Safety control system for preventing collision by using ultrasonic ranging

Abstract

The invention discloses an anti-collision safety control system using ultrasonic ranging, which is applied to an aerial work platform, the aerial work platform is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are in communication connection; the second controller drives the assembly to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller so as to drive the aerial work platform to move; the safety control system comprises an ultrasonic ranging module used for detecting the distance between the aerial work platform and an obstacle to obtain a distance detection result. The third controller is in communication connection between the first controller and the second controller, and the third controller is used for generating a control signal according to the distance detection result and selectively transmitting the motion control instruction output by the first controller in an unvarnished mode or enabling the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving. Collision accidents can be conveniently and efficiently avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of data processing, and particularly relates to a safety control system for preventing collisions by using ultrasonic ranging. Background Art

[0002] With the development of society, the current application of aerial work platforms is becoming more and more extensive. During the use process, the platform needs to be lifted. Improper use may cause a collision between the aerial work platform and obstacles. Therefore, the corresponding issue of usage safety is particularly crucial.

[0003] In the related art, it is often achieved by installing physical anti-collision means. If an ultrasonic ranging module needs to be installed, it is necessary to modify the program code of the aerial work platform and adjust the internal circuit connection, which not only makes the structure complex but also greatly increases the usage cost.

[0004] Based on the deficiencies of the above-mentioned related technologies, there is an urgent need for a method that can prevent collisions conveniently and efficiently, so that the aerial work platform can avoid collision accidents. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The main object of the present invention is to provide a safety control system for preventing collisions by using ultrasonic ranging, aiming to enable the aerial work platform to conveniently and efficiently avoid collision accidents.

[0006] To achieve the above object, a safety control system for preventing collisions by using ultrasonic ranging is proposed. It is applied to an aerial work platform, and the aerial work platform is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected; the second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move; The safety control system includes: An ultrasonic ranging module for detecting the distance between the aerial work platform and an obstacle to obtain a distance detection result; A third controller communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is used to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving.

[0007] Optionally, the first controller is provided with a first communication interface, the second controller is provided with a second communication interface, and the first communication interface and the second communication interface are mechanically and electronically detachable; The third controller is provided with a third communication interface and a fourth communication interface; The third controller, communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller, includes: the third communication interface is mechanically and electronically detachably connected to the first communication interface, and the fourth communication interface is mechanically and electronically detachably connected to the second communication interface, so that the motion control instruction of the first controller is transparently transmitted to the second controller after passing through the third controller.

[0008] Optionally, the third controller, communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller, is configured to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving, including: When the distance detection result is less than the first distance threshold, the communication connection between the first controller and the second controller is cut off, so that the second controller drives the aerial work platform to stop moving. The second controller is configured to perform a braking operation when it does not receive the motion control instruction of the first controller; When the distance detection result is less than the second distance threshold, a warning indication signal is sent to the second controller, so that the second controller controls the warning device to emit a warning signal, and transparently transmits the motion control instruction output by the first controller, so that the lifting speed of the aerial work platform is reduced; the warning device includes one or more combinations of a speaker and an indicator light, and the second distance threshold is greater than the first distance threshold.

[0009] Optionally, the third controller, communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller, is configured to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving, including: When the distance detection result is less than the third distance threshold, the motion control instruction output by the first controller is transparently transmitted, so that the lifting speed of the aerial work platform is reduced, and the third distance threshold is greater than the second distance threshold.

[0010] Optionally, the first controller is a manipulation control unit; and the second controller is a vehicle controller; The second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move, including: The second controller drives the aerial work platform to perform a lifting operation according to the motion control instruction of the first controller. A plurality of ultrasonic sensors of the ultrasonic ranging module are dispersedly arranged at the four top corners of the lifting rack.

[0011] Optionally, the ultrasonic ranging module is used for: Establish the correlation between the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle and the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module; During the detection process, determine the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module based on the correlation and the distance.

[0012] Optionally, the safety control system further includes a vision sensor, which is communicatively connected to the third controller. The ultrasonic ranging module includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensors. The vision sensor is used to acquire image data, the ultrasonic sensors are used to acquire ultrasonic data, and the third controller is used to: Perform a backward processing on the acquired point cloud data of the aerial work platform to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform. The point cloud data is constructed based on the ultrasonic data and the image data. The initial calibration distance is used to indicate the initial distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle; During the operation of the aerial work platform, determine the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initial calibration distance, the continuously acquired ultrasonic data and image data; Determine the motion state of the aerial work platform based on the change situation of the distance, so as to prevent the aerial work platform from colliding with the obstacle; And / or, the third controller includes a distance determination module. Before performing the backward processing on the acquired point cloud data of the aerial work platform to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform, the distance determination module is used to: Determine the backward distance; The third controller is used to: Perform a backward processing on the acquired point cloud data of the aerial work platform based on the backward distance to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform.

[0013] Optionally, the third controller includes a storage module. Before determining the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initial calibration distance, the continuously acquired ultrasonic data and image data, the storage module is used to: Extract features from the ultrasonic data and the image data acquired at the same moment to obtain the first target feature; Extract features from the correlation information of the image data acquired at different moments to obtain the second target feature. The correlation information is used to indicate the difference value between the image data. The image data acquired at different moments are optical flow images, and / or, pixel difference images; Store the first target feature and the second target feature in a memory; And / or, the third controller includes an encoding module. Before extracting features from the ultrasonic data and the image data obtained at the same moment to obtain a first target feature, the encoding module is configured to: Perform wavelet transform encoding on the obtained ultrasonic data to obtain a wavelet image; The storage module is configured to: Extract features from the wavelet image and the image data obtained at the same moment to obtain a first target feature; And / or, the storage module is configured to: Set the resolution of the wavelet image to a first resolution and set the resolution of the image data to a second resolution, where the first resolution is greater than the second resolution; Stitch the wavelet image and the image data based on the first resolution and the second resolution to obtain a stitched image; Extract features from the stitched image to obtain the first target feature.

[0014] Optionally, the third controller is configured to: Determine a time range, where the time range is determined with the current moment as a reference; Obtain the first target feature and the second target feature within the time range; Determine the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initialized calibration distance, the first target feature, and the second target feature within the time range; And / or, the third controller is configured to: Set the weight of the first target feature within the time range to a first weight and set the weight of the second target feature within the time range to a second weight, where the first weight is greater than the second weight; Determine the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initialized calibration distance, the first weight, the second weight, the first target feature, and the second target feature within the time range.

[0015] The present invention also provides a safety control method for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging, which is applied to an aerial work platform. The aerial work platform is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected; the second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move; the safety control system includes: an ultrasonic ranging module and a third controller; the method includes: Using the ultrasonic ranging module to detect the distance between the aerial work platform and an obstacle to obtain a distance detection result; Using the third controller to be communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is used to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving.

[0016] The present invention also provides an aerial work vehicle, and the aerial work vehicle includes a safety control system.

