WO2022059846A1 - System and method for controlling leader-following flight in aerial vehicle swarm flight - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and a method for controlling leader-following flight in an aerial vehicle swarm flight. The system for controlling leader-following flight in an aerial vehicle swarm flight according to the first embodiment is a leader-following flight control system for controlling such that a leader aerial vehicle leading a swarm flight is followed by the remaining plurality of aerial vehicles, the system comprising: a leader aerial vehicle on which a pilot boards and which controls the remaining swarmed aerial vehicles to follow the leader aerial vehicle according to a control of the pilot; and a plurality of following aerial vehicles on which a pilot is not boarded but passengers are boarded or cargo is loaded and which receive a flight control signal from the leader aerial vehicle to follow the leader aerial vehicle and fly in a swarm.

Description

Leader-following flight control system and method in vehicle swarm flight

The present invention relates to a flight group flight, and more particularly, when a plurality of air vehicles perform a group flight, the plurality of air vehicles maintain a constant distance with the leader air vehicle and receive a flight control signal from the leader air vehicle to fly the leader air vehicle It relates to a leader-following flight control system and method in a swarm flight of an aircraft to follow the same route and fly.

Today, innovations in logistics and transportation using drones are being discussed. However, the technology for practical practical use is insufficient. Urban flights are currently regulated due to noise, security, and safety issues, but for drones to fly long distances, the flight duration is too short due to the limitation of battery capacity. It lacks in many ways.

With the rapid development of drone technology in recent years, the demand for various types of drones, such as low-end drones and micro drones, is rapidly increasing worldwide. In this situation, in order to improve the performance of unmanned drones, platoon flight research in which several drones form a squadron and fly is being actively conducted.

Taking a step further from the popularization of drones, research on unmanned drones in which humans do not directly intervene in drone control is also being actively conducted. Unmanned drones are being widely used for various purposes, such as leisure activities and film shooting of ordinary people, from their original military purposes such as reconnaissance and surveillance. Recently, due to the rapid development of communication and computing technology, research on platoon flight in which one or more drones form a squadron to perform special missions such as disaster relief and reconnaissance, rather than simply unmanned flight of a single drone, is being actively conducted.

Recently, as unmanned aerial vehicle-related technologies are being actively researched, the scale of platoon flight is increasing and the control method for platoon flight is also becoming more complex. There are three main components of swarm flight. The first is a location recognition problem to identify the exact location of unmanned aerial vehicles in a swarm, the second is a communication problem between unmanned aerial vehicles to exchange necessary information during platoon flight, and the third is a platoon flight without collision or accident. It's a flight control problem. Among them, the communication problem is an important factor in determining the accuracy and precision of platoon flight, since events such as communication delay or communication interruption may occur due to other factors. The existing communication method was mainly performed in such a way that the leader unmanned aerial vehicle transmits a control signal to control the remaining unmanned aerial vehicles, and the ground control system controls the leader unmanned aerial vehicle. In this conventional communication method, when communication delay or communication loss occurs between the leader unmanned aerial vehicle and the ground control system, real-time control becomes difficult, and thus the unmanned aerial vehicle may collide with each other. Therefore, there is a need for a system capable of solving such communication problems and responding to emergencies that may occur during platoon flight.

On the other hand, Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2018-0054009 (Patent Document 1) discloses "a drone and a method for maintaining the formation of platoon flight" is disclosed. , storing the platoon flight schedule including the formation; Flying according to each single drone flight command set to implement the formation; Measuring a relative position with another drone in real time using a mounted sensor; detecting a flight error by comparing the formation and the measured relative position; and correcting the flight error by controlling the flight while repeating the calculation of the relative position with the other drones in real time.

In the case of Patent Document 1 as described above, multiple drones can be simultaneously controlled to maintain the formation, the formation that was the initial target of each drone can be configured and maintained, and the formation can be maintained in real time even when moving, which Even if one drone fails, it has the advantage of being able to find the location of the broken drone based on the location information of other drones. It is complicated, and thus it is difficult for a plurality of drones to safely fly to a target point or perform a mission.

The present invention was created in consideration of the above matters, and when a plurality of aircraft performs group flight, a plurality of following aircraft receive a flight control signal from the leader aircraft while maintaining a constant distance from the leader aircraft It is an object to provide a leader-following flight control system and method in a swarm flight of a vehicle that can safely fly or perform a mission to a target point by controlling the flight path of the vehicle to follow and fly in the same way. There is this.

In order to achieve the above object, the leader-following flight control system in the flight group flight according to the first embodiment of the present invention,

A leader-following flight control system that controls the leader vehicle leading the platoon flight so that the remaining plurality of vehicles follow the flight, comprising:

a leader vehicle on which the pilot boards and controls to follow the other grouped vehicles by the pilot's control; and

It is characterized in that it includes a plurality of following vehicles in which the pilot does not board, passengers are boarded or cargo is loaded, and the leader vehicle receives a flight control signal to follow and group the leader vehicle.

