Communication-interference integrated base station method and system for low-altitude safety problem of unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication and interference integrated base station method and system for a low-altitude safety problem of an unmanned aerial vehicle, and relates to the field of communication, the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and the field of safety supervision, in particular to a method and system for realizing low-altitude wireless signal coverage, including communication signals and interference signals, by using a wireless communication network base station so as to realize low-altitude safety management of the unmanned aerial vehicle. A low-altitude, slow and small unmanned aerial vehicle becomes a main user of a low-altitude airspace in China, but the safety supervision of the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the low-altitude airspace is difficult to realize. According to the method, the interference signal generator function is integrated into the base station (the communication-interference integrated base station), effective coverage of communication / interference signals in the forbidden and limited area can be economically realized through wide deployment of a base station network system, and obvious electromagnetic signal characteristics are given to the forbidden and limited area, so that intrusion of an illegal flying unmanned aerial vehicle is effectively prevented; and meanwhile, management and control of the legal flight networked unmanned aerial vehicle are realized through networking communication, and a technical means of electronic management of low-altitude flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle is provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the fields of communications, drones, and safety supervision, and in particular to a method and system for implementing low-altitude safety management of drones by using wireless communication network base stations to achieve low-altitude wireless signal coverage, including communication signals and interference signals. Background Art

[0002] Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are unmanned aerial vehicles that are controlled by radio remote control equipment and self-contained program control devices. UAVs are actually a general term for unmanned aerial vehicles.

[0003] Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), also known as unmanned aircraft systems, refers to a system consisting of a drone, related remote control stations, required command and control data links, and any other components specified in the approved model design. Simply put, it is an aircraft plus a remote control device.

[0004] The current market and applications of drones are booming. It is estimated that by 2025, the output value of drones will reach 180 billion yuan, maintaining an average annual growth rate of more than 25%.

[0005] In recent years, with the rapid development of drone technology, the drone industry has flourished. Due to the characteristics of drones, such as low cost, no risk of casualties, strong survivability, good maneuverability, and easy use, more and more industrial applications are emerging. For example, drones have been widely used in fields such as aerial photography, agricultural and forestry plant protection, and power inspection to replace traditional general aviation aircraft for related operations. With the increasing number of drones and the gradual increase in popularity, drones have become the main user of low-altitude airspace in my country after traditional general aviation aircraft. However, due to its characteristics of "low, slow and small" (low-altitude, slow and small aircraft), it is difficult to be detected by radar, and the monitoring of drone flights has become the main problem of low-altitude airspace monitoring.

[0006] Drone low-altitude control refers to a series of measures to control and manage the flight trajectory, altitude, and speed of drones at low altitudes in order to ensure the safety of drones and other aerial activities and avoid potential threats to the ground and personnel. These measures include restricting drone activity areas, setting no-fly zones, guiding drone flights, and monitoring drone operating status.

[0007] For drone flight control, no-fly / restricted-fly zones are often set up in some sensitive areas or areas where large crowds gather, and the no-fly / restricted-fly zones have certain height restrictions.

[0008] A no-fly zone is an area where drones are prohibited from flying. Drones are not allowed to take off in this area, nor are they allowed to fly into the no-fly zone from other areas.

[0009] Restricted flying zones have certain restrictions on the flying altitude and speed of drones. Drones flying in these areas must comply with the corresponding restrictions.

[0010] The challenges of low-altitude drone control are mainly reflected in:

[0011] The difficulty of supervision is great, because the low-altitude space is occupied by a large number of drones, which increases the difficulty and cost of supervision. At present, there is a lack of practical electronic supervision technology;

[0012] Dynamic management is required. Due to the rapid changes in the position and altitude of drones, low-altitude control needs to dynamically update regulatory information. At the same time, the restricted areas themselves may also be adjusted (such as temporary gatherings).

[0013] When a drone is found flying illegally in a restricted area, existing drone jammer products can suppress the point-to-point communication between the drone and the remote control, disrupt the GPS navigation system, and force the drone to hover, land automatically, or drive it away, thereby ensuring the safety of low-altitude airspace.

