WO2022034677A1

WO2022034677A1 - Communication device, communication system, communication method, and computer-readable medium

Info

Publication number: WO2022034677A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/030812
Authority: WO
Inventors: 建彰飯吉
Original assignee: 日本電気株式会社
Priority date: 2020-08-13
Filing date: 2020-08-13
Publication date: 2022-02-17
Also published as: JPWO2022034677A1

Abstract

The present invention provides a communication device with which it is possible to appropriately transmit information to a ground station even in the case where the state of communication with the ground station is poor. A communication device (1) comprises a reception processing unit (2), an analysis unit (4), and a transmission processing unit (6). The reception processing unit (2) carries out processing for receiving information from a communication instrument mounted on an flying object flying around a flight vehicle (10). The analysis unit (4) analyzes the state of communication with a ground station. The transmission processing unit (6) carries out processing for transmitting information to the ground station by a transmission method in accordance with the result of analysis of the communication state carried out by the analysis unit (4).

Description

Communication equipment, communication systems, communication methods and computer-readable media

The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication system, a communication method, and a computer-readable medium.

Patent Document 1 discloses a radio system that sends and receives information between a large number of airships (stratosphere platform) that fly in the stratosphere and stay at a fixed point and a ground station, and provides a radio service to a predetermined area on the ground. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a base station apparatus mounted on an air vehicle, forming a communication area on the ground, establishing a communication connection with a user terminal in the communication area, and providing a wireless communication service to the user terminal.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-207700 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-065197

An airborne object such as a stratospheric platform may transmit information received from surrounding flying objects to a ground station. At this time, in the above-mentioned technique according to the patent document, if the communication state between the flying object and the ground station is not good, there is a possibility that the information received from the surrounding flying object cannot be properly transmitted to the ground station. be.

The object of the present disclosure is to solve such a problem, and a communication device capable of appropriately transmitting information to a ground station even when the communication state with the ground station is not good. , Communication systems, communication methods and programs.

The communication device according to the present disclosure is a communication device that performs wireless communication, and receives information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around a first flying object that is equipped with the communication device and is stationary in the air. Processing for transmitting the information to the ground station by a reception processing means for performing the processing, an analysis means for analyzing the communication state with the ground station, and a transmission method according to the analysis result of the communication state. It has a transmission processing means to perform.

Further, the communication system according to the present disclosure is mounted on a first flying object that is stationary in the air, a communication device that performs wireless communication, and a communication device that is mounted on a flying object that flies around the first flying object. And a ground station that communicates with the communication device, and the communication device analyzes the communication state between the reception processing means that performs processing for receiving information from the communication device and the ground station. It has an analysis means and a transmission processing means for performing processing for transmitting the information to the ground station according to the analysis result of the communication state.

Further, the communication method according to the present disclosure is a process for receiving information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around a first flying object that is equipped with a communication device that performs wireless communication and is stationary in the air. Then, the communication state with the ground station is analyzed, and the processing for transmitting the information to the ground station is performed according to the analysis result of the communication state.

In addition, the program according to the present disclosure performs processing for receiving information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around a first flying object that is equipped with a communication device that performs wireless communication and is stationary in the air. A computer is made to execute a step, a step of analyzing a communication state with the ground station, and a step of performing a process for transmitting the information to the ground station according to the analysis result of the communication state.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a communication device, a communication system, a communication method and a program capable of appropriately transmitting information to a ground station even when the communication state with the ground station is not good.

It is a figure which shows the outline of the communication apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this disclosure. It is a figure which shows the communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the communication method performed by the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the communication method performed by the communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the change of the information which concerns on Embodiment 2.

(Summary of Embodiments of the present disclosure)
Prior to the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, an outline of the embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a communication device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 1 may be configured by, for example, a computer.

Communication device 1 performs wireless communication. The communication device 1 is mounted on the flying object 10 (first flying object). The aircraft body 10 functions, for example, as a stratospheric platform. The aircraft 10 stays in the air such as in the stratosphere. The flying object 10 is, for example, an airship. The communication device 1 wirelessly communicates with a flying object flying around the flying object 10. Further, the communication device 1 performs wireless communication with the ground station. Further, the communication device 1 performs optical communication with another communicable flying object (second flying object) around the flying object 10. This other aircraft (second aircraft) also functions as a stratospheric platform.

The communication device 1 has a reception processing unit 2, an analysis unit 4, and a transmission processing unit 6. The reception processing unit 2 has a function as a reception processing means (first communication processing means). The analysis unit 4 has a function as an analysis means. The transmission processing unit 6 has a function as a transmission processing means (second communication processing means).

The reception processing unit 2 performs processing for receiving information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around the flying object 10. That is, the reception processing unit 2 performs processing for communicating with a communication device mounted on a flying object flying in the vicinity of the flying object 10. Details will be described later.

The transmission processing unit 6 performs processing for transmitting the information received from the communication device mounted on the flying object to the ground station. That is, the transmission processing unit 6 performs processing for communicating with the ground station. Details will be described later.

Analysis unit 4 analyzes the communication status with the ground station. Specifically, the analysis unit 4 analyzes whether or not the communication state with the ground station is good. More specifically, the analysis unit 4 analyzes whether or not congestion has occurred in communication with the ground station. Then, the transmission processing unit 6 performs processing for transmitting information to the ground station by a transmission method according to the analysis result of the communication state by the analysis unit 4. Specifically, when the transmission processing unit 6 analyzes that the communication state is not good, the amount of information transmitted to the ground station by the communication device 1 (for example, the number of bits) is the amount of information received (for example, the number of bits). The process for transmitting the received information to the ground station is performed so that the number of bits is less than the number of bits).