[0017] The technical solution of the present invention is applied to an aerial work platform. The aerial work platform is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected; the second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move; the safety control system includes: an ultrasonic ranging module for detecting the distance between the aerial work platform and an obstacle to obtain a distance detection result. A third controller is communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is used to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving. In this way, by providing the first controller and the second controller on the aerial work platform and communicatively connecting the first controller and the second controller, the second controller can drive the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move. In order to better avoid collisions between the aerial work platform and obstacles, an ultrasonic ranging module is provided to detect the distance between the aerial work platform and obstacles in real time, and a third controller is provided between the first controller and the second controller so that the third controller can be communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. By obtaining the distance detection result of the ultrasonic ranging module, a control signal is generated, and the motion control instruction output by the first controller is selected to be transparently transmitted, or the second controller is caused to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving. That is, by adding a third controller between the first controller and the second controller, the safety control system can directly control the motion of the aerial work platform with the first controller and the second controller based on the control signal through the distance detection result obtained by the third controller. During the process, there is no need to modify the programs of the first controller or the second controller, nor to adjust the internal circuit connections of the aerial work platform. While ensuring the safety of the aerial work platform and avoiding collision accidents, there is no additional usage cost, the installation method is simple and highly adaptable, and it can be applied to different types of aerial work platforms. The entire control process does not rely on manual methods but is carried out in an automated manner, and can conveniently and efficiently avoid the occurrence of collision accidents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a safety control system provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a model structure provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 Schematic diagram of an image stitching provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 Flowchart of a safety control method for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 Schematic diagram of an aerial work platform provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] The realization of the object of the present invention, functional features and advantages will be further described with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Detailed implementation manners

[0021] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] In addition, in the present invention, descriptions such as "first" and "second" are only for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In addition, the technical solutions between various embodiments may be combined with each other, but it must be based on the fact that those of ordinary skill in the art can implement them. When the combination of technical solutions appears to be mutually contradictory or unable to be implemented, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0023] In the research on related technologies, it is found that there are few applications for anti-collision of aerial work platforms. Among the products applying the anti-collision function, most of them only adopt a simple physical anti-collision method, that is, workers install anti-collision rods above the lifting platform of the vehicle. When the anti-collision rod touches an obstacle during lifting, the emergency stop switch will be triggered to stop the vehicle from lifting. This method has general versatility and low safety factor. Due to its high dependence on specific installation methods and the vehicle's own structure, it cannot flexibly adapt to different types of aerial work platforms (such as scissor-type) and working scenarios. When it is necessary to install an ultrasonic ranging module, it is necessary to modify the code of the relevant controller and adjust the internal circuit connection. This method is cumbersome to operate, and each installation and adjustment requires manual operation, consuming a lot of time, seriously affecting work efficiency, and is not conducive to realizing a standardized production process.

[0024] Based on this, the present invention proposes a safety control system for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging. It can be carried out in an automated manner without relying on manual methods. When installing the ultrasonic ranging module, by installing a third controller between the first controller and the second controller, the third controller obtains the distance detection information of the ultrasonic ranging module, and generates a control signal based on this distance detection information to enable the first controller and the second controller to achieve the motion control of the aerial work platform.

[0025] Exemplarily, the aerial work vehicle is a scissor lift. The safety control system for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging includes four ultrasonic sensors, which are respectively installed at the four corners of the top frame of the scissor lift. During the ascending process of the scissor lift, the collision risks in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction are identified.

[0026] It should be noted that the existing stock of aerial work platforms (scissor lifts) do not have the function of anti-collision. If an ultrasonic ranging module is added, both the structural hardware and the program code need to be modified, and the existing stock of aerial work platforms cannot be upgraded. A technology is needed to upgrade the existing stock of aerial work platforms without modifying the structure and code.

[0027] Refer to Figures 1 to 5 , Figure 1 which is a schematic structural diagram of a safety control system provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 which is a schematic diagram of a model structure provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 which is a schematic diagram of an image stitching provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 which is a flowchart of a safety control method for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 which is a schematic diagram of an aerial work vehicle provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] In the embodiment of the present invention, the safety control system for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging provides a convenient and efficient method for anti-collision, enabling the aerial work platform to avoid collision accidents. The safety control system is applicable to the aerial work platform, which is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected. The second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the movement of the aerial work platform. As Figure 1 shown, the safety control system is provided with an ultrasonic ranging module 100 and a third controller 200; The ultrasonic ranging module 100 is used to detect the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle to obtain a distance detection result; The third controller 200 is communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is configured to generate a control signal based on the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving.

[0029] The ultrasonic ranging module 100 refers to a module that measures the distance between the aerial work platform and an obstacle by sending ultrasonic waves and receiving their echoes, and calculating the propagation time of the sound waves in the air. One or more ultrasonic sensors can be set in the ultrasonic ranging module 100, and a more accurate distance detection result can be jointly determined through the measurement results of multiple ultrasonic sensors.

[0030] In this application, the ultrasonic ranging module 100 communicates with the third controller 200 through a bus, enabling the distance data detected by the ultrasonic sensor 200 to be transmitted to the third controller 200 in real time and stably. Multiple ultrasonic sensors can be mounted on the third controller 200. By mounting multiple ultrasonic sensors, it is possible to achieve omnidirectional and multi-angle multi-point measurement during the lifting process of the aerial work platform (such as a scissor lift). Compared with the single-point measurement method, the measurement blind area is effectively reduced, and the accuracy and comprehensiveness of obstacle detection in the lifting environment are greatly improved.

[0031] The third controller 200 can be understood as an intermediate controller, communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. It generates a control signal based on the distance detection result obtained from the ultrasonic ranging module 100, and then selects whether to transparently transmit the action control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving. When transparently transmitting the action control instruction output by the first controller, the second controller can receive the action control instruction issued by the first controller, and then based on this action control instruction, drive the component to work, and then drive the aerial work platform to move. When the first controller causes the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving, it usually means that the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is very close, and it is necessary to avoid collision with the obstacle by braking.

[0032] It should be noted that in this application, the reason for setting the third controller 200 is to further improve the safety factor of the aerial work platform and avoid collisions between the aerial work platform and obstacles. An ultrasonic ranging module 100 is installed on the aerial work platform. Through the ultrasonic ranging module 100, the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle can be determined more accurately, facilitating timely adjustment of the movement mode of the aerial work platform according to the distance detection result. However, the ultrasonic ranging module 100 cannot be directly installed on the aerial work platform equipped with the first controller and the second controller. In the related technical approach, the program codes of the first controller and the second controller are modified, and the internal circuit connection of the aerial work platform is adjusted to install the ultrasonic ranging module 100. This method is too cumbersome and greatly increases the human and material costs of using the ultrasonic ranging module 100.

[0033] Therefore, in this application, by installing the third controller 200 between the first controller and the second controller, the third controller is communicatively connected to the first controller and the second controller. At the same time, the third controller 200 is also communicatively connected to the ultrasonic ranging module 100. In this way, through the third controller 200, both the distance detection result determined by the ultrasonic ranging module 100 can be received, and a control signal can be generated according to the distance detection result. According to this control signal, the action modes of the first controller and the second controller are determined, such as transmitting the motion control instruction output by the first controller to enable the second controller to control the movement of the aerial work platform, or directly causing the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving. It should be noted that the obstacles mentioned in the embodiments of this application are dynamic objects, such as flying birds and drones in the air. In the embodiments of this application, the third controller 200 can be a micro control unit (MCU).

