Traffic cone automatic laying system based on LoRa communication

Abstract

The application discloses a traffic cone automatic laying system based on LoRa communication, which comprises a cone carrying robot block, a remote monitoring block and a LoRa edge gateway block.The cone carrying robot block comprises a plurality of cone carrying robots for loading, transporting and laying traffic cones.The remote monitoring block is used for remotely monitoring and controlling the laying of traffic cones.The LoRa edge gateway block is connected with the remote monitoring block and the plurality of cone carrying robots, and is used for respectively sending information from the remote monitoring block to the plurality of cone carrying robots.The application solves the technical problems of the limited communication distance and the inability to perform cluster control of the existing traffic cone automatic laying system, and greatly improves the anti-interference ability and penetration ability of signals and performs cluster control on the plurality of cone carrying robots.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of traffic cone deployment technology, specifically an automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication. Background Technology

[0002] At highway accident handling, road construction and maintenance, or urban emergency traffic control sites, lane closures are typically necessary to ensure the safety of personnel and vehicles. Traffic cones are then placed upstream as warning barriers to guide oncoming traffic to change lanes in advance. Currently, in most cities, traffic cone placement relies on traffic police or construction workers manually placing them. Workers must drive police cars or engineering vehicles to the designated location, then disembark and navigate through traffic to carry and place the cones one by one. However, highways have high speeds and heavy traffic, especially at night or in inclement weather, where visibility is poor. Workers are exposed to open traffic for extended periods, which is extremely unsafe.

[0003] To address this issue, some automated traffic cone delivery vehicles have emerged on the market, but most are based on robotic arm delivery systems modified from large engineering vehicles. These devices are bulky, expensive (often costing hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan), and lack mobility, making them unsuitable for rapid response and flexible deployment in minor traffic accidents, hindering their widespread adoption by grassroots traffic police teams. In recent years, some small, remote-controlled mobile chassis have also appeared for carrying traffic cones. However, these devices mostly use 2.4G remote controls, Bluetooth, or WiFi for communication, which is easily limited in distance. On highways, where the electromagnetic environment is complex and open, the effective control distance of ordinary remote control technology is usually less than 100 meters, and the signal is easily blocked by passing large trucks, leading to loss of control. Existing technology typically uses a "one-to-one" control mode, where one remote control controls one vehicle. To deploy a control line containing 6-10 traffic cones, operators need to control each vehicle individually, making one-button cluster control impossible. Moreover, existing equipment cannot automatically form specific control formations and lacks collaborative path planning. For example, when cutting in at an angle, it requires manual visual judgment of the location, resulting in low deployment efficiency and difficulty in meeting the high "speed" requirements of emergency road closures.

[0004] Therefore, developing a low-cost, long-range communication system that supports multi-vehicle collaboration and can automatically form a diagonal blocking formation with one click is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved in the field of intelligent transportation. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides an automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication, which solves the technical problems of limited communication distance and inability to control traffic cones in clusters in existing automatic traffic cone deployment systems.

[0006] This application provides an automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication, comprising: The traffic cone transport robot block includes multiple traffic cone transport robots used for loading, transporting, and deploying traffic cones. The remote monitoring block is used for remote monitoring and control of the deployment of traffic cones; The LoRa edge gateway block is connected to the remote monitoring block. The LoRa edge gateway block is connected to multiple traffic cone transport robots. The LoRa edge gateway block is used to send the information sent by the remote monitoring block to the multiple traffic cone transport robots.

[0007] By adopting the above technical solution, the LoRa edge gateway replaces the traditional WiFi or Bluetooth control, which greatly improves the signal's anti-interference ability and penetration ability, and significantly increases the communication distance. At the same time, the LoRa edge gateway also supports issuing commands to multiple traffic cone transport robots separately, realizing the cluster control of multiple traffic cone transport robots.

[0008] It should be noted that LoRa stands for Long Range, meaning long-range radio.

[0009] Optionally, the traffic cone transport robot includes: a vehicle body and a main control circuit board installed inside the vehicle body. The main control circuit board is equipped with a microcontroller and a LoRa communication module. The LoRa communication module and the microcontroller are electrically connected. The LoRa communication module is used to receive instructions issued by the LoRa edge gateway block and transmit the instruction data to the microcontroller.

[0010] By adopting the above technical solution, the road cone transport robot uses the main control circuit board set inside the vehicle body to receive commands issued by the LoRa edge gateway, and sends the received commands to the microcontroller, which then parses and applies the commands.

[0011] Optionally, the main control circuit board is also equipped with a motor drive module. The signal input terminal of the motor drive module is connected to the control pin of the microcontroller, and the power output terminal of the motor drive module is connected to the motor. The motor drive module is used to adjust the movement of the motor.

