blown on the drone 100 and the altitude L of the drone 100, and the flow of the drug is determined. It is a functional unit that corrects the predicted drug drop point when the distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance.

The correction unit 24 includes a weight estimation unit 241, a ground speed calculation unit 242, an air speed calculation unit 243, a wind speed calculation unit 244, a correction necessity determination unit 245, and a correction execution unit 246.

The weight estimation unit 241 is a functional unit that estimates the total weight m of the drone 100. The weight estimation unit 241 may estimate the total weight m of the drone 100 including the loaded weight of the loaded object, or may estimate the variable loaded weight of the loaded object and then change the weight, for example, the drone 100. The total weight m of the drone 100 including the loaded object may be estimated by adding the weights of the flight controller 501, the rotary wing 101, the motor 102, and other accessories. The load whose weight can change is a drug in the present embodiment.

The weight estimation unit 241 may estimate the total weight m of the drone 100 including the loaded weight of the load based on the thrust T in the height direction exerted by the propulsion device when the altitude of the drone 100 does not change. This is because the thrust T in the height direction exerted by the propulsion device of the drone 100 is in balance with the gravitational acceleration g received by the drone 100 when the altitude of the drone 100 does not change.

The weight estimation unit 241 obtains the drug discharge amount by integrating the discharge flow rates from the drug tank 104 measured by the flow rate sensor 510, and subtracts the drug discharge amount from the initially loaded drug amount, thereby Weight may be estimated. According to this configuration, the weight of the drug tank 104 can be estimated regardless of the flight state of the drone 100. The weight estimation unit 241 may have a function of estimating the liquid level height in the medicine tank 104, for example. The weight estimation unit 241 may estimate the weight using a liquid level gauge, a water pressure sensor, or the like arranged in the medicine tank 104.

The ground speed calculation unit 242 is a functional unit that calculates the speed of the drone 100 that is actually realized on the ground, that is, the ground speed of the drone 100. The ground speed can be calculated by obtaining the absolute speed of the space from GPS Doppler 504. Further, the ground speed can be obtained by the GPS modules RTK504-1, 504-2 included in the drone 100. Further, the ground speed can also be obtained by integrating the acceleration of the drone 100 acquired by the 6-axis gyro sensor 505.

The airspeed calculation unit 243 calculates the speed at which the propulsion device of the drone 100 converts the operating force exerted in consideration of the influence of wind into the speed in a windless state, that is, the airspeed, in order to achieve a predetermined ground speed. It is a functional unit that calculates the air velocity.

The airspeed can be obtained based on the attitude angle θ and the weight of the drone 100. While the drone 100 is moving at a constant speed or hovering, the following formula holds for the drag force Fd due to air resistance and the airspeed v _a .
Fd=(1/2) × ρv _a ² S × Cd (2)
The air density ρ and the air resistance coefficient Cd. The representative area S such as the front projected area is a value obtained in advance based on the size and shape of the drone 100.
Further, the following equation holds true between the posture angle θ and the drag force Fd.
Fd=mg tan θ (3)
Note that m is the weight of the drone 100. While the drone 100 is moving at a constant speed or hovering, the airspeed v _a can be obtained by the following equation by solving the equations (1) and (2).

(4)
g is the acceleration of gravity. In this way, the airspeed v _a of the drone 100 can be obtained based on the attitude angle θ and the weight m of the drone 100.

In the present embodiment, the airspeed v _a of the drone 100 is described as being obtained during constant velocity movement or hovering, that is, when the acceleration is 0, but during the movement having the acceleration a, the weight m and the acceleration a The airspeed v _a can also be calculated by adding a value obtained by multiplying the drag Fd in Expression (3).

The following formula holds for the attitude angle θ and the thrust T exerted by the rotor blades 101 of the drone 100.
Fd=T sin θ (5)
Therefore, the airspeed v _a can also be obtained based on the attitude angle θ and the exerted thrust T. The exerted thrust can be estimated based on, for example, the number of rotations of the rotary blade 101.

