Method and apparatus for precision landing of an aircraft

Abstract

The application discloses an aircraft precision landing method and device, relates to the technical field of aircrafts, and is used for realizing the precision landing of an aircraft, aiming at the problem of large error of a currently used navigation technology, and providing an aircraft precision landing method, which realizes the rough positioning of the aircraft for a landing point by acquiring position information of a parking apron, has low positioning accuracy requirement, and enables the aircraft to fly to a preset range; the aircraft projects a light beam on a surface where the parking apron is located, so that the parking apron can receive the light beam projected by the aircraft; after the parking apron receives the light beam projected by the aircraft, the distance and the relative direction of the aircraft and the parking apron are judged by acquiring the brightness and the angle information of the light beam, so that the precision positioning between the aircraft and the parking apron is realized, and the problems of the poor positioning accuracy of the current civil navigation technology, the high implementation cost of high-precision positioning equipment and the like are not influenced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of aircraft technology, and in particular to a method and apparatus for precise landing of an aircraft. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, the aircraft industry has developed rapidly, with aircraft frequently appearing as auxiliary equipment in applications such as environmental monitoring, nature exploration, and disaster relief. However, in practical applications, the carriers used for flight control and takeoff / landing are usually in motion, such as vehicles carrying aircraft operators. After a mission, the accident rate during landing and recovery is far higher than in other stages. Therefore, to maximize the aircraft's go-around capability, achieving precise autonomous landing on moving targets has become a research hotspot in the field of aircraft technology.

[0003] Currently, the precise autonomous landing capability of aircraft primarily relies on navigation technology. Positioning technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and inertial navigation are used to obtain the aircraft's own position and the location of its landing point, allowing the aircraft to land at the designated location based on navigation guidance. However, current civilian navigation technologies have relatively poor positioning accuracy and cannot adequately meet the needs of precise aircraft landing applications.

[0004] Therefore, those skilled in the art urgently need a precise landing method for aircraft to solve the problem that the current navigation technology has large errors and cannot achieve precise landing. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a method and apparatus for precise landing of an aircraft, in order to solve the problem that the current navigation technology has large errors and cannot achieve precise landing.

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a method for precise landing of an aircraft, applied to the aircraft side, comprising:

[0007] Obtain the location information of the helipad;

[0008] Determine the preset range based on the apron location information, and fly into the preset range;

[0009] After entering the preset range, a beam of light is projected onto the surface of the helipad so that the helipad receives the beam of light;

[0010] Receive position information sent by the helipad; wherein the position information is determined by the helipad by acquiring the brightness and angle information of the beam;

[0011] The aircraft landed on the tarmac based on its location information.

[0012] Preferred options also include:

[0013] It receives flight attitude information sent from the helipad and adjusts the aircraft's flight attitude according to the flight attitude information;

[0014] Among them, the flight attitude information is determined by the landing pad by acquiring the brightness and angle information of the beam.

[0015] Preferably, the light beam includes a preset pattern;

[0016] The location and flight attitude information are determined by the apron by acquiring the integrity, size, and degree of deformation of a preset pattern.

[0017] Preferably, obtaining the helipad location information includes:

[0018] If the helipad is in motion, the helipad's location information is obtained through a positioning module installed in the helipad.

[0019] If the apron is stationary, the apron's location information can be determined by recognizing landmarks around the apron through image recognition, or by obtaining apron location information pre-stored in the aircraft.

[0020] Preferably, projecting a light beam onto the surface of the helipad so that the helipad receives the light beam includes:

[0021] A beam of light is projected onto the surface of the helipad using a projector, and the projection direction of the projector is adjusted so that the helipad receives the beam of light.

[0022] Preferably, the projection light is positioned on the gimbal of the aircraft;

[0023] By adjusting the projection direction of the projector lamps so that the helipad receives the beam of light, the following steps are taken:

[0024] By controlling the rotation of the gimbal, the projection direction of the projector lamp is adjusted so that the helipad receives the beam of light.

[0025] Preferably, there are multiple projection lamps, and each projection lamp has a different projection direction.

[0026] Preferably, the projected area of ​​the light beam onto the surface of the helipad is less than or equal to the photosensitive area of ​​the helipad.

[0027] Preferably, the projected area of ​​the light beam on the surface of the helipad is less than or equal to the projected area on the surface of the helipad within a preset range.

[0028] Preferred options also include:

[0029] Upon receiving the position and flight attitude information returned from the apron, the system determines the target projection light based on the position and flight attitude information and turns off all projection lights except the target projection light.

[0030] Preferably, before projecting the beam onto the surface of the helipad, the procedure further includes:

[0031] The ambient brightness is acquired, and when the ambient brightness exceeds a preset first threshold, a beam of light is projected onto the surface where the helipad is located.

[0032] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application also provides a method for precise landing of an aircraft, applied to the apron side, comprising:

[0033] The system acquires the brightness and angle information of the beam projected by the aircraft, and determines the aircraft's position information based on the brightness and angle information; wherein, the beam is the beam projected by the aircraft onto the surface of the landing pad after entering the preset range; the preset range is determined by the aircraft based on the landing pad position information;

[0034] The location information is sent to the aircraft.

[0035] Preferred options also include:

[0036] The flight attitude information of the aircraft is determined based on the brightness and angle information.

[0037] The flight attitude information is sent to the aircraft.

[0038] Preferably, before determining the aircraft's position and flight attitude information based on brightness and angle information, the method further includes:

[0039] The ambient brightness is acquired. When the change in ambient brightness exceeds a second threshold within a unit of time, the position and flight attitude of the aircraft are determined based on the brightness and angle information.

[0040] Preferably, the light beam includes a preset pattern;

[0041] Acquiring the brightness and angle information of the beam projected by the aircraft, and determining the aircraft's position and flight attitude information based on the brightness and angle information includes:

[0042] The integrity, size, and degree of deformation of the preset pattern are obtained, and the position and flight attitude information of the aircraft are determined based on the integrity, size, and degree of deformation of the preset pattern.

