Unmanned aerial vehicle air traffic control method and system

Abstract

The invention provides an air traffic control method and system for an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method comprises the steps that a master control room plans sub-airspaces where the unmanned aerial vehicle passes based on received flight application information submitted by a user side, determines flight information containing priorities, and issues the flight information to all towers in the take-off sub-airspace, the path sub-airspace and the landing sub-airspace; each control tower controls take-off, flight and landing of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the corresponding sub-airspace, flight information of each unmanned aerial vehicle is fed back to a master control room to analyze a congestion coefficient of each sub-airspace, and when the congestion coefficient is greater than a critical value, a pilot starting command is sent to the corresponding sub-airspace control tower; after the corresponding sub-airspace control tower receives the pilot starting command, adjusting the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the sub-airspace, taking off the pilot, and transferring the management authority to the pilot after the pilot reaches a specified position to form an automatic control aircraft group; and after the pilot enters the cross domain, the self-control cluster is disengaged, and the pilot returns under the control of the corresponding sub-airspace control tower. According to the invention, the problem of information congestion in unmanned aerial vehicle management and control is effectively solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control technology, specifically to a UAV air traffic control method and system. Background Technology

[0002] With the advancement of technology, the low-altitude economy has become the forefront of technological development. The low-altitude economy refers to various economic activities carried out using drones in low-altitude airspace, involving multiple fields such as intelligent transportation, logistics and distribution, and emergency rescue.

[0003] In many applications, the safety of drones relies on air traffic control systems, and existing drone air traffic control systems have real-time information interaction with drones. Specifically, drones send flight information to the control tower at set fixed intervals. After receiving information from all drones, the control tower uses algorithms to generate flight routes and control signals for each drone and feeds these control signals back to the drones to achieve precise control.

[0004] However, with the increasing number of drones, the complexity of the airspace has also increased significantly. The frequent entry and exit of drones into and out of the airspace leads to a reduction in the time interval between drones sending signals to the control tower. When the time interval is shorter than the time it takes for the control tower to receive the information, information congestion will occur. Information congestion will not only cause delays or loss of information, but may also further lead to air accidents.

[0005] Therefore, how to effectively solve the information congestion problem in drone management has become an urgent technical challenge. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of this, the present invention proposes an air traffic control method and system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which aims to reduce message congestion, reduce the computational load of tower trajectory planning, and improve UAV safety.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides an air traffic control method for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which divides the entire airspace into multiple sub-airspaces, constructs control towers for UAVs at the center of each sub-airspace, and designates the overlapping portions between the sub-airspaces as cross-domains. Each control tower is connected to a central control room via a wired network. The method includes: the central control room, based on flight application information submitted by a user terminal, planning the sub-airspaces through which the UAV will pass, determining flight information including priority, and distributing the flight information to each control tower within the takeoff, transit, and landing sub-airspaces; each control tower, according to the flight information distributed by the central control room, controls the UAVs within its sub-airspace to take off and fly. The drones land and transmit their flight information as subdomain information to the central control room. The central control room analyzes the congestion coefficient of each subdomain based on the subdomain information. When the congestion coefficient exceeds a critical value, it sends a command to activate the navigator to the corresponding subdomain tower. After receiving the command from the central control room, the corresponding subdomain tower adjusts the position of the drones in its subdomain and takes off the navigator. Once the navigator reaches the designated position, the corresponding subdomain tower transfers the management authority of the drones in its subdomain to the navigator, forming an autonomous drone swarm. After the navigator leads the autonomous drone swarm into the cross-domain, the autonomous drone swarm is disbanded, and the navigator returns under the control of its corresponding subdomain tower.

[0008] Optionally, when the central control room determines the priority of the UAV, the priority P is set within the range of 0 to 1, and the specific calculation formula is as follows:

[0009] P = (P1 + P2) / 2

[0010] Among them, P1 is determined based on the drone's mission type, which includes high-weight missions and low-weight missions. P2 is determined based on the drone's performance, which includes payload, range, and service life. The navigator has the highest priority and is set to 1.

