Domain controller system for autonomous collaborative navigation of mother-and-child ships

Abstract

The present invention relates to a domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of a mother-and-child ship, belonging to the technical field of multi-ship cooperative autonomous navigation, the system comprising: a first Orin chip, used to determine the environmental perception information of the waters around the mother ship and the child ship based on data collected by a first sensor and a second sensor; a second Orin chip, used to determine the posture information of the mother ship and the posture information of the child ship based on the environmental perception information, and determine the motor control instructions based on the posture information of the child ship; an MCU, used to control the cooperative navigation between the mother ship and the child ship based on the motor control instructions. The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of a mother-and-child ship provided by the present invention realizes the highly autonomous navigation capability of the mother ship and the child ship by utilizing the computing power and sensor data processing capability of the Orin chip, effectively adjusts the motor control instructions through accurate calculation of environmental perception and posture information, and ensures a safe distance between the ships and effective cooperative navigation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of multi-ship coordinated autonomous navigation, and in particular to a domain controller system for autonomous coordinated navigation of mother and daughter ships. Background Art

[0002] The high-pile wharf is a building with complex load conditions. It not only has to bear vertical loads such as the wharf's own weight, stacking, and vehicle machinery, but also horizontal forces such as water flow force, wave force, ship mooring force, ship impact force, and loading and unloading machinery operations. Once the high-pile wharf is damaged and collapsed, the consequences are catastrophic. Therefore, the regular monitoring of the health of the pile foundation of the high-pile wharf and the water conditions under the high piles is related to the work safety of the wharf. With the rapid development of unmanned ship intelligent technology, it is imperative to use unmanned ships for operation tasks, but it is obviously not advisable for a single unmanned ship to be suitable for various operation tasks and operation scenarios. In open waters, unmanned ships need to have sufficient energy supply to achieve long-term endurance and large-scale operations. Therefore, the size of the unmanned ship will inevitably not be too small, but when operating in narrow waters, there are problems such as small space, poor signal, and inaccurate positioning. A small unmanned ship is required to complete the operation in a local area. At present, a single unmanned ship cannot meet the above two scenarios at the same time.

[0003] At present, high-pile waters are restricted waters, with small internal space, complex environment, turbulent water flow, poor communication, inaccurate positioning and other difficulties, and limited means for detecting high pile foundations. Unmanned ships also have the problem of not being able to be used universally. Medium and large unmanned ships can achieve accurate environmental perception, long-term endurance, and large-scale operations, but they cannot enter and operate in waters with extreme scenes and many restricted conditions. At this time, small unmanned ships are needed to enter and complete the corresponding tasks, but small unmanned ships have problems such as short endurance and limited equipment that can be carried.

[0004] It is possible to form a formation by using medium or large mother ships and multiple small daughter ships to meet different needs. However, the realization of the autonomous navigation function of unmanned ships requires a variety of sensors to perceive the water environment around the ship, the ship's own status, controllers to process data, make decisions and calculate algorithms, and actuators to issue commands and control. This series of functional processes is highly complex and highly coupled, which is not conducive to the adaptation of new electrical equipment, the parallel development of multiple information interactions and other functions, resulting in poor control effects when multiple ships are sailing in coordination. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, it is necessary to provide a domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships to solve the problem that the existing control effect is poor during the cooperative navigation of multiple ships.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships, comprising:

[0007] The first Orin chip, the second Orin chip and the MCU;

[0008] The first Orin chip is used to determine environmental perception information of the waters around the mother ship and the daughter ship based on data collected by the first sensor and the second sensor; the first sensor is arranged on the mother ship; and the second sensor is arranged on the daughter ship;

[0009] The second Orin chip is used to determine the position information of the mother ship and the position information of the daughter ship based on the environmental perception information, and determine the motor control instruction based on the position information of the daughter ship;

[0010] The MCU is used to control the coordinated navigation between the mother ship and the daughter ship based on the motor control instruction.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the mother ship is provided with the following modules:

[0012] A first sensor, a first communication module, a first decision module, a first execution module, a first task module and a first energy module;

[0013] The first sensor includes: visual sensor, laser radar, AIS, RTK, compass, millimeter wave radar, infrared radar and navigation radar;

[0014] The first communication module includes: a 4G communication module, a 5G communication module, a WiFi communication module, a digital image transmission radio, a Lora communication module and a VHF communication module;

[0015] The first decision module includes a plurality of domain controllers;

[0016] The first execution module includes an electric regulator, a steering gear and a thruster;

[0017] The first mission module includes sonar equipment and hydrological and meteorological equipment;

[0018] The first energy module includes equipment batteries, power batteries, shore-based power supply modules and emergency power supplies.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the sub-ship is provided with the following modules:

[0020] A second sensor, a second communication module, a second decision module, a second execution module, a second task module and a second energy module;

[0021] The second sensor includes a millimeter wave radar and a visual sensor;

[0022] The second communication module includes a digital image transmission radio;

[0023] The second decision module includes a domain controller;

[0024] The second execution module includes an electric regulator and a thruster;