Here, the flight of the leader vehicle and a plurality of following vehicles is monitored on the ground, an emergency signal for an emergency situation occurs from the leader vehicle, and a corresponding countermeasure or emergency flight control signal is transmitted to the leader aircraft. It may further include a control server.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the leader-following flight control system in the flight group flight according to the second embodiment of the present invention,

A leader-following flight control system that controls the leader vehicle leading the platoon flight so that the remaining plurality of following vehicles follow the flight, comprising:

A leader aircraft that does not have a pilot on board, receives a flight control signal from the ground platoon flight control server wirelessly, controls the remaining aircraft to follow the platoon flight, and transmits platoon flight status information to the platoon flight control server;

a plurality of following vehicles in which the pilot is not boarded and passengers are boarded or cargo is loaded, and receiving a flight control signal from the leader vehicle to follow the leader vehicle in a group; and

It includes a swarm flight control server that wirelessly transmits a flight control signal for following platoon flight to the leader aircraft, wirelessly receives and analyzes platoon flight situation information from the leader aircraft, and reflects the analysis result in platoon flight control. It has its characteristics.

Here, the flight control signal may include acceleration, deceleration, ascending, descending, rotation, takeoff, landing control signals, and the like.

In addition, the leader aircraft may be equipped with a flight control program for generating a flight control signal according to a given input condition.

In addition, the leader aircraft and the plurality of following aircraft,

a transmission/reception module for receiving a platoon flight schedule from the outside, storing it in a memory unit, and wirelessly transmitting/receiving a platoon flight-related signal with another aircraft or a platoon flight control server on the ground;

a GPS module for continuously checking the current position and speed of the vehicle during flight;

a gyro sensor for detecting the horizontal state or inclination of the vehicle during flight of the vehicle;

An acceleration sensor for detecting the flight acceleration or vibration of the vehicle during flight of the vehicle;

an actuator unit that generates a rotational driving force that enables the flight of the aircraft;

a photographing unit for photographing the terrain and a specific target of the exploration area on the flight path of the vehicle;

a memory unit for storing group flight schedule information including a group flight model, scenario information for group flight, and image information photographed by the photographing unit;

The transmitting/receiving module, the GPS module, the gyro sensor, the acceleration sensor, the actuator unit, the photographing unit, and controlling the state check and operation of the memory unit, and analyze the surrounding environment information received through the transmitting/receiving module to the memory unit a control unit for controlling a plurality of aircraft to form a cluster based on the stored cluster flight model and to fly along a preset flight path while maintaining the cluster; and

The transmission/reception module, the GPS module, the gyro sensor, the acceleration sensor, the actuator unit, the photographing unit, the memory unit and a power supply unit for supplying driving power to the control unit may be included.

In this case, the actuator unit may be composed of a battery and a motor, or may be composed of an engine that consumes fuel.

In addition, the image captured by the photographing unit may be stored in the memory unit or transmitted to the outside through the transmitting/receiving module.

In addition, the control unit of the plurality of following vehicles detects a flight error by comparing the relative positions between the flying objects in a cluster with a set reference value, repeats the calculation for the relative positions between the aircraft in real time, and controls the flight, so that the flight error may be configured to self-correct.

In addition, the cluster flight control server,

an input unit receiving a flight control signal for group flight;

a transmission/reception unit for wirelessly transmitting/receiving a leader vehicle leading a plurality of following vehicles performing group flight, and a flight control signal and a status transmission signal;

a position detection unit for recognizing and detecting the positions of the leader vehicle and the plurality of following vehicles in the group flight;

When an error occurs in communication between the leader vehicle and a plurality of tracking vehicles or between the leader vehicle and the platoon flight control server or when normal flight is difficult due to bad weather, an emergency processing unit that directly instructs a return;

a display unit for displaying information on a series of operation states and operation results that occur while performing a function of the swarm flight control server on a screen;

a platoon guide unit for maintaining a formation between the leader aircraft and the following vehicles during the platoon flight;

a collision avoidance unit for avoiding collisions between vehicles or collisions with birds while maintaining group flight of the leader vehicle and the following vehicle;

When an abnormality occurs in the flight path, the flight path correction unit for compensating the altitude and the flight path at which the error occurs compared to the set reference value;

a control unit for transmitting a control command so that the leader and following aircraft can perform a given mission while maintaining group flight, and return to a return point without collision or accident; and

It may be configured to include a power supply for supplying driving power to the input unit, the transmitter/receiver, the location detection unit, the emergency processing unit, the display unit, the group flight guide, the collision avoidance unit, the flight path corrector and the control unit.

Here, the control unit may transmit a command to control the platoon flight of the leader vehicle and the plurality of following vehicles by adjusting the period of transmitting the correction signal required for precise position measurement according to the communication state of the transmitter/receiver.

