Unmanned aerial vehicle cluster system, control method and medium

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, in particular to an unmanned aerial vehicle cluster system, a control method and a medium, the unmanned aerial vehicle cluster system comprises a main unmanned aerial vehicle and at least one auxiliary unmanned aerial vehicle, the main unmanned aerial vehicle receives a satellite communication message, analyzes the satellite communication message to obtain a target task, and plans a target route according to the target task; and the main unmanned aerial vehicle and the at least one auxiliary unmanned aerial vehicle perform an ad hoc network, the target route is broadcasted to the at least one auxiliary unmanned aerial vehicle through the ad hoc network, and the main unmanned aerial vehicle and the at least one auxiliary unmanned aerial vehicle execute the target task based on the target route. Therefore, the problems that in the prior art, high dependence on stable electric power and network communication is achieved, and the application efficiency in complex and extreme environments is limited are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of drone technology, and in particular to a drone cluster system, control method and medium. Background Art

[0002] In modern society, drone technology has developed rapidly with its unique advantages and has been widely used in agriculture, logistics, disaster relief, environmental monitoring, military and other fields. Among them, drone swarm technology has become one of the important directions of drone application, which realizes the efficient execution of complex tasks through the coordinated work of multiple drones.

[0003] However, most current drone swarm systems are still highly dependent on stable power supply and reliable network communications. This situation is particularly vulnerable in challenging scenarios such as natural disaster relief, remote area environmental monitoring, or complex battlefield environments. In these cases, the shortage of power supply and unstable network coverage greatly limit the application potential and actual effectiveness of drone swarm technology. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a drone cluster system, control method and medium to solve the problems in the prior art that the system is highly dependent on stable power and network communication, which limits its application performance in complex and extreme environments.

[0005] The first aspect of the present application provides a drone cluster system, including: a main drone and at least one auxiliary drone, wherein the main drone receives satellite communication messages, parses the satellite communication messages to obtain target tasks, and plans target routes according to the target tasks; the main drone and at least one auxiliary drone form a self-organizing network, broadcast the target route to at least one auxiliary drone through the self-organizing network, and the main drone and at least one auxiliary drone perform the target task based on the target route.

[0006] Optionally, the main UAV includes: a UAV body and a first onboard board arranged on the UAV body; a satellite communication device, a first self-organizing network module and a first control module arranged on the first onboard board, wherein the satellite communication device is used to receive satellite communication messages, the first self-organizing network module is used to conduct self-organizing networking with at least one auxiliary UAV, and the first control module is used to parse the satellite communication message to obtain the target task, and broadcast the target route to at least one auxiliary UAV through the self-organizing network.

[0007] Optionally, the first onboard board is connected to a power supply of the host drone.

[0008] Optionally, the first onboard board is also provided with a first power supply for supplying power to the first self-organizing network module and the first control module when the master drone is in a dormant state.

[0009] Optionally, the auxiliary UAV includes: a UAV body and a second onboard board arranged on the UAV body; a second self-organizing network module and a second control module arranged on the second onboard board, wherein the second self-organizing network module is used to conduct self-organizing networking with the main UAV, and the second control module is used to obtain the target route through the self-organizing network, and feed back data to the main UAV through the self-organizing network, so as to control the auxiliary UAV to perform the target task according to the target route.

[0010] Optionally, the second onboard board is connected to a power supply of the attached UAV.

[0011] Optionally, a second power supply is also provided on the second onboard board for supplying power to the second self-organizing network module and the second control module when the attached UAV is in a dormant state.

[0012] Optionally, the main drone and at least one auxiliary drone are also provided with solar photovoltaic panels.

[0013] A second aspect of the present application provides a method for controlling a drone cluster, which is used for controlling a drone cluster in the above drone cluster system, and the method includes the following steps: sending a satellite communication message to a main drone of the drone cluster system via satellite communication, wherein the satellite communication message is parsed to obtain a target task, and the main drone plans a target route according to the target task; self-organizing networking is performed through communication between the main drone and at least one subordinate drone, and the target route is broadcast to at least one subordinate drone through the self-organizing network; and the main drone and at least one subordinate drone are controlled to perform the target task based on the target route.