[0014] The signal frequency bands used by drones include three main frequency bands: 2.4GHz band, 5.8GHz band and 433MHz band. The 2.4GHz band is one of the most popular and commonly used frequency bands. It is used to transmit communication signals between drones and remote controllers and data transmission from drone cameras. The 5.8GHz band is another commonly used frequency band, mainly used to transmit the FPV (first-person view) camera images of drones. Due to its higher frequency, drones in the 5.8GHz band have higher bandwidth and data transmission speed. The 433MHz band is a lower frequency band, mainly used to transmit signals from GPS and other wireless control systems. In long-distance and low-signal environments, drones in the 433MHz band are more able to ensure stable signal transmission. In addition to these three main signal frequency bands, there are other frequency bands that cannot be ignored, such as 915MHz, 868MHz, 1.2GHz, 2.3GHz, etc. The interference of the drone's working frequency band can limit the flight of the drone and trigger the corresponding safe flight mechanism.

[0015] With the gradual prosperity of the low-altitude economy, the number of drones has steadily increased. When there are legally flying drones in the area at the same time, the above-mentioned management methods against illegally flying drones are difficult to use. The operation of jammers is likely to cause additional damage, causing normal flying drones to be interfered with. Therefore, it is necessary to treat drones differently to achieve reasonable management and control.

[0016] As the UAV industry develops rapidly, it also puts forward new demands on UAV communication links, showing a development trend of close integration with cellular mobile communication technology, forming "networked UAVs", that is, data transmission is achieved through the mobile communication terminal on the UAV through the mobile communication network. UAV supervision based on cellular networking will achieve pre-warning, in-process control, and post-event tracking, and is an effective regulatory weapon to deal with "illegal flying" and "navigation disruption" incidents.

[0017] Base stations are important components of cellular mobile communication networks. As communication infrastructure, they are ubiquitous. Power supply, antenna, transmission and other resources are all available on the towers. Aerial cellular networking is an effective means to cope with the large-scale mobility characteristics of drones.

[0018] In order to prevent the leakage, collision and noise caused by the "illegal flying" of drones, it is necessary to deploy a low-altitude security system efficiently and at low cost. At present, there are many detection solutions in the drone security market, but they all face many limitations such as technology, efficiency and cost.

[0019] Base stations are specialized equipment for "communication", while radars are designed for "perception". The functions of radar are integrated into base stations, and one set of equipment is used to realize the functions of communication and perception at the same time. The fusion of communication and perception systems is called "communication and perception integration", abbreviated as "synaesthesia integration" or "synaesthesia".

[0020] The integrated communication and perception technology allows multiple base stations that need to be deployed in low-altitude security areas to integrate radar functions, and then combine with the computing resources inside the base station to quickly build a low-altitude security system. As long as the base station signal is reachable, the invading drone can be located and tracked in real time, providing a reference for the security system's next decision.

[0021] However, the synaesthesia integration technology still cannot achieve the goal of distinguishing legal / illegal flying drones for low-altitude safety management, lacks disposal means, and the existing ground mobile communication network (PLMN) is optimized for coverage of ground mobile terminals, and has insufficient coverage of aerial signals for drones.

[0022] At the 107th meeting of TC5WG9 of the China Communications Standards Association (CCSA), SuperRank Technology proposed the idea of ​​establishing a Public Air Mobile Network (PAMN), attempting to provide sufficient aerial cellular network signal coverage for aerial communications of drones with corresponding network connection capabilities by adjusting the direction of base station antenna signals / system transformation, thereby opening up a feasible path forward for real-time flight supervision and information transmission of networked drones with network communication capabilities.

[0023] Beamforming is a signal processing technique used to control the direction of signal propagation and enhance its signal-to-noise ratio. It achieves this goal by combining the signals from multiple receiving antennas or transmitting antennas. Beamforming algorithms can be used to direct signal propagation, suppress interference, reduce reflections and fading, etc.

[0024] The specific principle is to construct a linear combination of multiple receiving / transmitting antennas so that these combination vectors have the maximum gain in a given direction and the minimum gain in other directions.

[0025] In the present invention, beamforming can be used to improve the communication quality of the communication link of the networked drone, and can also be used to construct a directional interference signal to interfere with the working frequency band of the drone. Summary of the invention

[0026] The present invention provides a communication-jamming integrated base station method and system for solving the low-altitude safety problem of unmanned aerial vehicles.

