Unmanned aerial vehicle inspection route planning method and device, electronic equipment and medium

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle inspection, and discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle inspection route planning method, which comprises the following steps: S10, acquiring position information of an inspection initial position and an inspection target position; s20, importing the position information into a navigation system of a map to generate a navigation route map of the inspection starting position and the inspection target position; s30, generating a flight route of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the navigation route map; and S40, performing route planning according to the flight route, wherein the route planning comprises flight route planning and flight height planning.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle inspection, and in particular to a route planning method, device, electronic equipment and medium for unmanned aerial vehicle inspection. Background Art

[0002] At present, drones are used in intelligent inspections and technical condition monitoring of highways and major bridges. In view of the high labor intensity, low inspection efficiency, small coverage and safety hazards of traditional manual inspections, replacing manual inspections with drones has become an inevitable result of the continuous promotion of the development and construction of smart transportation.

[0003] However, in the process of route planning for existing drones, staff are required to manually determine the waypoints for the drone's flight. The waypoints for the drone's flight refer to a series of preset geographical locations that the drone needs to pass through during the flight. These waypoints and drones constitute the flight route of the drone, guiding the drone to fly along the predetermined trajectory. When drones are performing inspection tasks, the process of planning routes by staff determining waypoints is not only time-consuming and inefficient, but also prone to deviations, resulting in errors in the data captured during flight. With the increase in the amount and complexity of inspection tasks, the method of manually selecting points to plan routes has become difficult to meet the needs of efficient, accurate, and real-time inspections. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the problem that the route planning efficiency of existing UAVs is low and the route is prone to deviation when performing inspection tasks.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a route planning method for unmanned aerial vehicle inspection, the method comprising:

[0006] S10, obtaining location information of the inspection starting position and the inspection target position;

[0007] S20, importing the location information into a map navigation system to generate a navigation route map of the inspection starting location and the inspection target location;

[0008] S30, generating a flight route of the drone according to the navigation route map;

[0009] S40, performing route planning according to the flight route, wherein the route planning includes flight route planning and flight altitude planning.

[0010] Furthermore, the method further comprises:

[0011] In S30, a plurality of waypoints are arranged at intervals on the flight route, and the waypoints divide the flight route into a plurality of line segments.

[0012] Further, the flight route is adjusted by moving one or more of the waypoints.

[0013] Further, the S30 further includes:

[0014] S31, generating the flight route by setting an offset distance of the navigation route.

[0015] Further, the method includes: setting an inclination angle of the drone according to the flight route and the flight altitude.

[0016] Further, the method includes: judging whether to adjust the flight route by previewing a map image in the navigation route.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flight route planning device for drone inspection, the device includes:

[0018] A navigation route generation module, importing the position information into a navigation system of a map to generate a navigation route map of the inspection start position and the inspection target position;

[0019] A flight route generation module, generating a flight route of the drone according to the navigation route map;

[0020] A flight route planning module, the flight route planning module is used for flight route planning according to the flight route, and the flight route planning includes flight route planning and flight altitude planning.

[0021] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device, including: at least one processor, and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein, the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor so that the at least one processor can execute any flight route planning method of a drone in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions are used to cause a computer to execute any flight route planning method of a drone in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effect of a flight route planning method of a drone in an embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

[0024] In the embodiment of the present invention, by directly importing the position information of the inspection start position and the inspection target position into the navigation system of the map, and determining the flight route through the navigation route generated by the navigation system, the step of manually determining the drone waypoints and then determining the flight route is omitted, which improves the route planning efficiency of the drone and reduces the influence of human factors. Since the determination of the route planning is completely automatically completed by the navigation system, the errors and uncertainties caused by human factors are avoided. In the embodiment of the present invention, other parameters of the route planning can be determined through the flight route, which can further improve the inspection efficiency and quality of the drone and provide a strong guarantee for the successful completion of the drone inspection task. Description of the Drawings

[0025] Figure 1 is a flowchart of the method for route planning of a drone provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the device for route planning of a drone provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 3 is a block diagram of the electronic device for implementing the embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] In the figure, 10, information acquisition module; 20, navigation route generation module; 30, flight route generation module; 40, route planning module; 600, electronic device; 601, calculation unit; 602, ROM; 603, RAM; 604, bus; 605, I / O interface; 606, input unit; 607, output unit; 608, storage unit; 609, communication unit. Detailed Embodiments

[0029] The following describes exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, including various details of the embodiments of the present invention to facilitate understanding, which should be considered merely exemplary. Therefore, those of ordinary skill in the art should recognize that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of the present invention. Similarly, for clarity and conciseness, the description below omits the description of well-known functions and structures.