In addition, when an abnormality occurs in the flight path due to wind, rain, snow, birds, etc., the flight path correcting unit may correct the set reference value and the altitude and geographic location where the error occurs and provide it to the control unit.

In addition, the swarm flight control server may further include a database (DB), and the database (DB) includes various flight signals for controlling the swarm flight of an application program and a plurality of aircraft necessary for the functional operation of the swarm flight control server. Alternatively, the movement signal may be stored.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the leader-following flight control method in the flight group flight according to the present invention,

A follower flight based on a leader-following flight control system in an aircraft swarm flight comprising a leader vehicle, a plurality of following vehicles that follow and fly the leader vehicle, and a swarm flight control server that transmits/receives signals related to the leader vehicle and the platoon-following flight A control method comprising:

a) wirelessly transmitting an initial takeoff flight command signal to a leader vehicle and a plurality of following vehicles by the cluster flight control server;

b) the step of taking off the leader vehicle and the plurality of following vehicles according to the initial take-off flight command signal and ascending to a preset predetermined altitude;

c) receiving a flight control signal through the cluster flight control server by the leader vehicle or generating a flight control signal by a flight control program mounted on the leader vehicle;

d) group flight by receiving flight control signals and altitude and location information from the leader vehicle while maintaining a predetermined distance from the leader vehicle by the plurality of following vehicles;

e) continuously wirelessly transmitting a flight control signal to a leader vehicle by the swarm flight control server, and wirelessly receiving swarm flight situation information from the leader vehicle; and

f) Controlling the plurality of following vehicles to follow the flight path of the leader vehicle in the same way by the group flight control server or the leader vehicle to fly in groups, and the swarm received from the leader vehicle by the swarm flight control server It is characterized in that it includes a step of analyzing flight situation information and reflecting the analysis result to platoon flight control.

Here, in steps c), d), and e), the flight control signal may include acceleration, deceleration, ascent, descent, rotation, takeoff, and landing control signals.

In addition, when an abnormality occurs in the flight path, the method may further include transmitting a flight control signal by correcting the altitude and flight path at which the error occurs compared with the reference value set by the cluster flight control server.

In addition, when an abnormality occurs in communication between the leader vehicle and a plurality of following vehicles, or between the leader vehicle and the platoon flight control server, or when normal flight is difficult due to bad weather, the leader vehicle is flying in a platoon by the platoon flight control server and directly instructing the following vehicles to return to the ground base.

According to the present invention as described above, by controlling the plurality of following aircraft to fly while maintaining a constant distance from the leader aircraft to receive a flight control signal from the leader aircraft to follow the flight path of the leader aircraft in the same manner, a plurality of aircraft flying in groups It has the advantage of being able to safely fly or perform missions to the target point.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a leader-following flight control system in swarm flight according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a leader-following flight control system in swarm flight according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a view showing the flight of a leader aircraft and a plurality of following aircraft of the leader-following flight control system in group flight according to the present invention.

4 is a view showing that the leader aircraft of the leader-following flight control system in the flight group flight according to the present invention is located at the rear of a plurality of following vehicles to remotely control the group flight.

5 is a diagram schematically showing the system configuration of a leader vehicle and a plurality of following vehicles of the leader-following flight control system in group flight of the vehicle according to the present invention.

6 is a diagram schematically showing the system configuration of the swarm flight control server of the leader-following flight control system in the flight swarm flight according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an execution process of a method for controlling a leader-following flight in swarm flight according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a follow-up flight according to a method for controlling a leader-following flight in a group flight of an aircraft according to the present invention.

9 is a view showing another example of the following flight according to the leader following flight control method in the flight group flight of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The term "aircraft" used in the present invention includes both manned vehicles flying under the control of a pilot and unmanned (non-piloted) vehicles (which can be viewed as drones in this case) that fly by receiving control signals from the outside. defined as a concept.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a leader-following flight control system in swarm flight according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the leader-following flight control system 100 in vehicle swarm flight according to the first embodiment of the present invention controls a leader vehicle leading the swarm flight so that the remaining plurality of aircraft follow the leader-following flight. As a control system, it may be configured to include a leader vehicle (110a), a plurality of following vehicles (110b).

The leader aircraft 110a is controlled by a pilot to board, and to follow the flight of the remaining group aircraft by the pilot's control.

In the plurality of following vehicles 110b, a pilot is not on board, passengers are boarded or cargo is loaded, and a flight control signal is received from the leader aircraft 110a to follow the leader aircraft 110a as a group. That is, the plurality of following vehicles 110b receive flight control signals and altitude and location information from the leader vehicle 110a while maintaining a predetermined distance from the leader vehicle 110a and are arranged in a line while maintaining a constant distance from each other. flock to fly Here, the flight control signal may include acceleration, deceleration, ascending, descending, rotation, takeoff, landing control signals, and the like.

