A floating object cleaning control method, device and computer readable storage medium
By identifying the type of floating object and obtaining the lift adjustment propulsion component, the problem of endurance and complexity of unmanned aerial vehicles in water surface obstacle removal was solved, achieving efficient floating object removal control, extending operation time and reducing costs.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- EHANG INTELLIGENT EQUIP GUANGZHOU CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2023-04-24
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-26
AI Technical Summary
Existing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) face challenges in clearing debris from water surfaces, including short endurance, high structural complexity, and high cost, making it difficult to achieve effective control over floating debris removal.
By identifying the type of floating object, determining the connection location, and obtaining lift when preset conditions are met, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is adjusted to achieve efficient retrieval and carrying of floating objects.
It has increased the continuous operating time of aircraft, reduced the cost of structural modification and the complexity of the control system, and achieved efficient control of floating debris removal.
Smart Images
Figure CN116679744B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle technology, and in particular to a floating debris removal control method, device, and computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology
[0002] With the continuous development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, there are currently several technical solutions for using UAVs to perform obstacle removal on water surfaces, as follows:
[0003] First, drones do not have the ability to float on water. They clear obstacles on the water surface by hovering in the air above the water. This solution requires drones to carry a garbage bin to achieve continuous operation. Moreover, due to the limitation of battery life, the efficiency of one-way pickup is extremely low, making it difficult to promote and apply on a large scale.
[0004] Secondly, the drone has the ability to float on water and clear obstacles by floating on the water surface. This solution requires the drone to be equipped with an additional underwater propulsion mechanism and an additional waterproof structure. The control system is complex and the cost is high.
[0005] Therefore, how to effectively and dynamically regulate the obstacle removal control logic of floating objects in environments such as water surfaces, improve continuous operation time, reduce structural modification costs and control system complexity has become an urgent technical problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention
[0006] To address the aforementioned technical deficiencies in the prior art, this invention proposes a method for controlling and clearing floating debris, the method comprising:
[0007] Identify the floating type of floating objects;
[0008] Determine the aircraft's connection orientation to the floating object based on the floating type;
[0009] When the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection orientation, the aircraft obtains the lift of the floating object when the preset retrieval conditions are met;
[0010] When the aircraft is moving while carrying the floating object, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced according to the lift.
[0011] Optionally, identifying the floating type of the floating object includes:
[0012] When the floating object is detected within the image recognition range of the aircraft, the background environment and current motion state of the floating object are acquired;
[0013] When the background environment is determined to be the sky and the motion state includes upward motion, the floating object is determined to be an aerial floating object; when the background environment is determined to be a body of water and the motion state is floating motion, the floating object is determined to be a surface floating object.
[0014] Optionally, determining the aircraft's connection orientation to the floating object based on the floating type includes:
[0015] A first connecting component and a second connecting component are respectively provided at the top and bottom of the aircraft;
[0016] The aircraft is controlled to fly below the floating object in the air and establish a fixed connection with the floating object in the air through the first connecting component; or, the aircraft is controlled to fly above the floating object on the water surface and establish a fixed connection with the floating object on the water surface through the second connecting component.
[0017] Optionally, when the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection orientation, obtaining the lift of the floating object under preset retrieval conditions through the aircraft includes:
[0018] The motion state is monitored during the process of reducing the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft;
[0019] When the airborne object ceases to rise, or when the top of the waterborne object is submerged below the water surface, the motion state is determined to meet the pickup condition, and the current reduction amplitude of the vertical propulsion component is recorded.
[0020] Optionally, adjusting the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft according to the lift while the aircraft is moving carrying the floating object includes:
[0021] Determine the current assisted flight range based on the background environment and the aircraft's recovery location;
[0022] Within the assisted flight range, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced by the reduction amplitude until the aircraft carrying the floating object flies out of the assisted flight range.
[0023] The present invention also proposes a floating debris cleaning control device, which includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the following:
[0024] Identify the floating type of floating objects;
[0025] Determine the aircraft's connection orientation to the floating object based on the floating type;
[0026] When the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection orientation, the aircraft obtains the lift of the floating object when the preset retrieval conditions are met;
[0027] When the aircraft is moving while carrying the floating object, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced according to the lift.
