System, method and application for intelligent inspection of unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle intelligent inspection system, method and application. The system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle, a mounting device, a data transmission device, an RTK differential positioning system, a ground station control receiving device and a ground station system connection platform. The mounting device is connected with the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle is controlled by the ground station remote control device or the handheld remote control device, the RTK differential positioning system controls the flight precision of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the mounting device is in communication connection with the ground station control receiving device through the data transmission device, and the ground station control receiving device is in communication connection with the ground station system connection platform. The inspection efficiency of the external pipeline network is greatly improved, the cost of manual inspection is effectively reduced, and the problems of safety and reliability of high-risk inspection operation are solved at low cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, and more specifically, to a system, method and application for intelligent inspection of unmanned aerial vehicles. Background Art

[0002] There are major problems with the existing information-based cable inspection technology. For example, the pipeline network is complex and involves various complex roads and buildings. Therefore, manual scheduled inspections are generally adopted at this stage, but it is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the labor cost is very high. There are also problems with inaccurate identification of responsibilities for external public area lines and untimely judgments.

[0003] In the past decade, drone technology has developed rapidly, with breakthrough improvements in stability and safety. The main operating mode of industrial drones is high-altitude flight. They can carry a variety of detection instruments and have flexible configuration. If drone technology can be applied to cable inspections, it will greatly improve work efficiency and reduce costs. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a system, method and application for drone intelligent inspection, which can greatly improve the inspection efficiency of external pipeline networks, effectively reduce the cost of manual inspections, and solve the safety and reliability problems of high-risk inspection operations at a low cost.

[0005] The above technical objectives of the present invention are achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0006] A system for unmanned aerial vehicle intelligent inspection, comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle, a mounting device, a data transmission device, an RTK differential positioning system, a ground station control receiving device and a ground station system connection platform;

[0007] The mounting device is connected to the UAV, and the UAV drives the mounting device into the air. The UAV is controlled by a remote control device. The RTK differential positioning system controls the centimeter-level flight accuracy of the UAV. The mounting device is connected to the ground station control receiving device through a data transmission device, and the acquired data is transmitted to the ground station control receiving device. The ground station control receiving device is connected to the ground station system connection platform. The ground station system connection platform includes a ground station system, a system assignment platform and a server storage platform. The ground station system analyzes the acquired data, the system assignment platform issues inspection tasks, and the server storage platform stores data.

[0008] In one embodiment, the drone includes one or more of a multi-axis drone, a vertical fixed-wing drone, and a fixed-wing drone. A suitable drone can be selected based on the inspection route or inspection requirements, and multiple drones can be dispatched during one inspection.

[0009] In one embodiment, the mounted device includes one or more of a camera, a zoom camera, a zoom detector, a sensor, a gimbal, a lidar, and a loudspeaker to realize regional data collection and modeling, and identify and discover faults and hidden dangers.

[0010] A method for drone intelligent inspection, using the above drone intelligent inspection system, including internal inspection of the machine room and external pipeline inspection, is as follows:

[0011] Internal inspection: An automatic drone operation airport is set up inside the machine room, and the inspection operation time, inspection operation content and inspection operation route planning are set. After completing the scheduled inspection operation, the drone automatically returns to the airport for charging and maintenance, and prepares for the next inspection operation;

[0012] The drone carries a high-definition camera or sensor scanning equipment, flies to the designated vertical or horizontal position according to the inspection route planning, reads various instruments and indicator lights in the machine room, transmits the acquired data to the ground station control receiving equipment, and sends it to the ground station system. The ground station system identifies, judges, analyzes, retains images and performs subsequent dispatch operations to complete an effective inspection process;

[0013] External pipeline inspection: The drone is equipped with cameras, sensors and lidar, and uses the RTK differential positioning system to determine the safe distance between the drone and the pipeline to be inspected according to the size of the drone body;

[0014] The pipeline condition is carefully inspected through cameras, sensors and lidar, and the real-time images and scanned images are instantly transmitted back to the ground station system for analysis, judgment and storage.

[0015] In one of the embodiments, during internal inspections, the inspection route planning of the drone refers to: according to the specific items that need to be inspected, the drone's altitude, speed, distance from the target and operation dwell time are set. After completing the inspection flight mission, the drone automatically returns to the drone airport along the planned route.

[0016] In one of the embodiments, during external pipeline inspection, the small UAV maintains a safe distance of 3 meters to 5 meters from the pipeline to be inspected.

[0017] In one of the embodiments, during external pipeline inspections, a medium-sized UAV maintains a safe distance of 5-10 meters from the pipeline to be inspected.