Since the communication device 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, it is a transmission method corresponding to the case where the communication state with the ground station is not good and the communication state is not good, from a flying object. Information can be transmitted to the ground station. Therefore, the communication device 1 according to the present embodiment can appropriately communicate with the ground station even when the communication state with the ground station is not good. That is, the communication device 1 according to the present embodiment can appropriately transmit information to the ground station even when the communication state with the ground station is not good.

Even if a communication system having a communication device 1, a communication device mounted on a flying object, and a ground station is used, information is appropriately transmitted to the ground station even when the communication state with the ground station is not good. It becomes possible to transmit. Further, even if the communication method executed by the communication device 1 and the program that realizes the communication method are used, it is possible to appropriately transmit information to the ground station even when the communication state with the ground station is not good. Become.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to clarify the explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted or simplified as appropriate. Further, in each drawing, the same elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted as necessary.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a communication system 20 according to the first embodiment. The communication system 20 has a plurality of communication devices 100, one or more communication devices 40, and one or more ground stations 50. The communication device 100 is mounted on the above-mentioned flying object 10. The flying object 10 is arranged in the air, for example, in the stratosphere. As described above, the aircraft body 10 functions as a stratospheric platform. Further, the flying object 10 functions as a repeater for relaying communication between other nodes. For example, the flying object 10 relays (transfers) information received from a flying object flying around to the ground station 50. A node is a target that communicates with each other. Nodes include flying objects, flying objects, communication devices, communication equipment and ground stations. Further, the flying object 10 hardly moves in the air and stays in the air.

The communication device 40 is mounted on the flying object 30. The flying object 30 is an object that flies in the air. The flying object 30 is, for example, an aircraft, a fighter, a missile, a rocket, a drone, or the like. Here, it is assumed that the flying object 30 is in flight. The ground station 50 is installed on the ground. The ground station 50 wirelessly communicates with the surrounding communication device 100 and the communication device 40. The communication device 40 and the ground station 50 may have a hardware configuration similar to the hardware configuration of the communication device 100 as described later.

In the example of FIG. 2, the communication device 100A (communication device A) is mounted on the flying object 10A (flying object A). The communication device 100B (communication device B) is mounted on the flight body 10B (flying body B). The communication device 100C (communication device C) is mounted on the flight body 10C (flying body C). Further, the communication device 40A (communication device A) is mounted on the flying object 30A (flying object A). The communication device 40B (communication device B) is mounted on the flying object 30B (flying object B).

The communication device 100 wirelessly communicates with the surrounding communication device 40 and the ground station 50. Further, the communication device 100 is another flight body 10 (second flight body) around the flight body 10 (first flying body; hereinafter referred to as “corresponding flying body 10”) on which the communication device 100 is mounted. ) Is mounted on the communication device 100 (hereinafter referred to as "another communication device 100") to perform wireless communication. Further, the communication device 100 may perform wireless communication with an arbitrary node on the ground (for example, a wireless terminal or the like).

The communication device 40 wirelessly communicates with the surrounding communication device 100. Further, the communication device 40 is a communication device 40 (hereinafter, “other”) mounted on another flying object 30 around the flying object 30 (hereinafter, referred to as “corresponding flying object 30”) on which the communication device 40 is mounted. You may perform wireless communication with the communication device 40 ").

In the example of FIG. 2, it is assumed that the distances between the flying object 10A and the flying objects 10B and 10C are such that wireless communication is possible with each other. Therefore, the communication device 100A communicates wirelessly with the communication device 100B and the communication device 100C. Further, it is assumed that the distance between the flying object 30A and the flying object 10A and the flying object 10B is such that wireless communication is possible with each other. Therefore, the communication device 40A communicates wirelessly with the communication device 100A and the communication device 100B. Further, it is assumed that the distance between the flying object 30B and the flying object 10B is such that wireless communication is possible with each other. Therefore, the communication device 40B communicates wirelessly with the communication device 100B. Further, the ground station 50 can perform wireless communication with the communication devices 100A to 100C. Here, since the flying object 30 is in flight, the distance to the flying object 10 (or another flying object 30) changes. Therefore, the partner with which the communication device 40 can communicate changes each time.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the communication device 100 according to the first embodiment. The communication device 100 has a control unit 102, a storage unit 104, a communication unit 106, and an interface unit 108 (IF; Interface) as a main hardware configuration. The control unit 102, the storage unit 104, the communication unit 106, and the interface unit 108 are connected to each other via a data bus or the like.

The control unit 102 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 102 has a function as an arithmetic unit that performs control processing, arithmetic processing, and the like. The storage unit 104 is a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk. The storage unit 104 is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 104 has a function for storing a control program, an arithmetic program, and the like executed by the control unit 102. In addition, the storage unit 104 has a function for temporarily storing processed data and the like. The storage unit 104 may include a database.

The communication unit 106 performs necessary processing for communicating with the other communication device 100, the communication device 40, and the ground station 50. The communication unit 106 may include a communication port, a router, a firewall, and the like. The interface unit 108 is, for example, a user interface (UI). The interface unit 108 has an input device such as a keyboard, a touch panel or a mouse, and an output device such as a display or a speaker. The interface unit 108 accepts a data input operation by the system administrator and outputs information to the system administrator. Further, the communication unit 106 may have an antenna that can control the directivity, such as a phased array antenna.

The communication device 100 according to the first embodiment has a first communication processing unit 112, a second communication processing unit 114, a third communication processing unit 116, and a flying object monitoring unit 118 as components. Further, the communication device 100 according to the first embodiment has a reception processing unit 120, a communication state analysis unit 130, and a transmission processing unit 140. The transmission processing unit 140 has a distributed processing unit 142 and a thinning processing unit 144.

