WO2025141774A1 - Flying object management system and flying object - Google Patents

Abstract

A flying object management system for managing a flying object that performs work flight comprises: a work area acquisition unit 31 that acquires a work target area; a work flight inhibition condition management unit 32 that manages a work flight inhibition condition in the work flight; and a work area setting unit 33 that sets a non-work area in the work target area on the basis of the work flight inhibition condition, and sets an area excluding the non-work area from the work target area as an actual work area.

Description

Aircraft management system and aircraft

The present invention relates to an aircraft that performs operational flights and an aircraft management system that manages the operational flights of this aircraft.

One example of this type of flying object is an aircraft that can fly remotely or automatically, using propellers that rotate around an axis, i.e. rotors, to generate lift. Such flying objects are also called "drones," "multirotors," or "multicopters," and are used for agricultural tasks such as spraying pesticides (spraying pesticides and fertilizers), sowing seeds, transplanting, weeding, and harvesting, as well as aerial photography, surveying, and transporting goods.

When using unmanned aerial vehicles to spray pesticides, it is necessary to properly spray the pesticides in the target work area (field) in an agricultural area. For this reason, Patent Document 1 describes a technology that changes the flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the wind speed and direction measured during flight.

JP 2021-75277 A

　Even if the same work is performed, an aircraft that flies over a work site defined by a boundary line and performs ground work has at least partially different conditions for performing the work properly compared to a mobile work machine that runs over the work site. For example, in the case of running work using a mobile work machine, a safety zone is set between the mobile work machine and the boundary line (the boundary object that creates the boundary line) to avoid interference (collision). In contrast, an aircraft flies above the boundary line, so there is practically no interference with the boundary line, making it unnecessary to provide a safety zone, which is essential for a mobile work machine. However, if an obstacle is higher than the flight height, interference with the obstacle must be avoided. In addition, in the case of an aircraft that sprays pesticides, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is also necessary to consider the diffusion of pesticides, which varies depending on wind speed, wind direction, and flight height. In reality, an aircraft cannot fly freely around the work site, and if a main road or residential area is located adjacent to the work site, a safety zone must be set between them.

In view of the above situation, the object of the present invention is to provide an aircraft management system that enables aircraft flying over work sites to perform appropriate ground work and flight appropriate for that purpose, and an aircraft that utilizes this aircraft management system.

The aircraft management system according to the present invention, which manages aircraft performing work flights, includes a work area acquisition unit that acquires a work target area, a work flight obstruction condition management unit that manages work flight obstruction conditions in the work flight, and a work area setting unit that sets a non-work area in the work target area based on the work flight obstruction conditions, and sets the area of the work target area excluding the non-work area as an actual work area.

With this configuration, the non-working area and the actual working area in the acquired work target area are set based on the work flight obstruction conditions in the work flight. In this case, unlike conventional ground-running work vehicles, the actual working area is not set with a safety zone (effective non-working area) between the boundary line, but the non-working area (or actual working area) is set based on the work flight obstruction conditions, which are work restrictions specific to aircraft. For example, if the surroundings of the work site are free flight space, work flights beyond the boundary line are possible, so the actual working area, which is the effective ground work area, is set adjacent to the boundary line without a safety zone. Conversely, if there are residential houses or main roads around the work target area, work flights are restricted based on the provisions of the Aviation Act, so a non-working area is set between the boundary line and the actual working area. In addition, if the work flight has some effect on the surroundings of the work target area, the non-working area (or actual working area) is set taking this effect into consideration. In this way, a work flight obstruction condition management unit that manages the work flight obstruction conditions in the work flight is provided, so work flights that are compatible with the work target area are possible.

Once the work flight obstruction conditions to be applied to the work area are determined, the behavior of the work flight for the actual work area set from these work flight obstruction conditions can also be determined. For example, if there are residential houses around the boundary of the work area, a work flight will be performed that gives priority to complying with the provisions of the Aviation Act. Conversely, if there is no need to set a safety zone on the boundary of the work area, the aircraft will perform a lean, efficient work flight based on flight performance. Information that enables such efficient work flights is important for work flights. For this reason, the present invention is provided with a work flight regulation information generation unit that generates work flight regulation information that defines the work flight for the actual work area based on the work flight obstruction conditions.