In addition, in the group flight, it is not limited to group flight in a line, and in some cases, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to perform a platoon flight by forming a platoon flight, or by forming a formation of a plurality of layers in a three-dimensional space. In addition, in some cases, the following aircraft 110b may be respectively disposed on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the leader aircraft 110a to form a whole squadron for group flight. In addition, in some cases, as shown in FIG. 4 , the leader air vehicle 110a is located at the rear of the plurality of following non-hen body 110b to monitor the plurality of front non-hook body 110b from the rear while monitoring the remote control unit 110b. You can also do platooning in a controlled way. At this time, the leader vehicle 110a transmits a flight control signal to the leading vehicle among the plurality of non-following vehicles 110b in front, and the leading vehicle receives the flight control signal from the leader vehicle 110a to control the flight to the following vehicles. By passing the signal, the whole swarm-following flight is made.

The leader-following flight control system 100 in the vehicle swarm flight according to the first embodiment of the present invention as described above preferably monitors the flight of the leader vehicle 110a and the plurality of following vehicles 110b on the ground, and , It may further include a ground control server 120 that receives an emergency signal for the occurrence of an emergency from the leader vehicle 110a and transmits a corresponding countermeasure or emergency flight control signal to the leader vehicle 110a. .

2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a leader-following flight control system in swarm flight according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the leader-following flight control system 100 in the flight swarm flight according to the second embodiment of the present invention controls the leader vehicle leading the swarm flight so that the remaining plurality of following vehicles follow the leader-following flight control system 100 . As a flight control system, it may be configured to include a leader vehicle (110a), a plurality of following vehicles (110b) and a cluster flight control server (130).

The leader aircraft 110a does not have a pilot on board, and by wirelessly receiving a flight control signal from the platoon flight control server 130 on the ground, control the remaining aircraft (that is, a plurality of following aircraft 110b) to follow the flock flight, , transmits the swarm flight situation information to the swarm flight control server 130 . Here, the flight control signal may include acceleration, deceleration, ascending, descending, rotation, takeoff, landing control signals, and the like. In addition, such a leader aircraft 110a may be equipped with a flight control program for generating a flight control signal according to a given input condition.

In the plurality of following vehicles 110b, a pilot is not on board, passengers are boarded or cargo is loaded, and a flight control signal is received from the leader aircraft 110a to follow the leader aircraft 110a as a group. That is, the plurality of following vehicles 110b receive flight control signals and altitude and location information from the leader vehicle 110a while maintaining a predetermined distance from the leader vehicle 110a and are arranged in a line while maintaining a constant distance from each other. flock to fly

At this time, similarly, in group flight, it is not limited to group flight in a line, and in some cases, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to perform platoon flight by forming a platoon, or by forming a multi-layered formation in a three-dimensional space. In addition, in some cases, the following aircraft 110b may be respectively disposed on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the leader aircraft 110a to form a whole squadron for group flight. Here, in the case of platoon flight by forming a formation in this way, of course, a flight control signal corresponding thereto is transmitted from the platoon flight control server 130 to be described later to the leader aircraft 110a, or flight control mounted on the leader aircraft 110a. It is possible to generate flight control signals according to the flight group flight by the program.

The swarm flight control server 130 wirelessly transmits a flight control signal for the following swarm flight to the leader aircraft 110a, and wirelessly receives and analyzes the swarm flight situation information from the leader aircraft 110a, and analyzes the result of the swarm flight. reflected in the control.

Such a swarm flight control server 130 is such that the plurality of following vehicles 110b receive a flight control signal from the leader aircraft 110a to perform group flight. The leader vehicle 110a and the plurality of following vehicles 110b) However, controlling the plurality of following aircraft (110b) to follow the flight path of the leader aircraft (110a) in the same way to fly in a group. Such following swarm flight will be described later. In addition, as the group flight control server 130 as described above, a large-capacity computer system, a general desktop PC, a notebook PC, a tablet PC, etc. may be used.

5 is a diagram schematically showing the system configuration of a leader vehicle and a plurality of following vehicles of the leader-following flight control system in group flight of the vehicle according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the leader aircraft 110a and the plurality of following vehicles 110b receive the platoon flight schedule from the outside (that is, the platoon flight control server 130) and pass through the control unit 118 to the memory unit ( 117) and transmit/receive module 111 for wirelessly transmitting/receiving signals related to swarm flight with another drone or ground platoon flight control server 130; A GPS module 112 for continuously checking the current position and speed of the vehicle during flight of the vehicle; A gyro sensor 113 for detecting the horizontal state or inclination of the vehicle during flight of the vehicle; An acceleration sensor 114 for detecting the flight acceleration or vibration of the vehicle during flight of the vehicle; An actuator unit 115 for generating a rotational driving force to enable the flight of the aircraft; a photographing unit 116 for photographing the topography of the exploration area and a specific target on the flight path of the vehicle; a memory unit 117 for storing group flight schedule information including a group flight model, scenario information for group flight, and image information photographed by the photographing unit 116; The state check and operation of the transmitting/receiving module 111, the GPS module 112, the gyro sensor 113, the acceleration sensor 114, the actuator unit 115, the photographing unit 116, and the memory unit 117 control, and analyze the surrounding environment information received through the transmission/reception module 111 to cause a plurality of aircraft to form a cluster based on the cluster flight model stored in the memory unit 117, and maintain the cluster While, the control unit 118 for controlling to fly along a preset flight path; and the transmitting/receiving module 111 , the GPS module 112 , the gyro sensor 113 , the acceleration sensor 114 , the actuator unit 115 , the photographing unit 116 , the memory unit 117 and the control unit 118 . It may be configured to include a power supply 119 for supplying driving power to the.