[0043] Preferably, determining the aircraft's position and flight attitude information based on the integrity, size, and degree of deformation of the preset pattern includes:

[0044] If the obtained preset pattern is incomplete, control commands are sent to the aircraft to adjust the aircraft's position based on the location of the missing part of the preset pattern, until the preset pattern is complete.

[0045] If the obtained preset pattern is complete, the aircraft's position and flight attitude information are determined based on the size and degree of deformation of the preset pattern.

[0046] Preferred options also include:

[0047] The system acquires ambient brightness information and determines whether it exceeds a preset first threshold. If so, it sends a beam projection command to the aircraft to project a beam onto the surface of the landing pad.

[0048] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application also provides a precision landing device for aircraft, applied to the side of an aircraft, comprising:

[0049] A coarse positioning module is used to obtain the location information of the helipad;

[0050] The first landing module is used to determine a preset range based on the apron location information and fly to the preset range;

[0051] The beam projection module is used to project a beam onto the surface of the helipad after entering a preset range, so that the helipad receives the beam.

[0052] The first precise positioning module is used to receive position information sent by the helipad; wherein the position information is determined by the helipad by acquiring the brightness and angle information of the beam;

[0053] The second landing module is used to land on the apron based on the location information.

[0054] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application also provides a precision landing device for aircraft, applied to the apron side, comprising:

[0055] The second precise positioning module is used to acquire the brightness and angle information of the beam projected by the aircraft, and determine the position information of the aircraft based on the brightness and angle information; wherein, the beam is the beam projected by the aircraft onto the surface of the parking apron after entering the preset range; the preset range is determined by the aircraft based on the position information of the parking apron;

[0056] The information transmission module is used to send location information to the aircraft.

[0057] This application provides a method for precise landing of an aircraft. By acquiring the location information of a landing pad, the aircraft can roughly determine the location of the landing pad designated by the user as the landing point. Then, based on the landing pad location information, a preset range is determined, and the aircraft is controlled to fly into this range. After the aircraft enters the preset range, a beam of light is projected onto the surface of the landing pad, allowing the landing pad to receive the projected beam. Once the landing pad receives the projected beam, it can acquire the brightness and angle information of the beam to more accurately determine the aircraft's position. The relative distance between the aircraft and the landing pad can be determined based on the attenuation of the beam brightness, and the relative position between the aircraft and the landing pad can be determined based on the angle at which the beam is projected onto the landing pad. Combining these two factors, the relative position between the landing pad and the aircraft can be determined. The determined position information is then sent to the aircraft, enabling the aircraft to accurately locate the landing pad and land precisely on it. This method achieves precise positioning of the relative position between the aircraft and the parking apron by projecting a light beam, thereby guiding the aircraft to land accurately on the parking apron. It is not affected by the poor positioning accuracy of current civilian navigation technology and the high cost of implementing high-precision positioning equipment.

[0058] The precision landing device for aircraft provided in this application corresponds to the above method and has the same effect. Attached Figure Description

[0059] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0060] Figure 1 A flowchart of a precise landing method for an aircraft, applied to the aircraft side, provided by the present invention;

[0061] Figure 2 A flowchart of a precise landing method for aircraft applied to the apron side provided by the present invention;

[0062] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of an aircraft provided by the present invention;

[0063] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a helipad provided by the present invention;

[0064] Figure 5 A structural diagram of a precision landing device for an aircraft, applicable to the side of an aircraft, provided by the present invention;

[0065] Figure 6This invention provides a structural diagram of a precision landing device for aircraft applied to the apron side. Detailed Implementation

[0066] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of this application.

[0067] The core of this application is to provide a method and apparatus for precise landing of an aircraft.

[0068] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0069] Currently, the autonomous and precise landing of aircraft relies heavily on navigation technology. By using positioning modules such as GPS installed on the tarmac, the aircraft can obtain the location information of the designated landing point, and then the controller inside the aircraft can realize the flight and landing process to the designated landing point according to the pre-set program.

[0070] It is readily apparent that current navigation technologies have relatively poor positioning accuracy in the civilian sector, failing to adequately meet the positioning needs of precise situations such as aircraft landings. Furthermore, since common aircraft applications include on-site reconnaissance, aircraft sometimes enter areas with poor satellite signals. This further exacerbates positioning errors for navigation and positioning methods like GPS, which generally rely on satellites for positioning.

[0071] To address the aforementioned problems, this application provides a method for precise landing of an aircraft, such as... Figure 1 As shown, it includes:

[0072] S11: Obtain the location information of the apron.

[0073] Among them, the apron location information is the information that represents the specific location of the apron, which may include latitude and longitude, altitude, etc.

[0074] It should be noted that this application does not limit the method of obtaining the helipad location information. It can be obtained in real time when the aircraft lands, or the helipad location information can be obtained in advance and saved. When the precise landing of the aircraft is triggered, it can be retrieved from the storage medium containing the helipad location information. The aforementioned storage medium can be a storage medium set in the aircraft, a storage medium set in the helipad, or a storage medium set in other devices such as remote control equipment. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0075] Furthermore, this implementation does not restrict the specific method used to determine the helipad location information. If the helipad location is fixed and does not move frequently, the location information can be known in advance when the helipad is deployed. Alternatively, it can be achieved using a positioning module installed in the helipad, as is commonly done currently.

[0076] It should also be noted that, as can be seen from the subsequent steps, the apron location information obtained in step S11 is only used for preliminary positioning of the apron location in order to determine the preset range in step S12. Therefore, this application has low requirements for the accuracy of the apron location information, and thus lower requirements for the positioning accuracy of the positioning module.

[0077] The above example illustrates an implementation scheme where the location information of the helipad is obtained by a positioning module within the helipad. The positioning module can be a GPS module, an inertial navigation module, or the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), etc. This application does not impose any restrictions and the module can be freely selected based on actual positioning needs, helipad design cost requirements, and other factors. In this step, the positioning module's role is only to provide the aircraft with approximate helipad location information; the accuracy requirement is low. Furthermore, the required positioning accuracy is primarily influenced by the size of the preset range set in the following steps. The smaller the preset range on the plane, the higher the required positioning accuracy.