[0012] By adopting the above technical solution, the motor drive module receives the pulse width modulation signal (PWM) input from the microcontroller, and then adjusts the speed of the DC drive motor by changing the PWM duty cycle. By changing the high and low level logic of the motor drive module control terminal, the forward and reverse rotation of the DC drive motor can be controlled. The motor drive module can be used to adjust the motion state of the electrodes.

[0013] Optionally, a power management module is also provided on the main control circuit board. The power management module is connected to the microcontroller, the LoRa communication module and the motor drive module respectively. The power management module is used to supply power to the microcontroller, the LoRa communication module and the motor drive module respectively.

[0014] By adopting the above technical solution, a power management module can be set on the main control circuit board to directly regulate the power consumption of the microcontroller, LoRa communication module and motor drive module, thereby achieving efficient and rapid regulation of electrical energy.

[0015] Optionally, a storage module is also provided on the main control circuit board. The storage module is connected to the microprocessor and is used to provide offline electronic maps for the traffic cone transport robot.

[0016] By adopting the above technical solution, the offline electronic map stored in the storage module can help the traffic cone transport robot to complete the deployment of traffic cones according to instructions and maps in the absence of network.

[0017] Optionally, the traffic cones are mounted on top of the vehicle's chassis.

[0018] By adopting the above technical solution, the traffic cones can be installed on the top of the vehicle chassis, making it easy and quick to place them in the designated positions, which is simple and efficient.

[0019] Optionally, the LoRa edge gateway block includes a LoRa baseband processing chip, which is used to convert data packets sent by the remote monitoring block into LoRa wireless radio frequency signals.

[0020] By adopting the above technical solution, the LoRa baseband processing chip converts the received data packets into LoRa wireless radio frequency signals, and uses the LoRa wireless radio frequency signals to control multiple traffic cone transport robots.

[0021] Optionally, the LoRa edge gateway block also includes a communication module. The remote monitoring block and the LoRa edge gateway block communicate with each other through the communication module, and the LoRa edge gateway block uses the communication module to receive data packets sent by the remote monitoring block.

[0022] By adopting the above technical solution, the LoRa edge gateway block uses a communication module to receive commands issued by the remote monitoring block.

[0023] Optionally, the communication module can be a 4G communication module or a 5G communication module.

[0024] By adopting the above technical solution, communication between the remote monitoring block and the LoRa edge gateway block can be achieved quickly and efficiently using 4G or 5G networks.

[0025] Optionally, the LoRa wireless radio frequency signal is broadcast to multiple traffic cone transport robots.

[0026] By adopting the above technical solution, LoRa wireless radio frequency signals are broadcast to each traffic cone transport robot, which not only enables cluster control of multiple traffic cone transport robots, but also ensures the stability of signal transmission.

[0027] One or more technical solutions provided in this application have at least the following technical effects or advantages: (1) This application replaces traditional WiFi or Bluetooth control with LoRa spread spectrum communication technology, which has strong anti-interference and penetration capabilities, effectively solving the problem that signals are easily blocked by large vehicles or the transmission distance is insufficient in the complex environment of highways. At the same time, combined with 4G / 5G gateway, it realizes remote control without distance limitations. (2) The system of this application supports one-click group control function, which can enable multiple road cone transport robots to automatically form an oblique interception formation by issuing differentiated timing parameters, which greatly improves the deployment efficiency and standardization of emergency road closures; (3) This application utilizes a LoRa edge gateway to achieve long-distance anti-interference communication and control of the traffic cone transport robot. When operating and deploying traffic cones, the operator does not need to enter the main road. He only needs to issue a command with one click through the remote monitoring terminal in a safe area to complete the deployment of traffic cones, thus completely eliminating the risk of collision faced by manually placing traffic cones. Attached Figure Description

[0028] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication provided by the present invention.

[0030] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 100 - Road cone transport robot block; 110 - Road cone transport robot; 200 - Remote monitoring block; 300 - LoRa edge gateway block. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0032] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or server that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or modules not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment of an automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication includes: a traffic cone transport robot block 100, a remote monitoring block 200, and a LoRa edge gateway block 300.

[0034] The traffic cone transport robot block 100 includes multiple traffic cone transport robots 110 for loading, transporting and deploying traffic cones. Each traffic cone transport robot 110 includes a vehicle body and a main control circuit board installed inside the vehicle body. The traffic cones are installed on the top of the chassis of the vehicle body. The main control circuit board integrates a microcontroller, a LoRa communication module, a motor drive module, a power management module and a storage module.