[0025] The second task module includes sonar equipment or hydrological and meteorological equipment;

[0026] The second energy module includes an equipment battery and a power battery.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the mother ship and the daughter ship perform image synchronization via the visual sensor.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the mother ship and the daughter ship communicate via the digital image transmission radio station.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the first Orin chip and the second Orin chip both include the following interfaces:

[0030] CSI interface, IO interface, UART interface, CAN interface, USB interface, HDMI interface, PCIE interface and SPI interface.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the MCU includes the following interfaces:

[0032] RGMII interface, SPI interface, IO interface, CAN interface, LIN interface and PWM interface.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0034] A built-in network switch is used for data exchange between the first Orin chip, the second Orin chip and the MCU.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the position information of the daughter ship includes: heading information of the daughter ship and position information of the daughter ship;

[0036] The second Orin chip is specifically used for:

[0037] Determining a heading deviation angle based on a difference between the heading information of the daughter ship and an expected heading of dynamic positioning;

[0038] Determining a deviation distance based on the distance between the position information of the daughter ship and the expected position of the dynamic positioning;

[0039] The motor control instruction is generated based on the heading deviation angle and the deviation distance.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the second Orin chip is specifically used for:

[0041] Based on the RTK positioning system and the visual positioning system, the position and posture information of the mother ship and the position and posture information of the daughter ship are determined.

[0042] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother and daughter ships provided by the present invention determines the environmental perception information of the waters around the mother ship and the daughter ship according to the data collected by the first sensor and the second sensor through the first Orin chip, and the second Orin chip determines the posture information of the mother ship and the daughter ship according to the global environmental perception information provided by the first Orin chip, and the posture information includes the position and posture of each ship, and generates motor control instructions according to the posture information of the daughter ship to ensure that the daughter ship travels according to the established route and speed. The MCU, as the centralized control unit of the system, can be responsible for coordinating the navigation between the mother ship and the daughter ship according to the motor control instructions generated by the second Orin chip, to ensure that the mother ship and the daughter ship can effectively cooperate and realize precise cooperative operation when synchronous navigation or independent execution of tasks. By utilizing the powerful computing power and sensor data processing capabilities of the Orin chip, the highly autonomous navigation capability of the mother ship and the daughter ship is realized, and through the precise calculation of environmental perception and posture information, the motor control instructions can be effectively adjusted to ensure a safe distance and effective cooperative navigation between the ships. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0044] Figure 1 One of the structural schematic diagrams of an embodiment of a domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided by the present invention;

[0045] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the dynamic positioning principle provided by the present invention;

[0046] Figure 3 A second structural diagram of an embodiment of a domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of a mother-and-child ship provided by the present invention;

[0047] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided by the present invention;

[0048] Figure 5 A software flow chart of the multi-ship collaborative domain controller provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0050] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, "A and / or B" may mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone.

[0051] The descriptions of "first", "second", etc. involved in the embodiments of the present invention are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the technical features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features.

[0052] Figure 1 One of the structural diagrams of an embodiment of a domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of a mother-and-child ship provided by the present invention is as follows Figure 1 As shown, the domain controller system for autonomous collaborative navigation of mother and child ships includes:

[0053] A first Orin chip 110, a second Orin chip 120 and an MCU 130;

[0054] The first Orin chip 110 is used to determine the environmental perception information of the waters around the mother ship and the daughter ship based on the data collected by the first sensor and the second sensor; the first sensor is arranged on the mother ship; the second sensor is arranged on the daughter ship;

[0055] The second Orin chip 120 is used to determine the position information of the mother ship and the position information of the daughter ship based on the environmental perception information, and determine the motor control instruction based on the position information of the daughter ship;

[0056] The MCU 130 is used to control the coordinated navigation between the mother ship and the daughter ship based on the motor control instruction.

[0057] It should be noted that the domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided by the present invention includes two systems on chip (SoC), namely a first Orin chip and a second Orin chip, and the models can be NVIDIA Orin A and Orin B respectively. The model of MCU can be Infineon microcontroller unit MCU.

[0058] The first Orin chip is used to receive sensor data from multiple sensors, and to judge and process the sensor data to realize the perception of the water environment around the ship. The second Orin chip realizes the perception of the ship's own state and the ship completes the corresponding navigation and motion functions according to the mission requirements. The MCU executes the drive system control function to realize motor control and motor state detection.

[0059] Specifically, the first Orin chip is used to process data from the first sensor and the second sensor. The first sensor is installed on the mother ship, and the second sensor is installed on the daughter ship. Its main task is to collect environmental perception information, such as obstacles in the water, the location of other ships, etc.

[0060] The second Orin chip can use the environmental perception information collected by the first Orin chip to calculate and determine the position information of the mother ship and the daughter ship. By processing the position information of the daughter ship, the motor control instructions are generated to drive the motor of the daughter ship to achieve heading control and navigation path planning.

[0061] The MCU receives and executes the motor control instructions from the second Orin chip. It is responsible for real-time control of the coordinated navigation between the mother ship and the daughter ship. The MCU may communicate with the motor driver through various interfaces to control the speed and direction of the motor, thereby ensuring that the mother ship and the daughter ship maintain a good distance and relative position during the coordinated navigation process.

