Omnidirectional Obstacle Avoidance Method and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention relates to an omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method and an unmanned aerial vehicle. The omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method applied to the unmanned aerial vehicle includes: first, obtaining the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and then adjusting the image frame rates of multiple cameras in different directions according to the obtained flight speed information. Furthermore, the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be performed according to the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras. Through the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras, the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the flight direction information is greatly increased, thereby improving the long-distance obstacle avoidance accuracy. When the visual obstacle avoidance processing performance is certain, the unmanned aerial vehicle can better perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, and particularly to an omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method and an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of the aerial photography technology of unmanned aerial vehicles, more and more consumer-grade unmanned aerial vehicles are being produced and developed. Unmanned aerial vehicles are becoming increasingly popular. There are many ways to control an unmanned aerial vehicle, such as controlling it through a remote controller, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a computer.

[0003] In the process of implementing the present invention, the inventors found that the related art has at least the following problems: With the development of unmanned aerial vehicle technology, true omnidirectional obstacle avoidance requires support for six directions: front, below, rear, left, right, and above. The higher the accuracy of long-distance obstacle avoidance, the larger the resolution of the image required, and the larger the resolution, the higher the requirement for the visual obstacle avoidance processing performance. However, the overall performance of visual obstacle avoidance processing is limited, and the prior art cannot solve the problem of excessive obstacle avoidance lenses and insufficient visual obstacle avoidance performance.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide an omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method and an unmanned aerial vehicle that can improve the long-distance obstacle avoidance accuracy of an unmanned aerial vehicle under the condition of a certain visual obstacle avoidance processing performance.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions: An omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method is applied to an unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes cameras in multiple different directions. The method includes: obtaining flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle;

[0006] Adjusting the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight speed information;

[0007] Performing omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras.

[0008] Optionally, the adjusting the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight speed information includes:

[0009] Obtaining flight direction information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight speed information;

[0010] Adjusting the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight direction information.

[0011] Optionally, the flight speed information includes the flight speeds corresponding to different directions;

[0012] Obtaining the flight direction information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight speed information includes:

[0013] Comparing the flight speeds corresponding to different directions with a preset speed threshold;

[0014] If one of the flight speeds is greater than the preset speed threshold, then taking the flight direction corresponding to the one flight speed as the flight direction information.

[0015] Optionally, a plurality of cameras are provided in each flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle;

[0016] Adjusting the image frame rates of the cameras in a plurality of different directions according to the flight direction information includes:

[0017] Extracting the current flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight direction information;

[0018] Increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction;

[0019] Reducing the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions.

[0020] Optionally, increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction includes:

[0021] Increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction to the maximum value;

[0022] Reducing the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions includes:

[0023] Reducing the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions to half of the maximum value.

[0024] Optionally, increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction includes:

[0025] Increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction to the maximum value;

[0026] Reducing the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions includes:

[0027] Reducing the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions to the minimum value.

[0028] To solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present invention further provides the following technical solution: an omnidirectional obstacle avoidance device. The omnidirectional obstacle avoidance device includes: a flight speed information acquisition module for acquiring the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0029] An image frame rate adjustment module, configured to adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight speed information.

[0030] An omnidirectional obstacle avoidance control module, configured to perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras.

[0031] Optionally, the image frame rate adjustment module includes a flight direction information acquisition unit and an image frame rate control unit;

[0032] The flight direction information acquisition unit is configured to obtain the flight direction information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight speed information;

[0033] The graphic frame rate control unit is configured to adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight direction information.

[0034] Optionally, a plurality of cameras are provided in each flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle; the graphic frame rate control unit includes a current flight direction extraction subunit, an image frame rate increase subunit, and an image frame rate decrease subunit;

[0035] The current flight direction extraction subunit is configured to extract the current flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight direction information;

[0036] The image frame rate increase subunit is configured to increase the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction;

[0037] The image frame rate decrease subunit is configured to decrease the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions.

[0038] To solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present invention further provides the following technical solution: an unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes:

[0039] A fuselage;

[0040] Arms, connected to the fuselage;

[0041] A power device, provided on the arms, configured to provide power for the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly;

[0042] A flight control module; and

[0043] A memory communicatively connected to the flight control module; wherein, the memory stores instructions executable by the flight control module, and the instructions are executed by the flight control module so that the flight control module can be used to execute the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method as described above.

