WO2022264813A1

WO2022264813A1 - Route planning device for operation control system

Info

Publication number: WO2022264813A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/022319
Authority: WO
Inventors: 満松原; 貴廣伊藤; 幹雄板東; 健二今本
Original assignee: 株式会社日立製作所
Priority date: 2021-06-17
Filing date: 2022-06-01
Publication date: 2022-12-22
Also published as: JP2023000132A

Abstract

Provided is a route planning device for an operation control system that enables safe and space-efficient takeoff and landing of a plurality of aircrafts simultaneously even when remarkable reduction of maneuverability occurs in an aircraft. This route planning device for an operation control system that provides an aircraft with a route for the navigation includes: an occupied space designing unit that designs each occupied space for each of a plurality of aircrafts in a route plan of an initial stage of navigation of the aircraft on the basis of the performance and condition of the aircraft; and a route planning unit that makes, on the basis of start point position coordinates, end point position coordinates, and the occupied space for each aircraft, a plan of routes from the start point position coordinates to the end point position coordinates of the aircraft, so as to prevent another aircraft or an obstacle from entering the occupied space at any time while the aircraft is navigating from the start point position coordinates to the end point position coordinates within the occupied space for the aircraft. The route planning device is characterized by: detecting performance deterioration of the aircraft when the aircraft is navigating; re-designing the occupied space for the aircraft with deteriorated performance on the basis of information of current position coordinates, performance, and a condition of the aircraft with deteriorated performance; re-planning a route of each of the plurality of aircrafts so as to prevent another aircraft or an obstacle from entering the re-designed occupied space; and thus providing the route to each aircraft.

Description

Route planning device for traffic control system

The present invention relates to a route planning device for an aircraft traffic control system

In recent years, the social use of aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing, such as drones, has attracted attention. Examples of such uses include agriculture, logistics, and the movement of people. However, the stable and safe operation and operation of aircraft requires a high level of skill and specialized knowledge.

On the other hand, with the development of self-driving automobile technology as a tailwind, the research and development of autonomous aircraft navigation technology is being vigorously pursued, and it is expected that the sky will be utilized by vertical take-off and landing aircraft capable of autonomous navigation. In order to safely and efficiently operate a vertical take-off and landing aircraft capable of autonomous navigation, a takeoff/landing port and a takeoff/landing operation control system that can cooperate with them are required.

In particular, in order to reduce operating costs, it is necessary to improve operation efficiency. For example, in applications such as logistics, it is necessary to have a takeoff and landing port and a takeoff and landing operation control system that can take off and land multiple aircraft at the same time safely and efficiently. Become. In addition, hereinafter, the vertical take-off and landing aircraft may be simply abbreviated as the aircraft.

In order to take off and land vertical take-off and landing aircraft with good space efficiency and without collision, simply set the proximity allowable distance between aircraft (allowable value for relative distance between each aircraft) short, It is sufficient if the route to the position coordinates can be planned so that the distance between each aircraft is equal to or greater than the allowable proximity distance at all times.

However, the attitude and flight position coordinates of the aircraft may be disturbed, for example, due to strong winds in bad weather, or the effects of downwash (wind blowing down) generated by other aircraft, and the allowable proximity distance is limited to these external risks. It must be of sufficient length considering There is also the danger of bird strikes. If there are flight obstacles such as flocks of birds, it is necessary to plan the route considering the risk of contact between the aircraft and the obstacles.

　Patent Document 1 is cited as a technique for planning the route of a moving object that takes into consideration the risks caused by the environment outside the aircraft. Patent Document 1 discloses a mobile robot system including a path planning unit for a mobile robot that plans a path for a mobile robot to achieve a predetermined purpose, in which a group of sensors recognizes potential risk areas on the planned path, Probabilistically and quantitatively evaluates the occurrence of risk in the risk potential area as "possibility". The route planning section is characterized by re-executing the route planning so as to increase the possibility of achieving the objective.

JP 2017-010234 A

When the technology of Patent Document 1 is used in a takeoff and landing operation control system that plans takeoff and landing routes for vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, the following problems arise.

In general, aircraft are equipped with a redundant system to enable safe flight continuation, even though the performance of the aircraft may be degraded in the event of actuator performance degradation or stoppage due to power machine failure or power supply voltage drop. In other words, even when one actuator stops, it is possible to continue flight by utilizing other actuators.

If the motion performance of the aircraft, such as thrust and turning power, is reduced, for example, in strong winds, the attitude and flight position coordinates of the aircraft are likely to be disturbed, and if there is another aircraft in the vicinity, there is a risk of collision. Also, if there is an obstacle nearby, there is a risk of contact with the obstacle.

Therefore, it is necessary to make the permissible proximity distance between an aircraft with reduced maneuverability and other aircraft, and the distance to obstacles, sufficiently longer than that of a normal aircraft. It should be planned based on the allowable distance.

In the approach of handling such a risk of "decreased motion performance of the aircraft" as a "risk that may occur on the route" using the technology of Patent Document 1 and re-planning the route, generally the actuator of the aircraft is designed to have a sufficiently low probability of performance degradation or stoppage, it is determined that the risk of occurrence is low and cannot trigger route replanning. Therefore, it is difficult to say that a safe route plan considering the possibility of "deterioration of the motion performance of the aircraft" can be achieved.

