Communication soft bus and unmanned aerial vehicle communication system

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication soft bus and an unmanned aerial vehicle communication system.The communication soft bus comprises a transmission layer, a distribution layer, a link management module, an endpoint management module, a data forwarding module, an address management module, a routing addressing module, a data transmission module and an API layer, seamless forwarding between protocols is achieved through the routing addressing module and the data forwarding module, and the data transmission module is connected with the data transmission module; the communication realization among different computing units is simplified, and the performance is outstanding in a complex scene involving forwarding; the API layer provides a uniform data communication interface, and shields the difference of different communication protocols at the bottom layer, so that the application software development is simpler, the development complexity is reduced, and the development efficiency is improved; in addition, the communication soft bus can also automatically identify and configure a network topology structure, so that application software can be flexibly deployed on different devices and positions, a communication protocol does not need to be manually configured, and the flexibility of deployment and the reusability of software codes are improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of edge computing device communication, and particularly relates to a communication software bus and a UAV communication system. BACKGROUND

[0002] An edge computing device refers to a device that performs data processing, storage and calculation on a network node near a data source (such as a sensor, a terminal device, etc.). It reduces the delay, bandwidth consumption and dependency of data transmission by sinking computing resources and storage capacity from the cloud to the edge near the data source, thereby enabling real-time and efficient processing of large amounts of data.

[0003] However, in the application scenario of edge computing devices, there are multiple levels and complex communication requirements. Taking a UAV as an example, the communication requirements include: networking communication requirements between UAVs, communication requirements between different computing units inside the UAV, communication requirements between the computing units inside the UAV and the flight control, communication requirements between different computing units across the UAV, communication requirements between the UAV and the ground control system, communication requirements between the UAV and the cloud system, and communication requirements between the UAV and the intelligent terminal.

[0004] Currently, in order to meet the communication requirements of the UAV, the prior art adopts different communication protocols, such as MAVLink, UDP, TCP, DDS and special protocols. Please refer to Figure 1 The figure shows that the UAV has two computing units, and the flight control is on one CPU core on one of the computing units through the OpenAMP hybrid part. Different communication protocols are used in the whole system to realize different functions.

[0005] As can be seen from the above, the existing edge device using different communication protocols has the following defects:

[0006] 1. Different communication protocols bring higher complexity to application software development;

[0007] 2. The flexibility of application software deployment is further reduced because different communication protocols need to be used when deployed in different positions, resulting in poor reusability of software code.

[0008] 3. The communication between application software in different computing units is relatively complex, especially when forwarding is involved. SUMMARY

[0009] Therefore, the present application provides a communication software bus and a UAV communication system to solve the problems of high development complexity, poor deployment flexibility and complex communication between different computing units of the existing edge computing device communication mode.

[0010] To achieve the above object, the application provides the following technical scheme.

[0011] The first aspect is a communication soft bus, comprising:

[0012] A transport layer is configured to provide basic transport services and support multiple transport protocols.

[0013] A distribution layer is configured to provide a distribution protocol used between edge devices and within edge devices.

[0014] A link management module is configured to initialize all registered distribution layer communication protocols in the system and register and manage information.

[0015] An endpoint management module is configured to manage all service endpoints registered to the communication soft bus node.

[0016] A data forwarding module is configured to forward the received data to the correct target according to the destination address of the data.

[0017] An address management module is configured to manage global communication addresses according to network topology and endpoint information.

[0018] A routing and addressing module is configured to find the corresponding global address according to the endpoint logical name used by the upper-layer service communication, and select a suitable underlying communication link according to the network topology structure to send data.

[0019] A data transmission module is configured to encapsulate the data format.

[0020] An API layer is configured to provide a data communication interface and allow communication based on device number and function logical name.

[0021] Preferably, the application further comprises:

[0022] A topology discovery module is configured to identify and discover all communication endpoints in the system by sending probe messages, and periodically update the network topology.

[0023] Preferably, the transport protocol of the transport layer includes TCP or UDP transport protocol, Serial transport protocol, and RPMsg transport protocol.

[0024] Preferably, the distribution protocol includes a distributed communication protocol, a DDS protocol, an OpenAMP protocol, a MavLink protocol, and a websocket protocol.

