Aerial photography drone selection method and system

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of drone technology, and specifically provides a method and system for selecting drones for aerial photography. The method specifically comprises: obtaining one or more target sets, the target set including one or more target points for which aerial photography services have been booked, obtaining the total distance between the drones located in the take-off and landing area and each target set, selecting drones that meet the mission conditions, and sending one or more target sets to the corresponding drones that meet the mission conditions, so that the drones perform aerial photography missions on the target points in the target set, wherein meeting the mission conditions includes that the remaining cruising distance of the drone is longer than the total distance of the target set, and that the drone is fault-free. Before dispatching the drones to perform the mission, the method first selects the drones, and selects the drones whose remaining distance meets the target set, which greatly reduces the risk that the drones cannot complete the aerial photography mission due to insufficient power, and at the same time improves the safety factor of the drones.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, and in particular to a method and system for selecting unmanned aerial vehicles for aerial photography. Background Art

[0002] As a high-end technology product that has emerged in recent years, drones have been widely used in many different fields, such as military reconnaissance drones and drones used as climate data collection equipment in meteorological measurements. Among them, drones also have a broad application prospect in tourism projects. For example, tourists can book drone aerial photography services at scenic spots or locations of interest. After tourists book aerial photography services, drones will fly to the location of tourists according to the mission instructions, and take continuous photos, timed videos and other services according to the type of services reserved by tourists. Generally speaking, drones can take aerial photos of multiple tourists who have booked services during an aerial photography mission, and then return. After the drone returns, the staff will send the data obtained from the aerial photography to the tourists or print out the photos for the tourists.

[0003] In the existing scheme of using drones to take aerial photos of tourists, there is no process for selecting drones before dispatching them to perform aerial photography missions, and there is no comparison between the remaining distance of the drones and the distance between the drones and the aerial photography targets, so that the drones may not be able to complete the aerial photography mission due to insufficient power. Summary of the invention

[0004] (I) Purpose of the invention

[0005] In order to overcome at least one defect of the above-mentioned prior art, reduce the risk of the drone being unable to complete the aerial photography task due to insufficient power, and improve the safety factor of the drone, the present invention provides a method and system for selecting an aerial photography drone.

[0006] (II) Technical solution

[0007] As a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a method for selecting an aerial photography drone, comprising:

[0008] Acquire one or more target sets, where the target set includes one or more target points for which an aerial photography service has been booked;

[0009] Obtaining the total distance between the UAV located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target sets;

[0010] Select a drone that meets the mission requirements;

[0011] The one or more target sets are sent to corresponding drones that meet the task conditions, so that the drones perform aerial photography tasks on the target points in the target set; wherein,

[0012] The mission conditions are met including that the remaining cruising distance of the drone is longer than the total distance of the target set, and the drone is fault-free; the total distance between the drone and the target set includes the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance.

[0013] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, obtaining the total distance between the UAV located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target sets includes:

[0014] Establishing a target area, which is a circle or regular polygon with the smallest area that contains all the target points in the target set;

[0015] Obtaining the center point of the target area as the center point of the target set;

[0016] Obtain the round-trip distance from the drone to the target set based on the center point of the target set;

[0017] According to the center point of the target set, the aerial photography distance of the drone for all the target points in the target set is obtained;

[0018] The total distance between the UAV and the target set is calculated based on the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance.

[0019] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the round-trip distance is twice the distance between the drone and the center point of the target set.

[0020] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the aerial photography distance is calculated based on the number of target points included in the target set and the diameter of the target area or the diameter of the circumscribed circle.

[0021] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, when selecting a drone that meets the mission conditions, when all drones cannot meet the mission conditions of one or more target sets:

[0022] Wait for the drone to recharge its energy until it is fully charged or has been charged with energy that meets the mission conditions, and select the drone to perform the aerial photography mission on the target set that does not meet the mission conditions; or

[0023] The one or more target sets are respectively decomposed into a plurality of target subsets, the total distance between the UAV located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target subsets is obtained, and then a UAV that meets the mission conditions is reselected.

[0024] As a specific implementation method of the above technical solution, when the drones that meet the mission conditions are selected from multiple different take-off and landing areas, and the number of drones that meet the mission conditions is greater than the number of target sets, the drones that meet the mission conditions are further screened according to the number of drones that meet the mission conditions in each take-off and landing area and the total distance between each drone that meets the mission conditions and each target set, and the screened drones that meet the mission conditions are obtained. The screening scheme is: the sum of the total distances of each drone that meets the mission conditions to perform the aerial photography mission is the global shortest.

[0025] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the method also includes: obtaining the location information, remaining power and fault information of all drones in real time.

[0026] As a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention also provides an aerial photography drone selection system, comprising a server and a plurality of drones;

[0027] The server comprises:

[0028] A target acquisition module, used to acquire one or more target sets, wherein the target set includes one or more target points for which an aerial photography service has been booked;

[0029] A distance acquisition module is used to acquire the total distance between the UAV located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target sets;

[0030] A drone selection module, used to select drones that meet mission conditions; and

[0031] A first transceiver module is used to send the aerial photography task information containing the target set to the corresponding drone selected by the drone selection module, so that the drone performs the aerial photography task on the target point in the target set;

[0032] The drone comprises:

[0033] A high-definition camera for taking photos and / or recording video of the target; and

[0034] The second transceiver module is used to receive the aerial photography task information sent by the server, and is also used to send the data photographed or recorded by the high-definition camera to the server; wherein,

[0035] The mission conditions are met including that the remaining cruising distance of the drone is longer than the total distance of the target set, and the drone is fault-free; the total distance between the drone and the target set includes the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance.

[0036] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the distance acquisition module includes:

[0037] An area establishment unit, used to establish a target area, which is a circle or regular polygon with the smallest area containing all target points in the target set;

[0038] A center acquisition unit, used to acquire the center point of the target area as the center point of the target set;

[0039] A round-trip distance acquisition unit is used to acquire the round-trip distance from the UAV to the target set according to the center point of the target set;

[0040] An aerial photography distance acquisition unit is used to acquire the aerial photography distance of the drone for all target points in the target set according to the center point of the target set;

[0041] The total distance acquisition unit is used to calculate the total distance between the UAV and the target set according to the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance.

[0042] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the round-trip distance acquired by the round-trip distance acquisition unit is twice the distance between the drone and the center point of the target set.

[0043] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the aerial photography distance obtained by the aerial photography distance acquisition unit is calculated based on the number of target points included in the target set and the diameter of the target area or the diameter of the circumscribed circle.

[0044] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the drone selection module includes:

[0045] A drone selection unit, used to select drones that meet mission conditions;

[0046] The third judgment unit is used to judge whether there is a target set for which all drones cannot meet the mission conditions;

[0047] a delayed execution unit, configured to, when the third judgment unit determines that there is a target set that does not meet the mission conditions, enable the drone to replenish energy until the energy is full or to perform the aerial photography mission on the target set that does not meet the mission conditions after the energy is fully charged or the energy that meets the mission conditions of the target set is charged;

[0048] The set decomposition unit is used to decompose the target set in which all drones cannot meet the task conditions into multiple target subsets when the third judgment unit determines that there is a target set that does not meet the task conditions, so that the distance acquisition module obtains the total distance between the drones located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target subsets, and then the drone selection unit re-selects a drone that meets the task conditions.

[0049] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the drone selection module includes:

[0050] The secondary screening unit is used to further screen the drones that meet the mission conditions according to the number of drones that meet the mission conditions in each take-off and landing area and the total distance between each drone that meets the mission conditions and each target set when the drones that meet the mission conditions are selected from multiple different take-off and landing areas and the number of drones that meet the mission conditions is greater than the number of target sets, and obtain the screened drones that meet the mission conditions. The screening scheme is: the sum of the total distances of each drone that meets the mission conditions to perform the aerial photography mission is the global shortest.

[0051] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the drone also includes:

[0052] Information collection module, used to collect its own location information, remaining power and fault information;

[0053] The second transceiver module is also used to send the information collected by the information collection module to the server, and the first transceiver module is also used to obtain the location information, remaining power and fault information of all drones in real time.