[0027] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is achieved as follows:

[0028] The present invention discloses a communication and interference integrated base station method for low-altitude safety issues of unmanned aerial vehicles, such as Figure 1 As shown, the method includes:

[0029] Step 101, the base station provides communication signal coverage to the UAV flight area, and at the same time provides interference signal coverage to the target restricted area;

[0030] Interference signal frequency bands include point-to-point communication frequency bands for drone flights, GPS navigation frequency bands, etc. The communication frequency bands of base stations are usually authorized frequency bands (such as 2 / 3 / 4 / 5G frequency bands). Other types of equipment will not use them and are not within the interference frequency bands. The parameters of the interference device can be adjusted, and the networked drone can transmit data through the communication network within the coverage of the base station communication signal.

[0031] The restricted area may be the same as or different from the coverage of a single base station communication signal. Multiple base stations may cooperate to cover the restricted area, and the interference working mode selection may be different;

[0032] Step 102: The drone flies into a restricted area.

[0033] If the drone is a network-connected drone equipped with a network terminal that can communicate with the base station, proceed to step 104; otherwise, proceed to step 103;

[0034] Since restricted areas have no obvious boundaries in the air, drones may enter restricted areas intentionally or unintentionally, including drones that have obtained flight approval to fly in restricted areas.

[0035] In the present invention, all drones that are authorized to fly in restricted areas must be equipped with a network communication terminal.

[0036] For the convenience of management, when a networked drone is flying in the air, after establishing a communication connection with a base station, it should report flight-related control information such as its location to assist the base station in determining whether it is in a restricted area;

[0037] Step 103, the non-networked drone cannot fly normally under signal interference, and lands / returns according to the built-in program;

[0038] When a non-networked drone enters a restricted area, its point-to-point communication control link is interfered with by the base station and it cannot continue to fly. According to the built-in program, there are preset processing measures such as landing / returning to the original route;

[0039] Step 104, when other data links fail, the networked drone communicates with the base station through the network connection, submits data and receives control command actions;

[0040] Since the networked drone can maintain communication connection with the base station, it can submit data and receive control instructions, and can perform flight actions according to the data link of the control console through the communication network, such as landing at a fixed point, flying away according to a specified route, etc.;

[0041] In this process, it may also receive information assistance from the network. For example, the base station may stop interfering with the GPS signal so that the drone can locate and report its position. It may also not stop interfering and use the perception and positioning function of the base station network to send and correct the positioning information of the drone through the network data link. The networked machine may also directly adjust its flight control function operating parameters according to the network data.

[0042] The present invention also discloses a system of an integrated base station for the low-altitude safety of unmanned aerial vehicles, such as Figure 2 As shown, the system comprises:

[0043] Interference integrated base station (module 201-module 203), drone (module 204)

[0044] Module 201, a base station communication module, establishes an air interface communication link for data interaction when the drone is a networked drone;

[0045] The network air interface communication link uses the authorized frequency band and is not within the interference frequency band;

[0046] Module 202, a base station control module, adjusts the interference signal mode of module 203 based on the obtained restricted area parameters and the communication interaction information between module 201 and module 204;

[0047] The parameters to be adjusted include interference signal power, interference signal direction, etc. The purpose is to match the interference signal with the target restricted area without generating too much external interference.

[0048] Module 203, the jamming signal module, generates jamming signals to the data link of the drone, including covering the restricted target area with jamming signals of a specific frequency band (excluding the authorized frequency band for network communication) by adjusting the antenna pointing and electronic beamforming, so that the drone's point-to-point communication / GPS navigation and other functions cannot operate;

[0049] The interference mode can be a long-term static setting, or it can be dynamically adjusted according to actual needs, including start / stop / power adjustment / signal direction adjustment, etc.

[0050] The antenna panel of the traditional mobile communication network points to the ground and tilts to optimize ground coverage. As the main activity area of ​​the drone is in the air, in order to reduce interference with the ground network, the antenna panel of the base station of the present invention can point to the sky to optimize air coverage;

[0051] The communication / control / interference modules of the base station can be physically independent devices, and there can be multiple and distributed in different locations to cover the cooperative area, and connected to each other through wired or wireless communication;

[0052] Module 204, the UAV module, when the UAV is equipped with a network communication terminal (networked UAV), when other data links are interfered and cannot work, it maintains data connection through the air interface data link and operates according to network transmission instructions, otherwise it performs operations such as landing / returning according to a predetermined built-in program.