[0011] Optionally, the method further includes, after a UAV in an autonomous flight group enters the cross-domain, the central control room determines the handover location of UAV control based on the congestion level of each sub-domain. Specifically, this includes: when the congestion coefficient of the atomic airspace is greater than the congestion coefficient of the target sub-domain, control is transferred to the tower of the target sub-domain after the UAV enters the cross-domain; when the congestion coefficient of the atomic airspace is less than the congestion coefficient of the target sub-domain, control is transferred to the tower of the target sub-domain before the UAV leaves the cross-domain; wherein the handover process is as follows: sending information containing the UAV's identifier to the tower of the target sub-domain, and removing the information containing the UAV's identifier from the atomic airspace tower.

[0012] Optionally, the central control room calculates the congestion coefficient of each sub-space using the following formula:

[0013] Pa = N * St / dt

[0014] Where Pa is the congestion coefficient, N is the number of UAVs in the sub-airspace, St is the time required for the tower to process one message in the sub-airspace, dt is the interval between UAVs sending flight information to the tower, and the critical value of the congestion coefficient is 1.

[0015] Optionally, after receiving the command to activate the navigator from the central control room, the corresponding sub-airspace tower adjusts the position of the UAVs within its sub-airspace, takes off the navigator, and after the navigator reaches the designated position, the corresponding sub-airspace tower transfers the management authority of the UAVs within its sub-airspace to the navigator, forming an autonomous control swarm. This includes: when the corresponding sub-airspace tower receives the command to activate the navigator from the central control room, it controls nearby UAVs flying to the same destination to gather together to form an autonomous control swarm based on the UAV positions and destination sub-airspaces within the sub-airspace, and activates the navigator to position it at the front of the autonomous control swarm; the corresponding sub-airspace tower sends a signal to the UAVs in the autonomous control swarm, transferring control of each UAV to the navigator, and simultaneously stops the information transmission of the UAVs in the autonomous control swarm. The navigator then sends flight information to the tower on behalf of all UAVs in the autonomous control swarm and broadcasts the control information of the corresponding sub-airspace tower to the UAVs in the autonomous control swarm.

[0016] Optionally, the method further includes, when the autonomous drone swarm arrives at the cross-domain, the navigator broadcasts a message to return control of each drone to the control tower, and simultaneously activates the timed information transmission function of each drone.

[0017] Optionally, each control tower, based on flight information issued by the central control room, controls the takeoff, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace, including: each control tower receiving flight information from UAVs within its sub-airspace, planning flight routes for each UAV based on the flight information, and controlling the takeoff, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace, specifically including:

[0018] Each drone is abstracted as a sphere, called the safe zone, with a radius of:

[0019] r = zt * v

[0020] Where zt is the time required for the tower to process one message within the sub-airspace, and v is the speed of the UAV;

[0021] When a cluster of automated machines exists, the cluster is abstracted into a cube, which is called a safe zone.

[0022] During the route planning process, the shortest straight line is selected as the control direction based on the path characteristics of each UAV, which is called the direction line. The volume swept by the safe zone of each UAV is predicted with a length of 10*v*zt, which is called the safe route. The overlap of the safe routes of all UAVs is checked. When there is an overlap, it is called a collision risk. The route is modified by selecting a speed correction strategy or a direction correction strategy.

[0023] Optionally, the speed correction strategy is as follows: determine the priority of overlapping drones, keep the safe flight path of the drone with higher priority unchanged, and reduce the speed of the drone with lower priority until the collision risk disappears.

[0024] Optionally, the direction correction strategy is as follows: determine the priority of overlapping drones, keep the safe flight path of the drone with higher priority unchanged, and modify the direction of the drone with lower priority until the collision risk disappears.

[0025] According to a second aspect of the present invention, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) air traffic control system is provided, comprising multiple sub-airspaces, control towers at the centers of each sub-airspace, a central control room, and user terminals. The sub-airspaces overlap into inter-airspaces. Each control tower is connected to the central control room via a wired network. The central control room receives flight request information submitted by user terminals, plans the sub-airspaces through which the UAV will pass, determines flight information including priorities, and distributes the flight information to the control towers within the takeoff, transit, and landing sub-airspaces. Each control tower, based on the flight information distributed by the central control room, controls the takeoff, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace and feeds back the flight information of each UAV to the central control room. The main control room is also used to analyze the congestion coefficient of each sub-airspace based on sub-domain information. When the congestion coefficient is greater than the critical value, it sends a command to activate the navigator to the corresponding sub-airspace tower. After receiving the command from the main control room, the corresponding sub-airspace tower adjusts the position of the UAVs in its sub-airspace, takes off the navigator, and transfers the management authority of the UAVs in its sub-airspace to the navigator after the navigator reaches the designated position, forming an autonomous UAV swarm. The navigator is used to guide the autonomous UAV swarm into the cross-domain, disband the autonomous UAV swarm, and return under the control of its corresponding sub-airspace tower. The user terminal is used to submit flight applications to the main control room and receive feedback on the flight status of UAVs from the main control room.