The first communication processing unit 112 has a function as a first communication processing means (flying object communication means). The second communication processing unit 114 has a function as a second communication processing means (ground station communication means). The third communication processing unit 116 has a function as a third communication processing means (aircraft communication means). The flying object monitoring unit 118 has a function as a flying object monitoring means. The reception processing unit 120 corresponds to the reception processing unit 2 of FIG. The reception processing unit 120 has a function as a reception processing means.

The communication state analysis unit 130 corresponds to the analysis unit 4 in FIG. The communication state analysis unit 130 has a function as a communication state analysis means (analysis means). The transmission processing unit 140 corresponds to the transmission processing unit 6 of FIG. The transmission processing unit 140 has a function as a transmission processing means. The distributed processing unit 142 has a function as a distributed processing means. The thinning processing unit 144 has a function as a thinning processing means.

Note that each of the above-mentioned components can be realized, for example, by executing a program under the control of the control unit 102. More specifically, each component can be realized by the control unit 102 executing the program stored in the storage unit 104. Further, each component may be realized by recording a necessary program on an arbitrary non-volatile recording medium and installing it as needed. Further, each component is not limited to being realized by software by a program, and may be realized by any combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Further, each component may be realized by using a user-programmable integrated circuit such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) or a microcomputer. In this case, this integrated circuit may be used to realize a program composed of each of the above components. This also applies to other embodiments described later.

The flying object monitoring unit 118 controls the communication unit 106 to perform processing for monitoring the flying object 30. Specifically, the flying object monitoring unit 118 controls the directivity of the phased array antenna capable of supporting multi-beams, and simultaneously monitors a plurality of flying objects 30 around the flying object 10 equipped with the communication device 100. .. Then, the flying object monitoring unit 118 controls so that the beam is radiated toward the flying object 30. That is, the flying object monitoring unit 118 identifies the position of the flying object 30 and determines the direction in which the beam is emitted. The direction in which the beam is directed by the flying object monitoring unit 118 can be determined by, for example, the following method. For example, the position of the flying object 30 is specified by performing a geometric calculation from the position information (latitude, longitude, altitude) included in the data received from the flying object 30, and the position of the flying object 30 is specified in the specified direction. The beam may be emitted. Alternatively, the flying object 30 may be automatically tracked according to the intensity of the radio wave by the monopulse method. Alternatively, the direction in which the beam is emitted may be manually specified by a command from the ground (ground station 50). By using such a method, the flying object 30 can be grasped in a wider airspace.

The first communication processing unit 112 controls the communication unit 106 to perform processing necessary for communicating with the communication device 40 mounted on the flying object 30. Specifically, the first communication processing unit 112 controls the communication unit 106 so as to transmit a signal to the position of the flying object 30 specified by the control of the flying object monitoring unit 118, so that the communication device 40 Send a signal to. For example, the first communication processing unit 112 transmits a signal to the communication device 40A by performing processing so as to perform beamforming toward the flying object 30A whose position has been specified. Further, the first communication processing unit 112 performs processing for establishing a communication line between the communication device 100 and the communication device 40. In addition, the first communication processing unit 112 performs processing for receiving information from the communication device 40. At this time, since the flying object 30 is often flying at high speed, communication is performed with the influence of the Doppler effect corrected. Specifically, the first communication processing unit 112 acquires the speed of the flying object 30 and corrects the frequency of the signal according to the speed. Further, the first communication processing unit 112 amplifies the signal transmitted to and received from the communication device 40.

The second communication processing unit 114 performs processing for communicating with the ground station 50. Specifically, the second communication processing unit 114 identifies the position of the ground station 50 and controls the communication unit 106 so as to transmit a signal to the specified position. The position information of the ground station 50 may be stored in the communication device 100 in advance. Then, the second communication processing unit 114 performs processing for establishing a communication line between the communication device 100 and the ground station 50. As a result, the second communication processing unit 114 can transmit and receive information to and from the ground station 50. Further, the second communication processing unit 114 amplifies the signal transmitted to and received from the ground station 50.

The third communication processing unit 116 performs processing for communicating with another communication device 100 mounted on another flight body 10 different from the corresponding flight body 10 around the corresponding flight body 10. Specifically, the third communication processing unit 116 communicates with another communication device 100 by optical communication. Since the flying object 10 is arranged in the stratosphere, there is almost no obstruction between the flying objects 10. Therefore, optical communication can be appropriately performed between the flying objects 10. Further, the third communication processing unit 116 identifies the position of the other flying object 10, and controls the communication unit 106 so as to transmit a signal to the specified position. As described above, the flying object 10 is stationary in the air and hardly moves. Therefore, the position information of the other flying object 10 (and the position information of the corresponding flying object 10) may be stored in the communication device 100 in advance. Then, the third communication processing unit 116 performs processing for establishing a communication line between the communication device 100 and another communication device 100. As a result, the third communication processing unit 116 can transmit and receive information to and from the other communication device 100.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a communication method performed by the communication device 100 according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the components of the communication device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a process in which the communication device 100 receives information from a flying object 30 flying around the corresponding flying object 10 and relays the received information to the ground station 50. In the following description, an example of processing in which the communication device 100A shown in FIG. 2 appropriately receives information from a flying object 30A flying around the corresponding flying object 10A and relays it to the ground station 50 (“FIG. 2”). "Example") will be described.

The reception processing unit 120 receives information from the flying object 30 (step S102). Specifically, the reception processing unit 120 performs processing for receiving information from a flying object 30 flying around the corresponding flying object 10. More specifically, the reception processing unit 120 controls the first communication processing unit 112 to perform processing for receiving information from the communication device 40 mounted on the flying object 30. For example, the reception processing unit 120 of the communication device 100A controls the first communication processing unit 112 to perform processing for receiving information from the communication device 40A mounted on the flying object 30A. The reception processing unit 120 does not have to receive the information at once when receiving the information from the flying object 30. The reception processing unit 120 may receive the information by dividing it into a plurality of frames (packets) constituting the information.