[0035] The microcontroller on the main control circuit board can be an STM32 series 32-bit microprocessor. The microcontroller is equipped with a timing parsing unit to parse the custom protocol instructions sent by the LoRa edge gateway, which include action identification codes and time parameter codes. It controls the power-on duration of the motor drive module according to the parsed time parameters, thereby controlling the travel distance of the road cone transport robot. The microcontroller has an integrated instruction parsing logic. It determines the movement mode of the car by reading the data in the serial port receive buffer and judging the first byte character. In particular, for the 'q' (custom forward) and 'h' (custom backward) instructions, the microcontroller calculates the precise action duration using the algorithm Time=10*(Data[1]-'0')+(Data[2]-'0'), thereby realizing stepless adjustment of the car's travel distance. Wherein, Time is the motor movement time, and Data[1] and Data[2] are the data obtained by the microcontroller from parsing the data packets.

[0036] The LoRa communication module and the microcontroller are electrically connected via a serial communication interface. The LoRa communication module receives commands from the LoRa edge gateway block and transmits the command data to the microcontroller. The LoRa communication module integrates an SX1262 or similar low-power RF chip and RF antenna, utilizing spread spectrum modulation technology to achieve high receiving sensitivity and anti-interference capabilities while maintaining low power consumption, ensuring stable communication over a distance of 1-3 kilometers even in the complex electromagnetic environment of highways. The LoRa communication module is configured in transparent transmission mode. Its data transmit pin (TXD) is connected to the microcontroller's serial receiver, its data receive pin (RXD) is connected to the microcontroller's serial transmitter, and its external reset pin (NRST) is connected to the microcontroller's general-purpose input / output interface (I / O interface). The LoRa communication module operates in the 470MHz-510MHz frequency band. Specifically, the LoRa communication module is responsible for receiving wireless RF signals from the LoRa edge gateway block 300 and demodulating them into TTL serial signals for transmission to the microcontroller.

[0037] Meanwhile, the LoRa communication module can also send the power information and operating status information of the road cone transport robot 110 to the LoRa edge gateway block 300.

[0038] The signal input terminal of the motor drive module is connected to the control pin of the microcontroller, and the power output terminal of the motor drive module is connected to the motor. The motor drive module is used to regulate the movement of the motor. The motor is a DC drive motor, and it is mounted on the chassis of the vehicle. The motor drive module can adopt a TB6612 drive circuit structure. The microcontroller connects to the enable or control terminal of the motor drive module by outputting a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal. By changing the PWM duty cycle, the speed of the DC drive motor is adjusted, and by changing the high and low level logic of the control terminal, the forward and reverse rotation of the DC drive motor is controlled, thereby realizing the differential steering, straight-line correction, and fixed-point parking functions of the traffic cone transport robot 110.

[0039] The power management module is connected to the microcontroller, LoRa communication module, and motor drive module, respectively, and is used to supply power to these components. The power management module includes a rechargeable battery pack (such as a 12V lithium battery), a charging protection circuit, and a DC-DC step-down circuit. The rechargeable battery pack directly provides power to the motor drive module, while the DC-DC step-down circuit converts the voltage to 5V or 3.3V to power the microcontroller and LoRa communication module, thus isolating the power supply from the control power supply.

[0040] The storage module is connected to the microprocessor and provides offline electronic maps for the traffic cone transport robot. In addition to the above functions, the storage module also records the convoy's driving trajectory and vehicle operation information, recording data throughout the entire convoy's journey. After the task is completed, the data is synchronized to the backend for analysis using cloud-based algorithms.

[0041] The remote monitoring block 200 is connected to the LoRa edge gateway block 300 via a wide area network. The remote monitoring block 200 is used to issue road closure control commands, display robot status, and remotely monitor and control the deployment of traffic cones. The aforementioned remote monitoring block 200 is a remote monitoring terminal. Specifically, the remote monitoring block 200 and the LoRa edge gateway block 300 communicate using the Web / HTTP protocol. When the user selects "One-Click Combined Send" on the web page (HTML / JS client), the front-end program automatically packages the commands for different ID robot terminals (such as ID=1: q02, ID=2: q04...) and sends them concurrently or serially to the gateway, enabling the deployment of complex formations in a single operation.

[0042] Furthermore, the system of this application adopts a star network topology, with the LoRa edge gateway block 300 serving as the relay node and central node of the entire system. The LoRa edge gateway block 300 is connected to multiple traffic cone transport robots 110, and is used to distribute information sent by the remote monitoring block 200 to the multiple traffic cone transport robots 110. The LoRa edge gateway block 300 includes a LoRa baseband processing chip and a communication module, which is either a 4G or 5G communication module. The LoRa edge gateway block 300 can convert HTTP or MQTT protocol data packets sent by the remote monitoring block 200 into LoRa spread spectrum radio frequency signals and broadcast them to the traffic cone transport robots 110. The aforementioned LoRa edge gateway block 300 is a LoRa edge gateway.

