Data transmission method of unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, and discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle data transmission method and an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring an inspection task, responding to the inspection task, performing inspection on an inspection line according to an inspection route to obtain inspection image data, and when the unmanned aerial vehicle arrives at the aircraft nest unit, establishing a second type of communication connection with the aircraft nest unit based on the second type of communication unit, the transmission rate of the second type of communication connection is greater than that of the first type of communication connection, and transmitting the inspection image data to the nest unit based on the second type of communication connection. According to the embodiment, the base station does not need to forward data midway, and the inspection image data acquired by the unmanned aerial vehicle can be directly transmitted to the nest, so that the data transmission efficiency is improved. Moreover, before data transmission, the embodiment also can switch the low-rate first-class communication connection into the high-rate second-class communication connection, and transmit the inspection image data based on the second-class communication connection, so that the data transmission efficiency can be further improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, and in particular to a data transmission method of an unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned aerial vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Drones are often used to inspect various inspection routes in order to check whether there are any abnormalities on the inspection routes. The drones provided by the relevant technology use image transmission connection to upload the inspection image data collected during the inspection process to the background system. This data transmission method is relatively slow and the data upload efficiency is low. Summary of the invention

[0003] One purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a data transmission method for an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle, so as to solve the technical problem of low data upload efficiency in related technologies.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission method of an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

[0005] Obtaining an inspection task, wherein the inspection task includes an inspection route of an inspection route and a machine nest unit deployed on the inspection route, wherein both the drone and the machine nest unit are configured with a first-type communication unit and a second-type communication unit, and the drone establishes a first-type communication connection with the machine nest unit based on the first-type communication unit during the inspection process;

[0006] In response to the inspection task, the inspection route is inspected according to the inspection route to obtain inspection image data;

[0007] When the drone arrives at the nest unit, a second type of communication connection is established with the nest unit based on the second type of communication unit, wherein the transmission rate of the second type of communication connection is greater than the transmission rate of the first type of communication connection;

[0008] The inspection image data is transmitted to the machine nest unit based on the second type of communication connection.

[0009] Optionally, when the drone arrives at the nest unit, establishing a second type of communication connection with the nest unit based on the second type of communication unit includes:

[0010] When the drone arrives at the machine nest unit, a connection request is sent to the machine nest unit, so that the machine nest unit responds to the connection request and sends an authorization request to the background system;

[0011] In response to the connection authorization information sent by the machine nest unit, a second type of communication connection is established with the machine nest unit based on the second type of communication unit, wherein the connection authorization information is information sent to the machine nest unit after the background system authenticates and passes the authorization request.

[0012] Optionally, when the drone arrives at the machine nest unit, sending a connection request to the machine nest unit includes:

[0013] When the drone arrives at the nest unit, generating first authorization challenge data;

[0014] Packing the first authorization challenge data into a connection request;

[0015] The connection request is sent to the machine nest unit so that the machine nest unit generates second authorization challenge data after authenticating the first authorization challenge data, and sends the second authorization challenge data to the background system so that the background system returns the connection authorization information to the machine nest unit after authenticating the second authorization challenge data.

[0016] Optionally, the responding to the inspection task and inspecting the inspection route according to the inspection route to obtain the inspection image data includes:

[0017] In response to the inspection task, detecting whether the drone meets the charging trigger condition;

[0018] If satisfied, control the UAV to return to the nest unit;

[0019] If not, the inspection route is inspected according to the inspection route to obtain inspection image data.

[0020] Optionally, the machine nest unit includes a starting machine nest and an end machine nest respectively deployed at two ends of the inspection route, and controlling the drone to return to the machine nest unit includes:

[0021] Planning a first return path for the drone to return to the starting nest according to the current position of the drone and the position information of the starting nest;

[0022] Planning a second return path for the drone to return to the destination nest according to the current location of the drone and the location information of the destination nest;

[0023] Acquire flight environment information collected by the drone from the starting nest to the current position of the drone;

[0024] Determining, according to the flight environment information, a return path that meets the return condition between the first return path and the second return path as a target return path;

[0025] The UAV is controlled to return to the machine nest corresponding to the target return path according to the target return path.

[0026] Optionally, determining, according to the flight environment information, a return path that satisfies a return condition between the first return path and the second return path as a target return path includes:

[0027] Determine the abnormal airflow density of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position according to the flight environment information;

[0028] If the abnormal airflow density is greater than or equal to a first preset density threshold, determining a power coefficient corresponding to the abnormal airflow density, wherein the power coefficient is a positive number greater than or equal to 1;

[0029] Determine a first reference power and a second reference power, wherein the first reference power is the power required for the UAV to return to the nest corresponding to the first return path in the absence of abnormalities along the first return path, and the second reference power is the power required for the UAV to return to the nest corresponding to the second return path in the absence of abnormalities along the second return path;

[0030] Calculating the product of the power coefficient, the first reference power, and the second reference power to obtain a first estimated power and a second estimated power;

[0031] According to the first estimated power and the second estimated power, a return path satisfying a return condition is determined as a target return path between the first return path and the second return path.

[0032] Optionally, determining a target return path according to the first estimated power and the second estimated power includes:

[0033] Finding a first minimum estimated power between the first estimated power and the second estimated power;

[0034] If the first minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the drone, determining the return path corresponding to the first minimum estimated power as the target return path;

[0035] If the first minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the drone, an alternate landing point closest to the current position is determined, and the drone is controlled to move from the current position to the alternate landing point.

[0036] Optionally, the data transmission method further includes:

[0037] If the abnormal airflow density is less than a first preset density threshold, finding a second minimum estimated power between the first reference power and the second reference power;

[0038] If the second minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the drone, determining the return path corresponding to the second minimum estimated power as the target return path;

[0039] If the second minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the drone, an alternate landing point closest to the current position is determined, and the drone is controlled to move from the current position to the alternate landing point.

[0040] Optionally, determining the abnormal airflow density of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position according to the flight environment information includes:

[0041] According to the flight environment information, determining an abnormal section where abnormal airflow occurs during the process of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position;

[0042] Accumulating the distances of all abnormal road sections to obtain a total abnormal distance;

[0043] The ratio of the total abnormal distance to the total flight distance is calculated to obtain the abnormal airflow density, wherein the total flight distance is the flight distance of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position.

[0044] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a drone, including:

[0045] body;

[0046] A machine arm connected to the machine body;

[0047] Wings, provided on the arms, for providing the UAV with flying power;

[0048] A sensor module, disposed on the fuselage, for collecting sensor data;

[0049] an aircraft communication module, arranged on the fuselage, and

[0050] The flight control module includes a memory and a processor, wherein the processor is respectively communicatively connected to the sensor module, the aircraft communication module and the memory, and the processor is used to execute one or more computer programs stored in the memory. When the processor executes the one or more computer programs, the drone implements the above-mentioned drone data transmission method.