[0044] Compared with the prior art, the omni-directional obstacle avoidance method provided by the embodiment of the present invention can first obtain the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and then adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the obtained flight speed information. Furthermore, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be subjected to omni-directional obstacle avoidance according to the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras. Through the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras, the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to the flight direction information are greatly increased, thereby improving the long-distance obstacle avoidance accuracy. When the visual obstacle avoidance processing performance is certain, the unmanned aerial vehicle can better perform omni-directional obstacle avoidance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] One or more embodiments are exemplarily illustrated by the pictures in the corresponding drawings. These exemplary illustrations do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are represented as similar elements, unless otherwise stated, and the drawings in the drawings do not constitute a proportional limitation.

[0046] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the application environment of the embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 2 It is a schematic flowchart of the omni-directional obstacle avoidance method provided by one embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 3 is Figure 2 The flowchart of S30 in;

[0049] Figure 4 is Figure 3 The flowchart of S31 in;

[0050] Figure 5 is Figure 3 The flowchart of S32 in;

[0051] Figure 6 It is a structural block diagram of the omni-directional obstacle avoidance device provided by one embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] Figure 7 It is a structural block diagram of the unmanned aerial vehicle provided by one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] For the convenience of understanding the present invention, the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that when an element is expressed as "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element, or there can be one or more intermediate elements therebetween. When an element is expressed as "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or there can be one or more intermediate elements therebetween. The orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", "bottom", etc. used in this specification is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation to the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0054] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The terms used in this specification in the description of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not used to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0055] In addition, the technical features involved in different embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0056] An embodiment of the present invention provides an omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method and an unmanned aerial vehicle. Among them, the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method applied to the unmanned aerial vehicle first obtains the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and then adjusts the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the obtained flight speed information. Furthermore, the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be performed according to the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras. Through the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras, the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to the flight direction information are greatly increased, thereby improving the long-distance obstacle avoidance accuracy. Under the condition of a certain visual obstacle avoidance processing performance, the unmanned aerial vehicle can better perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance.

[0057] The application environment of the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method is illustrated by the following examples.

[0058] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the application environment of the control method of the unmanned aerial vehicle provided by the embodiment of the present invention; as Figure 1As shown, the application scenario includes an unmanned aerial vehicle 10, an infrared wireless network 20, a remote control device 30, and a user 40. The user 40 can use the remote control device 30 to control the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 through the infrared wireless network.

[0059] The unmanned aerial vehicle 10 can be an unmanned flying vehicle driven by any type of power, including but not limited to a rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle, a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle, a parafoil unmanned aerial vehicle, a flapping-wing unmanned aerial vehicle, and a helicopter model, etc.

[0060] According to the actual needs, the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 can have an appropriate volume or power, so as to provide a load capacity, flight speed, flight endurance, etc. that can meet the usage requirements. One or more functional modules can also be added to the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 to enable the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 to achieve corresponding functions.

[0061] For example, in this embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 is provided with a battery module, a positioning device, an infrared transmitting device, and multiple groups of binocular cameras.

[0062] After the battery module is connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle 10, the battery module can provide power for the unmanned aerial vehicle 10. In this embodiment, the battery module includes a voltage conversion module, a voltage detection module, a current detection module, a temperature detection module, an IO input and output module, a CPU control module, a communication module, a power display module, and an interface circuit. Among them, the voltage conversion module realizes the conversion of the battery input voltage into the 5V and 3.3V voltages required by the board; the voltage detection module is connected to the battery using an equalizing plug to realize the measurement of the single-cell voltage value and the total voltage value; by connecting the power output line of the battery to the current detection module, the collected current value can be converted into a voltage value and sent to the CPU interface for AD acquisition; the temperature detection module can realize the acquisition of temperature by externally connecting 1 to 8 platinum resistance sensors; the communication module is used for the connection between the board and external devices and supports CAN, RS232, and RS485 interfaces. The CPU control module is connected to the voltage detection module, the current detection module, and the temperature detection module through the interface circuit to realize the acquisition of voltage, current, and temperature.

[0063] The positioning device can be a GPS positioning system, and the GPS positioning system is used to obtain the real-time geographical location information of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0064] The infrared emission device is used to send infrared access information and receive infrared control instructions sent by the remote control device. For example, when the remote control device sends an infrared control instruction, the infrared emission device receives the infrared control instruction, and then enables the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 to control the startup state of the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 according to the infrared control instruction. After the battery module is connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle 10, the infrared emission device can send the infrared access information obtained from the access information of the battery module to the remote control device 30.

