A projectile recovery type large-range perception robot and perception method

Abstract

A projectile-recoverable, wide-range sensing robot utilizes a mechanical energy storage ejection recovery mechanism for reliable recovery. Dynamic attitude control within the flight module allows for accurate sensor alignment and measurement of target points. Multiple projectile recovery cycles allow for sensing of large extraterrestrial environments, enabling wide-scale sensing (tens to hundreds of meters). This invention overcomes the short flight time and limited lifespan of large-scale sensing drones, such as those used on Mars. Furthermore, it is also suitable for complex, atmosphereless environments like the lunar surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a projectile recovery type large-range perception robot and a perception method, belonging to the field of perception robots. Background Art

[0002] The extraterrestrial environment is complex, harsh, and unknown, characterized by pristine, natural topography, high texture similarity, and significant illumination variations. Professional and efficient scientific exploration requires precise identification and location of high-value targets. Large-scale autonomous movement requires cross-platform, multi-sensor collaborative information fusion, and rover capabilities for large-scale mapping, obstacle avoidance, planning, and motion control. Due to the limited mast height of rover systems, their effective sensing range is limited to approximately ten meters. Therefore, a terrain measurement method with a wider range, ease of use, and reliability is urgently needed.

[0003] To enhance the rover's wide-area perception capabilities, NASA Mars 2020 deployed the coaxial twin-propeller drone, Ingenuity, weighing only 1.8 kg and equipped with a camera as its core sensing device. Each Martian day, Ingenuity can fly for 90 seconds, covering a distance of 300 meters and reaching an altitude of 5 meters. While Ingenuity provides the rover with a cross-platform, wide-area visual perception capability, its complex structure limits its flight times and lifespan. Furthermore, cantilevered-wing drones cannot operate in atmosphereless environments like the moon and asteroids.

[0004] The wide-range intelligent perception capabilities of extraterrestrial exploration require sensors capable of such a wide range. However, existing rovers have a limited range due to terrain obstruction and mast size constraints. While it's possible to extend the range of perception using cantilevered drones equipped with small cameras in certain weak atmospheric environments (such as NASA's Mars 2020 coaxial twin-propeller drone), these drones are limited in number and distance, require long recharge cycles, and have a short lifespan, often requiring only a single flight of a few hundred seconds per Martian day.

[0005] Furthermore, for missions to atmosphereless extraterrestrial environments, such as the Moon and asteroids, large-scale sensing methods are extremely scarce. Orbiters can perform large-scale imaging of the stellar surface, but accuracy is limited. Continuous imaging can be performed during the lander's descent phase, but accuracy is limited by the sensor's altitude and attitude control precision. Furthermore, the imaging range is limited to the area surrounding the landing site, which cannot meet the requirements of planning large-scale, long-distance rovers. Currently, there is a lack of effective means for large-scale sensing of atmosphereless stellar surface environments. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is: to solve the problems of short flight time and limited lifespan when, for example, Mars drones perform large-scale perception, and is particularly suitable for complex environments without atmosphere, such as the moon.

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0008] A projectile-recoverable, wide-range perception robot and perception method utilizes a mechanical energy storage ejection recovery device for reliable ejection recovery. Dynamic attitude control within the flight module enables accurate sensor alignment and measurement of target points. Multiple ejection and recovery capabilities allow for wide-range extraterrestrial perception, demonstrating wide-area environmental sensing capabilities (tens to hundreds of meters).

[0009] A large-range perception robot with ejection recovery, including a mechanical ejection recovery module and a flight perception module;

[0010] The mechanical ejection recovery module includes a net basket, a motor, a transmission mechanism, and a spring. The net basket is used to place and recover the flight sensing module. The motor compresses the spring through the transmission mechanism, and the spring is used to eject the flight sensing module from the net basket.

[0011] The flight perception module includes a damping shell, a control module, an IMU, a UWB positioning module, a perception sensor, and a flywheel; the control module determines the real-time posture through the IMU and UWB positioning module, determines the flywheel speed based on the deviation between the real-time posture and the target posture, and controls the flight perception module to track the target's three-axis posture; during the entire ejection process, the perception sensor of the flight perception module continuously images the target point at different altitudes.

[0012] A large-range perception robot with ejection recovery, including a mechanical ejection recovery module and a flight perception module;

[0013] The mechanical ejection recovery module includes a net basket, a motor, a transmission mechanism, and a spring. The net basket is used to place and recover the flight sensing module. The motor compresses the spring through the transmission mechanism, and the spring is used to eject the flight sensing module from the net basket.