[0078] It should also be noted that if the above-mentioned methods for obtaining helipad location information that do not originate from the aircraft itself are selected, then the aircraft needs to have a communication connection with external devices, such as a communication connection with the helipad or a communication connection with the remote control equipment. Therefore, the aircraft should also include a control module that plays a main control role and a communication module. Considering that the above two modules are standard features in existing aircraft, and that communication connections between the aircraft and the helipad and remote control equipment are also common features in current aircraft applications, this embodiment will not elaborate further.

[0079] S12: Determine the preset range based on the apron location information and fly to the preset range.

[0080] It should be noted that the aforementioned preset range is a three-dimensional spatial range, including latitude, longitude, and altitude limitations. The preset range on the plane determined by latitude and longitude can be determined based on the helipad location information obtained in step S11. Furthermore, the preset range also includes altitude limitations. The upper limit of the preset altitude range must ensure that the beam of light projected by the aircraft through the projector can be collected by the helipad located on the ground (or other plane). The lower limit must ensure that the aircraft can scan a certain range of the ground (or other plane) using the projector beam to locate the helipad. Generally, with the projection angle of the projector remaining constant, the higher the aircraft's altitude, the larger the area that its projected beam can scan, and the more likely it is to find the helipad (i.e., the helipad receives the beam projected by the aircraft). However, the search efficiency will decrease to some extent. In summary, the setting of the preset altitude range should be determined according to the actual scenario and needs.

[0081] As can be seen from the above, the setting of the preset range is related to the positioning accuracy of the positioning module in the parking apron. The higher the positioning accuracy, the more accurate the landing point determined by the aircraft based on the parking apron location information. Therefore, a smaller beam scan is required to achieve the search of the parking apron.

[0082] S13: After entering the preset range, project a beam of light onto the surface of the helipad so that the helipad receives the beam of light.

[0083] It is easy to understand that this method is applied to the aircraft side, so the aircraft should be equipped with a projection device for projecting beams, such as a projection lamp, to project beams onto the surface of the parking apron, and the projection direction of the projection lamp should be adjusted so that the parking apron receives the beams.

[0084] However, this application does not limit the type, model, or quantity of projection equipment used, which can be freely selected according to actual needs. In addition, this application also does not limit the various parameters of the projected beam, including the beam size, brightness, color, whether it is parallel / diffuse, and whether it projects a specific pattern, etc.

[0085] Correspondingly, the apron side needs to include equipment for receiving light beams, namely a light-sensing module, which is used to collect light information. This can be achieved using a light sensor, thereby constructing a photosensitive plane on the apron. When the light beam projected by the aircraft hits the photosensitive plane, it is considered that the apron has received the light beam projected by the aircraft. The light-sensing module collects information such as the brightness and angle of the light beam.

[0086] It should be noted that although this embodiment does not limit the type of hardware device on which the aircraft projects the beam, it provides a general implementation scheme, namely, projecting the beam through a projection lamp installed on the aircraft.

[0087] Regarding the projection lights, this embodiment does not limit the number of projection lights set; there can be one or more. However, in general, to improve the search efficiency of the aircraft on the landing pad, multiple projection lights are usually set, and furthermore, the setting angles of these projection lights (relative to the plane on which the landing pad is set) are different.

[0088] In addition, regarding how to ensure that the beam of light projected by the projector is received by the helipad, one approach is to adjust the flight attitude of the aircraft to project the beam of light from the projector, which is fixed in position and angle relative to the aircraft, in a free direction; another approach is to use hardware such as rotating the base and drive motor to make the projection angle of the projector relative to the aircraft adjustable, thereby enabling scanning of a preset range; or alternatively, other existing direction transformation schemes can be used to achieve free control of the projection direction of the projector.

[0089] S14: Receive location information sent from the apron.

[0090] The location information is determined by the helipad by acquiring the brightness and angle information of the beam.

[0091] S15: Lands on the apron based on location information.

[0092] As can be seen from the above, the simplest way to achieve the beam of light projected by the aircraft is to project only monochromatic light. The landing pad can determine the distance based on the brightness of the received beam and the relative direction of the aircraft to the landing pad based on the incident angle of the beam. The accurate position of the aircraft can be determined by combining the two.

[0093] It is readily understood that the precise landing method for aircraft provided in this application requires interaction between the aircraft and the parking apron. Therefore, the entire process can be divided into two sides: the aircraft side and the parking apron side, depending on the executing entity. Figure 1 The method shown is a solution for the aircraft side. Similarly, this embodiment also provides a solution for the apron side, such as... Figure 2 As shown, it includes:

[0094] S21: Obtain the brightness and angle information of the beam projected by the aircraft, and determine the position information of the aircraft based on the brightness and angle information.

[0095] The beam is the beam projected by the aircraft onto the surface of the parking apron after it enters the preset range; the preset range is determined by the aircraft based on the location information of the parking apron, and as mentioned above, it is a three-dimensional spatial range that includes latitude, longitude and altitude restrictions.

[0096] Furthermore, the method for determining the aircraft's position information based on the brightness and angle information of the beam projected by the aircraft has been described in detail in the above-described embodiment of the aircraft-side method, so it will not be repeated here.

[0097] S22: Send location information to the aircraft.

[0098] It is easy to understand that this step involves communication between the apron and the aircraft, so the apron should also include a communication module for communication. Considering that the communication module is a standard configuration in current apron products (current solutions that achieve precise landing of aircraft on the apron through navigation technology necessarily require communication between the apron and the aircraft), this embodiment will not elaborate further.

[0099] It should also be noted that when the beam of light projected by the aircraft sweeps onto the tarmac using the above method (specifically, onto the light-sensing acquisition module), the tarmac can obtain the relative position of the aircraft with respect to itself, thereby guiding the aircraft to achieve a precise landing. This landing process is a continuous process, so the projection of the beam of light by the aircraft, as well as the tarmac's sensing of the beam of light and determination of position and flight attitude information, are all continuous processes.