[0026] In summary, this invention achieves refined control of UAVs by dividing the airspace into multiple sub-airspaces and setting up control towers. The collaborative work between the central control room and the control towers ensures the orderly and controllable operation of UAVs from takeoff to landing. When facing the risk of information congestion, a lead aircraft is used to form a self-controlled swarm, reducing information exchange and improving system efficiency. The self-controlled swarm disbands in a timely manner after completing its mission, ensuring flexible scheduling of UAVs in transition areas. Furthermore, by calculating congestion coefficients, determining UAV priorities, and implementing corrective strategies to avoid collision hazards, this invention effectively solves the information congestion problem in UAV management, improving the safety, flexibility, and intelligence of the UAV air traffic control system. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the steps of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the spatial domain division according to the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the various devices in this invention.

[0031] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the communication relationships and communication content of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the tasks in the main control room.

[0033] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the control tower's operations.

[0034] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating a collision check.

[0035] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of collision handling. Detailed Implementation

[0036] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0037] The following describes a method for air traffic control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] like Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by dividing the entire airspace into multiple sub-airspaces, constructing control towers at the center of each sub-airspace, and designating the overlapping areas between the sub-airspaces as intersecting areas. Each control tower is connected to the central control room via a wired network. The method specifically includes the following steps:

[0039] Step S1: Based on the flight application information submitted by the user terminal, the central control room plans the sub-airspaces through which the UAV will pass, determines the flight information including priority, and sends the flight information to each control tower in the takeoff, route and landing sub-airspaces.

[0040] Step S2: Each control tower controls the take-off, flight and landing of UAVs in its sub-airspace based on the flight information issued by the central control room, and feeds back the flight information of each UAV as sub-domain information to the central control room.

[0041] Step S3: The main control room analyzes the congestion coefficient of each sub-airspace based on the sub-airspace information. When the congestion coefficient is greater than the critical value, it sends a command to activate the navigator to the corresponding sub-airspace tower.

[0042] Step S4: After receiving the command to activate the navigator from the central control room, the corresponding sub-airspace tower adjusts the position of the UAVs in its sub-airspace and takes off the navigator. Once the navigator reaches the designated position, the corresponding sub-airspace tower transfers the management authority of the UAVs in its sub-airspace to the navigator, forming an autonomous UAV swarm.

[0043] Step S5: After the lead aircraft guides the autonomous aircraft group into the cross-domain, the autonomous aircraft group is disbanded, and the lead aircraft returns under the control of its corresponding sub-domain control tower.

[0044] It should be understood that the sub-spatial domain division is based on the tower signal coverage area. During the division process, it is ensured that the overlapping domain belongs to two sub-domains, and the overlap of three sub-spatial domains is avoided.

[0045] Optionally, when the central control room determines the priority of the UAV, the priority P is set within the range of 0 to 1, and the specific calculation formula is as follows:

[0046] P = (P1 + P2) / 2

[0047] Among them, P1 is determined based on the drone's mission type, which includes high-weight missions and low-weight missions. P2 is determined based on the drone's performance, which includes payload, range, and service life. The navigator has the highest priority and is set to 1.

[0048] It should be understood that the types of drone missions include high-weight missions such as emergency rescue, medical supply transportation, and critical facility inspection, as well as low-weight missions such as general logistics delivery and inspection.

[0049] It should also be understood that the takeoff and landing of drones controlled by the control tower are based on the takeoff and landing line (the takeoff and landing line is set according to the altitude, with 1000 meters being the preferred altitude).

[0050] During takeoff: Based on the takeoff time fed back from the central control console, the user terminal will manually control the drone to reach the takeoff and landing line altitude and then hand over control.

[0051] During landing: Once the drone reaches the location set by the user, it will lower its altitude, hover near the takeoff and landing line, and hand over control. The central control room will then notify the user to take over the drone.