[0034] In this embodiment, a safety control system for preventing collisions by using ultrasonic ranging is proposed, which is applied to an aerial work platform. The aerial work platform is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected. The second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move. The safety control system includes: an ultrasonic ranging module 100 for detecting the distance between the aerial work platform and an obstacle to obtain a distance detection result. A third controller 200 is communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller 200 is used to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving. In this way, by providing the first controller and the second controller on the aerial work platform and communicatively connecting the first controller and the second controller, the second controller can drive the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move. In order to better avoid collisions between the aerial work platform and obstacles, an ultrasonic ranging module 100 is provided to detect the distance between the aerial work platform and obstacles in real time, and a third controller 200 is provided between the first controller and the second controller so that the third controller 200 can be communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. A control signal is generated according to the obtained distance detection result of the ultrasonic ranging module 100, and the motion control instruction output by the first controller is selected to be transparently transmitted, or the second controller is caused to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving. That is, by adding a third controller 200 between the first controller and the second controller, the safety control system can directly control the motion of the aerial work platform with the first controller and the second controller based on the control signal according to the distance detection result obtained by the third controller 200. During the process, there is no need to modify the programs of the first controller or the second controller, nor to adjust the internal circuit connection of the aerial work platform. While ensuring the safety of the aerial work platform and avoiding collision accidents, there is no additional usage cost, the installation method is simple and highly adaptable, and it can be applied to different types of aerial work platforms. The entire control process does not rely on manual methods but is carried out in an automated manner, and can conveniently and efficiently avoid the occurrence of collision accidents.

[0035] It is mentioned above that "the third controller 200 is communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller". In the embodiments of the present application, for the convenience of operation and to reduce the installation cost, the third controller can be communicatively connected to the first controller and the second controller through a detachable communication interface. The method can be as follows: The first controller is provided with a first communication interface, the second controller is provided with a second communication interface, and the first communication interface and the second communication interface are mechanically and electrically detachably connected; the third controller 200 is provided with a third communication interface and a fourth communication interface; the third controller 200 being communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller includes: the third communication interface is mechanically and electrically detachably connected to the first communication interface, and the fourth communication interface is mechanically and electrically detachably connected to the second communication interface, so that the motion control instruction of the first controller is transmitted through the third controller 200 and then to the second controller.

[0036] That is, a first communication interface is provided at the first controller, a second communication interface is provided at the second controller, and the first communication interface and the second communication interface are mechanically and electrically detachably connected. That is, the physical positioning and locking of the first communication interface and the second communication interface are realized through a mechanical structure, and signals are transmitted through reliable electrical contact points. The mechanical structure can be a snap, a lock, a threaded connection, etc., which are not limited herein. Through the above connection method, the separation and connection between the first communication interface and the second communication interface can be conveniently realized.

[0037] The third controller 200 is provided with a third communication interface and a fourth communication interface. The third communication interface is used for mechanically and electrically detachably connecting to the first communication interface of the first controller, and the fourth communication interface is used for mechanically and electrically detachably connecting to the second communication interface of the second controller. This connection method can be understood as setting a third controller 200 between the communication connections of the first controller and the second controller, and the third controller 200 is mechanically and electrically detachably connected to the first controller and the second controller respectively. Through the above connection method, the motion control instruction issued by the first controller can be transmitted through the third controller 200 and then to the second controller. Through the above connection method, the separation and connection between the first communication interface, the second communication interface and the third communication interface can be conveniently realized.

[0038] As mentioned above, a communication connection is established between the third controller 200 and the ultrasonic ranging module 100. The distance detection result obtained by the ultrasonic ranging module 100 for detecting the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is sent to the third controller 200. The third controller 200 determines the action modes of the first controller and the second controller based on the acquired distance detection result. The third controller 200 generates a control signal according to the distance detection result. Since the third controller 200 is located between the communication connections of the first controller and the second controller, the action modes of the corresponding first controller and the second controller can be determined through the control signal. For example, when the distance detection result shows that the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is too close, the second controller can be driven to stop the movement of the aerial work platform through the control signal; when the distance detection result shows that the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is far and there is no danger of collision, the movement control instruction output by the first controller can be transparently transmitted to the second controller through the control signal, so that the second controller drives the aerial work platform to move according to the movement control instruction of the first controller.

[0039] Through the provided connection method between each controller above, the third controller 200 and the first controller, and the third controller 200 and the second controller are respectively mechanically and electronically detachably connected through communication interfaces, which can realize that the third controller 200 generates a control signal according to the real-time acquired distance detection result, and determines the action modes of the first controller and the second controller based on the control signal. The specific connection method is simple and easy to operate, which can greatly reduce the installation cost. At the same time, it has strong adaptability and can be directly upgraded and transformed for existing different types of aerial work platforms.

[0040] As mentioned in the foregoing introduction, "The third controller is communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is configured to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the movement control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving." In the embodiment of the present application, according to different distance detection results, the corresponding action modes of the first controller and the second controller are different, which may specifically include: A1: When the distance detection result is less than the first distance threshold, the communication connection between the first controller and the second controller is cut off, so that the second controller drives the aerial work platform to stop moving. The second controller is configured to perform a braking operation when it does not receive the movement control instruction of the first controller.

[0041] A2: When the distance detection result is less than the second distance threshold, send a warning indication signal to the second controller, so that the second controller controls the warning device to emit a warning signal, and transparently transmits the motion control instruction output by the first controller, so that the lifting speed of the aerial work platform is reduced.

[0042] Among them, the warning device includes one or more combinations of a speaker and an indicator light, and the second distance threshold is greater than the first distance threshold.

[0043] A3: When the distance detection result is less than the third distance threshold, transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, so that the lifting speed of the aerial work platform is reduced.

[0044] Among them, the third distance threshold is greater than the second distance threshold. In the embodiments of the present application, the numerical relationship between the set first distance threshold, second distance threshold, and third distance threshold is the first distance threshold < the second distance threshold < the third distance threshold. Specifically, the values of the first distance threshold, second distance threshold, and third distance threshold can be determined by those skilled in the art according to the actual situation and application scenario, and are not limited herein. Therefore, when the situation described in A1 occurs, that is, when the distance detection result shows less than the first distance threshold, it means that the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is too close, and there is a high risk of collision. At this time, it is necessary to cut off the communication connection between the first controller and the second controller. Since the second controller is configured to control the aerial work platform to immediately stop rising, that is, perform a braking operation, when the communication connection between the first controller and the second controller is cut off, the second controller will control the aerial work platform to perform a braking operation.

[0045] When the situation described in A2 occurs, that is, when the distance detection result is less than the second distance threshold, it means that the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is relatively close, and there is a high risk of collision. At this time, it is necessary to perform a warning operation and reduce the lifting speed of the aerial work platform at the same time. The specific method is to send a warning indication signal to the second controller, so that the second controller controls the warning device to emit a warning signal. The warning device can be one or more of a buzzer, a speaker, and an indicator light, and is not limited herein. When the warning device is a buzzer or a speaker, the corresponding warning signal is an audible alarm; when the warning device is an indicator light, the corresponding warning signal can be the indicator light on, the indicator light off, or the indicator light flashing, etc., and is not limited herein. While giving a warning, the third controller 200 will also transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, so that the second controller that receives the motion control instruction drives the motion of the aerial work platform and controls the aerial work platform to reduce the lifting speed, thereby ensuring the safety of the lifting process and avoiding the collision between the aerial work platform and the obstacle to a certain extent.