[0014] The third aspect of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored. The program is executed by a processor to implement the drone cluster control method as described in the above embodiment.

[0015] Therefore, this application includes the following beneficial effects:

[0016] The embodiment of the present application can be completely independent of the ground network or power supply through the main drone autonomously receiving satellite communication tasks and efficiently planning routes, demonstrating autonomy and flexibility; at the same time, the main drone uses advanced self-organizing network technology to broadcast the planned route to the auxiliary drones in real time, realizing seamless transmission and sharing of information, so that the entire drone cluster can still maintain close collaboration in complex or extreme environments without power supply and network communication. Therefore, it solves the technical problems of the prior art that it is highly dependent on stable power and network communication, limiting its application efficiency in complex and extreme environments.

[0017] Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be given in part in the description below, and in part will become apparent from the description below, or will be learned through the practice of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present application will become apparent and easily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 This is an example diagram of a drone cluster system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the composition of the main drone device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the composition of a first control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the components of an auxiliary drone device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a second control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of a drone cluster control method provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of Beidou communication provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 8 A flowchart of a drone cluster control method provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a task issuing process according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Fig.10 The present invention is a schematic diagram of task information interaction provided according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to be used to explain the present application, and should not be construed as limiting the present application.

[0030] The following describes the drone cluster system, control method and medium of the embodiment of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. In response to the problem of drone cluster control in the absence of electricity and network mentioned in the above background technology, the present application provides a drone cluster system, in which the main drone can autonomously receive satellite communication tasks and efficiently plan routes, which can be completely independent of the ground network or power supply, demonstrating autonomy and flexibility; at the same time, the main drone uses advanced self-organizing network technology to broadcast the planned route to the attached drones in real time, realizing seamless transmission and sharing of information, so that the entire drone cluster can maintain close collaboration in complex or extreme environments without power supply and network communication. Thereby, the problem of the prior art being highly dependent on stable power and network communication, which limits its application efficiency in complex and extreme environments, is solved.

[0031] Specifically, Figure 1 It is a block diagram of the drone cluster system of an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, the drone cluster system 10 includes: a main drone 100 and at least one auxiliary drone 200.

[0033] Among them, the main drone 100 receives satellite communication messages, parses the satellite communication messages to obtain target tasks, and plans the target route according to the target tasks; the main drone 100 and at least one auxiliary drone 200 form an ad hoc network, broadcast the target route to at least one auxiliary drone 200 through the ad hoc network, and the main drone 100 and at least one auxiliary drone 200 perform the target task based on the target route.

[0034] It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the main drone 100 autonomously receives satellite missions, plans routes, and shares routes with the auxiliary drones in a self-organizing network, thereby realizing efficient collaborative operation of the drone cluster in an environment without electricity and network, improving mission execution efficiency, coverage and accuracy, and enhancing environmental adaptability and the safety and reliability of mission execution.

[0035] In the embodiments of the present application, Figure 2 As shown, the main UAV 100 includes: a UAV body and a first onboard board arranged on the UAV body; a satellite communication device, a first self-organizing network module and a first control module arranged on the first onboard board, wherein the satellite communication device is used to receive satellite communication messages, the first self-organizing network module is used to self-organize with at least one auxiliary UAV 200, and the first control module is used to parse the satellite communication message to obtain the target task, and broadcast the target route to at least one auxiliary UAV 200 through the self-organizing network.

[0036] It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the main drone 100 realizes autonomous task reception and analysis without ground network support by integrating satellite communication equipment, the first self-organizing network module and the first control module, thereby significantly improving the response speed and flexibility of the drone cluster.

[0037] Specifically, for the master drone 100, when the Beidou receiver receives the Beidou short message, the drone will be started through the first control module, such as Figure 3 As shown, Beidou sends messages to the serial port of the microcontroller via USB (Universal Serial Bus) to TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic). The microcontroller can be STM32. After receiving the message, the microcontroller distinguishes it and sets the first byte to 0 for a power-on message, 1 for a task message, and 3 for a power-off message. When the microcontroller receives the switch message, it gives a high level to the switch module. The switch module can be EC190708. The high level will turn on the switch module, thereby starting the drone.