[0054] (III) Beneficial effects

[0055] The method and system for selecting an aerial photography drone provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0056] 1. Before dispatching drones to perform tasks, first select the drones whose remaining distance meets the target set, which greatly reduces the risk of drones being unable to complete aerial photography tasks due to insufficient power, and at the same time improves the safety factor of drones;

[0057] 2. By dividing the total distance into round-trip distance and aerial photography distance, and performing accurate simulation calculations on both, we can predict the mission consumption more accurately before dispatching the drone, and choose a more suitable drone to perform the aerial photography mission accordingly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to be used to explain and illustrate the present invention, but should not be construed as limiting the protection scope of the present invention.

[0059] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of one embodiment of the method for selecting an aerial photography drone provided by the present invention;

[0060] Figure 2It is a structural block diagram of one embodiment of the aerial photography drone selection system provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the implementation of the present invention clearer, the technical solution in the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0062] It should be noted that: in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions. The described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. In the absence of conflict, the embodiments in this application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0063] In this article, "first", "second", etc. are only used to distinguish each other, rather than to indicate their importance and order.

[0064] The following is one embodiment of the method for selecting an aerial photography drone provided by the present invention, which is the first embodiment. The method for selecting an aerial photography drone is used to select qualified drones to perform aerial photography tasks after multiple tourists have booked drone aerial photography services, so that the drones can normally complete the aerial photography tasks for the tourists who have booked the aerial photography services. Figure 1 is a flow chart of this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1 As shown, the aerial photography drone selection method includes the following steps:

[0065] Step 100: Obtain one or more target sets, where the target set includes one or more target points for which an aerial photography service has been booked.

[0066] When a tourist books a drone photography service at a certain location in a scenic area, and books a drone photography service at a booked time and place in the scenic area, it is necessary to select a drone that meets the task execution conditions, so that the drone flies to the location to take multi-angle continuous photos of the tourist or record images for a set time. Therefore, the drone selection system must first obtain a target set, which contains one or more target points of the booked aerial photography service. The target point is the location where the aerial photography service occurs selected by the tourist. It is understandable that there can be multiple target sets.

[0067] Step 200, obtaining the total distance between the UAV located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target sets, wherein the total distance between the UAV and the target set includes the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance.

[0068] After completing the mission, the drone will return to the take-off and landing area to wait for the next mission instruction, and decide whether to charge, repair or replace accessories according to its own status. After obtaining multiple target sets, it is necessary to obtain the total distance between the drones in the take-off and landing area and each target set, so as to be used as a reference for selecting drones later. The number of total distances obtained is the product of the number of drones and the number of target sets. It should be noted that all the above distances are calculated theoretical values.

[0069] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, obtaining the total distance between the UAV located in the take-off and landing area and the target set in step 200 specifically includes the following steps:

[0070] Step 210: establish a target area, which is a circle or regular polygon with the smallest area that contains all the target points in the target set.

[0071] The purpose of establishing the target area is to facilitate the calculation of the distance of the drone's aerial photography, and minimizing the area of ​​the target area is to make the estimation result of the aerial photography distance more accurate. It can be understood that the target area can be a circle or a regular polygon such as a regular quadrilateral. The shape of the target area can be selected according to the specific situation. For example, if the distribution of the target points is relatively concentrated, but the distribution of all the target points is a triangle as a whole, then the target area can be a triangle.

[0072] Step 220, obtaining the center point of the target area as the center point of the target set.

[0073] It should be noted that if the target area is a circle, the center point is the center of the circle; if the target area is a regular polygon, the center point is the center of the circumscribed circle of the target area.

[0074] Step 230, obtaining the round trip distance from the drone to the target set according to the center point of the target set. As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the round trip distance is twice the distance between the drone and the center point of the target set.

[0075] After obtaining the center point of the target area, in order to estimate the distance between the drone and the target area, the distance between the center point and the drone is set as the theoretical value of the round-trip distance. It is understandable that since the distance between the drone and the center point is a one-way distance, and the drone needs to return to the take-off and landing area after completing the aerial photography mission, the round-trip distance is twice the distance between the drone and the center point. It should be noted that the above distance is not a straight-line distance, but an actual cruising distance. For example, on a map, the straight-line distance between point A and point B is 2 kilometers. There are obstacles or signal transmitters that interfere with the drone's cruising between point A and point B. Therefore, the drone needs to take a detour to cruise from point A to point B, and its actual cruising distance may be 2.5 kilometers. This actual cruising distance is the distance described in the present invention.

[0076] Step 240, obtaining the aerial photography distance of the drone for all target points in the target set based on the center point of the target set. As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the aerial photography distance is calculated based on the number of target points included in the target set and the diameter of the target area or the diameter of the circumscribed circle.

[0077] When a drone performs an aerial photography mission, in addition to consuming electricity to and from the target area, it also consumes electricity when taking aerial photos of tourists and passing through each target point, which means it contributes to the distance traveled. If the target area contains a large number of target points, the drone will consume more electricity when taking aerial photos of tourists, and the drone will also consume more electricity when passing through each target point. Both are equivalent to contributing more distance traveled, so the aerial photography distance varies according to the number of target points. For a circular target area, the amount of electricity consumed by the drone when passing through each target point is calculated by an algorithm based on the radius of the target area, while for a regular polygonal target area, the amount of electricity consumed by the drone when passing through each target point is calculated by an algorithm based on the radius of the circumscribed circle of the target area. It should be noted that the remaining power of the drone is proportional to the remaining cruising distance, and the two can be converted.

[0078] Step 250, the total distance between the UAV and the target set is calculated based on the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance.

[0079] The theoretical value of the distance obtained by converting the theoretical value of the power consumed when performing the aerial photography service and the theoretical value of the distance obtained by converting the theoretical value of the power consumed by the drone between the target points are calculated through an algorithm to obtain the theoretical value of the aerial photography distance. The theoretical value of the aerial photography distance and the theoretical value of the round-trip distance are calculated through an algorithm to obtain the theoretical value of the total distance between the drone and the target set. It should be noted that the calculation between the distances is not necessarily a simple addition, and other algorithms can be used to make the final theoretical value of the total distance more accurate and true.

[0080] The total distance between the drone and the target set is obtained through the above steps. After obtaining the total distance between the drone and each target set, a drone that meets the task conditions is selected, and each target set is sent to the corresponding drone that meets the task conditions, so that the drone performs the aerial photography task for the target points in the target set.

[0081] Specifically, for example, there are currently 3 target sets, where the target set g1 contains 5 target points P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5, and there are 10 drones parked in the take-off and landing area. When obtaining the total distance from the first drone A1 to the first target set g1, it is necessary to obtain the distance from the drone A1 to the center point of the target set g1, and multiply the distance by 2 to obtain the round-trip distance between the drone A1 and the target set g1. It is also necessary to obtain the aerial photography distance of the drone A1 in the target set g1. The target set g1 contains 5 target points. According to the calculation and the different service items booked, the 5 target points are respectively assigned weights. Assuming that the weight of taking photos is 2 minutes and the weight of filming is 5 minutes, 2 of the 5 target points are booked for photo taking services, 2 target points are booked for filming services, and the remaining 1 is booked for both photo taking and filming services. At this time, there are 21 minutes, and the 21 minutes are converted into distance.

[0082] Assuming that the target area is a circle with a diameter of 200 meters, since the drone needs to pass through each target point in turn when performing aerial photography tasks, the passing distance within the target set must also be calculated into the aerial photography distance, and the passing distance is calculated based on the radius of the target area. The distance obtained by converting the time required for the actual aerial photography service and the passing distance of the drone in the target area are calculated through an algorithm to obtain the aerial photography distance, and the aerial photography distance and the round-trip distance are calculated through an algorithm to obtain the total distance between drone A1 and target set g1. The total distance between drone A1 and the remaining two target sets, the total distance between the remaining nine drones in the take-off and landing area and the three target sets, and so on.

[0083] Step 300, selecting a drone that meets the mission conditions.