[0028] Optionally, the computer program is implemented when executed by the processor as follows:
[0029] When the floating object is detected within the image recognition range of the aircraft, the background environment and current motion state of the floating object are acquired;
[0030] When the background environment is determined to be the sky and the motion state includes upward motion, the floating object is determined to be an aerial floating object; when the background environment is determined to be a body of water and the motion state is floating motion, the floating object is determined to be a surface floating object.
[0031] Optionally, the computer program is implemented when executed by the processor as follows:
[0032] A first connecting component and a second connecting component are respectively provided at the top and bottom of the aircraft;
[0033] The aircraft is controlled to fly below the floating object in the air and establish a fixed connection with the floating object in the air through the first connecting component; or, the aircraft is controlled to fly above the floating object on the water surface and establish a fixed connection with the floating object on the water surface through the second connecting component.
[0034] Optionally, the computer program is implemented when executed by the processor as follows:
[0035] The motion state is monitored during the process of reducing the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft;
[0036] When the airborne object ceases to rise, or when the top of the waterborne object is submerged below the water surface, the motion state is determined to meet the pickup conditions, and the current reduction amplitude of the vertical propulsion component is recorded.
[0037] Determine the current assisted flight range based on the background environment and the aircraft's recovery location;
[0038] Within the assisted flight range, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced by the reduction amplitude until the aircraft carrying the floating object flies out of the assisted flight range.
[0039] The present invention also proposes a computer-readable storage medium storing a floating debris removal control program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the floating debris removal control method as described in any of the preceding claims.
[0040] The floating debris removal control method, device, and computer-readable storage medium of this invention identify the floating type of the floating debris; determine the connection position of an aircraft to the floating debris based on the floating type; when the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating debris according to the connection position, obtain the lift of the floating debris when it meets preset pickup conditions; and when the aircraft is moving with the floating debris, reduce the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft based on the lift. This achieves an efficient floating debris removal control scheme for both air and water surfaces, effectively and dynamically adjusting the obstacle removal control logic in both air and water environments, thereby increasing the continuous operation time of the aircraft and reducing the structural modification costs and control system complexity. Attached Figure Description
[0041] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. In the accompanying drawings:
[0042] Figure 1 This is the first flowchart of the floating debris cleaning and control method of the present invention;
[0043] Figure 2 This is the second flowchart of the floating debris cleaning and control method of the present invention;
[0044] Figure 3 This is the third flowchart of the floating debris cleaning and control method of the present invention;
[0045] Figure 4 This is the fourth flowchart of the floating debris cleaning and control method of the present invention;
[0046] Figure 5 This is the fifth flowchart of the floating debris cleaning and control method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0047] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
[0048] In the following description, the use of suffixes such as "module," "part," or "unit" to denote elements is solely for the purpose of illustrative purposes and has no specific meaning in itself. Therefore, "module," "part," or "unit" may be used interchangeably.
[0049] Figure 1 This is a first flowchart of the floating debris removal and control method of the present invention. This embodiment proposes a floating debris removal and control method, which includes:
[0050] S1. Identify the floating type of the floating object;
[0051] S2. Determine the connection position of the aircraft to the floating object based on the floating type;
[0052] S3. When the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection orientation, the aircraft obtains the lift of the floating object when the preset retrieval conditions are met.
[0053] S4. When the aircraft is moving while carrying the floating object, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced according to the lift.
[0054] Optionally, in this embodiment, floating objects include floating objects in the air and floating objects on the water surface. Correspondingly, floating objects in the air are considered as one type of floating object, while floating objects on the water surface are considered as another type of floating object.
[0055] Optionally, in this embodiment, the floating objects in the air or on the water surface are further classified according to their material or properties. For example, the floating objects in the air are divided into balloon-like floating objects with lifting power and leaf or plastic bag floating objects without lifting power. Similarly, the floating objects on the water surface are divided into tree branches and trunks floating objects with self-buoyancy and iron boxes and cans floating objects without self-buoyancy.
[0056] Optionally, in this embodiment, when the floating object is a balloon, the aircraft is non-rigidly connected to its lowest point below the floating object.
[0057] Optionally, in this embodiment, when the floating object is a tree branch or trunk, the aircraft is rigidly connected to the center of mass of the floating object above it.
