CN116774722A - A UAV cluster command and control system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

This application discloses a drone cluster command and control system. The system includes: a communication unit used to communicate with the drone cluster to obtain the current number of drones and the current drone position of the drone cluster; a data processing unit , used to determine whether the formation needs to be changed based on the current number of UAVs and the current UAV position. If the formation needs to be changed, extract the type of each UAV corresponding to the current UAV position. According to the type of UAV Determine whether formation matching is required. If formation matching is required, the data processing unit obtains the variable formation corresponding to the initial formation, selects one of the variable formations as the target formation, and plans the formation for the UAV cluster. Shape transformation route. This application selects the most suitable formation among the variable formations as the target formation when the cluster needs to change formation, so that the UAV can quickly re-establish the formation after a combat loss and ensure that the combat mission can continue to be performed.

Description

A UAV cluster command and control system and method

Technical field

This application relates to the technical field of UAV flight control, and in particular to a UAV cluster command and control system and method.

Background technique

Drones are the product of modern technology. Because they do not require on-site control by personnel, their size can be greatly reduced, and the safety of personnel is also greatly improved. Based on the various advantages of drones, various fields have deeply integrated them with actual needs, which has had a significant impact on the development of the industry.

At present, the application fields of UAVs are mainly divided into civilian and military applications. Military UAVs mainly perform reconnaissance and strike missions on targets, and have completely different needs from civilian UAVs. Since UAVs often need to fly through enemy airspace during their missions, they will be attacked by enemy ground or air defense forces, resulting in losses to the UAV. When a small number of drones are lost but have little impact on the continued execution of the mission, the drone cluster will change its formation and gather the remaining drones together as much as possible to reduce the possibility of being hit. Therefore, it is necessary to UAVs or ground command equipment formulate new formations and corresponding transformation plans in a timely manner. Some technologies for changing the formation of UAVs have been proposed in the existing technology, such as CN110865653A. This patent can quickly realize the formation and transformation of UAV clusters, but the number of UAVs before and after the formation change remains unchanged. Therefore, this technology cannot be applied to the formation change of the UAV swarm after the number of UAVs changes due to combat.

Contents of the invention

Embodiments of the present application provide a UAV swarm command and control system and method to solve the problem that the formation change method in the prior art cannot be applied to the formation change of the UAV swarm after its number is reduced due to combat losses.

On the one hand, embodiments of the present application provide a UAV cluster command and control system, including:

A communication unit used to communicate with the drone cluster to obtain status data of the drone cluster. The status data includes the current number of drones and the current drone position of the drone cluster;

A storage unit used to store data on the initial formation of the UAV cluster;

The data processing unit is electrically connected to the communication unit and the storage unit respectively. The data processing unit is used to determine whether the formation needs to be changed based on the current number of drones and the current drone position. If the formation needs to be changed, extract the current drones. The type of each UAV corresponding to the position determines whether formation matching is required based on the type of each UAV. If formation matching is required, the data processing unit obtains the variable formation corresponding to the initial formation and determines whether the UAV needs to be matched. The number of UAVs that need to change positions when the aircraft cluster changes from the current formation to each variable formation is selected. The variable formation with the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions is selected as the target formation, which is the UAV cluster. Plan the formation change route and send the formation change route to the UAV cluster through the communication unit.

In one possible implementation, the communication unit sends query information to each drone in the drone cluster, and receives response information fed back by each drone. The response information includes the sending time of the response information; communication After the unit receives the response information, it sends it to the data processing unit. The data processing unit determines the preliminary number of drones in the drone cluster based on the number of response messages, and determines the number of drones based on the sending time and reception time of the response information. Distance, compare the distance of each drone with the distance of other drones, correct the preliminary number based on the comparison results, and obtain the current number of drones.

In a possible implementation, the response information also contains the identity information of the UAV that sent the response information, and the data processing unit combines the UAV identity information in the response information with the UAV identity information set in the initial formation. Determine the current drone position.

In a possible implementation, the types of UAVs include critical UAVs and non-critical UAVs. After the data processing unit determines the loss of the UAV based on the initial formation and the current UAV position, it determines that there is no loss. The number and type of human and aircraft. If the number of lost drones is less than or equal to the quantity threshold, and the lost drones are all non-critical drones, the data processing unit determines that there is no need to change the formation. If the lost drones include If the key UAV is detected, the data processing unit determines that the formation needs to be changed.