[0051] The embodiments of the present application can achieve the following technical effects: the embodiments of the present application do not require the base station to forward data midway, and the inspection image data collected by the drone can be directly transmitted to the machine nest, which is conducive to improving the data transmission efficiency. In addition, before data transmission, the embodiments of the present application can also switch the low-speed first-type communication connection to a high-speed second-type communication connection, and transmit the inspection image data based on the second-type communication connection, which can further improve the data transmission efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments of the present application will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0053] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a drone inspecting an inspection route provided for related technologies;

[0054] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a data transmission system for a drone provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a circuit structure of a drone provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 4 A flowchart of a data transmission method for a drone provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a first application scenario for determining a target return path provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a second application scenario for determining a target return path provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a data transmission device for a drone provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the circuit structure of a flight control module provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0062] It should be noted that, if there is no conflict, the various features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other, all within the scope of protection of the present application. In addition, although the functional module division is performed in the device schematic diagram and the logical order is shown in the flow chart, in some cases, the steps shown or described can be performed in a sequence different from the module division in the device or the flow chart. Furthermore, the words "first", "second", "third", etc. used in this application do not limit the data and execution order, but only distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and effects.

[0063] In the process of implementing the embodiments of the present application, the inventors also found that the related technology has the following problems:

[0064] The related technology sets a starting nest at the take-off point of the drone. The drone can take off from the starting nest and inspect the inspection route. Multiple base stations are also deployed along the inspection route. The drone can establish an image transmission connection with the starting nest and the base station, and the starting nest also establishes an image transmission connection with the base station, and multiple base stations also establish image transmission connections.

[0065] During the inspection process, the drone can take pictures of the inspection line to collect inspection image data, and transmit the inspection image data to the base station based on the image transmission connection. The base station then transmits it to the machine nest based on the image transmission connection. The machine nest then uploads the inspection image data to the background system, which can display and analyze the inspection image data. This data transmission method needs to be forwarded through multiple nodes, which can easily reduce data transmission efficiency. In addition, the transmission rate of the image transmission connection is not high, which further reduces data transmission efficiency.

[0066] When the drone is running low on power, it needs to return to the starting nest to recharge. When the drone encounters abnormal environmental factors during flight, it needs to return to the starting nest in advance to charge before the pre-planned return point. However, although the abnormal environmental factors affect the drone's return point and force it to advance, the relevant technology does not take abnormal environmental factors into account when planning the return path.

[0067] See also Figure 1, the drone 11 inspects the inspection route 12, and according to the preset plan, when the drone 11 normally flies to the position point A of the inspection route 12, the drone 11 has 30% of power left, and the drone needs to return to the starting point 13 for charging. In other words, the position point A is the pre-planned return point.

[0068] Under normal circumstances, the drone 11 can return to the starting nest 13 from position A with 30% power to charge. However, the drone 11 encountered abnormal airflow during the inspection process, which caused the drone 11 to consume more power when passing through the abnormal airflow, and then the remaining power of the drone at position B was 30%. Therefore, the drone performed a return operation, that is, position B was the return point after the abnormality occurred. Position B was closer to the starting nest than position A, so the drone 11 was forced to return early.

[0069] When the drone 11 returns from the location point to the starting nest 13 with 30% of the power, since the abnormal airflow still exists, if the drone wants to pass through the abnormal airflow to return to the starting nest 13, the drone needs to consume more power, for example, it needs to consume more than 30% of the power. In the actual process, since the drone 11 cannot return from the location point to the starting nest 13 with 30% of the power, the drone 11 is forced to land at the preset alternate landing point when the power is 10%, and it is not able to successfully return to the starting nest 13 for charging. Therefore, the return path planned by the relevant technology is not reliable. In addition, the relevant technology only has one starting nest, resulting in the drone facing only one nest choice when returning to charge, which is easily limited and inflexible when planning the return path.

[0070] The data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application does not require the base station to forward data midway, and the inspection image data collected by the drone can be directly transmitted to the machine nest, which is conducive to improving data transmission efficiency.

[0071] The data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application can switch a low-speed first-type communication connection to a high-speed second-type communication connection before data transmission, and transmit inspection image data based on the second-type communication connection, thereby further improving data transmission efficiency.

[0072] The nest unit provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a starting nest and a terminal nest. The drone can be charged at the starting nest or the terminal nest. When planning the return route, the embodiment of the present application can use the starting nest or the terminal nest as the planning element of the return route, which can increase the flexibility of planning the return route and facilitate finding the optimal return route.

[0073] The data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application can fully incorporate abnormal environmental factors when planning the return path, so that a safe and reliable return path can be planned.

[0074] Hereinafter, the present application embodiment provides a data transmission system for a drone. Figure 2 The data transmission system 200 includes a background system 21, a machine nest 22 and a drone 23.

[0075] The backend system 21 is connected to the machine nest 22 for controlling the machine nest 22 and the drone 23. The communication connection includes a wireless connection and a wired connection. The wireless connection can be 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, WIFI, Bluetooth, etc. The wired connection includes an Ethernet connection, an optical fiber connection, etc.

[0076] The backend system 21 can plan the route information of the inspection route for the drone 23, and send the route information of the inspection route to the drone 23 through the machine nest 22, and the drone 23 saves the route information of the inspection route. It is understandable that the backend system 21 can be an electronic device such as a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a server, a mobile phone, etc.

[0077] The backend system 21 is equipped with a display screen, which is used to present various pages related to the drone. The display screen presents a task creation page, and the user can select the inspection route of the inspection task on the task creation page. After the user completes the parameter setting of the inspection task on the task creation page, the backend system 21 presents the inspection route of the inspection task on the task creation page, and sends the inspection task to the machine nest 22. The machine nest 22 sends the inspection task to the drone 23. After receiving the inspection task, the drone 23 begins to inspect the inspection route according to the inspection path 23 of the inspection task. The user can view the flight status of the drone 23 in real time on the backend system 21.

[0078] The machine nest 22 is connected to the drone 23 for placing the drone 23 and meeting the take-off, landing, battery replacement and charging requirements of the drone 23. The machine nest 22 includes a cabinet, a cover, a charging module, a machine nest communication module and a microcontroller.

[0079] The cabinet and the cover form a closed space, and when the drone 23 is placed therein, it can be protected from the sun and rain.

[0080] The charging module is arranged in the cabinet, and is used to provide power to the drone 23 when the drone 23 enters the enclosed space. The charging module can be a wireless charging module or a wired charging module.

[0081] When the charging module is a wireless charging module, the charging module includes a transmitting coil and a wireless transmitting circuit, the transmitting coil is buried in the cabinet, and the wireless transmitting circuit is electrically connected to the transmitting coil. When the drone 23 enters the enclosed space, the receiving coil of the drone 23 is coupled with the transmitting coil, and the wireless transmitting circuit drives the transmitting coil to radiate magnetic field energy to the receiving coil based on the wireless communication protocol. The drone 23 couples the magnetic field energy through the receiving coil and converts the magnetic field energy into electrical energy for storage.

[0082] When the charging module is a wired charging module, the charging module includes a charging circuit and a charging electrode. The charging electrode is arranged in the cabinet, and the charging circuit is electrically connected to the charging electrode. When the drone 23 enters the enclosed space, the power supply electrode of the drone 23 is docked with the charging electrode, and the power provided by the machine nest 22 is processed by the charging circuit and then transmitted to the drone 23 through the charging electrode.

