Method for operating an unmanned aircraft, unmanned aircraft and combination of an unmanned aircraft and another aircraft

Abstract

Method for operating an unmanned aerial vehicle (1), the method comprising the following steps: - at least one unmanned aircraft (1) is provided; - the unmanned aircraft (1) is navigated for deployment from a base to a maritime deployment location using manual and / or autonomously generated control inputs to a flight control system of the unmanned aircraft (1); - after completion of the operation at the maritime site, the unmanned aircraft (1) is landed on the water in a controlled manner by means of a splashdown; - a provided pickup aircraft (2) is navigated manually and / or autonomously to the place of splashdown; - the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) located in the water is coupled to a receiving device of the receiving aircraft (2); and - the unmanned aircraft (1) located in the water is then picked up from the water by means of the picking-up device in the direction of the receiving aircraft (2) and brought to its base.

Description

The invention relates to a method for operating an unmanned aerial vehicle in conjunction with a further aerial vehicle. The invention likewise relates to an unmanned aircraft for this purpose and to a composition consisting of one or more unmanned aircraft and another aircraft.Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs for short), which can fly autonomously and independently and also remotely by a pilot, are used in civil engineering, inter alia, for search and rescue actions and for control and monitoring tasks. Unmanned aerial vehicles in the form of drones are also widely used in the scientific context for investigating remote and poorly accessible areas.In unmanned aircraft in which no crew is on board and this unmanned aircraft operates either autonomously or remotely by means of a remotely operating crew, such an unmanned aircraft can be made small and compact compared to conventional aircraft. However, the smaller an unmanned aerial vehicle, the more limited its action radius will be, since the energy required for operating the unmanned aerial vehicle, as in any other vehicle, must in principle be carried along. This poses great challenges for the operation of unmanned aircraft, especially in the maritime area and in maritime applications, since as a rule large distances must be traveled between the starting point of the unmanned aircraft on land and the maritime location of use, between which new energy consumption is not possible. Unmanned aerial vehicles are therefore nowadays also rarely used for maritime applications, such as, for example. Search and rescue actions are used because the energy problem is unsolved.US 2012 / 0292430 A1 discloses a method and a device for launching and landing a drone in the form of a quadcopter, wherein a bell-shaped cage is attached to a rescue winch of a helicopter, the drone being docked therein in a parked state. To launch the drone, it is docked and flies out of the bell-like device at the bottom to its place of use. For landing, the drone must fly back into the bell-like device from below in order to dock again at the upper end of the bell-like device.The essential disadvantage of this method is the fastening device which has to be carried permanently outside the helicopter. However, additional attachments to the helicopter increase the travel resistance and reduce the range and service life of the helicopter. Connecting the fastening device to the helicopter via a cable can lead to a pendulum shrinkage during flight, which could result in a restriction of the flight speed. Another drawback is the higher system complexity involved in an additional mechanical system.DE 10 2012 112 489 A1 discloses a rotorcraft as a platform for UAV missions, wherein the drone is carried in the rotorcraft. The drone can then be started from the rotorcraft via a starting device and controlled accordingly via a control device. However, there is fundamentally a lack of resumption of the UAV during operation of the rotorcraft such that the resumed UAV would be ready for use again.WO 2018 / 002928 A1 discloses a drone assigned to a carrier aircraft, which drone is released from the aircraft and distanced from it in dangerous situations in order to collect situation-related data. For example, the drone may send external images of the aircraft to the boarding crew or, in the case of an aircraft accident, send images of the accident or of survivors to rescue workers. In principle, the drone should also have the function of a mobile black box of the aircraft. In the event of an aircraft crash on the sea, the drone is held above water by means of a buoyancy body and continues to collect or communicate information from this position.WO 2005 / 032939 A1 discloses a toroidal drone which can launch and land vertically. In an emergency landing, parachutes or airbags can be activated to allow a softer landing. When an emergency landing takes place on the water, the airbags remain activated in order to keep the drone buoyant. It is therefore an object of the present invention to specify an improved method for operating an unmanned aircraft and corresponding devices for operating the same, with which unmanned aircraft can be used without problems even in maritime applications.US 2005 / 0230535 A1 discloses a floatable drone which can be placed from a watercraft such as a submarine and can be taken up again by a