[0058] Optionally, in this embodiment, when the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection orientation, the aircraft obtains the lift of the floating object when a preset retrieval condition is met. This retrieval condition is either that the floating object in the air stops its upward motion and its own lift is balanced with the pulling force applied by the aircraft, or that the floating object on the water surface is submerged below the water surface and its own buoyancy is balanced with the pressure applied by the aircraft.
[0059] Optionally, in this embodiment, when the aircraft is carrying the floating object, the vertical thrust component of the aircraft is reduced according to the lift. Based on the above conditions, the floating object in the air stops its upward movement, and its own lift and the thrust applied by the aircraft are balanced. At this time, the aircraft correspondingly reduces its vertical thrust component, thereby reducing operating power consumption and extending the cleanup operation time. Similarly, based on the above conditions, the floating object on the water surface is submerged below the water surface, and its own buoyancy and the pressure applied by the aircraft are balanced. At this time, the aircraft can also correspondingly reduce its vertical thrust component, thereby reducing operating power consumption and extending the cleanup operation time.
[0060] Optionally, in this embodiment, when the floating object in the air stops rising and its own lift is balanced with the thrust applied by the aircraft, the aircraft carries the floating object horizontally until it reaches above the recovery position and then performs the landing procedure; similarly, when the floating object on the water surface is submerged below the water surface and its own buoyancy is balanced with the pressure applied by the aircraft, the aircraft carries the floating object along the water surface until it reaches the closest distance to the recovery position and then performs the conventional obstacle clearance procedure.
[0061] The beneficial effects of this embodiment are as follows: by identifying the floating type of the floating object; determining the connection position of the aircraft to the floating object based on the floating type; when the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection position, obtaining the lift of the floating object when it meets preset retrieval conditions; and when the aircraft is moving with the floating object, reducing the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft based on the lift, an efficient floating object removal control scheme for air and water surfaces is achieved. This scheme can effectively dynamically adjust the obstacle removal control logic in air and water environments, thereby increasing the continuous operation time of the aircraft and reducing the structural modification cost and control system complexity of the aircraft.
[0062] Figure 2 This is a second flowchart of the floating debris cleaning and control method of the present invention. Based on the above embodiment, the step of identifying the floating type of the floating debris includes:
[0063] S11. When the floating object is detected within the image recognition range of the aircraft, the background environment and current motion state of the floating object are obtained;
[0064] S12. When the background environment is determined to be the sky and the motion state includes upward motion, the floating object is determined to be an aerial floating object. When the background environment is determined to be a body of water and the motion state is floating motion, the floating object is determined to be a surface floating object.
[0065] Optionally, in this embodiment, one approach is to detect and identify the background environment and current motion state of the floating object after the aircraft flies above or below it.
[0066] Alternatively, in this embodiment, another approach is to first wait for the aircraft to complete the detection of the motion state of the floating object; then, if the motion state includes upward motion, the background environment of the floating object is detected and identified after the aircraft flies below the floating object; and if the motion state is floating motion, the background environment of the floating object is detected and identified after the aircraft flies above the floating object.
[0067] Figure 3 This is the third flowchart of the floating debris removal and control method of the present invention. Based on the above embodiments, the step of determining the aircraft's connection position to the floating debris according to the floating type includes:
[0068] S21. A first connecting component and a second connecting component are respectively provided at the top and bottom of the aircraft;
[0069] S22. Control the aircraft to fly below the airborne object and establish a fixed connection with the airborne object through the first connecting component; or, control the aircraft to fly above the waterborne object and establish a fixed connection with the waterborne object through the second connecting component.
[0070] Optionally, in this embodiment, the aircraft is controlled to fly below the floating object and establish a fixed connection with the floating object through the first connecting component. The fixed connection can be a non-rigid connection or a rigid connection. For example, a non-rigid connection can be made through a rope hook transmitted by an extension component, or a rigid connection can be made through a fixed robotic arm.
[0071] Optionally, in this embodiment, the aircraft is controlled to fly above the floating object on the water surface and a fixed connection is established with the floating object on the water surface through the second connecting component. The fixed connection is a rigid connection, for example, a rigid connection is established through a fixed robotic arm.