[0065] The binocular camera includes a front camera, a rear camera, an upper camera, a lower camera, a left camera, and a right camera. The front camera, rear camera, upper camera, lower camera, left camera, and right camera are respectively installed on the front end, rear end, upper housing, lower housing, left end, and right end of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The above cameras can be used to capture image information in the corresponding directions respectively. Furthermore, the unmanned aerial vehicle can perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance according to the graphic information.

[0066] The unmanned aerial vehicle 10 includes at least one flight control module. As the control core for the flight and data transmission of the unmanned aerial vehicle 10, it has the ability to monitor, calculate, and manipulate the flight and tasks of the unmanned aerial vehicle. In this embodiment, the flight control module can also modulate a binary digital signal into an infrared signal in the form of a corresponding optical pulse or demodulate an infrared signal in the form of an optical pulse into a binary digital signal. The remote control device 30 can be any type of intelligent device used to establish a communication connection with the unmanned aerial vehicle 10, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or other mobile control terminals, etc.

[0067] The remote control device 30 is equipped with an infrared receiving device. The infrared receiving device is used to receive infrared access information and send an infrared control instruction for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle. For example, the remote control device 30 can be used to receive the infrared access information generated by the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 when the battery module is normally connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle. The remote control device 30 can also send an infrared control instruction generated according to the control instruction of the user 40 to the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 to control the startup state of the unmanned aerial vehicle 10. The remote control device 30 can also be equipped with a video transmission module for controlling the transmission back of the positioning screen, the gimbal shooting screen, and the aiming screen. In this embodiment, the video transmission module can also modulate a binary digital signal into an infrared signal in the form of a corresponding optical pulse or demodulate an infrared signal in the form of an optical pulse into a binary digital signal.

[0068] The remote control device 30 can also be equipped with one or more different user 40 interaction devices for collecting user 40 instructions or displaying and feeding back information to the user 40.

[0069] These interaction devices include, but are not limited to: buttons, display screens, touch screens, speakers, and remote control joysticks. For example, the remote control device 30 can be equipped with a touch display screen, through which the remote control instructions of the user 40 for the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 are received.

[0070] In some embodiments, existing image vision processing technologies can also be integrated between the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 and the remote control device 30 to further provide more intelligent services. For example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 can collect images through a dual-light camera, and the remote control device 30 can analyze the images, so as to realize the gesture control of the user 40 for the unmanned aerial vehicle 10.

[0071] Figure 2 This is an embodiment of an omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method provided by an embodiment of the present invention. This method can be executed by Figure 1 the unmanned aerial vehicle in Figure 2 . Specifically, please refer to

[0072] S10. Obtain the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0073] Specifically, the flight speed information is flight speed vectors in different directions, including the forward speed information v x of the current unmanned aerial vehicle, the backward speed information -v x of the current unmanned aerial vehicle, the left-to-right speed information ±v y of the current unmanned aerial vehicle, the up-to-down speed information ±v z of the current unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0074] Specifically, the flight speed information can be obtained through the following steps. First, obtain image information and perform grayscale processing to obtain an image grayscale map. Among them, the real-time image information of the ground is obtained by an image sensor, and the obtained real-time image information is subjected to grayscale processing to obtain a continuous image grayscale map. Then, the pyramid optical flow algorithm is used to obtain the optical flow speed, and the flight speed vectors of the unmanned aerial vehicle in different directions are obtained according to the optical flow speed and the height data of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and used as the flight speed information.

[0075] It should be noted that the pyramid optical flow algorithm relates the two-dimensional velocity field to the grayscale, introduces the optical flow constraint equation, and obtains the basic algorithm for optical flow calculation. Two assumptions are proposed based on the optical characteristics of object movement: ① The grayscale of a moving object remains unchanged within a very short time interval; ② The time is continuous or the movement is small, and the image moves relatively slowly over time. In practice, it means that the ratio of time change to the movement in the image should be small enough. Based on the above two assumptions, there are the following problems when using the pyramid optical flow algorithm to calculate the optical flow velocity: There are certain requirements for the flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the image frequency, and the processor hardware, and the speed measurement range is small. When the flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle is too fast, it is easy to have problems with large errors or even completely wrong results. Increasing the image frequency can solve the errors or problems caused by too fast flight speed, but it will also bring problems with the calculation speed. Increasing the image frequency will lead to an increase in the processor's computational workload and higher requirements for the processor's hardware configuration, making it impossible to achieve accurate measurement at low cost. For small movements, that is, when the flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle is slow, the accuracy of using the pyramid algorithm to calculate the optical flow velocity is relatively high and the real-time performance is strong.