On the other hand, taking into account the risk of ``decreased maneuverability of the aircraft'' in advance, the approach tolerance should be long enough to allow safe flight without colliding with other aircraft or obstacles even in the case of ``decreased maneuverability of the aircraft''. If a route is planned with a certain distance, the space occupied by each aircraft becomes large, and the efficiency of utilization of the space above and around the takeoff/landing port decreases, making it difficult to sufficiently improve operation efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and is an operation control system that enables multiple aircraft to take off and land simultaneously, safely and with good space efficiency, even when the movement performance of the aircraft is significantly degraded. The purpose is to provide a route planning device for

From the above, in the present invention, "a route planning device for a traffic control system that provides a flight route for an aircraft, wherein the route planning device performs route planning for a plurality of aircraft at the initial stage of flight of the aircraft. An exclusive space design unit that designs the exclusive space of each aircraft based on the performance and state of the aircraft, and the starting point position within the exclusive space of each aircraft based on the start point position coordinates and end point position coordinates of each aircraft and the above-mentioned exclusive space. Route planning to provide each aircraft with a route plan from the start point position coordinates to the end point position coordinates so that other aircraft and obstacles do not enter at all times when sailing from the coordinates to the end point position coordinates. The route planning device detects performance degradation of the aircraft during flight, redesigns the exclusive space of the aircraft with degraded performance based on the current position coordinates, performance and state information of the aircraft with degraded performance, An operation control system characterized by re-planning the route of each aircraft of a plurality of aircraft and providing the route to each aircraft so that other aircraft and obstacles do not enter the redesigned exclusive space. A route planning device."

According to the present invention, when the motion performance of the aircraft has not deteriorated, it is possible to plan the route with the minimum proximity allowable distance and with good spatial efficiency. Route planning is possible.

The figure which shows the structural example of the traffic control system which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the mode of navigation in case the aircraft A is a vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The figure which shows the mode of navigation when the aircraft A and the aircraft B are vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The figure which shows the case where the aircraft A cannot follow the path|route 9 by strong wind, and deviates. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the behavior of the aircraft when its functions are degraded; 3 is a processing flow of the route planning device 2; A diagram for explaining replanning including a change in the end point of another aircraft. A diagram for explaining a replan including a reduction in the occupied space of another aircraft. The figure which shows the structural example of the traffic control system which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. The figure which shows the structural example of the traffic control system which concerns on Example 4 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the evaluation item of a safety level.

Hereinafter, embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same number may be given to the component having a common function, and redundant description thereof may be omitted.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an operation control system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

In the system of FIG. 1, an operation management system 1 that performs operation management and control of takeoff and landing of a plurality of aircraft (vertical takeoff and landing aircraft etc.) is provided with a route planning device 2, and as an example of a plurality of aircraft (vertical takeoff and landing aircraft etc.) Plan and provide take-off and landing routes for aircraft A and aircraft B according to the purpose of the aircraft, and guide the aircraft. The route planning device 2 is composed of a route planning section 3 and an exclusive space designing section 4, both of which are provided with a mechanism for sharing information with each other via a communication section 5. FIG.

The operation control system 1 targets aircraft within the managed airspace for operation management, and the route planning device 2 plans and provides routes for a group of aircraft within the managed airspace.
When aircraft A and B are in the managed airspace, route planning device 2 provides

routes

9 and 10 planned by route planning unit 3 to aircraft A and B via communication device 6, respectively. and Aircraft B navigate according to the provided route.

The route planning section 3 plans a route from the start point position coordinates to the end point position coordinates based on the exclusive space of each aircraft designed by the exclusive space design section 4 . Here, the occupied space of the aircraft is a three-dimensional space associated with each aircraft.
Vertical take-off and landing aircraft often have rotors that produce thrust in the vertical direction. As a specific vertical take-off and landing aircraft, for example, it is equipped with multiple simple rotors that do not have a mechanically variable structure such as the pitch angle of the rotor blades, and the motion of the aircraft is controlled by controlling the number of rotations of the rotors. Examples include a hexacopter, which constitutes a redundant system with more than the minimum number of rotors required for motion control of the body.

In this case, even if one rotor cannot generate thrust for some reason, the motion control of the airframe can be continued by appropriately controlling the rotation speeds of the other five rotors. Many aircraft are configured with a redundant system for such actuators from the viewpoint of safe navigation.

The route planning device 2 transmits performance degradation flag information 11 indicating the performance degradation of each aircraft, aircraft position, It has the function of receiving navigation information 12 such as performance and status. The aircraft information 13 includes the navigation information 12 and the performance degradation flag information 11 .

Specifically, the performance degradation flag information 11 indicates that an airframe whose performance has been degraded due to actuator performance degradation or stoppage due to failure of the power machine of the airframe or power supply voltage drop etc. requests the route planning device 2 to re-plan the route. This is a notification signal issued by the aircraft to make a request.

