An aircraft ground traction and collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology

Abstract

The invention discloses an aircraft ground traction anti-collision system based on crawling robot technology, and relates to the field of aircraft ground traction anti-collision systems. The invention realizes the free movement of the crawling robot on the top surface of the aircraft by means of the crawler, panoramic camera, laser radar, gyroscope, telescopic suction cup, electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission and control module, and can provide the tractor driver with a real-time image of the wing part without blind spots and distance information between the wing part and obstacles in conjunction with the panoramic camera and laser radar. The image and distance information are also the source of the crawling robot's route planning. The non-powered crawler travel mechanism has better anti-skid performance, the travel trajectory is simple and controllable, and the probability of damaging the aircraft surface sensor is reduced. The travel speed is faster than the suction cup type, and the crawling efficiency is higher. When a collision accident is about to occur, the braking module can brake with a faster reaction speed, reducing the accident rate, and has a certain use prospect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of aircraft ground traction and anti-collision systems, in particular to an aircraft ground traction and anti-collision system based on crawling robot technology. Background Art

[0002] At present, due to the limited field of vision of the tractor driver when towing the aircraft, civil aircraft often collide with other aircraft or other obstacles such as vehicles on the apron and hangar walls during the ground taxiing stage. Each collision will cause the airline's aircraft to be grounded for repair and affect flight scheduling and other major losses. The visual detection system in the existing technology can only observe the shape and outline of the aircraft, and the distance between the wing and the obstacle cannot be identified. There are many sensors on the surface of the aircraft, and the mechanical crawling feet of the multi-legged robot may cause damage to it. The suction cup robot moves too slowly and is not suitable for crawling on curved surfaces such as aircraft. It is mostly used for smooth vertical surfaces like glass and is installed on airport taxiways and tractor roofs. The aircraft ground collision avoidance system still has certain visual blind spots and potential safety hazards. The tractor driver can only obtain danger estimates of surrounding targets through sound and images, but the human reaction speed is unstable. If it cannot stop in time, it will still cause the aircraft wing to collide. When the tractor is towing the aircraft, the maintenance personnel on the aircraft communicate with the tractor driver through a 300MHZ walkie-talkie. Due to the interference of the tractor itself and the surrounding sounds, there is a problem of unclear hearing or wrong hearing of the direction of travel. The wrong route may drag the towed aircraft to the position of other aircraft and cause collision. For this reason, we proposed an aircraft ground traction collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology. Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the existing defects and provide an aircraft ground traction and anti-collision system based on crawling robot technology, which can effectively solve the problems in the background technology.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: an aircraft ground traction and collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology, comprising a body, a telescopic rod is arranged in the middle of the body, a laser radar is arranged on the upper outer surface of the telescopic rod, a panoramic camera is arranged on the upper outer surface of the laser radar, a gyroscope is arranged at the front end of the body, rollers are arranged on both sides of the body, tracks are arranged on the outer surface of the rollers, and a telescopic suction cup is arranged at the lower end of the telescopic rod.

[0005] Preferably, a roller shaft and an inner ring shaft are provided between the gyroscope and the roller, one end of the roller shaft is fixedly connected to one end of the inner ring shaft, a rotor is provided in the middle of the gyroscope, and an inner ring is provided around the gyroscope.

[0006] Preferably, a power module, a motor, a gear box, an electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission, a control module and a vacuum pump are fixedly installed inside the body, the motor is located at the front end of the power module, the control module is located at one side of the power module, the electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission is located at the front end of the control module, the gear box is located at the front end of the electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission, and the vacuum pump is located at one side of the control module.

[0007] Preferably, the gyroscope is movably connected to the roller via the roller shaft and the inner ring shaft.

[0008] Preferably, the motor, control module and vacuum pump are all electrically connected to the power module.

[0009] Preferably, the aircraft ground traction and collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology comprises:

[0010] The internal structure of the robot consists of a power supply part, a control part and an actuator:

[0011] Power supply part: The motor and control module are powered by the power module, and the rotor motor is powered by the controller mainboard;

[0012] Control part: The controller directly controls the rotor motor, vacuum pump, automatic transmission and motor through signal lines;

[0013] Actuator: The automatic transmission receives signals from the control module and directly controls the gears in the gearbox. It controls the start and stop of the telescopic rod and the inner ring by adjusting the separation and combination of each gear, and controls the speed of each output shaft by adjusting the gear ratio;

[0014] The telescopic rod is located at the geometric center of the vehicle body and can be extended up and down. Its interior is hollow and can hold Category 6a network cables for 360° LiDAR and panoramic cameras.