[0100] This application provides a method for precise landing of an aircraft, based on both sides of the aircraft and the apron. The general process of achieving precise landing includes: First, the aircraft obtains the location information of the apron; the aircraft locates the landing point (i.e., the location of the apron) based on the received apron location information and flies towards the landing point; when flying near the landing point (i.e., flying into a preset range), the aircraft projects a beam of light onto the surface of the apron so that the apron receives the beam; when the beam is projected onto the apron, it indicates that the aircraft and the apron have achieved a "connection" through the projected beam. At this time, the apron can locate the aircraft's position based on the collected beam angle, brightness, and other information, obtain the aircraft's position information (relative to the apron), and send it to the aircraft to guide the aircraft to land precisely on the apron, thus achieving precise landing. The advantage of this solution is that it utilizes beam projection to achieve positioning between the aircraft and the landing pad through methods other than navigation technology. Moreover, the accuracy of this positioning method is guaranteed, and it can replace high-precision GPS positioning. This solves the problems that the positioning accuracy of current civilian navigation technology is slightly insufficient for the precise landing of aircraft, and the implementation cost of high-precision positioning equipment is high.

[0101] Furthermore, when a beam of light is projected using a device such as a projection lamp, the location and angle of the projection lamp on the aircraft are known from the initial design of the aircraft (or the projection angle of the projection lamp is adjustable, but its projection angle is controlled by the aircraft or external equipment, so it is also known). Therefore, by combining the aforementioned angle information such as the incident angle (brightness information can be used to help determine whether the determined incident angle is the incident angle of the beam of light directly projected by the aircraft onto the helipad), the helipad can also determine the current flight attitude of the aircraft based on the received beam information, thereby obtaining flight attitude information.

[0102] Based on this, this embodiment provides a preferred implementation scheme, applied to the apron side, and the above method further includes:

[0103] S23: Determine the flight attitude information of the aircraft based on brightness and angle information;

[0104] S24: Send flight attitude information to the aircraft.

[0105] It is readily apparent that since steps S23 and S21 rely on the same type of information and there is no dependency or sequential restriction between them, steps S21 and S24 can be performed in parallel. Similarly, steps S22 and S24 both involve sending information from the apron side to the aircraft side, and there is no sequential restriction between the information being sent; therefore, steps S22 and S24 can also be performed in parallel. In other words, steps S21 and S23 can be combined, and steps S22 and S24 can be combined.

[0106] Correspondingly, there are also corresponding implementation schemes on the aircraft side, and the above methods also include:

[0107] S16: Receive flight attitude information sent from the apron and adjust the aircraft's flight attitude according to the flight attitude information.

[0108] Among them, the flight attitude information is determined by the landing pad by acquiring the brightness and angle information of the beam.

[0109] It is easy to understand that the purpose of step S15 is to adjust the aircraft's flight attitude during the landing process to achieve a smooth landing. Therefore, the process corresponding to step S15 is the same as that of step S14, and steps S14 and S15 can be combined and performed together.

[0110] The preferred solution provided in this embodiment establishes the relative position between the aircraft and the landing pad by projecting a beam of light. On the one hand, it can achieve precise positioning of the aircraft landing. On the other hand, it can also acquire information about the current flight attitude of the aircraft based on information such as the angle of the beam, and then send it to the aircraft so that the main control module in the aircraft can adjust its own flight behavior, making the flight attitude of the aircraft more conducive to a smooth landing and improving the safety and reliability of the aircraft landing process.

[0111] On the other hand, considering that the environment of the helipad may contain natural light or other artificial light beams similar to the projected beam, which could easily interfere with the identification of the helipad, this embodiment also provides a preferred implementation, namely, that the beam projected by the projection lamp includes a preset pattern. In this case, the helipad can uniquely determine the beam projected by the aircraft by recognizing the pattern, avoiding interference from other external beams.

[0112] In other words, to avoid interference from other unrelated external light beams during aircraft landing, this embodiment also provides a preferred implementation scheme:

[0113] The beam of light projected by the aircraft includes a preset pattern.

[0114] It should be noted that the aforementioned preset pattern is a specific pattern projected onto a surface after the beam of light projected by the aircraft is projected onto a certain surface. The pattern style is preset, hence the name preset pattern. This embodiment does not limit the style, size, etc. of the preset pattern, and can be freely determined according to actual needs.

[0115] Regarding how to locate an aircraft's position based on a beam of light that can project a preset pattern, one approach is to continue using the methods described above, i.e., locating the aircraft through the brightness and angle information of the beam, with the preset pattern only used to distinguish between other natural light and artificial beams. However, this embodiment also provides an implementation scheme based on the characteristics of a beam of light projecting a preset pattern, namely:

[0116] The location information and flight attitude information are determined by the completeness, size and degree of deformation of the preset pattern projected by the projection lamp, which is obtained by the light-sensing acquisition module of the apron.

[0117] It is easy to understand that although the above-mentioned preferred method is to use a parallel beam as the beam projected by the projection lamp, it is difficult to achieve a beam that is completely non-divergent in practical applications. Therefore, the longer the beam travels, the more severe the beam divergence becomes, and the projected beam becomes relatively larger. Thus, the size of the preset pattern received by the helipad can achieve the same effect as the brightness mentioned above, that is, determine the relative distance between the aircraft and the helipad.

[0118] Regarding the degree of deformation, it is easy to know that when a pattern composed of parallel light beams is projected onto a plane or a curved surface at a non-perpendicular angle, a certain degree of deformation will occur. The degree of deformation is related to the incident angle or the curvature of the surface. The mathematical correspondence between the two has been established. Therefore, the helipad can achieve the same effect as the incident angle of the beam by obtaining the degree of deformation of the projected pattern, that is, determine the direction of the aircraft relative to the helipad.

[0119] The completeness of the pattern further supplements the determination of the distance and orientation of the aircraft relative to the landing pad. It is readily known that when the entire pattern is acquired, the beam of light projected by the aircraft can be considered to be directly facing the landing pad, and the determined relative distance and orientation are most accurate at this point. However, when the pattern acquired from the landing pad is incomplete, the relative orientation determined by the degree of deformation can be further calibrated based on the position of the missing pattern within the overall pattern, thus obtaining a more accurate position determination.