[0062] Compared with the prior art, the domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother and daughter ships provided in an embodiment of the present invention determines the environmental perception information of the waters around the mother ship and the daughter ship according to the data collected by the first sensor and the second sensor through the first Orin chip, and the second Orin chip determines the posture information of the mother ship and the daughter ship according to the global environmental perception information provided by the first Orin chip, and the posture information includes the position and posture of each ship, and generates motor control instructions according to the posture information of the daughter ship to ensure that the daughter ship travels according to the established route and speed. The MCU, as the centralized control unit of the system, can be responsible for coordinating the navigation between the mother ship and the daughter ship according to the motor control instructions generated by the second Orin chip, to ensure that the mother ship and the daughter ship can effectively cooperate and realize precise cooperative operation when synchronous navigation or independent execution of tasks. By utilizing the powerful computing power and sensor data processing capabilities of the Orin chip, a highly autonomous navigation capability of the mother ship and the daughter ship is achieved. Through the precise calculation of environmental perception and posture information, the motor control instructions can be effectively adjusted to ensure a safe distance and effective cooperative navigation between the ships.

[0063] In some embodiments of the present invention, the mother ship is provided with the following modules:

[0064] A first sensor, a first communication module, a first decision module, a first execution module, a first task module and a first energy module;

[0065] The first sensor includes: visual sensor, laser radar, AIS, RTK, compass, millimeter wave radar, infrared radar and navigation radar;

[0066] The first communication module includes: a 4G communication module, a 5G communication module, a WiFi communication module, a digital image transmission radio, a Lora communication module and a VHF communication module;

[0067] The first decision module includes a plurality of domain controllers;

[0068] The first execution module includes an electric regulator, a steering gear and a thruster;

[0069] The first mission module includes sonar equipment and hydrological and meteorological equipment;

[0070] The first energy module includes equipment batteries, power batteries, shore-based power supply modules and emergency power supplies.

[0071] Exemplarily, the daughter ship and the mother ship need to be equipped with different hardware functional modules respectively, and the mother ship includes a first perception module (i.e., a first sensor), a first communication module, a first decision module, a first execution module, a first task module and a first energy module.

[0072] The sub-ship is equipped with different hardware functional modules according to different mission requirements, which may include a second perception module (i.e., a second sensor), a second communication module, a second decision-making module, a second execution module, an optional second mission module and a second energy module.

[0073] The mother ship's first sensor includes a comprehensive multi-sensor solution including visual sensors, lidar, AIS, RTK, compass, millimeter-wave radar, infrared radar and navigation radar.

[0074] Among them, visual sensors can provide visual information, which can be cameras and image processing devices. LiDAR is used for distance measurement and environmental perception. AIS is used for automatic identification system of ships, which is used for ship positioning and traffic management. RTK is a real-time kinematic positioning system, which is used to provide high-precision position information. Compass is a heading sensor, which is used to measure the direction of the ship. Millimeter wave radar is used for long-distance object detection and tracking. Infrared radar can detect infrared radiation for target identification. Navigation radar is used to detect obstacles and other ships in the surrounding waters.

[0075] These sensors are responsible for collecting detailed information about the ship's surroundings, including visual images, distance data, ship identity information, precise position, heading, speed, and information about obstacles.

[0076] The first communication module includes a 4G communication module, a 5G communication module, a WiFi communication module, a digital image transmission radio, a Lora communication module, a VHF communication module and other communication modules.

[0077] Among them, 4G communication module, 5G communication module and WiFi communication module can provide different wireless communication options. Digital image transmission radio is a digital image transmission device. Lora communication module is a long-distance, low-power wireless communication module. VHF communication module is used for short-distance communication and emergency communication.

[0078] The first decision-making module is the domain controller, which is divided into environment perception domain controller, autonomous navigation domain controller, task execution domain controller and others according to different functions.

[0079] Among them, the first decision-making module includes multiple domain controllers, which are used to integrate sensor data, perform environmental analysis and navigation decisions, and generate navigation decisions and instructions, including route planning, obstacle avoidance strategies, task allocation, etc.

[0080] The first execution module includes ESC, servo, thruster and others;

[0081] Among them, the ESC is a motor controller used to adjust the speed and direction of the motor. The steering gear is used to control the position of the rudder to achieve the steering of the ship. The thruster is used to provide propulsion for the ship.

[0082] The first mission module includes sonar equipment such as multi-beam, single-beam, and side-scan sonar, as well as hydrological and meteorological equipment such as water quality analyzers, water quality samplers, current meters, and wind direction and anemometers;

[0083] Among them, sonar equipment is used to measure water depth and detect underwater objects. Hydrometeorological equipment is used to measure ocean and atmospheric conditions, such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, etc.

[0084] The first energy module includes equipment batteries, power batteries, shore-based power supply modules and emergency power supplies.