[0083] The machine nest communication module includes a first type of communication unit and a second type of communication unit. The first type of communication unit of the machine nest 22 can be connected to the drone 23 for communication, and the second type of communication unit is connected to the drone 23 and the background system 21 for communication, wherein the transmission rate of the first type of communication unit is lower than the transmission rate of the second type of communication unit. In some embodiments, the first type of communication unit is an image transmission module or a WIFI module, and the second type of communication unit is a USB communication module, an Ethernet communication module, or an optical fiber communication module.

[0084] The microcontroller is electrically connected to the charging module and the first communication unit respectively, and is used to process and analyze various business logics. The microcontroller can be a single chip microcomputer or an ARM processor.

[0085] The drone 23 is used to receive the command sent by the machine nest 22 and perform corresponding actions according to the command. For example, the drone 23 receives the task command sent by the machine nest 22 and performs the inspection task according to the task command, or the drone 23 receives the landing command sent by the machine nest 22 and lands according to the landing command, or the drone 23 receives the return command sent by the machine nest 22 and returns according to the return command. The drone 23 is also used to shoot and detect the power line during the inspection process, and transmit the acquired image information or video information to the machine nest 22, which is then sent to the background system 21 by the machine nest 22.

[0086] Please combine Figure 2 and Figure 3 The drone 23 includes a fuselage 231 , an arm 232 , a wing 233 , a sensor module 234 , an aircraft communication module 235 and a flight control module 236 .

[0087] The fuselage 231 is used as the body of the drone 23 to carry various parts. The arm 232 is connected to the fuselage 231. The wing 233 is provided on the arm 232 to provide the drone with power for flight.

[0088] The sensor module 234 is disposed on the fuselage 231 and is used to collect sensor data. The sensor module 234 includes a radar, a camera, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, etc.

[0089] The aircraft communication module 235 is used to communicate with the background system 21 and the machine nest 22 respectively. The aircraft communication module 235 includes a first type of communication unit, a second type of communication unit and a third type of communication unit, wherein the embodiments of the first type of communication unit and the second type of communication unit are the same as described above and are not repeated here. The third type of communication unit can be a 6G module, a 5G module, a 4G module, a 3G module or a 2G module.

[0090] The flight control module 236 is electrically connected to the sensor module 234 and the aircraft communication module 235 respectively, and is used to control the flight status of the UAV 23 .

[0091] It is understandable that the drone 23 is an unmanned aerial vehicle driven by any type of power, including but not limited to a tilt-rotor drone, a fixed-wing drone, a paraglider drone, a flapping-wing drone, and a helicopter model, etc. The drone 23 can have a corresponding volume or power according to the actual needs, so as to provide a load capacity, flight speed, and flight range that can meet the use needs.

[0092] The following is an embodiment of the present application that provides a method for transmitting data via a drone. Figure 4 ,The data transmission method of the drone includes the following steps:

[0093] S41: Obtain inspection tasks.

[0094] In this step, the inspection task includes the inspection route of the inspection route and the machine nest unit deployed on the inspection route. It can be understood that in some embodiments, the machine nest unit can be a single machine nest, that is, the machine nest unit can be a starting machine nest. In some embodiments, the machine nest unit includes a starting machine nest and a terminal machine nest, and the starting machine nest and the terminal machine nest are respectively deployed at the two ends of the inspection route.

[0095] The inspection route is the route that the drone needs to inspect, wherein the inspection route can be a route in any business scenario, such as an electric power supply line, a coastline, or the outer contour of a building.

[0096] The inspection route is the flight route of the drone when inspecting the inspection line. The inspection route is automatically generated by the background system according to the inspection route selected by the user. In some embodiments, when the inspection line is a power line, the inspection route is a route composed of line segments connected by the towers of the power line.

[0097] The background system responds to the user's selection operation on the inspection route, generates the inspection route corresponding to the inspection route, configures the machine nest unit corresponding to the inspection route, and starts all base stations corresponding to the inspection route, encapsulates the inspection route and the machine nest information of the machine nest unit into an inspection task, and sends the inspection task to the drone.

[0098] In some embodiments, when the background system starts all base stations corresponding to the inspection route, the background system needs to perform a communication line inspection operation, wherein the communication line inspection process is as follows: the background system sends a start command to the base station corresponding to the inspection route, and detects whether the start success information returned by the base station in response to the start command is received. If received, it is determined whether the endurance time of the base station is greater than the preset endurance threshold. If it is greater than or equal to, the inspection pass information of the base station is generated. If it is less than, the inspection failure information of the base station is generated. If not received, the total number of times the background system sends the start command to the base station is determined, and the total number of words is determined to be greater than or equal to the preset number threshold. If it is greater than or equal to, the inspection failure information of the base station is generated. If it is less than, the step of sending the start command to the base station corresponding to the inspection route is returned.

[0099] The drone and the nest unit are both equipped with a first type of communication unit and a second type of communication unit. As mentioned above, the transmission rate of the first type of communication unit is greater than the transmission rate of the second type of communication unit. When the first type of communication unit can be an image transmission module or a WIFI module, the second type of communication unit can be any one of a USB communication module, an Ethernet communication module or an optical fiber communication module.

[0100] During the inspection process, the drone establishes a first-class communication connection with the nest unit based on the first-class communication unit. For example, the nest unit is the starting nest, and the drone establishes a picture transmission connection with the starting nest based on the picture transmission module when taking off. For another example, the nest unit includes the starting nest and the terminal nest. The drone establishes a picture transmission connection with the starting nest based on the picture transmission module when taking off, and establishes a picture transmission connection with the terminal nest based on the picture transmission module when landing.

[0101] In some embodiments, when the nest unit includes a starting nest and a terminal nest, when the drone needs to return from the terminal nest to the starting nest, the remote return process of the drone is as follows:

[0102] Step A1: The backend system sends a landing check command to the starting nest. The starting nest responds to the landing check command and checks whether the starting nest meets the preset landing conditions provided to the drone for landing. If so, step A2 is executed. If not, the backend system notifies the drone to cancel the return to the starting nest.

[0103] Step A2: The background system sends a line check command to the base station associated with the drone. The base station responds to the line check command and checks whether the base station meets the normal communication conditions. If so, the base station returns the check pass information to the background system and executes step A3. If not, the base station returns the check failure information to the background system.

[0104] Step A3: The background system sends a flight preparation command to the terminal nest, and the terminal nest responds to the flight preparation command and notifies the drone to leave the terminal nest for takeoff. If the terminal nest checks that the drone takes off successfully, the terminal nest returns the flight preparation success information to the background system and executes step A4. If the terminal nest checks that the drone takes off fails, the terminal nest returns the flight preparation failure information to the background system, and the background system responds to the flight preparation failure information and notifies the drone to cancel the return to the starting nest.

[0105] Step A4: The destination machine nest disconnects the image transmission connection with the drone.

[0106] Step A5: The starting point machine nest establishes an image transmission connection with the drone and sends an image transmission connection success message to the background system.