The first restriction included in the information that specifies the operational flight is the area in which the aircraft is permitted to fly (or the no-fly area). For this reason, in the present invention, the operational flight specification information includes the flight area of the aircraft during the operational flight. The area in which the aircraft can move is a three-dimensional space, and efficient ground work is performed on a limited ground area (effectively a two-dimensional plane) through appropriate flight in that space. At that time, the operational flight altitude of the aircraft is important. For this reason, in the present invention, the flight area is a three-dimensional space, and at least one of the minimum ground clearance and the maximum ground clearance is specified.

When the work area is a farm field, the banks that form the boundary line of the field are located higher than the field. In addition, obstacles such as pylons and sheds that exist within or around the field are also located higher than the field. For this reason, in the present invention, the minimum ground clearance of the flight area is partially different.

In order to reliably define the operational flight of an aircraft, it is effective to define the flight route before the operational flight. For this reason, in the present invention, the operational flight specification information includes the flight route in the flight area.

The aircraft flies above the work area while performing ground work (actual work flight), or the aircraft flies without performing ground work (non-work flight). In the case of non-work flight, there is no impact on the surroundings caused by ground work, so flight restrictions are more limited than in the case of actual work flight. Therefore, when setting a flight route, it is preferable to clarify whether the flight is an actual work flight or a non-work flight. For this reason, in the present invention, the flight routes include actual work flight routes, where actual work is performed while flying, and non-work flight routes, where work is temporarily stopped while flying.

The effect of ground work performed by an aircraft (the effect of the ground work on the work target area, referred to here as the work degree) varies depending on flight behavior such as flight speed and flight altitude. For example, if the ground work is spraying pesticides, it is considered that the slower the flight speed and the lower the flight altitude, the higher the pesticide spray density and the higher the work degree. For this reason, in the present invention, the work degree of the aircraft on the actual work area is variable, and the actual work flight route includes the work degree of the aircraft. In one specific embodiment, the work degree is the amount of pesticide sprayed per unit area (on the ground surface).

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a flight speed and flight height are assigned to each flight position on the flight route. This configuration is effective when it is desired to perform ground work at a different level in only a specific section of the work area than in other sections.

Work flights for performing desired ground work in work target areas divided into actual work areas and non-work areas are regulated by work flight regulation information generated based on work flight obstruction conditions. It is desirable that such work flight regulation information be amendable based on the experience and knowledge of the manager in consideration of various situational changes at the work site. For this reason, in the present invention, the work flight regulation information can be manually amended.

The present invention covers not only the aircraft management system as described above, but also aircraft that use the aircraft management system as described above. Such aircraft are equipped with an information acquisition unit that downloads the operational flight regulation information from the aircraft management system, and a flight control unit that flies based on the operational flight regulation information. Furthermore, an aircraft that is the subject of the present invention may be equipped with the aircraft management system described above.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a field where ground work is carried out by an aircraft managed by an aircraft management system. 1 is a flowchart showing the basic flow of aircraft management. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the setting of an actual work area and a non-work area in a work target area. A functional block diagram showing the functional parts of the aircraft management system and the aircraft. 1 is an information flow diagram showing the flow of information in an air vehicle management system.

Figure 1 shows an aircraft FW that flies over a field as a work area. Here, the aircraft FW is a pesticide sprayer with a pesticide spraying device as a working device 5W mounted on the aircraft. The aircraft FW can perform various work flights by equipping the aircraft with various working devices 5W. For example, if the aircraft FW is equipped with a grass cutting device (weeding device), it functions as a flying grass cutter. Of course, a dedicated aircraft FW may be used for the flying work. In addition, the aircraft of the aircraft FW and the working device 5W do not need to be rigidly connected, and may be connected by a rope, chain, or link. In this case, the working device 5W is self-propelled, and the aircraft FW can pull up the working device 5W as necessary to change direction and avoid obstacles. Ground work performed by the aircraft FW that flies over a field includes spraying pesticides (including fertilizer), planting seedlings, sowing, weeding (including mowing), harvesting, etc. Additionally, farm fields are also worked on by ground work machines (GW) that travel on the ground.