The wind speed calculation unit 244 is a functional unit that calculates the wind speed blown to the drone 100. The wind speed calculation unit 244 can obtain the wind speed in the traveling direction to be blown to the drone 100 by subtracting the ground speed from the air speed. Further, since the airspeed of the drone 100 in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction is 0, the wind speed of the wind orthogonal to the traveling direction can be obtained by obtaining the ground speed. The wind speed calculation unit 244 can obtain the direction of the wind blown to the drone 100 by calculating the ground speed and the air speed as a vector in consideration of the directions. That is, according to this configuration, the wind speed of the wind blown on the drone 100 can be obtained with a simple structure without mounting a separate wind speed measuring unit on the drone 100.

Note that the wind speed calculation unit 244 may have a separate sensor that directly detects the wind speed. The wind speed calculation unit 244 may calculate the wind speed based on the difference between the current posture angle and the posture angle in the no-wind state.

The correction necessity determination unit 245 has a function of determining, based on the wind speed calculated by the wind speed calculation unit 244 and the altitude L, whether or not it is necessary to correct the medicine dropping point by the distance over which the medicine is flown by the wind. It is a department. The correction necessity determination unit 245 determines that the drug drop point needs to be corrected when the wind speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined value and the altitude L is equal to or higher than the predetermined value. When the configuration according to the present invention is mounted on a drone having a small downwash, it is preferable to configure the threshold value for the correction necessity determination to be small.

The correction execution unit 246 corrects the predicted drug drop point when the correction necessity determination unit 245 determines that the drug drop point needs to be corrected. The correction executing unit 246 moves the predicted medicine dropping point to the leeward side based on the wind speed. The amount of displacement of the medicine dropping point can be sufficiently ignored below a predetermined wind speed. Above a predetermined wind speed, the displacement amount of the drug drop point increases as the wind speed increases, and is proportional to, for example, the square of the wind speed.

In this way, the drug drop point prediction unit 20 determines, based on the attitude angle θ of the drone 100, the altitude L, the wind speed and the wind direction, the drop point of the drug drop point reached by the drug discharged at a certain point in a windless state. The amount of displacement from can be predicted. Further, the drug drop point prediction unit 20 can predict the coordinates of the drug drop point by adding the displacement amount to the planned driving route of the drone 100. In addition to the above, the medicine dropping point prediction unit 20 may be configured to predict the three-dimensional position coordinates of the point where the medicine reaches by considering the three-dimensional shape of the field.

The evacuation decision unit 25 is a functional unit that decides to let the drone 100 take an evacuation action when the attitude angle θ of the drone 100 is a predetermined value or more. When the attitude angle θ is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, the motor 102 is used in a range close to the upper limit value, and thus the probability that the control value for the motor 102 exceeds the allowable upper limit value of the motor 102 increases. If the control value for the motor 102 exceeds the allowable upper limit value, the motor 100 may fall, so it is advisable to retract the drone 100.

The evacuation action includes, for example, "emergency landing" that performs a normal landing operation on the spot, aerial stop such as hovering, and "emergency return" that immediately moves to a predetermined return point by the shortest route. The predetermined return point is a point stored in advance in the flight control unit 21, and is, for example, the departure point 406. The predetermined return point is, for example, a land point where the user 402 can approach the drone 100, and the user 402 can inspect the drone 100 that has reached the return point or manually carry it to another place. can do.

In emergency return, the target flight speed and acceleration may be lowered than usual. This is to prevent the control value for the motor 102 from exceeding the upper limit allowable value of the motor 102.

Furthermore, the evacuation action may include an “emergency stop” in which all the rotor blades are stopped and the drone 100 is dropped downward from the spot.

