Flying mechanical arm system for sampling high-altitude vegetation

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of vegetation sample sampling, in particular to a flying mechanical arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling. Comprising a rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, a mechanical arm, a clamping mechanism, a recognition module and a positioning module, the mechanical arm is arranged on the front side of a fuselage of the rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, the clamping mechanism is arranged at the tail end of the mechanical arm and used for sampling high-altitude vegetation, and the recognition module and the positioning module are arranged on the two sides of the upper portion of the rotor unmanned aerial vehicle respectively. The identification module is used for identifying a to-be-sampled vegetation sample in a large range, and the positioning module is used for accurately positioning the sampled vegetation sample in a small range. According to the invention, full-autonomous automatic sampling of vegetation samples in a high-altitude manpower-inaccessible area is realized, the workload and labor intensity of scientific investigation personnel are reduced, the risk of high-altitude sampling is reduced, comprehensive and continuous sampling can be completed, the integrity of sampling data is ensured, and reliable support is provided for high-altitude vegetation evaluation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vegetation sample collection technology, and in particular to a flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, high-altitude vegetation sampling mainly relies on researchers carrying their own sampling equipment to climb to the top of the vegetation or designated locations for on-site sampling. This involves a large workload and high labor intensity. At the same time, sampling points at higher locations are difficult to reach manually and are extremely dangerous, making it impossible to achieve comprehensive sampling of high-altitude vegetation samples. The sampling data is incomplete and cannot be systematically analyzed, resulting in an incomplete and inadequate assessment of high-altitude vegetation samples. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling, which enables drones to sample vegetation in areas inaccessible to various high-altitude vegetation.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0005] This invention provides a flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling, comprising a rotary-wing drone, a robotic arm, a gripping mechanism, an identification module, and a positioning module. The robotic arm is positioned at the front of the rotary-wing drone's fuselage, and the gripping mechanism is located at the end of the robotic arm. The gripping mechanism is used for high-altitude vegetation sampling. The identification module and the positioning module are respectively located on the upper sides of the rotary-wing drone. The identification module is used to identify vegetation samples over a large area, while the positioning module is used for precise localization of the vegetation samples within a small area.

[0006] The rotary-wing UAV includes a left fuselage, a right fuselage, and a connecting shaft. The left and right fuselages are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the connecting shaft, and a space is reserved between the left and right fuselages to enable the robotic arm to have an operating angle of not less than 180 degrees.

[0007] The robotic arm includes multiple links and multiple drive joints for connecting the ends of the links. The tail of the robotic arm is rotatably connected to the connecting shaft.

[0008] The clamping mechanism includes a linear drive module, a left support, a right support, a central block, a lower shearing blade, and a clamping assembly. The central block is connected to the end of the robotic arm. The left and right supports are hinged to the left and right sides of the central block. A clamping assembly is provided on the upper side of the front facing surfaces of the left and right supports, and a lower shearing blade is provided on the lower side of the front facing surfaces. The linear drive module is connected between the rear ends of the left and right supports, and the linear drive module drives the front of the left and right supports to open or close. The clamping assembly fixes the vegetation sample by closing the left and right supports, and the lower shearing blade cuts and samples the vegetation sample below by closing the left and right supports.

[0009] The linear drive module includes an upper linear electric actuator and a lower linear electric actuator. The two ends of the upper linear electric actuator are respectively hinged to the upper rear ends of the left support and the right support; the two ends of the lower linear electric actuator are respectively hinged to the lower rear ends of the left support and the right support.

[0010] Both the left and right supports are equipped with a front shearing blade at their front ends. The front shearing blade achieves the cutting and sampling of vegetation samples in front by closing the left and right supports.

[0011] The front ends of the left and right supports are equipped with limit switches, which are used to detect whether the left and right supports are closed in place.

[0012] The clamping assembly includes a clamping plate and multiple springs, wherein the clamping plate is connected to the inner side of the left or right support via multiple springs, and the clamping plate adapts to vegetation samples of different diameters by spring contraction.

[0013] The recognition module includes a visual sensor.

[0014] The positioning module includes a lidar or a line structured light sensor.

[0015] The advantages and beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0016] 1. This invention enables automatic collection of vegetation samples by using a rotary-wing drone to drive a robotic arm and a sampling mechanism; by using a robotic arm to achieve automatic sampling of vegetation samples, the ability of the sampling mechanism to automatically collect vegetation is improved, facilitating fully autonomous operation of the drone throughout the entire process.

[0017] 2. This invention achieves automatic sampling of vegetation samples by using a linear electric cylinder to drive the clamping mechanism, which facilitates fully autonomous operation of the UAV throughout the entire process; the linear electric cylinder drives the sampling mechanism to achieve automatic opening and closing functions. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the sampling drone in this invention;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the sampling clamping mechanism in this invention.