[0015] The laser radar is connected to the telescopic rod, and the panoramic camera is fixed on the 360° laser radar;

[0016] Two gyroscopes are installed in the front and rear grooves of the machine body. The inner ring shaft controls the inner ring to flip. The rollers and tracks are unpowered devices.

[0017] The suction cup module is at the bottom of the body, connected to the telescopic rod, and mainly consists of a vacuum pump and a rubber suction cup. After the robot reaches the designated position, the control module sends a signal to control the gear meshing in the gearbox, the telescopic rod moves, and the controller directly controls the vacuum pump to form negative pressure in the suction cup to fix the robot at the designated position.

[0018] Camera module: A panoramic HD camera capable of night vision is connected to the telescopic pole. The camera is connected to the control module via POE Ethernet to achieve data transmission and power supply. The HD camera transmits the collected panoramic images to the control module, which automatically analyzes and obtains the best route for the robot. When the robot reaches the designated position, it continuously collects wing images and transmits them back to the terminal under the machine.

[0019] Radar module: Connect the 360° laser radar and panoramic camera to the same telescopic pole. The radar is connected to the control module via POE Ethernet to achieve data transmission and power supply. When the robot reaches the designated position, the laser radar transmits the collected point cloud data back to the control module. After processing, the control module generates a 3D model of the aircraft's surroundings and calculates whether the distance between the aircraft and surrounding objects is safe.

[0020] Power module: lithium battery module is used to power the control module and motor;

[0021] Control module: including controller, mass storage and I / O interface;

[0022] Controller: NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX module, capable of running modern neural networks in parallel and processing data from multiple high-resolution sensors;

[0023] Large-capacity storage: A large-capacity Micro SD card is used to store the data collected by the sensor;

[0024] I / O interface: Integrates all interfaces connecting the controller and camera module, radar module, power module, gyroscope module, WIFI module, and suction cup module for power supply and data transmission;

[0025] Gyroscope module: It uses a mechanical gyroscope, which is powered by a motor through a gearbox controlled by an electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission. The robot overcomes gravity and crawls along the surface of the aircraft by using the precession of the gyroscope. The robot moves forward, backward and turns by controlling the rotation angle of the inner ring.

[0026] WIFI module: uses ESP8266 module, integrated into the control module through the serial port;

[0027] Display terminal: Use a visual handheld terminal to receive various data sent by the control module via WIFI;

[0028] Braking module: When the controller sends out an alarm signal, the relay is activated to energize the electromagnet and close it, replacing the pedal force of manual braking to make the brake oil in the hydraulic oil pump push the brake caliper to contract and brake;

[0029] Alarm module: When the controller sends out an alarm signal, the display terminal will remind the driver in the form of sound and image;

[0030] Remote control device: The robot is remotely controlled by an under-aircraft terminal, allowing it to crawl freely on the surface of the aircraft and transmit data via WIFI;

[0031] Track module: It is composed of rollers and flexible tracks. The power is provided by a mechanical gyroscope, which drives the rollers and tracks to move on the surface of the aircraft.

[0032] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0033] The present invention realizes the free movement of the crawling robot on the top surface of the aircraft by means of the crawler tracks, panoramic camera, laser radar, gyroscope, telescopic suction cup, electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission and control module. In conjunction with the panoramic camera and laser radar, the crawling robot can be provided with a real-time image of the wing part without blind spots and distance information from obstacles for the tractor driver. The image and distance information are also the source for the crawling robot to plan its route. The non-powered crawler travel mechanism has better anti-skid performance, and the travel trajectory is simple and controllable, which reduces the probability of damaging the aircraft surface sensor. The travel speed is faster than the suction cup type, and the crawling efficiency is higher. When a collision accident is about to occur, the braking module can brake with a faster reaction speed, thereby reducing the accident rate. The display terminal not only has a voice communication function, but also can assist driving through a navigation graphic interface, which has certain favorable effects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the crawling robot in the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 This is a front view of the crawling robot structure of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 3 A top view of the structure of the crawling robot in the present invention;

