Route planning method and device of laser radar equipped equipment, medium and equipment

Abstract

This disclosure provides a method, apparatus, medium, and electronic equipment for flight path planning of a flight device equipped with a lidar system, relating to the field of UAV flight path planning technology. The method for flight path planning of a flight device equipped with a lidar system includes: determining a preliminary flight path of the flight device based on targets detected by the lidar system, the targets including power poles and transmission lines; determining multiple flight path turning points based on the height difference between the flight device and the transmission lines, the multiple flight path turning points including a first flight path turning point and a second flight path turning point, the first flight path turning point indicating a turn from a first flight path direction to a second flight path direction, the second flight path turning point indicating a turn from a second flight path direction to a first flight path direction, the angle between the second flight path direction and the first flight path direction being a right angle; and planning the flight path of the flight device based on the preliminary flight path and the multiple flight path turning points. This disclosure can improve the safety of the planned flight path of the flight device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight path planning technology, and more specifically, to a flight path planning method, apparatus, medium, and electronic equipment for a flight device equipped with a lidar system. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of UAV technology and airborne lidar systems, the acquisition of high-precision spatial location information has become crucial for power transmission projects. To ensure the safe operation of power transmission lines, efficient and accurate inspection route planning methods are needed.

[0003] However, currently, 3D laser point cloud data of overhead power transmission lines is mainly obtained through level flight or terrain-following flight methods. It is evident that the current flight path planning methods for flight equipment equipped with lidar systems result in lower safety during flight.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the background section above is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of this disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a method, apparatus, medium, and electronic equipment for flight equipment equipped with a lidar system, thereby overcoming, at least to some extent, the problem of low security in the flight planning process.

[0006] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, a method for flight path planning of a flight device equipped with a lidar system is provided, comprising: determining a general flight path of the flight device based on a detection target detected by the lidar system, the detection target including a tower and a power line; determining multiple flight path turning points based on the height difference between the flight device and the power line, the multiple flight path turning points including a first flight path turning point and a second flight path turning point, the first flight path turning point indicating a turn from a first flight path direction to a second flight path direction, the second flight path turning point indicating a turn from a second flight path direction to a first flight path direction, the angle between the second flight path direction and the first flight path direction being a right angle; and performing flight path planning for the flight device based on the general flight path and the multiple flight path turning points.

[0007] Optionally, multiple flight path turning points are determined based on the altitude difference between the flight equipment and the power transmission line, including: for a target power transmission line segment between a first tower and a second tower on the power transmission line, if the target power transmission line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude or an increasing altitude, then the flight path turning point corresponding to the target power transmission line segment is determined based on the current position of the flight equipment; wherein the first tower and the second tower are adjacent towers; if the target power transmission line segment includes a first power transmission line segment and a second power transmission line segment, then the flight path turning point corresponding to the first power transmission line segment is determined based on the current position, and the flight path turning point corresponding to the second power transmission line segment is determined based on the flight path turning point corresponding to the first power transmission line segment; wherein the first power transmission line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude, and the second power transmission line segment is a segment with increasing altitude.

[0008] Optionally, determining the flight path turning point corresponding to the target power line segment based on the current location of the flight equipment includes: generating a first flight path turning point based on the current location of the flight equipment, wherein the vertical distance between the first flight path turning point and the power line is a first altitude difference threshold; generating a second flight path turning point based on the first flight path turning point, wherein the vertical distance between the second flight path turning point and the power line is a second altitude difference threshold; wherein, if the target power line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude, the first flight path turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the current location, and the second flight path turning point is located in the vertical direction of the first flight path turning point; if the target power line segment is a segment with increasing altitude, the first flight path turning point is located in the vertical direction of the current location, and the second flight path turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the first flight path turning point.

[0009] Optionally, determining the route turning point corresponding to the first transmission line segment based on the current location, and determining the route turning point corresponding to the second transmission line segment based on the route turning point corresponding to the first transmission line segment, includes: generating a first route turning point based on the current location, and generating a second route turning point based on the first route turning point, wherein the first route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the current location, and the second route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the first route turning point; if the vertical distance between the second route turning point and the lowest point of the target transmission line segment is greater than or equal to a second height difference threshold and less than or equal to a first height difference threshold, generating a third route turning point based on the second route turning point, and generating a fourth route turning point based on the third route turning point, wherein the third route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the second route turning point, and the fourth route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the third route turning point; wherein the vertical distance between the first route turning point and the transmission line is the first height difference threshold, the vertical distance between the second route turning point and the transmission line is the second height difference threshold, the vertical distance between the third route turning point and the transmission line is the first height difference threshold, and the vertical distance between the fourth route turning point and the transmission line is the second height difference threshold.

[0010] Optionally, determining the approximate flight path of the flight equipment based on the detection target detected by the lidar system includes: determining a set of vertex data of the ideal flight range corresponding to the flight equipment based on the detection target of the lidar system; determining a first set of feature points corresponding to the detection target based on the vertex data set, the first set of feature points including feature points corresponding to the ideal flight range; increasing the height of each feature point in the first set of feature points by a preset distance to determine a second set of feature points; optimizing the second set of feature points to determine a third set of feature points; and determining the approximate flight path based on the third set of feature points.