[0025] As preferred, when the topology discovery module identifies and discovers all communication endpoints in the system by sending a probe message, it specifically includes: the topology discovery module first generates a complete endpoint topology structure inside the device, and then forwards the endpoint topology structure generated inside the device between devices, thereby generating an endpoint topology across devices.

[0026] As preferred, the global communication address includes a device number, a node number, a domain number and an endpoint number.

[0027] As preferred, the data transmission module transmits data through messages, streams, bytes or files.

[0028] In a second aspect, a UAV communication system includes a plurality of the communication soft bus, and the plurality of communication soft buses are respectively used for communication between a plurality of computing units, communication between the computing units and a ground station, and communication between the computing units and a cloud system.

[0029] Compared with the prior art, the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0030] 1. The present application provides a communication soft bus, which includes a transmission layer, a distribution layer, a link management module, an endpoint management module, a data forwarding module, an address management module, a routing and addressing module, a data transmission module and an API layer. The communication soft bus can automatically identify and configure a network topology structure, so that application software can be flexibly deployed on different devices and locations without manual configuration of communication protocols, improving the flexibility of deployment and the reusability of software code. The routing and addressing module and the data forwarding module realize seamless forwarding between these protocols, simplifying the communication implementation between different computing units, especially in complex scenarios involving forwarding. The API layer provides a unified data communication interface, shielding the differences between different communication protocols at the bottom layer, making application software development simpler, reducing development complexity and improving development efficiency.

[0031] 2. A topology discovery module is used to identify and discover all communication endpoints in the system by sending a probe message, and periodically update the network topology to ensure that the system can dynamically adapt to changes in the number of devices and configurations.

[0032] 3. The data transmission module supports multiple data transmission modes (bytes, messages, files, streams), and can meet the data transmission needs in different application scenarios, from simple control instructions to complex multimedia data streams, which can be efficiently processed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0033] In order to more intuitively illustrate the prior art and the present application, exemplary drawings are given below. It should be understood that the specific shapes, configurations shown in the drawings should not be considered as limiting conditions in the implementation of the present application; for example, based on the technical concepts disclosed in the present application and the exemplary drawings, those skilled in the art can easily make routine adjustments or further optimizations to the increase / decrease / assignment of certain units (components), specific shapes, positional relationships, connection methods, size ratio relationships, etc.

[0034] Figure 1 An existing unmanned aerial vehicle communication schematic diagram

[0035] Figure 2 A structure schematic diagram of a communication soft bus provided by Embodiment One of the present application;

[0036] Figure 3 A structure schematic diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle communication system provided by Embodiment Two of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] In the description of the present application: unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more. The terms "first", "second", "third", etc. in the present application are intended to distinguish the objects referred to, and do not have a special meaning in the technical connotation aspect (for example, should not be understood as emphasizing importance or order, etc.). The expressions "include", "contain", "have" and the like also mean "not limited to" (certain units, components, materials, steps, etc.).

[0039] The terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle" and the like referred to in the present application are generally indications of the relative positional relationship for the purpose of intuitive understanding with reference to the drawings, and are not absolute limitations on the positional relationship in the actual product.

[0040] Embodiment One

[0041] Please refer to Figure 2 The present embodiment provides a communication soft bus, comprising:

[0042] A transport layer for providing basic transport services and supporting multiple transport protocols;

[0043] Specifically, the transport layer protocols include Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Serial Communication Protocol (Serial), and RPMsg. TCP and UDP are two commonly used network transport protocols, widely used for data communication between devices. TCP is suitable for scenarios requiring reliable transmission (e.g., communication between devices and ground control systems), ensuring data integrity and order. UDP is suitable for scenarios with high real-time requirements (e.g., network communication between drones), reducing transmission latency. Serial is a common point-to-point communication protocol, typically used for short-range communication between devices, such as communication between different computing units within a drone. RPMsg (Remote Processor Messaging) is a protocol used for communication between different processors in a multi-core processor system, suitable for communication between different computing units within a device.

[0044] The distribution layer provides distribution protocols used between edge devices and within edge devices.

[0045] Specifically, the distribution layer supports distribution protocols used between and within unmanned devices, such as distributed communication protocols, DDS protocols, OpenAMP protocols, MavLink protocols, and WebSocket protocols.