[0052] It should also be understood that tower control of drone flight refers to the tower determining the intersection of the drone's entry and exit sub-airspaces based on information sent by the main control room. When the tower receives the drone's flight information upon entering the intersection, it feeds back control signals to the drone based on the flight information, and then plans the flight route within the intersection with the exit as the target.

[0053] It should also be understood that the central control room is also used to provide flight status feedback to the user terminal.

[0054] Optionally, the method further includes, after a UAV in an autonomous flight group enters the cross-domain, the central control room determines the handover location of UAV control based on the congestion level of each sub-domain. Specifically, this includes: when the congestion coefficient of the atomic airspace is greater than the congestion coefficient of the target sub-domain, control is transferred to the tower of the target sub-domain after the UAV enters the cross-domain; when the congestion coefficient of the atomic airspace is less than the congestion coefficient of the target sub-domain, control is transferred to the tower of the target sub-domain before the UAV leaves the cross-domain; wherein the handover process is as follows: sending information containing the UAV's identifier to the tower of the target sub-domain, and removing the information containing the UAV's identifier from the atomic airspace tower.

[0055] Optionally, the central control room calculates the congestion coefficient of each sub-space using the following formula:

[0056] Pa = N * St / dt

[0057] Where Pa is the congestion coefficient, N is the number of UAVs in the sub-airspace, St is the time required for the tower to process one message in the sub-airspace, dt is the interval between UAVs sending flight information to the tower, and the critical value of the congestion coefficient is 1.

[0058] Optionally, after receiving the command to activate the navigator from the central control room, the corresponding sub-airspace tower adjusts the position of the UAVs within its sub-airspace, takes off the navigator, and after the navigator reaches the designated position, the corresponding sub-airspace tower transfers the management authority of the UAVs within its sub-airspace to the navigator, forming an autonomous control swarm. This includes: when the corresponding sub-airspace tower receives the command to activate the navigator from the central control room, it controls nearby UAVs flying to the same destination to gather together to form an autonomous control swarm based on the UAV positions and destination sub-airspaces within the sub-airspace, and activates the navigator to position it at the front of the autonomous control swarm; the corresponding sub-airspace tower sends a signal to the UAVs in the autonomous control swarm, transferring control of each UAV to the navigator, and simultaneously stops the information transmission of the UAVs in the autonomous control swarm. The navigator then sends flight information to the tower on behalf of all UAVs in the autonomous control swarm and broadcasts the control information of the corresponding sub-airspace tower to the UAVs in the autonomous control swarm.

[0059] It should be understood that, since the lead aircraft and all drones in the autonomous flight group receive the same control commands, their relative positions remain unchanged during flight.

[0060] Optionally, the method further includes, when the autonomous drone swarm arrives at the cross-domain, the navigator broadcasts a message to return control of each drone to the control tower, and simultaneously activates the timed information transmission function of each drone.

[0061] Optionally, each control tower, based on flight information issued by the central control room, controls the takeoff, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace, including: each control tower receiving flight information from UAVs within its sub-airspace, planning flight routes for each UAV based on the flight information, and controlling the takeoff, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace, specifically including:

[0062] Each drone is abstracted as a sphere, called the safe zone, with a radius of:

[0063] r = zt * v

[0064] Where zt is the time required for the tower to process one message within the sub-airspace, and v is the speed of the UAV;

[0065] When a cluster of automated machines exists, the cluster is abstracted into a cube, which is called a safe zone.

[0066] Specifically, the size of the cube is chosen to include all drones (including the lead drone) in the autonomous drone swarm.

[0067] During the route planning process, the shortest straight line is selected as the control direction based on the path characteristics of each UAV, which is called the direction line. The volume swept by the safe zone of each UAV is predicted with a length of 10*v*zt, which is called the safe route. The overlap of the safe routes of all UAVs is checked. When there is an overlap, it is called a collision risk. The route is modified by selecting a speed correction strategy or a direction correction strategy.

[0068] Optionally, the speed correction strategy is as follows: determine the priority of overlapping drones, keep the safe flight path of the drone with higher priority unchanged, and reduce the speed of the drone with lower priority until the collision risk disappears.

[0069] It should be understood that, according to the definition of a safe route, the volume of the safe route decreases after the speed is reduced.

[0070] Optionally, the direction correction strategy is as follows: determine the priority of overlapping drones, keep the safe flight path of the drone with higher priority unchanged, and modify the direction of the drone with lower priority until the collision risk disappears.