[0018] In one embodiment, during external pipeline inspection, a fixed-wing UAV is vertically launched or a fixed-wing UAV is kept at a safe distance of 100-500 meters from the pipeline to be inspected, and inspection is performed using a zoom camera and / or a zoom detector.

[0019] An application of unmanned aerial vehicle intelligent inspection, applying the above-mentioned unmanned aerial vehicle intelligent inspection system to pipeline inspection, road inspection, public security inspection, agricultural and forestry firefighting, emergency rescue, communication relay, and military fields.

[0020] In summary, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] The present invention greatly improves the inspection efficiency of the external pipeline network, effectively reduces the cost of manual inspection, and solves the safety and reliability problems of high-risk inspection operations at a low cost. The present invention can adopt a multi-flight scheduled cruise mode to minimize the constraints of the external environment on the inspection work. According to different scenarios, it can be equipped with cameras, sensors, pan-tilt heads, laser radars, loudspeakers and other mounts to collect and model regional data, and identify and discover faults and hidden dangers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the working mode of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0024] It is worth noting that the directional words such as "upper" and "lower" involved in this article are all relative to the viewing angle of the drawings and are only for the convenience of description and cannot be understood as limitations on the technical solution.

[0025] In the inspection work, the situation of the external pipeline network is the most complicated, which is usually accompanied by many uncontrollable factors, such as complex terrain, various unreported construction, geological disasters, etc. The cost of manual inspection is very huge. If drone inspection is used, the inspection difficulty of the pipeline network can be greatly reduced, the efficiency of fault analysis and responsibility determination can be improved, and the fault determination time can be reduced.

[0026] The present invention proposes a system for intelligent inspection of unmanned aerial vehicles, including a unmanned aerial vehicle, a mounting device, a data transmission device, an RTK differential positioning system, a ground station control receiving device and a ground station system connection platform;

[0027] The mounting device is connected to the UAV, and the UAV drives the mounting device into the air. The UAV is controlled by a remote control device. The RTK differential positioning system controls the centimeter-level flight accuracy of the UAV. The mounting device is connected to the ground station control receiving device through a data transmission device, and the acquired data is transmitted to the ground station control receiving device. The ground station control receiving device is connected to the ground station system connection platform. The ground station system connection platform includes a ground station system, a system assignment platform and a server storage platform. The ground station system analyzes the acquired data, the system assignment platform issues inspection tasks, and the server storage platform stores data.

[0028] Preferably, the drone includes one or more of a multi-axis drone, a vertical take-off fixed-wing drone and a fixed-wing drone. A suitable drone can be selected based on the inspection route or inspection requirements, and multiple drones can be dispatched during one inspection.

[0029] Preferably, the mounted device includes one or more of a camera, a zoom camera, a zoom detector, a sensor, a gimbal, a lidar and a loudspeaker to realize regional data collection and modeling, and identify and discover faults and hidden dangers.

[0030] It should be noted that in the present invention, part of the ground station system is used as a drone inspection control system, including inspection task management, inspection video live broadcast, communication module connected to the automatic airport sky end, storage module, image classification analysis and other functions. Among them, the automatic airport sky end includes an airport control system connected to the ground end, a communication module, and an FTP image transmission module.

[0031] When the drone is in operation, it transmits real-time images and data, which are automatically forwarded by the drone to the ground for analysis and storage.

[0032] The present invention proposes a method for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicles, including internal inspection of a machine room and external pipeline inspection, as follows:

[0033] Internal inspection: An automatic drone operation airport is set up inside the machine room, and the inspection operation time, inspection operation content and inspection operation route planning are set. After completing the scheduled inspection operation, the drone automatically returns to the airport for charging and maintenance, and prepares for the next inspection operation;

[0034] The drone carries a high-definition camera or sensor scanning equipment, flies to the designated vertical or horizontal position according to the inspection route planning, reads various instruments and indicator lights in the machine room, transmits the acquired data to the ground station control receiving equipment, and sends it to the ground station system. The ground station system identifies, judges, analyzes, retains images and performs subsequent dispatch operations to complete an effective inspection process;

[0035] External pipeline inspection: The drone is equipped with cameras, sensors and lidar, and uses the RTK differential positioning system to determine the safe distance between the drone and the pipeline to be inspected according to the size of the drone body;

[0036] The pipeline condition is carefully inspected through cameras, sensors and lidar, and the real-time images and scanned images are instantly transmitted back to the ground station system for analysis, judgment and storage.

[0037] Preferably, in internal inspections, the inspection operation route planning of the drone means: according to the specific items that need to be inspected, the drone's altitude, speed, distance from the target and operation dwell time are set. After completing the inspection flight mission, the drone automatically returns to the drone airport along the planned route.