[0011] Optionally, the second set of feature points is optimized to determine the third set of feature points, including: determining the slope between the first and second feature points in the second set of feature points, wherein the second feature point is an adjacent feature point of the first feature point; if the slope exceeds the ideal slope range, determining whether the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope limit; if the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope, deleting the second feature point; if the slope meets the maximum climbing slope, determining and deleting feature points with smaller height differences from the first feature point among the second and third feature points, thereby optimizing the second set of feature points; wherein the third feature point is another adjacent feature point of the first feature point.

[0012] Optionally, flight planning is performed on the flight equipment based on the approximate flight path and multiple route turning points, including: planning an intermediate flight path for the flight equipment based on multiple route turning points; if the intermediate flight path includes all feature points corresponding to the approximate flight path, the intermediate flight path is used as the result of the flight planning; if the intermediate flight path includes some feature points corresponding to the approximate flight path, the intermediate flight path is optimized to obtain the result of the flight planning, so that the intermediate flight path includes all feature points corresponding to the approximate flight path.

[0013] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, a flight path planning module for a flight device equipped with a lidar system is provided, comprising: a data acquisition and processing module for determining a general flight path of the flight device based on a target detected by the lidar system, the target including a tower and a power line; a turning point determination module for determining multiple flight path turning points based on the height difference between the flight device and the power line, the multiple flight path turning points including a first flight path turning point and a second flight path turning point, the first flight path turning point indicating a turn from a first flight path direction to a second flight path direction, the second flight path turning point indicating a turn from a second flight path direction to a first flight path direction, and the angle between the second flight path direction and the first flight path direction being a right angle; and a flight path planning module for planning the flight path of the flight device based on the general flight path and the multiple flight path turning points.

[0014] Optionally, the process by which the turning point determination module determines multiple flight path turning points based on the altitude difference between the flight equipment and the power transmission line includes: for a target power transmission line segment between a first tower and a second tower on the power transmission line, if the target power transmission line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude or an increasing altitude, then the flight path turning point corresponding to the target power transmission line segment is determined based on the current position of the flight equipment; wherein the first tower and the second tower are adjacent towers; if the target power transmission line segment includes a first power transmission line segment and a second power transmission line segment, then the flight path turning point corresponding to the first power transmission line segment is determined based on the current position, and the flight path turning point corresponding to the second power transmission line segment is determined based on the flight path turning point corresponding to the first power transmission line segment; wherein the first power transmission line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude, and the second power transmission line segment is a segment with increasing altitude.

[0015] Optionally, the process by which the turning point determination module determines the flight path turning point corresponding to the target power line segment based on the current location of the flight equipment includes: generating a first flight path turning point based on the current location of the flight equipment, wherein the vertical distance between the first flight path turning point and the power line is a first altitude difference threshold; generating a second flight path turning point based on the first flight path turning point, wherein the vertical distance between the second flight path turning point and the power line is a second altitude difference threshold; wherein, if the target power line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude, the first flight path turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the current location, and the second flight path turning point is located in the vertical direction of the first flight path turning point; if the target power line segment is a segment with increasing altitude, the first flight path turning point is located in the vertical direction of the current location, and the second flight path turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the first flight path turning point.

[0016] Optionally, the process of the turning point determination module determining the route turning point corresponding to the first transmission line segment based on the current position, and determining the route turning point corresponding to the second transmission line segment based on the route turning point corresponding to the first transmission line segment, includes: generating a first route turning point based on the current position, and generating a second route turning point based on the first route turning point, wherein the first route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the current position, and the second route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the first route turning point; if the vertical distance between the second route turning point and the lowest point of the target transmission line segment is greater than or equal to a second height difference threshold and less than or equal to a first height difference threshold, generating a third route turning point based on the second route turning point, and generating a fourth route turning point based on the third route turning point, wherein the third route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the second route turning point, and the fourth route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the third route turning point; wherein the vertical distance between the first route turning point and the transmission line is the first height difference threshold, the vertical distance between the second route turning point and the transmission line is the second height difference threshold, the vertical distance between the third route turning point and the transmission line is the first height difference threshold, and the vertical distance between the fourth route turning point and the transmission line is the second height difference threshold.

[0017] Optionally, the process by which the data acquisition and processing module determines the approximate flight path of the flight equipment based on the detection target detected by the lidar system includes: determining the vertex data set of the ideal flight range corresponding to the flight equipment based on the detection target of the lidar system; determining the first feature point set corresponding to the detection target based on the vertex data set, the first feature point set including feature points corresponding to the ideal flight range; increasing the height of each feature point in the first feature point set by a preset distance to determine the second feature point set; optimizing the second feature point set to determine the third feature point set; and determining the approximate flight path based on the third feature point set.