[0085] Among them, equipment batteries are used to power various electronic devices. Power batteries are used to power electric motors and propellers. Shore-based power supply modules are used to access shore power when moored. Emergency power supply is a backup power supply that can ensure that the ship's functions can still be maintained when the main power supply fails.

[0086] The domain controller system for autonomous collaborative navigation of mother and daughter ships provided in an embodiment of the present invention enables the mother ship to perform various tasks in a complex and changeable marine environment, including navigation, environmental monitoring, communication, decision-making and energy management, by carrying multiple hardware functional modules on the mother ship.

[0087] In some embodiments of the present invention, the sub-ship is provided with the following modules:

[0088] A second sensor, a second communication module, a second decision module, a second execution module, a second task module and a second energy module;

[0089] The second sensor includes a millimeter wave radar and a visual sensor;

[0090] The second communication module includes a digital image transmission radio;

[0091] The second decision module includes a domain controller;

[0092] The second execution module includes an electric regulator and a thruster;

[0093] The second task module includes sonar equipment or hydrological and meteorological equipment;

[0094] The second energy module includes an equipment battery and a power battery.

[0095] The sub-ship is equipped with different functions according to different mission requirements, including a second perception module (i.e., a second sensor), a second communication module, a second decision-making module, a second execution module, an optional second mission module and a second energy module.

[0096] Due to the limited size of the daughter ship, the equipment modules that can be carried are more streamlined. In high-pile waters, the daughter ship mainly relies on the mother ship for positioning.

[0097] The second perception module includes millimeter-wave radar and a visual camera.

[0098] Millimeter-wave radar is used to detect obstacles and water surface conditions around the ship, while visual sensors are used to capture images of the environment.

[0099] The second communication module includes a digital image transmission radio, which is used to communicate with the mother ship and transmit data with the mother ship to ensure that the daughter ship can receive instructions from the mother ship and feedback its own status.

[0100] The second decision module includes a domain controller, which only requires a small domain controller with average performance to perform simple algorithm calculations.

[0101] The second execution module includes electric regulators and thrusters, and uses differential speed to control the movement of the sub-ship.

[0102] The second mission module includes single mission equipment, such as sonar equipment or hydrological and meteorological equipment, which is used to operate in high-pile waters and perform specific tasks, such as underwater detection or meteorological monitoring, to support the operational needs of the mother ship.

[0103] The second energy module includes an equipment battery and a power battery. Optionally, it can also be a single battery that only needs to provide power to the power and equipment.

[0104] The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of a mother-and-child ship provided by the embodiment of the present invention, by carrying multiple hardware function modules on the daughter ship, enables the modular design of the daughter ship to efficiently perform specific tasks and work in coordination with the mother ship to jointly complete complex water operation tasks. The daughter ship can closely cooperate with the mother ship while maintaining a certain degree of autonomy, thereby improving the operating efficiency and safety of the entire fleet.

[0105] In some embodiments of the present invention, the mother ship and the daughter ship perform image synchronization via the visual sensor.

[0106] The mother ship can capture images or videos of the surrounding environment through its own visual sensors. The daughter ship can also capture images or videos through its own visual sensors and send them to the mother ship through wireless transmission. The mother ship receives the visual data from the daughter ship and performs real-time monitoring or analysis through data processing and display equipment.

[0107] The mother ship and the daughter ship can synchronize their images through visual sensors, and the image information captured by the cameras or visual sensors on the two ships can be shared and displayed synchronously in real time. This allows the mother ship operator to see the situation around the daughter ship in real time, so as to make better decisions and commands. Image synchronization is very important for coordinating the actions between the two ships and performing complex tasks such as formation navigation, rescue operations or multi-ship collaborative investigations. It improves the accuracy and safety of operations and ensures efficient operation.

[0108] The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided in an embodiment of the present invention can achieve time alignment of sensor equipment data by carrying different sensor equipment on multiple mother-and-child ships. Both the mother-and-child ships are equipped with visual sensors, and real-time image synchronization is achieved for the visual sensors on the mother-and-child ships.

[0109] In some embodiments of the present invention, the mother ship and the daughter ship communicate via the digital image transmission radio.

[0110] The digital image transmission radio is a digital image transmission device that can be used to transmit high-definition images or videos. The daughter ship is equipped with a digital image transmission radio, which can be used to transmit captured image or video data. The mother ship is equipped with corresponding receiving equipment, which can receive and process the image or video data sent from the daughter ship. This enables the mother ship to obtain real-time visual information of the environment of the daughter ship, and transmit high-quality images through the digital image transmission radio, thereby supporting various remote operations and monitoring.

[0111] The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother and daughter ships provided in an embodiment of the present invention can establish a stable communication link between the mother ship and the daughter ship through a digital image transmission radio. Through the digital image transmission radio, the two ships can not only exchange data information, but also transmit control instructions, status information and image data. The characteristics of this communication method include long transmission distance, strong anti-interference ability, high data transmission rate, etc., which is suitable for communication needs between surface ships. The application of digital image transmission radio allows the mother ship to monitor the status of the daughter ship in real time and adjust the action plan of the daughter ship as needed. At the same time, the daughter ship can also promptly feedback its own situation and the progress of task execution to the mother ship, thereby realizing close cooperation between the two ships.