[0071] It should be understood that the priority of overlapping drones should be determined, the safe flight path of the higher-priority drone should be kept unchanged, and the direction of the lower-priority drone should be modified until the collision risk disappears. In other words, the flight paths of the two drones should be adjusted from being coplanar to being non-coplanar.

[0072] In this invention, the communication exchange information is as follows:

[0073] (1) The user submits flight application information to the central control room through the terminal, including: UAV identification, planned take-off time, take-off location, landing location, and mission type; the information fed back to the user by the central control room includes: take-off time, real-time location, and estimated landing time.

[0074] (2) The information sent from the central control room to each tower includes: sub-airspace identifier, UAV identifier, path characteristics (specifically: take-off, transit, landing), and priority; the information sent from the tower to the central control room includes: sub-airspace identifier, UAV identifier, and flight status (specifically: take-off, flight, landing).

[0075] (3) The information sent by the UAV to the control tower includes: UAV identification, location, and speed; the control tower sends the control information to the UAV / navigator aircraft including: UAV identification / navigator aircraft identification, acceleration, and control identification.

[0076] The drone identification is a unique identifier obtained after the drone is manufactured, similar to an ID number.

[0077] In summary, this invention achieves refined control of UAVs by dividing the airspace into multiple sub-airspaces and setting up control towers. The collaborative work between the central control room and the control towers ensures the orderly and controllable operation of UAVs from takeoff to landing. When facing the risk of information congestion, a lead aircraft is used to form a self-controlled swarm, reducing information exchange and improving system efficiency. The self-controlled swarm disbands in a timely manner after completing its mission, ensuring flexible scheduling of UAVs in transition areas. Furthermore, by calculating congestion coefficients, determining UAV priorities, and implementing corrective strategies to avoid collision hazards, this invention effectively solves the information congestion problem in UAV management, improving the safety, flexibility, and intelligence of the UAV air traffic control system.

[0078] This invention also provides an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) air traffic control system, including multiple sub-airspaces, control towers at the centers of each sub-airspace, a central control room, and user terminals. The sub-airspaces overlap with each other. Each control tower is connected to the central control room via a wired network.

[0079] The central control room is used to receive flight application information submitted by users, plan the sub-airspaces of the UAV route, determine flight information including priority, and send the flight information to each control tower in the take-off, route and landing sub-airspaces.

[0080] Each control tower controls the take-off, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace based on the flight information issued by the central control room, and feeds back the flight information of each UAV to the central control room.

[0081] The main control room is also used to analyze the congestion coefficient of each sub-airspace based on sub-airspace information. When the congestion coefficient is greater than the critical value, it sends a command to activate the navigator to the corresponding sub-airspace tower.

[0082] After receiving the command to activate the navigator from the main control room, the corresponding sub-airspace tower adjusts the position of the UAVs in its sub-airspace, takes off the navigator, and after the navigator reaches the designated position, transfers the management authority of the UAVs in its sub-airspace to the navigator, forming an autonomous UAV swarm.

[0083] The navigator is used to guide the autonomous aircraft group into the cross-domain, disband the autonomous aircraft group, and return under the control of the tower in its corresponding sub-airspace;

[0084] The user terminal is used to submit flight requests to the central control room and to receive feedback from the central control room on the drone's flight status.

[0085] It should be understood that the UAV air traffic control system of this embodiment is used to implement the corresponding methods in the foregoing multiple method embodiments and has the beneficial effects of the corresponding method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0086] Specifically, the solution of the present invention is further described with reference to the following examples:

[0087] See Figures 2-8 This describes the process of a drone from application for takeoff to landing:

[0088] (1) The user first submits a flight application to the central control console through the network terminal according to the task situation, and inputs: drone identifier, take-off time, take-off location, landing location, and task type.

[0089] (2) After receiving the application, the main control console determines the sub-airspace through which the user's UAV will pass, assigns a priority based on the mission type and UAV status, and sends the relevant information to the control towers in the relevant sub-airspace. It also sends the takeoff time to the user.

[0090] (3) When the user receives the takeoff time information from the main control console, it means that the approval has been approved. After the takeoff time has passed, the user controls the drone to take off. When the altitude is above the takeoff and landing line, the user relinquishes control and starts the drone's automatic information transmission function, sending flight information to the tower every dt time.