[0084] After obtaining the total distance between each drone and each target set, it is necessary to select a drone that meets the task conditions to perform the aerial photography task, wherein the task conditions include that the remaining cruising distance of the drone is longer than the total distance of the target set, and also include the drone's fault-free information. Only when the remaining cruising distance of drone A1 is longer than the total distance between drone A1 and target set g1, drone A1 can complete the aerial photography task of target set g1 and return smoothly, otherwise it will lose energy supply during the mission. If the drone has a fault or needs to replace a component, the drone must not be able to perform the task, otherwise a safety accident will occur. The remaining cruising distance of the drone can be converted from the remaining power of the drone. It can be understood that the converted remaining cruising distance is a theoretical value. Therefore, when selecting a drone that meets the task conditions, the remaining cruising distance of the drone must not only be longer than the total distance of the target set, but also usually reserve some distance margin, that is, power margin. For example, the remaining cruising distance of drone A1 must be at least 1.1 times the total distance of the above-mentioned target set g1 before drone A1 is considered to meet the conditions for performing the aerial photography task on target set g1.

[0085] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, when selecting drones that meet the mission conditions in step 300, when all drones cannot meet the mission conditions of one or more target sets, that is, there are one or more target sets, and the total distance between the one or more target sets and each drone is longer than the remaining cruising distance of each drone, the following two strategies can be adopted:

[0086] The first is: wait for the drone to replenish energy until it meets the mission conditions, and select the drone to perform the aerial photography mission for the target set that does not meet the mission conditions. Specifically, for example, there are two target sets, and all drones cannot meet the aerial photography mission conditions of the two target sets, that is, the remaining cruising distance of all drones is shorter than the total distance between each drone and any of the two target sets. At this time, you can wait for the drone that is being charged to be fully charged or replenished to meet the mission conditions of the target set. When a drone that meets the mission conditions of the target set appears, select the drone as the drone that meets the mission conditions. It can be understood that this situation will have a certain time delay in the execution of the aerial photography mission, but the number of dispatched drones will not increase.

[0087] The second method is: decompose the target set for which all the above drones cannot meet the task conditions into multiple target subsets, obtain the total distance between the drones located in the take-off and landing area and each target subset, and then reselect the drones that meet the task conditions. Specifically, since there is a target set for which no drone can perform the aerial photography task alone, if you want to perform the task as soon as possible, you must decompose the task, for example, divide the target set containing 20 target points into 4 subsets, each subset contains 5 target points, or divide it into other number of subsets according to the position of the target points, and the number of target points contained in each subset may not be exactly the same. Then treat the decomposed target subsets as a target set, obtain the total distance between the target subset and each drone, and select the drone that meets the task conditions according to the total distance. Since the number of target points in the target subset is less than the number of target points in the target set before decomposition, the total distance required to perform the aerial photography task is reduced, which is equivalent to lowering the standard for the remaining power of the drone, so that the drone that can meet the task conditions appears, and the cost is that multiple drones need to be dispatched instead of one when the task is not decomposed. Understandably, in this case, aerial photography missions can be carried out as quickly as possible, but the number of dispatched drones needs to be increased.

[0088] The advantage is that this allows different response strategies to be selected according to the current situation, increasing the flexibility of the plan.

[0089] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, in order to cope with the complexity and diversity of the places where tourists book aerial photography services, and in order to meet the tourists' aerial photography needs as soon as possible and save energy, the scenic area management party can set up multiple drone take-off and landing areas in the tourist scenic area. When the drones that meet the task conditions selected in step 300 come from multiple different take-off and landing areas, and the number of drones that meet the task conditions selected is greater than the number of target sets, the drones that meet the task conditions are further screened according to the number of drones that meet the task conditions in each take-off and landing area and the total distance between each drone that meets the task conditions and each target set, and the screened drones that meet the task conditions are obtained. The screening scheme is: the sum of the total distances of the drones that meet the task conditions to perform the aerial photography task is the shortest globally.

[0090] Specifically, for example, 10 drones that meet the mission conditions are selected, among which drones A1 to A5 are located in the take-off and landing area D1, and drones A21 to A25 are located in the take-off and landing area D2. The number of target sets is 5. Assuming that all 10 drones can meet the mission conditions of any of the 5 target sets, it is necessary to further select 5 drones from the 10 drones to perform aerial photography tasks on the 5 target sets respectively. There are 252 schemes in total, and the sum of the total distances of the 5 drones performing the aerial photography tasks is the smallest among all schemes. Assuming that the locations of the 5 target sets are obviously closer to the take-off and landing area D1 than to the take-off and landing area D2, the 5 drones A1 to A5 in the take-off and landing area D1 can make the sum of the total distances the shortest globally, so that the aerial photography mission can be completed at the fastest speed and the drone energy can be saved. If the number of target sets is 8, 4 drones can be dispatched from each of the two take-off and landing areas according to the situation, or 3 drones can be dispatched from one of the take-off and landing areas and all 5 drones can be dispatched from the other take-off and landing area. Therefore, the screening results are determined not only by the number of UAVs that meet the mission conditions in each take-off and landing area, but also by the total distance between each UAV that meets the mission conditions and each target set.

[0091] Advantageously, this can disperse the drones' stationing points and adjust the locations of take-off and landing areas according to the popularity of the target points, so that drones can get closer to the target points that are frequently booked by tourists for aerial photography services, improving the efficiency of drones in performing aerial photography missions and saving energy.

[0092] When obtaining the total distance in step 200, it is necessary to first obtain the position information of the drone, and then calculate the above-mentioned total distance according to the position information of the target point. In step 300, it is necessary to convert the remaining cruising distance of the drone by the remaining power of the drone. When judging whether the drone meets the task conditions in step 300, it is also necessary to obtain the fault information of the drone. Therefore, as a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the method for selecting an aerial photography drone provided by the present invention also includes real-time acquisition of the position information, remaining power and fault information of all drones. The drone is selected by obtaining various aspects of the status information of the drone in real time. It is understandable that the task conditions may also include other conditions such as the maximum cruising distance of the drone. For example, the take-off and landing area may include drones of different models, some of which have a long maximum cruising distance and a short charging time, and are used for the execution of short-distance aerial photography tasks, and some of which have a long maximum cruising distance and a long charging time, and are used for the execution of long-distance and short-distance tasks. If the distance from the drone to the target set exceeds the maximum cruising distance, the target set can only select drones that can perform long-distance tasks to execute.

[0093] Step 400: Send the above one or more target sets to corresponding drones that meet the task conditions, so that the drones perform aerial photography tasks on target points in the target set.

[0094] After obtaining the target set and selecting the drones that meet the task conditions, if there is only one target set, the target set will be sent to the selected drone. If there are multiple target sets, the multiple target sets will be sent to the selected drones respectively. The drone will perform the aerial photography task on the target points within the target set according to the received target set. It should be noted that the number of drones that meet the task conditions may be more than the number of target sets, and the aerial photography task will be assigned according to the situation. For example, there are 5 target sets obtained by grouping, each of which contains 3 target points. In step 310, 10 drones that meet the task conditions are selected. At this time, the 5 drones to which the 5 target sets are specifically allocated will be determined based on the remaining power and other status information of the 10 drones and the performance parameters such as the drone model. After the 5 drones that perform the aerial photography task are determined, the 5 target sets are sent to the corresponding 5 drones respectively. The drones fly to the 3 target points in the set according to the target sets they receive, perform the aerial photography task on the target points in turn, and then return and bring back the aerial photography data. The operator copies the aerial photography data to the tourists, or prints out the photos in the aerial photography data for the tourists, or the tourists connect to the drones by wire / wireless at the designated location and receive the aerial photography data automatically sent by the drones. At this point, the drone has completed a complete aerial photography task.

[0095] The aerial photography drone selection method selects drones before dispatching them to perform tasks, and selects drones whose remaining distances meet the target set, which greatly reduces the risk of drones being unable to complete aerial photography tasks due to insufficient power, and improves the safety factor of drones.