Furthermore, the evacuation action also includes the operation of suspending the takeoff of the drone 100 and prohibiting the takeoff. This takeoff prohibition operation is performed, for example, when the attitude angle is detected immediately after the drone 100 leaves the ground and the attitude angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. In addition, the takeoff prohibition operation may be a measure that refers to the attitude angle in the immediately preceding flight before takeoff and prohibits takeoff when the attitude angle is equal to or more than a predetermined value.

As shown in FIG. 12, the drug drop point control unit 30 includes a flight change command unit 31 as a configuration for changing the flight mode of the drone 100. Further, the medicine dropping point control unit 30 includes a medicine control unit 32 as a configuration for changing the spraying mode of the medicine 600.

The flight change command unit 31 is a functional unit that transmits a command to the flight control unit 21 based on the predicted displacement amount of the drug drop point and changes the speed, altitude, and horizontal position of the drone 100. The flight change command unit 31 decomposes the wind velocity vector of the wind to be blown into a tail wind, a head wind, a cross wind that is orthogonal to the traveling direction, and a component perpendicular to the ground, and issues a command corresponding to each wind velocity vector to the flight control unit 21. Send. In reality, winds other than the wind along the traveling direction and the wind opposite to the traveling direction are winds blowing in a direction different from the traveling direction on the horizontal plane. Note that the wind velocity vector decomposed in the direction perpendicular to the ground does not affect the attitude angle of the drone 100 because it uniformly changes the rotation speed of each motor 102. Therefore, the flight change command unit 31 does not generate a flight change command based on the change in the attitude angle for the wind velocity vector decomposed in the direction perpendicular to the ground. In addition, in order to maintain the altitude of the drone 100 with respect to the wind in the vertical direction, control for adjusting the thrust generated in the thrust direction is appropriately performed. That is, with respect to the wind blowing from the top to the bottom, the rotational speed of the motor 102 is evenly increased to generate upward thrust, and with respect to the wind blowing from the bottom to the top, the rotation speed of the motor 102 is changed. Control for reducing the thrust evenly may be performed.

The flight change command unit 31 includes a speed change command unit 311, an altitude change command unit 312, and a route change command unit 313.

The speed change command unit 311 transmits a command to change the speed of the drone 100 to the flight control unit 21, based on the predicted displacement amount of the drug drop point. As shown in FIG. 13, a command to increase the speed is transmitted to the tail wind. Since the airspeed of the drone 100 that receives the tailwind is smaller than the ground speed, the pitch angle of the drone 100 is smaller than that in the windless state. That is, the medicine dropping point is displaced forward by the tail wind. Therefore, the speed change command unit 311 increases the speed of the drone 100, thereby increasing the pitch angle of the drone 100 and displacing the drug dropping point backward.

-The speed change command unit 311 transmits a command to reduce the speed with respect to headwind. Since the airspeed of the drone 100 receiving a headwind is higher than the ground speed, the pitch angle of the drone 100 is larger than that in the windless state. That is, the medicine dropping point is displaced rearward in the traveling direction. Therefore, the speed change command unit 311 reduces the speed of the drone 100 to reduce the pitch angle of the drone 100 and displace the medicine dropping point forward. The speed change command unit 311 changes the speed greatly as the pitch angle increases.

-The speed change command unit 311 does not command a speed change for cross winds. The speed change command unit 311 may or may not transmit a command to maintain the speed. This is because the cross wind does not affect the pitch angle of the drone 100 and does not displace the medicine dropping point back and forth in the traveling direction.

Further, the speed change command unit 311 may reduce the target flight speed and acceleration regardless of the wind direction when the attitude angle is equal to or more than a predetermined value. This is because when the posture angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the motor 102 is used in a range close to the upper limit value, and therefore the control value to the motor 102 exceeds the allowable upper limit value of the motor 102, which may cause a crash. ..