[0038] When the drone is started, the airborne module will feedback the message to the user through Beidou to indicate that the drone has been successfully started. When the user receives the feedback, the route is sent to the drone through Beidou. When the microcontroller receives the task message, it will send the message to the airborne board through the serial port and parse it. When the main drone parses and plans the route, it will broadcast it through the self-organizing network module.

[0039] In the embodiments of the present application, Figure 2 As shown, the first onboard board is connected to the power supply of the main drone 100.

[0040] In the embodiments of the present application, Figure 2 As shown, the main drone 100 is also provided with solar photovoltaic panels.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present application, Figure 2 As shown, the first onboard board is also provided with a first power supply for supplying power to the first self-organizing network module and the first control module when the main drone 100 is in a dormant state.

[0042] It can be understood that the first power supply in the embodiment of the present application provides power to the first self-organizing network module and the first control module when the main drone is in sleep mode, ensuring that the drone system can receive emergency communications or instructions from auxiliary drones or other external devices at any time, so that it can respond quickly when needed, significantly improving the overall performance and reliability of the drone system.

[0043] In the embodiments of the present application, Figure 4As shown, the auxiliary drone 200 includes: a drone body and a second onboard board arranged on the drone body; a second self-organizing network module and a second control module arranged on the second onboard board, wherein the second self-organizing network module is used to self-organize with the main drone 100, and the second control module is used to obtain the target route through the self-organizing network, and feedback data to the main drone 100 through the self-organizing network, so as to control the auxiliary drone 200 to perform the target task according to the target route.

[0044] It can be understood that the auxiliary drone 200 in the embodiment of the present application communicates with the main drone 100 through the second self-organizing network module, receives mission instructions and feeds back data in real time, and at the same time the second control module controls it to perform the mission according to the target route, thereby enhancing the collaborative combat capability and mission execution efficiency of the drone cluster.

[0045] Specifically, for the auxiliary drone 200, when the second ad hoc network module receives an MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) message, the drone will be started through the second control module, such as Figure 5 As shown, the second self-organizing network module sends a message to the microcontroller serial port through TTL to start the drone. When the drone is started, the onboard board will parse the received MQTT message to generate a route and provide feedback after the parsing is completed.

[0046] In the embodiments of the present application, Figure 4 As shown, the second onboard board is connected to the power supply of the attached UAV 200.

[0047] In the embodiments of the present application, Figure 4 As shown, the auxiliary drone 200 is also provided with solar photovoltaic panels.

[0048] In the embodiments of the present application, Figure 4 As shown, the second onboard board is also provided with a second power supply for supplying power to the second ad hoc network module and the second control module when the attached UAV 200 is in a dormant state.

[0049] It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the second power supply of the auxiliary drone 200 supplies power to the second self-organizing network module and the second control module when in sleep mode, ensuring smooth communication links and improving system flexibility, reliability and low-power standby capability.

[0050] According to the drone cluster system proposed in the embodiment of the present application, the main drone can autonomously receive satellite communication tasks and efficiently plan routes, which can be completely independent of ground networks or power supply, demonstrating autonomy and flexibility; at the same time, the main drone uses advanced self-organizing network technology to broadcast the planned routes to the attached drones in real time, realizing seamless transmission and sharing of information, so that the entire drone cluster can still maintain close collaboration in complex or extreme environments without power supply and network communication. In this way, the existing technology is highly dependent on stable power and network communication, which limits its application efficiency in complex and extreme environments.

[0051] Next, the drone cluster control method proposed in accordance with an embodiment of the present application is described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0052] Figure 6 A flowchart of the drone cluster control method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0053] like Figure 6 As shown, the drone cluster control method is used to control the drone cluster in the above drone cluster system, wherein the method includes the following steps:

[0054] In step S101, a satellite communication message is sent to a master drone of the drone cluster system via satellite communication, wherein the satellite communication message is parsed to obtain a target task, and the master drone plans a target route according to the target task.