[0046] When the situation described in A3 occurs, that is, when the distance detection result is less than the third distance threshold, it means that the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is slightly larger than the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle in A2. However, at this time, it is also necessary to appropriately control the lifting speed of the aerial work platform to reduce the collision risk between the aerial work platform and the obstacle. That is, when the distance detection result is less than the third distance threshold, the third controller 200 transparently transmits the motion control instruction output by the first controller to reduce the lifting speed of the aerial work platform. It should be noted that during the process of reducing the lifting speed, a functional relationship between the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle and the lifting speed can be set. This functional relationship indicates that when the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is smaller, the corresponding lifting speed is smaller. Based on this functional relationship, the lifting speed of the aerial work platform is reduced.

[0047] By setting different action modes for the first controller and the second controller under different distance detection results provided above, it is possible to adaptively adjust the actions of the aerial work platform according to the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle in different situations, with strong real-time performance, which is conducive to achieving relatively precise control of the movement of the aerial work platform, and thus effectively avoiding collisions between the aerial work platform and obstacles.

[0048] The respective functions of the foregoing first controller and second controller have been introduced in detail. In the embodiment of the present application, the first controller is a Platform Control Unit (PCU); and the second controller is an Engine Control Unit (ECU). The foregoing mentions that "the second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move". This method can be: the second controller drives the aerial work platform to perform a lifting operation according to the motion control instruction of the first controller, and multiple ultrasonic sensors of the ultrasonic ranging module are dispersedly arranged at the four top corners of the lifting rack.

[0049] That is, the motion control instruction generated according to the control action of the joystick of the aerial work platform by the manipulation control unit (i.e., PCU) is sent to the vehicle controller (i.e., ECU), so that the vehicle controller drives the aerial work platform to perform the lifting operation according to the motion control instruction of the manipulation control unit. Multiple ultrasonic sensors can be included in the ultrasonic ranging module 100. In one implementation, one ultrasonic sensor can be placed at each of the four top corners of the lifting rack of the aerial work platform. By dispersing multiple ultrasonic sensors, the distance detection result obtained by detecting the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle can be made more accurate. The ultrasonic sensors at different placement positions jointly detect the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, and distance detection results at different positions can be obtained. When the obstacle is a moving object, more comprehensive detection information can be collected, which is beneficial for the subsequent third controller 200 to generate accurate control signals based on the distance detection results obtained by multiple ultrasonic sensors to achieve accurate motion control of the aerial work platform. It should be noted that when the first controller is the PCU and the second controller is the ECU, the third controller 200 is the MCU.

[0050] Through the method for driving the motion of the aerial work platform provided above, the third controller issues a control signal based on the distance detection results jointly obtained by multiple ultrasonic sensors, so that the second controller drives the aerial work platform to perform the lifting operation according to the motion control instruction of the first controller. In this way, the distance detection result obtained by the ultrasonic ranging module can be made more accurate, and further, the control signal generated by the third controller according to the distance detection result can accurately control the motion of the aerial work platform, and to a certain extent, the possibility of collision can be avoided.

[0051] It is mentioned above that "the ultrasonic ranging module 100 is used to detect the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle to obtain a distance detection result". In the embodiment of the present application, in order to further ensure the safety of the aerial work platform and reduce the possibility of collision between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, during the process of detecting the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module can be dynamically adjusted. The specific method is as follows: First, establish the correlation between the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle and the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module 100. During the detection process, determine the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module 100 based on the correlation and the distance.

[0052] That is, a correlation relationship between the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle and the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module 100 is established in advance. Generally speaking, in order to better ensure safety, when the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is smaller, it is necessary to increase the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module 100. By increasing the sampling frequency, it is convenient to make the obtained distance detection result more in line with the actual situation and more timely, so that the third controller 200 can timely generate corresponding control signals according to the distance detection result to realize the operation control of the first controller and the second controller.

[0053] During the process of detecting the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, based on the pre-determined correlation relationship and the real-time detected distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module 100 is adjusted.

[0054] Through the provided detection method of an ultrasonic ranging module, according to the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle and the pre-determined correlation relationship between the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle and the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module 100, the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module 100 is adjusted in real time, which is beneficial to improving the real-time performance of the determined distance detection result, and further ensuring the accuracy of the control signal generated by the third controller 200 based on the distance detection result.

[0055] In a possible implementation manner, the safety control system further includes a vision sensor, the vision sensor is communicatively connected to the third controller, the ultrasonic ranging module 100 includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, the vision sensor is used to acquire image data, the ultrasonic sensors are used to acquire ultrasonic data, and the third controller 200 is used to perform the following steps B1 to B3: B1: Perform a backward processing on the obtained point cloud data of the aerial work platform to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform.

[0056] In the embodiment of the present application, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors can be set for the aerial work platform. For example, when the aerial work platform is a scissor lift, ultrasonic sensors can be installed on the four tops (facing up) of the scissor lift. The plurality of ultrasonic sensors together form the ultrasonic ranging module 100, and ultrasonic data is acquired through the ultrasonic sensors. In addition to the ultrasonic sensors, a vision sensor can also be set on the aerial work platform to acquire image data, and the image data can be 3D image data.

[0057] The point cloud data is constructed based on the ultrasonic data and the image data. Before constructing the point cloud data, it is necessary for the facial physiotherapy robot to perform hand-eye calibration, tool calibration, binocular calibration and optimization calibration.

[0058] The initial calibration distance is used to indicate the initial distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle. In the embodiments of the present application, in order to ensure a certain distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, the point cloud data of the aerial work platform is processed by backing off, and a safety distance is reserved between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, that is, the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform is determined.

[0059] B2: During the operation of the aerial work platform, based on the initial calibration distance, the continuously acquired ultrasonic data and the image data, determine the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle.

[0060] After determining the initial calibration distance for the aerial work platform, during the operation of the aerial work platform, according to the continuously acquired ultrasonic data and image data, the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle can be determined based on the initial calibration distance. The change situation of this distance includes the change direction and the change speed of the distance. For example, the change situation of the distance includes that the change speed of the distance suddenly increases, the change direction of the distance is towards the aerial work platform, and the change direction of the distance is away from the aerial work platform, etc.

[0061] When the distance between the aerial work platform and the collision object changes suddenly, the corresponding motion state of the aerial work platform is an emergency brake. Otherwise, the motion state of the aerial work platform is a linear brake according to the distance. Considering the moving direction of the obstacle, assuming the initial braking threshold (the critical value of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle when braking is required) is 1 meter. If it moves towards the aerial work platform, the braking threshold should be increased, for example, 1.2 meters; if it moves away from the aerial work platform, the braking threshold can be decreased, for example, 0.8 meters.

[0062] In the embodiments of the present application, the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is determined through the ultrasonic data and the image data, and then the braking threshold is dynamically adjusted to adjust the motion state of the aerial work platform in real time.

[0063] The third controller 200 can determine the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle according to the continuously acquired ultrasonic data. However, in some cases, the ultrasonic sensor cannot measure the change situation of this distance. For example, when the tested surface is an inclined plane, or when the moving speed of the obstacle is too fast. Therefore, in the safety control system for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging provided in the embodiments of the present application, in addition to setting multiple ultrasonic sensors to acquire ultrasonic data, a vision sensor is also set to acquire image data. As an auxiliary, it can ensure that when the ultrasonic sensor cannot measure the distance change, the distance change is determined according to the image data, and the accuracy and adaptability of determining the distance change in different scenarios are improved.