[0120] Flight attitude information can be determined in the same way as above, by comprehensively considering the degree of deformation and the integrity of the pattern, thereby determining information such as the incident angle of the beam and thus the flight attitude of the aircraft.

[0121] Furthermore, based on the completeness of the aforementioned pattern, more accurate positioning of the aircraft for precise landing can be achieved. One possible implementation scheme is that the steps on the apron side, in which the aircraft's position and flight attitude information are determined based on the completeness, size, and degree of deformation of the preset pattern, specifically include:

[0122] If the obtained preset pattern is incomplete, control commands are sent to the aircraft to adjust the aircraft's position based on the location of the missing part of the preset pattern, until the preset pattern is complete.

[0123] If the obtained preset pattern is complete, the aircraft's position and flight attitude information are determined based on the size and degree of deformation of the preset pattern.

[0124] It is easy to understand that the method of this application uses beam projection to determine and identify the relative position between the aircraft and the landing pad. Therefore, the quality of the beam projection directly affects the landing effect of the aircraft using this method. Therefore, this embodiment provides a solution whereby the aircraft adjusts the projection angle and its own position to ensure that the preset pattern is completely received by the landing pad, thereby ensuring positioning accuracy and enabling the aircraft to be positioned more accurately by the landing pad.

[0125] As illustrated in the above embodiments, there are multiple different methods for obtaining helipad location information, and depending on whether the helipad will move during the process, either pre-acquisition or real-time acquisition can be used.

[0126] This embodiment also provides a possible implementation plan to address the above-mentioned problems. Step S11 is specifically as follows:

[0127] S111: If the helipad is in motion, the helipad location information is obtained through the positioning module installed in the helipad.

[0128] S112: If the apron is stationary, the apron location information is determined by image recognition of landmarks around the apron, or by obtaining the apron location information pre-stored in the aircraft.

[0129] It is easy to know that in the actual application of aircraft, on the one hand, there are cases where the helipad is directly deployed on the ground and is in a static landing situation, and on the other hand, there are cases where the helipad is deployed on a moving vehicle, such as vehicle-mounted aircraft. In these cases, the above-mentioned different methods can be used to obtain the location information of the helipad.

[0130] Step S111, obtaining the apron location information in motion, is easy to understand. It is the same as the existing scheme of using a positioning module to locate the apron and guide the aircraft landing. The difference is that the precise landing method of the aircraft implemented by this application has lower requirements for the accuracy of the positioning module. On the one hand, the accuracy is guaranteed, and on the other hand, it saves the high cost brought by using a high-precision positioning module.

[0131] Regarding the acquisition of position information of the helipad in a stationary state provided in step S112, since the position of the helipad does not change, it can be known in advance and then stored in the aircraft or other devices. When the precise landing of the aircraft is triggered by this method, the corresponding information can be retrieved from the storage. Alternatively, the helipad can be located by identifying the landmark buildings around it.

[0132] It is easy to know that although it is difficult to obtain accurate information about the location of the helipad, the location information of relatively large buildings such as landmarks is usually accurate enough and can be known in advance. Therefore, by recognizing landmarks near the helipad through image recognition, the approximate range of the helipad's location can be roughly determined, which can be used to determine the aforementioned preset range.

[0133] This embodiment addresses the two states that a helipad may be in during practical applications: a stationary state and a moving state. It provides a feasible method for obtaining position information under each of these states, thus expanding the application scope of the method and making the precise landing method for aircraft not limited to a specific situation.

[0134] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, it is explained that the installation position and number of projection lamps on the aircraft are not limited, and the projection direction of the projection lamps can be adjusted by adjusting the flight attitude of the aircraft or the settings of the rotating base and the drive motor to scan the preset range of the projection beam.

[0135] However, since adjusting the flight attitude of the aircraft may affect the accuracy of the landing, and rotating the base and drive motor brings additional deployment costs, this embodiment also provides a preferred implementation scheme, which is to use a gimbal commonly used in flight to set up a projection lamp on the gimbal, and use the gimbal to change the angle and direction of the beam projected by the projection lamp.

[0136] That is, the preferred solution is to place the projection light on the gimbal of the aircraft.

[0137] Accordingly, by adjusting the projection direction of the projector lamps so that the helipad receives the beam of light, including:

[0138] By controlling the rotation of the gimbal, the projection direction of the projector lamp is adjusted so that the helipad receives the beam of light.

[0139] As a common component in aircraft, the gimbal functions by controlling its own rotation, essentially rotating the base so that the camera mounted on the gimbal can change its shooting angle, thus enabling the aircraft to shoot more flexibly. Therefore, the gimbal itself has a rotation function, which can be used to change the direction of the beam projected by the projector lamp without the need for additional equipment, making it easier to apply.

[0140] In addition, this embodiment also proposes a preferred solution for the number of projection lamps: there are multiple projection lamps, and each projection lamp has a different projection direction;

[0141] Correspondingly, the above methods also include:

[0142] S17: When receiving the position information and flight attitude information returned from the apron, determine the target projection light based on the position information and flight attitude information, and turn off all projection lights except the target projection light.

[0143] It should be noted that the aforementioned target projection light is the projection light whose beam is received by the apron among all the projection lights. The target projection light may not be unique at any one time, but in general, the projection lights are set at different projection angles, so there is usually only one target projection light (unless the projection lights are arranged too densely and the projection directions are extremely similar, or the aircraft is very close to the apron).

[0144] When multiple projectors are set up with different projection directions, in order to improve the search efficiency for the helipad before it is found, multiple projectors will project simultaneously to increase the total area of ​​the beam projection and find the helipad as soon as possible.

[0145] When any beam of light strikes the photosensitive surface of the landing pad, considering that the landing pad can determine the aircraft's flight attitude based on the sensed beam, and that the installation position and projection angle of the projector lights are known from the initial installation on the aircraft, it is possible to comprehensively determine which projector light is currently projecting the beam onto the landing pad, i.e., to identify the target projector light. Once the landing pad is located, the need to improve search efficiency disappears. Therefore, to reduce power consumption, all projector lights except the target projector light are turned off, and will be restarted when the precision landing function is next activated, with the target projector light continuing to provide guidance.