[0107] Step A6: The backend system responds to the successful image transmission connection information and sends a ready-to-land information to the starting nest. The starting nest sends the ready-to-land information to the drone, and the drone responds to the ready-to-land information and performs a landing operation to land on the starting nest. When the starting nest detects that the drone has landed successfully, it generates a landing success information and sends the landing success information to the backend system.

[0108] According to steps A1 to A6, the embodiment of the present application can realize the remote return of the drone between multiple machine nests, which can avoid the drone from charging back and forth and taking off frequently in a single machine nest, which is conducive to improving the efficiency of mission execution.

[0109] In some embodiments, the process of the machine nest checking whether the preset landing conditions are met is as follows: check whether the machine nest is working normally. If it is working normally, check whether the machine nest has a backup battery. If so, detect whether the surrounding environment climate of the machine nest meets normal climate conditions. If so, determine that the machine nest meets the preset landing conditions. If it is not working normally or there is no backup battery or the surrounding environment climate does not meet normal climate conditions, determine that the machine nest does not meet the preset landing conditions.

[0110] S42: Responding to the inspection task, inspecting the inspection route according to the inspection route, and obtaining inspection image data.

[0111] In this step, the inspection image data is the image data of the inspection route photographed by the drone. The drone parses the inspection route from the inspection task, photographs the inspection route along the inspection route, and obtains the inspection image data.

[0112] S43: When the UAV arrives at the nest unit, a second type of communication connection is established with the nest unit based on the second type of communication unit, and the transmission rate of the second type of communication connection is greater than the transmission rate of the first type of communication connection.

[0113] In this step, in some embodiments, when the machine nest unit is a single machine nest (that is, the starting machine nest), when the drone detects that the remaining power of the drone's battery meets the charging trigger condition, the drone arrives at the starting machine nest for charging. When the drone is fully charged at the starting machine nest, the drone takes off from the starting machine nest again, flies back and forth to the waypoint, and inspects the inspection routes that have not been inspected from the return point.

[0114] In some embodiments, when the nest unit is a single nest (ie, the starting nest), when the drone receives a return command, the drone arrives at the starting nest. The return command may be generated by a background system or by the drone detecting that the current aircraft condition does not meet the preset flight conditions.

[0115] In some embodiments, when the machine nest unit includes a starting machine nest and a terminal machine nest, when the drone detects that the remaining power of the drone's battery meets the charging trigger condition, or receives a return command, the drone determines a target machine nest between the starting machine nest and the terminal machine nest to return to the target machine nest for charging. When the drone is fully charged at the target machine nest, the drone takes off from the target machine nest, flies back and forth to the waypoint, and inspects the uninspected inspection lines from the return point. It is understandable that the embodiment of the present application determines a machine nest that meets the requirements between the starting machine nest and the terminal machine nest in combination with a preset rule as the target machine nest.

[0116] When the drone arrives at the nest unit, the drone starts the second type of communication unit to work, so that the communication connection between the drone and the nest unit is switched from the first type of communication connection to the second type of communication connection. For example, before the drone arrives at the destination nest, the drone communicates with the destination nest based on the image transmission connection. When the drone arrives at the destination nest, the drone communicates with the destination nest based on the Ethernet connection, where the transmission rate of the Ethernet connection is greater than the transmission rate of the image transmission connection, for example, the transmission rate of the image transmission connection is 4GB / s, and the Ethernet connection is 100GB / s.

[0117] S44: Transmitting the inspection image data to the machine nest unit based on the second type of communication connection.

[0118] In this step, in some embodiments, after the machine nest unit receives the inspection image data transmitted by the drone based on the second type of communication connection, the inspection image data is uploaded to the background system. In some embodiments, after the machine nest unit receives the inspection image data transmitted by the drone based on the second type of communication connection, the inspection image data is saved locally in the machine nest unit, and subsequent staff members copy the inspection image data from the local machine nest unit.

[0119] The embodiment of the present application does not require the base station to forward data midway, and the inspection image data collected by the drone can be directly transmitted to the machine nest, which is conducive to improving data transmission efficiency. In addition, before data transmission, the embodiment of the present application can also switch the low-speed first-type communication connection to a high-speed second-type communication connection, and transmit the inspection image data based on the second-type communication connection, which can further improve data transmission efficiency.

[0120] When the drone establishes the second type of communication connection with the nest unit, in order to prevent an illegal drone from pretending to be a legitimate drone and maliciously sending illegal data to the nest unit, and to prevent an illegal nest unit from pretending to be a legitimate nest unit and maliciously receiving inspection image data sent by the drone, in some embodiments, step S43 includes the following steps:

[0121] S431: When the UAV arrives at the machine nest unit, it sends a connection request to the machine nest unit, so that the machine nest unit responds to the connection request and sends an authorization request to the background system.

[0122] S432: Respond to the connection authorization information sent by the machine nest unit, establish a second type of communication connection with the machine nest unit based on the second type of communication unit, and the connection authorization information is the information sent to the machine nest unit after the background system authenticates and passes the authorization permission request.

[0123] In S431, the connection request is used to trigger the machine nest unit to request the background system to authenticate the legitimacy of the drone and the machine nest unit. When the drone arrives at the machine nest unit, the drone generates the first authorization challenge data, packages the first authorization challenge data into a connection request, and sends the connection request to the machine nest unit, so that the machine nest unit generates an authorization permission request after authenticating the first authorization challenge data.

[0124] The first authorization challenge data is actively initiated by the drone, wherein generating the first authorization challenge data includes the following steps: generating a random number according to a preset random number generation algorithm, obtaining the device information of the drone and the nest information of the nest unit, performing hash encryption processing on the device information, the nest information and the random number according to a preset hash encryption algorithm to obtain the first hash encrypted data, using the private key of the drone to sign the first hash encrypted data to obtain the first signature information, using the device information, the nest information and the random number as summary information, and packaging the summary information and the first signature information into the first authorization challenge data.

[0125] The authorization permission request is actively initiated by the machine nest unit, wherein the steps of generating the authorization permission request are as follows: when the machine nest unit authenticates and passes the first authorization challenge data, the machine nest unit generates the second authorization challenge data, and packages the second authorization challenge data into an authorization permission request, and sends the authorization permission request to the background system.

[0126] The steps for the machine nest unit to authenticate the first authorization challenge data are as follows: after receiving the first authorization challenge data, the machine nest unit parses the summary information and the first signature information from the first authorization challenge data, and obtains the public key of the drone. If the machine nest unit successfully decrypts the first signature information using the public key of the drone and obtains the first decrypted data, it means that the first challenge authorization data is sent by a legal drone. If the decryption fails, it means that the first challenge authorization data is sent by an illegal drone, and the machine nest unit refuses to respond to any request from the drone. If the decryption is successful, then the machine nest unit performs hash encryption on the summary information to obtain the summary data, and compares the first decrypted data with the summary data. If the two are consistent, it means that the first authorization challenge data has not been tampered with by other malicious persons, and the machine nest unit authenticates the first authorization challenge data.

[0127] The steps for the machine nest unit to generate the second authorization challenge data are as follows: after the machine nest unit authenticates the first authorization challenge data, the machine nest unit uses the private key of the machine nest unit to sign the first hash encrypted data to obtain the second signature information, and packages the summary information, the first signature information and the second signature information into the second authorization challenge data.