[0030] As Figure 1 shown, in an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the method for route planning of the drone includes:

[0031] S10, obtaining the position information of the inspection start position and the inspection target position;

[0032] S20, importing the position information into the navigation system of the map to generate a navigation route map of the inspection start position and the inspection target position;

[0033] S30. Generate the flight route of the drone according to the navigation route map;

[0034] S40. Perform route planning according to the flight route, and the route planning includes flight route planning and flight altitude planning.

[0035] Specifically, taking the inspection of the road conditions of the highway between two points by the drone as an example for further illustration:

[0036] S10. Obtain the position information of the inspection starting position and the inspection target position;

[0037] The purpose of this step is to plan the starting point and the ending point of the route. The drone needs to know where to start the inspection (the inspection starting position) and where to inspect to (the inspection target position). This information can be obtained through satellite positioning technologies, including GPS, Beidou, etc.;

[0038] S20. Import the position information into the navigation system of the map to generate the navigation route map of the inspection starting position and the inspection target position;

[0039] Once the information of the inspection starting and inspection target positions is available, input this information into the drone navigation system for route planning. The navigation system will calculate a route map from the starting position to the target position based on this position information. This route map can be directly obtained through the navigation app of the navigation system. For example, input the two position information into Amap, and the road route map calculated between the two position information simulated by Amap is the navigation route map here.

[0040] S30. Generate the flight route of the drone according to the navigation route map;

[0041] After generating the navigation route map, the drone can directly perform inspections along the route in this navigation route map, and the route in this navigation route map is the flight route of the drone.

[0042] Specifically, the flight route generated according to this navigation route can be corrected by changing the positions of the waypoints in the flight route. Generate multiple waypoints according to the flight route, and the multiple waypoints are distributed on both sides or in the middle of the highway. The waypoints go along the highway from the inspection starting position to the inspection target position, and connect the multiple waypoints in sequence from the inspection starting position to the inspection target position to obtain the flight route of the drone;

[0043] The flight route is subdivided into multiple waypoints. These waypoints are specific positions that the UAV needs to reach during flight. During the inspection of road conditions, since the road itself has a width, when inspecting the road, the waypoints can be subdivided on both sides of the road. The waypoints follow the road route from the starting position to the target position. When inspecting the road, the waypoints can also be subdivided on one side of the road or in the middle of the road. The waypoints follow the road from the starting position to the target position. These waypoints help the UAV fly precisely along the predetermined flight route. These waypoints can also be used to set the predetermined flight route to achieve the effect of artificially controlling the flight route. The lines connected by these waypoints are the flight route of the UAV, which represents the route experienced by the UAV during flight;

[0044] S40. Perform route planning according to the flight route. The route planning includes flight route planning and flight altitude planning.