[0046] The link management module is used to initialize all registered distribution layer communication protocols in the system and to register and manage information.

[0047] Specifically, the link management layer module initializes and registers information for all registered distribution layer communication protocols in the system.

[0048] The endpoint management module is used to manage all service endpoints registered to the communication soft bus node;

[0049] Specifically, the endpoint management module manages all service endpoints (clients, i.e., applications) registered to the communication soft bus node. A service endpoint is the starting point for sending data and the ending point for receiving data. Each service endpoint needs to register its own responsible business logic name and obtain an endpoint number under the current communication soft bus's non-real-time domain or real-time domain.

[0050] The data forwarding module is used to forward received data to the correct target based on the destination address of the data;

[0051] Specifically, the data forwarding module forwards the received data according to the destination address, and the data forwarding rules also need to use global topology information.

[0052] The topology discovery module is used to identify and discover all communication endpoints in the system by sending probe messages and to update the network topology periodically.

[0053] Specifically, the topology discovery module is responsible for sending probe messages based on the different distribution layer links configured in the system to probe all communication endpoints. This process first generates a complete endpoint topology within the device; then, it forwards the internal topology between devices to generate cross-device endpoint topology. Since the number of unmanned devices can change, the network topology needs to be updated periodically.

[0054] The communication soft bus provided in this embodiment can automatically identify and configure the network topology through the topology discovery module, enabling application software to be flexibly deployed on different devices and locations without the need for manual configuration of communication protocols, thus improving deployment flexibility.

[0055] The address management module is used to manage global communication addresses based on network topology and endpoint information.

[0056] Specifically, the address management module is responsible for global address management based on network topology and endpoint information. Each communication endpoint has a globally unique communication address, which includes the device number, node number, domain number, and endpoint number. A mapping relationship is established between the endpoint's business logic name and the global address. The address mapping table maintained by each node needs to be periodically broadcast, enabling the system to build a global address table.

[0057] The routing module is used to find the corresponding global address based on the endpoint logical name used by the upper-layer business communication, and select the appropriate underlying communication link for data transmission according to the network topology.

[0058] Specifically, the routing module looks up the global address based on the endpoint logical name used by the upper-layer business communication, and selects the specific communication link at the lower level for transmission based on the topology.

[0059] The data transmission module is used to encapsulate data formats;

[0060] Specifically, the data transmission module encapsulates the data format and supports multiple data transmission modes: bytes, messages, files, and streams.

[0061] The API layer provides a data communication interface, allowing communication based on device number and functional logic name.

[0062] Specifically, the API layer provides a data communication interface based on the device number and functional logic name. The address is translated by the soft bus and routed through intermediate nodes to finally reach the destination endpoint, where it is received and processed by the application software.

[0063] This embodiment provides a communication soft bus API layer that offers a data communication interface based on device number and functional logic name. The data is translated via the soft bus and routed through intermediate nodes to reach the destination endpoint. This allows developers to focus on implementing business logic without dealing with complex communication protocol details, thus solving the problem of high application software development complexity.

[0064] The communication soft bus provided in this embodiment has the following advantages:

[0065] 1. Unified Communication Interface: Through the API layer of the communication soft bus, a unified data communication interface is provided, which shields the differences between different underlying communication protocols, making application software development simpler, reducing development complexity, and improving development efficiency.

[0066] 2. Flexible deployment and expansion: The communication soft bus supports dynamic discovery, which can automatically identify and configure the network topology, allowing application software to be flexibly deployed on different devices and locations without the need for manual configuration of communication protocols, thus improving deployment flexibility and software code reusability.

[0067] 3. Highly efficient communication implementation: The communication soft bus supports multiple communication protocols (such as distributed communication, DDS, OpenAMP, MavLink, WebSocket, etc.) through the distribution layer, and achieves seamless forwarding between these protocols through the routing and addressing module and the data forwarding module, which simplifies the communication implementation between different computing units, especially in complex scenarios involving forwarding.

[0068] 4. Dynamic Topology Discovery and Address Management: The topology discovery module can periodically update the network topology, ensuring that the system can dynamically adapt to changes in the number and configuration of devices. The address management module is responsible for the allocation and management of global addresses, ensuring that each communication endpoint has a globally unique communication address, further improving the flexibility and reliability of communication.