[0128] In S432, the connection authorization information is used to indicate that the nest unit is allowed to establish a second type of communication connection with the drone. The steps for the background system to generate the connection authorization information are as follows: when the background system receives the authorization permission request, the second authorization challenge data is parsed from the authorization permission request, and when the background system authenticates the second authorization challenge data, the background system generates the connection authorization information.

[0129] The background system parses the summary information, the first signature information and the second signature information from the second authorization challenge data, and verifies the first signature information and the second signature information respectively in the above manner. If both are successfully verified, the background system authenticates the second authorization challenge data and returns the connection authorization information to the machine nest unit, which then forwards the connection authorization information to the drone. If both are unsuccessful or either of them is unsuccessful, the background system refuses to respond to any request from the machine nest unit.

[0130] The embodiment of the present application verifies the legitimacy of the nest unit and the drone through the first authorization challenge data and the second authorization challenge data respectively, thereby preventing illegal drones from maliciously sending data to the nest unit and also preventing illegal nest units from maliciously uploading data to the background system, thereby improving the security and reliability of data transmission.

[0131] During the inspection process, the drone faces a changeable and uncertain environment, which causes the drone's power consumption to not follow the established consumption rules. Therefore, the drone needs to monitor the power in real time during the inspection process in order to adopt appropriate flight strategies.

[0132] In some embodiments, in response to the inspection task, inspecting the inspection route according to the inspection route, and obtaining the inspection image data includes the following steps:

[0133] S421: Respond to the inspection task and detect whether the drone meets the charging trigger conditions.

[0134] S422: If satisfied, control the UAV to return to the nest unit.

[0135] S423: If not satisfied, inspect the inspection route according to the inspection route to obtain inspection image data.

[0136] In S421, after receiving the inspection task, the drone detects whether the drone meets the charging trigger condition according to the preset frequency.

[0137] In some embodiments, detecting whether the drone meets the charging trigger condition at a preset frequency includes the following steps: accessing the drone's battery at a preset frequency to obtain the remaining battery power, if the remaining power is less than or equal to a preset power threshold, determining that the drone meets the charging trigger condition, if the remaining power is greater than the preset power threshold, determining that the drone does not meet the charging trigger condition. The preset power threshold can be customized by the designer, for example, the preset power threshold is 50% or 60%.

[0138] In some embodiments, detecting whether the drone meets the charging trigger conditions according to a preset frequency includes the following steps: detecting whether the drone receives the return command sent by the nest unit according to the preset frequency; if received, determining that the drone meets the charging trigger conditions; if not received, determining that the drone does not meet the charging trigger conditions.

[0139] In S422, in some embodiments, when the nest unit is a single nest (i.e., the starting nest), controlling the drone to return to the nest unit includes the following steps: obtaining the current position of the drone, planning a return path according to the current position of the drone and the position information of the starting nest, and controlling the drone to return to the starting nest according to the return path. It is understandable that the return path can be a straight line path connecting the current position and the starting nest, or a path generated according to a preset path planning algorithm.

[0140] During the flight, drones are prone to encounter various abnormal airflow phenomena, such as turbulence, updrafts, downdrafts, lateral airflows, etc. The above-mentioned abnormal environments are likely to cause drones to consume too much power in order to overcome the fluctuations caused by such abnormal environments.

[0141] If a drone takes off from a starting nest and frequently encounters abnormal airflows such as turbulence, updrafts, downdrafts, and lateral airflows during flight and needs to return, the drone will most likely still encounter such abnormal airflows when returning to the starting nest from its current position. In addition, the drone will most likely still encounter such abnormal airflows when returning to the destination nest from its current position.

[0142] If a drone takes off from the starting nest and occasionally encounters abnormal airflows such as turbulence, updrafts, downdrafts, lateral airflows, etc. during the flight and needs to return, the drone will most likely still encounter such abnormal airflows when returning to the starting nest from the current position. However, the drone may not necessarily encounter such abnormal airflows when returning to the destination nest from the current position.

[0143] It is understandable that when the drone frequently encounters abnormal airflow from the starting nest to the location where it needs to return, this indirectly indicates that the drone will have a higher probability of encountering such abnormal airflow when it goes from the location where it needs to return to the destination nest. When the drone occasionally encounters abnormal airflow from the starting nest to the location where it needs to return, this indirectly indicates that the drone will not have a high probability of encountering such abnormal airflow when it goes from the location where it needs to return to the destination nest. At this time, the path taken by the drone from the location where it needs to return to the destination nest will be safer and save power than the path taken to the starting nest.

[0144] In some embodiments, the nest unit includes a starting nest and an end nest respectively deployed at both ends of the inspection route, and controlling the drone to return to the nest unit includes the following steps:

[0145] S4221: According to the current position of the UAV and the position information of the starting nest, plan the first return path of the UAV to return to the starting nest.

[0146] S4222: Based on the current position of the UAV and the position information of the destination nest, plan a second return path for the UAV to return to the destination nest.

[0147] S4223: Obtain the flight environment information collected by the UAV from the starting nest to the current position of the UAV.

[0148] S4224: Determine, based on the flight environment information, a return path that satisfies the return conditions between the first return path and the second return path as the target return path.

[0149] S4225: Control the UAV to return to the machine nest corresponding to the target return path according to the target return path.

[0150] In S4221 and S4222, in some embodiments, the embodiments of the present application may use the straight path formed by the current position and the position information of the starting nest as the first return path, and use the straight path formed by the current position and the position information of the terminal nest as the second return path. In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present application plan the first return path between the current position and the position information of the starting nest, and plan the second return path between the current position and the position information of the terminal nest according to a preset path planning algorithm, wherein the preset path planning algorithm includes Dijkstra algorithm, A* algorithm, genetic algorithm or fast random tree algorithm, etc.

[0151] In S4223, the flight environment information is used to represent the environmental status from the starting nest to the current position of the UAV. The flight environment information can be represented by 3D gyroscope data or 3D acceleration data, wherein the UAV is equipped with a gyroscope or accelerometer, and the data collected by the gyroscope or accelerometer can reflect whether the UAV encounters abnormal airflow.

[0152] In S4224, the embodiment of the present application determines the abnormal airflow density of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position based on the flight environment information, wherein the abnormal airflow density is used to determine the frequency of abnormal airflow in the area between the starting nest and the current position. The greater the abnormal airflow density, the greater the frequency of abnormal airflow in the area between the starting nest and the current position, and the smaller the abnormal airflow density, the smaller the frequency of abnormal airflow in the area between the starting nest and the current position.

[0153] The embodiment of the present application adopts the following method to determine the abnormal airflow density. Determining the abnormal airflow density of the drone from the starting nest to the current position according to the flight environment information includes the following steps: determining the abnormal section where abnormal airflow occurs in the process of the drone from the starting nest to the current position according to the flight environment information, accumulating the distances of all abnormal sections to obtain the total abnormal distance, and calculating the ratio of the total abnormal distance to the total flight distance to obtain the abnormal airflow density, wherein the total flight distance is the flight distance of the drone from the starting nest to the current position.