The altitude change command unit 312 transmits a command to change the altitude of the drone 100 to the flight control unit 21, based on the predicted displacement amount of the drug drop point. As shown in FIG. 13, the altitude change command unit 312 transmits a command to lower the altitude for any of headwind, tailwind, and crosswind. This is because by lowering the altitude, the amount of displacement of the medicine dropping point due to the posture angle and the wind is reduced. The altitude change command unit 312 decreases the altitude as the posture angle and the wind speed increase.

The route change command unit 313 transmits a command to change the horizontal position of the drone 100 to the flight control unit 21 based on the predicted displacement amount of the drug dropping point. The route change command unit 313 does not command a horizontal position change for the tailwind and headwind. The route change command unit 313 may or may not transmit a command to maintain the position.

The route change command unit 313 issues a command to move the horizontal position to the windward side on the left and right sides of the traveling direction with respect to the wind including the component of the lateral wind and blowing in a direction different from the traveling direction of the drone on the horizontal plane. , To the flight control unit 21. This is because the drone 100 has a large roll angle due to the cross wind, and the drug dropping point is displaced laterally from the driving route.

As shown in FIG. 12, the medicine control unit 32 includes a spray flow rate control unit 321 and a discharge point control unit 322.

As shown in FIG. 13, the spray flow rate control unit 321 controls the flow rate of the drug 600 discharged from the drug nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, 103-4, that is, the spray flow rate, based on the attitude angle of the drone 100. The spray flow rate control unit 321 performs a process of increasing the spray flow rate with respect to tail wind. This is because in the case of tail wind, the speed of the drone 100 increases, and thus it is necessary to increase the spray flow rate in order to ensure the same spray density as in the case of flying at normal speed and spraying.

The spray flow controller 321 performs processing to reduce the spray flow against headwind. This is because, in the case of headwind, the speed of the drone 100 decreases, so that the spray flow rate needs to be reduced in order to ensure the same spray density as in the case of flying at normal speed and spraying.

The spray flow rate controller 321 changes the flow rate more as the pitch angle increases. Since the medicine 600 to be dropped may be blown by the wind before reaching the dropping point, the pitch angle and the strength of the wind influence the medicine dropping point in a superimposed manner. However, when the drone 100 moves linearly, the drug dropping points of the drugs that are blown by the head wind and the tail wind are uniformly moved on the driving route of the drone 100. Therefore, it suffices for the spray flow rate controller 321 to change the spray flow rate mainly based on the posture angle θ. The spray flow rate controller 321 may change the spray flow rate based on the speed of the drone 100. That is, the higher the speed of the drone 100, the higher the spray flow rate may be.

-The spray flow rate control unit 321 does not perform processing for changing the spray flow rate with respect to cross wind. This is because the speed of the drone 100 does not change in a crosswind.

The spraying flow rate control unit 321 may stop the discharge of the medicine when the absolute value of the posture angle becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined value. This is because if the posture angle is a predetermined value or more with a positive value, the medicine 600 may be rolled up forward and the medicine 600 may be scattered to an unintended point. Further, if the posture angle becomes a predetermined value or less with a negative value, the ejection direction of the medicine 600 and the traveling direction of the drone 100 become the same direction, and the medicine is rolled up backward. At this time, the drone 100 may wait by hovering until the wind speed becomes low, or may return to the departure point 406.

The discharge point control unit 322 starts discharge of the medicine 600 during linear movement at a point where the drone 100 starts spraying the medicine or at a predetermined point after turning based on the predicted displacement amount of the medicine drop point. It is a functional unit that controls a discharge stop point at which the discharge of the medicine 600 is stopped at a point and a predetermined point before turning or a point at which the medicine ends. Note that the discharge point control unit 322 determines the discharge start point and the discharge stop point by the time or the time based on the expected arrival time at the turning point or the point at which the operation is interrupted, instead of the horizontal coordinate. May be.