[0055] It can be understood that the embodiment of the present application sends satellite communication messages to the main drone of the drone cluster system through satellite communication. The main drone can understand the target task to be performed by parsing the instructions, so as to quickly respond and plan the route, thereby improving the timeliness of task execution.

[0056] It should be noted that before parsing the satellite communication message, Figure 7 As shown in the figure, the user selects the regional corner points through the Beidou master control end, encodes the regional corner points into a binary code stream, and sends it to the Beidou receiver. The Beidou receiver continuously monitors Beidou messages. When a Beidou message is received, the Beidou receiver feedbacks the receipt of the message. When data packet loss occurs due to special reasons such as communication blocking, the Beidou transmitter will continue to send waypoint information until it receives information feedback from the Beidou receiver.

[0057] In step S102, an ad hoc network is established through communication between the master drone and at least one subordinate drone, and the target route is broadcast to the at least one subordinate drone through the ad hoc network.

[0058] It can be understood that the embodiment of the present application achieves efficient communication and collaborative work through the self-organizing network technology between the main drone and the auxiliary drones, improves the efficiency and accuracy of task execution, and enhances the flexibility and robustness of the system.

[0059] In step S103, the master UAV and at least one subordinate UAV are controlled to perform a target mission based on a target route.

[0060] It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, through the pre-planned target route, the main drone and the auxiliary drone can accurately locate their own flight paths, reduce blindness and uncertainty during the flight process, form a collaborative operation mode, jointly complete the target tasks, and improve work efficiency.

[0061] It should be noted that the aforementioned explanation of the drone cluster control system embodiment is also applicable to the drone cluster control method of this embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0062] According to the drone cluster control method proposed in the embodiment of the present application, the main drone can autonomously receive satellite communication tasks and efficiently plan routes, which can be completely independent of ground networks or power supply, demonstrating autonomy and flexibility; at the same time, the main drone uses advanced self-organizing network technology to broadcast the planned routes to the attached drones in real time, realizing seamless transmission and sharing of information, so that the entire drone cluster can still maintain close collaboration in complex or extreme environments without power supply and network communication. In this way, the existing technology is highly dependent on stable power and network communication, which limits its application efficiency in complex and extreme environments.

[0063] The following is an explanation of the drone cluster control method through a specific embodiment, as follows:

[0064] like Figure 8 As shown, the Beidou main control end and the receiving end are located in different geographical locations. The Beidou receiving end is mounted on the main UAV and connected to the computing board through the serial port and the single-chip microcomputer. The computing board can read the Beidou receiving end information. Once the Beidou information is received, it will be decoded and processed. The computing board will plan the task according to the decoded information, including: route planning and UAV planning. The planned route will be sent to each subsidiary UAV through the broadcast mechanism.

[0065] like Fig. 9 As shown, after receiving the broadcast route information, the service drone will broadcast feedback. When the main drone confirms that all drones have received the route information, it will send the task execution information, and all drones will switch to sending drone status information.

[0066] It should be noted that after the master drone receives the heading information and plans the route, it broadcasts it, such as Fig.10 As shown in the figure, the main drone will start to collect and respond to the feedback information of the auxiliary drones. When the number of route information sent is equal to the number of feedback information, the main drone will send a route execution command and switch to the broadcast drone state. At this time, the auxiliary drone receives the route execution command and starts to execute the task and switches to the broadcast drone state. If the main drone has not received the corresponding feedback information, it will broadcast again and increase the number of broadcasts by one. When the number of broadcasts is greater than the threshold, it indicates that the auxiliary drone is in an error state. The main drone will re-plan the route and remove the drone number without feedback.

[0067] Due to the character limit of Beidou short message, the Beidou communication format is as follows: {region corner point, region corner point, region corner point, region corner point, number of drones, mission type, whether the transmission is completed}. When the content sent exceeds the Beidou character limit, the end of the short message will indicate that the transmission is not completed, and the Beidou receiver will continue to wait for Beidou messages until the information transmission is completed.