take-up cable after being watered.US 2017 / 0 361 929 A1 discloses a two-stage parachute jumping by means of a carrier drone which is set off from an aircraft and carries a parachute jumpinger to a destination jumping location.GB 2 205 798 A discloses two-stage drone launch from a ship by means of an intermediate rocket or helicopter. The drone can be recovered by the ship by the drone being watered and retrieved using a towed network.DE 100 26 469 C1 relates to a drone which, in the event of a detected system fault, unfolds a parachute in order to land securely in the event of failure. When landing in the water, an airbag is additionally deployed in order to keep the drone buoyant.U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,181 A describes the recovery of cargo by means of helicopters by engaging a hook fastened to a cable with a cable tied to the cargo.U.S. Pat. No. 3,036,315 A, U.S. Pat. No. 2,488,538 A and U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,333 A relate to personnel being hidden from water by means of rescue baskets and capsules.The object is achieved according to the invention by the method according to claim 1.According to claim 1, a method for operating an unmanned aerial vehicle is proposed, wherein at least one unmanned aerial vehicle is first provided. Such an unmanned aerial vehicle can be, for example, an autonomously acting unmanned aerial vehicle which operates independently and autonomously. The unmanned aerial vehicle provided can, however, also be a remotely controllable unmanned aerial vehicle, in which the pilot or pilots remotely control the unmanned aerial vehicle from there with the aid of a remote control device at a location remote from the unmanned aerial vehicle. However, it is also conceivable for the unmanned aircraft to be a combination of both.According to the invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle is now navigated to a flight control system of the unmanned aerial vehicle for use from a base at a maritime location using manual and / or autonomously generated control inputs, wherein the base is generally the starting point from which the unmanned aerial vehicle starts. Accordingly, the base may be stationary and may be on land. However, it is also conceivable for the base to be provided by another aircraft from which the unmanned aircraft is placed. However, it is also conceivable for the base to be mounted on a mobile vehicle, such as a watercraft or a land vehicle, such as a watercraft. The road vehicles or trains may be formed.The term base can be not only a single specific location, but can also extend over a plurality of elements. It is thus conceivable for a takeoff base to be provided on the land, while the landing base is provided by an aircraft. The term base ultimately describes only a starting point and a landing point, wherein the starting and landing points can in principle be different from one another and in principle different types of base can also be present.After the unmanned aerial vehicle has reached its maritime location of use, the unmanned aerial vehicle is used there accordingly in accordance with the specifications of the specific use, wherein, according to the invention, after the use at the maritime location of use has ended, the unmanned aerial vehicle is landed on the water in a controlled manner by a watering. A further, additional provided receiving aircraft, which can be manned or unmanned, is manually and / or autonomously navigated to the location of the watercraft in order to couple and receive the unmanned aircraft located in the water to a receiving device of the receiving aircraft. For this purpose, the receiving device arranged on the receiving aircraft is lowered by the receiving aircraft located in the air and coupled to a receiving device of the unmanned aircraft. If the unmanned aerial vehicle is correspondingly coupled to the receiving device of the receiving aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle located in water can be recovered from the water in the direction of the receiving aerial vehicle with the aid of the receiving device of the receiving aerial vehicle.Subsequently, the aircraft boggered from the water can be moved back to its base, which can be, for example, the starting point or also the recording aircraft itself, which can simultaneously represent a takeoff and landing base.With the aid of the present method according to the invention, it now becomes possible to use unmanned aircraft in marine sites which are far from the lands without any problem, without having to fear that the unmanned aircraft does not provide it back to the lands because of a lack of energy. Rather, the unmanned aerial vehicle is landed on the water by controlled watering and then recovered from the water and moved to its corresponding base by a receiving aerial vehicle which has a basic hover flight capability. Advantageously, no larger mechanical elements need to be carried on the receiving aircraft, since the unmanned aircraft is more or less stable in terms of location due to the controlled watering and can thus easily be recovered from the water with the aid of a receiving device. In addition, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be brought back into the receiving aerial vehicle depending on the size, so that it does not remain as an outer weight on the outside of the receiving aerial vehicle during the return flight phase. This allows the stability of the recording aircraft during the