As shown in FIG. 14, the discharge start point 601 and the discharge stop point 602 in the windless state are defined near the start position and the end position of the linear movement. In the calm state, the drug dropping point is located slightly behind the traveling direction with respect to the position of the drone 100. This is because the drone 100 leans slightly forward in the traveling direction while moving. Therefore, the discharge start point 601 and the discharge stop point 602 in the windless state are defined slightly ahead of the end of the spray range in the traveling direction.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the discharge point control unit 322 moves the discharge start point 601a and the discharge stop point 602a backward in the traveling direction with respect to the tailwind. When the ground speed of the drone 100 is the same, the air speed of the drone 100 receiving the tailwind is smaller than the air speed of the drone 100 in the windless state. Therefore, the attitude angle of the drone 100 becomes smaller. That is, the drug drop point is slightly ahead of the position of the drone 100. By moving the ejection start point 601b and the ejection stop point 602b rearward in the traveling direction, the medicine dropping point can be set as an intended point.

The discharge point control unit 322 moves the discharge start point 601b and the discharge stop point 602b forward with respect to the headwind. When the ground speed of the drone 100 is the same, the air speed of the drone 100 receiving the tailwind is higher than the air speed of the drone 100 in the windless state. Therefore, the attitude angle of the drone 100 becomes large. That is, since the medicine dropping point is slightly behind the position of the drone 100, it is possible to set the medicine dropping point to the intended point by moving the discharge start point 601b and the discharge stop point 602b forward in the traveling direction. it can.

The discharge point control unit 322 does not perform processing for changing the discharge start point and the discharge stop point for cross wind. This is because the drug drop point does not change in the traveling direction in the case of cross wind.

The drug drop point control unit 30 has a predetermined threshold value for any one of the posture angle θ and the wind speed, or the displacement amount of the drug drop point, and executes a predetermined command and control when the wind speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value. It may be configured to do so. This is because an excessive calculation load may occur if the control is made to respond excessively in response to a slight change in wind speed.

The drug drop point control unit 30 continuously changes the control values of the altitude, the speed, the horizontal position, the discharge flow rate, and the discharge start point and the discharge stop point according to the displacement amount of the drug drop point. However, instead of this, the difference between the current posture angle and the posture angle in the windless state, the displacement amount of the drug dropping point, or the wind speed is divided into a plurality of stages, and each control is performed according to the divided stage. It may be configured to switch the value. According to this configuration, the calculation load can be further reduced. The drug drop point control unit 30 is configured such that the correspondence relationship between the posture angle in the windless state and the velocity is stored in advance, and the posture angle in the windless state can be calculated based on the airspeed. May be.

The energy consumption prediction unit 40 is a functional unit that acquires information related to the control of the work mode of the drone 100 performed by the drug drop point control unit 30 and corrects the expected energy consumption amount. This is because when the operation of the drone 100 is changed by the drug drop point control unit 30, the energy consumption may increase. Particularly, when the drone 100 is accelerated or decelerated, the energy consumption increases.

The energy consumption prediction unit 40 predicts energy consumption in the entire driving route when the operation of the drone 100 is continuously changed by the drug drop point control unit 30. The energy consumption prediction unit 40 may calculate the corrected energy consumption by calculating the amount of increase in energy consumption due to the change in operation and adding it to the initially predicted energy consumption, or after the operation is changed. You may add up all the energy consumption based on the flight plan of. The energy consumption prediction unit 40 updates the replacement timing of the battery 502 and the predicted value of the flightable time of the battery 502 mounted on the basis of the corrected energy consumption. The updated replacement timing and predicted flight time may be notified to the user by a display unit included in the operation unit 401 or the like.

●Flowchart As shown in FIG. 15, first, the weight estimation unit 241 estimates the total weight of the drone 100 (S11). Next, the posture angle detection unit 22 detects the posture angle of the drone 100 in the traveling direction with respect to the horizontal direction (S12). The ground speed calculation unit 242 calculates the ground speed of the drone 100 (S13). The airspeed calculation unit 243 calculates the airspeed of the drone 100 (S14). The wind speed calculation unit 244 calculates the wind speed blown to the drone 100 based on the ground speed and the air speed (S15). Note that steps S11 and S12, step S13, and step S14 are in no particular order and may be performed at the same time. When the wind speed calculation unit 244 has a sensor for separately measuring the wind speed, the step of measuring the wind speed by the sensor may be executed instead of the step of calculating the ground speed and the air speed.