Figure 2 shows the navigation when aircraft A is a vertical take-off and landing aircraft. In FIG. 2, the navigation purpose of aircraft A is to land from its current position to a takeoff/landing port 28 on the ground 29, that is, to move from the starting point position coordinates 26 of the current position to the ending point position coordinates 27 on the takeoff/landing port. , the route 9 from the start point position coordinates 26 to the end point position coordinates 27 is provided from the route planning device 2, the aircraft A can achieve the purpose of the flight by navigating along this route 9.

　In Figure 2, the space associated with aircraft A is the exclusive space 21 of aircraft A, and here, the exclusive space 21 in a simple definition is shown. That is, a sphere centered at the fuselage center 22 and having a radius 23 is defined as the occupied space 21 of the fuselage A. FIG. The definition by this method has the advantage of simplicity in that the occupied space volume of the fuselage A can be designed with only one parameter, the radius 23 . Note that the exclusive space 21 may be defined as any solid that can form a three-dimensional space, such as a cube and a rectangular parallelepiped, in addition to the sphere.

The route planning unit 3 grasps the start point position coordinates 26 and the end point position coordinates 27 according to the purpose of the aircraft A, plans the route 9, and provides it to the aircraft A. At this time, the exclusive space 21 of the aircraft A is Design route 9 with consideration. That is, the route is planned so that no other aircraft or obstacles such as birds enter the exclusive space 21 of the aircraft A at all times when the aircraft A moves from the starting point position coordinates 26 to the end point position coordinates 27. do. In addition, the route should be such that the movement performance of the aircraft A can sufficiently follow it. The route planned by the route planning unit 3 is time-series data in which the position coordinates of the aircraft are managed by time.

Figure 3 shows the navigation when aircraft A and B are vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Further, the route planning unit 3, as shown in FIG. 3, simultaneously executes route planning for another aircraft (for example, the aircraft B). At this time, it is necessary to know the exclusive space 21 of the aircraft A and the exclusive space 32 of the aircraft B. Plan routes to prevent intrusion of

Fig. 3 shows a case where the routes of aircraft A and B intersect in the future. For example, in FIG. 3, the route 9 with the traveling direction 34 of the aircraft A and the route 10 with the traveling direction 35 of the aircraft B intersect each other at the intersection 38. If planned, routes can be planned such that one aircraft does not encroach on the space occupied by the other at all times. For example, the route may be planned so that aircraft B passes through intersection 38 after aircraft A has passed intersection 38 and is sufficiently away from intersection 38 .

Returning to FIG. 1, in planning

such routes

9 and 10, the route planning section 3 must know the

exclusive space

21 and 32 of each aircraft A and B. , 32 and provide them to the route planning unit 3.

The exclusive space design unit 4 simply sets the radius 23 of the airframe A to a predetermined value that does not depend on time, and can design the radius 23 to be extremely large especially in order to reduce the risk of collision with other airframes to almost zero. can.

However, in that case, the space 21 occupied by the aircraft A occupies the space above the takeoff/landing port and its surroundings, and other aircraft cannot take off and land, and other aircraft cannot navigate around the takeoff/landing port, resulting in a significant decrease in operational efficiency. It will be.

In addition, the operation efficiency described here is the number of aircraft that can land and take off per unit time from a predetermined area (multiple may exist) for a single aircraft on the ground that can take off and land. shall indicate If the user pays for the number of take-offs and landings, the route planning device 2 of the traffic control system 1 is required to improve the efficiency of operations from a business point of view.

In order to improve operational efficiency, it is necessary to design the exclusive space of each aircraft to the minimum necessary without fear of collision with other aircraft or contact with obstacles. The purpose of providing an exclusive space is to ensure safety. For example, when the aircraft A is sailing under a strong wind, the attitude of the aircraft may be disturbed by the influence of the wind, and in some cases the aircraft may deviate from the route.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a case where aircraft A cannot follow route 9 due to strong winds and deviates. In FIG. 4, a route 9 for aircraft A and a route 10 for aircraft B are planned based on their own space 21 and space 32, respectively, and each aircraft A and B navigates on

routes

9 and 10. is planned assuming no collision between aircraft A and B.

On the other hand, when navigating in the area of strong wind 41, aircraft A may deviate from route 9 due to the strong wind and may navigate along trajectory 43. Even in such a case, route planning unit 3 By planning the route 9 in consideration of the exclusive space 21 set larger as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, the radius 23 of the exclusive space 21 of the aircraft A is constant throughout the route 9 including the region of the strong wind 41. If it can be grasped, it is possible to narrow the space exclusive area of the aircraft by designing the radius 23 of the exclusive space 21 short in the area where the influence of the wind is small and the aircraft can sail stably, thereby contributing to the improvement of operation efficiency.

Also, in FIG. 4, it is conceivable to change the design of the radius 23 of the exclusive space 21 depending on the motion performance of the aircraft A. For example, if the thrust and turning force that can be generated by the airframe A are high enough to withstand the drag force received by the strong wind 41, there is no need to design the radius 23 of the exclusive space 21 of the airframe A wide even in a strong wind area. be.