[0076] It should be noted that after obtaining the flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle, update the grayscale image of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and at the same time judge whether the flight speed is greater than the first threshold. Assume that the obtained flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle is greater than the first threshold, then use the block matching optical flow algorithm to obtain the optical flow velocity, and obtain the flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the optical flow velocity and the altitude data of the unmanned aerial vehicle; otherwise, use the pyramid optical flow algorithm to obtain the optical flow velocity, and finally obtain the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the obtained optical flow velocity and the altitude data of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0077] S20. Adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight speed information.

[0078] Specifically, according to the flight speed information calculated above, obtain the flight direction information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and then adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight direction information.

[0079] Specifically, the flight speed information includes the flight speeds of the current unmanned aerial vehicle in different directions. For example, the forward speed v x1 , the backward speed v x2 , the left-to-right speed v y , the up-to-down speed v zThen, it is determined whether the flight speeds in different directions exceed a preset speed threshold respectively, and thus the flight direction information of the current unmanned aerial vehicle can be determined according to the determination result. Furthermore, according to the flight direction information, the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions are adjusted. For example, the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the obtained flight direction information is increased, and the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions are decreased.

[0080] Furthermore, the unmanned aerial vehicle is further provided with a storage device, and the storage device stores the preset speed threshold.

[0081] Wherein, the storage device can be a flash memory type memory, a hard disk type memory, a micro multimedia card type memory, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory), a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a read only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a programmable read only memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk and an optical disk.

[0082] S30. Perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the adjusted image frame rate of the camera.

[0083] Specifically, with the development of unmanned aerial vehicle technology, true omnidirectional obstacle avoidance requires support for six directions: front, bottom, rear, left, right and top. Through the adjusted image frame rate of the camera above, the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the flight direction information is greatly increased, thereby improving the long-distance obstacle avoidance accuracy. Under the condition of a certain visual obstacle avoidance processing performance, better omnidirectional obstacle avoidance is performed on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0084] An embodiment of the present invention provides an omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method. The method first obtains the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, then adjusts the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the obtained flight speed information, and thus omnidirectional obstacle avoidance can be performed on the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the adjusted image frame rate of the camera. Through the adjusted image frame rate of the camera above, the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the flight direction information is greatly increased, thereby improving the long-distance obstacle avoidance accuracy. Under the condition of a certain visual obstacle avoidance processing performance, the unmanned aerial vehicle can perform better omnidirectional obstacle avoidance.

[0085] In order to better perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the adjusted image frame rate of the camera, in some embodiments, please refer to Figure 3 , S30 includes the following steps:

[0086] S31. Obtain the flight direction information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight speed information.

[0087] Specifically, the flight speed information includes the flight speeds of the current unmanned aerial vehicle in different directions. For example, the forward speed v x1 , the backward speed v x2 , the left-to-right speed v y , the up-to-down speed v z . Then, it is determined whether the flight speeds in different directions exceed a preset speed threshold, and then the flight direction information of the current unmanned aerial vehicle can be determined according to the judgment result.

[0088] S32. Adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight direction information.

[0089] Specifically, through the obtained flight direction information above, the image frame rates of the cameras in different directions can be adjusted accordingly.

[0090] For example, when the flight direction information is the upward flight direction information, it indicates that the unmanned aerial vehicle is ascending, and then the image frame rate of the binocular camera corresponding to the upward direction is increased, and the image frame rates of the binocular cameras corresponding to other directions are decreased. When the flight direction information is the forward flight direction information, it indicates that the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying forward, and then the image frame rate of the binocular camera corresponding to the forward direction is increased, and the image frame rates of the binocular cameras corresponding to other directions are decreased. When the flight direction information is the backward flight direction information, it indicates that the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying backward, and then the image frame rate of the binocular camera corresponding to the backward direction is increased, and the image frame rates of the binocular cameras corresponding to other directions are decreased. When the flight direction information is the left flight direction information, it indicates that the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying left, and then the image frame rate of the binocular camera corresponding to the left direction is increased, and the image frame rates of the binocular cameras corresponding to other directions are decreased.