[0018] Optionally, the data acquisition and processing module optimizes the second set of feature points to determine the third set of feature points. This process includes: determining the slope between the first and second feature points in the second set of feature points, where the second feature point is an adjacent feature point of the first feature point; if the slope exceeds the ideal slope range, determining whether the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope limit; if the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope, deleting the second feature point; if the slope meets the maximum climbing slope, determining and deleting feature points with smaller height differences from the first feature point among the second and third feature points to optimize the second set of feature points; wherein, the third feature point is another adjacent feature point of the first feature point.

[0019] Optionally, the process of the route planning module planning the flight equipment based on the general route and multiple route turning points includes: planning an intermediate route for the flight equipment based on multiple route turning points; if the intermediate route includes all feature points corresponding to the general route, using the intermediate route as the result of the route planning; if the intermediate route includes some feature points corresponding to the general route, optimizing the intermediate route to obtain the result of the route planning, so that the intermediate route includes all feature points corresponding to the general route.

[0020] According to a third aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the flight path planning method of any of the aforementioned flight devices equipped with a lidar system.

[0021] According to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; the processor is configured to implement the flight path planning method of any of the above-described flight devices equipped with a lidar system by executing the executable instructions.

[0022] In some embodiments of this disclosure, a preliminary flight path is determined based on power poles and transmission lines. Multiple turning points are then planned based on the distance between the flight equipment and the power lines. Finally, a target flight path is planned based on the preliminary flight path and the turning points. This disclosure improves the safety of the flight equipment during flight by planning the target flight path according to the distance between the flight equipment and the power lines.

[0023] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0024] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure. It is obvious that the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any inventive effort.

[0025] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating a flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Figure 2 The flowchart illustrating the determination of a preliminary flight path in a flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of a target flight path according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown schematically.

[0028] Figure 4 A block diagram of a flight path planning apparatus for a flight device equipped with a lidar system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown schematically.

[0029] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0030] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these exemplary embodiments can be implemented in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided to make this disclosure more comprehensive and complete, and to fully convey the concept of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a full understanding of embodiments of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the technical solutions of this disclosure can be practiced with one or more specific details omitted, or other methods, components, apparatus, steps, etc., can be employed. In other instances, well-known technical solutions are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of this disclosure.

[0031] Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of this disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and therefore repeated descriptions of them will be omitted. Some block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0032] The flowcharts shown in the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative and do not necessarily include all steps. For example, some steps may be broken down, while others may be combined or partially combined; therefore, the actual execution order may change depending on the specific circumstances. Furthermore, all terms such as "first," "second," and "third" used below are for distinction purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure.

[0033] The various steps in the flight path planning method of the flight equipment equipped with the lidar system described below are executed by electronic devices. This disclosure does not limit the type of electronic device, such as a server, personal computer, mobile device, etc.

[0034] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating a flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown schematically. (Reference) Figure 1 The flight path planning method for flight equipment equipped with a lidar system may include the following steps:

[0035] S10. Determine the approximate flight path of the flight equipment based on the detection targets identified by the lidar system, including towers and power lines.

[0036] In an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the lidar system is mounted on a flight device, and the approximate flight path can be determined based on towers and power lines. The determination process may include: determining a set of vertex data, determining a first set of feature points, determining a second set of feature points, determining a third set of feature points, and determining the approximate flight path.

[0037] First, obtain the spatial location information of the target. This includes, but is not limited to, design results and measured data. Obtain the spatial information of the transmission line towers and transmission lines, including the center plane position of all towers, the vertical distance from the top of the towers, and the spatial location information of the highest and lowest points of the transmission lines. Establish this as a dataset with the format (N, B, L, H). Here, N is the location number, B is the latitude of that location, Y is the longitude of that location, and Z is the geodetic height of that location. The X, Y, and Z values ​​are all longitude, latitude, and geodetic height values ​​under three-dimensional constraints on the WGS84 (World Geodetic System 1984) ellipsoid. If other ellipsoids need to be defined, parameter conversion from the WGS84 ellipsoid to the target ellipsoid is required. Latitude and longitude are in degrees, retained to the 9th decimal place; Z is in meters, retained to the 3rd decimal place. This set of data is an ordered set of values ​​used to describe the target's top elevation information, spatial location, and orientation; it is a discrete numerical representation of the target's morphology. Since there are no other related interference facilities at the safe distance of overhead power transmission lines, this two-dimensional sequence can be used as the basic value for target route planning.

[0038] Next, a vertex dataset can be constructed to calculate the horizontal distances between feature points and the vertical distances between the highest point of the tower, the suspension point, and the lowest point of the transmission line, based on spatial location information. Based on this data, a vertex dataset can be constructed with the format (N, S, H), where N is the feature point number, S is the length of the transmission line from the starting position, and H is the vertical distance of the feature point. The center position of the top of the first tower is the starting point, and the center position of the top of the last tower is the ending point. This transforms the three-dimensional coordinate data into a set of horizontal and vertical distance points, where the x-axis represents the cumulative distance and the y-axis represents the vertical distance, thus achieving the goal of reducing the dimensionality of the three-dimensional trajectory planning problem. After constructing the vertex dataset, a first feature point set can be built based on it. This first feature point set contains spatially adjacent points, reflecting the spatial location and vertical distance of feature points within the tower and the ideal flight range.