[0096] The following is another embodiment of the method for selecting an aerial photography drone provided by the present invention, which is the second embodiment. This embodiment focuses on further describing the acquisition of one or more target sets in step 100.

[0097] When multiple tourists book aerial photography services at different locations, and set the location where the aerial photography services are booked as the target point, the target points of the booked aerial photography services need to be grouped. After grouping, multiple target sets will be obtained, so that drones can be dispatched in the most reasonable way to perform aerial photography tasks, so that the task execution time is shortest and the resource consumption is minimal. It should be noted that when the total number of target points is small and the distribution is relatively concentrated, it will be judged in advance by other methods whether all current target points can become a target set and only one drone can complete the aerial photography task. If so, there is no need to perform step 100, but directly select drones that meet the conditions and dispatch them to perform aerial photography tasks. Because when one drone can complete the aerial photography tasks of all current target points at a time, the optimal solution has been obtained at this time, and there is no need to further optimize the distribution method through grouping. In step 100, the target points of the booked aerial photography services are grouped to obtain multiple target sets, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0098] Step 110, obtaining the positions of all target points in the aerial photography service area to obtain a total set of target points, and randomly selecting multiple target points from the total set of target points as initial points.

[0099] After obtaining the information of tourists booking aerial photography services, a task scanning cycle can be set. The scheduled aerial photography tasks obtained in each task scanning cycle are divided into the same batch of tasks, and then the drones are dispatched according to each batch of tasks. A batch of tasks will contain multiple target points. To dispatch drones to perform aerial photography tasks, you must first obtain the positions of all target points in a batch of tasks and obtain the total set of target points for the batch of tasks. The total set of target points includes all target points in the batch of tasks. Multiple target points are randomly selected from the total set of target points as initial points. The purpose of selecting the initial points is to perform subsequent grouping. It can be understood that the number of initial points is selected based on the total number of target points and / or drone performance parameters. Performance parameters may include the maximum cruising speed and maximum cruising time of the drone.

[0100] Step 120: Establish multiple temporary sets corresponding to multiple initial points respectively.

[0101] Since the target points need to be grouped, different groups need to be created first, and N temporary sets are established based on the N initial points, each of which contains 1 initial point.

[0102] Step 130, obtaining the distance from each non-initial point to each initial point, selecting the minimum distance from multiple distances from the non-initial point to each initial point, and classifying each non-initial point into a temporary set of initial points corresponding to the minimum distance of the non-initial point. The non-initial point is a target point in the total set of target points other than multiple initial points.

[0103] The selected target points in the target set are the initial points, and the unselected points in the same set are the non-initial points. It should be noted that the initial point will change, so the identity of the target point will change. The target point may be currently selected as the initial point, but it may become a non-initial point later. After the identity of all target points is determined, that is, after the identity of the target point is determined whether it is an initial point or a non-initial point, the distance from each non-initial point to each initial point is obtained. The number of distances obtained is the product of the number of non-initial points and the number of initial points. After all the distances are obtained, for each non-initial point, the minimum distance from the multiple distances from the non-initial point to each initial point is selected. For example, there are currently 3 initial points F1 to F3 and 12 non-initial points C1 to C12. For C1, there are 3 distances from C1 to the 3 initial points F1 to F3. The minimum distance is selected from these 3 distances. Assuming that the initial point corresponding to the minimum distance is F2, the non-initial point C1 is included in the temporary set T2 corresponding to the initial point F2. The remaining 11 non-initial points are classified into the temporary sets corresponding to the initial points in the same way, thus obtaining 3 temporary sets with members.

[0104] Step 140, calculate the average value of the distance between each target point in each temporary set and other target points in the same temporary set, select the minimum value among all the average values ​​in the same temporary set, and use the target point corresponding to the minimum value as the center point, thereby obtaining multiple center points.

[0105] After all non-initial points are assigned to temporary sets, it is necessary to obtain the center point of each temporary set, which is the new initial point. Assume that the temporary set T1 corresponding to the initial point F1 contains 5 non-initial points, the temporary set T2 corresponding to the initial point F2 contains 3 non-initial points, and the temporary set T3 corresponding to the initial point F3 contains 4 non-initial points. For the temporary set T1, it contains 5 non-initial points and 1 initial point, a total of 6 points. Calculate the average value of the distance between each of these 6 points and the other 5 points, and you will get 6 average values. Select the minimum value from these 6 average values. The point corresponding to the minimum value may be the initial point or a non-initial point. This point is the center point, which is the new initial point. The center points of the other two sets are similar.

[0106] Step 150, taking the center point as a new initial point, repeatedly iterating steps 120 to 150, until the center point obtained this time is the same as the center point obtained last time, and taking multiple temporary sets corresponding to multiple center points as target sets.

[0107] The center point is substituted as a new initial point into step 120, and steps 120 to 150 are executed again to implement iterative grouping. N initial points are obtained after each iterative grouping. Each time N new initial points are obtained, the new initial point obtained this time is compared with the initial point obtained in the last iterative grouping, that is, the new initial point obtained after this iterative grouping is compared with the initial point substituted before this iterative grouping. If the new initial point obtained after the last iterative grouping and the new initial point obtained after this iterative grouping are the same, it means that the new initial point currently obtained is the best. If the new initial point obtained this time is substituted into step 120 again, the new initial point obtained next time will also be the same as the new initial point obtained this time, that is, no matter how many iterations are performed after this time, the result will not change.

[0108] After obtaining the center point, since each center point belongs to a temporary set when it is obtained, when the center point is obtained and the iterative grouping is stopped, the temporary sets corresponding to the center point are the optimal sets, that is, the target set to be obtained. Through the grouping and iterative target set obtained by the above steps, each target point can be classified according to the position, and the target points with similar distances can be classified into the same set, which can reduce the distance of the drone cruising between the target points, improve the drone's single mission execution capability, and enable the drone to perform aerial photography tasks on more target points during a single voyage, improve the completion speed of aerial photography tasks, and save resources.

[0109] It should be noted that in step 130, after each non-initial point is classified into the temporary set of initial points corresponding to the minimum distance of the non-initial point, there may be a temporary set without any non-initial point classified under it, that is, in the process of classifying non-initial points into temporary sets, there is such an initial point that the distance between all non-initial points and the initial point is not the minimum distance, so all non-initial points are classified into other temporary sets, and no non-initial points are classified into the temporary set corresponding to the initial point, and there is only one target point, the initial point, in the temporary set. In this case, the target set has only one target point, the initial point, and in the subsequent process, when the drone performs an aerial photography task, the drone performing the aerial photography task on the target set only performs aerial photography on this one target point, and then returns.

[0110] If the target points are grouped only once, the target set obtained may not be the global optimal set but the local optimal set. Therefore, in order to make the target points grouped more reasonably, as a specific implementation method of the above technical solution, before grouping the target points of the booked aerial photography service, first set the first iteration number x1. After grouping the target points of the booked aerial photography service and obtaining n target sets {g1, g2, ..., gn}, record the n target sets obtained this time as a target set group G1 = {g11, g12, ..., g1n}, and judge whether the number of times the target set group G1 is obtained reaches the first iteration number x1. If it does not reach the first iteration number x1, regroup the target points of the booked aerial photography service, while keeping the number of initial points unchanged. If it reaches the first iteration number x1, select a group of target sets from each target set group as the optimal target set group. It can be understood that the number of initial points is selected according to the total number of target points and / or the performance parameters of the drone. The performance parameters may include the maximum cruising speed and maximum cruising time of the drone.

[0111] Specifically, for example, if the first iteration number x1 is 5, the target points of the booked aerial photography service need to be grouped 5 times, and the number of initial points selected during the 5 groupings remains consistent. After that, 5 target set groups G1 to G5 are obtained respectively, and then one of the 5 target set groups is selected as the optimal target set group. It should be noted that the target sets contained in the 5 target set groups obtained after 5 iterations may all be the same, which is equivalent to 5 identical target set groups. If the target set groups obtained are not exactly the same, an optimal target set group can be selected based on the rationality of each target set group. After obtaining the optimal target set group, the total distance between the drone and each target set is obtained, and the drone that meets the task conditions is selected. Finally, the target sets in the optimal target set group are sent to the corresponding drones that meet the task conditions, so that the drone performs the aerial photography task on the target points in the target set.