[0045] In this step, the UAV plans a specific route according to the flight route generated by the previously generated waypoints. The route planning includes parameters such as flight route, altitude, speed, direction, and performance to ensure that the UAV can reach the target position safely and efficiently. The UAV determines other parameters according to the flight route and actual needs. For example, when the flight route needs to pass by a tall building, the altitude parameter in the route planning can be adjusted to ensure that the UAV can fly over the tallest building; when the required distance of the flight route is relatively long, to ensure that the UAV can complete the task smoothly, the performance parameter in the route planning can be adjusted by reducing the photography performance of the UAV in exchange for sufficient power to ensure that the UAV can complete the inspection task smoothly. The UAV route planning can select two modes, namely the one-way route mode and the two-way route mode. If the waypoints are set and distributed on both sides of the road in the flight route, and the waypoints on both sides follow the road route from the starting position to the target position, at this time, the UAV generates two flight routes, that is, the two-way route mode. When the UAV conducts inspection, it can fly along one route first and then fly back from the other route, and inspect the road conditions during the flight process; if the waypoints are set and distributed on one side of the road or in the middle of the road in the flight route, and the waypoints on one side or in the middle of the road follow the road route from the starting position to the target position, at this time, the UAV generates one flight route, that is, the one-way route mode. When the UAV conducts inspection, it flies along one route and inspects the road conditions during the flight process; the content of the UAV inspection includes checking whether there are cracks, potholes, damages, etc. on the road surface. These problems may affect the safe driving of vehicles and need to be discovered and repaired in time; checking whether the traffic signs are clearly visible and whether the road markings are intact. These traffic facilities are crucial for guiding the safe driving of vehicles.

[0046] In the embodiment of the present invention, by directly importing the position information of the inspection start position and the inspection target position into the navigation system of the map, and determining the flight route through the navigation route generated by the navigation system, the step of manually determining the drone waypoints and then determining the flight route is omitted, which improves the efficiency of the drone route planning and reduces the influence of human factors. Since the determination of the route planning is completely automatically completed by the navigation system, the errors and uncertainties caused by human factors are avoided. In the embodiment of the present invention, other parameters of the route planning are determined through the flight route, which can further improve the inspection efficiency and quality of the drone and provide a strong guarantee for the successful completion of the drone inspection task.

[0047] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: in S30, a plurality of waypoints are arranged at intervals on the flight route, and the waypoints divide the flight route into multiple line segments.

[0048] Specifically, these waypoints are specific positions that the drone needs to reach during flight, and the drone needs to pass through these waypoints during flight.

[0049] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the flight route is adjusted by moving one or more of the waypoints.

[0050] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, S30 further includes: S31, generating the flight route by setting the offset distance of the navigation route.

[0051] Among them, after the flight route is generated in step S30, S31 is responsible for further optimizing and correcting the flight route according to the actual flight environment and the flight performance of the UAV. This step mainly relies on the offset distance planning, that is, according to the changes in the flight direction, speed, altitude of the UAV and the external environment (such as obstacles, etc.), the flight route of the UAV is adjusted by setting the offset distance of the navigation route map, so that it can avoid obstacles, adapt to terrain changes, and complete the inspection task as efficiently as possible. During the flight of the UAV, the changes in the external environment are monitored in real time through the sensors carried by it (such as cameras, lidars, infrared sensors, etc.), including the position, shape, size of the obstacles, and meteorological information such as wind force and wind direction. According to the real-time monitored environmental information, the algorithm inside the UAV will calculate the offset distance that needs to be adjusted to ensure that the UAV can safely and efficiently avoid obstacles and fly according to the predetermined target. Once the new offset distance is calculated, the UAV will update its flight route to ensure that the subsequent flight can be carried out according to the new route. The UAV adjusts its flight attitude and speed according to the updated flight route to ensure that it can fly stably along the new route. For example, the staff can also directly obtain the problems that the UAV will encounter during the inspection on the generated navigation route through GPS, Beidou, etc., and adjust the offset distance in time to generate the flight route; experienced staff who are familiar with this inspection section can also directly correct the flight route by changing the offset distance to enable the UAV to complete the inspection task with high quality.

[0052] Specifically, taking the inspection of a highway by a UAV as an example, after the flight route is generated by the UAV in S30, if the highway is directly inspected according to the generated flight route, it is very likely that there are obstacles that the UAV cannot cross and the UAV inspection task cannot be completed, or the effect of monitoring and photographing the road during the inspection according to the directly generated flight route is not good (some flight angles are prone to cause monitoring dead ends). Therefore, according to actual needs, the inspection task is carried out through the flight route generated by adjusting the offset distance.

[0053] In the embodiment of the present invention, by setting the offset distance of the navigation route to generate the flight route, the UAV can avoid obstacles and reduce the collision risk during flight. Under the adjustment of the flight route, the UAV can adapt to different flight environments and task requirements, and optimize the route planning.