[0039] Furthermore, a relative height H1 can be uniformly added to all feature points in the first feature point set to construct a second feature point set. Next, the second feature point set is optimized. The second feature point set includes removable feature points, colliding feature points, and target feature points. Target feature points represent feature points in the final flight path that meet the requirements for safe flight and point cloud quality; removable feature points represent redundant feature points that can be removed from the final flight path, without affecting the quality and efficiency of target point cloud acquisition; colliding feature points represent feature points that the airborne lidar system cannot traverse, i.e., the vertical distance at the top of the feature point is too high or too low, requiring adjustment of the relative flight height of the feature point or removal of the feature point.

[0040] In an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the purpose of optimizing the second feature point set is to remove redundant feature points, adjust collision feature points, and retain target feature points. The judgment algorithm determines whether the angle α between the height difference and horizontal distance between two adjacent feature points meets a preset requirement. Under the load mass conditions of the airborne lidar, the horizontal and vertical flight speeds have finite values, v0 and v1, respectively. 垂直 and v 水平 .

[0041] The included angle α is the angle between the elevation difference and the horizontal distance between adjacent feature points, which is the ratio of the vertical flight distance to the horizontal flight distance. It can be seen that the included angle α is actually the ratio of vertical flight speed to horizontal flight speed. In other words, the included angle α is related to the vertical and horizontal flight speeds of the airborne lidar system. To ensure efficient and safe flight path design, all target feature points should satisfy v... 垂直 and v 水平 Therefore, it is necessary to traverse and optimize all feature points to meet the requirements. Specifically:

[0042] Next, for each feature point, a judgment is made. If the included angle α corresponding to the feature point meets the preset route design requirements, the feature point is taken as the target feature point. The method for judging the target feature point may include: if the angle between the elevation difference of adjacent feature points and the horizontal distance is less than 30°, that is, within this horizontal distance scale, the airborne lidar system can climb to the next adjacent feature point, then both adjacent feature points can be determined as target feature points.

[0043] If feature points are spatially close and the included angle between them does not meet the preset flight path design requirements, then the feature points are identified as removable feature points. Removing them can improve flight path planning and UAV flight efficiency. The method for determining removable feature points may include: if the angle between the elevation difference and the horizontal distance between adjacent feature points is greater than or equal to 30° and less than 60°, take Hm = MAX(Hn, Hn+1), discard the value of the other feature point, and continue until all adjacent feature points meet the preset conditions for their angles with the horizontal direction.

[0044] Additionally, if the included angle α corresponding to a feature point does not meet the preset route design requirements, the feature point will be considered a collision feature point. The collision feature point judgment algorithm may include: determining the included angle α based on the vertical and horizontal distances between adjacent feature points; when the included angle α is greater than or equal to 60°, the feature point cannot be crossed and needs to be removed. This step can effectively reduce the amount of data. The formula for calculating the included angle α corresponding to a feature point is:

[0045]

[0046] Furthermore, after determining the target feature points, removable feature points, and collision feature points, an optimized third feature point set is determined, which contains only the target feature points. Based on this third feature point set as the foundational data, a preliminary flight path can be constructed. The design parameters for this preliminary flight path must ensure that the heading overlap is greater than or equal to 60% and the lateral overlap is greater than or equal to 70%, while also setting round-trip routes according to actual conditions.

[0047] It is important to note that while the approximate flight path considers the highest and lowest points of the ideal flight range and flight parameters determined based on the detected target, it does not take into account the shape of the flight range and therefore cannot be directly used as the execution route. In particular, in mountainous areas, the flight range has a significant gradient, complex weather conditions, and unpredictable endurance, leading to large deviations between theoretically designed flight paths and actual operations. Furthermore, UAV-borne lidar systems cannot complete ascents or descents over short horizontal distances, increasing the risk of collisions and equipment damage.

[0048] S12. Based on the altitude difference between the flight equipment and the power transmission line, determine multiple route turning points, including a first route turning point and a second route turning point. The first route turning point indicates a turn from the first route direction to the second route direction, and the second route turning point indicates a turn from the second route direction to the first route direction. The angle between the second route direction and the first route direction is a right angle.

[0049] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the angle between the second route direction and the first route direction can be a right angle, allowing the stepped route based on the approximate route design to be divided into a descent phase and an ascent phase. Figure 3 In the cross-sectional view of the tower and transmission line, for example, some transmission line segments only include descending step routes, some transmission line segments only include ascending step routes, and some transmission line segments include both descending step routes and ascending step routes.