[0091] To better obtain the flight direction information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight speed information, in some embodiments, please refer to Figure 4 , S31 includes the following steps:

[0092] S311: Compare the flight speeds corresponding to different directions with a preset speed threshold.

[0093] S312: If one of the flight speeds is greater than the preset speed threshold, then use the flight direction corresponding to the one flight speed as the flight direction information.

[0094] For example, if the forward speed corresponding to the forward direction is v x1 = 6 m / s, and the backward speed corresponding to the backward direction is v x2= 5 m / s, the leftward speed corresponding to the left direction is v y1 = 7 m / s, the rightward speed corresponding to the right direction is v y2 = 8 m / s, the upward speed corresponding to the upward direction is v z = 3 m / s, the downward speed corresponding to the downward direction is v z = 5 m / s. If the pre - speed threshold is 7.5 m / s, the forward speed v x1 = 6 m / s, the backward speed v x2 = 5 m / s, the leftward speed v y1 = 7 m / s, the rightward speed v y2 = 8 m / s, the upward speed v z = 3 m / s, the downward speed v z = 5 m / s are respectively compared with the pre - speed threshold of 7.5 m / s to judge whether the flight speeds in different directions 6 m / s, 5 m / s, 7 m / s, 8 m / s, 3 m / s, 5 m / s exceed the preset speed threshold of 7.5 m / s. It can be calculated that only the rightward speed v y2 = 8 m / s is greater than the pre - speed threshold of 7.5 m / s. Then it can be determined that the unmanned aerial vehicle is currently flying to the right, and the flight direction information is the right - flying direction information.

[0095] For another example, if the forward speed v x1 = 9 m / s, the backward speed v x2 = 5 m / s, the leftward speed v y1 = 7 m / s, the rightward speed v y2 = 8 m / s, the upward speed v z = 3 m / s, the downward speed v z = 5 m / s. If the pre - speed threshold is 7.5 m / s, the forward speed v x1 = 9 m / s, the backward speed v x2 = 5 m / s, the leftward speed v y1 = 7 m / s, the rightward speed v y2 = 8 m / s, the upward speed v z = 3 m / s, the downward speed v z = 5 m / s are respectively compared with the pre - speed threshold of 7.5 m / s to judge whether the flight speeds in different directions 9 m / s, 5 m / s, 7 m / s, 8 m / s, 3 m / s, 5 m / s exceed the preset speed threshold of 7.5 m / s. It can be calculated that the forward direction 9 m / s and the rightward speed v y2 = 8 m / s are greater than the pre - speed threshold of 7.5 m / s. Then it can be determined that the unmanned aerial vehicle is currently flying in the right - front direction, and the flight direction information is the right - front - flying direction information. And so on.

[0096] In some embodiments, preset speed thresholds are correspondingly set in different directions, and the preset speed thresholds in different directions may be the same or different. Then, the flight speed corresponding to different directions is compared with the corresponding preset speed thresholds.

[0097] In order to better adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight direction information, in some embodiments, please refer to Figure 5 , S32 further includes the following steps:

[0098] S321: Extract the current flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight direction information.

[0099] For example, when the flight direction information is upward flight direction information, it indicates that the unmanned aerial vehicle is ascending, and the current flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle is upward flight. When the flight direction information is forward flight direction information, it indicates that the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying forward, and the current flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle is forward flight. When the flight direction information includes both left flight direction information and forward direction information at the same time, it indicates that the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying in the left front direction, and the current flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle is left front direction flight.

[0100] S322: Increase the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction.

[0101] S323: Decrease the image frame rate of the cameras corresponding to other directions.

[0102] For example, if the current flight direction is upward direction flight, increase the image frame rate of the binocular camera corresponding to the upward direction, and decrease the image frame rate of the binocular cameras corresponding to other directions. If the current flight direction is forward direction flight, increase the image frame rate of the binocular camera corresponding to the forward direction, and decrease the image frame rate of the binocular cameras corresponding to other directions. If the current flight direction is backward direction flight, increase the image frame rate of the binocular camera corresponding to the backward direction, and decrease the image frame rate of the binocular cameras corresponding to other directions. And so on.

[0103] Specifically, in some embodiments, increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction means that the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction can be increased to the maximum value; decreasing the image frame rate of the cameras corresponding to other directions means that the image frame rate of the cameras corresponding to other directions is decreased to half of the maximum value.