[0037] Figure 4 It is a right view of the crawling robot structure of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the machine structure in the present invention;

[0039] Figure 6 It is a structural diagram of the control system in the present invention;

[0040] Figure 7 This is a control flow chart of the suction cup module in the present invention;

[0041] Figure 8 This is a control flow chart of the camera module in the present invention;

[0042] Fig. 9 This is a control flow chart of the laser radar module in the present invention;

[0043] Fig.10 This is a control flow chart of the gyroscope module in the present invention;

[0044] Fig.11 This is a schematic diagram of the brake module in the present invention;

[0045] Fig.12 This is a flowchart of the braking module program in the present invention.

[0046] In the figure: 1. body; 2. track; 3. panoramic camera; 4. inner ring shaft; 5. inner ring; 6. rotor; 7. motor shaft; 8. roller shaft; 9. laser radar; 10. gyroscope; 11. roller; 12. telescopic suction cup; 13. power module; 14. telescopic rod; 15. motor; 16. rotor motor; 17. gear box; 18. electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission; 19. control module; 20. vacuum pump. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] In order to make the technical means, creative features, objectives and effects achieved by the present invention easy to understand, the present invention is further explained below in conjunction with specific implementation methods.

[0048] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. 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. Example

[0049] An aircraft ground traction and collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology can enable the robot to crawl freely on the aircraft. The 360° panoramic camera 3 has a visual effect without blind spots. The 360° laser radar 9 can always feedback the distance between the wing and obstacles. The rubber track 2 ensures that the crawling robot has good anti-skid performance during the movement. Two gyroscopes 10 control the up and down positions and left and right positions of the crawling robot respectively, and are also the power source. The bottom telescopic suction cup 12 can help the crawling robot to be adsorbed and fixed after reaching the specified position. The crawling robot device is as follows: Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown;

[0050] The ranging information of the laser radar 9 and the wing image determined by the machine vision are provided to the control module 19. When a collision is about to occur, the control module 19 activates the emergency braking module and the alarm module to stop the aircraft in time to avoid the occurrence of a collision.

[0051] When the tractor is towing the aircraft, the maintenance personnel on the aircraft will provide the tractor driver with a route, and the onboard terminal (such as a tablet) can be used to send the route to the offboard terminal (such as a tablet). The two terminals have built-in airport route maps, and voice communication can be realized at the same time. The display screen of the offboard terminal is divided into three vertical screens, the middle of which is the navigation route map provided by the onboard terminal, and the two sides are the real-time images of the left and right wings and the relative distances of objects around the wings measured by the laser radar 9;

[0052] The internal structure of the robot consists of a power supply part, a control part and an actuator:

[0053] Power supply part: the motor 15 and the control module 19 are powered by the power module 13, and the rotor motor 16 is powered by the controller mainboard;

[0054] Control part: The control module 19 directly controls the rotor motor 16, the vacuum pump 20, the electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission 18 and the motor 15 through the signal line;

[0055] Actuator: The electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission 18 receives the signal from the control module 19, directly controls the gears inside the gear box 17, controls the start and stop of the telescopic rod 14 and the inner ring 5 by adjusting the separation and connection of each gear, and controls the speed of each output shaft by adjusting the gear ratio;

[0056] The schematic diagram of the body structure is as follows Figure 5 As shown, the control system structure diagram is as follows Figure 6 As shown;

[0057] The telescopic rod 14 is located at the geometric center of the vehicle body and can be extended up and down. The interior thereof is hollow and can accommodate the Category 6A network cables of the 360° laser radar 9 and the panoramic camera 3;

[0058] The laser radar 9 is connected to the telescopic rod 14, and the panoramic camera 3 is fixed on the 360° laser radar 9;

[0059] Two gyroscopes 10 are installed at the front and rear grooves of the body 1, and the inner ring 5 is turned over by the inner ring shaft 4. The roller 11 and the crawler 2 are unpowered devices;