Also, if obstacles such as birds can be grasped by LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), cameras, etc., when navigating near obstacles, the exclusive area should be widened to reduce the risk of contact with obstacles. It is effective to design

By changing the exclusive space of each aircraft according to the maneuverability of the aircraft, weather conditions, and the presence or absence of obstacles, the exclusive space of each aircraft can be kept to the minimum required, improving operation efficiency. can contribute to

The exclusive space design department 4 is responsible for designing the exclusive space of each aircraft, so the design of the exclusive space shall be given in chronological data. Taking the aircraft A as an example, the exclusive space 21 of the aircraft A may have a radius 23 as time-series data. The details of processing in the route planning section 3 and the exclusive space designing section 4 will be described below using mathematical formulas.

In the following explanation using mathematical formulas, the radius r that defines the occupied space of the aircraft k is defined as rk(t) as a function of time t, and the path p of the aircraft k is defined as pk(t) as a position coordinate vector, in time series. express. Also, the motion performance of the aircraft k is expressed as Ck, the weather conditions around the aircraft as Wk(t), and the obstacle information as Ok.

At this time, based on the explanation so far, simply, the exclusive space design unit 4 designs the exclusive space in chronological order for the aircraft of the M aircraft in consideration of the maneuverability and weather conditions of each aircraft. can be expressed as equation (1), and the occupied space designing unit 4 provides such rk(t), k=1 to M to the route planning unit 3.
[Number 1]
rk(t)=G(Ck, Ok, Wk(t), t), k=1 to M (1)
The route planning unit 3 simply plans the route of each aircraft using equation (2) based on rk(t) and obstacle information provided from the exclusive space design unit 4. In contrast, it provides pk(t), k=1˜M.
[Number 2]
pk(t)=F(rk(t), Ok, t), k=1 to M (2)
Specifically, let Eij(t) be the relative distance between arbitrary aircraft i and j, and Diq(t) be the relative distance between aircraft i and q. On the other hand, the path pk(t) should be designed so as to satisfy the equations (3) and (4). ||X|| is an operator that means the norm of X, and max(X, Y) is an operator that means the larger of X and Y. In FIG.
[Number 3]
||Eij(t)−max(ri(t),rj(t))||>0 (3)
[Number 4]
||Diq(t)−ri(t)||>0 (4)
In designing the occupied space, for example, if the weather conditions around the aircraft are taken into consideration, the position coordinates of the aircraft must be known, that is, the information of the route pk(t) is required.

Therefore, the exclusive space designing unit 4 may, for example, acquire route candidates from the route planning unit 3 via the communication unit 5 in FIG. 1 and design the exclusive space based on them. Further, the route of the aircraft k may be planned by simultaneous planning problems by the route planning section 3 and the exclusive space designing section 4. Predetermined evaluation items and restrictions are provided in the route planning so as to satisfy these. , joint optimization of occupied space and path may be performed. Note that the predetermined evaluation items are, for example, the amount of reduction in the travel time from the route length and the start point position coordinates to the end point position coordinates, etc., from the viewpoint of improving operation efficiency. Further, the constraint is, for example, that the curvature of the route should be less than or equal to a predetermined value in consideration of the riding comfort of the airframe.

However, in the route planning device 2 described so far, for example, when the rotor stops due to a failure of the power machine, the rotor output decreases due to battery deterioration, or the performance of the aircraft deteriorates due to a decrease in the duration of rotor operation. It cannot be said enough about providing good route planning. The performance degradation flag information 11 indicating performance degradation shown in FIG. 1 is information indicating that these factors have occurred.

If there is a significant deterioration in the performance of the aircraft, for example, if the thrust or turning force to counter the drag due to strong winds is insufficient, or if there is not enough flight duration left, the route will be based on the exclusive space before the performance deterioration of the aircraft. In this case, it is not possible to sufficiently follow, and there is a risk of collision with other aircraft or obstacles, and a risk of not being able to reach the end point position coordinates.

If the exclusive space design department 4 were to design an exclusive space that takes into consideration the deterioration of aircraft performance, for example, it would be possible to design the exclusive space based on the failure rate of the aircraft. Since the failure rate of equipment such as actuators, sensors, batteries, etc. of the designed aircraft is designed to be considerably low, designing the exclusive space based on the failure rate of the aircraft is not sufficient as an index for securing sufficient exclusive space. .

On the other hand, if the occupied space is designed on the premise of a fuselage with degraded performance in order to ensure safety even if the fuselage performance is degraded, a large occupied space must be secured, and as long as the fuselage performance is not degraded, it will not be sufficient. It becomes a surplus exclusive space, which causes a decrease in operation efficiency.

The route planning device 2 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 provides safe and efficient route planning in consideration of such deterioration in aircraft performance.

Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the behavior when the functionality of the aircraft is degraded. As shown in FIG. 1, aircraft A and B are the targets of route planning. As shown in FIG. The behavior of the route planning device 2 will be described with reference to a case in which aircraft A significantly deteriorates in performance at time ta in the case of completing navigation along given

routes

9 and 10 to the end point 52).