[0154] According to the flight environment information, determining the abnormal section where abnormal airflow occurs in the process of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position includes the following steps: determining the starting position point and the ending position point of the abnormal airflow according to the flight environment information, and taking the section from the starting position point to the ending position point on the inspection route as the abnormal section.

[0155] The flight environment information includes the attitude data of the UAV, and the attitude data includes a plurality of attitude signals sorted in time, wherein the attitude data includes 3D gyroscope data or 3D acceleration data, etc.

[0156] Determining the starting position point of abnormal airflow based on flight environment information includes the following steps: determining a first change rate of two adjacent first attitude signals; if the first change rate is greater than or equal to a preset jitter threshold, determining the starting time of the abnormal airflow based on the time of the two first attitude signals; determining the position point corresponding to the starting time as the starting position point; if the first change rate is less than the preset jitter threshold, determining that the UAV has not encountered abnormal airflow.

[0157] Determining the first change rate of two adjacent first gesture signals includes the following steps: calculating the amplitude difference and time difference of the amplitudes of the two adjacent first gesture signals, obtaining the ratio of the amplitude difference to the time difference, and obtaining the first change rate.

[0158] Determining the start time of abnormal airflow based on the times of two first posture signals includes the following steps: selecting the time of any first posture signal between the times of the two first posture signals as the start time of abnormal airflow, or calculating the average time of the two first posture signals as the start time of abnormal airflow, or selecting the earliest time or the latest time between the times of the two first posture signals as the start time of abnormal airflow.

[0159] Determining the end position point of the abnormal airflow based on the flight environment information includes the following steps: determining the second change rate of two adjacent second attitude signals, if the second change rate is greater than or equal to a preset jitter threshold, obtaining a driving current for driving the motor of the drone to rotate, and judging whether the driving current is less than a reference current of the starting position point where the drone passes through the abnormal airflow, if the driving current is less than the reference current of the starting position point where the drone passes through the abnormal airflow, then determining the start time of the abnormal airflow based on the time of the two second attitude signals, determining the position point corresponding to the start time as the starting position point, if the driving current is greater than or equal to the reference current of the starting position point where the drone passes through the abnormal airflow, determining that the abnormal airflow has not ended, and if the second change rate is less than the preset jitter threshold, then determining that the abnormal airflow has not ended.

[0160] After the abnormal airflow density is determined in the embodiment of the present application, if the abnormal airflow density is greater than or equal to the first preset density threshold, the power coefficient corresponding to the abnormal airflow density is determined, and the power coefficient is a positive number greater than or equal to 1. The first preset density threshold and the power coefficient can be customized by the designer according to engineering experience, as shown in Table 1:

[0161] Table 1

[0162] Abnormal air flow density [0,0.3) [0.3,0.5) [0.5,0.7) ≥0.7 Electricity coefficient 1 1.2 1.3 Return to alternate landing point

[0163] As shown in Table 1, different abnormal airflow densities correspond to different power coefficients, where the first preset density threshold given in Table 1 is 0.3. If the abnormal airflow density is within [0.3, 0.5), the corresponding power coefficient is 1.2. If the abnormal airflow density is within [0.5, 0.7), the corresponding power coefficient is 1.3.

[0164] Then, after the power coefficient is determined in the embodiment of the present application, the first reference power and the second reference power are determined, wherein the first reference power is the power required for the drone to return to the nest corresponding to the first return path under normal circumstances according to the first return path, and the second reference power is the power required for the drone to return to the nest corresponding to the second return path under normal circumstances according to the second return path. Then, the power coefficient is multiplied by the first reference power and the second reference power to obtain the first estimated power and the second estimated power. For example, if the power coefficient is 1.2, the first reference power is 200mAh, the second reference power is 230mAh, the first estimated power is 240mAh, and the second estimated power is 276mAh.

[0165] Finally, the embodiment of the present application determines the return path that meets the return conditions in the first return path and the second return path as the target return path based on the first estimated power and the second estimated power. The embodiment of the present application finds the first minimum estimated power between the first estimated power and the second estimated power. If the first minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the drone, the return path corresponding to the first minimum estimated power is determined as the target return path. If the first minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the drone, the alternate landing point closest to the current position is determined, and the drone is controlled to go from the current position to the alternate landing point.

[0166] For example, if the first minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the UAV, it means that the UAV has sufficient power to return to the nest corresponding to the target return path. If the first minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the UAV, it means that the UAV lacks sufficient power to return to the nest corresponding to the target return path and needs to temporarily land at an alternate landing point.

[0167] In some embodiments, if the abnormal airflow density is less than a first preset density threshold, a second minimum estimated power is found between the first benchmark power and the second benchmark power. If the second minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the drone, the return path corresponding to the second minimum estimated power is determined as the target return path. If the second minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the drone, the alternate landing point closest to the current position is determined, and the drone is controlled to move from the current position to the alternate landing point.

[0168] For example, if the density of abnormal airflow is less than the first preset density threshold, it means that the abnormal airflow encountered by the drone from the starting nest to the current position occurs occasionally and does not occur frequently. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application determines the first reference power and the second reference power according to the absence of abnormal situations, wherein the first reference power is used to represent the first return path, and the second reference power is used to represent the second return path. If the first reference power is less than the second reference power, the first reference power is the second minimum estimated power. If the first reference power is greater than the second reference power, the second reference power is the second minimum estimated power. If the second minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the drone, it means that the drone has enough power to return to the nest corresponding to the target return path. If the second minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the drone, it means that the drone lacks sufficient power to return to the nest corresponding to the target return path and needs to temporarily land at the alternate landing point.

[0169] The present application embodiment is combined with Figure 5 and Figure 6 The process of determining the target return path provided in the embodiment of the present application is as follows:

[0170] See also Figure 5 , the drone 50 takes off from the starting nest 51, performs the inspection task according to the inspection route 52, and arrives at the end nest 53. When the drone 50 flies to a position of 50km, it detects that the battery is insufficient and needs to return. During the flight, the drone encounters rising air currents on the section between position point T2 and position point T3, on the section between position point T4 and position point T5, and on the section between position point T6 and position point T7. The distance between position point T2 and position point T3 is 5km, the distance between position point T4 and position point T5 is 5km, and the distance between position point T6 and position point T7 is 8km.

[0171] Total flight distance D0 = 50 km, total abnormal distance D1 = 18 km, abnormal airflow density a = 18 / 50 = 0.36. The remaining battery power is 250 mAh.

[0172] If the first estimated power is 240mAh and the second estimated power is 276mAh, the first estimated power is the first minimum estimated power. Since the first minimum estimated power is less than the remaining power, the first return path corresponding to the first minimum estimated power is the target return path. The embodiment of the present application controls the drone to return to the starting nest along the first return path.

[0173] If the first estimated power is 240mAh and the second estimated power is 230mAh, the second estimated power is the first minimum estimated power. Since the first minimum estimated power is less than the remaining power, the second return path corresponding to the first minimum estimated power is the target return path. The embodiment of the present application controls the drone to return to the starting nest along the second return path.