[0112] Since the target set group obtained according to the above technical solution has an unchanged number of initial points initially selected, the diversity of grouping is limited to a certain extent, and some other possibly better target set groups are excluded in disguise. Therefore, as a specific implementation method of the above technical solution, the second iteration number x2 is pre-set before setting the first iteration number x1. After the target points of the booked aerial photography service are grouped x1 times and the optimal target set group is obtained, the optimal target set group obtained this time is recorded and it is determined whether the number of times the optimal target set group is obtained reaches the second iteration number x2. If the second iteration number is not reached, the number of selected initial points is changed and the number of initial points currently selected is made different from the number of initial points selected in any previous time. Then the target points of the booked aerial photography service are re-grouped. If the second iteration number x2 is reached, one group is selected from each optimal target set group as the final target set group.

[0113] Specifically, for example, the second iteration number x2 is 3, and the first iteration number x1 is 5, then the target points of the booked aerial photography service are first grouped 5 times, and the number of initial points selected for the 5 groupings remains consistent. Assuming that the number of initial points is 2, 5 target set groups G11 to G15 are obtained respectively, and each target set group includes 2 target sets. Then, one of the 5 target set groups is selected as the optimal target set group. At this time, 5 first iterations are completed, but only 1 second iteration is completed. After that, it is the second iteration, that is, the target points of the booked aerial photography service are regrouped and the number of initial points is changed. Assuming that the number of initial points is 3, it is different from the 2 initial points of the first iteration. Then repeat the process of the first iteration, and get 5 target set groups G21 to G25 again. At this time, each target set group includes 3 target sets. After completing this second iteration, since the number of second iterations is 3, there is 1 left, so the target points of the booked aerial photography service are regrouped again and the number of initial points is changed. Assuming that the number of initial points is 4, it is different from the number of initial points selected in the previous 2 second iterations. Then repeat the process of the first iteration, and get 5 target set groups G31 to G35 again. At this time, each target set group includes 4 target sets. One of the 15 optimal target set groups obtained from these 3 second iterations is selected as the final target set group, which may include 2 target sets, or 3 or 4 target sets. Then the total distance between the UAV and each target set is obtained, and the UAVs that meet the task conditions are selected. Finally, the target sets in the final target set group are sent to the corresponding UAVs that meet the task conditions, so that the UAVs can perform aerial photography tasks on the target points in the target set.

[0114] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the number of initial points is selected according to the total number of target points and / or the performance parameters of the UAV, etc. The performance parameters may include the maximum cruising speed and maximum cruising time of the UAV, etc.

[0115] Through the first iteration, the number of simulated groupings when the number of initial points is the same is increased, making the target set more referenceable and reasonable. Through the second iteration, the number of initial points is changed, which expands the consideration range of simulated grouping of target points and increases the diversity of results, allowing more types of combinations to participate in selection and elimination, making the final target set group more reasonable and the optimization more obvious.

[0116] Before grouping the target points of the booked aerial photography service, the user must first book the aerial photography service and inform the service provider of the aerial photography location. Therefore, as a specific implementation of the above technical solution, before grouping the target points of the booked aerial photography service to obtain multiple target sets, the following steps are also included:

[0117] Step 010: The user terminal obtains a pattern or text information for booking an aerial photography service.

[0118] Step 020, the user terminal scans / types a pattern / text information to book an aerial photography service, and uploads its own location as the location of the target point, or the user terminal selects a location from pre-set aerial photography locations as the location of the target point.

[0119] The pattern for booking the aerial photography service may be a QR code or other pattern, and the user scans the QR code through a mobile phone or other user terminal to enter the WeChat applet or a specific mobile application to book the aerial photography service. The text for booking the aerial photography service may be a string, and the user enters the WeChat applet or a specific mobile application through a mobile phone or other user terminal to book the aerial photography service. When booking the aerial photography service, it is also necessary to upload the target point location, which may be the user's current location as the target point location, or the user may select a location from a pre-set recommended aerial photography location or a popular aerial photography location as the target point location.

[0120] When multiple users submit requests for booking aerial photography services to the selection system that controls the drone at different times, if the selection system wants the drone to complete aerial photography of multiple target points in a single aerial photography mission, it is necessary to regularly process the received aerial photography service requests, rather than immediately dispatching the drone to perform aerial photography tasks for the requesting user upon receiving a request. Therefore, as a specific implementation method of the above technical solution, before grouping the target points for the booked aerial photography service, the target points uploaded by the users who have booked the aerial photography service are divided into different batches according to the booking time, and the target points uploaded by each user in the same batch are used as the target points to be grouped.

[0121] Specifically, a task scanning cycle can be set, and the target points uploaded by users who have booked aerial photography services can be divided into different batches according to the booking time, such as T1 batch, T2 batch, etc. Each batch contains one or more target points uploaded by users, and then the target points in the same batch are used as target points to be grouped. For example, the task scanning cycle is 1 minute, and after 1 minute, the target points that have booked aerial photography services within this 1 minute are the target points that need to perform the aerial photography task at that time. It can also be understood that the drones in the take-off and landing area will be dispatched to perform aerial photography tasks once every task scanning cycle. The other steps and implementation methods of this embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0122] In addition to the aerial photography drone selection method mentioned in the above technical solution, the present invention also provides an aerial photography drone selection system. The following is one embodiment of the aerial photography drone selection system provided by the present invention, which is the third embodiment. The drone selection system is used to select qualified drones to perform aerial photography tasks after multiple tourists have booked drone aerial photography services, so that the drones can normally complete the aerial photography tasks for the tourists who have booked the aerial photography services. Figure 2 is a structural block diagram of this embodiment, such as Figure 2 As shown, the drone selection system includes a server and multiple drones.

[0123] The server includes a target acquisition module, a distance acquisition module, a drone selection module and a first transceiver module.

[0124] The target acquisition module acquires one or more target sets, and the target set contains one or more target points of the booked aerial photography service. When a tourist books a drone photography service at a certain location in the scenic area, and books a drone photography service at the booked time and location in the scenic area, it is necessary to select a drone that meets the task execution conditions, so that the drone flies to the location to take multi-angle continuous photos of the tourist or record images for a set time. Therefore, the drone selection system must first acquire the target set. A target set contains one or more target points of the booked aerial photography service, and the target point is the location where the aerial photography service occurs selected by the tourist. It is understandable that there can be multiple target sets. The target acquisition module sends the obtained target set information to the distance acquisition module and the first transceiver module.

[0125] The distance acquisition module is used to obtain the total distance between the drones in the take-off and landing area and each target set. After obtaining the target set information sent by the target acquisition module, the distance acquisition module needs to be used to obtain the total distance between the drones in the take-off and landing area and each target set, so as to be used as a reference when selecting drones later. The distance acquisition module sends the obtained total distance data to the drone selection module.

[0126] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the distance acquisition module includes an area establishment unit, a center acquisition unit, a round-trip distance acquisition unit, an aerial distance acquisition unit and a total distance acquisition unit.

[0127] The region establishment unit is used to establish a target region, which is a circle or regular polygon with the smallest area that contains all the target points in the target set. The purpose of establishing the target region is to facilitate the calculation of the aerial photography distance of the drone, and minimizing the area of ​​the target region is to make the estimation result of the aerial photography distance more accurate.

[0128] The center acquisition unit is used to acquire the center point of the target area as the center point of the target set. It should be noted that if the target area is a circle, the center point is the center of the circle, and if the target area is a regular polygon, the center point is the center of the circumscribed circle of the target area.

[0129] The round-trip distance acquisition unit is used to acquire the distance between the drone and the center point and set twice the distance as the round-trip distance. After acquiring the center point of the target area, in order to estimate the distance between the drone and the target area, the distance between the center point and the drone is set as the theoretical value of the round-trip distance. It can be understood that since the distance between the drone and the center point is a one-way distance, and the drone needs to return to the take-off and landing area after completing the aerial photography mission, the round-trip distance is twice the distance between the drone and the center point.