In a possible implementation, if the lost drones include key drones, and the number of lost drones is less than or equal to the quantity threshold, the data processing unit determines that formation matching is not required, and at the same time plans the current unmanned drones. The movement route of the replacement drone for the lost drone in the cluster to the location of the lost drone; if the lost drone contains key drones and the number of lost drones is greater than the quantity threshold, the data processing unit Determine the need for formation matching.

In one possible implementation, when performing formation matching, the data processing unit extracts the quantity requirements and type requirements of all variable formations for UAVs, and compares the extracted quantity requirements and type requirements with the current number of UAVs. and types, select variable formations that match the current number and type of drones, and then determine the number of drones that need to change positions when the drone cluster changes from the current formation to each variable formation, and select the required The variable formation with the smallest number of UAVs changing positions is used as the target formation.

In a possible implementation, if the UAV cluster has multiple variable formations with the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions when changing formations, the data processing unit determines the UAVs that need to change positions. The area of each of the multiple variable formations with the smallest number is determined, and the variable formation with the smallest area is used as the target formation.

In one possible implementation, when planning a formation change route for a UAV cluster, the data processing unit selects UAVs from the current UAV cluster that meet the target formation's requirements for the number and type of UAVs, Establish a corresponding relationship between the selected UAVs and each corresponding type of position in the target formation, then determine the total time required for the current UAV cluster to move to the target formation under various corresponding relationships, and select the movement with the shortest total time The route acts as a formation change route.

On the other hand, embodiments of the present application provide a UAV cluster command and control method, including:

Obtain the status data of the drone cluster. The status data includes the current number of drones and the current drone position of the drone cluster;

Determine whether the formation needs to be changed based on the current number of drones and the current drone position. If the formation needs to be changed, extract the types of each drone corresponding to the current drone position;

Determine whether formation matching is required based on the type of each UAV. If formation matching is required, the data processing unit obtains the variable formation corresponding to the initial formation;

Determine the number of UAVs that need to change positions when the UAV cluster changes from the current formation to each variable formation, and select the variable formation with the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions as the target formation;

Plan the formation change route for the UAV cluster and send the formation change route to the UAV cluster.

The UAV cluster command and control system and method in this application have the following advantages:

Determine whether the formation needs to be changed by analyzing the number and position of the UAVs in the current UAV cluster. If a change is needed, select the most suitable formation as the target formation among the variable formations, and plan to change from the current formation to The formation change route of the target formation enables the UAV to quickly re-establish the formation after a combat loss, ensuring that combat missions can continue to be executed.

Description of drawings

In order to explain the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art more clearly, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only These are some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without exerting creative efforts.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a UAV cluster command and control system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a UAV cluster command and control system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the initial formation and the loss position of the drone provided by the embodiment of this application;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the formation after the loss of a small number of non-critical drones provided by the embodiment of this application;

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the formation after the loss of a small number of key drones provided by the embodiment of this application;

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the formation after a large number of UAVs are lost according to the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of this application.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a UAV cluster command and control system provided by an embodiment of the present application. The embodiment of this application provides a UAV cluster command and control system, including:

A communication unit used to communicate with the drone cluster to obtain status data of the drone cluster. The status data includes the current number of drones and the current drone position of the drone cluster;

A storage unit used to store data on the initial formation of the UAV cluster;

The data processing unit is electrically connected to the communication unit and the storage unit respectively. The data processing unit is used to determine whether the formation needs to be changed based on the current number of drones and the current drone position. If the formation needs to be changed, extract the current drones. The type of each UAV corresponding to the position determines whether formation matching is required based on the type of each UAV. If formation matching is required, the data processing unit obtains the variable formation corresponding to the initial formation and determines whether the UAV needs to be matched. The number of UAVs that need to change positions when the aircraft cluster changes from the current formation to each variable formation is selected. The variable formation with the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions is selected as the target formation, which is the UAV cluster. Plan the formation change route and send the formation change route to the UAV cluster through the communication unit.

For example, when the above system is implemented, ground command equipment and/or air command equipment may be used. The ground command equipment may be a fixed command center or a movable ground command vehicle, and the air command equipment may be a cruising air command equipment. early warning aircraft or satellites in low-Earth orbit, as shown in Figure 2. If a combination of multiple control devices is used, relay command of the UAV cluster can be carried out. That is, when the UAV cluster flies away from one of the command equipment, such as the command range of a ground command vehicle, other command areas will be larger. Command equipment, such as an early warning aircraft, takes over the command and continues to command the UAV cluster, ensuring that the UAVs can be under the control of the command system during the entire combat process.