[0174] See also Figure 6 , the drone 50 takes off from the starting nest 51 and performs the inspection task according to the inspection route 52. When the drone 50 flies to the position of 50km, it detects that the battery is insufficient and needs to return. During the flight, the drone encounters an updraft on the section between position point T2 and position point T3, and the flight status of other positions is good. The distance between position point T2 and position point T3 is 5km.

[0175] The abnormal airflow density a=5 / 50=0.1, and the remaining battery power is 250 mAh.

[0176] If the first benchmark power is 200mAh and the second benchmark power is 230mAh, the first benchmark power is the second minimum estimated power. Since the second minimum estimated power is less than the remaining power, the first return path corresponding to the second minimum estimated power is the target return path. The embodiment of the present application controls the drone to return to the starting nest along the first return path.

[0177] If the first benchmark power is 260mAh, the second benchmark power is 270mAh, and the first benchmark power is the second minimum estimated power, since the second minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power, the embodiment of the present application controls the drone to return to the alternate landing point closest to the current location.

[0178] The embodiment of the present application adopts the above-mentioned method, which can plan a reliable and safe return path when the drone encounters abnormal airflow, thereby improving the reliability and safety of the drone when transmitting data during return.

[0179] It should be noted that, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, there is not necessarily a certain order between the above-mentioned steps. A person skilled in the art can understand, based on the description of the embodiments of the present application, that in different embodiments, the above-mentioned steps may have different execution orders, that is, they may be executed in parallel, may be executed interchangeably, and so on.

[0180] As another aspect of the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission device for a drone. The data transmission device for a drone can be a software module, which includes several instructions stored in a memory, and the processor can access the memory and call the instructions for execution to complete the data transmission method for the drone described in the above embodiments.

[0181] In some embodiments, the data transmission device of the drone can also be constructed by hardware devices. For example, the data transmission device of the drone can be constructed by one or more chips, and each chip can work in coordination with each other to complete the data transmission method of the drone described in each of the above embodiments. For another example, the data transmission device of the drone can also be constructed by various logic devices, such as a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a single-chip microcomputer, an ARM (Acorn RISC Machine) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of these components.

[0182] See also Figure 7 The data transmission device 700 of the UAV includes a task acquisition module 71, a task inspection module 72, a communication switching module 73 and a data transmission module 74.

[0183] The task acquisition module 71 is used to obtain the inspection task. The inspection task includes the inspection route of the inspection line and the machine nest unit deployed on the inspection route. The UAV and the machine nest unit are both equipped with a first-class communication unit and a second-class communication unit. During the inspection process, the UAV establishes a first-class communication connection with the machine nest unit based on the first-class communication unit. The task inspection module 72 is used to respond to the inspection task, inspect the inspection line according to the inspection route, and obtain inspection image data. The communication switching module 73 is used to establish a second-class communication connection with the machine nest unit based on the second-class communication unit when the UAV arrives at the machine nest unit, wherein the transmission rate of the second-class communication connection is greater than the transmission rate of the first-class communication connection. The data transmission module 74 is used to transmit the inspection image data to the machine nest unit based on the second-class communication connection.

[0184] In some embodiments, the communication switching module 73 is specifically used for: when the drone arrives at the machine nest unit, sending a connection request to the machine nest unit, so that the machine nest unit responds to the connection request and sends an authorization request to the background system, responds to the connection authorization information sent by the machine nest unit, and establishes a second type of communication connection with the machine nest unit based on the second type of communication unit. The connection authorization information is the information sent to the machine nest unit after the background system authenticates and passes the authorization request.

[0185] In some embodiments, the communication switching module 73 is also specifically used to: when the drone arrives at the machine nest unit, generate first authorization challenge data, package the first authorization challenge data into a connection request, send the connection request to the machine nest unit, so that the machine nest unit can generate second authorization challenge data after authenticating the first authorization challenge data, and send the second authorization challenge data to the background system, so that the background system can return connection authorization information to the machine nest unit after authenticating the second authorization challenge data.

[0186] In some embodiments, the mission inspection module 72 is specifically used to: respond to the inspection mission, detect whether the drone meets the charging trigger conditions, if so, control the drone to return to the machine nest unit, if not, inspect the inspection route according to the inspection route to obtain inspection image data.

[0187] In some embodiments, the mission inspection module 72 is specifically used to: plan a first return path for the drone to return to the starting machine nest based on the current position of the drone and the position information of the starting machine nest, plan a second return path for the drone to return to the destination machine nest based on the current position of the drone and the position information of the destination machine nest, obtain flight environment information collected by the drone from the starting machine nest to the current position of the drone, determine the return path that meets the return conditions in the first return path and the second return path as the target return path based on the flight environment information, and control the drone to return to the machine nest corresponding to the target return path along the target return path.

[0188] In some embodiments, the mission inspection module 72 is specifically used to: determine the abnormal airflow density of the drone from the starting nest to the current position based on the flight environment information; if the abnormal airflow density is greater than or equal to the first preset density threshold, determine the power coefficient corresponding to the abnormal airflow density, the power coefficient is a positive number greater than or equal to 1, determine the first benchmark power and the second benchmark power, the first benchmark power is the power required for the drone to return to the nest corresponding to the first return path according to the first return path under normal circumstances, and the second benchmark power is the power required for the drone to return to the nest corresponding to the second return path according to the second return path under normal circumstances; calculate the product of the power coefficient with the first benchmark power and the second benchmark power, respectively, to obtain the first estimated power and the second estimated power, respectively; based on the first estimated power and the second estimated power, determine the return path that meets the return conditions in the first return path and the second return path as the target return path.

[0189] In some embodiments, the mission inspection module 72 is specifically used to: find a first minimum estimated power between the first estimated power and the second estimated power; if the first minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the drone, determine the return path corresponding to the first minimum estimated power as the target return path; if the first minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the drone, determine the alternate landing point closest to the current position, and control the drone to go from the current position to the alternate landing point.

[0190] In some embodiments, the mission inspection module 72 is specifically used for: if the abnormal airflow density is less than a first preset density threshold, then finding a second minimum estimated power between the first benchmark power and the second benchmark power; if the second minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the UAV, then determining the return path corresponding to the second minimum estimated power as the target return path; if the second minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the UAV, then determining the alternate landing point closest to the current position, and controlling the UAV to move from the current position to the alternate landing point.

[0191] In some embodiments, the mission inspection module 72 is specifically used to: determine, based on the flight environment information, the abnormal sections where abnormal airflow occurs in the process of the drone from the starting nest to the current position, accumulate the distances of all abnormal sections to obtain the total abnormal distance, calculate the ratio of the total abnormal distance to the total flight distance, and obtain the abnormal airflow density, wherein the total flight distance is the flight distance of the drone from the starting nest to the current position.

[0192] It should be noted that the above-mentioned data transmission device of the drone can execute the data transmission method of the drone provided in the embodiment of the present application, and has the functional modules and beneficial effects corresponding to the execution method. For technical details not fully described in the embodiment of the data transmission device of the drone, please refer to the data transmission method of the drone provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0193] See also Figure 8 , Figure 8 The circuit structure diagram of a flight control module provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 8 As shown, the flight control module 800 includes one or more processors 81 and a memory 82. The memory 82 is connected to the one or more processors 81, for example, connected to the processor 81 via a bus.