[0050] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, when the current power transmission line segment only contains a descending step route, level flight planning is performed on the step starting waypoint 301 corresponding to the current tower in the general route. During level flight, the relative height between the airborne lidar system and the power transmission line will gradually increase. When the vertical distance between the airborne lidar system and the power transmission line is a first height difference threshold, this point is set as the route turning point 303.

[0051] During the descent phase of the descending ladder path, the airborne lidar system begins its descent from the path turning point 303 until the vertical distance between the airborne lidar system and the power line reaches the first altitude difference threshold, at which point is designated as the path turning point 305. From the path turning point 305, the system flies at its maximum limit (the first altitude difference threshold) to determine the path turning point 307. Next, the descent ladder path is iteratively planned to the top stopping point 309 of the next tower. Excluding the ladder starting point 301 and the top stopping point 309, path turning points 303 and 307 are both first path turning points, and path turning point 305 is the second path turning point.

[0052] When the current power line segment only includes segments with increasing height, the climbing plan is performed on the step starting waypoint 311 corresponding to the current tower in the approximate route. During the climbing process, the relative height between the airborne lidar system and the power line gradually increases. When the airborne lidar system climbs at a certain speed to the point where the vertical distance between the airborne lidar system and the power line is the first height difference threshold, this point is set as the route turning point 313.

[0053] Next, level flight planning begins from turn point 313 until the second altitude difference threshold between the distance to the power line is reached, determining turn point 315. Then, a cyclical climb up the ladder path is planned to the top stopping point 319 of the next tower. Excluding the starting waypoint 311 and the top stopping point 319, turn points 313 and 317 are both first turn points, and turn point 315 is the second turn point.

[0054] Given that the current transmission line segment includes both descending and ascending staircase routes, the descending staircase route is iteratively planned until it crosses the lowest point of the transmission line sag between the two towers, after which it enters the ascending staircase route. The descending and ascending staircase routes will not be described in detail here.

[0055] It should be noted that when the flight equipment flies from the turning point 321 through the lowest point of the sag to the turning point 323, the distance between the airborne lidar system and the power line should be greater than the second altitude difference threshold and less than the first altitude difference threshold. If this condition is not met, the descent steps can be continuously planned until this condition is met.

[0056] After completing the route design for the power transmission line segments between adjacent towers, the next step is to design the route for the next adjacent tower segment until reaching the terminal tower corresponding to the approximate route. The design steps are the same and will not be repeated here. Specifically, if the flight equipment cannot descend to the designated position during the descent phase, the descent altitude should be calculated, and a stair-step flight should be performed again from the extreme point. During the ascent phase, when the aircraft climbs to a safe distance from the power transmission line, it should ascend from that extreme point and perform a stair-step flight again from the ascending point. The function models for the descent and ascent phases are as follows:

[0057]

[0058] The functions for the descent and climb phases are related to the scanning resolution, scanning field of view, and power line diameter of the airborne lidar system. During flight, a high-definition 4K camera and a 360° omnidirectional millimeter-wave radar are integrated and installed on the lower front side of the airborne lidar system, with the installation angle between the camera and the vertical direction at 35°. This is used to detect the distance from the power line to the airborne lidar system in real time and feed it back to the flight path planning system. In case of emergency obstacle avoidance, the millimeter-wave radar can issue a timely warning, reminding the operator to check the camera. If it is confirmed that the distance between the flight platform and the power line exceeds the safe distance limit, the hover button on the remote controller can be used to perform emergency actions such as hovering, altitude adjustment, rotation, and reversing.

[0059] The return flight path can be laid 20 meters to the left and right of the power line. After completing the operation, the flight equipment equipped with the airborne lidar system can return to the takeoff point along the return route. The stepped flight path is output to the airborne lidar system in JSON format, a file type compatible with the flight control software. This output process can be done manually or imported into a database for intelligent flight control.

[0060] S14. Plan the flight path for the flight equipment based on the approximate route and multiple route turning points.

[0061] In an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the approximate route can be determined based on a third set of feature points, and multiple route turning points can be determined based on a first altitude difference threshold or a second altitude difference threshold. The process of determining the approximate route and multiple route turning points will not be described in detail here.

[0062] In the process of planning the target route for flight equipment based on the approximate route and multiple route turning points, the tower apexes included in the approximate route are first used as the stage nodes of the power transmission line segment. Then, the route is planned for the flight equipment based on multiple route turning points. If all feature points can be measured, the route is directly determined as the target route. If only some feature points are measured, the route can be optimized and adjusted to cover all feature points corresponding to the approximate route, and the target route is finally determined.

[0063] Figure 2 The diagram schematically illustrates a flowchart of determining a preliminary flight path in a flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Reference Figure 2 The process of determining a preliminary flight path in the flight path planning method for flight equipment equipped with a lidar system may include:

[0064] S20. Determine the vertex data set of the ideal flight range corresponding to the flight equipment based on the target detected by the lidar system. S22. Determine the first feature point set corresponding to the detected target based on the vertex data set. The first feature point set includes feature points corresponding to the ideal flight range. S24. Increase the height of each feature point in the first feature point set by a preset distance to determine the second feature point set. S26. Optimize the second feature point set to determine the third feature point set. S28. Determine a preliminary flight path based on the third feature point set.