[0072] Figure 4 This is the fourth flowchart of the floating object removal control method of the present invention. Based on the above embodiments, the step of obtaining the lift of the floating object when the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection orientation, and obtaining the lift of the floating object when the preset retrieval conditions are met by the aircraft, includes:
[0073] S31. Monitor the motion state while reducing the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft;
[0074] S32. When the floating object in the air stops rising, or when the top of the floating object on the water surface is submerged below the water surface, determine that the motion state meets the pickup condition, and record the current reduction amplitude of the vertical propulsion component.
[0075] Optionally, in this embodiment, for airborne objects, when the reduction amplitude is less than a first preset value, the conventional floating object procedure is executed directly; and for water-borne objects, when the reduction amplitude is less than a second preset value, the conventional floating object procedure is executed directly. The first preset value is less than the second preset value.
[0076] Optionally, in this embodiment, for airborne objects, when the reduction amplitude is less than a first preset value, or for waterborne objects, when the reduction amplitude is less than a second preset value, the assisted flight mode of this embodiment is executed.
[0077] Figure 5 This is the fifth flowchart of the floating debris removal control method of the present invention. Based on the above embodiments, the step of adjusting the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft according to the lift when the aircraft is moving with the floating debris includes:
[0078] S41. Determine the current auxiliary flight range based on the background environment and the aircraft's recovery location;
[0079] S42. Within the assisted flight range, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced by the reduction amplitude until the aircraft carrying the floating object flies out of the assisted flight range.
[0080] Optionally, in this embodiment, based on the above-mentioned assisted flight mode, firstly, the current assisted flight range is determined. For example, in the state of water surface, the flight is preferentially moved along the water surface to the shore, and then the upward movement is performed. Or, for example, in the state of air, the flight is preferentially maintained at the horizontal altitude and moved to the recovery position of the floating object, and then the downward movement is performed.
[0081] Optionally, in this embodiment, the auxiliary flight range is set according to the fixed connection position between the aircraft and the floating object and the airspace clearance, or the auxiliary flight range is set according to the fixed connection position between the aircraft and the floating object and the area of the water surface.
[0082] Optionally, in this embodiment, the auxiliary flight range is adjusted accordingly based on one or more of the following: the remaining battery power of the aircraft, the mass of the floating object, and the relative distance between the fixed connection position and the recovery position.
[0083] Based on the above embodiments, the present invention also proposes a floating debris cleaning control device, which includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the following:
[0084] Identify the floating type of floating objects;
[0085] Determine the aircraft's connection orientation to the floating object based on the floating type;
[0086] When the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection orientation, the aircraft obtains the lift of the floating object when the preset retrieval conditions are met;
[0087] When the aircraft is moving while carrying the floating object, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced according to the lift.
[0088] Optionally, the computer program is implemented when executed by the processor as follows:
[0089] When the floating object is detected within the image recognition range of the aircraft, the background environment and current motion state of the floating object are acquired;
[0090] When the background environment is determined to be the sky and the motion state includes upward motion, the floating object is determined to be an aerial floating object; when the background environment is determined to be a body of water and the motion state is floating motion, the floating object is determined to be a surface floating object.
[0091] Optionally, the computer program is implemented when executed by the processor as follows:
[0092] A first connecting component and a second connecting component are respectively provided at the top and bottom of the aircraft;
[0093] The aircraft is controlled to fly below the floating object in the air and establish a fixed connection with the floating object in the air through the first connecting component; or, the aircraft is controlled to fly above the floating object on the water surface and establish a fixed connection with the floating object on the water surface through the second connecting component.
[0094] Optionally, the computer program is implemented when executed by the processor as follows:
[0095] The motion state is monitored during the process of reducing the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft;
[0096] When the airborne object ceases to rise, or when the top of the waterborne object is submerged below the water surface, the motion state is determined to meet the pickup condition, and the current reduction amplitude of the vertical propulsion component is recorded.
[0097] Determine the current assisted flight range based on the background environment and the aircraft's recovery location;
[0098] Within the assisted flight range, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced by the reduction amplitude until the aircraft carrying the floating object flies out of the assisted flight range.
[0099] It should be noted that the above-described device embodiments and method embodiments belong to the same concept. The specific implementation process can be found in the method embodiments, and the technical features in the method embodiments are also applicable to the device embodiments, which will not be repeated here.