As shown in FIG. 1, the field as the work area is bounded by boundary lines BD such as ridges, and obstacles OB exist within and around the field. Various ground work machines GW such as tractors, rice transplanters, seeding machines, and harvesters are also used for field work. The flying object FW and ground work machine GW calculate their own positions based on signals from the positioning satellite SA, and are capable of automatic flight (automatic travel) along a target route (target path). In this embodiment, the flying object management system is built in a remote service computer SC, but it may also be built in a computer owned by the field manager. A ground work machine management system that manages the work travel of the ground work machine GW can also be built in the service computer SC.

Next, one of the general management processes for the aircraft FW in the aircraft management system will be described using Figure 2. First, work information including the work target area (field) is acquired (#10). From the information on the work target area, a field map including the periphery of the work target area is created (#11). Factors that hinder the work flight of the aircraft FW during ground work in this field, that is, work flight obstruction conditions, are extracted from the database of the aircraft management system (#12). Since the work flight obstruction conditions are associated with specific areas in each field, the extracted work flight obstruction conditions are assigned to the corresponding areas in the field map (#13).

Based on the work flight obstruction conditions assigned to the field, a non-working zone SZ (see FIG. 3) in which no work is performed is set in the field (#20), and the area of the field excluding the non-working zone SZ is set as the actual work zone (#21). The non-working zone SZ here is an area in which working in the non-working zone SZ could cause some kind of problem (such as contact with an obstacle OB or a negative impact on the work environment).

Next, work flight regulation information is generated that specifies the work flight for ground work on the actual work area based on the work flight obstruction conditions (#22). The work flight regulation information includes information about the flight area, and the flight area is set based on this information (#23). Once the flight area is set, a flight route is set within the flight area for performing ground work on the actual work area (#24).

An example of the above-mentioned processing from #13 to #24 will be outlined using Figure 3. Figure 3(a) shows an example of setting a non-working area SZ in a conventional field travel operation using a ground work machine GW. The non-working area SZ is called a safety zone, and is set as a strip area of a specified width inside the boundary line BD of the field. This is set to avoid inadvertent contact between the ground work machine GW and the banks that create the boundary line BD. A detour route that takes the safety zone into consideration is also set for obstacles OB protruding into the field.

3B shows an example in which two work flight obstruction conditions are assigned to a field. The work flight obstruction condition assigned to the upper boundary line BD is the first work flight obstruction condition, and is shown as the first work flight obstruction condition area Z1 in the figure. The work flight obstruction condition assigned to the right boundary line BD is the second work flight obstruction condition, and is shown as the second work flight obstruction condition area Z2 in the figure. For example, the first work flight obstruction condition is a prohibition of approach of the aircraft FW due to the presence of a residential house near the upper boundary line BD, and the second work flight obstruction condition is a prohibition of spraying pesticides due to the presence of a pesticide-free cultivation field adjacent to the right boundary line BD. In contrast, since no work flight obstruction conditions are assigned to the right and lower boundary lines BD, work flights beyond the boundary line BD are also possible, and ground work right at the boundary line BD, that is, work flights without considering the safety zone, are possible. In FIG. 3(b), the work flight route is created taking into consideration the safety zone set inside the first work flight obstruction condition area Z1 and the second work flight obstruction condition area Z2, and the avoidance of collision with the obstacle OB.

The flight route generated in #24 is divided into an actual work flight route, where the aircraft FW actually performs ground work in the actual work area, and a non-work flight route, where no ground work is performed, but where obstacle avoidance and direction changes are performed, etc. (#25). This division is defined by spatial position coordinates, so the aircraft FW can determine the actual work flight route and the non-work flight route by referring to its own aircraft position calculated using satellite positioning or inertial positioning and the defined spatial position coordinates. Furthermore, a flight speed and flight height are assigned to the flight route for each flight position (own aircraft position).