[0112] In some embodiments of the present invention, the first Orin chip and the second Orin chip both include the following interfaces:

[0113] CSI interface, IO interface, UART interface, CAN interface, USB interface, HDMI interface, PCIE interface and SPI interface.

[0114] The first Orin chip is a perception module, including: CSI interface, IO interface, UART interface, CAN interface, USB interface, HDMI interface, PCIE interface and SPI interface.

[0115] The CSI interface is used to connect the camera module and transmit the image data collected by the camera. It can connect multiple GMSL cameras.

[0116] The IO interface is a universal input and output interface used to connect external devices or sensors to achieve pulse synchronization.

[0117] UART interface is used to realize serial communication and connect various external devices and communication modules.

[0118] The CAN interface can connect multiple millimeter-wave radars.

[0119] The USB interface can be connected to digital radio communication and other external connection devices;

[0120] The HDMI interface is used for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, which is used to connect an external display or other HDMI devices.

[0121] The PCIE interface and SPI interface are connected to the built-in network switch to achieve Ethernet communication;

[0122] The IO interface and SPI interface are connected to the MCU for information exchange.

[0123] The second Orin chip is a functional module, and its physical protocol includes IO port, CAN interface and UART serial port. It mainly senses the ship status of RTK, GPS, IMU and compass, obtains the ship's position, speed, heading and attitude information, and then calculates this data to realize the unmanned ship's dynamic positioning, autonomous line tracking, autonomous return, space exploration, target tracking and autonomous collision avoidance.

[0124] The USB interface can be connected to digital radio communication and other external connection devices.

[0125] The HDMI port can be used to connect an external display.

[0126] The PCIE interface and SPI interface are connected to the built-in network switch to realize Ethernet communication.

[0127] The IO interface and SPI interface are connected to the MCU for information exchange.

[0128] The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes multiple interfaces through the first Orin chip and the second Orin chip, which provide the Orin chip with rich communication and expansion capabilities, so that it can be seamlessly connected with various external devices and systems to meet the complex needs of the autonomous navigation system. Through these interfaces, the Orin chip can receive sensor data, control actuators, connect to external communication networks, and perform the existence of these interfaces, which makes the Orin chip more flexible and functional when connecting and controlling external devices, and is suitable for high-speed data processing in various application scenarios, thereby realizing precise control and decision support for autonomous navigation ships.

[0129] In some embodiments of the present invention, the position information of the daughter ship includes: heading information of the daughter ship and position information of the daughter ship;

[0130] The second Orin chip is specifically used for:

[0131] Determining a heading deviation angle based on a difference between the heading information of the daughter ship and an expected heading of dynamic positioning;

[0132] Determining a deviation distance based on the distance between the position information of the daughter ship and the expected position of the dynamic positioning;

[0133] The motor control instruction is generated based on the heading deviation angle and the deviation distance.

[0134] The second Orin chip can use the principle of dynamic positioning to locate the daughter ship. The specific calculation process is as follows: Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the dynamic positioning principle provided by the present invention, such as Figure 2 As shown, two thresholds are set , .in is the set dynamic positioning radius, and the enclosed area is called the set dynamic positioning area; The dynamic positioning radius specified in the technical requirements, the area enclosed is called the dynamic positioning area specified in the technical requirements, where ( ).

[0135] The location of the unmanned surface vessel (USV) is obtained through the GPS and IMU sensors carried on the USV. and heading , defines the heading deviation angle is the USV heading With the expected direction The difference is calculated as follows:

[0136]

[0137]

[0138] Among them, due to , so , need to The following restrictions are applied:

[0139]

[0140] After treatment satisfy

[0141] Define the deviation distance D The current position of the USV and the expected position of the dynamic positioning The distance is calculated as follows:

[0142]

[0143] when By judging the heading deviation angle The size of the angle determines the USV motion control rules. Set an angle threshold Since the desired heading of the USV always points to the desired position of the dynamic positioning, Control the USV to turn in place ;when Control the USV to turn in place ;when When When , control the USV to move backward.

[0144] The control method is to select the heading deviation angle and deviation distance as control variables and input them into the controller. The controller adjusts the power output of the motor in real time by generating motor control instructions, thereby controlling the speed and heading of the USV to make it sail to the desired dynamic positioning area.

[0145] When the deviation distance of the USV is less than the set dynamic positioning radius, that is, When the voltage is stopped from being output to the thrusters on the left and right sides of the USV, the controller continues to monitor the deviation distance of the USV in real time. When the deviation distance of the USV is greater than the set dynamic positioning radius due to the influence of wind, waves and currents, that is, The controller continues to adjust the heading and speed of the USV in real time to make it sail to the desired position of dynamic positioning, thereby performing dynamic positioning of the USV.

[0146] The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of a mother-and-child ship provided in an embodiment of the present invention can realize precise control and adjustment of the movement of the child ship to ensure that it moves according to the desired heading and position.

[0147] In some embodiments of the present invention, the second Orin chip is specifically used for:

[0148] Based on the RTK positioning system and the visual positioning system, the position and posture information of the mother ship and the position and posture information of the daughter ship are determined.