[0091] (4) After receiving the flight information sent by the UAV, the control tower checks the UAV's identifier. If the identifier matches the UAV information sent by the main control console, the tower takes over the UAV, receives the UAV's position and speed, and feeds back the UAV's acceleration. The tower then sends the UAV's information to the main control console.

[0092] (5) The main control console provides users with real-time feedback on the drone's location and gives the estimated landing time. The main control console calculates the congestion coefficient based on the number of drones in each sub-airspace. When the congestion coefficient in a certain sub-airspace is greater than 1, it notifies the tower of that sub-airspace to start the navigator.

[0093] (6) After receiving the command from the central control console to activate the navigator, the sub-airspace tower takes off the navigator, simultaneously counting the number of UAVs arriving at each target area within the sub-airspace, selecting the destination with the largest number of UAVs to form a cluster, controlling the UAVs to gather, and adjusting the navigator to the leading position, recording the relative positions between each UAV to form a cube-shaped safety zone. The tower then notifies the UAVs within the safety zone to stop sending timed messages and transfers control to the navigator, switching to direct control of the navigator.

[0094] (7) The control tower receives real-time information from the UAV and the navigator, plans the route, and assesses the risk of collision. If a dangerous situation exists, a speed correction scheme or a direction correction scheme is adopted. When the UAV reaches the intersection area, the central control station assesses the time to hand over control.

[0095] (8) When the autonomous drone group enters the cross-domain, the navigator disbands the group, activates the automatic information transmission function of each drone, and hands over the controller to the tower. The navigator returns under the control of the tower.

[0096] (9) When the UAV reaches the target location, the tower controls the UAV to land. When the altitude is below the take-off and landing line, the tower controls the UAV to hover and hand over control. At the same time, the tower notifies the main control room, which then notifies the user to take over the UAV.

[0097] It should be understood that the main control console in this embodiment is the same as the main control room mentioned in this invention.

[0098] Specific embodiments of the invention have now been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions described in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the processes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily require a specific or sequential order to achieve the desired result. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous.