[0021] In the diagram: 1 is a rotary-wing UAV, 101 is the left fuselage, 102 is the right fuselage, 103 is the connecting shaft, 2 is the robotic arm, 3 is the clamping mechanism, 301 is the upper linear electric thrust cylinder, 302 is the left support, 303 is the lower linear electric thrust cylinder, 304 is the right support, 305 is the center block, 306 is the front shearing blade, 307 is the lower shearing blade, 308 is the clamping assembly, 309 is the limit switch, 4 is the identification module, and 5 is the positioning module. Detailed Implementation

[0022] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0023] See Figure 1 As shown, this invention provides a flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling, including a rotary-wing drone 1, a robotic arm 2, a clamping mechanism 3, an identification module 4, and a positioning module 5. The robotic arm 2 is positioned at the front of the rotorcraft 1, and the clamping mechanism 3 is located at the end of the robotic arm 2. The clamping mechanism 3 is used for high-altitude vegetation sampling. The identification module 4 and the positioning module 5 are respectively located on the upper sides of the rotorcraft 1. The identification module 4 is used to identify vegetation samples over a large area, while the positioning module 5 is used for precise positioning of the vegetation samples within a small area. This invention enables the flying robotic arm system to automatically sample vegetation samples under the combined operation of the rotorcraft 1 (large-scale identification by the identification module 4) and the precise positioning by the positioning module 5.

[0024] See Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment of the invention, the rotary-wing drone 1 adopts a multi-rotor configuration. The rotary-wing drone 1 includes a left fuselage 101, a right fuselage 102, and a connecting shaft 103, wherein the left fuselage 101 and the right fuselage 102 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the connecting shaft 103, improving the overall strength and stability of the drone. A reserved space is provided between the left fuselage 101 and the right fuselage 102 to allow the robotic arm 2 to have an operating angle of not less than 180 degrees. Two rotors are symmetrically arranged on both the left fuselage 101 and the right fuselage 102.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present invention, the robotic arm 2 is a multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm system, including multiple links and multiple drive joints for connecting the ends of the multiple links. The tail of the robotic arm 2 is rotatably connected to the connecting shaft 103. The robotic arm 2 can have an operating angle of not less than 180 degrees around the connecting shaft 103.

[0026] See Figure 3 As shown, in an embodiment of the present invention, the clamping mechanism 3 includes a linear drive module, a left support 302, a right support 304, a central block 305, a lower shearing blade 307, and a clamping assembly 308. The central block 305 is connected to the end of the robotic arm 2. The left support 302 and the right support 304 are hinged to the left and right sides of the central block 305. The clamping assembly 308 is provided on the upper side of the front facing surfaces of the left support 302 and the right support 304, and the lower shearing blade 307 is provided on the lower side of the front facing surfaces. The linear drive module is connected between the rear ends of the left support 302 and the right support 304. The linear drive module drives the front of the left support 302 and the right support 304 to open or close. The clamping assembly 308 fixes the vegetation sample by closing the left support 302 and the right support 304, and the lower shearing blade 307 cuts and samples the vegetation sample below by closing the left support 302 and the right support 304.

[0027] In an embodiment of the present invention, the linear drive module includes an upper linear electric push cylinder 301 and a lower linear electric push cylinder 303. The two ends of the upper linear electric push cylinder 301 are respectively hinged to the upper rear ends of the left support 302 and the right support 304; the two ends of the lower linear electric push cylinder 303 are respectively hinged to the lower rear ends of the left support 302 and the right support 304.

[0028] Furthermore, both the left support 302 and the right support 304 are equipped with a front shearing blade 306 at their front ends. The front shearing blade 306 achieves shearing and sampling of vegetation samples in front of the left support 302 and the right support 304 through closure.

[0029] Furthermore, limit switches 309 are provided at the front ends of the left support 302 and the right support 304. The limit switches 309 are used to detect whether the left support 302 and the right support 304 are closed in place.

[0030] Specifically, the clamping assembly 308 includes a clamping plate and multiple springs, wherein the clamping plate is connected to the inner side of the left support 302 or the right support 304 via multiple springs, and the clamping plate adapts to vegetation samples of different diameters by spring contraction.

[0031] In this embodiment of the invention, the identification module 4 includes a vision sensor, disposed above the left fuselage 101. The identification module 4, through the vision sensor, can identify the vegetation samples to be sampled over a large area, providing a large-scale coarse identification function for the robotic arm 2 and the gripping mechanism 3 to automatically sample vegetation samples. The positioning module 5 includes a lidar or a line structured light sensor, disposed above the right fuselage 102. The positioning module 5, through the lidar or line structured light sensor, can identify the vegetation samples within a small area, providing a small-scale precise positioning function for the robotic arm 2 and the gripping mechanism 3 to automatically sample vegetation samples.