The application flow rate control unit 321 determines whether the wind speed is equal to or higher than the first threshold value (S16), and if the wind speed is equal to or higher than the first threshold value, stops the application of the medicine 600 (S17). At this time, the notification may be given to the user together with the reason by the notification method that the operating device 401, the small portable terminal 401a, or the drone 100 itself has.

When the wind speed is less than the first threshold value, the altitude change command unit 312 determines whether the wind speed is less than the first threshold value and not less than the second threshold value less than the first threshold value (S18). When the wind speed is equal to or higher than the second threshold value, the altitude change command unit 312 lowers the altitude (S19).

The correction necessity determination unit 245 determines whether or not to correct the drug dropping point due to the influence of the wind based on the wind speed (S20). Specifically, the correction necessity determination unit 245 determines whether the wind speed of the wind blowing on the drone 100 is equal to or higher than the third threshold value. The third threshold value may be equal to or more than the second threshold value and may be equal to or less than the second threshold value, or may be the same as the second threshold value. When the wind speed of the wind is equal to or higher than the third threshold value, the correction execution unit 246 corrects the expected drug drop point based on the wind speed (S21).

The route change command unit 313 determines whether or not a cross wind is blowing on the drone 100 (S22), and if a cross wind is blowing, moves the horizontal position in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction (S23).

The speed change command unit 311 determines whether there is a tailwind or headwind (S24), and if there is a tailwind or headwind, changes the speed (S25). Further, the spray flow rate control unit 321 controls the spray flow rate of the medicine 600 based on the wind speed of the tail wind or the head wind or the speed of the drone 100 (S26). Further, the discharge point control unit 322 changes the discharge start point and the discharge end point (S27). Steps S22 to S23 and steps S24 to S26 are in no particular order. Further, steps S23 to S25 may be executed simultaneously.

Steps S18 to S19 may be executed at the same time as any one of steps S22 to S27 or after steps S22 to S27. However, the optimum values for speed, horizontal position, spray flow rate, and discharge point differ depending on whether or not the altitude of the drone 100 is changed. It is necessary to execute steps S22 to S27.

The processing of steps S11 to S26 can be executed at a timing at which the weight of the drone 100 can be detected, and can be executed during, for example, constant speed flight or hovering. Therefore, it is expected to be performed immediately after the drone 100 takes off, during constant-speed flight, and during turning. However, when it is expected that the wind speed has changed significantly, such as when the thrust exerted by the motor 102 suddenly increases, the operation may be interrupted to hover, and the processes of steps S11 to S27 may be executed. ..

-In each step, the energy consumption consumed in each step may be predicted and the predicted value of the remaining battery 502 and flight time may be recalculated. Further, the information obtained by the recalculation may be displayed on the operation unit 401 or the like each time the recalculation is performed or at a separate timing.

(Technically remarkable effect of the present invention)
In the drone according to the present invention, by controlling the flight in accordance with the attitude angle of the aircraft, it is possible to adjust the dropping point of the medicine and realize the effect of the medicine on the field. In addition, the structure is simpler and lighter than the structure in which the ejection direction of the drug nozzle mounted on the drone is mechanically controlled.

Claims (17)

1. A flight controller,
   A discharge unit for spraying a drug during flight by the flight control unit,
   A drone for drug spraying, comprising:
   An attitude angle detection unit that detects the attitude angle of the drone,
   A drug drop point prediction unit that predicts a drug drop point of the drug discharged from the drone based on the posture angle;
   A drug drop point control unit for controlling a work mode of the drone based on the predicted drug drop point;
   With
   Drone.
   