[0014] The flight perception module includes a damping shell, a motion control system, a perception sensor, and a positioning system. The motion control system is used to control its own posture and align the perception sensor with the target area; the positioning system is used to determine its own position and the target area; the perception sensor is used to image the target area at different altitudes.

[0015] A sensing method for a projectile recovery type large-range sensing robot comprises the following steps:

[0016] In the initial state, the flight sensing module is located in the basket on top of the mechanical ejection recovery module;

[0017] After the ejection is initiated, the mechanical ejection recovery module ejects the flight sensing module;

[0018] After the flight perception module pops out, it images the target at different altitudes;

[0019] When the flight sensing module falls back into the basket, it returns to its initial state.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] (1) The ejection-recovery type large-range perception robot proposed in the present invention adopts a mechanical ejection-recovery device to provide conditions for perception imaging at a certain height. At the same time, the ejection module is equipped with a posture control system, which can control the direction of its own sensor according to the imaging target point and its own posture, and realize continuous imaging of the target point and return transmission; it overcomes the problem of limited imaging range or low accuracy of mast camera imaging or orbiter camera imaging, and can realize low-altitude imaging of a relatively large range, which is particularly suitable for non-atmospheric environment.

[0022] (2) The large-scale perception robot is suitable for both atmospheric and non-atmospheric extraterrestrial environments. It can not only continuously image a specific target at different altitudes, but also take multiple photos of the surrounding large-scale environment and build a large-scale extraterrestrial star map by stitching multiple images. This can overcome the limited accuracy of orbiter large-scale star map imaging and the limited field of view of the rover mast camera.

[0023] (3) The large-scale sensing robot adopts mechanical ejection and net basket recovery, can be reused many times, has good reliability and long service life.

[0024] (4) The large-scale perception robot adopts three-axis attitude control, which can control the attitude of the camera in the inertial space in real time during flight, and achieve continuous imaging of specific targets when the altitude changes.

[0025] (5) The large-scale perception robot uses a wireless data transmission module, which can receive patrol instructions in real time and transmit multiple frames of images taken back to the patrol for processing for use in environmental mapping and perception planning.

[0026] (6) The flight sensing module of the large-scale sensing robot adopts a spherical shell made of damping material, which can provide good protection for the internal equipment during collisions during ejection and recovery. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the mechanical ejection recovery module.

[0028] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the main components of the flight perception module.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional diagram of the flight perception module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] Example 1:

[0032] The present invention proposes a projectile-recovery, wide-area perception robot. This robot employs a repeated projectile-recovery method, allowing it to capture local terrain during its motion. By stitching together multiple images, it can map extraterrestrial surfaces over a wide area. This method is independent of atmospheric conditions, and the power generated by the projectiles is directly derived from the rover and is reusable, providing a flexible, wide-area perception solution.

[0033] The ejection recovery type large-scale perception robot is installed on the extraterrestrial surface rover and is divided into two parts: the mechanical ejection recovery module (such as Figure 1 As shown), flight perception module; the flight perception module is placed in the basket of the mechanical ejection recovery module.

[0034] The mechanical ejection recovery module has a mesh basket on top for placing and recovering the flight sensing module. An internal motor compresses a mechanical spring via a rack and pinion, launching the module at a set speed (the initial velocity ranges from 5m / s to 15m / s, depending on the sensing range). When the module falls, it is recovered using the mesh basket. The mechanical ejection recovery module smooths the robot's acceleration during ejection and recovery, ensuring the proper functioning of the components within the module. It also has the ability to precisely control the trajectory of the ejection to ensure it reaches the robot's operating height.

[0035] The flight sensing module is wrapped in a spherical shell made of damping material. When it falls into the net basket, it can cushion the collision by deformation. Its damping characteristics can minimize rebound and protect the internal equipment. Figure 2 and Figure 3 The interior includes three-axis motors, flywheels, IMU, UWB positioning module, control module, perception sensors, wireless data transmission, batteries and other components.

[0036] The three-axis motor drives the flywheel to rotate and is the actuator for attitude control of the flight perception module.

[0037] IMU is an attitude measurement sensor that provides attitude measurement information for attitude control of the flight perception module.

[0038] The UWB positioning module can measure the relative position of the flight perception module relative to the UWB tag (installed on the rover body) in real time. From this, the control board can calculate the ideal inertial attitude of the flight perception module as the input of attitude control.