The communication state analysis unit 130 analyzes the communication state with the ground station 50 (step S104). Specifically, the communication state analysis unit 130 analyzes whether or not the communication state with the ground station 50 is good. More specifically, the communication state analysis unit 130 may analyze whether or not congestion has occurred in communication with the ground station 50. For example, the communication state analysis unit 130 may determine whether or not congestion has occurred by detecting the occurrence of packet loss or delay in communication with the ground station 50. Further, the communication state analysis unit 130 may analyze the degree of congestion from parameters indicating congestion such as packet loss or delay. Then, the communication state analysis unit 130 may determine that congestion has occurred when the degree of congestion is equal to or higher than a predetermined degree.

Then, the communication state analysis unit 130 may analyze that the communication state is good when there is no congestion in the communication with the ground station 50. On the other hand, the communication state analysis unit 130 may analyze that the communication state is not good when the communication with the ground station 50 is congested. It should be noted that the determination as to whether or not the communication state is good does not have to be due to the occurrence of congestion.

The transmission processing unit 140 performs processing for transmitting information (transmission information) from the flying object 30 to the ground station 50 by a transmission method according to the analysis result of the communication state. Specifically, the transmission processing unit 140 determines whether or not the communication state analysis unit 130 has analyzed that the communication state with the ground station 50 is good (step S106). When it is analyzed that the communication state is good (YES in S106), the transmission processing unit 140 transmits the information (transmission information) received from the flying object 30 to the ground station 50 (step S108). At this time, the transmission processing unit 140 transmits the transmission information to the ground station 50 without performing the processing of S112 and S114 described later. That is, the transmission processing unit 140 directly transmits (transfers) transmission information to the ground station 50 without going through another node (flying object 10). Further, the transmission processing unit 140 transmits the complete information (transmission information) to the ground station 50 without thinning out the transmission information received from the flying object 30.

The transmission processing unit 140 may add header information to the transmission information. The header information may include, for example, transmission information identification information, source identification information (source ID), destination identification information (destination ID), and relay node identification information (relay ID). The identification information of the transmission information may be arbitrarily set in the transmission processing unit 140. Further, the source ID indicates the identification information of the flying object 30 equipped with the communication device 40 that generated the transmission information. For example, the source ID indicates the identification information of the flying object 30A equipped with the communication device 40A that generated the transmission information. Further, the destination ID indicates the identification information of the destination node that transmits the transmission information. For example, the destination ID indicates the identification information of the ground station 50. Further, the relay ID indicates the identification information of the flying object 10 equipped with the communication device 100 that has undergone the relay processing. In the example of FIG. 2, the relay ID indicates the identification information of the flying object 10A equipped with the communication device 100A.

On the other hand, when it is analyzed that the communication state is not good (NO in S106), the transmission processing unit 140 reduces the amount of information (number of bits, etc.) directly transmitted to the ground station 50 by the communication device 100. Is processed. Specifically, the transmission processing unit 140 sets the transmission information to the ground station 50 so that the amount of information (number of bits, etc.) directly transmitted to the ground station 50 by the communication device 100 is smaller than the amount of transmission information. Performs processing for transmission to. More specifically, the transmission processing unit 140 determines whether or not the flying object 10 is around the corresponding flying object 10 (step S110). Specifically, the transmission processing unit 140 determines whether or not there is another flying object 10 (communication device 100) capable of communicating around the corresponding flying object 10.

When it is determined that another flying object 10 (communication device 100) capable of communicating is present around the corresponding flying object 10 (YES in S110), the transmission processing unit 140 determines that the transmission information is distributed and transmitted. .. Then, the distributed processing unit 142 of the transmission processing unit 140 performs a process for distributing the transmission information to the other communication device 100 mounted on at least one other flying object 10 and transmitting the transmission information to the ground station 50 (step). S112). For example, in the example of FIG. 2, when there is a communicable flying object 10B (communication device 100B) around the flying object 10A on which the communication device 100A is mounted, the distributed processing unit 142 of the flying object 10A is attached to the communication device 100B. Performs processing to distribute transmission information.

Specifically, the distributed processing unit 142 performs processing for transmitting at least a part of the transmission information to the ground station 50 via the other communication device 100 of the other flying object 10. The "part of transmission information" (transmission information part) is composed of, for example, one or more of a plurality of frames (packets) constituting the transmission information. For example, the distributed processing unit 142 of the flying object 10A performs processing for transmitting at least a part of the transmission information to the ground station 50 via the communication device 100B of the flying object 10B. In this case, the distributed processing unit 142 of the flying object 10A transmits at least a part of the transmission information to the communication device 100B, and at least a part of the received transmission information (transmission information or transmission information part) to the communication device 100B. ) Is relayed (transferred) to the ground station 50. As a result, the processing shown in FIG. 4 is also performed in the communication device 100B. With such a configuration, the communication device 100 can appropriately transmit transmission information to the ground station 50 even when the communication state with the ground station 50 is not good.

Here, the distributed processing unit 142 may add header information to the transmission information as described above in the description of S108. In this case, the communication device 100B that has received the transmission information can relay (transfer) the transmission information to the ground station 50 because the destination ID of the header information indicates the identification information of the ground station 50. The identification information of the corresponding flying object 10 is added to the relay ID each time the relay process is performed by each communication device 100. For example, when relaying is performed by the communication device 100A, the relay ID includes the identification information of the flying object 10A equipped with the communication device 100A. Then, when the transmission information is transmitted to the communication device 100B and the relay is performed by the communication device 100B, the relay ID further includes the identification information of the flying object 10B equipped with the communication device 100B. In addition, the time when the relay was performed by the flying object 10 related to the relay ID may be added in association with the relay ID.