[0100] Based on the above embodiments, the present invention also proposes a computer-readable storage medium storing a floating debris cleaning control program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the floating debris cleaning control method as described in any of the above embodiments.
[0101] It should be noted that the above-described medium embodiments and method embodiments belong to the same concept. The specific implementation process can be found in the method embodiments, and the technical features in the method embodiments are also applicable to the medium embodiments, which will not be repeated here.
[0102] It should be noted that, in this document, 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. Unless otherwise specified, 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 that element.
[0103] The sequence numbers of the above embodiments of the present invention are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.
[0104] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Of course, they can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), and includes several instructions to cause a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, computer, server, air conditioner, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention.
[0105] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these forms are within the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A method for controlling and clearing floating debris, characterized in that, The method includes: Identify the floating type of the floating object, which includes air-floating objects with lifting capacity and water-floating objects with self-buoyancy. Determine the connection position of the aircraft to the floating object based on the floating type; specifically including: controlling the aircraft to fly below the aerial floating object and establishing a fixed connection with the aerial floating object through a first connecting component at the top of the aircraft; controlling the aircraft to fly above the water surface floating object and establishing a fixed connection with the water surface floating object through a second connecting component at the bottom of the aircraft; When the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection orientation, the lift of the floating object is obtained by the aircraft when the preset pickup conditions are met; specifically, this includes: monitoring the motion state of the floating object during the process of reducing the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft; when the floating object in the air no longer rises in the air, or when the top of the floating object on the water surface is submerged below the water surface, determining that the motion state meets the pickup conditions, and recording the current reduction amplitude of the vertical propulsion component; When the aircraft is moving while carrying the floating object, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced according to the lift.
2. The floating debris cleaning and control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The identification of the floating type of the floating object includes: When the floating object is detected within the image recognition range of the aircraft, the background environment and current motion state of the floating object are acquired; When the background environment is determined to be the sky and the motion state includes upward motion, the floating object is determined to be an aerial floating object; when the background environment is determined to be a body of water and the motion state is floating motion, the floating object is determined to be a surface floating object.
3. The floating debris cleaning and control method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of reducing the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft based on the lift when the aircraft is moving with the floating object includes: Determine the current assisted flight range based on the background environment and the aircraft's recovery location; Within the assisted flight range, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced by the reduction amplitude until the aircraft carrying the floating object flies out of the assisted flight range.
4. A floating debris cleaning and control device, characterized in that, The device includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, the computer program being executed by the processor to implement: Identify the floating type of the floating object, which includes air-floating objects with lifting capacity and water-floating objects with self-buoyancy. Determining the connection position of the aircraft to the floating object based on the floating type specifically includes: controlling the aircraft to fly below the aerial floating object and establishing a fixed connection with the aerial floating object through a first connecting component at the top of the aircraft; controlling the aircraft to fly above the water surface floating object and establishing a fixed connection with the water surface floating object through a second connecting component at the bottom of the aircraft. When the aircraft establishes a connection with the floating object according to the connection orientation, the lift of the floating object is obtained by the aircraft when the preset pickup conditions are met; specifically, this includes: monitoring the motion state of the floating object during the process of reducing the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft; when the floating object in the air no longer rises in the air, or when the top of the floating object on the water surface is submerged below the water surface, determining that the motion state meets the pickup conditions, and recording the current reduction amplitude of the vertical propulsion component; When the aircraft is moving while carrying the floating object, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced according to the lift.
5. The floating debris cleaning and control device according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it also implements: When the floating object is detected within the image recognition range of the aircraft, the background environment and current motion state of the floating object are acquired; When the background environment is determined to be the sky and the motion state includes upward motion, the floating object is determined to be an aerial floating object; when the background environment is determined to be a body of water and the motion state is floating motion, the floating object is determined to be a surface floating object.
6. The floating debris cleaning and control device according to claim 5, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it also implements: Determine the current assisted flight range based on the background environment and the aircraft's recovery location; Within the assisted flight range, the vertical propulsion component of the aircraft is reduced by the reduction amplitude until the aircraft carrying the floating object flies out of the assisted flight range.
7. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a floating debris removal control program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the floating debris removal control method as described in any one of claims 1 to 3.