Next, the amount of work in the actual work area is calculated and assigned to the actual work flight route (#26). This amount of work is, for example, the amount of spraying per area in case of spraying pesticides, the number of seedlings at the planting point in the row in case of planting seedlings, and the amount of seeds at the sowing point in the row in case of sowing, and the amount can be adjusted depending on the position of the actual work area. In addition, the amount of spraying etc. can be adjusted as needed depending on the wind speed and direction during work. In such a case, the amount of work is adjusted for each section of the actual work area (#27). The adjusted amount of work is assigned to each flight position of the corresponding actual work flight route. Note that if the amount of work is specified in advance, the processes of #26 and #27 may be omitted.

Once the pre-processing from #10 to #27 is complete, the actual work flight is carried out (#30). Furthermore, during or after the work flight, the work flight results are calculated (#31). The work flight results can be calculated from the flight location and the operation of the work device 5W equipped on the aircraft FW, but if the aircraft FW is equipped with a surveillance camera, it is also possible to calculate the work flight results from images captured by this surveillance camera. The calculated work flight results are recorded and stored in the database of the aircraft management system (#32).

FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of the flight management computer 3 (an example of a service computer SC) that constitutes the aircraft management system, and the functional parts of the aircraft FW.

Flight management computer 3 is equipped with the following functional units: work information acquisition unit 31, work flight obstruction condition management unit 32, work area setting unit 33, and work flight regulation information generation unit 34. These functional units can be realized by linking hardware associated with flight management computer 3 with programs installed in flight management computer 3. Of course, the function of a particular functional unit may be realized by hardware alone or by programs alone, or may be realized in collaboration with an external application server.

The work information acquisition unit 31 acquires work information via communication or portable memory. The work information is generated, for example, by a server computer capable of exchanging data with the flight management computer 3, or by the farmer's personal computer, and transferred to the flight management computer 3. Of course, the work information may also be created in the flight management computer 3. The work information includes the work content and the area to be worked on. The work area acquisition unit 31a extracts the area to be worked on from the work information and, if necessary, combines it with map information and records it in memory.

The work flight obstruction condition management unit 32 manages the work flight obstruction conditions for work flights. Specifically, the work flight obstruction condition management unit 32 extracts work flight obstruction conditions from the work flight obstruction condition storage unit 32a, which is a database that stores various work flight obstruction conditions for work flights over the work area (field) that is the subject of work, based on legal restrictions such as laws such as the Aviation Act and the Agricultural Chemicals Control Act, local government regulations, and voluntary restrictions, and field work restrictions such as the work area, work content, and environmental data.

The working area setting unit 33 sets a non-working area SZ in the working area based on the extracted work flight obstruction conditions, and sets the area excluding the non-working area SZ from the working area as the actual working area.

The work flight regulation information generating unit 34 generates work flight regulation information that specifies the work flight for the actual work area based on the work flight obstruction conditions. The work flight regulation information includes the flight area permitted during the work flight of the aircraft FW. The flight area is a three-dimensional space, and at least one of the minimum ground clearance and the maximum ground clearance is specified. The minimum ground clearance is set to exceed the height of the crops grown in the field and to exceed the height of boundary objects such as ridges that form the field boundary line BD, so the minimum ground clearance of the flight area differs in parts.

The work flight regulation information generating unit 34 includes a flight route setting unit 34a and a work flight attribute value setting unit 34b. The flight route setting unit 34a sets a flight route in the flight area. The flight routes are divided into actual work flight routes, where the aircraft is flown while actually performing work, and non-work flight routes, where the aircraft is flown while temporarily halting work. The non-work flight modes here include a mode in which the aircraft FW flies with the operation of the work device 5W equipped thereon stopped, and a mode in which the aircraft FW flies with the work device 5W operating while being lifted out of the field and ground work disabled. Furthermore, a flight speed and flight height are assigned to each flight position on the flight route.