flight phase to be improved.The inventors have recognized that it is possible in principle to land an unmanned aircraft safely on the water by controlled watering and then to rescue it from the water with the aid of a corresponding recording aircraft, for example a rotorcraft, without the basic flight system of the recording aircraft having to be changed for this purpose. It has thus been found to be particularly advantageous if the receiving aircraft in the form of a rotorcraft, for example a helicopter or helicopter, uses a rescue winch as the receiving device the latter for rescue the unmanned aircraft. Since, as a rule, in the case of corresponding maritime installations, the helicopters used there have such a rescue winch as standard, this can also be used accordingly to accommodate the watered unmanned aircraft.It is particularly advantageous here if the receiving device of the receiving aircraft is designed to establish a magnetic connection with the watered unmanned aircraft in order to then receive it again from the water. Thus, it is possible in a structurally relatively simple manner to arrange a corresponding magnetic device on a rescue winch of a helicopter, which is then discharged with the aid of the rescue winch in the direction of the watered unmanned aerial vehicle in order to establish a magnetic connection with the unmanned aerial vehicle. Once the magnetic connection has been established, the unmanned aerial vehicle can then be pulled up to the helicopter with the aid of the rescue winch. Additional structural elements outside the helicopter, which impair flight stability or flight performance, are not necessary for this purpose according to the invention.In a further advantageous embodiment, the receiving aircraft is also designed as a launch base, so that it can be deposited with the aid of a depositing device and then be navigated accordingly to the maritime site of use in order to be used for the corresponding use. After completion of the deployment, the unmanned aerial vehicle landed in the water is then picked up by the pick-up device of the pick-up aerial vehicle and, for example, brought into a corresponding transport device, where it is then stored for the next deployment.In a further advantageous embodiment, the remote unmanned aerial vehicle is remotely controlled from the receiving aerial vehicle by means of a remote control device, so that it is directly exposed at the location of use, is navigated there for use and is subsequently received again.In a further advantageous embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle activates one or more buoyancy bodies arranged on the unmanned aerial vehicle before the watering, in order to prevent the unmanned aerial vehicle which has landed in the water from sinking in this way. Such buoyancy bodies can be, for example, inflatable buoyancy bodies which generate a corresponding buoyancy, wherein in the deactivated state the buoyancy bodies do not actually impair the flight capability of the unmanned aircraft.The object is also achieved according to the invention with the unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured generically for navigating using manual and / or autonomously generated control inputs to a flight control system of the unmanned aerial vehicle for use from a base to a maritime location of use. Manual control inputs are understood to be control inputs which are input by a pilot of the unmanned aerial vehicle by means of a remote control device at corresponding control elements in order to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle. Autonomously generated control inputs are control commands for the unmanned aerial vehicle, which are generated by a corresponding computer or a computing machine on board the unmanned aerial vehicle or at a remote location on the basis of algorithms.According to the invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle has one or more buoyancy bodies which are designed for a launching of the unmanned aerial vehicle for a controlled landing on the water, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle has a receiving device which can be coupled to a receiving device of a receiving aerial vehicle in order to receive the launched unmanned aerial vehicle from the water through the receiving aerial vehicle.In this case, a sewer in the sense of the present invention is in particular not understood to mean an emergency landing, but rather a deliberate, intentional landing and for the purpose of resuming the unmanned aerial vehicle onto a receiving aerial vehicle. The water, i.e. the landing on the water, is controlled in such a way that the unmanned aerial vehicle can be picked up again later by the pick-up aerial vehicle.An application in the sense of the present invention is understood to mean, in particular, a dedicated order or operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle at a predefined location of use, wherein the location of use can be a maritime area or a maritime area.The unmanned aircraft advantageously has one or more buoyancy bodies which can be transferred from a deactivated state to an activated state, wherein a buoyancy body in the deactivated state has no or a lower buoyancy effect than in the activated state. This is intended to ensure that the buoyancy bodies in the deactivated state have a negative influence on the flight performance or flight capability of the unmanned aircraft and in the activated state generate a buoyancy effect, so that