FIG. 6 is a processing flow of the route planning device 2. Note that this processing flow includes a pre-processing portion (processing steps S61 to S63) in which the

routes

9 and 10 are created and provided in advance at the initial stage of navigation of the aircraft A and B, and , and B (processing steps S64 to S71) during navigation for providing the corrected route to B. The initial stage of navigation is, for example, before takeoff when the aircraft is taking off from the airfield, or when the aircraft enters the area controlled by the traffic control system and a route for landing is required. . According to the preliminary processing of this processing flow, in the first processing step S61, the route planning device 2 sets the navigation information 12 such as the aircraft position, performance, state, etc. as the aircraft information 13 and the purpose to each aircraft at time t0 in FIG. Acquired from A and B via the communication device 6 . Although the aircraft information 13 is a concept including the performance degradation flag information 11, it is assumed that the aircraft has been sufficiently maintained at the initial stage of the flight, and the flight information 12 can be used.

Here, the aircraft position is the three-dimensional position coordinates, the performance is the specification information of the maneuverability and navigation performance of the aircraft, and the state is the degree of deterioration of the maneuverability and navigation performance relative to the rating. Indicates the health level of equipment related to navigation, such as actuators, sensors, and batteries. Further, the purpose is a request from the airframe side regarding takeoff and landing, for example, a request to the traffic control system 1 such as a request to land at port X within a certain number of minutes.

Next, in processing step S62, the route planning device 2, based on the aircraft position of each aircraft at time t0 and the purpose of each aircraft, the coordinates of the start point and the end point (end point 51 and end point 52 in FIG. 5),
Plan a route to connect it (route 9 and route 10 in FIG. 5). At this time, the exclusive space design unit 4 calculates the motion performance Ck of each aircraft based on the performance and state of each aircraft, and calculates the exclusive space rk(t) of each aircraft using equation (1). Based on rk(t), the route planning unit 3 plans the route of each aircraft using equation (2). Next, in processing step S63,

routes

9 and 10 are provided to each aircraft via the communication device 6 at time t0 (+Δt). In response to this, each aircraft can navigate according to the route from the start point position coordinates to the end point position coordinates designed at time t0 (+Δt).

Aircrafts A and B that have obtained information on

routes

9 and 10 are able to navigate after time t0 (+Δt). Flight information 12 and performance degradation flag information 11 are obtained from aircraft A and B as aircraft information 13 . In processing step S70, the route planning device 2 may obtain only the performance degradation flag information 11 from the aircraft A and B at regular time intervals.

As a result, the route planning device 2 checks at any time whether or not there is a notification of the performance degradation flag 11 from each aircraft in processing step S64. If there is no report, in processing step S68 of FIG. 6, it is determined whether to continue or end the route planning. For example, this is to detect that the end time te in FIG. 5 has passed, and to terminate the plan in processing step S69. This is done repeatedly in the state.

In the example of FIG. 5, it is assumed that significant performance degradation has occurred in aircraft A at time ta. At this time, in the flow of FIG. The report is provided to the route planning device 2 as performance degradation flag information 11 via the communication device 6, and the route planning device 2 acquires and confirms the navigation information 12 including the aircraft position, performance, and state of the aircraft A. Here, the position of the aircraft is the three-dimensional position coordinates of the aircraft A at time ta, the performance is the specification information such as the maneuverability and navigation performance of the aircraft, and the state is the degree of deterioration of the maneuverability and navigation performance relative to the rating. is.

In processing step S66, the occupied space design unit 4 adjusts the radius 23 of the occupied space 21 of the fuselage A to a sufficiently large size, as shown after time ta in FIG. design. That is, based on the performance and state of aircraft A, the motion performance Ck (k=A) of aircraft A is calculated according to the degree of performance deterioration of aircraft A, and the occupied space rk(t) ( k=A) and t=ta to te are calculated to ensure that aircraft A can continue safe navigation.

The route planning unit 3 also redesigns the route of the aircraft A based on the exclusive space 21 of the aircraft A designed by the exclusive space design unit 4 in processing step S66. That is, based on rk(t) (k=A), the route pk(t) (k=A) of the airframe A, t=ta to te (route 55 in FIG. 5) is redesigned using equation (2). At this time, the redesigned route 55 is designed considering that even the airframe A whose performance is degraded can sufficiently follow, for example, it is less affected by wind, the curvature is low, the distance is short, and the like.

The replanned route 55 is provided to the aircraft A via the communication device 6 in processing step S67.

Up to this point, the redesign of the path 9 of the airframe A whose performance has been degraded has been described. It is conceivable that another aircraft B, which is navigating along the route 10), may intrude into the space occupied by the aircraft A. Conversely, when redesigning the route of aircraft A at time ta, the route planning device 2 may not be able to replan a route that will not allow other aircraft B to invade the space occupied by aircraft A.

In view of such a situation, the route planning device 2 also acquires the performance and state of at least the aircraft (for example, aircraft B) existing within a predetermined distance from aircraft A at time ta, and these aircraft (k = 1 to n) are replanned.

That is, in processing step S65, the route planning device 2 combines the navigation information 12 such as the aircraft position, performance, and state of the aircraft A to determine the aircraft position and performance of the aircraft (k = 1 to n) (for example, aircraft B). , status, etc., is acquired via the communication device 6 .

The occupied space design unit 4 calculates the motion performance Ck of each aircraft based on the degree of deterioration of the performance of the aircraft A and the navigation information 12 such as the performance and state of the aircraft (k = 1 to n). The space 21 and the space occupied by the aircraft (k = 1 to n) are designed based on formula (1).In this case, the space 21 occupied by aircraft A is designed to be sufficiently large to ensure that safe navigation can be continued. do.