[0060] The suction cup module is at the bottom of the body 1, connected to the telescopic rod 14, and mainly consists of a vacuum pump 20 and a telescopic suction cup 12. After the robot reaches the specified position, the control module 19 sends a signal to control the internal gear of the electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission 18 to engage, and the telescopic rod 14 moves. The vacuum pump 20 is directly controlled by the controller to form a negative pressure in the telescopic suction cup 12 to fix the robot at the specified position. The program flow chart is shown in FIG. Figure 7 As shown;

[0061] Camera module: A panoramic camera 3 capable of night vision is connected to the telescopic rod 14. The camera is connected to the control module 19 via POE Ethernet to achieve data transmission and power supply. The high-definition camera transmits the collected panoramic image to the control module 19. The control module 19 automatically analyzes and obtains the best route for the robot. When the robot reaches the specified position, it continuously collects wing images and transmits them back to the terminal under the machine. The program flow chart is as follows: Figure 8 As shown;

[0062] Radar module: Connect the 360° laser radar 9 and the panoramic camera 3 to the same telescopic rod 14. The radar is connected to the control module via POE Ethernet to realize data transmission and power supply. When the robot reaches the specified position, the laser radar 9 transmits the collected point cloud data back to the control module 19. The control module 19 generates a 3D model of the aircraft's surroundings after processing, and calculates whether the distance between the aircraft and the surrounding objects is safe. The program flow chart is as follows: Fig. 9 As shown;

[0063] Power module: A lithium battery module is used to supply power to the control module 19 and the motor 15;

[0064] Control module 19: including a controller, a large-capacity memory and an I / O interface;

[0065] Controller: NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX module, capable of running modern neural networks in parallel and processing data from multiple high-resolution sensors;

[0066] Large-capacity storage: A large-capacity Micro SD card is used to store the data collected by the sensor;

[0067] I / O interface: integrates all interfaces connecting the controller and the camera module, radar module, power module 13, gyroscope module, WIFI module, and suction cup module for power supply and data transmission;

[0068] Gyroscope module: A mechanical gyroscope 10 is used, and a motor 15 is used to provide power to a gearbox 17 controlled by an electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission 18. The precession of the gyroscope 10 is used to enable the robot to overcome gravity and crawl along the surface of the aircraft. The robot can move forward, backward and turn by controlling the rotation angle of the inner ring 5.

[0069] WIFI module: ESP8266 module is used and integrated into the control module 19 through the serial port. The program flow chart is as follows Fig.10 As shown;

[0070] Display terminal: A visual handheld terminal is used to receive various data sent by the control module 19 via WIFI;

[0071] Braking module: When the controller sends out an alarm signal, the relay is activated to energize the electromagnet, replacing the pedal force of the manual brake to make the brake oil in the hydraulic oil pump push the brake caliper to contract and brake. 1 The principle and program control of the braking module are as follows Fig.11 and Fig.12 As shown;

[0072] Alarm module: When the controller sends out an alarm signal, the display terminal will remind the driver in the form of sound and image;

[0073] Remote control device: The robot is remotely controlled by an under-aircraft terminal, allowing it to crawl freely on the surface of the aircraft and transmit data via WIFI;

[0074] Track module: It is composed of rollers 11 and flexible tracks 2. The power is provided by a mechanical gyroscope 10, which drives the rollers 11 and tracks 2 to move on the surface of the aircraft.