[0064] B3: Determine the motion state of the aerial work platform based on the change of the distance, so as to prevent the aerial work platform from colliding with the obstacle.

[0065] The third controller 200 can correspondingly determine the motion state of the aerial work platform according to the determined change of the distance. The motion state of the aerial work platform can include the following: continue to move forward, move forward slowly, brake, and emergency brake. Among them, continue to move forward can be understood as lifting at the current speed; move forward slowly can be understood as reducing the speed, but still continue to lift; brake can be understood as reducing the speed until stopping lifting; emergency brake can be understood as stopping lifting with the maximum braking force. The braking force refers to the speed at which braking needs to be carried out. The greater the braking force, the faster the corresponding braking speed.

[0066] The process of determining the motion state of the aerial work platform through the change of the distance can be realized by a neural network. Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a model structure provided by an embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 2 shown, a series of obtained ultrasonic data and image data (including image data and ultrasonic data, and correlation data of image data at different times) are sent into a neural network (such as a convolutional neural network) for feature extraction to obtain a first target feature and a second target feature. The specific feature extraction method will be described in detail in the subsequent introduction. Then, a series of extracted first target features and second target features are sent into the backbone network, and the backbone network performs feature extraction. Finally, the classification head outputs a decision result (i.e., the aforementioned motion state of the aerial work platform) based on the feature information. The backbone network can be realized by a multi-layer fully connected neural network, that is, a cyclic structure of a fully connected neural network-dropout layer and a fully connected neural network-dropout layer. It can also be realized by using recurrent neural networks such as LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory), RNN (Recurrent Neural Network), and GRU (Gated Recurrent Unit).

[0067] It should be noted that Figure 2Exemplarily shown in the figure are 8 input data of the backbone network (in fact, the number of the input data is not limited and can be determined by those skilled in the art according to actual needs). The first two input data are the first target feature and the second target feature corresponding to the current moment; the last six input data are historical data read from the memory, which can reduce the amount of calculation. The third and fourth input data are the first target feature and the second target feature corresponding to the previous moment of the current moment, the fifth and sixth input data are the first target feature and the second target feature corresponding to the two previous moments of the current moment, and the seventh and eighth input data are the first target feature and the second target feature corresponding to the two previous moments of the current moment. When the moment is in units of frames and the current moment corresponds to the 10th frame, the third and fourth input data are the first target feature and the second target feature corresponding to the 9th frame, and the subsequent input data can be inferred in this way and will not be elaborated here.

[0068] It should also be noted that in the safety control system for preventing collisions by using ultrasonic ranging proposed in the technical solution of the present invention, in addition to preventing the aerial work platform from colliding with obstacles, when there are workers on the aerial work platform, by adjusting the motion state of the aerial work platform, it is also possible to avoid the collision between the workers and the obstacles, and ensure the safety of the workers working on the aerial work platform.

[0069] Through the method for preventing the aerial work platform from colliding with obstacles provided above, the obtained point cloud data of the aerial work platform is processed by rolling back, so that the aerial work platform reserves a distance from the obstacles in the initial state, and thus it can be ensured that a certain safety distance is maintained between the aerial work platform and the obstacles. During the operation of the aerial work platform, based on the ultrasonic data and image data continuously collected by the ultrasonic sensor and the vision sensor, the distance change situation between the aerial work platform and the obstacles can be determined, and based on the distance change situation, the motion state of the aerial work platform can be correspondingly determined, that is, the motion state of the aerial work platform is adjusted. The whole process does not rely on manual methods but is carried out in an automated manner. And by obtaining the ultrasonic data and image data in real time, the timeliness and accuracy of determining the motion state of the aerial work platform can be ensured. At the same time, by combining the ultrasonic data and image data to determine the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacles, the comprehensiveness of the information of the reference data can be ensured, which is beneficial to further ensuring the safety of the aerial work platform and avoiding the occurrence of collision accidents.

[0070] Optionally, in the above-mentioned B1, it is mentioned that "perform a rollback process on the acquired point cloud data of the aerial work platform to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform". In the embodiments of the present invention, a method for determining the initial calibration distance is provided. In the third controller 200 provided in the present application, a distance determination module is included. Before determining the initial calibration distance, the distance determination module needs to determine the rollback distance, which can be understood as the safety distance preset between the aerial work platform and the obstacle. The specific determination method is as follows: Use the third controller 200 to perform a rollback process on the acquired point cloud data of the aerial work platform based on the rollback distance to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present application, after constructing the point cloud data of the aerial work platform based on ultrasonic data and image data, due to the characteristics of aerial work of the aerial work platform, it is necessary to maintain a safety distance from the obstacle. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a rollback process on the point cloud data of the aerial work platform to ensure that a certain distance is maintained between the aerial work platform and the obstacle. When performing the rollback process, the distance determination module needs to determine the rollback distance, and perform the rollback process based on this rollback distance to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform.

[0072] That is, for the surface points shown in the point cloud data of the aerial work platform After vector rollback, maintain the safety distance H and safely save the points (i.e., the point cloud data of the aerial work platform at the initial calibration distance) It can be expressed as:

[0073]

[0074] Among them, is the point cloud after rollback, H is the rollback distance; u, v, w are unit vectors; is the point cloud before rollback.

[0075] Through the above-mentioned method for determining the initial calibration distance, the distance determination module determines the rollback distance of the aerial work platform, and uses the third controller 200 to perform a rollback process according to the acquired point cloud data of the aerial work platform, and determines the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform according to the rollback distance, ensuring that the aerial work platform can maintain at least the safety distance shown by the rollback distance from the obstacle, that is, in the calibration system of the aerial work platform, the distance between itself and the obstacle is greater than the actual distance, ensuring the safety of the aerial work platform.

[0076] In the foregoing for Figure 2The introduction mentions that "a series of ultrasonic data and image data obtained (including image data, ultrasonic data, and associated data of image data at different times) are sent to a convolutional neural network for feature extraction to obtain a first target feature and a second target feature". The completion of this step needs to be completed before the aforementioned B2. The third controller 200 includes a storage module. Obtaining the first target feature and the second target feature needs to be based on the storage module. The specific methods for obtaining the first target feature and the second target feature are as follows: C1: Extract features from the ultrasonic data and the image data obtained at the same time to obtain a first target feature.

[0077] The first target feature is obtained by sending the ultrasonic data and the image data obtained at the same time into a convolutional neural network for feature extraction. The change amount of the ultrasonic data can well characterize the change in distance. However, compared with the image data, the measurable direction angle that can be adapted is limited. The image data can make up for the deficiency in determining the change in distance of the ultrasonic data in some scenarios, so that the information in the first target feature obtained by feature extraction is more reliable. In the embodiments of the present application, the unit of time can be in frames, and the same time corresponds to the same frame.

[0078] C2: Extract features from the associated information of the image data obtained at different times to obtain a second target feature.

[0079] The associated information is used to indicate the difference value between the image data. The second target feature is used to reflect the difference situation between the image data corresponding to different times. This difference situation can refer to the pixel difference at each point between the previous frame image and the next frame image. Through the second target feature, the difference situation between the image data obtained at different times can be determined, and based on the difference situation, it is convenient to determine the distance change situation between the aerial work platform and the obstacle.