Further, the distributed processing unit 142 transmits all of the transmission information to another communication device 100, or a part of the transmission information (transmission information portion), for example, depending on the degree of congestion of communication with the ground station 50. You may decide whether to send only to the other communication device 100. That is, the distributed processing unit 142 may decide to transmit all of the transmission information to the other communication device 100 when the degree of congestion is equal to or higher than a predetermined degree. In this case, the amount of information directly transmitted by the communication device 100 to the ground station 50 is zero. Therefore, the amount of information directly transmitted by the communication device 100 to the ground station 50 is smaller than the amount of transmitted information. On the other hand, when the distributed processing unit 142 transmits only a part of the transmission information (transmission information part) to the other communication device 100 when the degree of congestion is less than a predetermined degree although the congestion has occurred. You may decide. In this case, the amount of information directly transmitted by the communication device 100 corresponds to the amount obtained by subtracting the amount of information of the transmission information portion transmitted to the other communication device 100 from the amount of information of the transmission information, so that the amount of transmission information ( Less than the amount of information). Therefore, the amount of information directly transmitted by the communication device 100 to the ground station 50 is smaller than the amount of transmitted information.

Further, in this case, for example, assuming that the transmission information is composed of a first transmission information portion and a second transmission information portion, the distributed processing unit 142 transmits the first transmission information portion to another communication device 100. Then, processing may be performed so that the second transmission information portion is transmitted to the ground station 50. In this case, the first transmission information portion is transmitted to the ground station 50 via the other communication device 100, and the second transmission information portion is directly transmitted to the ground station 50. Further, in this case, the distributed processing unit 142 has a header in the first transmission information portion and the second transmission information portion so that the ground station 50 can combine the first transmission information portion and the second transmission information portion. Information (tag information) may be added. This header information may include identification information of the original transmission information and information indicating the order in the transmission information of each transmission information portion.

Further, in the example of FIG. 2, it is assumed that there are two communicable flying objects 10B (communication device 100B) and flying objects 10C (communication device 100C) around the flying object 10A. In this case, the distributed processing unit 142 of the flying object 10A (communication device 100A) may perform processing for distributing the transmission information to the communication device 100B and the communication device 100C. Further, at this time, for example, it is assumed that the transmission information is composed of a first transmission information portion and a second transmission information portion. In this case, the distributed processing unit 142 of the communication device 100A may transmit the first transmission information portion to the communication device 100B and the second transmission information portion to the communication device 100C. In this case, the first transmission information portion is transmitted to the ground station 50 via the communication device 100B. Similarly, the second transmission information portion is transmitted to the ground station 50 via the communication device 100C. Further, in this case, as described above, the distributed processing unit 142 has the first transmission information portion and the second transmission information portion so that the ground station 50 can combine the first transmission information portion and the second transmission information portion. Header information (tag information) may be added to the transmission information part. This header information may include identification information of the original transmission information and information indicating the order in the transmission information of each transmission information portion.

On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no other flying object 10 (communication device 40) capable of communicating around the corresponding flying object 10 (NO in S110), the transmission processing unit 140 thins out the transmission information and transmits the transmission information. judge. Then, the thinning processing unit 144 of the transmission processing unit 140 performs processing for thinning out the transmission information and transmitting it to the ground station 50 (step S114). That is, the thinning processing unit 144 of the transmission processing unit 140 performs processing for transmitting only a part of the transmission information (first part; first transmission information part) to the ground station 50. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, when there is no communicable flying object 10 around the flying object 10A on which the communication device 100A is mounted, the distributed processing unit 142 of the flying object 10A thins out the transmission information to the ground station 50. Perform the process for sending.

Specifically, the thinning processing unit 144 includes a first transmission information portion transmitted to the ground station 50 and a second transmission information portion (second portion) not transmitted to the ground station 50 in the transmission information. To determine. It should be noted that the first transmission information portion and the second transmission information portion related to the processing of S114 may be different from the first transmission information portion and the second transmission information portion related to the processing of S112 described above. sea bream. Then, the thinning processing unit 144 performs processing for transmitting the first transmission information portion to the ground station 50 and preventing the second transmission information portion from being transmitted to the ground station 50. As a result, the amount of information directly transmitted by the communication device 100 to the ground station 50 is smaller than the amount of transmitted information. With such a configuration, the communication device 100 can appropriately transmit information to the ground station 50 even when the communication state with the ground station 50 is not good and there is no flying object 10 in the vicinity. Will be.

Here, the second transmission information part may be predetermined. This makes it unnecessary for the thinning-out processing unit 144 to determine which part of the transmission information does not have to be transmitted to the ground station 50. For example, when the transmission information is composed of a plurality of rows, the data in the rows at a certain interval may be deleted as the second transmission information portion. When the transmission information is a moving image, frames at regular intervals of a plurality of frames constituting the moving image may be deleted as a second transmission information portion. When the transmission information is voice information, voice data of a certain frequency (for example, a frequency deviating from the audible range) may be deleted as the second transmission information portion. When the transmission information is information that does not require real-time performance, the thinning processing unit 144 buffers the second transmission information portion and transmits it later (for example, after the congestion is reduced). Processing may be performed. As a result, the quality of the transmission information received by the ground station 50 can be improved as compared with the case where the second transmission information portion is deleted.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to clarify the explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted or simplified as appropriate. Further, in each drawing, the same elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted as necessary. Since the system configuration according to the second embodiment is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 2, the description thereof will be omitted. In the second embodiment, a case where a plurality of flying objects 10 receive information (transmission information; transmission information) transmitted from the same one flying object 30 will be described. That is, the case where one flying object 30 transmits information to a plurality of flying objects 10 at the same time will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the communication device 100 according to the second embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, the communication device 100 according to the second embodiment has a control unit 102, a storage unit 104, a communication unit 106, and an interface unit 108 as a main hardware configuration. Further, similarly to the first embodiment, the communication device 100 according to the second embodiment flies with the first communication processing unit 112, the second communication processing unit 114, and the third communication processing unit 116 as components. It has an object monitoring unit 118. Further, as in the first embodiment, the communication device 100 according to the second embodiment has a reception processing unit 120, a communication state analysis unit 130, and a transmission processing unit 140. The communication device 100 according to the second embodiment further has a tag addition unit 210. The tag adding unit 210 has a function as a tag adding means (adding means).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a communication method performed by the communication device 100 according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, the components of the communication device 100 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, a plurality of communication devices 100 may receive information (transmission information; transmission information) transmitted from one flying object 30 flying around a corresponding flying object 10 and relay it to the ground station 50. The processing of the case is shown. In the following description, an example of processing in which the