In this case, the actuator unit 115 may be composed of a battery and a motor, or may be composed of an engine that consumes fuel.

In addition, the photographing unit 116 may be configured as a general camera or an infrared camera.

In addition, the image captured by the photographing unit 116 may be stored in the memory unit 117 or transmitted to the outside (eg, swarm flight control server 130 ) through the transmission/reception module 111 . .

In addition, the control unit 118 of the plurality of following vehicles 110b detects a flight error by comparing the relative positions between the flying objects in a group with a set reference value, and repeats the calculation for the relative positions between the aircraft in real time and flies By controlling the , it can be configured to self-correct the flight error.

6 is a diagram schematically showing the system configuration of the swarm flight control server of the leader-following flight control system in the flight swarm flight according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the group flight control server 130 includes an input unit 131 for receiving a flight control signal for group flight; A transmission/reception unit 132 for wirelessly transmitting/receiving a leader vehicle 110a leading to a plurality of following vehicles 110b performing group flight and a flight control signal and a status transmission signal; a position detection unit 133 for recognizing and detecting the positions of the leader vehicle 110a and the plurality of following vehicles 110b during group flight; When an abnormality occurs in communication between the leader vehicle 110a and a plurality of following vehicles 110b or between the leader vehicle 110a and the platoon flight control server 130, or when it is difficult to fly normally due to bad weather, platoon flight an emergency processing unit 134 for instructing the leader vehicle 110a and the following vehicle 110b to return to the ground base; a display unit 135 for displaying information on a series of operation states and operation results generated during the performance of the function of the swarm flight control server 130 on the screen; a platoon guide unit 136 for maintaining a formation between the leader vehicle 110a and the following vehicle 110b during group flight; a collision avoidance unit 137 for avoiding collision between vehicles or a collision with birds while the leader vehicle 110a and the following vehicle 110b maintain group flight; When an abnormality occurs in the flight path, the flight path correction unit 138 for correcting the altitude and the flight path at which the error occurs compared with the set reference value; a control unit 139 for transmitting a control command so that the leader vehicle 110a and the plurality of following vehicles 110b perform a given mission while maintaining group flight, and return to a return point without collision or accident; and the input unit 131, the transmission/reception unit 132, the location detection unit 133, the emergency processing unit 134, the display unit 135, the group flight guide unit 136, the collision avoidance unit 137, the flight path. The correction unit 138 and the control unit 139 may be configured to include a power supply unit 130p for supplying driving power.

Here, the input unit 131 may include a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, and the like.

Also, the transmitting/receiving unit 132 may be configured as a wireless communication module.

In addition, the location detection unit 133 may be configured to detect the location of other vehicles by the GPS information or signal strength and direction transmitted by the vehicles.

In addition, an LCD, PDP, LED panel, etc. may be used as the display unit 135 .

In addition, the control unit 139 adjusts the period for transmitting the correction signal required for precise position measurement according to the communication state of the transmitting/receiving unit 132, so that the leader aircraft 110a and the plurality of following aircraft 110b It can send commands to control swarm flight.

In addition, when an abnormality occurs in the flight path due to wind, rain, snow, birds, etc., the flight path correction unit 138 corrects the altitude and geographic location where the error occurs with the set reference value and provides it to the control unit 139. can

In addition, the swarm flight control server 130 as described above may further include a database (DB) 130d, and the database (DB) 130d includes an application program required for the functional operation of the swarm flight control server 130 . And various flight signals or movement signals for controlling group flight of a plurality of vehicles may be stored.

Then, a description will be given of a method for controlling a leader-following flight in an aircraft swarm flight based on the leader-following flight control system in an aircraft swarm flight according to the present invention having the above configuration.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an execution process of a method for controlling a leader-following flight in swarm flight according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7, the leader-following flight control method in the flight group flight according to the present invention, the leader aircraft 110a as described above, and a plurality of following aircraft 110b that follow the leader aircraft 110a and As a following flight control method based on the leader following flight control system 100 in an aircraft swarm flight comprising a swarm flight control server 130 that transmits/receives a leader vehicle 110a and a swarm following flight related signal, the swarm first The flight control server 130 wirelessly transmits an initial take-off flight command signal to the leader vehicle 110a and the plurality of following vehicles 110b (step S701).