[0146] In addition, as explained above, the process of the tarmac sensing the beam of light projected by the aircraft's projection lights and guiding the aircraft to achieve a precise landing based on information such as the brightness and angle of the beam is a continuous process, and this step is a control scheme for this continuous process.

[0147] This embodiment provides several possible implementation schemes for the projection lights on the aircraft side. First, by installing the projection lights on the aircraft's gimbal, the projection direction of the projection lights can be freely adjusted without additional deployment costs. Second, by setting up multiple projection lights with different projection directions, the search efficiency of the landing pad can be improved. Furthermore, when only one projection light's beam sweeps across the landing pad, the other projection lights are turned off, further saving energy while ensuring accurate landing. The above schemes further improve the aircraft side, thereby enhancing the user experience of using the aircraft's accurate landing function.

[0148] On the other hand, regarding the beam projected by the projector itself, as explained above, a parallel beam is generally chosen to avoid the divergent beam from losing brightness too quickly at a long projection distance, which would affect the identification of the helipad. On the other hand, the projection range is more controllable, and when the beam sweeps across the helipad, it is easier for the helipad to determine the accurate position information of the aircraft.

[0149] Similarly, this embodiment also provides a preferred implementation for the size of the beam projected by the projector lamp (usually expressed as diameter):

[0150] The projected area of ​​the light beam onto the surface of the helipad is less than or equal to the photosensitive area of ​​the helipad.

[0151] The aforementioned photosensitive area is the area of ​​the photosensitive plane set on the tarmac. The purpose of the implementation scheme provided in this embodiment is to ensure that the beam of light projected by the aircraft can completely hit the tarmac. This is based on the same principle as the above-mentioned scheme where the beam of light is projected with a preset pattern and the position information of the aircraft is calibrated by the integrity of the preset pattern. The beam of light can be completely received and identified by the tarmac, which is beneficial to improving the landing positioning accuracy and thus achieving a better precision landing effect.

[0152] However, the above is only a preferred implementation scheme to achieve higher positioning accuracy. In some application scenarios where the positioning accuracy requirement is not so high, the size of the beam is not subject to the strict settings described above.

[0153] However, since the landing method provided in this application essentially involves positioning the aircraft by projecting a beam of light instead of traditional navigation technology after the aircraft enters a preset range, achieving precise positioning by projecting the beam onto the parking apron. The preset range is determined by the location information of the parking apron. Generally, the parking apron is within the projection range defined by projecting the preset range onto the surface of the parking apron. Therefore, when the aircraft projects the beam onto the surface of the parking apron, it is unnecessary to project outside this projection range. Furthermore, to ensure the most basic positioning requirements, the area of ​​the beam projected onto the surface of the parking apron should be smaller than the area projected downwards from the preset range. This ensures that the aircraft can "search" for the parking apron within the preset range, thereby guaranteeing a positioning accuracy higher than that represented by the parking apron's location information.

[0154] That is, this embodiment also provides an implementation scheme for the size of the beam projected by the projection lamp:

[0155] The projected area of ​​the beam onto the surface of the helipad is less than or equal to the projected area of ​​the surface of the helipad within a preset range.

[0156] The implementation schemes provided in this embodiment limit the size of the projected area of ​​the beam of light projected by the aircraft on the surface of the landing pad. The purpose is to ensure the accuracy of the positional information between the aircraft and the landing pad determined by the beam projection, thereby meeting the requirements for precise landing of the aircraft.

[0157] As can be seen from the above embodiments, the precise landing method for an aircraft provided in this application determines the relative position between the aircraft and the landing pad by projecting a beam of light. The positioning depends on the projected beam of light. Therefore, this embodiment performs better in scenarios with poor natural lighting conditions such as dusk and night. In scenarios with strong lighting such as daytime, it may be affected by natural light and other artificial beams of light.

[0158] Based on this, to address the interference from natural light and other artificial light beams, this embodiment provides possible implementation schemes for both the aircraft side and the apron side:

[0159] For the aircraft side, before projecting the beam onto the surface where the tarmac is located, the following steps are also included:

[0160] S18: Obtain ambient brightness. When the ambient brightness exceeds a preset first threshold, project a beam of light onto the surface where the helipad is located.

[0161] Regarding how to obtain ambient brightness information, it is easy to know that in current aircraft products, cameras are a common configuration as image acquisition devices. Cameras can collect ambient brightness information without the need for additional hardware devices, making them easier to implement.

[0162] In other words, before initiating precise landing based on the projected beam, the environmental conditions are detected and assessed to determine if they meet the requirements for beam positioning. If they do, the subsequent process continues. Correspondingly, for cases where the requirements are not met, this embodiment also provides several possible follow-up solutions:

[0163] First, it returns the corresponding error message to the operator, informing them of the situation so that the operator can use manual control or other methods to land the aircraft.

[0164] Secondly, if the brightness of the projection lamp beam is adjustable, then the purpose of the above comparison between ambient brightness and brightness threshold is to determine the brightness of the projection lamp beam.

[0165] It's easy to understand that there's a correspondence between the brightness threshold and the adjustable brightness levels of the projector lamp. For example, the projector lamp has three brightness levels, corresponding to the first, second, and third brightness levels that increase sequentially. Correspondingly, the brightness threshold can include three progressively increasing thresholds, each corresponding to a different brightness level of the projector lamp. When the ambient brightness is higher than the corresponding brightness threshold, the projector lamp projects a beam at the corresponding brightness level (if the brightness is lower than the lowest threshold, the projector lamp will not turn on, and an error message will be returned as described in Solution 1 above).

[0166] Similarly, since there are readily available light-sensing modules on the apron side that can be used to acquire ambient brightness information from the aircraft side, this embodiment also provides a possible implementation scheme for the above solution on the apron side:

[0167] S25: Obtain ambient brightness information through the light sensor module and determine whether it exceeds the preset brightness threshold. If so, notify the aircraft to turn on the projection light.

