A method for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) take-off and landing at different locations, a UAV control terminal and a storage medium

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle control, and provides an unmanned aerial vehicle remote take-off and landing method, an unmanned aerial vehicle control terminal and a storage medium. The unmanned aerial vehicle remote take-off and landing method comprises the following steps: calculating the safe return range of the unmanned aerial vehicle while issuing the tower task route, and controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle to take off and execute the tower route task; judging whether the unmanned aerial vehicle can normally return according to the endurance time and weather condition of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and if the unmanned aerial vehicle cannot normally return and does not have the condition of flying back to the airport, selecting a temporary landing point to land; if the unmanned aerial vehicle can normally return, waiting for the vehicle to stop in a safe area to return; and controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle to return and accurately land on the mobile airport.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control technology, and particularly relates to a method for UAV take-off and landing in different locations, a UAV control terminal, and a storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] The statements in this section are merely background information related to the present invention and do not necessarily constitute prior art.

[0003] Drone inspection boasts high efficiency, high precision, and high safety, making automated drone airport inspection a common method of automated inspection. Traditional drone airports are fixed locations, requiring installation at specific points and limiting their inspection range to a limited area. While this eliminates the need for personnel to possess drone operation skills, it also increases the limitation on the inspection area.

[0004] For mobile airport applications in real-world environments, existing GPS coordinate point landing methods present safety issues regarding the landing of drones and the mobile airport. Existing collaborative path planning methods suffer from problems such as not conforming to actual operational conditions and constructing objective functions that only consider the drone's path without considering the impact of vehicle paths. For example:

[0005] Safe distance detection between drones and airports: During the movement of a mobile airport, it is difficult for operators to determine the safe distance between the airport and the drone. Landing using existing GPS coordinates inevitably results in the mobile airport deviating from the drone's maximum safe flight distance. This can lead to the drone not having enough battery power to return to the airport, potentially causing a crash.

[0006] The joint optimization method and device for vehicle routing planning and UAV task allocation suffers from several drawbacks, including inconsistencies with reality and limited application value in UAV pole inspection operations. This proposed solution, when constructing the TTI-TSP-D integer programming model, references UAV cargo delivery, using an unordered abstraction of UAV inspection pole points and vehicle stopping points. However, in reality, pole arrangements are typically straight or approximately straight. Furthermore, the objective function of this model only considers the UAV path, neglecting the influence of vehicle paths, and stipulates that UAV and vehicle paths do not overlap. In contrast, the road conditions for mobile airport operations are a crucial factor that must be considered, and many poles are indeed built along roads. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To address the technical problems mentioned above, this invention provides a method for remote take-off and landing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a UAV control terminal, and a storage medium. This method enables remote take-off and landing of UAVs during mobile airport operations, increases the safety of remote take-off and landing, overcomes the limitations of traditional fixed airport inspection areas, ensures that UAVs follow mobile airports to land, and ensures the safety of coordinated movement between UAVs and mobile airports.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0009] The first aspect of the present invention provides a method for remote take-off and landing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

[0010] A method for remote take-off and landing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), comprising:

[0011] While issuing the tower mission route, calculate the safe return range of the UAV and control the UAV to take off and execute the tower mission route.

[0012] Determine whether the drone can return normally based on its flight time and weather conditions. If it cannot return normally and the conditions for flying back to the airport are not met, select a temporary landing point. If it can return normally, wait for the vehicle to stop in a safe area before returning.

[0013] Control the drone to return to base and land accurately at the mobile airport.

[0014] In one implementation, the furthest area that the drone flies is a gradually shrinking circle.

[0015] The calculation process for the safe return range of the drone is as follows: The tower is abstracted as a point; the drone's flight speed is v, and its flight time is t; it is assumed that the drone's flight time t decays during flight according to the function F(t); the formula for the maximum safe area path for the drone flying from one tower to another is: Where A, B, and C are constants, x is the longitude coordinate, and y is the latitude coordinate.

[0016] As one implementation method, the maximum safe distance for a drone during pole inspection is the remaining flight time multiplied by the flight speed at the end of the pole inspection.

[0017] As one implementation method, road information within the safe landing range of the drone is automatically obtained by combining known map route information.

[0018] As one implementation method, the process of selecting a temporary landing site for a drone is as follows:

[0019] Obtain the latitude and longitude coordinates of the UAV and the mobile airport, and divide the distance between the UAV and the mobile airport into several coordinate points at a set distance by equal intervals.

[0020] Remove points that do not meet the preset landing conditions, then obtain the altitude of the coordinate set for each point, calculate the area where the ground coordinate angle of adjacent points is less than the set angle, and select the point that meets the conditions and is closest to the mobile airport as the recommended temporary landing point.