[0149] Second, the Orin chip can determine the position information of the mother ship and the daughter ship based on the RTK positioning system and the visual positioning system.

[0150] Exemplarily, the present invention provides an autonomous return method based on RTK and visual positioning multi-data fusion. The specific return process is: after completing the mission, the unmanned boat will return from the mission area and rush into the designed unmanned boat autonomous return area 500m away from the mother ship. In the remote recovery area, the unmanned boat only needs to continuously approach the mother ship, and does not require particularly accurate position and attitude information. Therefore, the use of the RTK positioning system can achieve the acquisition of posture information at a longer distance.

[0151] In the short-range guidance area, the unmanned boat needs to be accurately aligned with the centerline of the mother ship's stern slide. Accurate position and attitude information of the unmanned boat is very important for the unmanned boat to return autonomously. Therefore, the visual positioning system is used to obtain accurate position and attitude information at close range.

[0152] At the same time, the coordinate system origins of the two positioning systems are unified. When the visual positioning system is in a visual blind spot, the system will automatically switch to the RTK navigation positioning system until the visual system returns to normal, ensuring the accuracy and real-time nature of the position and attitude data during the autonomous return process.

[0153] The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother and daughter ships provided in an embodiment of the present invention provides accurate position information for the mother ship and daughter ship by integrating data from the RTK positioning system and the visual positioning system, thereby achieving precise navigation control, ensuring navigation safety and improving operational efficiency.

[0154] In some embodiments of the present invention, the MCU includes the following interfaces:

[0155] RGMII interface, SPI interface, IO interface, CAN interface, LIN interface and PWM interface.

[0156] MCU is a microcontroller, and the physical protocol includes RGMII to connect with the built-in network switch to realize data interaction.

[0157] The RGMII interface is a Gigabit Ethernet interface used to connect to high-speed Ethernet communications.

[0158] The SPI interface and IO interface are directly connected to the SoC to achieve communication.

[0159] ADC includes AI (analog signal input), AO (analog signal output), DI (digital signal input), and DO (digital signal output).

[0160] The CAN interface realizes the connection of multiple servos and thrusters, and completes the control of the motor through CAN bus communication.

[0161] The LIN interface can also control the motor through LIN bus communication.

[0162] The IO interface is designed as high and low side signals, and is further designed as a PWM interface to control the motor;

[0163] The SPI interface completes the watchdog function design and realizes the monitoring of the motor running status.

[0164] The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided in an embodiment of the present invention realizes efficient communication with various external devices and systems through the MCU including multiple interfaces, thereby ensuring the stability and reliability of the navigation system.

[0165] In some embodiments of the present invention, it further comprises:

[0166] A built-in network switch is used for data exchange between the first Orin chip, the second Orin chip and the MCU.

[0167] ETH SWITCH is a built-in network switch, which is equipped with PCIE signals, 100M Ethernet signals, Gigabit Ethernet signals, power signals, control signals and other configurations. It can realize Ethernet communication between autonomous navigation domain controllers, and data exchange between the first Orin chip, the second Orin chip and the MCU. At the same time, it can complete Ethernet communication with external electrical equipment, such as POE cameras and lidars. It can realize the construction of local area networks, such as the identification, connection and data interaction between multiple sub-ships and the mother ship by building a digital image transmission radio; it can realize access to external networks, such as information transmission with shore, cloud and other devices through 4G, 5G, satellite networks, etc.

[0168] The built-in network switch can process and manage data traffic between different devices, manage multiple ports, and support fast forwarding and routing of data packets, thereby effectively connecting and managing the communication between the first Orin chip and the second Orin chip and the MCU, enabling the entire system to achieve high-speed data transmission and complex collaborative work, which is suitable for application scenarios that require large amounts of data exchange and collaborative processing.

[0169] For example, Figure 3 The second structural diagram of an embodiment of a domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of a mother-and-child ship provided by the present invention is as follows: Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided by the present invention, Figure 5 A software flow chart of the multi-ship collaborative domain controller provided by the present invention.

[0170] The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided by the present invention can achieve matching and information transmission between mother-and-child ships, while reducing the complexity and coupling of realizing autonomous navigation functions of a single ship and reducing development costs.

[0171] like Figure 3 As shown, the present invention aims at the architecture design of Orin A (i.e., the first Orin chip), Orin B (i.e., the second Orin chip) and each partition of the MCU to achieve balanced computing power of each component, and two different SoCs are designed and selected according to different needs.

[0172] Orin A is aimed at perception and recognition, and needs to process sensors such as lidar, visual cameras, millimeter-wave radar and infrared radar at the same time, which requires high computing power.

[0173] Orin B is oriented towards algorithm calculations and the realization of related motion functions, and has high real-time requirements. Based on this, it balances the computing power of the two through application software configuration and service configuration to achieve the maximum configuration width domain and cost combination.

[0174] like Figure 3 As shown, Orin A of the present invention is oriented to the environmental perception module to realize multi-sensor perception application, and its application includes a display subsystem, a perception subsystem and an antenna subsystem.