[0168] In another possible implementation, after the helipad obtains the ambient brightness information through the light-sensing module, it can also directly send the ambient brightness information to the aircraft side, allowing the aircraft side to perform subsequent comparisons with the brightness threshold and determine whether to turn on the projection light.

[0169] On the other hand, for the apron side, this embodiment also provides a possible implementation scheme, which includes, before determining the aircraft's position information and flight attitude information based on brightness information and angle information, the following:

[0170] S26: Obtain ambient brightness. When the change in ambient brightness exceeds the second threshold within a unit of time, determine the aircraft's position and flight attitude information based on the brightness and angle information.

[0171] In other words, when the aircraft enters the preset range and begins to project a beam of light onto the apron, the apron should maintain a real-time beam acquisition state to receive the beam in a timely manner for positioning. The problem this embodiment aims to solve is how to distinguish between natural light and the beam projected by the aircraft. Utilizing the characteristic that the brightness of the projected beam is higher than that of natural light, the apron should sense a change in brightness when the beam is projected onto it. Considering that natural light is not constant over time, this brightness change should be compared with a preset brightness threshold to distinguish whether the brightness change is caused by the beam projected by the aircraft or by the natural change in natural light, which is the aforementioned second threshold. Only when the comparison in step S25 determines that the brightness change detected by the apron is caused by the beam projected by the aircraft, subsequent calculation steps are performed, that is, determining the aircraft's position and flight attitude information based on the acquired beam information.

[0172] In this way, on the one hand, the helipad is prevented from constantly calculating the aircraft's position and flight attitude information, reducing power consumption. On the other hand, it also prevents the helipad from returning incorrect position and flight attitude information to the aircraft, thus preventing the aircraft from making incorrect flight maneuvers based on incorrect information and ensuring the reliability of the aircraft landing.

[0173] Finally, regarding the hardware requirements for implementing the above-mentioned precise landing method for aircraft, this embodiment provides a possible implementation method, applied between an aircraft and a landing pad in the following configuration:

[0174] 1. Aircraft;

[0175] like Figure 3 As shown, the aircraft includes: a GPS module, a wireless communication module, a projector, a main control module, and an environmental monitoring module; the main control module is electrically connected to the wireless communication module, the GPS module, the projector, and the environmental monitoring module.

[0176] The GPS module is used to enable the aircraft to locate itself; the wireless communication module is used to communicate with the landing pad; multiple projection lights can be installed on the gimbal to project beams for precise positioning that differs from GPS; the main control module is the main controller in the aircraft used to control flight and interact with other hardware modules, and its specific model and type are not limited in this embodiment, but are determined according to the aircraft design requirements; the environmental detection module is the hardware module used to obtain environmental brightness information in the above embodiment, and can be a camera or other equipment configured on the aircraft itself.

[0177] It is easy to understand that the hardware modules included in the above-mentioned aircraft are only the hardware modules required to implement the precise landing method of the aircraft provided in this application, and do not limit the hardware modules included in the actual aircraft. The actual aircraft may include more hardware modules and external devices than those mentioned above.

[0178] For example, the aircraft may also include: inertial sensors, accelerometers, barometers, and magnetometers, which are connected to the main control module to ensure the normal operation of the aircraft.

[0179] 2. Helipad;

[0180] like Figure 4 As shown, the parking apron includes at least: a display screen for receiving aircraft projections and for aircraft to dock (i.e., a hardware device that simultaneously functions as a light-sensing module, a parking surface, and a display), a wireless communication module, a controller, and a GPS module; the controller is connected to the display screen, the wireless communication module, and the GPS module, respectively.

[0181] As explained in the above embodiments, the helipad can use a display screen with light sensors distributed under the screen to replace the light sensing module. The display screen can also serve as a parking surface by selecting the surface material, thus maximizing the utilization of the helipad space.

[0182] The wireless communication module is a hardware module used to enable data transmission between the aircraft and the ground.

[0183] The controller is not limited to a specific model and can be implemented using a controller model with certain data processing and control capabilities. It is used to calculate the relative position between the aircraft and the landing pad and the flight attitude of the aircraft based on the angle and brightness of the light signal received by the display screen.

[0184] The GPS module is used to locate the current position of the helipad. Compared with the solution that uses only GPS to achieve precise landing of the aircraft, this application has lower requirements for the positioning accuracy of the GPS module used.

[0185] The above embodiments have described a method for precise landing of an aircraft in detail. This application also provides an embodiment of a device for precise landing of an aircraft. It should be noted that this application describes the embodiments of the device from both sides: one is based on the aircraft side, and the other is based on the apron side.

[0186] Based on the aircraft side, such as Figure 5 As shown, this embodiment provides a precision landing device for aircraft, applied to an aircraft including a projection light, comprising:

[0187] The coarse positioning module 11 is used to obtain the location information of the helipad.

[0188] The first landing module 12 is used to determine a preset range based on the apron location information and fly to the preset range;

[0189] The beam projection module 13 is used to project a beam onto the surface of the helipad after entering the preset range, so that the helipad receives the beam.

[0190] The first precise positioning module 14 is used to receive position information sent by the helipad; wherein the position information is determined by the helipad by acquiring the brightness and angle information of the light beam;

[0191] The second landing module 15 is used to land on the apron based on the location information.

[0192] Based on the tarmac side, such as Figure 6 As shown, this embodiment provides a precision landing device for aircraft, applied to a landing pad including a positioning module and a light-sensing acquisition module, comprising:

[0193] The second precise positioning module 21 is used to acquire the brightness and angle information of the beam projected by the aircraft, and determine the position information of the aircraft based on the brightness and angle information; wherein, the beam is the beam projected by the aircraft onto the surface of the parking apron after entering the preset range; the preset range is determined by the aircraft based on the position information of the parking apron.

[0194] The information transmission module 22 is used to send location information to the aircraft.

[0195] Since the embodiments of the apparatus and the embodiments of the method correspond to each other, please refer to the description of the embodiments of the method for the embodiments of the apparatus, which will not be repeated here.