[0021] As one implementation method, the drone returns to its home base and, combined with visual precision landing technology, accurately lands at the mobile airport.

[0022] A second aspect of the present invention provides a drone control terminal.

[0023] A drone control terminal, comprising:

[0024] The task assignment and return range calculation module is used to assign the tower task route while calculating the safe return range of the UAV and controlling the UAV to take off and execute the tower route task.

[0025] The normal return-to-home judgment module is used to determine whether the drone can return to its home airport normally based on the drone's flight time and weather conditions. If it cannot return to its home airport normally and the conditions for flying back to the airport are not met, it will select a temporary landing point to land; if it can return to its home airport normally, it will wait for the vehicle to stop in a safe area before returning to its home airport.

[0026] The return-to-home control and precision landing module is used to control the drone's return to home and accurately land at the mobile airport.

[0027] As one implementation method, in the task issuance and return range calculation module, the farthest area of ​​the UAV's flight is a gradually shrinking circle.

[0028] The calculation process for the safe return range of a drone is as follows: The tower is abstracted as a point; the drone's flight speed is v, and its flight time is t; it is assumed that the drone's flight time t decays during flight according to the function F(t); the formula for the maximum safe area path for the drone flying from one tower to another is: Where A, B, and C are constants, x is the longitude coordinate, and y is the latitude coordinate.

[0029] As one implementation method, the process of selecting a temporary landing location for the UAV in the normal return-to-home judgment module is as follows:

[0030] Obtain the latitude and longitude coordinates of the UAV and the mobile airport, and divide the distance between the UAV and the mobile airport into several coordinate points at a set distance by equal intervals.

[0031] Remove points that do not meet the preset landing conditions, then obtain the altitude of the coordinate set for each point, calculate the area where the ground coordinate angle of adjacent points is less than the set angle, and select the point that meets the conditions and is closest to the mobile airport as the recommended temporary landing point.

[0032] A third aspect of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium.

[0033] A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps in the above-described method for remote take-off and landing of unmanned aerial vehicles.

[0034] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0035] A method for remote take-off and landing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at mobile airports is proposed, which enables remote take-off and landing of UAVs in mobile airport operations, increases the safety of remote take-off and landing of UAVs, and gets rid of the limitations of traditional fixed airport inspection areas. The technical problems to be solved by this method include remote landing of UAVs after take-off, ensuring that UAVs follow the mobile airport to land; solving the return safety problem caused by the movement of UAVs and mobile airports, and ensuring the safety of UAVs and mobile airports in coordinated movement.

[0036] Advantages of additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0037] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this invention, are used to provide a further understanding of the invention. The illustrative embodiments of the invention and their descriptions are used to explain the invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the invention.

[0038] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) take-off and landing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 2 This is an example of planning the safety range for drone inspections according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a safety check performed on each tower after the completion of its operation, as described in this embodiment of the invention.

[0041] Figure 4 This refers to the selection of temporary landing points for drones in this embodiment of the invention. Detailed Implementation

[0042] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0043] It should be noted that the following detailed description is illustrative and intended to provide further explanation of the invention. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.

[0044] It should be noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of exemplary embodiments according to the invention. As used herein, the singular form is intended to include the plural form as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0045] Example 1

[0046] according to Figure 1 This embodiment provides a method for remote take-off and landing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which includes:

[0047] Step 1: While issuing the tower mission route, calculate the safe return range of the UAV and control the UAV to take off and execute the tower mission route.

[0048] In this context, since the tower is very small relative to the entire mission flight path, it is abstracted as a point; the UAV's flight speed is v, and its flight time is t; assuming the UAV's flight time t decays during flight according to the function F(t); therefore, the furthest area the UAV flies is a gradually shrinking circle. From this, the formula for the maximum safe area path of the UAV flying from one tower to another can be derived as follows: Where A, B, and C are constants, x is the longitude coordinate, and y is the latitude coordinate. Since the remaining flight time s of the drone is known, the drone's flight path is a straight line from point to point. Therefore, for any point on the flight path, the maximum flight distance (maximum safe distance) is a circle with radius vs. The maximum flight distance is a straight line, and the distance from any point on this line to the flight path is vs. This line gradually approaches the flight path on the graph. Ax + By + C = 0 is the equation of the straight line. A, B, and C can be calculated using two points.

[0049] Calculate the maximum safe distance for the drone, and plot the safe distance range on the map by connecting to the map, such as... Figure 2 The circle represents the maximum flight radius at a given point, and the area within the straight line is the safe landing zone for the drone (the straight line is essentially the tangent to an infinite number of circles formed by the maximum flight distances of an infinite number of points along the path). The drone's pod can move to a safe landing zone based on the map markers and wait.