In addition, the route planning unit 3 calculates the route pk(t) of each aircraft based on the exclusive space rk(t), k=1 to n, A, t=ta to te of each aircraft designed by the exclusive space design unit 4. k = 1 to n, A, and t = ta to te are redesigned. At this time, the redesigned path 55 can be sufficiently followed even by airframe A whose performance has deteriorated, for example, it is less susceptible to wind and has a low curvature. , the distance is short, etc., and the route of other aircraft is redesigned so that there is no danger of intrusion into the space 21 occupied by aircraft A.

However, in the re-planning shown in FIG. 5, in such re-planning of the route of the other aircraft, the route is set so as not to change the end point position coordinates of the other aircraft (for example, the end point 52 of the aircraft B). There is a possibility that another aircraft may intrude into the exclusive space 21 of the aircraft A. For this reason, when executing the processing of processing steps S65, S66, and S67, it is preferable to take measures in consideration of the following points.

Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining the replanning including the change of the end point of another aircraft. In order to cope with such a case, the route planning device 2 gives top priority to the safe navigation of the aircraft A and shifts the coordinates of the end point of the other aircraft (aircraft B) from the end point 52 to the end point 72, as shown in FIG. It is better to have a function to design the route of other aircraft after changing it. The change of the end point position coordinates at this time is, for example, a change of the landing port (ground area).

Also, in addition to changing the end point of other aircraft, it is better to have a function to change the end point position coordinates (end point 51) of aircraft A whose performance has deteriorated. For example, the cruising distance is not sufficient, and it is difficult to reach the end point 51, such as when the battery fails and only the auxiliary power source remains.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the replanning including the reduction of the space occupied by other aircraft. As for the re-planning of the other aircraft, as shown in FIG. It is preferable to have a function of designing a route that guarantees safe navigation of aircraft A whose performance has deteriorated. For example, considering the case where it is necessary to cooperate with other aircraft so that they do not hinder the safe navigation of aircraft A by making full use of the performance above the rating of other aircraft other than aircraft A whose performance has deteriorated. belongs to.

According to the route planning device 2 of the traffic control system 1 that provides take-off and landing routes for a plurality of aircraft, according to the present embodiment, when there is no deterioration in the maneuverability of the aircraft, a plurality of aircraft are allowed to approach each other to the minimum. Routes can be planned with spatial efficiency using distance, and safe and efficient route planning is possible even when the maneuverability of the aircraft is degraded.

Note that the aircraft targeted by the route planning device 2 of the present embodiment may be an aircraft other than a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and is not limited to an aircraft capable of autonomous flight, and may be an aircraft operated by a pilot. good.

In addition to aircraft, the route planning device 2 of this embodiment can also be applied to mobility having a three-dimensional degree of freedom (spacecraft, submersibles, etc.) and mobility that travels on the ground, such as automobiles, robots, and railways. is also possible.

Further, the redesign of the route in the route planning device 2 of the present embodiment is triggered by a deterioration in the performance of the aircraft, but it may be configured to receive a redesign request triggered by a significant deviation from the already designed route. .

Also, the aircraft targeted by the route planning device 2 of this embodiment is not limited to one with a single model, model, or spec. Since the route planning device 2 has a mechanism for obtaining the specification information of the aircraft as the "performance", it is possible to cope with such a difference in the aircraft.

In the second embodiment, we will refer to a method of detecting that the aircraft's performance has deteriorated. In FIG. 1 of Embodiment 1, the aircraft A transmits the performance degradation flag information 11, and in the processing step S64 of FIG.

Regarding this point, the performance degradation flag information 11 in the first embodiment mainly assumes a serious case in which performance degradation or stoppage of the actuator occurs due to a failure of the power machine of the aircraft or a drop in the power supply voltage. On the other hand, among the various specifications and performance of the aircraft, there are things that can be grasped numerically, for example, there are cases where countermeasures must be taken immediately depending on the level, such as a drop in the power supply voltage. However, in many cases, it is possible to predict performance degradation at a more minor stage.

According to FIG. 1, the aircraft information 13 available to the route planning device 2 includes, in addition to the performance degradation flag information 11, navigation information 12 such as aircraft position, performance, and status. By focusing on the navigation information 12 such as , and monitoring its level, it has a strong predictive meaning, but it can be substituted for "presence or absence of performance deterioration flag information 11" in processing step S64. It can be a condition.

In this way, it is preferable that the conditions for detecting performance degradation in the present invention include not only serious conditions but also minor premonitory conditions. In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, information transmitted from the machine side is used as the machine information 13 as the condition for detecting performance deterioration.

Example 3 also refers to a method of detecting that the performance of the aircraft has deteriorated, but whereas in Examples 1 and 2 the information is transmitted from the aircraft side, there is a limit to the information transmission from the aircraft side. Therefore, in the third embodiment, evaluation of the performance of the airframe as seen from the outside world will be described.

FIG. 9 shows a configuration example of the route planning device 2 according to the third embodiment. This embodiment is a case where the route planning device 2 of the traffic control system 1 of the first and second embodiments uses a different means for grasping deterioration of the performance of the aircraft.