[0130] The aerial photography distance acquisition unit is used to calculate the required distance for the drone to perform the aerial photography task in the target area according to the number of target points contained in the target set and the diameter or circumscribed circle diameter of the target area, and set the required distance as the aerial photography distance. After obtaining the center point of the target area, in order to estimate the distance between the drone and the target area, the distance between the center point and the drone is set as the theoretical value of the round-trip distance. It is understandable that since the distance between the drone and the center point is a one-way distance, and the drone needs to return to the take-off and landing area after completing the aerial photography mission, the round-trip distance is twice the distance between the drone and the center point. It should be noted that the remaining power of the drone is proportional to the remaining cruising distance, and the two can be converted.

[0131] The total distance acquisition unit is used to calculate the total distance between the drone and the target set based on the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance. The theoretical distance value obtained by converting the theoretical value of the power required for the actual aerial photography service and the theoretical distance value obtained by converting the theoretical value of the power consumed by the drone between the target points are calculated through an algorithm to obtain the theoretical value of the aerial photography distance. The theoretical value of the aerial photography distance and the theoretical value of the round-trip distance are calculated through an algorithm to obtain the theoretical value of the total distance between the drone and the target set. It should be noted that the calculation between the distances is not necessarily a simple addition, and other algorithms can also be used to make the final theoretical value of the total distance more accurate and true.

[0132] The total distance between the drone and the target set is obtained through the above steps. After obtaining the total distance between the drone and each target set, a drone that meets the task conditions is selected, and each target set is sent to the corresponding drone that meets the task conditions, so that the drone performs the aerial photography task for the target points in the target set.

[0133] The drone selection module is used to select drones that meet the task conditions. After obtaining the grouped target set and the corresponding total distance, it is necessary to select drones that meet the task conditions from the drones in the take-off and landing area to perform the aerial photography task, wherein the task conditions include that the remaining cruising distance of the drone is longer than the total distance of the target set, and also include the drone's fault-free information. After the drone selection module receives the total distance data sent by the distance acquisition module, it determines whether the remaining cruising distance of the drone is longer than the total distance between the drone A1 and the target set g1. Only when it is longer than the total distance can the drone A1 complete the aerial photography task of the target set g1 and return smoothly, otherwise it will lose energy supply during the mission. If the drone has a fault or needs to replace a component, the drone must not be able to perform the task, otherwise a safety accident will occur. The remaining cruising distance of the drone can be converted by the remaining power of the drone. It can be understood that the converted remaining cruising distance is a theoretical value. Therefore, when selecting a drone that meets the task conditions, the remaining cruising distance of the drone must not only be longer than the total distance of the target set, but also usually reserve some distance margin, that is, power margin. For example, if the remaining cruising distance of UAV A1 is at least 1.1 times the total distance of the target set g1, UAV A1 will be considered to meet the conditions for performing the aerial photography mission for the target set g1. The UAV selection module sends the information of the selected UAVs that meet the mission conditions to the first transceiver module.

[0134] The first transceiver module is used to send the aerial photography task information including the target set obtained by the target acquisition module to the drones selected by the corresponding drone selection module, so that the drones perform the aerial photography task on the target points in the target set. After receiving the drone information that meets the task conditions sent by the drone selection module and the target set information sent by the target acquisition module, the first transceiver module communicates with the second transceiver module of the corresponding drone according to the received drone information, and sends the target set information to the corresponding drone.

[0135] The drone includes a high-definition camera and a second transceiver module.

[0136] The high-definition camera is used to take photos and / or record images of the target. It should be noted that the above-mentioned image recording includes synchronous recording of video and audio.

[0137] The second transceiver module is used to receive the aerial photography mission information sent by the server, and is also used to send the data captured or recorded by the high-definition camera to the server. The aerial photography mission information includes target set information, that is, which location the drone needs to go to and which target point to provide what kind of aerial photography service.

[0138] When the distance acquisition module acquires the total distance, it is necessary to first acquire the location information of the drone, and then calculate the above total distance based on the location information of the target point. In the drone selection module, it is necessary to convert the remaining cruising distance of the drone by the remaining power of the drone, and it is necessary to acquire the fault information of the drone to determine whether the drone has a fault. Therefore, as a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the first transceiver module of the server is also used to acquire the location information, remaining power and fault information of all drones in real time. The drone also includes an information collection module for collecting its own location information, remaining power and fault information. The second transceiver module is also used to send the information collected by the information collection module to the server.

[0139] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the drone selection module includes a drone selection unit, a third judgment unit, a delay execution unit and a set decomposition unit. When the drone selection module selects drones that meet the task conditions, when all drones cannot meet the task conditions of one or more target sets, that is, there are one or more target sets, and the total distance between the one or more target sets and each drone is longer than the remaining cruising distance of each drone, it can be solved by the delay execution unit or the set decomposition unit.

[0140] The drone selection unit is used to select a drone that meets the mission conditions. The third judgment unit is used to judge whether there is a target set where all drones cannot meet the mission conditions.

[0141] The delayed execution unit is used to make the drone replenish energy until the energy is full or the energy that meets the mission conditions of the target set is charged, and then perform the aerial photography mission on the target set that does not meet the mission conditions when the third judgment unit determines that there is a target set that does not meet the mission conditions. It can be understood that this situation will delay the execution of the aerial photography mission for a certain period of time, but the number of dispatched drones will not increase.

[0142] The set decomposition unit is used to decompose the target set for which all drones cannot meet the task conditions into multiple target subsets when the third judgment unit determines that there is a target set that does not meet the task conditions, so that the distance acquisition module obtains the total distance between the drones located in the take-off and landing area and each target subset, and then the drone selection unit reselects the drone that meets the task conditions. It can be understood that in this case, the aerial photography task can be performed as soon as possible, but the number of dispatched drones needs to be increased.

[0143] As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the drone selection module also includes a secondary screening unit. In order to cope with the complexity and diversity of the locations where tourists book aerial photography services, and in order to meet tourists' aerial photography needs as soon as possible and save energy, the scenic area management party can set up multiple drone take-off and landing areas in the tourist scenic area. When the drones that meet the mission conditions selected by the drone selection module come from multiple different take-off and landing areas, and the number of drones that meet the mission conditions selected is greater than the number of target sets, it can be solved by the secondary screening unit.

[0144] The secondary screening unit is used to further screen the drones that meet the mission conditions according to the number of drones that meet the mission conditions in each take-off and landing area and the total distance between each drone that meets the mission conditions and each target set when the selected drones that meet the mission conditions come from multiple different take-off and landing areas, and when the number of selected drones that meet the mission conditions is greater than the number of target sets, and obtain the screened drones that meet the mission conditions. The screening scheme is: the sum of the total distances of each drone that meets the mission conditions to perform the aerial photography mission is the shortest globally. The screening result is determined by the number of drones that meet the mission conditions in each take-off and landing area, and is also affected by the total distance between each drone that meets the mission conditions and each target set.

[0145] The following is another embodiment of the aerial photography drone selection system provided by the present invention, which is the fourth embodiment. This embodiment focuses on further describing the components of the target acquisition module. When multiple tourists book aerial photography services at different locations, the location where the aerial photography services are booked is set as the target point, then the target points of the booked aerial photography services need to be grouped, and multiple target sets will be obtained after grouping, so that drones can be dispatched to perform aerial photography tasks in the most reasonable way, so that the task execution time is the shortest and the resource consumption is the least. The target acquisition module in this embodiment includes an initial point selection unit, a temporary set establishment unit, a minimum distance selection unit, a target point induction unit, a mean calculation unit, a center point acquisition unit and a set acquisition unit.