[0053] The present invention integrates the function of the interference signal generator into the base station (interference integrated base station), and through the wide deployment of the base station network system, it can economically achieve effective coverage of communication / interference signals in restricted areas, give the restricted areas obvious electromagnetic signal characteristics, thereby effectively preventing the intrusion of illegal flying drones, and at the same time achieve control of legally flying networked drones through networked communications, providing a technical means for the electronic management of low-altitude drone flight. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] Figure 1 is a flow chart of the method of the present invention;

[0055] Figure 2 It is a system structure diagram of the present invention;

[0056] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a single-station working embodiment of a communication-interference integrated base station of the present invention;

[0057] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the multi-base station cooperation of the integrated communication and interference base station of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0059] Figure 3 This is embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0060] like Figure 3 As mentioned above, the communication signal coverage area of ​​the integrated jammer base station is also set as a flight restricted area. In this area, an omnidirectional antenna is used to interfere with the point-to-point control link frequency band (2.4GHz / 5.8GHz) of the drone. After the drone enters the restricted area, there may be different situations depending on the type.

[0061] Non-networked drone 1, due to the loss of point-to-point control link, triggered the built-in return-to-origin program, and thus left the flight restricted area;

[0062] Networked UAV 2, which had made prior notification, was flying legally. After the point-to-point control link was lost, it had a communication link with the integrated communication and jamming base station. Its control console established a communication link with the ground network base station, and finally formed a network control data link for the networked drone through the communication link between the public network base stations. The networked drone continued to fly through the flight restricted area and completed the flight plan.

[0063] If the networked drone has not been reported in advance and has the function of controlling its flight movements through a network data connection, the integrated jammer base station can guide it to a fixed landing point.

[0064] Figure 4 This is embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0065] Usually, the flight restricted area and the base station signal range are not unified, and the control measures are also graded. In the figure, the communication signal area S of base stations 0-4 jointly covers the restricted area. The core prohibited flight area is formed by base station 0 using a distributed interference signal module to form interference areas A1-A5 for drone communication / navigation full-band interference. The restricted flight area is defined by the protection zone of the permitted flight route. Base stations 1-4 set interference areas B1-B4 respectively to interfere with the drone communication frequency band to protect the flight safety of the route. In some border areas, the interference areas may overlap.

[0066] When a non-networked drone flies in the area shown in the figure, if it encounters A1-A5, the control and navigation will fail, triggering the safety mechanism of landing on the spot; if it encounters B1-B4, the control link will fail, and it will return to the original route according to the navigation safety mechanism;

[0067] The networked drone flies within the communication signal coverage area S, establishes a communication link with the integrated communication and interference base station, reports flight control information such as location, flies according to the permitted route under the alternating control of multiple base stations, passes through the interference areas B1 / B2 / B3 / B4, and avoids the interference areas A1-A5;

[0068] Embodiment 3 is an example of dynamically changing the interference mode of the integrated base station.

[0069] Since continuous interference may hinder some normal business functions, for example, near airports, while interfering with the navigation frequency band of drones, it may also affect the GPS navigation function of commercial flights. Therefore, according to prior agreement, the interference signal can be turned on intermittently at certain time intervals, and the interference can be stopped during the GPS positioning working cycle of commercial flights (for example, when the flight lowers its altitude to prepare for landing). Similarly, for networked drones, the base station can notify the start and stop arrangements of the interference signal through the network communication link, so that when the interference is stopped, the networked drone can operate as usual (or leave the interference area in time), and during the interference time, it can fly according to the flight plan arranged by the network (or hover in place and wait). Business restriction information / interference parameter information / network connection information can all be collected at the base station (or the information processing equipment connected to it) for coordinated processing.

[0070] Example 4 is an example of increasing the perception capability of the integrated communication and jamming base station, that is, the integrated communication, sensing and jamming base station. The base station can track the location of the drone through the integrated radar capability. The base station has an antenna array that can send directional jamming signal beams. In the initial state, no jamming signal is sent.

[0071] When the base station detects a drone in a no-fly zone (and its legal identity cannot be confirmed through the network communication link), the base station can send a directional interference beam to the direction of the detected intruding drone through the interference module beamforming antenna array, thereby disabling the function of the intruding drone and forcing it to land (the interference beam direction and power can be adjusted according to the change in the drone's position). When the drone is detected to have landed, the interference beam will stop sending and return to the initial state.

[0072] To ensure the accuracy of the direction of the interference beam, the configuration parameters of the directional interference beam for each location in the restricted area can be pre-stored in the base station through pre-measurement and verification. After obtaining the location information that requires interference, the configuration parameters are called to form the interference beam transmission signal.