the unmanned aircraft does not sink.In a further advantageous embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle has a receiving device which can establish a magnetic connection with the receiving device of the receiving aerial vehicle by means of an electric or permanent magnet. A permanent magnet is thus advantageous since it does not require any additional energy for the pick-up, as a result of which the unmanned aircraft can be safely recovered even without residual energy. In contrast, an electromagnet has the advantage that it can be constructed more simply and in particular more easily, if necessary with regard to the magnetic power.The object is also achieved according to the invention with the composition according to claim 10, wherein the composition consists of a recording aircraft and at least one unmanned aircraft as described above for carrying out the aforementioned method.It is in particular conceivable that the receiving aircraft can also receive and transport and store a plurality of unmanned aircraft.The purpose of the present invention is also the use of a rotorcraft of the generic type, in particular helicopter or helicopter, having a rescue winch as a receiving aircraft for receiving an unmanned aircraft as described above for carrying out the above-mentioned method.Advantageous embodiments of the inventive composition of the recording aircraft and one or more unmanned aircraft can be found in the corresponding dependent claims.The invention is explained in more detail by way of example with reference to the appended figures. The following are shown: FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of the recording of an unmanned aerial vehicle from the water.FIG. 1 shows the recording of an unmanned aerial vehicle 1 by a recording aerial vehicle 2, which is a helicopter in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1. The unmanned aircraft 1 has previously landed in the water in a controlled manner on a water surface 3 and can now be accommodated by the helicopter 2.Helicopter 2 has a rescue winch 4 of the generic type, with which a carrying cable or receiving cable 5 can be lowered in the direction of water surface 3. The receiving cable 5 has a magnetic device 6 as a load hook at the lower end in order to establish a magnetic connection with the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 for receiving it from the water.In contrast, the unmanned aircraft likewise has a magnetic device 7, which constitutes a receiving device and can correspondingly cooperate with the magnetic device 6 of the helicopter 2 for establishing the magnetic connection.The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 furthermore has a buoyancy body 8, so that the unmanned aerial vehicle does not sink when it is immersed on the water surface 3. The buoyancy bodies 8 can be designed in such a way that they are deactivated in the flight state and thus do not impair the flight performance or the flight property of the unmanned aircraft 1. Shortly before the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is immersed, the buoyancy body or bodies 8 are then activated, so that they can correspondingly develop their buoyancy-generating effect and prevent the UAV 1 from sinking.After a magnetic connection is established by means of the magnetic device 6 of the receiving cable 5 and the magnetic device 7 of the UAV 1, the receiving cable 5 can be fetched with the aid of the rescue winch 4, such that the unmanned aircraft 1 is conveyed out of the water in the direction of the helicopter 2. Subsequently, the unmanned aerial vehicle can either be stored in the helicopter 2 depending on the size or can then be transported on the outside of the helicopter 2 in the direction of a base.By means of a position indication of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, the helicopter 2 can determine the position of the UAV and fly accordingly. When receiving the UAV 1, it is a great advantage that the safety distance between helicopter and the UAV 1 can be maintained at any time.It is conceivable that the UAV 1 has also been exposed by the helicopter 2 accordingly. Several possibilities for use are possible here. Thus, to suspend the UAV 1 from the helicopter 2, the UAV 1 may be attached to the helicopter's rescue winch when needed by attaching the UAV 1 to the take-up cable 5 of the winch 4 and extending the cable at low forward flight speed. Prior to the rope being drained, the UAV is turned on. At a secure distance from helicopter 2, the connection between UAV and receiving cable 5 is disconnected.Another possibility is for one or more UAVs to be carried within the helicopter. With the aid of a corresponding starting device, the UAVs are then exposed out of the helicopter 2, for example by being activated and then ejected by means of a loading ramp. However, it is also conceivable that the UAVs are fired from a transport container by an automatic system when the area of use is reached.In principle, the unmanned aerial vehicles designated in the invention can be fixed-wing aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft and / or converted aircraft or else a combination of all these types. The type of UAV used is dependent on the mission and the selected launch / launch system. Thus, for example, are suitable. Rotary wing aircraft, such as for example. Quadcopter, particularly well for use with the rescue winch.This makes it possible for UAVs to be used to support helicopter deployment