[0050] The maximum safe distance for a drone during pole inspection is calculated by multiplying the remaining flight time by its flight speed at the end of the inspection. By combining route information provided by the Gaode Maps developer platform, road information within the drone's safe landing range can be automatically matched, allowing the airport to move to that range in advance and ensure a safe landing for the drone.

[0051] The drone landing safety zone planning algorithm model used in this embodiment is simple and efficient, which facilitates rapid response from the user end.

[0052] Step 2: Determine whether the drone can return normally based on its flight time and weather conditions. If it cannot return normally and the conditions for flying back to the airport are not met, select a temporary landing point to land. If it can return normally, wait for the vehicle to stop in a safe area before returning.

[0053] In practice, to ensure the safe return of drones to the airport during pole inspections, the calculated flight time 't' should be 80% of the actual tested flight time to guarantee a safe landing even under extreme conditions. Furthermore, to ensure safety, drones are not allowed to directly ascend and return to the same pole during inspection. Therefore, after completing the work at the last point on the pole, conditions such as remaining battery power, rain, and wind speed are assessed. If flight conditions are not met, a return-to-base prompt will be issued.

[0054] In step 2, as Figure 4 As shown, the process of selecting a temporary landing site for the drone is as follows:

[0055] Obtain the latitude and longitude coordinates of the UAV and the mobile airport, and divide the distance between the UAV and the mobile airport into several coordinate points that are equidistant from each other (e.g., 0.5m).

[0056] Remove points that do not meet the preset landing conditions (such as lakes, forests, buildings, etc.), then obtain the altitude of the coordinate set, calculate the area where the ground coordinate angle of adjacent points is less than the set angle (such as 20°), and select the point that meets the conditions and is closest to the mobile airport as the recommended temporary landing point.

[0057] Among them, the latitude and longitude coordinates of the UAV and the mobile airport are obtained through RTK positioning information. This centimeter-level precision positioning using RTK makes landing safer and more accurate.

[0058] In this embodiment, the normal flight procedure for the UAV is to return to the nest after the inspection. The temporary landing point is for situations such as... Figure 3 In special or emergency situations, such as when the drone is unable to return to its nest, a temporary landing point is recommended to the user to achieve a safe temporary landing.

[0059] In other embodiments, users can also choose a landing point within the safe range of the drone based on observation.

[0060] Step 3: Control the drone to return home and land accurately at the mobile airport.

[0061] Specifically, the drone returns to its home base and, combined with visual precision landing technology, accurately lands at the mobile airport.

[0062] This embodiment combines the actual distribution patterns of power line towers, road environment, judgment of abnormal flight conditions of UAVs, and actual inspection operations to conduct safe remote take-off and landing of UAVs. The application consideration is more comprehensive, making the method more practical.

[0063] Example 2

[0064] This embodiment provides a drone control terminal, which includes:

[0065] The task assignment and return range calculation module is used to assign the tower task route while calculating the safe return range of the UAV and controlling the UAV to take off and execute the tower route task.

[0066] The normal return-to-home judgment module is used to determine whether the drone can return to its home airport normally based on the drone's flight time and weather conditions. If it cannot return to its home airport normally and the conditions for flying back to the airport are not met, it will select a temporary landing point to land; if it can return to its home airport normally, it will wait for the vehicle to stop in a safe area before returning to its home airport.

[0067] The return-to-home control and precision landing module is used to control the drone's return to home and accurately land at the mobile airport.

[0068] In the task issuance and return-to-home range calculation module, the calculation process for the safe return-to-home range of the UAV is as follows: The tower is abstracted as a point; the UAV's flight speed is v, and its flight time is t; it is assumed that the UAV's flight time t decays during flight according to the function F(t); the formula for the maximum safe area path for the UAV flying from one tower to another is: Where A, B, and C are constants, x is the longitude coordinate, and y is the latitude coordinate.

[0069] In the normal return-to-home judgment module, the process of selecting the temporary landing site for the UAV is as follows:

[0070] Obtain the latitude and longitude coordinates of the UAV and the mobile airport, and divide the distance between the UAV and the mobile airport into several coordinate points at a set distance by equal intervals.

[0071] Remove points that do not meet the preset landing conditions, then obtain the altitude of the coordinate set for each point, calculate the area where the ground coordinate angle of adjacent points is less than the set angle, and select the point that meets the conditions and is closest to the mobile airport as the recommended temporary landing point.

[0072] It should be noted that each module in this embodiment corresponds one-to-one with each step in Embodiment 1, and their specific implementation processes are the same, so they will not be repeated here.

[0073] Example 3

[0074] This embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote take-off and landing method described in Embodiment 1 above.