[0104] In some embodiments, increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction means increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction to the maximum value; decreasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to other directions means decreasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to other directions to the minimum value.

[0105] It should be noted that in the above-mentioned various embodiments, there is not necessarily a certain sequence among the above steps. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand according to the description of the embodiments of the present application that in different embodiments, the above steps can have different execution sequences, that is, they can be executed in parallel or exchanged, etc.

[0106] As another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application provide an omnidirectional obstacle avoidance device 70, and the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance device is applied to an unmanned aerial vehicle. Please refer to Figure 6 , the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance device 70 includes: a flight speed information acquisition module 71, an image frame rate adjustment module 72, and an image frame rate adjustment module 73.

[0107] The flight speed information acquisition module 71 is used to acquire the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0108] The image frame rate adjustment module 72 is used to adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight speed information.

[0109] The comprehensive obstacle avoidance control module 73 is used to perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras.

[0110] Therefore, in this embodiment, by first acquiring the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, then adjusting the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the acquired flight speed information, and further performing omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras. Through the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras, the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the flight direction information is greatly increased, thereby improving the long-distance obstacle avoidance accuracy. Under the condition of a certain visual obstacle avoidance processing performance, the unmanned aerial vehicle can better perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance.

[0111] Among them, in some embodiments, the image frame rate adjustment module includes a flight direction information acquisition unit and an image frame rate control unit;

[0112] The flight direction information acquisition unit is used to obtain the flight direction information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight speed information;

[0113] The graphic frame rate control unit is used to adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight direction information.

[0114] Wherein, in some embodiments, a plurality of cameras are arranged in each flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle; the graphic frame rate control unit includes a current flight direction extraction subunit, an image frame rate increase subunit, and an image frame rate decrease subunit;

[0115] The current flight direction extraction subunit is used to extract the current flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight direction information;

[0116] The image frame rate increase subunit is used to increase the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction;

[0117] The image frame rate decrease subunit is used to decrease the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions.

[0118] Figure 7 FIG. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle 10 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The unmanned aerial vehicle 10 can be any type of unmanned vehicle, and can execute the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method provided by the corresponding method embodiment above, or run the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance device 70 provided by the corresponding device embodiment above. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes: a fuselage, arms, a power device, an infrared emission device, a flight control module 110, a memory 120, and a communication module 130.

[0119] The arms are connected to the fuselage; the power device is arranged on the arms and is used to provide power for the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly; the infrared emission device is arranged inside the fuselage and is used to send infrared access information and receive infrared control instructions sent by a remote control device;

[0120] The flight control module has the ability to monitor, calculate, and manipulate the flight and tasks of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and includes a set of devices for controlling the launch and recovery of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The flight control module can also modulate a binary digital signal into an infrared signal in the form of a corresponding optical pulse or demodulate an infrared signal in the form of an optical pulse into a binary digital signal.

[0121] The flight control module 110, the memory 120, and the communication module 130 establish a communication connection between any two of them in a bus manner.

[0122] The flight control module 110 can be of any type and has one or more processing cores. It can perform single-threaded or multi-threaded operations, and is used to parse instructions to perform operations such as obtaining data, performing logical operation functions, and issuing operation processing results.

[0123] The memory 120, as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, can be used to store non-transitory software programs, non-transitory computer-executable programs, and modules, such as the program instructions / modules corresponding to the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method in the embodiments of the present invention (for example, the flight speed information acquisition module 71, the image frame rate adjustment module 72, and the comprehensive obstacle avoidance control module 73 shown in the appendix Figure 6 ). By running the non-transitory software programs, instructions, and modules stored in the memory 120, the flight control module 110 executes various functional applications and data processing of the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance device 70, that is, implements the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0124] The memory 120 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. Among them, the program storage area can store an operating system and application programs required for at least one function; the data storage area can store data created according to the use of the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance device 70, etc. In addition, the memory 120 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-transitory memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other non-transitory solid-state storage devices. In some embodiments, the memory 120 may optionally include a memory remotely set relative to the flight control module 110, and these remote memories can be connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 through a network. Examples of the above network include but are not limited to the Internet, an enterprise intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.

[0125] The memory 120 stores instructions executable by the at least one flight control module 110; the at least one flight control module 110 is configured to execute the instructions to implement the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method in any of the above method embodiments. For example, by executing the method steps 10, 20, 30, etc. described above, the functions of the modules 71-73 in Figure 6 are realized.

