A method and system for controlling the gimbal of an inspection drone

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight control technology, specifically to a gimbal control method and system for an inspection UAV. The method comprises the following steps: real-time acquisition of the lens position information of the imaging component and the observation point position information of the point to be observed; real-time acquisition of the real-time spatial position information of the point to be observed relative to the imaging component; acquisition of the required spatial angle of the gimbal based on the real-time spatial position information; real-time acquisition of the gimbal angle information of the current spatial angle of the gimbal; and adjustment of the gimbal angle based on the gimbal angle information and the required spatial angle of the gimbal to maintain the point to be observed at the principal optical axis of the imaging component. This system is used to implement the above method. Preferably, this invention achieves real-time adjustment of the observation angle during UAV flight.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight control technology, and more specifically, to a gimbal control method and system for an inspection UAV. Background Technology

[0002] Seen in Figure 1 When drones perform observation tasks during corridor inspections, they fly along the observation route based on the observation flight path. The observation flight path is composed of multiple observation segments, with waypoints formed between adjacent segments; the observation route refers to the entirety of the target to be observed, including observation feature points such as towers and power transmission lines, with the observation interval formed between two adjacent observation feature points.

[0003] During the observation mission, the drone needs to observe the entire observation route and promptly detect any special situations along the route. This requires the field of view of the camera module located on the drone's pod to completely scan the entire route, rather than just scanning certain areas or only the observation feature points along the route.

[0004] However, in reality, the field of view of the shooting components on a drone is usually a fixed angle. Although the field of view can be adjusted by adding a gimbal, it is difficult to preset the angle of the gimbal manually, considering the possible complexity of the observed target, such as terrain undulations and angle bends. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides a gimbal control method for inspection drones, which addresses the problem of incomplete observation caused by the fixed observation angle when drones perform observation tasks, and realizes real-time adjustment of the observation angle during drone flight.

[0006] According to a gimbal control method for an inspection drone of the present invention, an angle-adjustable gimbal is installed at the drone, and a shooting component is installed at the gimbal; the method has the following process:

[0007] Real-time acquisition of lens position information of the shooting component and observation point position information of the point to be observed;

[0008] Based on the lens position information and the observation point position information, obtain the real-time spatial position information of the observation point relative to the shooting component;

[0009] The required spatial angle of the gimbal is obtained based on real-time spatial location information;

[0010] The system acquires the current spatial angle information of the gimbal in real time, and adjusts the spatial angle of the gimbal based on the gimbal angle information and the required spatial angle of the gimbal so that the observation point is located at the main optical axis of the shooting component.

[0011] The above enables the acquisition of the required orientation angle of the shooting component during flight by using real-time lens position information and the observation point position information of the point to be observed. Based on this angle information and the current angle information of the shooting component, the angle of the shooting component can be better adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to achieve automatic adjustment of the angle of the shooting component by controlling the gimbal during flight, so as to achieve better comprehensive observation of the observation path and greatly reduce the related workload.

[0012] As a preferred method, the spatial position of the drone is used as the lens position information. Therefore, the acquisition of lens position information can be achieved more effectively.

[0013] Preferably, the observation point location information of the current observation point is obtained based on the flight progress of the UAV. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the observation point location information of the current observation point more effectively.

[0014] As a preferred approach, a one-to-one correspondence is established between each segment of the observation route and each observation interval of the observation path. The UAV's flight progress is the flight progress of the UAV in the current segment. Based on the flight progress and the spatial position information of the preceding and following observation feature points in the corresponding observation interval, the observation point position information of the current observation point is obtained. Therefore, it is possible to achieve more accurate acquisition of the observation point position information of the current observation point.

[0015] Preferably, when the corresponding observation interval has a horizontal width, the acquired observation point position information of the current observation point is offset to the middle of the width direction of the corresponding observation interval by adding an offset amount. Therefore, it can better ensure the complete observation of the observation path.

[0016] Preferably, the flight progress is the ratio of the UAV's real-time flight distance to its theoretical flight distance in the current segment. Therefore, it can achieve better acquisition of flight progress.

[0017] As a preferred method, real-time flight range is obtained based on the UAV's flight speed and flight time in the current flight segment; theoretical flight range is taken as the straight-line distance between the preceding and following waypoints in the current flight segment. Therefore, it can achieve better acquisition of flight progress.

[0018] Preferably, when the UAV's current observation mission is interrupted but it has not departed from the current observation route, only the required spatial angle of the gimbal is acquired without adjusting the gimbal's angle. This ensures that when the UAV needs to observe other targets during flight, the gimbal can prioritize and observe those other targets; and after the observation of those other targets is completed, the gimbal can be controlled based on its real-time position, thereby enabling continued tracking of the observation point.