[0099] It should be understood that although this specification is described according to various embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This way of describing the specification is only for clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other implementation methods that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0100] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention, and the patent protection scope of the embodiments of the present invention should be defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A method for air traffic control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), characterized in that, The method involves dividing the entire airspace into multiple sub-airspaces, constructing control towers for UAVs at the center of each sub-airspace, designating overlapping areas between sub-airspaces as cross-areas, and connecting each control tower to the central control room via a wired network. Based on the flight application information submitted by the user terminal, the central control room plans the sub-airspaces through which the UAV will pass, determines the flight information including priority, and sends the flight information to each control tower in the takeoff, route and landing sub-airspaces. Each control tower controls the take-off, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace based on the flight information issued by the central control room, and feeds back the flight information of each UAV as sub-domain information to the central control room; The central control room analyzes the congestion coefficient of each sub-airspace based on sub-airspace information. When the congestion coefficient is greater than the critical value, it sends a command to activate the navigator to the corresponding sub-airspace tower. After receiving the command to activate the navigator from the central control room, the corresponding sub-airspace tower adjusts the position of the UAVs in its sub-airspace, takes off the navigator, and after the navigator reaches the designated position, the corresponding sub-airspace tower transfers the management authority of the UAVs in its sub-airspace to the navigator, forming an autonomous UAV swarm. After the lead aircraft guides the autonomous aircraft group into the cross-domain, the autonomous aircraft group is disbanded, and the lead aircraft returns under the control of its corresponding sub-domain control tower.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the central control room determines the priority of the UAV, the priority P is set within the range of 0 to 1, and the specific calculation formula is as follows: P = (P1 + P2) / 2 Among them, P1 is determined based on the drone's mission type, which includes high-weight missions and low-weight missions. P2 is determined based on the drone's performance, which includes payload, range, and service life. The navigator has the highest priority and is set to 1.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method also includes, after a drone in an autonomous drone swarm enters an intersecting domain, the central control room determines the handover location of drone control based on the congestion level of each sub-domain, specifically including: When the congestion coefficient of the atomic space domain is greater than that of the target subspace domain, control will be transferred to the control tower of the target subspace domain after the UAV enters the cross domain. When the congestion coefficient of the atomic space domain is less than that of the target subspace domain, control is transferred to the control tower of the target subspace domain before the UAV leaves the intersection domain. The handover process involves sending information containing the drone's identifier to the control tower in the target sub-airspace and removing the information containing the drone's identifier from the control tower in the atomic airspace.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The central control room calculates the congestion coefficient of each sub-space using the following formula: Pa = N * St / dt Where Pa is the congestion coefficient, N is the number of UAVs in the sub-airspace, St is the time required for the tower to process one message in the sub-airspace, dt is the interval between UAVs sending flight information to the tower, and the critical value of the congestion coefficient is 1.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, After receiving the navigator activation command from the central control room, the corresponding sub-airspace tower adjusts the position of the UAVs within its sub-airspace, takes off the navigator, and once the navigator reaches the designated position, the corresponding sub-airspace tower transfers management authority over the UAVs within its sub-airspace to the navigator, forming an autonomous UAV swarm, including: When the corresponding sub-airspace tower receives the start of the navigator from the central control room, it controls nearby drones flying to the same destination to gather together to form an autonomous drone swarm based on the drone's location in the sub-airspace and the destination sub-airspace, and starts the navigator to control the navigator to the front of the autonomous drone swarm. The corresponding sub-airspace tower sends a signal to the drones in the autonomous drone group, transferring control of each drone to the navigator. At the same time, it stops the information transmission of the drones in the autonomous drone group, and the navigator sends flight information to the tower on behalf of all drones in the autonomous drone group. It also broadcasts the control information of the corresponding sub-airspace tower to the drones in the autonomous drone group.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method also includes, when the autonomous drone swarm arrives at the intersection zone, the navigator broadcasts a message to return control of each drone to the control tower, and simultaneously activates the timed information transmission function of each drone.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each control tower, based on flight information issued by the central control room, controls the takeoff, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace, including: Each control tower receives flight information from UAVs within its sub-airspace, plans flight routes for each UAV based on the flight information, and controls the takeoff, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace, specifically including: Each drone is abstracted as a sphere, called the safe zone, with a radius of: r = zt * v Where zt is the time required for the tower to process one message within the sub-airspace, and v is the speed of the UAV; When a cluster of automated machines exists, the cluster is abstracted into a cube, which is called a safe zone. During the route planning process, the shortest straight line is selected as the control direction based on the path characteristics of each UAV, which is called the direction line. The volume swept by each UAV in the safe zone is predicted with a length of 10*v*zt, which is called the safe route. Check for overlaps in the safe flight paths of all drones. If an overlap exists, it is considered a collision hazard. Select either a speed correction strategy or a direction correction strategy to modify the flight path.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The speed correction strategy is as follows: Determine the priority of overlapping drones, maintain the safe flight path of the higher-priority drone, and reduce the speed of the lower-priority drone until the collision risk disappears.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The direction correction strategy is as follows: Determine the priority of overlapping drones, keep the safe flight path of the higher-priority drone unchanged, and modify the direction of the lower-priority drone until the collision risk disappears.

10. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) air traffic control system implementing the UAV air traffic control method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, This includes multiple sub-airspaces, control towers at the centers of each sub-airspace, a central control room, and user terminals. There are overlapping inter-airspaces among these sub-airspaces. Each control tower is connected to the central control room via a wired network. The central control room is used to receive flight application information submitted by users, plan the sub-airspaces of the UAV route, determine flight information including priority, and send the flight information to each control tower in the take-off, route and landing sub-airspaces. Each control tower controls the take-off, flight, and landing of UAVs within its sub-airspace based on the flight information issued by the central control room, and feeds back the flight information of each UAV to the central control room. The main control room is also used to analyze the congestion coefficient of each sub-airspace based on sub-airspace information. When the congestion coefficient is greater than the critical value, it sends a command to activate the navigator to the corresponding sub-airspace tower. After receiving the command to activate the navigator from the main control room, the corresponding sub-airspace tower adjusts the position of the UAVs in its sub-airspace, takes off the navigator, and after the navigator reaches the designated position, transfers the management authority of the UAVs in its sub-airspace to the navigator, forming an autonomous UAV swarm. The navigator is used to guide the autonomous aircraft group into the cross-domain, disband the autonomous aircraft group, and return under the control of the tower in its corresponding sub-airspace; The user terminal is used to submit flight requests to the central control room and to receive feedback from the central control room on the drone's flight status.

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