In a possible embodiment, the communication unit sends query information to each drone in the drone cluster, and receives response information fed back by each drone, where the response information includes the sending time of the response information; communication After the unit receives the response information, it sends it to the data processing unit. The data processing unit determines the preliminary number of drones in the drone cluster based on the number of response messages, and determines the number of drones based on the sending time and reception time of the response information. Distance, compare the distance of each drone with the distance of other drones, correct the preliminary number based on the comparison results, and obtain the current number of drones.

For example, the communication unit, under the control of the data processing unit, can send query information to each drone in the drone cluster at regular intervals, such as seconds or minutes. After receiving the query information, the drone needs to Immediate feedback, and the response information generated by the feedback is transmitted to the data processing unit through the communication unit again. When the drone generates response information, it will record the current time and add the current time to the response information as the sending time. When the data processing unit receives the response information of each drone, it will also record the current time. The current time is used as the receiving time and the sending time to calculate the difference. The calculated time difference is the propagation speed of the wireless signal, that is, The product of the speed of light is the distance between the drone and the command equipment. Since the calculated distance is highly dependent on the sending time and receiving time, it is necessary to maintain high-precision time consistency between the drone and the command equipment.

Since the UAV cluster is in a small area, under normal circumstances the distance between all UAVs in the UAV cluster and the command equipment should be similar. If the difference between the distance of any other drone and the command equipment exceeds the set distance threshold, the data of the drone is considered to be in error. At this time, the data processing unit can send it to the drone training again. Query information and calculate the distance again based on the received response information. If the distance after reconfirmation is still abnormal, it is considered that the position of the drone is abnormal, indicating that the drone is not in the same area as other drones, so the abnormal distance needs to be subtracted from the preliminary number. The number of drones, as the current number of drones.

In a possible embodiment, the response information also includes the identity information of the UAV that sent the response information, and the data processing unit combines the UAV identity information in the response information with the UAV identity information set in the initial formation. Determine the current drone position.

For example, when the drone generates response information, it will also add its own identity information, such as its own code, name and other information, to the response information. Since the initial formation stored in the storage unit contains the position and identity of each UAV, the data processing unit can determine the position of each UAV in the current UAV cluster based on the identity information, that is, the current UAV machine location.

In a possible embodiment, the types of UAVs include critical UAVs and non-critical UAVs. After the data processing unit determines the loss of the UAV based on the initial formation and the current UAV position, it determines that there is no loss. The number and type of human and aircraft. If the number of lost drones is less than or equal to the quantity threshold, and the lost drones are all non-critical drones, the data processing unit determines that there is no need to change the formation. If the lost drones include If the key UAV is detected, the data processing unit determines that the formation needs to be changed.

Illustratively, non-critical UAVs are UAVs with common functions that all UAVs have, while critical UAVs are UAVs with special functions that are different from non-critical UAVs, for example, In a UAV cluster that integrates surveillance and attack, each UAV has the ability to strike targets, and only some of the UAVs also have the ability to conduct reconnaissance, so UAVs that only have strike capabilities As non-critical drones, drones with both strike and reconnaissance capabilities are regarded as critical drones. Generally speaking, the number of non-critical drones in the cluster is relatively large. Even if a small number of non-critical drones are lost, other non-critical drones can be used to replace them, so they are highly replaceable. However, the number of key drones is small, and there are often only a few in the cluster, so it is difficult to replace them with other drones.

If the number of drones that are lost is small and they are all non-critical drones, there is no need to change the formation. Maintaining the current formation can allow the combat mission to continue without increasing the danger of the cluster. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the UAVs shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3 are UAVs that may suffer losses, and Figure 4 shows the team of UAVs below the UAVs that may suffer losses in Figure 3. It can be seen that the loss of the non-critical UAV does not affect the combat effect of the entire formation, so there is no change in the formation, and the cluster still maintains the current formation.

In a possible embodiment, if the lost drones include key drones, and the number of lost drones is less than or equal to the quantity threshold, the data processing unit determines that formation matching is not required, and at the same time plans the current unmanned aircraft The movement route of the replacement drone for the lost drone in the cluster to the location of the lost drone; if the lost drone contains key drones and the number of lost drones is greater than the quantity threshold, the data processing unit Determine the need for formation matching.