Accordingly, the leader aircraft 110a and the plurality of following aircraft 110b rk take off according to the initial take-off flight command signal and ascend to a preset predetermined altitude (step S702).

Then, a flight control signal is received by the leader vehicle 110a through the cluster flight control server 130 or a flight control signal is generated by a flight control program mounted on the leader vehicle 110a (step S703). ).

Then, while maintaining a predetermined distance from the leader vehicle 110a by the plurality of following vehicles 110b, the flight control signal and altitude and location information are received from the leader vehicle 110a, and group flight is performed (step S704).

As a result of the above, when the plurality of following aircraft 110b enters into a group flight, the flight control signal is continuously wirelessly transmitted by the group flight control server 130 to the leader vehicle 110a, and from the leader vehicle 110a The group flight situation information is wirelessly received (step S705).

Then, by the group flight control server 130 or the leader vehicle 110a, the plurality of following vehicles 110b are controlled to follow the flight path of the leader vehicle 110a in the same manner to fly in groups, and the cluster The flight control server 130 analyzes the group flight situation information received from the leader aircraft 110a, and reflects the analysis result to the group flight control (step S706).

Here, in the above series of processes, the flight control signals in steps S703, S704, and S705 may include acceleration, deceleration, ascent, descent, rotation, takeoff, and landing control signals.

In addition, in the above series of processes, when an abnormality occurs in the flight path, the flight control signal is transmitted by correcting the altitude and flight path at which the error occurs compared with the reference value set by the cluster flight control server 130. It may include further steps.

Here, in relation to the flight path correction as described above, a description will be added to the control correction technique (mathematical modeling of the preceding-following vehicle) for the following control of the vehicle employed in the present invention.

Define the indexer of the preceding vehicle as d _i , i = 0, and sequentially d _i , i = 1, 2, 3,... put it as

the position of vehicle i at time t

Then, the vehicle d _i+1 , is the estimated position of the vehicle d _i at the time t ₁

Estimated own position at this point t ₂

and limit values

If the _distance is reduced within

can be inferred.

in other words,

time at work

is defined as Accordingly, the control value at time t of the vehicle d _i+1 ,

is defined as

At this time,

is an open-loop control term,

is a closed-loop control term that corrects this, and is calculated according to the relative position correction of the preceding vehicle.

In addition, when an abnormality occurs in communication between the leader vehicle 110a and the plurality of following vehicles 110b or communication between the leader vehicle 110a and the cluster flight control server 130, or when it is difficult to fly normally due to bad weather, It may further include the step of directly instructing the return to the ground base to the leader aircraft (110a) and the following aircraft (110b) in the group flight by the platoon flight control server 130 .

On the other hand, Figures 8 and 9 are views showing an example of the following flight according to the leader-following flight control method in the flight group flight of the present invention.

First, as shown in FIG. 8 , when the leader aircraft 110a descends at a specific point P while flying horizontally at a certain altitude, a plurality of following aircraft 110b (in this FIG. 8 , as a representative one following vehicle) (shown in 110b), the leader vehicle 110a flies horizontally to the point P where the descent started, and then descends according to the descent speed for each flight position, whereby the following vehicle 110b is the leader vehicle 110a. The following flight will be performed on the same flight path as

Referring to FIG. 9, when the leader vehicle 110a rotates with the building, the following vehicle 110b follows the leader vehicle 110a and rotates along the building. As shown, the plurality of following aircraft 110b flies in a straight line to the point P at which the leader aircraft 110a starts to rotate, and then the leader aircraft 110a rotates around the building according to the rotation angle. make a rotational flight. Accordingly, similarly, the following vehicle 110b performs the following flight on the same flight path as the leader vehicle 110a.

As described above, the system and method for controlling a leader-following flight in an aircraft swarm flight according to the present invention, when a plurality of aircraft perform a swarm flight, a plurality of following aircraft maintain a constant distance from the leader aircraft while maintaining a constant distance from the leader aircraft By receiving the flight control signal and controlling the flight to follow the same flight path of the leader vehicle, there is an advantage in that a plurality of aircraft flying in a group can safely fly to a target point or return after performing a mission.

In addition, the leader-following flight control system and method in the flight group flight according to the present invention as described above, a plurality of following vehicles maintain a constant distance with the leader vehicle and receive a flight control signal from the leader vehicle to receive the flight path of the leader vehicle It is not necessary to individually control each vehicle as it follows the same aircraft, and when the pilot boards only the leader vehicle and leads the following vehicle, it expands to the air transportation business using a small vehicle (which may be a drone) It has the advantage of being able to implement a new revenue generation model (business model) because it can be operated.