[0194] The processor 81 is configured to support the drone to perform the corresponding functions in the method in the above method embodiment. The processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a hardware chip or any combination thereof. The above hardware chip can be an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) or a combination thereof. The above PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL) or any combination thereof.

[0195] The memory 82 is used to store program codes, etc. The memory may include a volatile memory (VM), such as a random access memory (RAM); the memory may also include a non-volatile memory (NVM), such as a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD); the memory may also include a combination of the above types of memory.

[0196] The memory can be used to store non-volatile software programs, non-volatile computer executable programs and modules, such as program instructions / modules corresponding to the data transmission method of the drone in the embodiment of the present application. The processor executes the various functional applications and data processing of the data transmission method of the drone and the data transmission device of the drone by running the non-volatile software programs, instructions and modules stored in the memory, that is, realizes the functions of the various modules or units of the data transmission method of the drone and the data transmission device of the drone provided in the above method embodiment.

[0197] The memory 82 may include a program storage area and a data storage area, wherein the program storage area may store an operating system and an application required for at least one function. The data storage area may store data created according to the use of the data transmission device of the drone, etc. In some embodiments, the memory may optionally include a memory remotely arranged relative to the processor, and these remote memories may be connected to the data transmission device of the drone via a network. Examples of the above-mentioned network include, but are not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.

[0198] The one or more modules are stored in the memory, and when executed by the one or more processors, the data transmission method of the drone in any of the above method embodiments is executed, for example, the method steps described in the above method embodiments are executed to realize the functions of the modules described in the above device embodiments.

[0199] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program includes program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the method described in the above embodiment.

[0200] A person skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when the program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. The storage medium can be a disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0201] The above disclosure is only the preferred embodiment of the present application, which certainly cannot be used to limit the scope of rights of the present application. Therefore, equivalent changes made according to the claims of the present application are still within the scope covered by the present application.

Claims

1. A data transmission method for an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that: include: Obtaining an inspection task, wherein the inspection task includes an inspection route of an inspection route and a machine nest unit deployed on the inspection route, wherein both the drone and the machine nest unit are configured with a first-type communication unit and a second-type communication unit, and the drone establishes a first-type communication connection with the machine nest unit based on the first-type communication unit during the inspection process; In response to the inspection task, the inspection route is inspected according to the inspection route to obtain inspection image data; When the drone arrives at the nest unit, a second type of communication connection is established with the nest unit based on the second type of communication unit, wherein the transmission rate of the second type of communication connection is greater than the transmission rate of the first type of communication connection; The inspection image data is transmitted to the machine nest unit based on the second type of communication connection.

2. The data transmission method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the drone arrives at the nest unit, establishing a second type of communication connection with the nest unit based on the second type of communication unit includes: When the drone arrives at the machine nest unit, a connection request is sent to the machine nest unit, so that the machine nest unit responds to the connection request and sends an authorization request to the background system; In response to the connection authorization information sent by the machine nest unit, a second type of communication connection is established with the machine nest unit based on the second type of communication unit, wherein the connection authorization information is information sent to the machine nest unit after the background system authenticates and passes the authorization request.

3. The data transmission method according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the drone arrives at the nest unit, sending a connection request to the nest unit includes: When the drone arrives at the nest unit, generating first authorization challenge data; Packing the first authorization challenge data into a connection request; The connection request is sent to the machine nest unit so that the machine nest unit generates second authorization challenge data after authenticating the first authorization challenge data, and sends the second authorization challenge data to the background system so that the background system returns the connection authorization information to the machine nest unit after authenticating the second authorization challenge data.

4. The data transmission method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: In response to the inspection task, inspecting the inspection route according to the inspection route to obtain inspection image data includes: In response to the inspection task, detecting whether the drone meets the charging trigger condition; If satisfied, control the UAV to return to the nest unit; If not, the inspection route is inspected according to the inspection route to obtain inspection image data.

5. The data transmission method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The machine nest unit includes a starting machine nest and an end machine nest respectively deployed at both ends of the inspection route, and the controlling the drone to return to the machine nest unit includes: Planning a first return path for the drone to return to the starting nest according to the current position of the drone and the position information of the starting nest; Planning a second return path for the drone to return to the destination nest according to the current location of the drone and the location information of the destination nest; Acquire flight environment information collected by the drone from the starting nest to the current position of the drone; Determining, according to the flight environment information, a return path that meets the return condition between the first return path and the second return path as a target return path; The UAV is controlled to return to the machine nest corresponding to the target return path according to the target return path.

6. The data transmission method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The step of determining, according to the flight environment information, a return path satisfying a return condition between the first return path and the second return path as a target return path comprises: Determine the abnormal airflow density of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position according to the flight environment information; If the abnormal airflow density is greater than or equal to a first preset density threshold, determining a power coefficient corresponding to the abnormal airflow density, wherein the power coefficient is a positive number greater than or equal to 1; Determine a first reference power and a second reference power, wherein the first reference power is the power required for the UAV to return to the nest corresponding to the first return path in the absence of abnormalities along the first return path, and the second reference power is the power required for the UAV to return to the nest corresponding to the second return path in the absence of abnormalities along the second return path; Calculating the product of the power coefficient, the first reference power, and the second reference power to obtain a first estimated power and a second estimated power; According to the first estimated power and the second estimated power, a return path satisfying a return condition is determined as a target return path between the first return path and the second return path.

7. The data transmission method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The determining of the target return path according to the first estimated power and the second estimated power includes: Finding a first minimum estimated power between the first estimated power and the second estimated power; If the first minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the drone, determining the return path corresponding to the first minimum estimated power as the target return path; If the first minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the drone, an alternate landing point closest to the current position is determined, and the drone is controlled to move from the current position to the alternate landing point.

8. The data transmission method according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: If the abnormal airflow density is less than a first preset density threshold, finding a second minimum estimated power between the first reference power and the second reference power; If the second minimum estimated power is less than or equal to the remaining power of the drone, determining the return path corresponding to the second minimum estimated power as the target return path; If the second minimum estimated power is greater than the remaining power of the drone, an alternate landing point closest to the current position is determined, and the drone is controlled to move from the current position to the alternate landing point.

9. The data transmission method according to claim 6, characterized in that: Determining the abnormal airflow density of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position according to the flight environment information includes: According to the flight environment information, determining an abnormal section where abnormal airflow occurs during the process of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position; Accumulating the distances of all abnormal road sections to obtain a total abnormal distance; The ratio of the total abnormal distance to the total flight distance is calculated to obtain the abnormal airflow density, wherein the total flight distance is the flight distance of the UAV from the starting nest to the current position.

10. A drone, characterized in that: include: body; A machine arm connected to the machine body; Wings, provided on the arms, for providing the UAV with flying power; A sensor module, disposed on the fuselage, for collecting sensor data; an aircraft communication module, arranged on the fuselage, and A flight control module, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the processor is respectively communicatively connected to the sensor module, the aircraft communication module and the memory, and the processor is used to execute one or more computer programs stored in the memory. When the processor executes the one or more computer programs, the drone implements the data transmission method for the drone as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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