[0146] The initial point selection unit is used to obtain the positions of all target points in the aerial photography service area to obtain a total set of target points, and randomly select multiple target points from the total set of target points as initial points. The initial point selection unit is also used to receive multiple center points sent by the center point acquisition unit as initial points. As a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the number of initial points is selected based on the total number of target points and / or the performance parameters of the drone. The performance parameters may include the maximum cruising speed and maximum cruising time of the drone. To dispatch a drone to perform an aerial photography task, first, the positions of all target points in a batch of tasks must be obtained to obtain a total set of target points for the batch of tasks. The total set of target points includes all target points in the batch of tasks. Multiple target points are randomly selected from the total set of target points as initial points. The purpose of selecting the initial points is to perform subsequent grouping. The initial point selection unit sends the selected initial point to the minimum distance selection unit.

[0147] The temporary set establishment unit is used to establish multiple temporary sets corresponding to multiple initial points. Since the target points need to be grouped, different groups need to be created first, and N temporary sets are established based on the N initial points, each of which contains one initial point.

[0148] The minimum distance selection unit is used to further obtain the distance from each non-initial point to each initial point based on the multiple initial points obtained by the initial point selection unit, and select the minimum distance from the multiple distances from the non-initial point to each initial point. The non-initial point is the target point other than the multiple initial points in the total set of target points. The minimum distance selection unit sends the selected minimum distance to the target point induction unit.

[0149] The target point summarizing unit is used to classify each non-initial point into a temporary set of initial points corresponding to the minimum distance of the non-initial point according to the minimum distance selected by the minimum distance acquiring unit.

[0150] The mean value calculation unit is used to calculate the average value of the distance between each target point in each temporary set obtained by the target point summarization unit and other target points in the same temporary set, and select the minimum value of all average values ​​in the same temporary set.

[0151] The center point acquisition unit is used to take the target point corresponding to the minimum value calculated by the mean calculation unit as the center point to obtain multiple center points, and send the multiple center points as new initial points to the temporary set establishment unit for repeated iterations until the center point obtained this time is the same as the center point obtained last time. The center point is sent to the temporary set establishment unit as a new initial point, and multiple temporary sets corresponding to the multiple initial points are established again to achieve iterative grouping. N initial points will be obtained after each iterative grouping. Each time N new initial points are obtained, the new initial points obtained this time will be compared with the initial points obtained in the last iterative grouping, that is, the new initial points obtained after this iterative grouping are compared with the initial points substituted before this iterative grouping. If the new initial points obtained after the last iterative grouping and the new initial points obtained after this iterative grouping are the same, it means that the new initial points currently obtained are the best. If the new initial points obtained this time are substituted into the temporary set establishment unit again, the new initial points obtained next time will also be the same as the new initial points obtained this time, that is, no matter how many iterations are performed after this time, the result will not change.

[0152] The set acquisition unit is used to further acquire multiple temporary sets corresponding to the multiple center points according to the multiple center points acquired by the center point acquisition unit, and set the multiple temporary sets as the target set. After the center point is obtained, since each center point belongs to a temporary set when it is obtained, when the center point is obtained at a certain time and the iterative grouping is stopped, the temporary sets corresponding to the center point at this time are the optimal sets, that is, the target set to be obtained. Through the target set obtained by the above module grouping and iteration, each target point can be classified according to the position, and the target points with similar distances can be classified into the same set, which can reduce the distance that the drone cruises between the target points, improve the drone's single mission execution capability, and enable the drone to perform aerial photography tasks on more target points during a single voyage, thereby improving the completion speed of aerial photography tasks and saving resources.

[0153] If the target points are grouped only once, the obtained target set may not be the global optimal set but the local optimal set. Therefore, in order to make the target points grouped more reasonably, as a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the target acquisition module also includes a first circulation unit, a first recording unit, a first judgment unit and a first grouping unit.

[0154] The first loop unit is used to set the first number of iterations before grouping the target points of the booked aerial photography service, and is also used to enable the target acquisition module to re-group the target points of the booked aerial photography service while keeping the initial number of points unchanged when the first judgment unit determines that the number of target set groups obtained has not reached the first number of iterations.

[0155] The first recording unit is used for recording the multiple target sets obtained this time as a target set group after grouping the target points of the booked aerial photography service and obtaining multiple target sets.

[0156] The first judgment unit is used to judge whether the number of times the target set group is obtained reaches a first iteration number.

[0157] The first grouping unit is used to select a group of target sets from the target set groups recorded by the first recording unit as the optimal target set group when the number of target set groups determined by the first judging unit reaches a first number of iterations.

[0158] Specifically, for example, if the first iteration number x1 is 5, the target points of the booked aerial photography service need to be grouped 5 times, and the number of initial points selected during the 5 groupings remains consistent. After that, 5 target set groups G1 to G5 are obtained respectively, and then one of the 5 target set groups is selected as the optimal target set group. It should be noted that the target sets contained in the 5 target set groups obtained after 5 iterations may all be the same, which is equivalent to 5 identical target set groups. If the target set groups obtained are not exactly the same, an optimal target set group can be selected based on the rationality of each target set group. After obtaining the optimal target set group, the total distance between the drone and each target set is obtained, and the drone that meets the task conditions is selected. Finally, the target sets in the optimal target set group are sent to the corresponding drones that meet the task conditions, so that the drone performs the aerial photography task on the target points in the target set.

[0159] Since the target set group obtained according to the above technical solution has the same number of initial points initially selected, the diversity of grouping is limited to a certain extent, and some other possibly better target set groups are excluded in disguise. Therefore, as a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the target acquisition module also includes a second circulation unit, a second recording unit, a second judgment unit and a second grouping unit.

[0160] The second loop unit is used to set the second number of iterations before the first loop unit sets the first number of iterations, and is also used to change the number of selected initial points and make the currently selected number of initial points different from the number of initial points selected at any previous time when the second judgment unit determines that the number of times the optimal target set group is obtained has not reached the second number of iterations, and then make the target acquisition module re-group the target points of the booked aerial photography service.

[0161] The second recording unit is used to record the optimal target set group obtained this time after grouping the target points of the booked aerial photography service and obtaining the optimal target set group.

[0162] The second judgment unit is used to judge whether the number of times the optimal target set group is obtained reaches the second iteration number.

[0163] The second grouping unit is used to select one group from the optimal target set groups as the final target set group when the number of times the second judgment unit determines that the optimal target set groups have been obtained reaches the second iteration number.

[0164] Specifically, for example, the second iteration number x2 is 3, and the first iteration number x1 is 5, then the target points of the booked aerial photography service are first grouped 5 times, and the number of initial points selected for the 5 groupings remains consistent. Assuming that the number of initial points is 2, 5 target set groups G11 to G15 are obtained respectively, and each target set group includes 2 target sets. Then, one of the 5 target set groups is selected as the optimal target set group. At this time, 5 first iterations are completed, but only 1 second iteration is completed. After that, it is the second iteration, that is, the target points of the booked aerial photography service are regrouped and the number of initial points is changed. Assuming that the number of initial points is 3, it is different from the 2 initial points of the first iteration. Then repeat the process of the first iteration, and get 5 target set groups G21 to G25 again. At this time, each target set group includes 3 target sets. After completing this second iteration, since the number of second iterations is 3, there is 1 left, so the target points of the booked aerial photography service are regrouped again and the number of initial points is changed. Assuming that the number of initial points is 4, it is different from the number of initial points selected in the previous 2 second iterations. Then repeat the process of the first iteration, and get 5 target set groups G31 to G35 again. At this time, each target set group includes 4 target sets. One of the 15 optimal target set groups obtained from these 3 second iterations is selected as the final target set group, which may include 2 target sets, or 3 or 4 target sets. Then the total distance between the UAV and each target set is obtained, and the UAVs that meet the task conditions are selected. Finally, the target sets in the final target set group are sent to the corresponding UAVs that meet the task conditions, so that the UAVs can perform aerial photography tasks on the target points in the target set.

[0165] Through the first iteration, the number of simulated groupings when the number of initial points is the same is increased, making the target set more referenceable and reasonable. Through the second iteration, the number of initial points is changed, which expands the consideration range of simulated grouping of target points and increases the diversity of results, allowing more types of combinations to participate in selection and elimination, making the final target set group more reasonable and the optimization more obvious.