[0054] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the tilt angle of the UAV is set according to the flight route and the flight altitude.

[0055] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, it is judged whether to adjust the flight route by previewing the map image in the navigation route.

[0056] Specifically, the map image in the navigation map can reflect some situations that may be encountered during the inspection by the drone. It can visually display key information such as the terrain, obstacles, and points of interest of the flight route. When the drone conducts inspections, it may encounter complex terrains (such as mountainous areas and urban building clusters), weather conditions (such as strong winds and haze), and other flight restricted areas (such as no-fly zones and height-limited zones). Previewing the map image allows the drone to identify potential flight risks in advance, such as terrain obstacles and no-fly areas. Through previewing, the staff can evaluate the safety and efficiency of the flight route and thus make necessary adjustments. Bases for adjusting the flight route: For example, if tall buildings or mountains are found in the flight route, it may be necessary to adjust the flight altitude or detour. If a no-fly area is detected, the flight route must be re-planned to avoid entering it.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present invention, by previewing the map image in the navigation route, it is determined whether to adjust the flight route. This method can make full use of the information provided by the map image, identify potential risks in advance, and ensure the safety of the flight route and the efficiency of the drone inspection.

[0058] As Figure 2 shown, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flight route planning device for drone inspection, and the device includes:

[0059] An information acquisition module 10, which is used to acquire the position information of the inspection start position and the inspection target position;

[0060] A navigation route generation module 20, which is used to import the position information into the navigation system of the map to generate the navigation route between the inspection start position and the inspection target position;

[0061] A flight route generation module 30, which generates the flight route of the drone according to the navigation route;

[0062] A flight route planning module 40, which is used to perform flight route planning according to the flight route, and the flight route planning includes flight route planning and flight altitude planning.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present invention, the position information of the starting position and the target position of the inspection is directly imported into the navigation system of the map, and waypoints are determined through the navigation route generated by the navigation system, eliminating the step of manually determining the waypoints of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), improving the route planning efficiency of the UAV, and reducing the influence of human factors. Since the route planning and waypoint determination are completely automatically completed by the navigation system, errors and uncertainties caused by human factors are avoided. In the embodiments of the present invention, other parameters of the route planning are determined through the flight route, which can further improve the inspection efficiency and quality of the UAV, providing a strong guarantee for the successful completion of the UAV inspection task.

[0064] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention also provides an electronic device, a readable storage medium, and a computer program product.

[0065] Figure 3 FIG. shows a schematic block diagram of an exemplary electronic device 600 that can be used to implement embodiments of the present invention. The electronic device 600 is intended to represent various forms of digital computers, such as, for example, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a workbench, a personal digital assistant, a server, a blade server, a mainframe computer, and other suitable computers. The electronic device can also represent various forms of mobile devices, such as, for example, a personal digital assistant, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wearable device, and other similar computing devices. The components shown herein, their connections and relationships, and their functions are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the implementation of the present invention described and / or claimed herein.

[0066] As Figure 3 shown, the electronic device 600 includes a computing unit 601 that can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to a computer program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 602 or a computer program loaded from a storage unit 608 into a random access memory (RAM) 603. In the RAM 603, various programs and data required for the operation of the device 600 can also be stored. The computing unit 601, the ROM 602, and the RAM 603 are connected to each other through a bus 604. An input / output (I / O) interface 605 is also connected to the bus 604.

[0067] A plurality of components in the electronic device 600 are connected to the I / O interface 605, including: an input unit 606, such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; an output unit 607, such as various types of displays, speakers, etc.; a storage unit 608, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disc, etc.; and a communication unit 609, such as a network card, a modem, a wireless communication transceiver, etc. The communication unit 609 allows the electronic device 600 to exchange information / data with other devices through a computer network such as the Internet and / or various telecommunication networks.