[0043] As can be seen, in order to facilitate command and coordination, the system of this application adopts the communication mechanism of "gateway broadcast-terminal parsing". The remote monitoring terminal sends the road closure command to the LoRa edge gateway through the 4G / 5G network. The gateway then transmits the command to all robot terminals within its coverage area, ensuring that multiple terminals can receive the command at the same time and act synchronously, so as to achieve consistent convoy action.

[0044] When using this system, the first step is power-on initialization. All the 110 traffic cone delivery robots are lined up along the roadside. After turning on the power switch, the microcontroller performs a self-test of the onboard peripherals. Once initialization is complete, the robot terminal enters "wireless monitoring mode," with the LoRa communication module continuously receiving commands, awaiting wake-up or action commands from the gateway. At this time, the operator confirms the online status of all terminals through a remote monitoring terminal and sets the road closure mode on the interface. The system automatically generates timing control parameters for each robot terminal based on a preset algorithm.

[0045] Once the road closure task is confirmed, the remote monitoring terminal sends a control command packet to the LoRa edge gateway via the HTTP / MQTT protocol. The LoRa edge gateway broadcasts the command packet via LoRa radio frequency signals. The LoRa communication module of the road cone transport robot 110 terminal transmits the received data packet to the STM32 microcontroller via a serial port. The protocol parsing unit inside the microcontroller parses the data frame: first, it identifies the frame header identifier and determines it to be a "custom timing forward command"; then, it extracts the time parameter code from the command and converts it into a decimal integer; subsequently, the microcontroller calls the motor control logic and outputs a PWM waveform of the corresponding duration to the motor drive module through GPIO pins and timers. During this process, the road cone transport robot 110 terminals travel different distances and then automatically stop according to the different time parameters they receive. Finally, multiple road cone transport robot 110 terminals travel from the starting position on the roadside to the designated position on the road surface, forming a diagonal control line at a certain angle to the lane dividing line, effectively guiding and isolating vehicles approaching from behind. After the task is completed, by issuing a reset command, all 110 terminals of the traffic cone transport robot can reverse back to the shoulder along the original path.

[0046] It should be noted that the order of the embodiments described above is merely for descriptive purposes and does not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments. Furthermore, specific embodiments have been described above. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps described in the claims can be performed in a different order than that shown in the embodiments and still achieve the desired result. Additionally, the processes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily require a specific or sequential order to achieve the desired result. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.

[0047] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

[0048] This specification and accompanying drawings are merely illustrative examples of this application and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from its scope. Therefore, if such modifications and modifications fall within the scope of this application and its equivalents, this application intends to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. An automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication, characterized in that, include: The traffic cone transport robot block includes multiple traffic cone transport robots for loading, transporting, and deploying traffic cones. The remote monitoring block is used to remotely monitor and control the deployment of the traffic cones; The LoRa edge gateway block is connected to the remote monitoring block, and the LoRa edge gateway block is connected to multiple traffic cone transport robots respectively. The LoRa edge gateway block is used to send the information issued by the remote monitoring block to the multiple traffic cone transport robots respectively.

2. The automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The traffic cone transport robot includes a vehicle body and a main control circuit board installed inside the vehicle body. The main control circuit board is equipped with a microcontroller and a LoRa communication module. The LoRa communication module is electrically connected to the microcontroller. The LoRa communication module is used to receive instructions issued by the LoRa edge gateway block and transmit the instruction data to the microcontroller.

3. The automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The main control circuit board is also equipped with a motor drive module. The signal input terminal of the motor drive module is connected to the control pin of the microcontroller, and the power output terminal of the motor drive module is connected to the motor. The motor drive module is used to adjust the movement of the motor.

4. The automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The main control circuit board is also equipped with a power management module, which is connected to the microcontroller, the LoRa communication module and the motor drive module respectively. The power management module is used to supply power to the microcontroller, the LoRa communication module and the motor drive module respectively.

5. The automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The main control circuit board is also equipped with a storage module, which is connected to the microprocessor. The storage module is used to provide offline electronic maps for the traffic cone transport robot.

6. The automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The traffic cone is installed on top of the chassis of the vehicle body.

7. The automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication as described in any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The LoRa edge gateway block includes a LoRa baseband processing chip, which is used to convert data packets sent by the remote monitoring block into LoRa wireless radio frequency signals.

8. The automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The LoRa edge gateway block also includes a communication module. The remote monitoring block and the LoRa edge gateway block are connected via the communication module. The LoRa edge gateway block uses the communication module to receive the data packets sent by the remote monitoring block.

9. The automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The communication module is either a 4G communication module or a 5G communication module.

10. The automatic traffic cone deployment system based on LoRa communication as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The LoRa wireless radio frequency signal is broadcast to multiple of the traffic cone transport robots.

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