[0080] For example, assume that the obstacle is a bird. The number of pixels occupied by the bird shown in the image data of the current frame is significantly different from the number of pixels occupied by the bird shown in the image data of the previous frame of the current frame. For example, the number of pixels occupied by the bird in the current frame image is much larger than the number of pixels occupied by the bird shown in the image data of the previous frame. At this time, by extracting features from the image data of these two frames, the corresponding second target feature will reflect the difference situation between the image data, and thus it can be judged that the distance between the current obstacle bird and the aerial work platform has changed suddenly, and the direction of the distance change between the bird and the aerial work platform is towards the aerial work platform.

[0081] C3: Store the first target feature and the second target feature in the memory.

[0082] The purpose of storing the obtained first target feature and second target feature is that when the first target feature and second target feature for a continuous period of time before are needed in the subsequent process, they can be directly obtained from the memory, avoiding re - performing all the computational processing and causing waste of computing power resources.

[0083] The aforementioned steps C1 and C2 can be carried out simultaneously or successively, and the specific order of execution is not limited herein.

[0084] In the introduction of the aforementioned C2, it is mentioned that "feature extraction is performed on the correlation information of the image data obtained at different times to obtain the second target feature". In the embodiments of the present application, the image data can be an optical flow image and / or a pixel difference image, and both the optical flow image and the pixel difference image can show the difference value between images at different times. Using the optical flow image and the pixel difference image for feature extraction can facilitate the acquisition of the second target feature, enabling the convolutional neural network to reduce the steps of identifying the difference value between images, which is beneficial to improving the efficiency of feature extraction.

[0085] Through the method for obtaining the first target feature and the second target feature provided above, different feature extractions are performed on the ultrasonic data and the image data to obtain the first target feature and the second target feature, and the first target feature and the second target feature are stored, facilitating direct extraction during subsequent use to avoid repeated calculations and saving computing power resources. At the same time, the combination of the first target feature and the second target feature can make the reference information for determining the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle more sufficient, and the obtained result more accurate.

[0086] In the aforementioned C1, it is mentioned that "feature extraction is performed on the ultrasonic data and the image data obtained at the same time to obtain the first target feature". The third controller 200 includes an encoding module. Before obtaining the first target feature, in order to construct the joint data of the ultrasonic data and the image data, it is necessary to use the encoding module to process the ultrasonic data. The specific processing method is: performing wavelet transform encoding on the obtained ultrasonic data to obtain a wavelet image. At this time, the method for obtaining the first target feature by the storage module is: performing feature extraction on the wavelet image and the image data obtained at the same time to obtain the first target feature.

[0087] The reason for choosing to use the encoding module to perform wavelet transform encoding on the ultrasonic data is that the wavelet image obtained through wavelet transform encoding has time-frequency characteristics, that is, the time information corresponding to the ultrasonic data can be recorded through wavelet encoding. According to this time information, it is convenient to correspond the wavelet image corresponding to the ultrasonic data with the image data according to the time information, and input the wavelet image and the image data with a corresponding relationship between the time information into the convolutional neural network, and the first target feature corresponding to this time information can be obtained.

[0088] For example, when the current time is T1, the obtained ultrasonic data is subjected to wavelet transform encoding to obtain a wavelet image. When the time information recorded by the wavelet image is T1, the wavelet image is corresponded with the image data obtained at T1 and jointly input into the convolutional neural network for feature extraction, and the first target feature can be obtained.

[0089] Through the method of obtaining the first target feature mentioned above, before feature extraction, performing wavelet encoding processing on the obtained ultrasonic data can retain the time information of the ultrasonic data, and then facilitate matching and corresponding with the image data according to the time information. The wavelet image and the image data at the same time are subjected to feature extraction to obtain the first target feature, which ensures the convenience of the first target feature extraction and the accuracy of the corresponding time.

[0090] In the foregoing introduction, it is mentioned that the storage module "performs feature extraction on the wavelet image and the image data obtained at the same time to obtain the first target feature". In the embodiments of the present application, in order to improve the utilization rate of the image, the storage module can be used to perform splicing processing on the wavelet image and the image data, and the first target feature is obtained according to the spliced image. The method can be: first, set the resolution of the wavelet image to the first resolution, and set the resolution of the image data to the second resolution. Then, based on the first resolution and the second resolution, the wavelet image and the image data are spliced to obtain a spliced image, and finally, feature extraction is performed on the spliced image to obtain the first target feature.

[0091] Figure 3 FIG. is a schematic diagram of an image splicing provided by an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiments of the present application, the image resolution of the wavelet image obtained by the encoding module performing wavelet transform encoding on the ultrasonic data can be adjusted. Figure 3Exemplarily, the image resolution of the wavelet image of the ultrasonic data at time T1 is set to 1920*540, and the image resolution of the image data obtained by the vision sensor is set to 960*540. The figure includes the image data at time T1 and the image data at time T1-1. These three images are spliced to obtain a spliced image, and the resolution of the spliced image is 1920*1080. Inputting the spliced image into the convolutional neural network can obtain the first target feature.

[0092] In the embodiment of the present application, the standard image resolution can be set to 1920*1080. At this time, in order to obtain a rectangular spliced image, the length and width of the image resolution need to correspond. According to the foregoing introduction, the ultrasonic data needs to provide more data information. Therefore, when setting the resolution, the resolution of the wavelet image corresponding to the ultrasonic data needs to be set higher. Therefore, the first resolution needs to be greater than the second resolution.

[0093] Through the method of obtaining the first target feature provided above, different resolutions are set for the wavelet image and the image data, and it is also necessary to ensure that the result of the final spliced image is rectangular. By extracting features from the spliced image, the utilization rate of the image can be improved. At the same time, setting the resolution of the wavelet image to be greater than the resolution of the image data can enable more data information of the ultrasonic data during feature extraction, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of determining the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle.

[0094] It is mentioned in the foregoing B2 that "determine the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initialized calibration distance, the continuously acquired ultrasonic data, and the image data". In the safety control system for preventing collisions using ultrasonic ranging provided in the present application, it is necessary to determine the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the feature information designed based on a series of first target features and second target features. Therefore, the method for the third controller 200 to determine the change in the distance can be: first determine the time range, and then acquire the first target feature and the second target feature within the time range. Finally, determine the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initialized calibration distance, the first target feature, and the second target feature within the time range.

[0095] Among them, the time range is determined with the current time as a reference. In the method for determining the change in the distance mentioned in the embodiment of the present application, it is necessary to use all the first target features and the second target features within a period of time as the information source, so as to ensure the sufficiency of the corresponding information source when determining the change in the distance, and further ensure the reliability of the determined change in the distance.

[0096] Therefore, when determining the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the first target feature and the second target feature, a time range needs to be determined. The determination of this time range is based on the current time, that is, the time range should be set as a period of time before the current time and should include the current time. For example, the time range can be set to two seconds before the current time. As mentioned in the previous introduction, the first target feature and the second target feature obtained by feature extraction will be stored in the memory. Therefore, after the third controller 200 determines the time range, it can obtain the historically stored first target feature and second target feature within the time range from the memory, and then combine the first target feature and the second target feature corresponding to the current time, as well as the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform, to determine the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle.

[0097] The setting of the time range can be freely set by those skilled in the art according to the actual situation and application scenario, and will not be limited here. It should be noted that when setting the time range, it is necessary to ensure that the time range can include a sufficient number of first target features and second target features. When the time range is larger, the corresponding calculation amount is larger, and the accuracy of the finally determined change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is higher. When the time range is smaller, the corresponding calculation amount is smaller, and the accuracy of the finally determined change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is lower. In the embodiment of the present application, generally, the time range is set to two seconds before the current time. This is an empirical value obtained based on implementation and debugging. Depending on the situation, there are differences in the corresponding time range settings.