[0069] 5. Multiple data transmission modes: The data transmission module supports multiple data transmission modes (byte, message, file, stream), which can meet the data transmission needs of different application scenarios and can efficiently process everything from simple control commands to complex multimedia data streams.

[0070] In summary, the communication soft bus provided in this embodiment effectively solves the problems of high application software development complexity, poor deployment flexibility, and complex communication implementation between different computing units in existing edge device communication methods.

[0071] Example 2

[0072] Please see Figure 3This embodiment provides a drone communication system, including the communication soft bus provided in Embodiment 1. Multiple communication soft buses are used for communication between multiple computing units, communication between computing units and ground stations, and communication between computing units and cloud systems. The communication bus provided in Embodiment 1 enables convenient communication between unmanned devices and between computing units within the devices.

[0073] Specifically, in this embodiment, the communication soft bus integrates distributed communication, MavLink, WebSocket, DDS, OpenAMP, and process communication, abstracting a four-layer communication architecture consisting of the drone (device), computing unit (module), non-real-time domain or real-time domain, and application (client). Distributed communication provides communication between devices, DDS provides communication between modules, OpenAMP provides communication between domains, process communication provides communication between clients, WebSocket provides communication between devices and the cloud, and MavLink provides communication between devices and ground stations.

[0074] In this embodiment, each device has one or more modules representing different computing units. When there are multiple modules, one of the modules acts as the main module and is responsible for cross-device communication. Each module has one or more domains, which mainly distinguish between real-time domains (RTOS) and non-real-time domains (Linux) in hybrid deployment scenarios. Each domain can have one or more clients (applications).

[0075] This embodiment implements static network topology configuration and dynamic discovery functions based on distributed communication, MavLink, WebSocket, DDS, OpenAMP, and inter-process communication; and provides a unified data communication interface by masking the differences between distributed communication, MavLink, WebSocket, DDS, OpenAMP, and inter-process communication; it also provides forwarding functions between distributed communication, MavLink, WebSocket, DDS, OpenAMP, and processes.

[0076] The UAV communication system provided in this embodiment effectively solves the problems of high application software development complexity, poor deployment flexibility, and complex communication between different computing units in UAVs.

[0077] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way (as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features). For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described; these embodiments not explicitly written should also be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

Claims

1. A communication soft bus, characterized in that, include: The transport layer provides basic transport services and supports multiple transport protocols. The distribution layer provides distribution protocols used between edge devices and within edge devices. The link management module is used to initialize all registered distribution layer communication protocols in the system and to register and manage information. The endpoint management module is used to manage all service endpoints registered to the communication soft bus node; The data forwarding module is used to forward received data to the correct target based on the destination address of the data; The address management module is used to manage global communication addresses based on network topology and endpoint information. The routing module is used to find the corresponding global address based on the endpoint logical name used by the upper-layer business communication, and select the appropriate underlying communication link for data transmission according to the network topology. The data transmission module is used to encapsulate data formats; The API layer provides a data communication interface, allowing communication based on device number and functional logic name.

2. The communication soft bus according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The topology discovery module is used to identify and discover all communication endpoints in the system by sending probe messages and to update the network topology periodically.

3. The communication soft bus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transport layer's transport protocols include TCP or UDP transport protocols, Serial transport protocols, and RPMsg transport protocols.

4. The communication soft bus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The distribution protocols include distributed communication protocols, DDS protocols, OpenAMP protocols, MavLink protocols, and websocket protocols.

5. The communication soft bus according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the topology discovery module identifies and discovers all communication endpoints in the system by sending probe messages, it specifically includes: the topology discovery module first generates a complete endpoint topology structure inside the device, and then forwards the endpoint topology structure generated inside the device between devices, thereby generating a cross-device endpoint topology.

6. The communication soft bus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The global communication address includes the device number, node number, domain number, and endpoint number.

7. The communication soft bus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The data transmission module transmits data via messages, streams, bytes, or files.

8. A drone communication system, characterized in that, It includes multiple communication soft buses as described in any one of claims 1-7, wherein the multiple communication soft buses are respectively used for communication between multiple computing units, communication between computing units and ground stations, and communication between computing units and cloud systems.

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