[0068] The computing unit 601 can be various general-purpose and / or special-purpose processing components with processing and computing capabilities. Some examples of the computing unit 601 include, but are not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), various dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) computing chips, various computing units running machine learning model algorithms, a digital signal processor (DSP), and any suitable processor, controller, microcontroller, etc. The computing unit 601 executes the various methods and processes described above, such as a flight path planning method for drone inspection. For example, in some embodiments, a flight path planning method for drone inspection can be implemented as a computer software program, which is tangibly contained in a machine-readable medium, such as the storage unit 608. In some embodiments, part or all of the computer program can be loaded and / or installed onto the device 600 via the ROM 602 and / or the communication unit 609. When the computer program is loaded into the RAM 603 and executed by the computing unit 601, one or more steps of the flight path planning method for drone inspection described above can be executed. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the computing unit 601 can be configured to execute a flight path planning method for drone inspection in any other suitable manner (e.g., by means of firmware).

[0069] The various embodiments of the systems and techniques described above in this document can be implemented in digital electronic circuit systems, integrated circuit systems, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specific standard products (ASSPs), systems-on-chip (SOCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), computer hardware, firmware, software, and / or combinations thereof. These various embodiments can include: being implemented in one or more computer programs that can be executed and / or interpreted on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which can be a dedicated or general-purpose programmable processor, and can receive data and instructions from a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device, and transmit the data and instructions to the storage system, the at least one input device, and the at least one output device.

[0070] The program code for implementing the method of the present invention can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to the processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, such that when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0071] In the context of the present invention, a machine-readable medium can be a tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A machine-readable medium can be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a machine-readable storage medium would include an electrical connection based on one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0072] To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniques described herein can be implemented on a computer having: a display device (e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor) for displaying information to the user; and a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can also be used to provide for interaction with the user; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can be received in any form (including acoustic, speech, or tactile input).

[0073] The systems and techniques described herein can be implemented in a computing system that includes back-end components (e.g., as a data server), or a computing system that includes middleware components (e.g., an application server), or a computing system that includes front-end components (e.g., a user computer having a graphical user interface or a web browser through which the user can interact with an implementation of the systems and techniques described herein), or a computing system that includes any combination of such back-end components, middleware components, or front-end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include: a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and the Internet.

[0074] A computer system can include a client and a server. The client and the server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The client-server relationship is generated by computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other. The server can be a cloud server, a server of a distributed system, or a server incorporating a blockchain.

[0075] It should be understood that the various forms of processes shown above can be used, with steps reordered, added or deleted. For example, the steps described in the present invention can be executed in parallel, sequentially or in a different order, as long as the desired results of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention can be achieved, and no limitation is imposed herein.

[0076] The above specific embodiments do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications, combinations, sub - combinations and substitutions can be made according to design requirements and other factors. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the principles of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A route planning method for unmanned aerial vehicle inspection, characterized in that: The method comprises: S10, obtaining location information of the inspection starting position and the inspection target position; S20, importing the location information into a map navigation system to generate a navigation route map of the inspection starting location and the inspection target location; S30, generating a flight route of the drone according to the navigation route map; S40, performing route planning according to the flight route, wherein the route planning includes flight route planning and flight altitude planning.

2. The route planning method for drone inspection according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In S30, a plurality of waypoints are arranged at intervals on the flight route, and the waypoints divide the flight route into a plurality of line segments.

3. The route planning method for drone inspection according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The flight path is adjusted by moving one or more of the waypoints.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The S30 further includes: S31, generating the flight route by setting an offset distance of the navigation route.

5. The route planning method for drone inspection according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The method comprises: setting the tilt angle of the drone according to the flight route and the flight altitude.

6. The route planning method for drone inspection according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method comprises: judging whether to adjust the flight route by previewing a map image in the navigation route.

7. A route planning device for unmanned aerial vehicle inspection, characterized in that: The device comprises: An information acquisition module, wherein the information acquisition module is used to acquire position information of an inspection starting position and an inspection target position; A navigation route generation module, which imports the location information into a map navigation system to generate a navigation route map of the inspection starting location and the inspection target location; A flight route generation module generates a flight route for the UAV according to the navigation route map; A route planning module, wherein the route planning module is used to perform route planning according to the flight route, and the route planning includes flight route planning and flight altitude planning.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: at least one processor, and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; The memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor so that the at least one processor can execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein: The computer instructions are used to cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-5.

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