[0196] The foregoing has provided a detailed description of a method and apparatus for precise landing of an aircraft. The various embodiments in the specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on its differences from other embodiments. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably. For the apparatus disclosed in the embodiments, since it corresponds to the method disclosed in the embodiments, the description is relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to in the method section. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications to this application without departing from the principles of this application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of this application.

[0197] It should also be noted that, in this specification, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

Claims

1. A method for precise landing of an aircraft, characterized in that, Applied to the aircraft side, including: Obtain the location information of the helipad; The preset range is determined based on the apron location information, and the aircraft flies to the preset range; After entering the preset range, a beam of light is projected onto the surface where the helipad is located, so that the helipad receives the beam of light; The system receives position information and flight attitude information transmitted from the helipad, and adjusts the flight attitude of the aircraft according to the flight attitude information; wherein the position information and the flight attitude information are determined by the helipad by acquiring the brightness information and angle information of the light beam; the light beam includes a preset pattern, and the position information and the flight attitude information are also determined by the helipad by acquiring the integrity, size and degree of deformation of the preset pattern; Landing on the apron based on the location information.

2. The precise landing method for an aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that, The acquisition of the helipad location information includes: If the helipad is in motion, the helipad's location information is obtained through a positioning module installed in the helipad. If the helipad is stationary, the location information of the helipad can be determined by image recognition of landmark buildings around the helipad, or by obtaining the location information of the helipad that has been pre-stored in the aircraft.

3. The precise landing method for an aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of projecting a light beam onto the surface of the helipad so that the helipad receives the light beam includes: A beam of light is projected onto the surface of the helipad using a projector, and the projection direction of the projector is adjusted so that the helipad receives the beam of light.

4. The precise landing method for an aircraft according to claim 3, characterized in that, The projection light is located on the gimbal of the aircraft; The step of adjusting the projection direction of the projection lamp so that the helipad receives the light beam includes: By controlling the rotation of the gimbal, the projection direction of the projection lamp is adjusted so that the helipad receives the beam of light.

5. The precise landing method for an aircraft according to claim 3, characterized in that, There are multiple projection lamps, and each projection lamp has a different projection direction.

6. The precise landing method for an aircraft according to claim 5, characterized in that, The projected area of ​​the light beam onto the surface of the helipad is less than or equal to the photosensitive area of ​​the helipad.

7. The precise landing method for an aircraft according to claim 5, characterized in that, The projected area of ​​the light beam onto the surface of the helipad is less than or equal to the projected area of ​​the helipad within the preset range.

8. The precise landing method for an aircraft according to claim 5, characterized in that, Also includes: When the location information and flight attitude information returned by the helipad are received, the target projection light is determined based on the location information and flight attitude information, and all projection lights other than the target projection light are turned off.

9. The method for precise landing of an aircraft according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Before projecting the beam of light onto the surface of the tarmac, the process also includes: The ambient brightness is acquired, and when the ambient brightness exceeds a preset first threshold, the beam is projected onto the surface where the helipad is located.

10. A method for precise landing of an aircraft, characterized in that, Applied to the apron side, including: The system acquires the brightness and angle information of the beam projected by the aircraft, and determines the position and flight attitude information of the aircraft based on the brightness and angle information; wherein, the beam is the beam projected by the aircraft onto the surface of the landing pad after entering a preset range; the preset range is determined by the aircraft based on the landing pad position information; The beam includes a preset pattern, and the method further includes: acquiring the integrity, size, and degree of deformation of the preset pattern, and determining the position information and flight attitude information of the aircraft based on the integrity, size, and degree of deformation of the preset pattern; The location information and the flight attitude information are sent to the aircraft.

11. The precise landing method for an aircraft according to claim 10, characterized in that, Before determining the aircraft's position information and flight attitude information based on the brightness information and the angle information, the method further includes: The ambient brightness is acquired, and when the change in ambient brightness exceeds a second threshold within a unit time, the position information and flight attitude information of the aircraft are determined based on the brightness information and the angle information.

12. The precise landing method for an aircraft according to claim 10, characterized in that, The process of determining the position information and flight attitude information of the aircraft based on the integrity, size, and degree of deformation of the preset pattern includes: If the obtained preset pattern is incomplete, control commands are sent to the aircraft to adjust the position of the aircraft based on the location of the missing part of the preset pattern, until the preset pattern is complete. If the obtained preset pattern is complete, the position information and flight attitude information of the aircraft are determined according to the size and degree of deformation of the preset pattern.

13. The method for precise landing of an aircraft according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, Also includes: The system acquires ambient brightness information and determines whether it exceeds a preset first threshold. If so, it sends a beam projection command to the aircraft to project the beam onto the surface of the landing pad.

14. A precision landing device for aircraft, characterized in that, Applied to the aircraft side, including: A coarse positioning module is used to obtain the location information of the helipad; The first landing module is used to determine a preset range based on the apron location information and fly to the preset range; A beam projection module is used to project a beam onto the surface of the helipad after entering the preset range, so that the helipad receives the beam. The first precise positioning module is used to receive position information and flight attitude information sent by the helipad, and adjust the flight attitude of the aircraft according to the flight attitude information; wherein, the position information and the flight attitude information are determined by the helipad by acquiring the brightness information and angle information of the light beam; the light beam includes a preset pattern, and the position information and flight attitude information are also determined by the helipad by acquiring the integrity, size and degree of deformation of the preset pattern; The second landing module is used to land on the apron based on the location information.

15. A precision landing device for aircraft, characterized in that, Applied to the apron side, including: The second precise positioning module is used to acquire the brightness and angle information of the beam projected by the aircraft, and to determine the position and flight attitude information of the aircraft based on the brightness and angle information; wherein, the beam is the beam projected by the aircraft onto the surface of the landing pad after entering a preset range; the preset range is determined by the aircraft based on the landing pad position information; the beam includes a preset pattern, and the method further includes: acquiring the integrity, size, and degree of deformation of the preset pattern, and determining the position and flight attitude information of the aircraft based on the integrity, size, and degree of deformation of the preset pattern; The information transmission module is used to send the location information and the flight attitude information to the aircraft.

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