[0019] Preferably, when the UAV's current observation mission is interrupted and it flies away from the current observation flight path, the departure point and the required spatial angle of the gimbal at the departure point are recorded. This allows the UAV to better return to the departure point to continue tracking the observation point when it needs to fly away from the observation flight path and return to the original observation flight path to continue performing the observation mission.

[0020] Furthermore, the present invention also provides a gimbal control system for an inspection drone, comprising,

[0021] At least one processor, and

[0022] A memory, communicatively connected to the processor, stores instructions executable by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform any of the methods described above.

[0023] Therefore, it can achieve better tracking and observation of the points to be observed along the observation path. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an existing drone performing an observation task during a corridor inspection.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a gimbal control method for an inspection drone in Example 1.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the observation route and the observation movement line in Example 1;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between flight segments and corresponding observation intervals in Example 1;

[0028] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating the one-to-one correspondence between flight segments and observation intervals in Example 1;

[0029] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the operation process in Example 1 when the current observation task of the UAV is interrupted but it has not left the current observation route;

[0030] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the operation process in Example 1 when the current observation task of the UAV is interrupted and it flies away from the current observation route. Detailed Implementation

[0031] To further understand the content of this invention, a detailed description of the invention will be provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the embodiments are merely illustrative and not limiting of the invention.

[0032] Example 1

[0033] Seen in Figure 2 This embodiment provides a gimbal control method for an inspection drone. An adjustable gimbal is installed on the drone, and a pod for mounting the imaging component is installed on the gimbal. During the drone's flight along the observation route, the angle of the gimbal is adjusted in real time to keep the imaging surface of the imaging component facing the observation point along the observation route. The method has the following steps:

[0034] The camera can acquire the lens position information of the shooting component and the observation point position information of the observation point in real time. Based on this, it can acquire the real-time spatial position information of the observation point on the shooting component and the required spatial angle of the gimbal based on the real-time spatial position information.

[0035] The system acquires the current spatial angle information of the gimbal in real time, and adjusts the spatial angle of the gimbal based on the gimbal angle information and the required spatial angle of the gimbal to keep the observation point located at the main optical axis of the shooting component.

[0036] The above enables the acquisition of the required orientation angle of the shooting component during flight by using real-time lens position information and the observation point position information of the point to be observed. Based on this angle information and the current angle information of the shooting component, the angle of the shooting component can be better adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to achieve automatic adjustment of the angle of the shooting component by controlling the gimbal during flight, so as to achieve better comprehensive observation of the observation path and greatly reduce the related workload.

[0037] It is understood that the lens position information and the observation point position information in this embodiment can both be spatial coordinates, and the spatial angle can include the heading angle, pitch angle and roll angle; in addition, when the spatial coordinates of two points in space are known, obtaining the spatial angle between the two points is a conventional technical means, which will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

[0038] In this embodiment, the spatial location of the drone can be used as the lens position information. Therefore, the acquisition of lens position information can be achieved more effectively. For example, the spatial location of the drone can be acquired in real time using a satellite positioning device located at the drone.

[0039] In this embodiment, the observation point location information of the current observation point is obtained based on the flight progress of the UAV. Therefore, the acquisition of the observation point location information of the current observation point can be achieved more effectively.

[0040] Seen in Figure 3It is understandable that when performing observation tasks on the observation route, the set observation route is actually set along the direction of the observation route, and there is sufficient correlation between the two; this correlation is sufficient to ensure that when the UAV completes its flight at the observation route, it can also fully realize the observation of the observation route.

[0041] Seen in Figure 4 Based on the above, it can be known that as the drone moves along the observation route, the observation point will also move synchronously along the observation route; therefore, it is possible to obtain the observation point location information of the current observation point by acquiring the drone's flight progress.

[0042] Seen in Figure 5 In this embodiment, a one-to-one correspondence is established between each segment of the observation route and each observation interval of the observation movement line. The flight progress of the UAV is the flight progress of the UAV in the current segment. Based on the flight progress and the spatial position information of the observation feature points before and after the corresponding observation interval, the observation point position information of the current observation point is obtained. (Reference) Figure 3 The one-to-one correspondence here means that the number of flight segments and observation intervals are the same. Based on this, the observation point location information of the observation point can be calculated very easily, thus enabling a better and more accurate acquisition of the observation point location information of the current observation point.

[0043] It is understandable that the spatial coordinates and other information of the observed feature points are known. Although the observation route may have undulations and bends as a whole, the observation intervals between adjacent feature points can be considered as being distributed along a straight line. Similarly, although the overall observation route may have undulations and bends, each segment can be considered as being distributed along a straight line.

[0044] Based on this, it can be understood that by associating each flight segment with each observation interval, and since the flight progress of the UAV is essentially the distance the UAV moves on the corresponding flight segment, it is possible to obtain the observation point location information of the current observation point more effectively based on the relevant transformations.