[0065] The process of determining the approximate flight path of the flight equipment based on the detection target of the lidar system has been explained above and will not be repeated here.

[0066] It should be noted that although the steps of the method in this disclosure are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in that specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Additional or alternative steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or a step may be broken down into multiple steps.

[0067] Furthermore, this example embodiment also provides a flight path planning device for a flight equipment equipped with a lidar system.

[0068] Figure 4 A block diagram schematically illustrates a flight path planning apparatus for a flight device equipped with a lidar system, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. (Reference) Figure 4According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the flight path planning device 4 for a flight device equipped with a lidar system may include a data acquisition and processing module 41, used to determine a general flight path of the flight device based on the detection targets detected by the lidar system, the detection targets including towers and power lines; a turning point determination module 43, used to determine multiple flight path turning points based on the height difference between the flight device and the power lines, the multiple flight path turning points including a first flight path turning point and a second flight path turning point, the first flight path turning point indicating a turn from the first flight path direction to the second flight path direction, the second flight path turning point indicating a turn from the second flight path direction to the first flight path direction, the angle between the second flight path direction and the first flight path direction being a right angle; and a flight path planning module 45, used to plan the flight path of the flight device based on the general flight path and the multiple flight path turning points.

[0069] Specifically, the data acquisition and processing module 41 is used to determine the approximate flight path of the flight equipment based on the detection targets of the lidar system, including towers and power lines; the turning point determination module 43 is used to determine multiple flight path turning points based on the height difference between the flight equipment and the power lines, including a first flight path turning point and a second flight path turning point, the first flight path turning point indicating a turn from the first flight path direction to the second flight path direction, the second flight path turning point indicating a turn from the second flight path direction to the first flight path direction, and the angle between the second flight path direction and the first flight path direction is a right angle; the flight path planning module 45 is used to plan the target flight path for the flight equipment based on the approximate flight path and the multiple flight path turning points.

[0070] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the process by which the turning point determination module 43 determines multiple flight path turning points based on the altitude difference between the flight equipment and the power transmission line includes: for a target power transmission line segment between a first tower and a second tower on the power transmission line, if the target power transmission line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude or an increasing altitude, then determining the flight path turning point corresponding to the target power transmission line segment based on the current position of the flight equipment; wherein the first tower and the second tower are adjacent towers; if the target power transmission line segment includes a first power transmission line segment and a second power transmission line segment, then determining the flight path turning point corresponding to the first power transmission line segment based on the current position, and determining the flight path turning point corresponding to the second power transmission line segment based on the flight path turning point corresponding to the first power transmission line segment; wherein the first power transmission line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude, and the second power transmission line segment is a segment with increasing altitude.

[0071] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the process by which the turning point determination module 43 determines the flight path turning point corresponding to the target power line segment based on the current position of the flight equipment includes: generating a first flight path turning point based on the current position of the flight equipment, wherein the vertical distance between the first flight path turning point and the power line is a first altitude difference threshold; generating a second flight path turning point based on the first flight path turning point, wherein the vertical distance between the second flight path turning point and the power line is a second altitude difference threshold; wherein, if the target power line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude, the first flight path turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the current position, and the second flight path turning point is located in the vertical direction of the first flight path turning point; if the target power line segment is a segment with increasing altitude, the first flight path turning point is located in the vertical direction of the current position, and the second flight path turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the first flight path turning point.

[0072] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the process by which the turning point determination module 43 determines the route turning point corresponding to the first power transmission line segment based on the current position, and determines the route turning point corresponding to the second power transmission line segment based on the route turning point corresponding to the first power transmission line segment, includes: generating a first route turning point based on the current position, and generating a second route turning point based on the first route turning point, wherein the first route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the current position, and the second route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the first route turning point; if the vertical distance between the second route turning point and the lowest point of the target power transmission line segment is greater than or equal to a second height difference threshold and less than or equal to a first height difference threshold, generating a third route turning point based on the second route turning point, and generating a fourth route turning point based on the third route turning point, wherein the third route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the second route turning point, and the fourth route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the third route turning point; wherein the vertical distance between the first route turning point and the power transmission line is the first height difference threshold, the vertical distance between the second route turning point and the power transmission line is the second height difference threshold, the vertical distance between the third route turning point and the power transmission line is the first height difference threshold, and the vertical distance between the fourth route turning point and the power transmission line is the second height difference threshold.

[0073] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the process by which the data acquisition and processing module 41 determines the approximate flight path of the flight equipment based on the detection target detected by the lidar system includes: determining a set of vertex data of the ideal flight range corresponding to the flight equipment based on the detection target of the lidar system; determining a first set of feature points corresponding to the detection target based on the vertex data set, wherein the first set of feature points includes feature points corresponding to the ideal flight range; increasing the height of each feature point in the first set of feature points by a preset distance to determine a second set of feature points; optimizing the second set of feature points to determine a third set of feature points; and determining the approximate flight path based on the third set of feature points.