It is not always possible for an airframe whose performance has deteriorated to fully grasp the extent of its performance deterioration. be.

The third embodiment provides an operation control system 1 that includes a route planning device 2 that can handle such cases. The traffic control system 1 of this embodiment is composed of a route planning device 2 and an observation device 93 , and the route planning device 2 is configured by adding an airframe performance estimation unit 92 to the route planning device 2 .

As shown in FIG. 9, regarding the route planning device 2, the case of planning the routes of the aircraft A and B will be described as an example.

The observation device 93 observes from the outside the state of flight of all aircraft belonging to the airspace managed by the traffic control system 1 or the aircraft within the observable area of the observation device 93, and the observed information is sent to the aircraft performance estimation unit. 92 via communication path 95 .

While the aircraft A is already navigating on the route planned by the route planning device 2, the performance of the aircraft A deteriorates. If the route planning device 2 cannot obtain any information on the deterioration of the airframe performance from the airframe performance estimator 92, the route planning device 2 redesigns the route based on the information obtained from the airframe performance estimation unit 92.

The airframe performance estimation unit 92 assumes the role of estimating the degree of performance deterioration of each airframe based on the flight status of the airframe group obtained from the observation device 93 .

Here, the observation device 93 is a group of sensors that are provided on the ground and that can acquire position information of the aircraft from several hundred meters to several thousand meters ahead and velocity information from its time differentiation, such as LiDAR, radar (Radio Detection and Ranging), a stereo camera, and the like. The position and speed information of the aircraft group may be acquired from a group of sensors provided on the aircraft other than the ground.

Aircraft performance estimation unit 92 constantly estimates the degree of performance deterioration of each aircraft based on the position and speed information of each aircraft obtained from observation device 93 and the performance and state of each aircraft already obtained at the time of route design. However, when it is judged that the degree of performance degradation is significant, a performance degradation flag is provided instead of the aircraft whose performance has deteriorated, and the route planning device 2 receives this, and the route planning unit 3 and the exclusive space designing unit 4 Implement route redesign.

According to the route planning device 2 of the traffic control system 1 that provides take-off and landing routes for a plurality of aircraft, according to the present embodiment, when there is no deterioration in the maneuverability of the aircraft, a plurality of aircraft are allowed to approach each other to the minimum. It is possible to plan a route in a space-efficient manner based on the distance, and to plan a safe and efficient route even when the movement performance of the aircraft is degraded and the performance and state cannot be obtained from the aircraft.

Note that the airframe performance estimating unit 92 of the route planning device 2 of the present embodiment can obtain only part of the performance and state information from the airframe whose performance has deteriorated, or only part of the obtained performance and state information. can be integrated with the position and speed information of each aircraft obtained from the observation device 93 to estimate the degree of performance degradation of each aircraft.

Aircraft with degraded performance may not be able to correctly grasp all information related to their own performance and status, and in the first place, it is assumed that aircraft that do not have the ability to fully grasp their performance and status may be subject to route planning.

In such a case, the route planning device 2 provides a means for grasping the performance and state, integrates it with the information provided by the aircraft, and determines the degree of deterioration of the aircraft performance comprehensively. Aircraft performance estimation The unit 92 can more reliably detect degradation of airframe performance and provide a performance degradation flag. As a result, it is possible to provide a highly safe route planning device 2 .

FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the route planning device 2 of the traffic control system 1 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. This embodiment has a configuration in which a level determination unit 102 is added to the route planning device 2 of the traffic control system 1 of the third embodiment.

The level determination unit 102 determines the safety level of each aircraft based on the navigation information 12 such as the aircraft position, performance and state of each aircraft. In the third embodiment, when the performance of the aircraft is significantly degraded, the route planning unit 3 and the exclusive space design unit 4 plan the exclusive space based on the navigation information 12 such as the aircraft position, performance and state of the aircraft whose performance is degraded. is redesigned and the route is replanned, but there is an advantage that safety is clarified if the replanning is carried out in accordance with the quantitatively evaluated safety level. The level determination unit 102 is provided in the route planning device 2 for this purpose.

Therefore, the route planning unit 3 and the exclusive space design unit 4 of this embodiment redesign the exclusive space and replan the route based on the safety level provided by the level determination unit 102 . Note that the level determination unit 102 may determine the safety level by taking into consideration the degree of performance deterioration of each aircraft obtained from the aircraft performance estimation unit 92 .

In addition, the operation control system 1 of the present embodiment includes an observation device 105, and the observation device 105 includes a sensor such as Doppler LiDAR that can grasp wind conditions in addition to the observation device 93 of the second embodiment. may obtain these information via the communication path 106 and determine the safety level by taking these information into account.

For example, the safety level is quantitatively calculated using four items related to aircraft performance, such as thrust, turning force, cruising time, and wind conditions, as shown in Fig. 11. Figure 11 shows a case in which the performance of aircraft A is degraded. Some of the rotors are completely stopped, the thrust and turning force are reduced to 50% or less of the rated performance of aircraft A, the wind conditions are strong, and This is the case when there is a margin in the navigation time.