[0073] The base station can also control the mechanical transmission device to rotate the direction of the electronic jammer to achieve the effect of sending a directional jammer beam.

[0074] When there are both legally flying networked drones and illegally invading drones in the restricted area, the position of the networked drones can be adjusted through the network communication link. After the illegal invading drones are separated, directional beams can be emitted to carry out interference attacks.

[0075] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for an integrated jamming base station for low-altitude safety issues of unmanned aerial vehicles, the method comprising: Step 101, the base station provides communication signal coverage to the UAV flight area, and at the same time provides interference signal coverage to the target restricted area; The communication frequency band of the base station is not within the interference frequency band, and the networked drone can transmit data through the communication network within the coverage of the base station communication signal; Step 102: The drone flies into a restricted area. If the drone is a network-connected drone equipped with a network terminal that can communicate with the base station, proceed to step 104; otherwise, proceed to step 103; Step 103, the non-networked drone cannot fly normally under signal interference, and lands / returns according to the built-in program; Step 104, when other data links fail, the networked drone communicates with the base station through the network connection, submits data and receives control command actions; When a networked drone is flying in the air, after establishing a communication connection with a base station, it should report flight-related control information such as its location to assist the base station in determining whether it is in a restricted area; Networked drones can maintain communication connections with base stations, submit data and receive control instructions, and perform flight actions according to the data link of the control console through the communication network.

2. The base station according to claim 1, characterized in that In addition to the communication function, the base station also has the function of generating interference signals. The interference frequency band is aimed at the point-to-point communication and navigation functions of the drone, and does not include the mobile network communication frequency band of this base station.

3. The base station according to claim 1, characterized in that One or more base stations provide interference signal coverage for restricted areas. One base station can connect and control multiple interference signal generating devices, and the parameters of the interference devices can be adjusted.

4. The base station according to claim 1, characterized in that In the event of possible interference with ground communication networks, the base station antenna panel / beam direction can be pointed toward the sky based on the aerial flight characteristics of drones to optimize air coverage.

5. The base station according to claim 1, characterized in that The interference signal can be sent intermittently (or the direction / power parameters of the interference signal can be adjusted), and can be started and stopped / adjusted according to pre-set / networked drone communication link notification / drone detection results, etc.

6. The base station according to claim 1, characterized in that The base station can save the configuration parameters of the interference beam for each location through preliminary measurement verification, and call them when starting interference at the specified location.

7. The networked drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: It has network communication capabilities and can maintain network communication connection with the base station in restricted areas when the point-to-point communication link is interfered with.

8. The networked drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: When flying in the air, flight control information can be reported through the network data connection, and flight movements can be controlled through the network data connection.

9. The networked drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: Drones that are authorized to fly in restricted areas must have network communication capabilities.

10. An integrated communication and jamming system for low-altitude safety issues of unmanned aerial vehicles, the system comprising: The system comprises: Interference integrated base station (module 201-module 203), drone (module 204) Module 201, a base station communication module, establishes an air interface communication link for data interaction when the drone is a networked drone; The network air interface communication link uses the authorized frequency band and is not within the interference frequency band; Module 202, a base station control module, adjusts the interference signal mode of module 203 based on the obtained restricted area parameters and the communication interaction information between module 201 and module 204; The parameters to be adjusted include interference signal power, interference signal direction, etc. The purpose is to match the interference signal with the target restricted area without generating too much external interference. Each base station may also control multiple interference signal modules distributed in different locations (connected to the base station control module through wired or wireless communication); Module 203, the jamming signal module, generates jamming signals to the data link of the drone, including covering the restricted target area with jamming signals of a specific frequency band (excluding the authorized frequency band for network communication) by adjusting the antenna pointing and electronic beamforming, so that the drone's point-to-point communication / GPS navigation and other functions cannot operate; The interference mode can be a long-term static setting, or it can be dynamically adjusted according to actual needs, including start / stop / power adjustment / signal direction adjustment, etc. The antenna panel of the traditional mobile communication network points to the ground and tilts to optimize ground coverage. As the main activity area of ​​the drone is in the air, in order to reduce interference with the ground network, the antenna panel of the base station of the present invention can point to the sky to optimize air coverage; Module 204, the UAV module, when the UAV is equipped with a network communication terminal (networked UAV), when other data links are interfered and cannot work, it maintains data connection through the air interface data link and operates according to network transmission instructions, otherwise it performs operations such as landing / returning according to a predetermined built-in program.

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