[0074] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the process by which the data acquisition and processing module 41 optimizes the second set of feature points to determine the third set of feature points includes: determining the slope between the first feature point and the second feature point in the second set of feature points, wherein the second feature point is an adjacent feature point of the first feature point; determining whether the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope limit if the slope exceeds the ideal slope range; deleting the second feature point if the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope; and deleting feature points with smaller height differences from the first feature point among the second and third feature points, thereby optimizing the second set of feature points; wherein the third feature point is another adjacent feature point of the first feature point.

[0075] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the process of the route planning module 45 planning the flight route for the flight equipment based on the approximate route and multiple route turning points includes: planning an intermediate route for the flight equipment based on the multiple route turning points; if the intermediate route includes all feature points corresponding to the approximate route, using the intermediate route as the result of the route planning; if the intermediate route includes some feature points corresponding to the approximate route, optimizing the intermediate route to obtain the result of the route planning, so that the intermediate route includes all feature points corresponding to the approximate route.

[0076] Since the functional modules of the flight path planning device equipped with a lidar system in this embodiment are the same as those in the above-described method embodiments, they will not be described again here.

[0077] In exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a program product capable of implementing the methods described above is stored. In some possible implementations, various aspects of this disclosure may also be implemented as a program product including program code, which, when the program product is run on a terminal device, causes the terminal device to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0078] The program product for implementing the above-described method according to embodiments of the present disclosure may employ a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and may run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In this document, the readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that may be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0079] The program product may employ any combination of one or more readable media. A readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of readable storage media include: electrical connections having one or more wires, portable disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical disks, portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0080] Computer-readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, capable of sending, propagating, or transmitting programs for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0081] The program code contained on the readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0082] Program code for performing the operations of this disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's computing device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In cases involving remote computing devices, the remote computing devices can be connected to the user's computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or can be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0083] In an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, an electronic device capable of implementing the above-described method is also provided.

[0084] Those skilled in the art will understand that various aspects of this disclosure can be implemented as a system, method, or program product. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be specifically implemented in the following forms: a completely hardware implementation, a completely software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software aspects, collectively referred to herein as a "circuit," "module," or "system."

[0085] The following reference Figure 5 To describe an electronic device 500 according to this embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 The electronic device 500 shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitations on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0086] like Figure 5 As shown, the electronic device 500 is manifested in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device 500 may include, but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 510, at least one storage unit 520, a bus 530 connecting different system components (including storage unit 520 and processing unit 510), and a display unit 540.

[0087] The storage unit stores program code, which can be executed by the processing unit 510 to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. For example, the processing unit 510 can perform actions such as... Figure 1 Steps S10 to S14 shown are Figure 2 Steps S20 to S28 are shown in the diagram.

[0088] Storage unit 520 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as random access memory (RAM) 5201 and / or cache memory 5202, and may further include a read-only memory (ROM) 5203.

[0089] Storage unit 520 may also include a program / utility 5204 having a set (at least one) program module 5205, such program module 5205 including but not limited to: operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules and program data, each or some combination of these examples may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0090] Bus 530 can represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory cell bus or memory cell controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of the various bus structures.

[0091] Electronic device 500 can also communicate with one or more external devices 600 (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, Bluetooth device, etc.), and with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with electronic device 500, and / or with any device that enables electronic device 500 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., router, modem, etc.). This communication can be performed via input / output (I / O) interface 550. Furthermore, electronic device 500 can also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via network adapter 560. As shown, network adapter 560 communicates with other modules of electronic device 500 via bus 530. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figures, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with electronic device 500, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0092] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, terminal device, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0093] Furthermore, the above figures are merely illustrative of the processes included in the method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to be limiting. It is readily understood that the processes shown in the above figures do not indicate or limit the temporal order of these processes. Additionally, it is readily understood that these processes may be executed synchronously or asynchronously, for example, in multiple modules.

[0094] It should be noted that although several modules or units for the device used to perform actions have been mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided and embodied by multiple modules or units.

[0095] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and embodiments are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the claims.

[0096] It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the precise structures described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for flight path planning of a flight device equipped with a lidar system, characterized in that, include: The set of vertex data for the ideal flight range of the flight equipment is determined based on the detection targets of the lidar system, wherein the detection targets include towers and power transmission lines; A first set of feature points corresponding to the detection target is determined based on the vertex data set, and the first set of feature points includes feature points corresponding to the ideal flight range; The height of each feature point in the first feature point set is increased by a preset distance to determine the second feature point set. In the second set of feature points, the slope between the first feature point and the second feature point is determined, and the second feature point is an adjacent feature point of the first feature point; If the slope exceeds the ideal slope range, determine whether the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope limit; If the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope, delete the second feature point; If the slope meets the maximum climbing slope, feature points with smaller height differences from the first feature point are identified and deleted from the second and third feature points to optimize the second feature point set and determine the third feature point set; wherein, the third feature point is another adjacent feature point of the first feature point; A rough route is determined based on the third set of feature points; Multiple route turning points are determined based on the altitude difference between the flight equipment and the power transmission line. The multiple route turning points include a first route turning point and a second route turning point. The first route turning point indicates a turn from the first route direction to the second route direction, and the second route turning point indicates a turn from the second route direction to the first route direction. The angle between the second route direction and the first route direction is a right angle. The flight equipment performs route planning based on the general route and the multiple route turning points.