As mentioned above, although the present invention has been described in detail through preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is common in the art that various changes and applications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. self-explanatory to the technician. Accordingly, the true protection scope of the present invention should be construed by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims (20)

1. A leader-following flight control system that controls the leader vehicle leading the platoon flight so that the remaining plurality of vehicles follow the flight, comprising:

   a leader vehicle on which the pilot boards and controls to follow the other grouped vehicles by the pilot's control; and

   A leader-following flight control system in an aircraft swarm flight comprising a plurality of following vehicles, in which a passenger is not boarded without a pilot, or cargo is loaded, and receives a flight control signal from the leader vehicle to follow and fly the leader vehicle.
2. According to claim 1,

   A ground control server that monitors the flight of the leader vehicle and a plurality of following vehicles on the ground, receives an emergency signal for an emergency situation from the leader vehicle, and transmits a corresponding countermeasure or emergency flight control signal to the leader vehicle A leader-following flight control system in swarm flight further comprising a.
3. According to claim 1,

   The flight control signal is a leader-following flight control system in a swarm flight of an aircraft comprising at least one of acceleration, deceleration, ascending, descending, rotation, take-off, and landing control signals.
4. A leader-following flight control system that controls the leader vehicle leading the platoon flight so that the remaining plurality of following vehicles follow the flight, comprising:

   A leader aircraft that does not have a pilot on board, receives a flight control signal from the ground platoon flight control server wirelessly, controls the remaining aircraft to follow the platoon flight, and transmits platoon flight status information to the platoon flight control server;

   a plurality of following vehicles in which the pilot is not boarded and passengers are boarded or cargo is loaded, and receiving a flight control signal from the leader vehicle to follow the leader vehicle in a group; and

   Aircraft cluster comprising a cluster flight control server that wirelessly transmits a flight control signal for a follow-up group flight to the leader vehicle, receives and analyzes group flight situation information from the leader vehicle wirelessly, and reflects the analysis result to the group flight control Leader-following flight control system in flight.
5. 5. The method of claim 4,

   The flight control signal is a leader-following flight control system in an aircraft swarm flight including at least one of acceleration, deceleration, rise, descent, rotation, take-off, and landing control signals.
6. 5. The method of claim 4,

   A leader-following flight control system in a swarm flight of a vehicle in which the leader vehicle is equipped with a flight control program that generates a flight control signal according to a given input condition.
7. 5. The method of claim 1 or 4,

   The leader vehicle and the plurality of following vehicles,

   a transmitting/receiving module for receiving a platoon flight schedule from the outside, storing it in a memory unit, and wirelessly transmitting/receiving a platoon flight-related signal with another aircraft or a platoon flight control server on the ground;

   a GPS module for continuously checking the current position and speed of the vehicle during flight;

   a gyro sensor for detecting the horizontal state or inclination of the vehicle during flight of the vehicle;

   An acceleration sensor for detecting the flight acceleration or vibration of the vehicle during flight of the vehicle;

   an actuator unit that generates a rotational driving force that enables the flight of the aircraft;

   a photographing unit for photographing the topography of the exploration area and a specific target on the flight path of the vehicle;

   a memory unit for storing group flight schedule information including a group flight model, scenario information for group flight, and image information photographed by the photographing unit;

   The transmitting/receiving module, the GPS module, the gyro sensor, the acceleration sensor, the actuator unit, the photographing unit, and controlling the state check and operation of the memory unit, and analyze the surrounding environment information received through the transmitting/receiving module to the memory unit a control unit for controlling a plurality of aircraft to form a cluster based on the stored cluster flight model and to fly along a preset flight path while maintaining the cluster; and

   A leader-following flight control system in an aircraft swarm flight configured including a power supply unit for supplying driving power to the transmission/reception module, the GPS module, the gyro sensor, the acceleration sensor, the actuator unit, the photographing unit, the memory unit, and the control unit.
8. 8. The method of claim 7,

   The actuator unit consists of a battery and a motor, or a leader-following flight control system in a swarm flight consisting of an engine that consumes fuel.
9. 8. The method of claim 7,

   The image captured by the photographing unit is stored in the memory unit or is transmitted to the outside through the transmission/reception module.
10. 8. The method of claim 7,

    The control unit of the plurality of following vehicles detects a flight error by comparing the relative positions between the flying objects in a cluster with a set reference value, and repeats the calculation for the relative positions between the aircraft in real time and controls the flight, thereby reducing the flight error by itself. A leader-following flight control system in vehicle swarm flight configured to calibrate with
11. 5. The method of claim 4,

    The swarm flight control server,

    an input unit receiving a flight control signal for group flight;

    a transmission/reception unit for wirelessly transmitting/receiving a leader vehicle leading a plurality of following vehicles performing group flight, and a flight control signal and a status transmission signal;

    a position detection unit for recognizing and detecting the positions of the leader vehicle and the plurality of following vehicles during group flight;