[0075] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An aircraft ground traction and collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology, comprising a body (1), characterized in that: A telescopic rod (14) is arranged in the middle of the body (1), a laser radar (9) is arranged on the upper outer surface of the telescopic rod (14), a panoramic camera (3) is arranged on the upper outer surface of the laser radar (9), a gyroscope (10) is arranged at the front end of the body (1), rollers (11) are arranged on both sides of the body (1), tracks (2) are arranged on the outer surfaces of the rollers (11), and a telescopic suction cup (12) is arranged at the lower end of the telescopic rod (14); A roller shaft (8) and an inner ring shaft (4) are arranged between the gyroscope (10) and the roller (11); one end of the roller shaft (8) is fixedly connected to one end of the inner ring shaft (4); a rotor (6) is arranged in the middle of the gyroscope (10); and an inner ring (5) is arranged around the gyroscope (10); The aircraft ground traction and collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology comprises: The internal structure of the robot consists of a power supply part, a control part and an actuator: Power supply part: The motor and control module are powered by the power module, and the rotor motor is powered by the controller mainboard; Control part: The controller directly controls the rotor motor, vacuum pump, automatic transmission and motor through signal lines; Actuator: The automatic transmission receives signals from the control module and directly controls the gears in the gearbox. It controls the start and stop of the telescopic rod and the inner ring by adjusting the separation and combination of each gear, and controls the speed of each output shaft by adjusting the gear ratio; The telescopic rod is located at the geometric center of the vehicle body and can be extended up and down. Its interior is hollow and can hold Category 6a network cables for 360° LiDAR and panoramic cameras. The laser radar is connected to the telescopic rod, and the panoramic camera is fixed on the 360° laser radar; two gyroscopes are installed in the front and rear grooves of the body, and the inner ring is controlled by the inner ring shaft to flip. The rollers and tracks are unpowered devices; The suction cup module is at the bottom of the body, connected to the telescopic rod, and mainly consists of a vacuum pump and a rubber suction cup. After the robot reaches the designated position, the control module sends a signal to control the gear meshing in the gearbox, the telescopic rod moves, and the controller directly controls the vacuum pump to form negative pressure in the suction cup to fix the robot at the designated position. Camera module: A panoramic HD camera capable of night vision is connected to the telescopic pole. The camera is connected to the control module via POE Ethernet to achieve data transmission and power supply. The HD camera transmits the collected panoramic images to the control module, which automatically analyzes and obtains the best route for the robot. When the robot reaches the designated position, it continuously collects wing images and transmits them back to the terminal under the machine. Radar module: Connect the 360° laser radar and panoramic camera to the same telescopic pole. The radar is connected to the control module via POE Ethernet to achieve data transmission and power supply. When the robot reaches the designated position, the laser radar transmits the collected point cloud data back to the control module. After processing, the control module generates a 3D model of the aircraft's surroundings and calculates whether the distance between the aircraft and surrounding objects is safe. Power module: lithium battery module is used to power the control module and motor; Control module: including controller, mass storage and I / O interface; Controller: NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX module, capable of running modern neural networks in parallel and processing data from multiple high-resolution sensors; Large-capacity memory: A large-capacity MicroSD card is used to store the data collected by the sensor; I / O interface: Integrates all interfaces connecting the controller and camera module, radar module, power module, gyroscope module, WIFI module, and suction cup module for power supply and data transmission; Gyroscope module: It uses a mechanical gyroscope, which is powered by a motor through a gearbox controlled by an electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission. The robot overcomes gravity and crawls along the surface of the aircraft by using the precession of the gyroscope. The robot moves forward, backward and turns by controlling the rotation angle of the inner ring. WIFI module: uses ESP8266 module, integrated into the control module through the serial port; Display terminal: Use a visual handheld terminal to receive various data sent by the control module via WIFI; Braking module: When the controller sends out an alarm signal, the relay is activated to energize the electromagnet and close it, replacing the pedal force of manual braking to make the brake oil in the hydraulic oil pump push the brake caliper to contract and brake; Alarm module: When the controller sends out an alarm signal, the display terminal will remind the driver in the form of sound and image; Remote control device: The robot is remotely controlled by an under-aircraft terminal, allowing it to crawl freely on the surface of the aircraft and transmit data via WIFI; Track module: It is composed of rollers and flexible tracks. The power is provided by a mechanical gyroscope, which drives the rollers and tracks to move on the surface of the aircraft.

2. The aircraft ground traction and collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: A power module (13), a motor (15), a gear box (17), an electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission (18), a control module (19) and a vacuum pump (20) are fixedly installed inside the machine body (1); the motor (15) is located at a front end of the power module (13); the control module (19) is located at one side of the power module (13); the electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission (18) is located at a front end of the control module (19); the gear box (17) is located at a front end of the electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmission (18); and the vacuum pump (20) is located at one side of the control module (19).

3. The aircraft ground traction and collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology according to claim 1 is characterized by: The gyroscope (10) is movably connected to the roller (11) via the roller shaft (8) and the inner ring shaft (4).

4. The aircraft ground traction and collision avoidance system based on crawling robot technology according to claim 2, characterized in that: The motor (15), the control module (19) and the vacuum pump (20) are all electrically connected to the power module (13).

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