[0175] The display subsystem is a visual human-computer interaction interface that visualizes the processed environmental perception information, including real-time visual images around the mother ship, real-time visual images around the daughter ship, information on dynamic objects around the mother ship, and relevant warning information around the daughter ship and the mother ship.

[0176] The perception subsystem is a physical interface reserved for connecting different sensors, which can implement different communication protocols and pre-install corresponding drivers. Specifically, it includes a four-core shielded cable for the millimeter-wave radar. The four cores are 12V power line, GND, CAN_H and CAN_L. Data is transmitted through the CANFD communication protocol and the device driver is pre-installed.

[0177] The antenna subsystem is an external antenna for related sensors to enhance communication and improve accuracy.

[0178] like Figure 3 As shown, Orin B of the present invention is oriented to functional modules to realize motion task applications, and its applications include display subsystem, perception subsystem, motion subsystem and antenna subsystem.

[0179] The display subsystem displays the mother ship's unmanned ship's own position, heading, speed, attitude and other information, and also displays the status information of multiple daughter ships.

[0180] The perception subsystem calculates the position and posture information of the mother ship, and the daughter ship calculates the position and posture information of the daughter ship through the mother ship.

[0181] The motion subsystem is responsible for realizing the motion function of the mother ship. It mainly receives the environmental data processed by the perception subsystem, calculates the algorithms related to different motion functions, and then controls the voltage value of the output motor according to the electrical characteristics of the motor and the communication protocol, thereby completing the realization of the motion function. The motion functions specifically include dynamic positioning, autonomous line following, autonomous return, space exploration, target tracking and autonomous collision avoidance.

[0182] The antenna subsystem includes sensor peripheral antennas, external network communication antennas and local area network communication antennas. The sensor peripheral antennas include RTK positioning antennas, RTK directional antennas, and remote control external antennas. The external network communication antennas are 4G module and 5G module communication antennas. The local area network antennas are digital image transmission radio antennas and WiFi antennas.

[0183] like Figure 4 As shown in the figure, the domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-child ships includes multiple interfaces and modules, such as input / output interface, power management unit, ship-wide signal acquisition unit, etc. Each module has its specific function, such as the data processing unit is responsible for processing core data, the power management unit is responsible for power supply, etc. In addition, there are various communication interfaces, such as Ethernet interface, CAN bus interface, etc., for communicating with other devices or systems.

[0184] like Figure 5 As shown in the figure, the domain controller system for autonomous collaborative navigation of mother-and-child ships involves multiple aspects such as the decision-making end, parameter identification, identification method, identification output, etc., as well as how to extract information from the ship's maneuvering response data set, the ship's own data, etc., and ultimately control the ship's motion through actuators.

[0185] The partitions of the present invention can achieve data intercommunication to the maximum extent, meeting the requirements of function allocation and interaction. At the data intercommunication level, Gigabit Ethernet and PCIE communication channels are used. Ethernet realizes the communication architecture between the two processors, and data can be mutually scheduled based on overall needs. PCIE realizes direct memory access between the two processors and high-real-time transfer of large amounts of data between the two processors.

[0186] The present invention supports hardware reservation and flexible configuration expansion or reduction to adapt to different configuration requirements. The hardware expansion and reduction can be realized through pluggable interfaces, and the flexible allocation of functions of each hardware interface can be realized through software configuration. Data intercommunication can be realized to the maximum extent between partitions to meet the requirements of function allocation and interaction. Support hardware reservation and flexible configuration expansion or reduction to adapt to different configuration requirements.

[0187] The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother and daughter ships provided by the embodiment of the present invention can enable large and medium-sized unmanned ships to navigate autonomously in open waters, and small unmanned ships can turn off power and follow the navigation of medium and large unmanned ships through physical connection. When arriving at restricted waters such as high-pile waters, find a water area outside high piles with accurate positioning, good signal, and large radiation range, set it as the mother ship's berthing place, release multiple daughter ships to the surrounding area, and complete the daughter ship's detection of the pile foundation status in the high-pile waters and the detection of hydrological information in the high-pile waters.

[0188] Distributed control based on domain controllers is similar to decentralized control. Different unmanned boats are equipped with different independent domain controllers. The domain controllers implement individual control through local perception and communication, and do not need to master all the status information of the group. Unlike decentralized control, there is information exchange between distributed domain controllers. Since the perception, communication, and control of information are decentralized, the cost of information communication is greatly reduced, the control is more flexible, the operation is more convenient, and it has high fault tolerance and scalability. Since distributed control does not require global communication, it reduces the requirements for communication bandwidth, and is therefore more suitable for water environments with limited communication.