    When an error occurs in communication between the leader vehicle and a plurality of tracking vehicles or between the leader vehicle and the platoon flight control server or when normal flight is difficult due to bad weather, an emergency processing unit directly instructing a return;

    a display unit for displaying information on a series of operation states and operation results that occur while performing a function of the swarm flight control server on a screen;

    a platoon guide unit for maintaining a formation between the leader aircraft and the following vehicles during the platoon flight;

    a collision avoidance unit for allowing the leader and following vehicles to avoid a collision between vehicles or a collision with birds while maintaining group flight;

    When an abnormality occurs in the flight path, the flight path correction unit for correcting the altitude and the flight path at which the error occurs compared to the set reference value;

    a control unit for transmitting a control command so that the leader and following aircraft can perform a given mission while maintaining group flight, and return to a return point without collision or accident; and

    The input unit, the transmitter/receiver unit, the location detection unit, the emergency processing unit, the display unit, the platoon flight guide unit, the collision avoidance unit, the flight path correction unit and the power supply unit for supplying driving power to the control unit In swarm flight Leader-following flight control system.
12. 12. The method of claim 11,

    The control unit adjusts a period for transmitting a correction signal necessary for precise position measurement according to the communication state of the transmitter/receiver, and transmits a command to control the swarm flight of the leader vehicle and a plurality of following vehicles. Leader-following flight control system.
13. 12. The method of claim 11,

    When an abnormality occurs in the flight path due to wind, rain, snow, or birds, the flight path corrector corrects the set reference value and the altitude and geographic location where the error occurs, and provides the control unit for leader-following flight control in swarm flight system.
14. 5. The method of claim 4,

    The swarm flight control server further includes a database (DB), and the database (DB) includes various flight signals or movement signals for controlling the swarm flight of an application program and a plurality of aircraft necessary for the functional operation of the swarm flight control server. A leader-following flight control system in a stored vehicle swarm flight.
15. A follower flight based on a leader-following flight control system in an aircraft swarm flight comprising a leader vehicle, a plurality of following vehicles that follow and fly the leader vehicle, and a swarm flight control server that transmits/receives signals related to the leader vehicle and the swarm-following flight A control method comprising:

    a) wirelessly transmitting an initial take-off flight command signal to a leader vehicle and a plurality of following vehicles by the cluster flight control server;

    b) the leader aircraft and the plurality of following aircraft take off according to the initial take-off flight command signal and ascend to a preset predetermined altitude;

    c) receiving a flight control signal through the cluster flight control server by the leader vehicle or generating a flight control signal by a flight control program mounted on the leader vehicle;

    d) group flight by receiving flight control signals and altitude and location information from the leader vehicle while maintaining a predetermined distance from the leader vehicle by the plurality of following vehicles;

    e) continuously wirelessly transmitting a flight control signal to the leader vehicle by the swarm flight control server, and wirelessly receiving swarm flight situation information from the leader vehicle; and

    f) Controlling the plurality of following vehicles to follow the flight path of the leader vehicle in the same way by the group flight control server or the leader vehicle to fly in groups, and the swarm received from the leader vehicle by the swarm flight control server A method for controlling a leader-following flight in a swarm flight of an aircraft, comprising the step of analyzing the flight situation information and reflecting the analysis result to the platoon flight control.
16. 16. The method of claim 15,

    In the steps c), d), and e), the flight control signal includes at least one of acceleration, deceleration, ascending, descending, rotation, take-off, and landing control signals.
17. 16. The method of claim 15,

    When an abnormality occurs in the flight path, compared with the reference value set of the flight path by the group flight control server, correcting the altitude and the flight path at which the error occurs, and transmitting a flight control signal. Leader-following flight control method.
18. 16. The method of claim 15,

    When an error occurs in communication between the leader vehicle and a plurality of following vehicles or between the leader vehicle and the platoon flight control server, or when normal flight is difficult due to bad weather, the leader vehicle and follower flying in a platoon by the platoon flight control server A method for controlling a leader-following flight in a vehicle swarm flight, further comprising the step of directly instructing the vehicles to return to the ground base.
19. 16. The method of claim 15,

    In the step f), in controlling the plurality of following vehicles to follow the flight path of the leader vehicle in the same way by the group flight control server to perform group flight, the leader vehicle flies horizontally at a certain altitude and then at a specific point (P ), the plurality of following vehicles also fly horizontally to the point (P) where the leader vehicle started descending, and then descend according to the descent speed for each flight position, so that the following flight is performed on the same flight path as the leader vehicle. A method of controlling a leader-following flight in a swarm flight of an air vehicle that is controlled to perform.
20. 16. The method of claim 15,

    In the step f), in controlling the plurality of following vehicles to follow the flight path of the leader vehicle in the same manner by the group flight control server to perform group flight, when the leader vehicle rotates around a building, the following After flying in a straight line to the point (P) where the leader aircraft starts rotating, the aircraft follows the same flight path as the leader aircraft by making the leader aircraft rotate and fly in the same way according to the rotation angle around the building. A method of controlling a leader-following flight in a swarm flight of an air vehicle that is controlled to perform the flight.

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