[0038] Preferably, during external pipeline inspections, the small UAV maintains a safe distance of 3 meters to 5 meters from the pipeline to be inspected.

[0039] Preferably, during external pipeline inspections, medium-sized drones maintain a safe distance of 5-10 meters from the pipelines to be inspected.

[0040] Preferably, during the external pipeline inspection, a fixed-wing UAV is vertically lifted or a fixed-wing UAV is kept at a safe distance of 100-500 meters from the pipeline to be inspected, and the inspection is performed using a zoom camera and / or a zoom detector.

[0041] The present invention can be applied to pipeline inspection, road inspection, public security inspection, agricultural and forestry firefighting, emergency rescue, communication relay, military field, etc., greatly improving the inspection efficiency of external pipeline networks, effectively reducing the cost of manual inspection, and solving the safety and reliability problems of high-risk inspection operations at low cost. The present invention can adopt a multi-flight scheduled cruise mode to minimize the constraints of the external environment on the inspection work. According to different scenarios, it can be equipped with cameras, sensors, pan-tilt heads, laser radars, loudspeakers and other mounts to collect and model regional data, and identify and discover faults and hidden dangers at the same time.

[0042] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions under the concept of the present invention belong to the protection scope of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, some improvements and modifications without departing from the principle of the present invention should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicles, characterized in that: Including drones, mounting equipment, data transmission equipment, RTK differential positioning system, ground station control receiving equipment and ground station system connection platform; The mounting device is connected to the UAV, and the UAV drives the mounting device to be launched. The UAV is controlled by a remote control device and the RTK differential positioning system controls the flight accuracy of the UAV. The mounting device is communicatively connected to a ground station control receiving device via a data transmission device, and the acquired data is transmitted to the ground station control receiving device. The ground station control receiving device is communicatively connected to a ground station system connection platform. The ground station system connection platform includes a ground station system, a system assignment platform and a server storage platform. The ground station system analyzes the acquired data, the system assignment platform issues inspection tasks, and the server storage platform stores data.

2. The system for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicles as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The drone includes one or more of a multi-axis drone, a vertical take-off fixed-wing drone and a fixed-wing drone. A suitable drone can be selected based on the inspection route or inspection requirements, and multiple drones can be dispatched during one inspection.

3. The system for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicles as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The mounted equipment includes one or more of a camera, a zoom camera, a zoom detector, a sensor, a gimbal, a lidar and a loudspeaker to realize regional data collection and modeling, and identify and discover faults and hidden dangers.

4. A method for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicles, characterized in that: The system for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicles as described in any one of claims 1 to 3 is used, including internal inspection of a machine room and external pipeline inspection, as follows: Internal inspection: An automatic drone operation airport is set up inside the machine room, and the inspection operation time, inspection operation content and inspection operation route planning are set. After completing the scheduled inspection operation, the drone automatically returns to the airport for charging and maintenance, and prepares for the next inspection operation; The drone carries a high-definition camera or sensor scanning equipment, flies to the designated vertical or horizontal position according to the inspection route planning, reads various instruments and indicator lights in the machine room, transmits the acquired data to the ground station control receiving equipment, and sends it to the ground station system. The ground station system identifies, judges, analyzes, retains images and performs subsequent dispatch operations to complete an effective inspection process; External pipeline inspection: The drone is equipped with cameras, sensors and lidar, and uses the RTK differential positioning system to determine the safe distance between the drone and the pipeline to be inspected according to the size of the drone body; The pipeline condition is carefully inspected through cameras, sensors and lidar, and the real-time images and scanned images are instantly transmitted back to the ground station system for analysis, judgment and storage.

5. The method for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that: In internal inspections, the inspection route planning of drones means: according to the specific items that need to be inspected, the drone's altitude, speed, distance from the target and operation stay time are set. After completing the inspection flight mission, the drone automatically returns to the drone airport along the planned route.

6. The method for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that: During external pipeline inspections, small drones maintain a safe distance of 3 to 5 meters from the pipelines to be inspected.

7. The method for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 4, characterized in that: During external pipeline inspections, medium-sized drones maintain a safe distance of 5-10 meters from the pipelines to be inspected.

8. The method for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that: During external pipeline inspections, a fixed-wing drone or fixed-wing drone is vertically launched to maintain a safe distance of 100-500 meters from the pipeline to be inspected, and inspections are carried out using zoom cameras and / or zoom detectors.

9. An application for drone intelligent inspection, characterized in that: The system for intelligent inspection by unmanned aerial vehicles as described in any one of claims 1 to 3 is applied in pipeline inspection, road inspection, public security inspection, agricultural and forestry firefighting, emergency rescue, communication relay, and military fields.

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