[0098] Through the method for determining the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle provided above, in order to ensure that the number of the first target feature and the second target feature used as references is sufficient, a time range is determined. All the first target features and second target features within this time range are used as references, so as to ensure a certain guarantee for the accuracy of the determined change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, and to avoid errors caused by accidental events to a certain extent.

[0099] It is mentioned in the foregoing B2 that "the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle is determined based on the initialized calibration distance, the continuously acquired ultrasonic data, and the image data". In the safety control system for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging provided in this application, as can be seen from the foregoing introduction, the acquired ultrasonic data and image data need to undergo feature extraction to obtain the first target feature and the second target feature, and the backbone network in the third controller 200 further extracts the features of the first target feature and the second target feature within the time range. In this process, the backbone network needs to perform a weighting process on the first target feature and the second target feature. The specific weighting method is as follows: the weight of the first target feature within the time range is set as the first weight, and the weight of the second target feature within the time range is set as the second weight.

[0100] When weighting the first target feature and the second target feature, the first weight corresponding to the first target feature is greater than the second weight corresponding to the second target feature. In this way, it can be ensured that the feature information carried in the first target feature is more reflected in the result obtained by feature extraction based on the first target feature and the second target feature. The reason for more reflecting the information in the first target feature is that the information carried in the second target feature is mainly time information (i.e., the information between image data at different times (such as adjacent times)), and the backbone network in the embodiments of this application adopts a recurrent neural network, which can itself realize the extraction of the information between image data at different times (such as adjacent times). Therefore, there is no need to give a higher weight to the second target feature to increase the presentation of such feature information. On the contrary, a higher weight should be given to the first target feature so that the feature information in the first target feature can be reflected.

[0101] It should be noted that in a possible implementation manner, in the process of obtaining the first target feature and the second target feature mentioned above, the image data, the ultrasonic data, and the associated data of the image data at different times need to be respectively sent into a convolutional neural network for feature extraction, and the convolutional kernel of the convolutional neural network for obtaining the first target feature is larger than the convolutional kernel of the convolutional neural network for obtaining the second target feature. In this way, more visual field information of the image data and the ultrasonic data at the same time can be retained as much as possible.

[0102] By the method for determining the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle provided above, a higher weight is set for the first target feature than the second target feature. In this way, when determining the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, the feature information of the ultrasonic data and the image data in the first target feature can be more reflected, which is beneficial to retaining the feature information related to the distance change to a greater extent and making the finally determined change in the distance more accurate.

[0103] The present invention also provides a safety control method for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging. Figure 4 FIG. is a flowchart of a safety control method for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The safety control method is applied to an aerial work platform, and the aerial work platform is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected; the second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move; the safety control system includes: an ultrasonic ranging module and a third controller; the method includes: S11: Use the ultrasonic ranging module to detect the distance between the aerial work platform and an obstacle to obtain a distance detection result.

[0104] S12: Use the third controller to be communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is configured to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving.

[0105] It should be noted that the working processes and manners of the ultrasonic ranging module and the third controller involved in the safety control method for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging provided in the present application have been introduced in detail in the foregoing description of the safety control system for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging, and can be understood and applied with reference to the foregoing description in the method, so details will not be repeated herein.

[0106] In an embodiment of the present invention, a safety control method for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging is proposed, which is applied to an aerial work platform. The aerial work platform is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected; the second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move; the safety control system includes: an ultrasonic ranging module and a third controller; first, the ultrasonic ranging module is used to detect the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle to obtain a distance detection result. Then, the third controller is communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is used to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving. In this way, through the first controller and the second controller provided on the aerial work platform, and by communicatively connecting the first controller and the second controller, the second controller can drive the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move. In order to better avoid collisions between the aerial work platform and obstacles, an ultrasonic ranging module is provided to detect the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle in real time, and a third controller is provided between the first controller and the second controller so that the third controller can be communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. A control signal is generated according to the distance detection result obtained by the ultrasonic ranging module, and the motion control instruction output by the first controller is selected to be transparently transmitted, or the second controller is caused to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving. That is, by adding a third controller between the first controller and the second controller, the safety control system can directly control the movement of the aerial work platform based on the control signal through the distance detection result obtained by the third controller, without the need to modify the programs of the first controller or the second controller, nor to adjust the internal circuit connections of the aerial work platform. While ensuring the safety of the aerial work platform and avoiding the occurrence of collision accidents, there is no additional usage cost, the installation method is simple and highly adaptable, and it can be applied to different types of aerial work platforms. The entire control process does not rely on manual methods, but is carried out in an automated manner, which can conveniently and efficiently avoid the occurrence of collision accidents.

[0107] An embodiment of the present invention further provides an aerial work platform, which is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected. The aerial work platform further includes the aforementioned safety control system, which includes an ultrasonic ranging module and a third controller. In some possible implementation manners, a vision sensor is further included. The ultrasonic ranging module may include one or more ultrasonic sensors. The third controller communicates with multiple ultrasonic sensors (i.e., the ultrasonic ranging module) via a bus. Through bus communication, the distance data detected by the ultrasonic sensors can be transmitted to the third controller in real time and stably. When an ultrasonic sensor is connected to the third controller, the third controller has the ability to automatically assign a unique address. Each time an ultrasonic sensor is connected, a unique address identifier on the bus can be assigned to it. This ensures that the safety control system can mount multiple ultrasonic sensors, thereby realizing multi-point measurement in all directions and at multiple angles during the lifting process of a self-propelled aerial work platform (such as a scissor lift). Compared with the traditional single-point measurement method, the measurement blind area is effectively reduced, and the accuracy and comprehensiveness of obstacle detection in the lifting environment are greatly improved. At the same time, the ultrasonic sensors and the third controller communicate via a bus, so the expandability and anti-interference ability are relatively strong.

[0108] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of an aerial work platform provided by an embodiment of the present invention, see Figure 5 As shown, ultrasonic sensors are respectively installed on four frames at the top of the aerial work platform. The ultrasonic ranging module includes 4 ultrasonic sensors (in some cases, a vision sensor (not shown in the figure) may also be included). The ultrasonic ranging module communicates with the third controller via a bus to realize multi-point measurement during the lifting process of the aerial work platform. The first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected. The second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move. And the third controller (i.e., MCU) can be communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. Based on the data obtained by the ultrasonic ranging module, the third controller can determine the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle, and then determine the motion state of the aerial work platform, so that the first controller (i.e., PCU) can perform risk avoidance of the aerial work platform based on the determined motion state of the aerial work platform (such as assisting in controlling the aerial work platform to brake), and the second controller (i.e., ECU) can also adjust the actions of the aerial work platform together with the first controller according to the determined motion state of the aerial work platform. In this way, the safety of the aerial work platform can be ensured, and collision accidents can be avoided.

[0109] Meanwhile, the sustainable development and expandability of the application scenarios of the aerial work vehicle provided by the embodiments of the present invention are also very strong. During subsequent development, this technology can also be utilized in the field of vehicle driving anti-collision. Relying on the advantages of bus multi-sensor mounting and precise detection, real-time monitoring in all directions of the vehicle driving direction can be achieved, effectively warning and avoiding various potential collision risks, and comprehensively improving the running safety of the vehicle.