2. The flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Multiple flight path turning points are determined based on the altitude difference between the flight equipment and the power transmission line, including: For a target power transmission line segment between the first tower and the second tower on the power transmission line, if the target power transmission line segment is a segment with decreasing height or a segment with increasing height, then the flight path turning point corresponding to the target power transmission line segment is determined based on the current position of the flight equipment; wherein, the first tower and the second tower are adjacent towers; If the target power line segment includes a first power line segment and a second power line segment, then the route turning point corresponding to the first power line segment is determined based on the current position, and the route turning point corresponding to the second power line segment is determined based on the route turning point corresponding to the first power line segment; wherein, the first power line segment is a segment with decreasing altitude, and the second power line segment is a segment with increasing altitude.

3. The flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system according to claim 2, characterized in that, Determining the flight path turning point corresponding to the target power transmission line segment based on the current location of the flight equipment includes: A first flight path turning point is generated based on the current location of the flight equipment, and the vertical distance between the first flight path turning point and the power transmission line is a first height difference threshold. A second route turning point is generated based on the first route turning point, and the vertical distance between the second route turning point and the power transmission line is a second height difference threshold. Wherein, if the target power transmission line segment is a segment with decreasing height, the first route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the current position, and the second route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the first route turning point; if the target power transmission line segment is a segment with increasing height, the first route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the current position, and the second route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the first route turning point.

4. The flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system according to claim 2, characterized in that, Determining the route turning point corresponding to the first transmission line segment based on the current location, and determining the route turning point corresponding to the second transmission line segment based on the route turning point corresponding to the first transmission line segment, includes: A first route turning point is generated based on the current position, and a second route turning point is generated based on the first route turning point. The first route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the current position, and the second route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the first route turning point. If the vertical distance between the second route turning point and the lowest point of the target transmission line segment is greater than or equal to the second height difference threshold and less than or equal to the first height difference threshold, a third route turning point is generated based on the second route turning point, and a fourth route turning point is generated based on the third route turning point. The third route turning point is located in the horizontal direction of the second route turning point, and the fourth route turning point is located in the vertical direction of the third route turning point. Wherein, the vertical distance between the first route turning point and the power transmission line is the first height difference threshold, the vertical distance between the second route turning point and the power transmission line is the second height difference threshold, the vertical distance between the third route turning point and the power transmission line is the first height difference threshold, and the vertical distance between the fourth route turning point and the power transmission line is the second height difference threshold.

5. The flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Based on the general flight path and the multiple turning points, the flight equipment is used for flight path planning, including: The flight equipment plans an intermediate route based on the multiple route turning points; If the intermediate route includes all the feature points corresponding to the approximate route, the intermediate route is taken as the result of the route planning. If the intermediate route includes some feature points corresponding to the approximate route, the intermediate route is optimized to obtain the route planning result, so that the intermediate route includes all feature points corresponding to the approximate route.

6. A flight path planning device for a flight equipment equipped with a lidar system, characterized in that, include: The data acquisition and processing module is used to determine a set of vertex data corresponding to the ideal flight range of the flight equipment based on the detection target of the lidar system, wherein the detection target includes towers and power lines; determine a first set of feature points corresponding to the detection target based on the vertex data set, wherein the first set of feature points includes feature points corresponding to the ideal flight range; increase the height of each feature point in the first set of feature points by a preset distance to determine a second set of feature points; and determine the slope between the first feature point and the second feature point in the second set of feature points, wherein the second feature point is an adjacent feature point of the first feature point. If the slope exceeds the ideal slope range, determine whether the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope limit; if the slope exceeds the maximum climbing slope limit, delete the second feature point; If the slope meets the maximum gradient, feature points with smaller height differences from the first feature point are identified and deleted from the second and third feature points to optimize the second feature point set and determine the third feature point set; wherein, the third feature point is another adjacent feature point of the first feature point; a rough route is determined based on the third feature point set; The turning point determination module is used to determine multiple route turning points based on the altitude difference between the flight equipment and the power transmission line. The multiple route turning points include a first route turning point and a second route turning point. The first route turning point indicates a turn from a first route direction to a second route direction, and the second route turning point indicates a turn from a second route direction to a first route direction. The angle between the second route direction and the first route direction is a right angle. The route planning module is used to plan the flight route for the flight equipment based on the approximate route and the multiple route turning points.

7. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: processor; A memory for storing one or more programs, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to implement the flight path planning method for a flight device equipped with a lidar system as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

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