[0126] The communication module 130 is a functional module for establishing a communication connection and providing a physical channel. The communication module 130 can be any type of wireless or wired communication module 130, including but not limited to a WiFi module or a Bluetooth module, etc.

[0127] Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention also provide a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which are executed by one or more flight control modules 110. For example, when executed by Figure 7 one of the flight control modules 110 in, the one or more flight control modules 110 can be caused to execute the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method in any of the above method embodiments. For example, by executing the method steps 10, 20, 30, etc. described above, the functions of the modules 71-73 in Figure 6 are realized.

[0128] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0129] Through the description of the above embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art can clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus a general hardware platform, and of course, it can also be implemented by hardware. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-described method embodiments can be completed by a computer program in a computer program product to instruct relevant hardware. The computer program can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program includes program instructions. When the program instructions are executed by relevant devices, the relevant devices can execute the processes of the above method embodiments. Among them, the storage medium can be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM), or a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0130] The above product can execute the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method provided by the embodiments of the present invention and has corresponding functional modules and beneficial effects for executing the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method. For technical details not described in detail in this embodiment, reference can be made to the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method provided by the embodiments of the present invention.

[0131] The present invention is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram can be implemented by computer program instructions, and the combination of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram can also be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing devices to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing devices generate a device for implementing the functions specified in one process Figure 1 one process or multiple processes and / or blocks Figure 1 or multiple blocks.

[0132] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, so that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process. Thus, the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide for implementing the functions specified in one process Figure 1 one process or multiple processes and / or blocks Figure 1Steps of the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0133] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0134] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit them; under the concept of the present invention, the technical features in the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, and the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations in different aspects of the present invention as described above. For the sake of brevity, they are not provided in detail; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method, applied to an unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle including cameras in multiple different directions, characterized in that, Including: Obtain the optical flow velocity according to continuous image information; Obtain the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the optical flow velocity and the altitude data of the unmanned aerial vehicle; Compare the flight speeds corresponding to different directions with a preset speed threshold; The preset speed threshold includes: preset speed thresholds are correspondingly set in different directions, and the preset speed thresholds in different directions are different; If one of the flight speeds is greater than the preset speed threshold in that flight direction, then use the flight direction corresponding to the one flight speed as the flight direction information; Adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight direction information; Perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras; A number of cameras are provided in each flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle; The adjusting the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight direction information includes: Extract the current flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight direction information; Increase the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction; Decrease the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction includes: Increase the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction to the maximum value; The decreasing the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions includes: Decrease the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions to half of the maximum value.

3. The method according to any one of claims 2, characterized in that, The increasing the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction includes: Increase the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction to the maximum value; The decreasing the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions includes: Decrease the image frame rates of the cameras corresponding to other directions to the minimum value.

4. An omnidirectional obstacle avoidance device configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, Including: An optical flow velocity acquisition module, configured to obtain the optical flow velocity according to continuous image information; A flight speed information acquisition module, configured to obtain the flight speed information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the optical flow velocity and the altitude data of the unmanned aerial vehicle; An image frame rate adjustment module, configured to adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight speed information; An omnidirectional obstacle avoidance control module, configured to perform omnidirectional obstacle avoidance on the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the adjusted image frame rates of the cameras.

5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The image frame rate adjustment module includes a flight direction information acquisition unit and an image frame rate control unit; The flight direction information acquisition unit is configured to obtain the flight direction information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight speed information; The image frame rate control unit is configured to adjust the image frame rates of the cameras in multiple different directions according to the flight direction information.

6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that, A number of cameras are provided in each flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle; the image frame rate control unit includes a current flight direction extraction subunit, an image frame rate increase subunit, and an image frame rate decrease subunit; The current flight direction extraction subunit is configured to extract the current flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the flight direction information; The image frame rate increasing subunit is configured to increase the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to the current flight direction; The image frame rate decreasing subunit is configured to decrease the image frame rate of the camera corresponding to other directions.

7. An unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that, Comprising: A fuselage; Arms, connected to the fuselage; A power device, provided on the arms, for providing power for the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly; A flight control module; And A memory communicatively connected to the flight control module; wherein, the memory stores instructions executable by the flight control module, and the instructions are executed by the flight control module so that the flight control module can be used to execute the omnidirectional obstacle avoidance method according to any one of claims 1-3.

Images