In such a case, the route planning unit 3 and the exclusive space designing unit 4 acquire the four items of safety levels shown in FIG. In order to ensure that lowered airframe A can navigate safely, the space occupied is enlarged, and priority is given to a route with good (weak) wind conditions and low curvature rather than shortening the route length to the end point position coordinates. ,To plan.

In addition, the thrust and turning force of aircraft A are declining, and the degree of freedom in planning the route of aircraft A is not high. In order to increase the degree of freedom in redesign, the routes of other aircraft other than aircraft A are redesigned at the same time.

According to the route planning device 2 of the traffic control system 1 that provides take-off and landing routes for a plurality of aircraft, according to the present embodiment, the quantification of the safety level by the level determination unit 102 causes a decrease in the maneuverability of the aircraft. Safe and efficient route planning based on clear guidelines is possible even when

In addition to the four items shown in Fig. 11, the safety level evaluation items may include items related to weather conditions such as rainfall, atmospheric pressure, and temperature, and items related to obstacles such as flocks of birds.

Also, the safety level may be calculated as a scalar value as a weighted sum of each item as shown in FIG. 11 and provided to the route planning section 3 and the exclusive space designing section 4 as a representative value of the safety level. At this time, since the safety level of the route planning section 3 and the exclusive space designing section 4 is simplified from that shown in FIG. It has the advantage of simplifying route re-planning logic.

1: Traffic control system, 2: Route planning device, 3: Route planning unit, 4: Exclusive space design unit, 21, 32: Exclusive space, 9, 10: Route, 11: Performance degradation flag information, 12: Navigation information, 13: aircraft information, 26: start point position coordinates, 27: end point position coordinates, 92: aircraft performance estimation unit, 93: observation device, 102: level determination unit

Claims

A route planning device for an air traffic control system that provides a flight route for an aircraft,
The route planning device includes an exclusive space design unit that designs the exclusive space of each aircraft of a plurality of aircraft based on the performance and state of the aircraft in the initial flight route planning of the aircraft, and the start point position coordinates and end point position coordinates of each aircraft. , and based on the exclusive space, the starting point position coordinates are set so that other aircraft and obstacles do not enter the exclusive space of each aircraft at all times during navigation from the starting point position coordinates to the end point position coordinates. a route planning unit that plans a route from to the end point position coordinates and provides it to each aircraft,
The route planning device detects performance deterioration of each aircraft after the initial flight of the aircraft, and redesigns the exclusive space of the aircraft with degraded performance based on the current position coordinates, performance and state information of the aircraft with degraded performance. and providing a route to each aircraft by replanning the routes of the plurality of aircraft so that the other aircraft and the obstacles do not enter the redesigned exclusive space. Path planner for the system.
The route planning device according to claim 1,
The route planning device detects performance degradation of the aircraft after the initial stage of navigation of the aircraft, using performance degradation flag information transmitted by the aircraft upon detection of performance degradation in the own aircraft. planning equipment.
A route planning device for a traffic control system according to claim 1,
The route planning device is characterized in that it receives the current position coordinates, performance and state information of the aircraft transmitted by the aircraft, and detects deterioration in performance of the aircraft after the initial stage of navigation of the aircraft based on the received information. A route planning device for traffic control systems.
A route planning device for a traffic control system according to claim 1,
An airframe performance estimating unit that observes an airframe in flight from the ground or from another flying object and estimates airframe performance, and the route planning device detects deterioration in airframe performance during flight based on the estimation result of the airframe performance estimating unit. A route planning device for a traffic control system characterized by detecting
A route planning device for a traffic control system according to claim 1,
A route planning device for a traffic control system, wherein the route planning device redesigns the exclusive space of the aircraft whose performance has deteriorated in a direction to expand it according to the degree of performance deterioration.
A route planning device for a traffic control system according to claim 1,
The route planning device is
A route of an operation control system characterized by redesigning the occupied space of said other aircraft based on the current position coordinates, performance and state information of said other aircraft, and then re-planning the paths of said plurality of aircraft. planning equipment.
A route planning device for a traffic control system according to claim 1,
A route planning device for an operation control system, wherein the route planning device changes the end point of another aircraft.
2. A traffic control system according to claim 1, wherein said route planning unit can request said exclusive space design unit to redesign the exclusive space of each aircraft. route planning equipment.
A route planning device for a traffic control system according to claim 1,
The route planning device acquires the current position coordinates, performance and state information of the airframe whose performance has deteriorated, acquires wind condition information from a device capable of observing wind conditions, and based on these information, determines the airframe whose performance has deteriorated. Equipped with a level judgment unit that evaluates the safety level,
A route of a traffic control system, wherein evaluation results are provided to the exclusive space design section and the route planning section, and the exclusive space is designed and the route is re-planned based on the evaluation result of the safety level. planning equipment.
A route planning device for a traffic control system according to claim 4,
The airframe performance estimating unit obtains the performance and state of the airframe whose performance has deteriorated from information obtained from a group of sensors provided on the ground or on another aircraft, and information on the performance and state of the airframe obtained from the airframe. A route planning device for a traffic control system, characterized by estimating the performance and state of the aircraft whose performance has deteriorated based on the above.