[0039] The attitude control algorithm runs on the control board, which can read the measurement information of the UWB positioning module and IMU, and send the calculated three-axis attitude control instructions to the motor for execution.

[0040] Perception sensors (specifically optical cameras, lidars, tof cameras, etc.) can perform continuous measurements (take photos) during flight. The measurement information is read by wireless data transmission and sent to the patrol end for processing.

[0041] The battery module provides power to the above devices. When the flight sensing module falls back into the frame, it can be charged through the wireless charging module on the rover.

[0042] UWB positioning tags are installed on the front and rear of the rover for the flight perception module to determine the height and direction relative to the rover during flight.

[0043] During the projectile flight, the robot obtains its precise relative position to the rover, determining the direction and distance of the target area relative to the robot's main body. The robot's motion control system controls its posture, aligning the sensor with the target area and adjusting its posture as altitude changes, ensuring stable operation of the sensor. The flight perception module images the target area during the projectile flight, requiring continuous photography of the target area at different altitudes.

[0044] The working process of the projectile recovery large-scale perception robot is as follows:

[0045] (1) In the initial state, the flight perception module is located in the net basket on top of the mechanical ejection recovery module. When the rover needs to measure the target imaging point, the coordinates of the target imaging point relative to the rover's coordinate system are sent to the flight perception module via wireless data transmission. After the flight perception module receives the command and responds for confirmation, the ejection process is started.

[0046] (2) The motor at the bottom drives the rack and pinion mechanism to compress the mechanical spring to store energy. When the energy storage is completed, the spring will automatically release when it reaches a specific position because the gear driven by the motor has a missing tooth structure, driving the push rod in front to throw the flight sensor module straight up at a certain speed.

[0047] (3) When the flight perception module enters the ejection state, the internal control board senses the current attitude through the IMU. Combined with the current heading and altitude measured by the UWB relative to the rover system, it calculates in real time the ideal three-axis attitude of the flight perception module at the current altitude when the camera is pointing to the target imaging point. Then, based on the deviation between the current actual attitude and the target attitude, the flywheel speed command is calculated to control the flight perception module to track the target three-axis attitude. During this process (the altitude first increases and then decreases), the camera's optical axis always points to the target imaging point. The target can continuously image the target point at different altitudes.

[0048] (4) When the flight sensing module falls back into the net basket, the damping material on the surface cushions the collision and returns to the initial state.

[0049] (5) The patroller adjusts the coordinates of the target imaging point and completes the measurement of the target area by repeating the above process multiple times.

[0050] (6) The flight perception module transmits the photos taken during multiple flights to the rover through digital transmission. The computer on the rover stitches the multiple photos taken to achieve perception and mapping of a large-scale environment.

[0051] Example 2:

[0052] A large-range perception robot with ejection recovery, including a mechanical ejection recovery module and a flight perception module;

[0053] The mechanical ejection and recovery module includes a basket, a motor, a transmission mechanism, and a spring; the basket is used to place and recover the flight perception module, and the motor compresses the spring through the transmission mechanism, and the spring is used to eject the flight perception module from the basket; the flight perception module includes a damping shell, a control module, an IMU, a UWB positioning module, a perception sensor, and a flywheel; the control module measures and determines the real-time posture through the IMU and UWB positioning module, determines the flywheel speed based on the deviation between the real-time posture and the target posture, and controls the flight perception module to track the target's three-axis posture; during the entire ejection process, the perception sensor of the flight perception module continuously images the target point at different altitudes.

[0054] Preferably, the initial velocity of the projection of the flight sensing module is between 5m / s and 15m / s.

[0055] Preferably, the flight sensing module further includes a three-axis motor for driving the flywheel to rotate and perform three-axis attitude control of the flight sensing module.

[0056] Preferably, the flight sensing module also includes a wireless data transmission module for performing data communication with an external patrol device.

[0057] Preferably, the transmission mechanism is a rack and pinion mechanism, and the gear driven by the motor is a toothless structure, and the spring is automatically released when it turns to a predetermined position.

[0058] Preferably, the perception sensor is an optical camera, a laser radar or a tof camera.

[0059] Example 3:

[0060] A large-range perception robot with ejection recovery, including a mechanical ejection recovery module and a flight perception module;

[0061] The mechanical ejection recovery module includes a net basket, a motor, a transmission mechanism, and a spring; the net basket is used to place and recover the flight sensing module, the motor compresses the spring through the transmission mechanism, and the spring is used to eject the flight sensing module from the net basket; the flight sensing module is provided with a spherical shell made of damping material, and also includes a motion control system, a sensing sensor, and a positioning system. The motion control system is used to control its own posture and align the sensing sensor with the target area; the positioning system is used to determine its own position and the target area; the sensing sensor is used to image the target area at different heights.