communication devices

100A and 100B shown in FIG. 2 receive information from the flying object 30A and relay it to the ground station 50 (referred to as “example of FIG. 2”) will be described as appropriate. do.

The reception processing unit 120 of each communication device 100 receives information from the flying object 30 (step S202). Specifically, in the same manner as the processing of S102, the reception processing unit 120 of each communication device 100 receives the information (transmission information) transmitted from the flying object 30 flying around the corresponding flying object 10. Process. Here, in the second embodiment, the transmission information transmitted from the flying object 30 (communication device 40) may be different from the information (reception information) received by each communication device 100. That is, information in a state in which a part of the transmission information is missing due to a failure of the communication line between each communication device 100 and the communication device 40 can be received by the communication device 100 as reception information.

The tag addition unit 210 adds tag information to the received information (received information) (step S204). This tag information is information for identifying received information (at least a part of transmission information). By adding the tag information to the received information, as will be described later, when information from the same flying object is received by a plurality of flying objects 10, the ground station 50 can combine the information. Become. This makes it possible to improve the quality of the information transmitted to the ground station 50.

The tag information includes, for example, a time tag and a location information tag. The time tag indicates the time when the received information was received. The position information tag indicates the position of the flying object 30. As described above, the position of the flying object 30 can be obtained by the processing of the flying object monitoring unit 118.

The communication device 100 transmits information to the ground station 50 (step S206). That is, the communication device 100 transmits the information (tag addition information) obtained by adding the tag information to the received information to the ground station 50. Specifically, the communication device 100 performs substantially the same processing as S104 to S114 shown in FIG. Then, the ground station 50 that has received the information (tag addition information) from the plurality of flying objects 10 combines the information by using the tag information. As a result, the information (transmission information) transmitted from the flying object 30 can be reproduced. Details will be described later.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating changes in information according to the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 7, an example of a process in which the

communication devices

100A and 100B shown in FIG. 2 receive information (transmission information) transmitted from the flying object 30A and relay it to the ground station 50 is shown. First, the communication device 40A of the flying object 30A transmits the transmission information 80 (transmission information). Here, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the transmission information 80 is composed of a frame A, a frame B, and a frame C.

The communication device 100A and the communication device 100B receive the information corresponding to the transmission information 80. At this time, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the communication device 100A receives the reception information 82A including the frame A and the frame C. That is, the frame B is missing in the received information 82A received by the communication device 100A. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the communication device 100B receives the reception information 82B including the frame B and the frame C. That is, the frame A is missing in the received information 82B received by the communication device 100B.

The tag addition unit 210 adds tag information to each frame of the received information 82 (S204). As illustrated in FIG. 7, the tag addition unit 210 of the communication device 100A adds the tag information AA to the frame A of the reception information 82A and adds the tag information AC to the frame C to generate the tag addition information 84A. do. The tag information AA includes a time tag indicating the time when the frame A is received by the communication device 100A, and a position information tag indicating the position of the flying object 30A that transmitted the frame A. The tag information AC includes a time tag indicating the time when the frame C is received by the communication device 100A, and a position information tag indicating the position of the flying object 30A that transmitted the frame C. The communication device 100A transmits (transmits) the tag addition information 84A to the ground station 50.

Further, the tag addition unit 210 of the communication device 100B adds the tag information BB to the frame B of the reception information 82B, and adds the tag information BC to the frame C to generate the tag addition information 84B. The tag information BB includes a time tag indicating the time when the frame B is received by the communication device 100B, and a position information tag indicating the position of the flying object 30A that transmitted the frame B. The tag information BC includes a time tag indicating the time when the frame C is received by the communication device 100B, and a position information tag indicating the position of the flying object 30A that transmitted the frame C. The communication device 100B transmits (transmits) the tag addition information 84B to the ground station 50.

The ground station 50 receives the tag addition information 84A and the tag addition information 84B. Using the position information tag attached to the tag addition information 84, the ground station 50 determines that the plurality of tag addition information 84 transmitted from different communication devices 100 correspond to the transmission information transmitted from the same flying object 30. can. That is, the position information tags attached to the tag addition information 84A and the tag addition information 84B indicate the same position or a position extremely close to the extent that it can be regarded as transmitted from the same flying object 30. Therefore, the ground station 50 uses the position information tag attached to the tag additional information 84 to transmit the transmission information 80 in which the tag additional information 84A and the tag additional information 84B are transmitted from the same flying object 30 (flying object 30A). It can be determined that it corresponds to. In particular, even if the information (transmission information) transmitted from the flying object 30 does not include the identification information of the flying object 30, the ground station 50 can easily grasp that the information is transmitted from the same flying object 30. can do.

Further, the ground station 50 can determine that a plurality of tag addition information 84 transmitted from different communication devices 100 are generated based on the same information by using the time tag added to the tag addition information 84. .. That is, the time tags attached to the tag addition information 84A and the tag addition information 84B indicate times that are close to each other so that the corresponding frames can be regarded as constituting the same information (transmission information). For example, the time tags of the tag information AA, AC, BB, and BC indicate times that are close to each other. Therefore, the ground station 50 can determine that the tag addition information 84A and the tag addition information 84B are generated based on the same information (transmission information 80) by using the time tag added to the tag addition information 84. .. In particular, even when the information (transmission information) transmitted from the flying object 30 does not have the identification information of the transmission information, it is easy for the ground station 50 to make it easy for a plurality of received frames to correspond to the same transmission information. Can be grasped.