[0032] The present invention provides a flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling, the working principle of which is as follows:

[0033] This invention utilizes a rotary-wing drone 1 equipped with a robotic arm 2, a gripping mechanism 3, an identification module 4, and a positioning module 5 to enable the gripping mechanism 3 to sample vegetation at high altitudes. The identification module 4 uses a visual sensor to identify vegetation samples over a wide area, providing a broad, coarse identification function for the robotic arm 2 and gripping mechanism 3 to automatically collect vegetation samples. The positioning module 5 uses a lidar or line structured light sensor to identify vegetation samples within a small area, providing a precise positioning function for the robotic arm 2 and gripping mechanism 3 to automatically collect vegetation samples. The rotary-wing drone 1 controls the left and right rotors to precisely control the position of the robotic arm 2 relative to the vegetation samples. The robotic arm 2 controls multiple joints to enable the end-effector gripping mechanism 3 to accurately collect vegetation samples.

[0034] This invention provides a flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling. Utilizing a rotary-wing drone equipped with a robotic arm, a gripping mechanism, a recognition module consisting of a vision sensor, and a positioning module consisting of a lidar or line structured light sensor, it combines large-area coarse recognition with small-area precise positioning. Coupled with a multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm and a gripping mechanism (including shearing blades, clamping components, and limit detection) that can automatically open and close to accommodate vegetation of different diameters, it achieves fully autonomous and automatic sampling of vegetation samples in high-altitude areas inaccessible to humans. This reduces the workload and labor intensity of scientific researchers, lowers the risks of high-altitude sampling, and enables comprehensive and continuous sampling, ensuring the integrity of the sampling data and providing reliable support for high-altitude vegetation assessment.

[0035] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, extensions, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling, characterized in that, The system includes a rotary-wing drone (1), a robotic arm (2), a clamping mechanism (3), an identification module (4), and a positioning module (5). The robotic arm (2) is located on the front side of the fuselage of the rotary-wing drone (1), and the clamping mechanism (3) is located at the end of the robotic arm (2). The clamping mechanism (3) is used for high-altitude vegetation sampling. The identification module (4) and the positioning module (5) are respectively located on the upper sides of the rotary-wing drone (1). The identification module (4) is used to identify the vegetation samples to be sampled over a large area, and the positioning module (5) is used for precise positioning of the vegetation samples within a small area.

2. The flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotary-wing UAV (1) includes a left fuselage (101), a right fuselage (102) and a connecting shaft (103), wherein the left fuselage (101) and the right fuselage (102) are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the connecting shaft (103), and a space is reserved between the left fuselage (101) and the right fuselage (102) to enable the robotic arm (2) to have an operating angle of not less than 180 degrees.

3. The flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to claim 2, characterized in that, The robotic arm (2) includes multiple links and multiple drive joints for connecting the ends of the multiple links. The tail of the robotic arm (2) is rotatably connected to the connecting shaft (103).

4. The flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to claim 1, characterized in that, The clamping mechanism (3) includes a linear drive module, a left support (302), a right support (304), a center block (305), a lower shearing blade (307), and a clamping assembly (308). The center block (305) is connected to the end of the robotic arm (2). The left support (302) and the right support (304) are hinged to the left and right sides of the center block (305). The upper side of the front facing surfaces of the left support (302) and the right support (304) are both provided with clamping assemblies (308). The lower side of each component is provided with a lower shearing blade (307); a linear drive module is connected between the rear ends of the left support (302) and the right support (304), and the linear drive module drives the front of the left support (302) and the right support (304) to open or close; the clamping assembly (308) fixes the vegetation sample by closing the left support (302) and the right support (304), and the lower shearing blade (307) cuts and samples the vegetation sample below by closing the left support (302) and the right support (304).

5. The flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to claim 4, characterized in that, The linear drive module includes an upper linear electric cylinder (301) and a lower linear electric cylinder (303). The two ends of the upper linear electric cylinder (301) are respectively hinged to the upper rear ends of the left support (302) and the right support (304); the two ends of the lower linear electric cylinder (303) are respectively hinged to the lower rear ends of the left support (302) and the right support (304).

6. The flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to claim 4, characterized in that, The front ends of the left support (302) and the right support (304) are both provided with a front shearing blade (306). The front shearing blade (306) achieves the cutting and sampling of vegetation samples in front by closing the left support (302) and the right support (304).

7. The flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to claim 4, characterized in that, The front ends of the left support (302) and the right support (304) are provided with limit switches (309), which are used to detect whether the left support (302) and the right support (304) are closed in place.

8. The flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to claim 4, characterized in that, The clamping assembly (308) includes a clamping plate and a plurality of springs, wherein the clamping plate is connected to the inner side of the left support (302) or the right support (304) by the plurality of springs, and the clamping plate adapts to vegetation samples of different diameters by spring contraction.

9. The flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to claim 1, characterized in that, The recognition module (4) includes a visual sensor.

10. The flying robotic arm system for high-altitude vegetation sampling according to claim 1, characterized in that, The positioning module (5) includes a lidar or a line structured light sensor.

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