2. The medicine drop point control unit increases the speed of the drone when the posture angle with respect to the traveling direction is smaller than that in a windless state,
   The drone according to claim 1.
   
3. The medicine drop point control unit reduces the speed of the drone when the posture angle with respect to the traveling direction is larger than in a no-wind state,
   The drone according to claim 1 or 2.
   
4. The working mode is set values of a speed, an altitude, a spraying flow rate of the medicine, a discharge start point at which the medicine is started to be discharged in the linear movement of the drone, and a discharge stop point at which the discharge of the medicine is stopped. Including at least one of the
   The drone according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
   
5. When the tail wind along the traveling direction of the drone is blowing on the drone, the medicine drop point control unit controls the discharge start point and the discharge stop point from the discharge start point and the discharge stop point in a windless state. Also move backward in the direction of travel,
   The drone according to claim 4.
   
6. When the head wind blowing in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the drone is blowing on the drone, the medicine drop point control unit sets the discharge start point and the discharge stop point to the discharge start point and the discharge in a windless state. Move forward from the stop point,
   The drone according to claim 4 or 5.
   
7. The medicine drop point control unit, when a wind blowing in a direction different from the traveling direction of the drone on a horizontal plane is blowing on the drone, the horizontal position of the drone is the traveling direction left and right side and the windward side. Move,
   The drone according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
   
8. Based on the wind speed of the wind blown on the drone and the altitude of the drone, it is determined whether or not the medicine discharged from the drone is affected by the wind, and the distance at which the medicine is discharged is predetermined. In the case above, further comprising a correction unit for correcting the medicine dropping point predicted based on the posture angle to the leeward side,
   The drone according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
   
9. A ground speed calculator for calculating the ground speed of the drone,
   An airspeed calculation unit that calculates an airspeed of the drone based on the attitude angle, at least one of the weight of the drone and the thrust of the thruster operated by the flight control unit;
   Based on the ground speed and the air speed, a wind speed calculation unit for calculating the wind speed and the wind direction of the traveling direction,
   Further comprising,
   The drone according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
   
10. When the absolute value of the posture angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, an evacuation action is taken, and the evacuation action includes at least one action of take-off prohibition, discharge stop of the medicine, return, emergency landing, and hovering,
    The drone according to any one of claims 1 to 9.
    
11. When the absolute value of the attitude angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, at least one of the target flight speed and acceleration of the drone is reduced,
    The drone according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
    
12. The medicine dropping point control unit divides at least one of a difference between the current posture angle and a posture angle in a windless state, a displacement amount of the medicine dropping point, and a wind speed into a plurality of stages, and the stage is divided. To control the work mode according to
    The drone according to any one of claims 1 to 11.
    
13. Further comprising a consumption energy prediction unit that predicts consumption energy consumed by the drone based on the work mode controlled by the drug drop point control unit,
    The drone according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
    
14. Updating at least one of a replacement timing of a battery mounted on the drone and a predicted value of a flightable time based on the energy consumption,
    The drone according to claim 13.
    
15. Information of at least one of the replacement timing of the battery and the predicted value of the possible flight time is transmitted to the operating device, and the information is notified to the user via the operating device.
    The drone according to claim 14.
    
16. A flight controller,
    A discharge unit for spraying a drug during flight by the flight control unit,
    A method for controlling a drone for drug spraying, comprising:
    Detecting the attitude angle of the drone,
    Predicting a drug drop point of the drug discharged from the drone based on the posture angle,
    Controlling the working mode of the drone based on the predicted drug drop point;
    including,
    How to control the drone.
17. A flight controller,
    A discharge unit for spraying a drug during flight by the flight control unit,
    A drone control program for drug spraying, comprising:
    A command to detect the attitude angle of the drone,
    A command to predict a drug dropping point of the drug discharged from the drone based on the posture angle,
    An instruction to control a work mode of the drone based on the predicted drug drop point;
    To run on your computer,
    Drone control program.
    
    

Images