[0068] In summary, the embodiments of the present application realize autonomous control of a long-distance drone cluster in an environment without electricity and network, and through the built-in intelligent system and solar photovoltaic panels, the system's autonomous operation capability and environmental adaptability are comprehensively improved.

[0069] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, and when the program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned drone cluster control method is implemented.

[0070] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms are not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or N embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples, without contradiction.

[0071] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of this application, "N" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0072] Any process or method description in a flowchart or otherwise described herein may be understood to represent a module, fragment or portion of code comprising one or N executable instructions for implementing the steps of a custom logical function or process, and the scope of the preferred embodiments of the present application includes alternative implementations in which functions may not be performed in the order shown or discussed, including performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in reverse order depending on the functions involved, which should be understood by technicians in the technical field to which the embodiments of the present application belong.

[0073] It should be understood that the various parts of the present application can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. In the above-mentioned embodiments, the steps or methods can be implemented in software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, it can be implemented by any one of the following technologies known in the art or their combination: a discrete logic circuit having a logic gate circuit for implementing a logic function on a data signal, a dedicated integrated circuit having a suitable combination of logic gate circuits, a programmable gate array, a field programmable gate array, etc.

[0074] A person of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or part of the steps carried by the method for implementing the above-mentioned embodiment may be completed by instructing related hardware through a program, and the above-mentioned program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, which, when executed, includes one of the steps of the method embodiment or a combination thereof.

[0075] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and cannot be understood as limitations on the present application. Ordinary technicians in the field can change, modify, replace and modify the above embodiments within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A drone cluster system, characterized in that: include: A main drone and at least one auxiliary drone, wherein the main drone receives satellite communication messages, parses the satellite communication messages to obtain a target task, and plans a target route according to the target task; The main drone and the at least one subordinate drone form an ad hoc network, broadcast the target route to the at least one subordinate drone through the ad hoc network, and the main drone and the at least one subordinate drone perform the target task based on the target route.

2. The drone cluster system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main drone comprises: A drone body and a first onboard card disposed on the drone body; A satellite communication device, a first self-organizing network module and a first control module are arranged on the first onboard board, wherein the satellite communication device is used to receive satellite communication messages, the first self-organizing network module is used to conduct self-organizing networking with at least one affiliated drone, and the first control module is used to parse the satellite communication message to obtain a target task, and broadcast the target route to the at least one affiliated drone through the self-organizing network.

3. The drone cluster system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first onboard board is connected to the power supply of the master drone.

4. The drone cluster system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first onboard board is also provided with a first power supply for supplying power to the first self-organizing network module and the first control module when the master drone is in a dormant state.

5. The drone cluster system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The auxiliary drones include: A drone body and a second onboard card disposed on the drone body; A second self-organizing network module and a second control module are arranged on the second onboard board, wherein the second self-organizing network module is used to form a self-organizing network with the main UAV, and the second control module is used to obtain the target route through the self-organizing network, feed back data to the main UAV through the self-organizing network, and control the auxiliary UAV to perform the target task according to the target route.

6. The drone cluster system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The second onboard board is connected to the power supply of the auxiliary UAV.

7. The drone cluster system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The second onboard board is also provided with a second power supply for supplying power to the second ad hoc network module and the second control module when the auxiliary UAV is in a dormant state.

8. The drone cluster system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main drone and at least one auxiliary drone are also provided with solar photovoltaic panels.

9. A method for controlling a drone cluster, characterized in that: The method is used for controlling a drone cluster in a drone cluster system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the method comprises the following steps: Sending a satellite communication message to a master drone of the drone cluster system via satellite communication, wherein the satellite communication message is parsed to obtain a target task, and the master drone plans a target route according to the target task; Performing an ad hoc network through communication between the master drone and the at least one subordinate drone, and broadcasting the target route to the at least one subordinate drone through the ad hoc network; The master UAV and the at least one slave UAV are controlled to perform the target mission based on the target route.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program or instruction is executed, the drone cluster control method described in claim 9 is implemented.

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