[0189] In addition, the domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided by the embodiment of the present invention can realize the identity alignment between the daughter ship and the mother ship. By building a local area network, the daughter ship and the mother ship can communicate through a digital image transmission radio or a cellular network in high-pile waters, and complete the mutual identity recognition according to the daughter ship ID authentication, and then realize the mutual information transmission, etc. Time alignment between the daughter ship and the mother ship can be realized. Based on the different sensor devices carried by multiple daughter ships and the mother ship, the time alignment of the sensor device data can be realized. For example, both the daughter ship and the mother ship are equipped with visual sensors, and real-time image synchronization is realized for the visual sensors on the daughter ship. Spatial alignment between the daughter ship and the mother ship can be realized. Facing the different sensors carried by the daughter ship and the mother ship, the distance recognition between the daughter ship and the mother ship can be realized, and the position perception of the daughter ship can be completed based on the mother ship's own positioning, and then the relevant operation tasks can be completed.

[0190] The domain controller system for autonomous collaborative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided by the embodiment of the present invention realizes the multi-ship collaborative function between mother-and-child ships, solves the identification of the identities of mother-and-child ships in the local area network, matches the handshake and realizes information transmission, and processes the transmitted data information to realize time alignment, i.e., space alignment and other functions. In addition, for a single mother-and-child ship, in order to meet different tasks, different sensors are carried to perform operations, reduce the system complexity of the entire multi-ship collaboration, enhance the decoupling capability, and improve the adaptability between different electrical equipment to realize plug-and-recognition and use of equipment.

[0191] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the processes of the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented by instructing related hardware (such as a processor, a controller, etc.) through a computer program, and the computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is a disk, an optical disk, a read-only storage memory, or a random access memory, etc.

[0192] The domain controller system for autonomous collaborative navigation of mother-and-child ships provided by the present invention is introduced in detail above. Specific examples are used in this article to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method of the present invention and its core idea; at the same time, for technical personnel in this field, according to the idea of ​​the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation method and scope of application. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

Claims

1. A domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships, characterized in that: include: The first Orin chip, the second Orin chip and the MCU; The first Orin chip is used to determine environmental perception information of the waters around the mother ship and the daughter ship based on data collected by the first sensor and the second sensor; the first sensor is arranged on the mother ship; and the second sensor is arranged on the daughter ship; The second Orin chip is used to determine the position information of the mother ship and the position information of the daughter ship based on the environmental perception information, and determine the motor control instruction based on the position information of the daughter ship; The MCU is used to control the coordinated navigation between the mother ship and the daughter ship based on the motor control instruction; The first Orin chip and the second Orin chip both include the following interfaces: CSI interface, IO interface, UART interface, CAN interface, USB interface, HDMI interface, PCIE interface and SPI interface; The position information of the daughter ship includes: the heading information of the daughter ship and the position information of the daughter ship; The second Orin chip is specifically used for: Determining a heading deviation angle based on a difference between the heading information of the daughter ship and an expected heading of dynamic positioning; Determining a deviation distance based on the distance between the position information of the daughter ship and the expected position of the dynamic positioning; generating the motor control instruction based on the heading deviation angle and the deviation distance; The step of generating the motor control instruction based on the heading deviation angle and the deviation distance includes: When the deviation distance is greater than or equal to a set dynamic positioning radius, generating the motor control instruction according to the heading deviation angle; when When the sub-ship is controlled to turn in place until ; when When the sub-ship is controlled to turn in place until ; when When the sub-ship is controlled to move forward; when When the sub-ship is controlled to move backward; represents the heading deviation angle, Indicates the set angle threshold. .

2. The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The mother ship is provided with the following modules: A first sensor, a first communication module, a first decision module, a first execution module, a first task module and a first energy module; The first sensor includes: visual sensor, laser radar, AIS, RTK, compass, millimeter wave radar, infrared radar and navigation radar; The first communication module includes: a 4G communication module, a 5G communication module, a WiFi communication module, a digital image transmission radio, a Lora communication module and a VHF communication module; The first decision module includes a plurality of domain controllers; The first execution module includes an electric regulator, a steering gear and a thruster; The first mission module includes sonar equipment and hydrological and meteorological equipment; The first energy module includes equipment batteries, power batteries, shore-based power supply modules and emergency power supplies.

3. The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The following modules are provided on the sub-ship: A second sensor, a second communication module, a second decision module, a second execution module, a second task module and a second energy module; The second sensor includes a millimeter wave radar and a visual sensor; The second communication module includes a digital image transmission radio; The second decision module includes a domain controller; The second execution module includes an electric regulator and a thruster; The second task module includes sonar equipment or hydrological and meteorological equipment; The second energy module includes an equipment battery and a power battery.

4. The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The mother ship and the daughter ship perform image synchronization via the visual sensor.

5. The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The mother ship and the daughter ship communicate via the digital image transmission radio station.

6. The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships according to claim 1, characterized in that: The MCU includes the following interfaces: RGMII interface, SPI interface, IO interface, CAN interface, LIN interface and PWM interface.

7. The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships according to claim 1 is characterized in that: Also includes: A built-in network switch is used for data exchange between the first Orin chip, the second Orin chip and the MCU.

8. The domain controller system for autonomous cooperative navigation of mother-and-child ships according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The second Orin chip is specifically used for: Based on the RTK positioning system and the visual positioning system, the position and posture information of the mother ship and the position and posture information of the daughter ship are determined.

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