For example, if a key drone is lost, the location of the lost drone needs to be quickly replenished so that other key drones with the same function can be replenished to the location of the lost drone. Since the number of lost UAVs is directly related to whether the current UAV cluster can normally perform the functions of the initial formation, when the number of lost UAVs is small, the functions of the initial formation can continue to function, so there is no need to carry out large-scale operations. To change the formation, you only need to replenish the positions of the lost key drones. When the number of lost drones is large, the function of the initial formation will not be fully exerted, so it is necessary to re-determine the new formation through formation matching so that the current drones can perform under the target formation. Full functionality of the formation.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, when the upper drone among the potentially lost drones in Figure 3 is lost, the position of the key drone becomes vacant. In order to ensure that the formation effect continues to be exerted, it is necessary to The drones above the vacant position, that is, the drones that are also key drones, move to the vacant position. When both UAVs in Figure 3 are lost, the function of the current formation has been greatly affected, so the two UAVs originally located at the bottom of the formation need to fill the vacancies of the lost UAVs.

In a possible embodiment, when performing formation matching, the data processing unit extracts the quantity requirements and type requirements of all variable formations for UAVs, and compares the extracted quantity requirements and type requirements with the current number of UAVs. and types, select variable formations that match the current number and type of drones, and then determine the number of drones that need to change positions when the drone cluster changes from the current formation to each variable formation, and select the required The variable formation with the smallest number of UAVs changing positions is used as the target formation.

For example, each variable formation and the corresponding relationship with the initial formation have been stored in the storage unit in advance, so the data processing unit can directly search to obtain multiple corresponding to the initial formation adopted by the current UAV cluster. Variable formation. In each variable formation, there are requirements for the number, location, and type of drones at each position. Only when the current number and type of drones meet the requirements of the variable formation can these be combined. Variable formations as candidate formations.

Moreover, in formation changes, the total time is a very critical indicator. If the formation change takes too long, the purpose of quickly changing the formation will not be achieved. Since there are many variable formations corresponding to one initial formation, and there are many movement routes that can be adopted under one variable formation, it is necessary to directly calculate the time consumed by all movement routes under each variable formation. The amount of calculation is too large, so this application only uses the number of UAVs that need to change their positions as the screening index to reduce the amount of calculation of the command equipment and improve the efficiency of command and control.

In a possible embodiment, if there are multiple variable formations with the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions when the UAV cluster changes formation, the data processing unit determines the UAVs that need to change positions. The area of each of the multiple variable formations with the smallest number is determined, and the variable formation with the smallest area is used as the target formation.

For example, since using the number of UAVs that need to change positions as a judgment criterion will result in a large number of variable formations that meet the requirements, further screening is required among these variable formations. This application selects the formation with the smallest area among these multiple variable formations as the target formation, which can reduce the probability of the drones in the cluster being hit by the enemy and improve the safety of the drones.

In a possible embodiment, when planning a formation change route for a UAV cluster, the data processing unit selects UAVs from the current UAV cluster that meet the target formation's requirements for the number and type of UAVs, Establish a corresponding relationship between the selected UAVs and each corresponding type of position in the target formation, then determine the total time required for the current UAV cluster to move to the target formation under various corresponding relationships, and select the movement with the shortest total time The route acts as a formation change route.

For example, after determining the target formation, there are many options for changing from the current UAV cluster formation to the target formation, and each option takes different time. In air combat, speed can directly affect the combat. Therefore, in this application, the data processing unit calculates the time consumed by each plan, and finally selects the plan with the shortest time, that is, the fastest speed, as the formation change route.

The embodiment of this application also provides a UAV cluster command and control method, which includes the following steps:

Obtain the status data of the drone cluster. The status data includes the current number of drones and the current drone position of the drone cluster;

Determine whether the formation needs to be changed based on the current number of drones and the current drone position. If the formation needs to be changed, extract the types of each drone corresponding to the current drone position;

Determine whether formation matching is required based on the type of each UAV. If formation matching is required, the data processing unit obtains the variable formation corresponding to the initial formation;

Determine the number of UAVs that need to change positions when the UAV cluster changes from the current formation to each variable formation, and select the variable formation with the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions as the target formation;

Plan the formation change route for the UAV cluster and send the formation change route to the UAV cluster.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, those skilled in the art will be able to make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once the basic inventive concepts are understood. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be construed to include the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of this application.

Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. In this way, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims (9)

1. A UAV swarm command and control system, characterized by including: A communication unit, used to communicate with the drone cluster to obtain status data of the drone cluster, where the status data includes the current number of drones and the current drone position of the drone cluster; A storage unit used to store data on the initial formation of the UAV cluster; A data processing unit is electrically connected to the communication unit and the storage unit respectively. The data processing unit is used to determine whether the formation needs to be changed according to the current number of UAVs and the current UAV position. If the formation needs to be changed, Then extract the type of each UAV corresponding to the current UAV position, and determine whether formation matching is required according to the type of each UAV. If formation matching is required, the data processing unit obtains the data corresponding to the initial The variable formation corresponding to the formation determines the number of drones that need to change positions when the drone cluster changes from the current formation to each of the variable formations, and selects the one with the smallest number of drones that need to change positions. The variable formation is used as the target formation, the formation change route is planned for the UAV cluster, and the formation change route is sent to the UAV cluster through the communication unit. 2. A UAV cluster command and control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication unit sends inquiry information to each UAV in the UAV cluster and receives information from each UAV. Feedback response information, the response information includes the sending time of the response information; after the communication unit receives the response information, it sends it to the data processing unit, and the data processing unit determines whether The preliminary number of drones in the human-machine cluster, and the distance of the drones is determined based on the sending time and reception time of the response information, and the distance of each drone is compared with the distance of other drones. Based on the comparison As a result, the preliminary quantity is corrected to obtain the current number of drones. 3. A UAV cluster command and control system according to claim 2, characterized in that the response information also includes the identity information of the UAV sending the response information, and the data processing unit combines the response with the The UAV identity information in the information and the UAV identity information set in the initial formation determine the current UAV position. 4. A UAV cluster command and control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the types of UAVs include key UAVs and non-critical UAVs. After the formation and current UAV position are determined, the number and type of the lost UAVs are determined. If the number of the lost UAVs is less than or equal to the quantity threshold, and all the lost UAVs are non- If the lost UAV contains a key UAV, the data processing unit determines that the formation does not need to be changed. If the lost UAV contains a key UAV, the data processing unit determines that the formation needs to be changed. 5. A UAV cluster command and control system according to claim 4, characterized in that if the lost UAVs include key UAVs, and the number of the lost UAVs is less than or equal to the If the quantity threshold is reached, the data processing unit determines that formation matching is not required, and at the same time plans a moving route for the replacement drone of the lost drone in the current drone cluster to move to the location of the lost drone; If the lost drones include key drones and the number of the lost drones is greater than the number threshold, the data processing unit determines that formation matching is required. 6. A UAV cluster command and control system according to claim 1, characterized in that when performing formation matching, the data processing unit extracts all the variable formation quantity requirements for UAVs. and type requirements, compare the extracted quantity requirements and type requirements with the current number and type of drones, screen the variable formations that meet the current number and type of drones, and then determine the drone cluster The number of UAVs that need to change positions when changing from the current formation to each of the variable formations is selected, and the variable formation with the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions is selected as the target formation. 7. A UAV cluster command and control system according to claim 1, characterized in that if the UAV cluster needs to change its position when the UAV cluster changes formation, how many variable formations have the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions? , the data processing unit determines the area of each of the multiple variable formations with the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions, and uses the variable formation with the smallest area as the target formation. shape. 8. A UAV cluster command and control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, when planning a formation change route for the UAV cluster, the data processing unit selects from the current UAV cluster a suitable route. For the number and type of drones required by the target formation, a corresponding relationship is established between the screened drones and the positions of each corresponding type in the target formation, and then the current unmanned aircraft under various corresponding relationships are determined. The total time required for the aircraft cluster to move to the target formation is determined, and the movement route with the shortest total time is selected as the formation change route. 9. A UAV cluster command and control method, characterized by including: Obtain the status data of the drone cluster, the status data including the current number of drones and the current drone position of the drone cluster; Determine whether the formation needs to be changed according to the current number of UAVs and the current UAV position; if the formation needs to be changed, extract the types of each UAV corresponding to the current UAV position; Determine whether formation matching is required based on the type of each UAV, and if formation matching is required, the data processing unit obtains a variable formation corresponding to the initial formation; Determine the number of UAVs that need to change positions when the UAV cluster changes from the current formation to each of the variable formations, and select the variable formation with the smallest number of UAVs that need to change positions as the target formation; Plan a formation change route for the UAV cluster, and send the formation change route to the UAV cluster.