The work flight attribute value setting unit 34b sets various parameters and default values for work flights as work flight attribute values. Work flight attribute values include the degree of work for the actual work area, for example, the amount of seeds sown per unit area (or per unit distance of a row) in sowing work, the amount of fertilizer applied per unit area (or per unit distance of a row) in fertilizing work, and the amount sprayed per unit area in spraying pesticides. When the amount of work is variable, the amount of work is set for each flight position.

The operational flight regulations information may need to be changed depending on the environmental conditions of the field or the condition of the crop being grown, so it can be manually modified on-site or based on a request from the field.

As shown in FIG. 4, the flying object control system 5 of the flying object FW is equipped with the following functional units: flying object communication unit 50, work flight regulation information acquisition unit 51, flying object position calculation unit 52, flight control unit 53, and work control unit 54. These functional units can also be realized by linking hardware associated with the flight management computer 3 with programs installed in the flight management computer 3. Of course, the function of a particular functional unit may be realized by hardware alone or by programs alone, or may be realized in cooperation with an external application server.

The aircraft communication unit 50 can communicate with the communication unit 30 of the flight management computer 3. The aircraft communication unit 50 can also communicate with a remote control (not shown). Furthermore, the aircraft communication unit 50 can also communicate with other aircraft FW.

The work flight regulation information acquisition unit 51 is an information acquisition unit that downloads work flight regulation information from the flight management computer 3, and provides flight control information related to flight control such as flight area and flight route from the acquired work flight regulation information to the flight control unit 53, and provides work control information related to work control for the work device 5W equipped on the flying vehicle FW to the work control unit 54.

The aircraft position calculation unit 52 calculates the aircraft's position based on satellite navigation and inertial navigation, and provides it to the flight control unit 53 and the work control unit 54. The flight control unit 53 performs flight control based on the calculated aircraft's position, the given flight route, and the work flight attribute values. The work control unit 54 provides a work control signal to the work device 5W (here, a drug spraying device) based on the calculated aircraft's position and the work flight attribute values assigned to the flight position.

Next, an example of the flow of information between the functional units in the aircraft management system will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The work information received by the work information acquisition unit 31 includes information about the field and information about the work. From the received work information, the work information acquisition unit 31 extracts field information about the field that is the work target area where the work is planned to be performed and work information about the work content. For example, the field information includes the field ID, the position of the field on the map, the field shape, information about the banks, entrances and obstacles around the field (field surrounding information), crop information about adjacent fields, information about roads and houses around the field, and so on. In this case, the work information, which is a pesticide spraying work, includes the work ID, work content, pesticide attachment information, spraying concentration for the field, etc. The pesticide attachment information includes spraying concentration that will have a negative effect on crops in adjacent fields, spraying concentration that will have a negative effect on adjacent roads and houses, etc.

The work information acquisition unit 31 extracts information related to the creation of work flight obstruction conditions from the work information and provides it to the work flight obstruction condition management unit 32. The work flight obstruction condition management unit 32 generates work flight obstruction conditions based on the information provided by the work information acquisition unit 31 and provides them to the work area setting unit 33 and the work flight regulation information generation unit 34. The work flight obstruction conditions provided to the work area setting unit 33 are conditions necessary for setting a work area, and the work flight obstruction conditions also provided to the work flight regulation information generation unit 34 are conditions necessary for generating work flight regulation information, and are not necessarily the same.

The work area setting unit 33 sets a field area divided into a non-work area SZ and an actual work area based on the work flight obstruction conditions. This field area is the area covered by the work flight.

The work flight regulation information generation unit 34 creates work flight regulation information from the work flight obstruction conditions provided by the work flight obstruction condition management unit 32 and the field area set by the work area setting unit 33. In this embodiment, the work flight regulation information includes a flight area and a flight route, and the flight route includes an actual work flight route and a non-work flight route. The actual work flight route is assigned a spraying degree (liquid agent concentration, amount sprayed per area, etc.), a flight speed for each flight position, and a flight height for each flight position as the degree of work. The spraying degree may also be variable for each flight position. The non-work flight route is assigned a flight speed for each flight position and a flight height for each flight position.