Further, the ground station 50 uses the time tag attached to the tag addition information 84 to change the order of the frames included in the plurality of tag addition information 84 transmitted from the different communication devices 100 in the transmission information. It can be judged. That is, the ground station 50 can determine that the earlier the time indicated by the time tag is, the earlier the order of the frames corresponding to the time tag is. In particular, even when the information (transmission information) transmitted from the flying object 30 does not have data indicating the frame order, the ground station 50 receives the original information of the frames (transmission information; transmission information 80). The order in can be easily grasped.

Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 7, in the ground station 50, the frames included in the plurality of tag addition information 84 transmitted from the different communication devices 100 can be appropriately combined. As a result, the ground station 50 can appropriately generate (restore) transmission information 80 (transmission information). In this way, by adding the tag information to the received information in the communication device 100, it is possible to improve the quality of the information received by the ground station 50.

(Modification example)
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the spirit. For example, the order of each process in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 and the like can be changed as appropriate. Further, one or more of the processes of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 and the like may not be necessary.

Further, the above-mentioned first communication processing unit 112 and the flying object monitoring unit 118 may be integrally configured. In this case, a component in which the first communication processing unit 112 and the flying object monitoring unit 118 are integrally configured can function as a flying object monitoring means. Further, the first communication processing unit 112 and the reception processing unit 120 may be integrally configured. In this case, a component in which the first communication processing unit 112 and the reception processing unit 120 are integrally configured can function as the reception processing means. Further, the second communication processing unit 114 and the transmission processing unit 140 may be integrally configured. In this case, a component in which the second communication processing unit 114 and the transmission processing unit 140 are integrally configured can function as the transmission processing means.

In the above example, the program is stored using various types of non-transitory computer readable medium and can be supplied to the computer. Non-temporary computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage mediums. Examples of non-temporary computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (eg, flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (eg, magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (ReadOnlyMemory), CD-Rs, Includes CD-R / W, semiconductor memory (eg, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (RandomAccessMemory)). The program may also be supplied to the computer by various types of transient computer readable medium. Examples of temporary computer readable media include electrical, optical, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire and an optical fiber, or a wireless communication path.

Although the invention of the present application has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the invention of the present application is not limited to the above. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made within the scope of the invention in the configuration and details of the invention of the present application.

Some or all of the above embodiments may also be described, but not limited to:
(Appendix 1)
It is a communication device that performs wireless communication.
A reception processing means that performs processing for receiving information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around a first flying object that is equipped with the communication device and stays in the air.
Analytical means to analyze the communication status with the ground station,
A transmission processing means that performs processing for transmitting the information to the ground station by a transmission method according to the analysis result of the communication state.
Communication equipment with.
(Appendix 2)
When the communication processing means is analyzed that the communication state is not good, the amount of information transmitted to the ground station by the communication device is set to be smaller than the amount of the information, and the information is transmitted to the ground. Performs processing for transmission to the station,
The communication device according to Appendix 1.
(Appendix 3)
When it is analyzed that the communication state is not good, the transmission processing means distributes the information to other communication devices mounted on at least one second aircraft different from the first aircraft. The process for transmitting the information to the ground station is performed, or the process for transmitting only a part of the information to the ground station is performed.
The communication device according to Appendix 2.
(Appendix 4)
When the second flying object capable of communicating is present around the first flying object, the transmission processing means transmits at least a part of the information to the ground station via the other communication device. By performing the processing for performing the processing, the processing for distributing the information to the other communication devices and transmitting the information to the ground station is performed.
The communication device according to Appendix 3.
(Appendix 5)
The transmission processing means is a process for transmitting only the first part of the information to the ground station when there is no communicable second air vehicle around the first air vehicle. I do,
The communication device according to Appendix 3 or 4.
(Appendix 6)
The second part of the information that is not transmitted to the ground station is predetermined.
The communication device according to Appendix 5.
(Appendix 7)
An additional means for adding tag information for identifying the information to the information received from the communication device.
The communication device according to any one of Supplementary Provisions 1 to 6, further comprising.
(Appendix 8)
The additional means adds a time tag indicating the received time to the received information.
The communication device according to Appendix 7.
(Appendix 9)
The additional means adds a position information tag indicating the position of the flying object to the received information.
The communication device according to Appendix 7 or 8.
(Appendix 10)
A communication device mounted on the first flying object that stays in the air and performs wireless communication,
A communication device mounted on a flying object flying around the first flying object,
A ground station that communicates with the communication device,
Have,
The communication device is
A reception processing means that performs processing for receiving information from the communication device, and
Analytical means for analyzing the communication status with the ground station and
A transmission processing means that performs processing for transmitting the information to the ground station according to the analysis result of the communication state, and
Have,
Communications system.
(Appendix 11)
It is equipped with a communication device that performs wireless communication, and performs processing to receive information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around a first flying object that is stationary in the air.
Analyze the communication status with the ground station and
Processing for transmitting the information to the ground station is performed according to the analysis result of the communication state.
Communication method.
(Appendix 12)
To transmit the information to the ground station so that the amount of information transmitted to the ground station by the communication device is smaller than the amount of the information when it is analyzed that the communication state is not good. Do the processing,
The communication method according to Appendix 11.
(Appendix 13)
When it is analyzed that the communication state is not good, the information is distributed to other communication devices mounted on at least one second aircraft different from the first aircraft, and the information is distributed to the ground station. Performs processing for transmitting information, or processing for transmitting only a part of the information to the ground station.
The communication method according to Appendix 12.
(Appendix 14)
When the second flying object that can communicate is present around the first flying object, a process for transmitting at least a part of the information to the ground station via the other communication device is performed. Therefore, the process for distributing the information to the other communication devices and transmitting the information to the ground station is performed.
The communication method according to Appendix 13.
(Appendix 15)
When there is no communicable second aircraft around the first aircraft, processing is performed to transmit only the first portion of the information to the ground station.
The communication method according to Appendix 13 or 14.
(Appendix 16)
The second part of the information that is not transmitted to the ground station is predetermined.
The communication method according to Appendix 15.
(Appendix 17)
Tag information for identifying the information is added to the information received from the communication device.
The communication method according to any one of Supplementary note 11 to 16.
(Appendix 18)
A time tag indicating the received time is added to the received information.
The communication method according to Appendix 17.
(Appendix 19)
A position information tag indicating the position of the flying object is added to the received information.
The communication method according to Appendix 17 or 18.
(Appendix 20)
A step of performing processing for receiving information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around a first flying object that is equipped with a communication device that performs wireless communication and stays in the air.
Steps to analyze the communication status with the ground station,
A step of performing a process for transmitting the information to the ground station according to the analysis result of the communication state, and
A non-temporary computer-readable medium containing a program that causes a computer to run.