[0075] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of the present invention can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present invention can take the form of hardware embodiments, software embodiments, or embodiments combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage and optical storage) containing computer-usable program code.

[0076] This invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0077] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the processes in the above embodiments can be implemented by a computer program instructing related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above methods. The storage medium can be a magnetic disk, optical disk, read-only memory (ROM), or random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0078] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. Various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for remote take-off and landing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), characterized in that, include: While issuing the tower mission route, calculate the safe return range of the UAV and control the UAV to take off and execute the tower mission route. The maximum safe distance for a drone during pole inspection is the remaining flight time of the drone at the end of the pole inspection multiplied by its flight speed. After the last point on the tower is completed, the drone's flight time and weather conditions are used to determine whether the drone can return normally. If it cannot return normally and the conditions for flying back to the airport are not met, a temporary landing point is selected. If it can return normally, the drone waits for the vehicle to stop in a safe area before returning. The process of selecting a temporary landing point for the drone is as follows: obtain the latitude and longitude coordinates of the drone and the mobile airport, and divide the distance between the drone and the mobile airport into several coordinate points at a set distance by equal intervals. Remove points that do not meet the preset landing conditions, then obtain the altitude of the coordinate set, calculate the area where the ground coordinate angle of adjacent points is less than the set angle, and select the point that meets the conditions and is closest to the mobile airport as the recommended temporary landing point. Control the drone to return to base and land accurately at the mobile airport. 2.The UAV remote take-off and landing method of claim 1, wherein, The furthest area that the drone flies is a gradually shrinking circle. 3.The UAV remote take-off and landing method of claim 1, wherein, By combining known map route information, road information within the safe landing range of the drone can be automatically obtained. 4.The UAV remote take-off and landing method of claim 1, wherein, The drone returned to base and, combined with visual precision landing technology, accurately landed at the mobile airport.

5. A UAV control terminal, characterized by, include: The task assignment and return range calculation module is used to assign the tower task route while calculating the safe return range of the UAV and controlling the UAV to take off and execute the tower route task. The maximum safe distance for a drone during pole inspection is the remaining flight time of the drone at the end of the pole inspection multiplied by its flight speed. The normal return-to-home judgment module is used to determine whether the drone can return normally after the last point of the tower is completed, based on the drone's flight time and weather conditions. If it cannot return normally and the conditions for flying back to the airport are not met, a temporary landing point is selected for landing; if it can return normally, it waits for the vehicle to stop in a safe area before returning. The process of selecting a temporary landing point for the drone is as follows: obtain the latitude and longitude coordinates of the drone and the mobile airport, and divide the distance between the drone and the mobile airport into several coordinate points at a set distance by equal intervals. Remove points that do not meet the preset landing conditions, then obtain the altitude of the coordinate set, calculate the area where the ground coordinate angle of adjacent points is less than the set angle, and select the point that meets the conditions and is closest to the mobile airport as the recommended temporary landing point; the return control and precision landing module is used to control the UAV to return and land accurately at the mobile airport. 6.The UAV control terminal of claim 5, wherein, In the task assignment and return range calculation module, the furthest area of ​​the UAV's flight is a gradually shrinking circle. 7.The UAV control terminal of claim 5, wherein, The drone returned to base and, combined with visual precision landing technology, accurately landed at the mobile airport.

8. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, characterized in that, The processor executes the following steps on the program: While issuing the tower inspection route, calculate the safe return range of the UAV and control the UAV to take off and execute the tower inspection route; the maximum safe distance of the UAV during the tower inspection process is the remaining flight time of the UAV at the end of the tower inspection multiplied by the flight speed. After the last point on the tower is completed, the drone's flight time and weather conditions are used to determine whether the drone can return normally. If it cannot return normally and the conditions for flying back to the airport are not met, a temporary landing point is selected. If it can return normally, the drone waits for the vehicle to stop in a safe area before returning. The process of selecting a temporary landing point for the drone is as follows: obtain the latitude and longitude coordinates of the drone and the mobile airport, and divide the distance between the drone and the mobile airport into several coordinate points at a set distance by equal intervals. Remove points that do not meet the preset landing conditions, then obtain the altitude of the coordinate set, calculate the area where the ground coordinate angle of adjacent points is less than the set angle, and select the point that meets the conditions and is closest to the mobile airport as the recommended temporary landing point. Control the drone to return to base and land accurately at the mobile airport.

9. A computer readable storage medium as in claim 8, wherein, In the task assignment and return range calculation module, the furthest area of ​​the UAV's flight is a gradually shrinking circle.

10. The computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein, The drone returned to base and, combined with visual precision landing technology, accurately landed at the mobile airport.

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