The operational flight regulation information generated by the operational flight regulation information generation unit 34 is sent to the operational flight regulation information acquisition unit 51 provided in the aircraft FW. The aircraft FW performs an operational flight based on the received operational flight regulation information.

In the above explanation, the non-working area SZ in the work area is an area where ground work is not performed, and is not an area above which the aircraft FW is prohibited from flying. The aircraft FW can fly above the non-working area SZ and perform ground work on the actual work area in the work area.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, one flying object FW flies over one field (work site), but the flying object management system of the present invention can also manage a plurality of flying objects FW that fly over one field (work site). In this case, each flying object FW may perform the same work, or may perform different work (e.g., sowing and fertilization).

(2) In the above-described embodiment, the aircraft FW performs operational flight based on operational flight regulation information sent from the flight management computer 3, which is a core element of the aircraft management system. Alternatively, the aircraft FW may be equipped with the flight management computer 3. Furthermore, the aircraft FW may be equipped with at least one functional unit of the flight management computer 3.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the flying object FW is an unmanned flying object, but it may be a remote-controlled flying object. In this case, the remote control pilot pilots the flying object FW based on the operational flight regulation information received from the flight management computer 3. Alternatively, only a portion of the behavior of the flying object FW may be controlled by remote control. For example, flight along a flight route may be performed by automatic piloting of the flying object FW, and only control of the work device 5W for ground work while flying may be performed by remote control. In addition, emergency evacuation flights such as obstacle avoidance flight are possible by remote control.

The configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies below) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, provided no contradictions arise. Furthermore, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the purpose of the present invention.

The present invention can be applied to a system that manages aircraft that fly over work sites such as farm fields.

3: Flight management computer 31: Work information acquisition unit 31a: Work area acquisition unit 32: Work flight obstruction condition management unit 32a: Work flight obstruction condition storage unit 33: Work area setting unit 34: Work flight regulation information generation unit 34a: Flight route setting unit 34b: Work flight attribute value setting unit 5: Aircraft control system 51: Work flight regulation information acquisition unit 52: Aircraft position calculation unit 53: Flight control unit 54: Work control unit BD: Boundary line FW: Aircraft GW: Ground work vehicle OB: Obstacle SZ: Non-working area Z1: First work flight obstruction condition area Z2: Second work flight obstruction condition area

Claims (13)

An aircraft management system for managing an aircraft performing a work flight,
a work area acquisition unit that acquires a work target area;
A work flight obstruction condition management unit that manages work flight obstruction conditions in the work flight;
a work area setting unit that sets a non-work area in the work target area based on the work flight obstruction condition, and sets an area from the work target area excluding the non-work area as an actual work area;
An aircraft management system comprising: The aircraft management system according to claim 1, further comprising a work flight regulation information generating unit that generates work flight regulation information that specifies the work flight for the actual work area based on the work flight obstruction conditions. The aircraft management system according to claim 2, wherein the operational flight regulation information includes the flight area of the aircraft during the operational flight. The aircraft management system according to claim 3, wherein the flight domain is a three-dimensional space, and at least one of a minimum ground clearance and a maximum ground clearance is specified. The aircraft management system according to claim 4, wherein the minimum ground clearance of the flight area is partially different. The aircraft management system according to claim 3, wherein the operational flight regulation information includes a flight route in the flight area. The aircraft management system according to claim 6, wherein the flight routes include actual work flight routes, where the aircraft is flown while actually performing work, and non-work flight routes, where the aircraft is flown while temporarily halting work. The degree of work performed by the flying object with respect to the actual work area is variable;
The aircraft management system according to claim 7 , wherein the actual work flight route includes the work level of the aircraft. The aircraft management system according to claim 8, wherein the workability is the amount of pesticide sprayed per unit area. The aircraft management system according to claim 6, in which a flight speed and flight height are assigned to each flight position on the flight route. The aircraft management system according to claim 2, wherein the operational flight regulation information can be manually modified. An aircraft equipped with an information acquisition unit that downloads the operational flight regulation information from the aircraft management system described in any one of claims 2 to 11, and a flight control unit that flies based on the operational flight regulation information. An aircraft equipped with an aircraft management system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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