[0110] To ensure compatibility with existing products, the third controller can communicate with the handle (i.e., the first controller) through various communication methods such as serial ports and CAN, and can be directly installed in vehicles already on the market. It is suitable for the after-market. In actual application deployment, the third controller is connected between the ECU (vehicle controller) and the PCU (i.e., the aforementioned manipulation control unit), and transmits data to both sides. When the third controller detects that the distance between the vehicle and an obstacle is approaching, the system gives an alarm prompt. When the distance is too close, the communication signal between the ECU and the PCU can be quickly cut off, thereby forcing the vehicle to stop the current dangerous action. At the same time, the vehicle is allowed to execute safe actions. Thus, a selective limiting function is realized.

[0111] The embodiments of the present application also provide corresponding devices and computer-readable storage media for implementing the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0112] Among them, the device includes a memory and a processor. The memory is used to store instructions or codes, and the processor is used to execute the instructions or codes so that the device executes a safety control method for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging according to any embodiment of the present application.

[0113] In actual application, the computer-readable storage medium can be any combination of one or more computer-readable media. The computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable storage medium include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, 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 disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In this embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0114] A computer-readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in a baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries computer-readable program code. Such a propagated data signal may take many forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer-readable signal medium may also be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which can send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0115] The program code contained on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wire, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0116] The computer program code for performing the operations of the present invention may be written in one or more programming languages or combinations thereof, and the program code may be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, executed as a stand-alone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the case of a remote computer, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network - including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) - or, alternatively, may be connected to an external computer (e.g., using an Internet service provider to connect through the Internet).

[0117] The above are only optional embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural transformation made using the description and drawings of the present invention under the inventive concept of the present invention, or direct / indirect application in other related technical fields, is included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A safety control system for preventing collisions by using ultrasonic ranging, characterized in that, Applied to an aerial work platform, the aerial work platform is provided with a first controller and a second controller, and the first controller and the second controller are communicatively connected; the second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move; The safety control system includes: An ultrasonic ranging module for detecting the distance between the aerial work platform and an obstacle to obtain a distance detection result; A third controller communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is used to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving; The third controller communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is used to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving, including: When the distance detection result is less than a first distance threshold, the communication connection between the first controller and the second controller is cut off, so that the second controller drives the aerial work platform to stop moving. The second controller is configured to perform a braking operation when it does not receive the motion control instruction of the first controller; When the distance detection result is less than a second distance threshold, a warning indication signal is sent to the second controller to cause the second controller to control a warning device to emit a warning signal, and transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller to reduce the lifting speed of the aerial work platform; the warning device includes one or more combinations of a speaker and an indicator light, and the second distance threshold is greater than the first distance threshold.

2. The safety control system for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging according to claim 1, wherein The first controller is provided with a first communication interface, and the second controller is provided with a second communication interface. The first communication interface and the second communication interface are mechanically and electronically detachable; The third controller is provided with a third communication interface and a fourth communication interface; The third controller communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller includes: the third communication interface is mechanically and electronically detachably connected to the first communication interface, and the fourth communication interface is mechanically and electronically detachably connected to the second communication interface, so that the motion control instruction of the first controller is transparently transmitted to the second controller after passing through the third controller.

3. The safety control system for preventing collision by using ultrasonic ranging according to claim 1, characterized in that, The third controller communicatively connected between the first controller and the second controller. The third controller is used to generate a control signal according to the distance detection result, and select to transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller, or cause the second controller to drive the aerial work platform to stop moving, including: When the distance detection result is less than the third distance threshold, transparently transmit the motion control instruction output by the first controller to reduce the lifting speed of the aerial work platform, where the third distance threshold is greater than the second distance threshold.

4. The safety control system for anti-collision using ultrasonic ranging according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the first controller is a manipulation control unit; and, the second controller is a vehicle controller; the second controller drives the components to work according to the motion control instruction of the first controller to drive the aerial work platform to move, including: the second controller drives the aerial work platform to perform a lifting operation according to the motion control instruction of the first controller, and a plurality of ultrasonic sensors of the ultrasonic ranging module are dispersedly arranged at the four top corners of the lifting rack.

5. The safety control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ultrasonic ranging module is used for: establishing a correlation between the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle and the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module; during the detection process, determining the sampling frequency of the ultrasonic ranging module based on the correlation and the distance.

6. The safety control system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The safety control system further includes a vision sensor, the vision sensor is communicatively connected to the third controller, the ultrasonic ranging module includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, the vision sensor is used to acquire image data, the ultrasonic sensors are used to acquire ultrasonic data, and the third controller is used for: performing a backward processing on the acquired point cloud data of the aerial work platform to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform, where the point cloud data is constructed based on the ultrasonic data and the image data, and the initial calibration distance is used to indicate the initial distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle; during the operation of the aerial work platform, determining the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initial calibration distance, the continuously acquired ultrasonic data and the image data; determining the motion state of the aerial work platform based on the change situation of the distance to achieve the goal of preventing the aerial work platform from colliding with the obstacle; and / or, the third controller includes a distance determination module, and before performing the backward processing on the acquired point cloud data of the aerial work platform to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform, the distance determination module is used for: determining the backward distance; the third controller is used for: performing a backward processing on the acquired point cloud data of the aerial work platform based on the backward distance to determine the initial calibration distance of the aerial work platform.

7. The safety control system according to claim 6, wherein, The third controller includes a storage module, and before determining the change situation of the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initial calibration distance, the continuously acquired ultrasonic data and the image data, the storage module is used for: performing feature extraction on the ultrasonic data and the image data acquired at the same moment to obtain a first target feature; Extract features from the correlation information of the image data obtained at different times to obtain second target features. The correlation information is used to indicate the difference value between the image data. The image data obtained at different times is an optical flow image and / or a pixel difference image; Store the first target feature and the second target feature in a memory; And / or, the third controller includes an encoding module. Before extracting features from the ultrasonic data and the image data obtained at the same time to obtain the first target feature, the encoding module is used for: Perform wavelet transform encoding on the obtained ultrasonic data to obtain a wavelet image; The storage module is used for: Extract features from the wavelet image and the image data obtained at the same time to obtain the first target feature; And / or, the storage module is used for: Set the resolution of the wavelet image to a first resolution and set the resolution of the image data to a second resolution, where the first resolution is greater than the second resolution; Stitch the wavelet image and the image data based on the first resolution and the second resolution to obtain a stitched image; Extract features from the stitched image to obtain the first target feature.

8. The safety control system according to claim 7, wherein, The third controller is used for: Determine a time range, where the time range is determined with the current time as a reference; Obtain the first target feature and the second target feature within the time range; Determine the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initial calibration distance, the first target feature and the second target feature within the time range; And / or, the third controller is used for: Set the weight of the first target feature within the time range to a first weight and set the weight of the second target feature within the time range to a second weight, where the first weight is greater than the second weight; Determine the change in the distance between the aerial work platform and the obstacle based on the initial calibration distance, the first weight, the second weight, the first target feature and the second target feature within the time range.

9. An aerial work platform, characterized in that, The aerial work vehicle includes a safety control system for preventing collisions by using ultrasonic ranging as described in any one of claims 1-8.

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