[0166] Before grouping the target points of the booked aerial photography service, the user must first book the aerial photography service and inform the service provider of the aerial photography location. Therefore, as a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the server also includes a target point acquisition module. The target point acquisition module is used to collect the user terminal's own position uploaded as the target point position, and is also used to collect the user terminal's position selected from the pre-set aerial photography positions as the target point position.

[0167] After the user terminal obtains the pattern or text information for booking the aerial photography service, it books the aerial photography service by scanning the pattern through a camera, or by inputting the text information through a key, and while booking the aerial photography service, it also uploads its own position as the position of the target point, or selects a position from the pre-set aerial photography positions as the position of the target point when booking the aerial photography service. It is understandable that the user terminal sends the position of the target point to the first transceiver module of the server.

[0168] The pattern used to book the aerial photography service can be a QR code or other pattern. The user scans the QR code through a mobile phone or other user terminal to enter the WeChat applet or a specific mobile application to book the aerial photography service. The text for booking the aerial photography service can be a string. The user enters the WeChat applet or a specific mobile application through a mobile phone or other user terminal to book the aerial photography service. When booking the aerial photography service, it is also necessary to upload the target point location. The target point can be the user's current location as the target point location, or the user can select a location from a pre-set recommended aerial photography location or a popular aerial photography location as the target point location.

[0169] When multiple users submit requests for scheduled aerial photography services to the selection system that controls the drone at different times, if the selection system wants the drone to complete aerial photography of multiple target points in a single aerial photography mission, it needs to regularly process the received aerial photography service requests, rather than immediately dispatching the drone to perform aerial photography tasks for the requesting user upon receiving a request. Therefore, as a specific implementation of the above technical solution, the server also includes a target point batching module. The target point batching module is used to divide the target points uploaded by the user who has booked the aerial photography service into different batches according to the booking time before grouping the target points of the booked aerial photography service, and use the target points in the same batch as the target points to be grouped.

[0170] Specifically, a task scanning cycle can be set, and the target points uploaded by users who have booked aerial photography services can be divided into different batches according to the booking time, such as T1 batch, T2 batch, etc. Each batch contains one or more target points uploaded by users, and then the target points in the same batch are used as target points to be grouped. For example, the task scanning cycle is 1 minute, and after 1 minute, the target points that have booked aerial photography services within this 1 minute are the target points that need to perform the aerial photography task at that time. It can also be understood that the drones in the take-off and landing area will be dispatched to perform aerial photography tasks once every task scanning cycle. The targets collected by the target point acquisition module are sent to the target point batching module for batch division, and the target point batching module sends the divided target points of the same batch to the target acquisition module for grouping. The other components and implementation methods of this embodiment are the same as those of the third embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0171] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for selecting an aerial photography drone, characterized in that: include: Acquire one or more target sets, where the target set includes one or more target points for which an aerial photography service has been booked; Obtaining the total distance between the UAV located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target sets; Select a drone that meets the mission requirements; The one or more target sets are sent to corresponding drones that meet the task conditions, so that the drones perform aerial photography tasks on the target points in the target set; wherein, The mission conditions are met including that the remaining cruising distance of the drone is longer than the total distance of the target set, and the drone is fault-free; the total distance between the drone and the target set includes the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance; When all drones fail to meet the mission conditions of one or more target sets: Decomposing the one or more target sets into multiple target subsets respectively, obtaining the total distance between the UAVs located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target subsets, and then reselecting the UAVs that meet the mission conditions; The step of obtaining the total distance between the UAV in the take-off and landing area and each of the target sets includes: Establishing a target area, which is a circle or regular polygon with the smallest area that contains all the target points in the target set; Obtaining the center point of the target area as the center point of the target set; Obtain the round-trip distance from the drone to the target set based on the center point of the target set; According to the center point of the target set, the aerial photography distance of the drone for all the target points in the target set is obtained; The total distance between the UAV and the target set is calculated based on the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance.

2. The method for selecting an aerial photography drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The round-trip distance is twice the distance between the drone and the center point of the target set.

3. The method for selecting an aerial photography drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The aerial photography distance is calculated based on the number of target points included in the target set and the diameter of the target area or the diameter of the circumscribed circle.

4. The method for selecting an aerial photography drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the selected drones that meet the mission conditions come from multiple different take-off and landing areas, and the number of selected drones that meet the mission conditions is greater than the number of target sets, the drones that meet the mission conditions are further screened according to the number of drones that meet the mission conditions in each take-off and landing area and the total distance between each drone that meets the mission conditions and each target set, and the screened drones that meet the mission conditions are obtained. The screening scheme is: the sum of the total distances of each drone that meets the mission conditions to perform the aerial photography mission is the global shortest.

5. The method for selecting an aerial photography drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method also includes: obtaining the location information, remaining power and fault information of all drones in real time.

6. A drone selection system, characterized in that: Includes server and multiple drones; The server comprises: A target acquisition module, used to acquire one or more target sets, wherein the target set includes one or more target points for which an aerial photography service has been booked; A distance acquisition module is used to acquire the total distance between the UAV located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target sets; A drone selection module, used to select drones that meet mission conditions; and A first transceiver module is used to send the aerial photography task information containing the target set to the corresponding drone selected by the drone selection module, so that the drone performs the aerial photography task on the target point in the target set; The drone comprises: A high-definition camera for taking photos and / or recording video of the target; and The second transceiver module is used to receive the aerial photography task information sent by the server, and is also used to send the data photographed or recorded by the high-definition camera to the server; wherein, The mission conditions are met including that the remaining cruising distance of the drone is longer than the total distance of the target set, and the drone is fault-free; the total distance between the drone and the target set includes the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance; Wherein, the drone selection module includes: A drone selection unit, used to select drones that meet mission conditions; The third judgment unit is used to judge whether there is a target set for which all drones cannot meet the mission conditions; a delayed execution unit, configured to, when the third judgment unit determines that there is a target set that does not meet the mission conditions, enable the drone to replenish energy until the energy is full or to perform the aerial photography mission on the target set that does not meet the mission conditions after the energy is fully charged or the energy that meets the mission conditions of the target set is charged; a set decomposition unit, configured to, when the third judgment unit determines that there is a target set that does not meet the task condition, decompose the target set in which all drones cannot meet the task condition into multiple target subsets, so that the distance acquisition module obtains the total distance between the drones located in the take-off and landing area and each of the target subsets, and then the drone selection unit reselects a drone that meets the task condition; Wherein, the distance acquisition module includes: An area establishment unit, used to establish a target area, which is a circle or regular polygon with the smallest area containing all target points in the target set; A center acquisition unit, used to acquire the center point of the target area as the center point of the target set; A round-trip distance acquisition unit is used to acquire the round-trip distance from the UAV to the target set according to the center point of the target set; An aerial photography distance acquisition unit is used to acquire the aerial photography distance of the drone for all target points in the target set according to the center point of the target set; The total distance acquisition unit is used to calculate the total distance between the UAV and the target set according to the round-trip distance and the aerial photography distance.

7. The aerial photography drone selection system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The round-trip distance acquired by the round-trip distance acquisition unit is twice the distance between the UAV and the center point of the target set.

8. The aerial photography drone selection system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The aerial photography distance acquired by the aerial photography distance acquisition unit is calculated based on the number of target points included in the target set and the diameter of the target area or the diameter of the circumscribed circle.

9. The aerial photography drone selection system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The drone selection module includes: The secondary screening unit is used to further screen the drones that meet the mission conditions according to the number of drones that meet the mission conditions in each take-off and landing area and the total distance between each drone that meets the mission conditions and each target set when the drones that meet the mission conditions are selected from multiple different take-off and landing areas and the number of drones that meet the mission conditions is greater than the number of target sets, and obtain the screened drones that meet the mission conditions. The screening scheme is: the sum of the total distances of each drone that meets the mission conditions to perform the aerial photography mission is the global shortest.

10. The aerial photography drone selection system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The drone also includes: Information collection module, used to collect its own location information, remaining power and fault information; The second transceiver module is also used to send the information collected by the information collection module to the server, and the first transceiver module is also used to obtain the location information, remaining power and fault information of all drones in real time.

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