[0045] In this embodiment, when the corresponding observation interval has a horizontal width, the acquired observation point position information of the current observation point is offset to the middle of the width direction of the corresponding observation interval by adding an offset amount. The offset amount is obtained by multiplying the current flight progress and the horizontal width of the current observation interval. See [reference needed] for details. Figure 4 Therefore, it can better ensure the complete observation of the observation path.

[0046] In this embodiment, the flight progress is the ratio of the UAV's real-time flight distance to its theoretical flight distance in the current flight segment. Therefore, the flight progress can be obtained more effectively.

[0047] In this embodiment, the real-time flight range is obtained based on the UAV's flight speed and flight time in the current flight segment; the theoretical flight range is taken as the straight-line distance between the previous and next waypoints in the current flight segment. Therefore, the flight progress can be obtained more effectively.

[0048] Seen in Figure 6 When the UAV's current observation mission is interrupted but it has not departed from its current observation flight path, only the required spatial angle of the gimbal is acquired without adjusting the gimbal's angle. This ensures that when the UAV needs to observe other targets during flight, the gimbal can prioritize and observe those other targets. Furthermore, after the observation of those other targets is completed, the gimbal can be controlled based on its real-time position, thereby enabling continued tracking of the observation point.

[0049] Seen in Figure 7 When the UAV's current observation mission is interrupted and it flies away from the current observation flight path, the system records the departure point, the required spatial angle of the gimbal at the departure point, and the aircraft's current flight progress. This allows the UAV to better return to the departure point to continue tracking the observation point when it needs to fly away from the observation flight path and return to the original observation flight path to continue its observation mission.

[0050] Furthermore, this embodiment also provides a gimbal control system for an inspection drone, which includes,

[0051] At least one processor, and

[0052] A memory, communicatively connected to the processor, stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, which, when executed by the at least one processor, enable the at least one processor to perform the method described in this embodiment.

[0053] Therefore, it can achieve better tracking and observation of the points to be observed along the observation path.

[0054] It is readily understood that those skilled in the art can combine, split, or reorganize the embodiments provided in this application to obtain other embodiments, all of which do not exceed the protection scope of this application.

[0055] The present invention and its embodiments have been described above illustratively. This description is not restrictive, and the figures shown are only one embodiment of the present invention; the actual structure is not limited thereto. Therefore, if those skilled in the art are inspired by this description and design similar structures and embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention, such designs should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A gimbal control method for an inspection drone, wherein an angle-adjustable gimbal is installed at the drone, and a shooting component is installed at the gimbal; It has the following process: Real-time acquisition of lens position information of the shooting components and observation point position information of the point to be observed; Based on the lens position information and the observation point position information, obtain the real-time spatial position information of the observation point relative to the shooting component; The required spatial angle of the gimbal is obtained based on real-time spatial location information; The gimbal angle information is obtained in real time, and the gimbal angle is adjusted based on the gimbal angle information and the required gimbal angle so that the observation point is located at the main optical axis of the shooting component. Specifically, real-time acquisition of the observation point location information of the point to be observed includes: Establish a one-to-one correspondence between each segment of the observation route and each observation interval of the observation movement line. The flight progress of the UAV is the flight progress of the UAV in the current segment. Based on the flight progress and the spatial position information of the observation feature points before and after the corresponding observation interval, obtain the observation point position information of the current observation point. When the corresponding observation interval has a horizontal width, the observation point position information of the current observation point is offset to the middle of the width direction of the corresponding observation interval by adding an offset amount. The offset amount is obtained by multiplying the current flight progress and the horizontal width of the current observation interval.

2. The gimbal control method for an inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spatial position of the drone is used as the position information of the camera.

3. The gimbal control method for an inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The observation point location information of the current observation point is obtained based on the flight progress of the drone.

4. The gimbal control method for an inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: Flight progress is the ratio of the real-time flight distance of the UAV in the current flight segment to the theoretical flight distance.

5. The gimbal control method for an inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: Real-time flight range is obtained based on the UAV's flight speed and flight time in the current flight segment; theoretical flight range is the straight-line distance between the previous and next waypoints in the current flight segment.

6. The gimbal control method for an inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the UAV's current observation mission is interrupted but it does not fly away from the current observation route, only the required spatial angle of the gimbal is obtained without adjusting the angle of the gimbal.

7. The gimbal control method for an inspection drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the UAV's current observation mission is interrupted but it flies away from the current observation route, the departure point and the required spatial angle of the gimbal at the departure point are recorded.

8. A gimbal control system for an inspection drone, characterized in that: include, At least one processor, and A memory communicatively connected to the processor, the memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1-7.

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