[0062] Example 4:

[0063] A sensing method for a projectile recovery type wide-range sensing robot, using the robots of Examples 1 to 3, comprises the following steps:

[0064] In the initial state, the flight sensing module is located in the basket on top of the mechanical ejection recovery module;

[0065] After the ejection is initiated, the mechanical ejection recovery module ejects the flight sensing module;

[0066] After the flight perception module pops out, it images the target at different altitudes;

[0067] When the flight sensing module falls back into the basket, it returns to its initial state.

[0068] Preferably, the measurement of the target area is completed through multiple ejections.

[0069] Preferably, multiple ejected images are spliced ​​to obtain a larger range of environmental perception results.

[0070] The contents not described in detail in the specification of the present invention belong to the common knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0071] Although the present invention has been disclosed above in terms of preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make possible changes and modifications to the technical solutions of the present invention by using the methods and technical contents disclosed above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solutions of the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims

1. A large-scale sensing robot suitable for lunar surface ejection and recovery, characterized by: Including mechanical ejection recovery module, flight perception module, and battery module; The mechanical ejection recovery module includes a net basket, a motor, a transmission mechanism, and a spring. The net basket is used to place and recover the flight sensing module. The motor compresses the spring through the transmission mechanism, and the spring is used to eject the flight sensing module from the net basket. The flight perception module includes a damping shell, a control module, an IMU, a UWB positioning module, a perception sensor, and a flywheel. The control module determines the real-time position and attitude through the IMU and UWB positioning module. Based on the deviation between the real-time position and the target attitude, it determines the flywheel speed and controls the flight perception module to track the target's three-axis attitude. During the entire ejection process, the flight perception module's perception sensor continuously images the target point at different altitudes. The battery module is used to power other modules. When the flight sensing module falls back into the frame, it is charged through the wireless charging module on the external rover. The perception method of the perception robot includes the following steps: In the initial state, the flight sensing module is located in the basket on top of the mechanical ejection recovery module; After the ejection is initiated, the mechanical ejection recovery module ejects the flight sensing module; After the flight perception module pops out, it images the target at different altitudes; When the flight sensing module falls back into the basket, it returns to its initial state.

2. The perception robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The initial velocity of the ejection of the flight sensing module is between 5m / s and 15m / s.

3. The perception robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flight sensing module also includes a three-axis motor for driving the flywheel to rotate and perform three-axis attitude control of the flight sensing module.

4. The perception robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flight sensing module also includes a wireless data transmission module for performing data communication with an external patrol device.

5. The perception robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission mechanism is a rack and pinion mechanism, and the gear driven by the motor is a toothless structure. When the gear is turned to a predetermined position, the spring is automatically released.

6. The perception robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The perception sensor is an optical camera, a laser radar or a tof camera.

7. A large-scale sensing robot suitable for lunar surface ejection and recovery, characterized by: Including mechanical ejection recovery module, flight perception module, and battery module; The mechanical ejection recovery module includes a net basket, a motor, a transmission mechanism, and a spring. The net basket is used to place and recover the flight sensing module. The motor compresses the spring through the transmission mechanism, and the spring is used to eject the flight sensing module from the net basket. The flight sensing module includes a damping shell, a motion control system, a sensing sensor, and a positioning system. The motion control system is used to control its own posture and align the sensing sensor with the target area. The positioning system is used to determine the position of itself and the target area; the perception sensor is used to image the target area at different heights; The battery module is used to power other modules. When the flight sensing module falls back into the frame, it is charged through the wireless charging module on the external rover. The perception method of the perception robot includes the following steps: In the initial state, the flight sensing module is located in the basket on top of the mechanical ejection recovery module; After the ejection is initiated, the mechanical ejection recovery module ejects the flight sensing module; After the flight perception module pops out, it images the target at different altitudes; When the flight sensing module falls back into the basket, it returns to its initial state.

8. The perceptual robot according to claim 1 or 7, characterized in that: Through multiple ejections, the measurement of the target area is completed.

9. The perceptual robot according to claim 1 or 7, characterized in that: The images from multiple ejections are stitched together to obtain a wider range of environmental perception results.

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