1 Communication device 2 Reception processing unit 4 Analysis unit 6 Transmission processing unit 10 Flying object 20 Communication system 30 Flying object 40 Communication device 50 Ground station 80 Transmission information 82 Reception information 84 Tag additional information 100 Communication device 112 First communication processing unit 114 2 Communication processing unit 116 3rd communication processing unit 118 Flying object monitoring unit 120 Reception processing unit 130 Communication status analysis unit 140 Transmission processing unit 142 Distributed processing unit 144 Thinning processing unit 210 Tag addition unit

Claims

It is a communication device that performs wireless communication.
A reception processing means that performs processing for receiving information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around a first flying object that is equipped with the communication device and stays in the air.
Analytical means to analyze the communication status with the ground station,
A transmission processing means that performs processing for transmitting the information to the ground station by a transmission method according to the analysis result of the communication state.
Communication equipment with.
When the communication processing means is analyzed that the communication state is not good, the amount of information transmitted to the ground station by the communication device is set to be smaller than the amount of the information, and the information is transmitted to the ground. Performs processing for transmission to the station,
The communication device according to claim 1.
When it is analyzed that the communication state is not good, the transmission processing means distributes the information to other communication devices mounted on at least one second aircraft different from the first aircraft. The process for transmitting the information to the ground station is performed, or the process for transmitting only a part of the information to the ground station is performed.
The communication device according to claim 2.
When the second flying object capable of communicating is present around the first flying object, the transmission processing means transmits at least a part of the information to the ground station via the other communication device. By performing the processing for performing the processing, the processing for distributing the information to the other communication devices and transmitting the information to the ground station is performed.
The communication device according to claim 3.
The transmission processing means is a process for transmitting only the first part of the information to the ground station when there is no communicable second air vehicle around the first air vehicle. I do,
The communication device according to claim 3 or 4.
The second part of the information that is not transmitted to the ground station is predetermined.
The communication device according to claim 5.
An additional means for adding tag information for identifying the information to the information received from the communication device.
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising.
The additional means adds a time tag indicating the received time to the received information.
The communication device according to claim 7.
The additional means adds a position information tag indicating the position of the flying object to the received information.
The communication device according to claim 7 or 8.
A communication device mounted on the first flying object that stays in the air and performs wireless communication,
A communication device mounted on a flying object flying around the first flying object,
A ground station that communicates with the communication device,
Have,
The communication device is
A reception processing means that performs processing for receiving information from the communication device, and
Analytical means for analyzing the communication status with the ground station and
A transmission processing means that performs processing for transmitting the information to the ground station according to the analysis result of the communication state, and
Have,
Communications system.
It is equipped with a communication device that performs wireless communication, and performs processing to receive information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around a first flying object that is stationary in the air.
Analyze the communication status with the ground station and
Processing for transmitting the information to the ground station is performed according to the analysis result of the communication state.
Communication method.
To transmit the information to the ground station so that the amount of information transmitted to the ground station by the communication device is smaller than the amount of the information when it is analyzed that the communication state is not good. Do the processing,
The communication method according to claim 11.
When it is analyzed that the communication state is not good, the information is distributed to other communication devices mounted on at least one second aircraft different from the first aircraft, and the information is distributed to the ground station. Performs processing for transmitting information, or processing for transmitting only a part of the information to the ground station.
The communication method according to claim 12.
When the second flying object that can communicate is present around the first flying object, a process for transmitting at least a part of the information to the ground station via the other communication device is performed. Therefore, the process for distributing the information to the other communication devices and transmitting the information to the ground station is performed.
The communication method according to claim 13.
When there is no communicable second aircraft around the first aircraft, processing is performed to transmit only the first portion of the information to the ground station.
The communication method according to claim 13 or 14.
The second part of the information that is not transmitted to the ground station is predetermined.
The communication method according to claim 15.
Tag information for identifying the information is added to the information received from the communication device.
The communication method according to any one of claims 11 to 16.
A time tag indicating the received time is added to the received information.
The communication method according to claim 17.
A position information tag indicating the position of the flying object is added to the received information.
The communication method according to claim 17 or 18.
A step of performing processing for receiving information from a communication device mounted on a flying object flying around a first flying object that is equipped with a communication device that performs wireless communication and stays in the air.
Steps to analyze the communication status with the ground station,
A step of performing a process for transmitting the information to the ground station according to the analysis result of the communication state, and
A non-temporary computer-readable medium that contains a program that causes the computer to run.