in the maritime area. By using cost-effective commercial off the shelf (civil series technology) technology within the UAVs, a very favorable purchase and use price is achieved. One possible deployment scenario of UAVs is autonomous flying of search routes. The UAVs are equipped with suitable sensors, such as GPS, INS, cameras, thermal cameras, and devices for communicating with the helicopter. The UAV thus functions as a visual extender of the helicopter. Autonomous detection of conspicuous objects, e.g. ships, persons by the UAVs is conceivable. In a UAV with hover flight capabilities, the UAV may dwell over the identified object, thus serving as a marker for the helicopter. The UAV may send image and status information to the helicopter or to a ship and reports abnormal events. A system operator in the helicopter or on a ship can access the UAV at any time, display the information, or take control. A further possible use of UAVs is preservation (for example of ships), since, in contrast to helicopter, they can operate quietly and are difficult to see. Furthermore, UAVs can be used to survey unknown area if the helicopter cannot operate there, for example because of poor visibility. In this case, the UAV can be sent ahead as a "flying eye" and there check the possible flight path of the helicopter for freedom from obstacles.List of reference characters1 UAV / unmanned aerial vehicle 2 helicopter / receiving aerial vehicle 3 water surface 4 rescue winch 5 receiving cable 6 magnetic device 7 magnetic device 8 buoyancy body

Claims

Method for operating an unmanned aerial vehicle (1), wherein the method comprises the following steps: - at least one unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is provided; - the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is navigated for use from a base to a maritime location using manual and / or autonomously generated control inputs to a flight control system of the unmanned aerial vehicle (1); - after completion of the use at the maritime location, the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is landed on the water in a controlled manner by a flood; - a provided accommodation aerial vehicle (2) is navigated to the location of the flood manually and / or autonomously; - the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) located in the flood is coupled to a accommodation device of the accommodation aerial vehicle (2); and the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) located in the water is then picked up from the water by means of the pick-up device in the direction of the pick-up aerial vehicle (2) and brought to its base.Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the unmanned aircraft (1) located in the water is coupled to the receiving device of a rotorcraft as a receiving aircraft (2) and is then received from the water in the direction of the rotorcraft by means of the receiving device.Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the unmanned aircraft (1) is coupled to an external load receptacle of a rescue winch (4) of the receiving aircraft (2) and is then received from the water in the direction of the receiving aircraft (2) by means of the external load receptacle of the rescue winch (4).Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is deposited from the receiving aerial vehicle (2) as a base for use by means of a depositing device and is navigated from there to the maritime location of use, wherein the deposited unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is received again by the receiving aerial vehicle (2) as a base after the end of use.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the unmanned aircraft (1) is remotely controlled from the receiving aircraft (2) by means of a remote control device.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the unmanned aircraft (1) activates one or more buoyancy bodies (8) which are arranged on the unmanned aircraft (1) for generating buoyancy before the watering.Unmanned aerial vehicle (1) which is configured for navigating, using manually and / or autonomously generated control inputs to a flight control system of the unmanned aerial vehicle (1), for use from a base to a maritime location of use, characterized in that the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) has one or more buoyancy bodies (8) which are designed for a launching of the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) for a controlled landing on the water, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) has a receiving device which can be coupled to a receiving device of a receiving aerial vehicle (2) in order to receive the launched unmanned aerial vehicle (1) from the water by the receiving aerial vehicle (2).Unmanned aircraft (1) according to claim 7, characterised in that the lift body or bodies (8) of the unmanned aircraft (1) can be brought from a deactivated state into an activated state, wherein a lift body (8) in the deactivated state has no or a lower lift effect than in the activated state.Unmanned aerial vehicle (1) according to Claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the receiving device of the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is an electric magnet or permanent magnet.The assembly of a receiving aircraft (2) and at least one unmanned aircraft (1) according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the receiving aircraft (2) has a receiving device which can be coupled to the receiving device of the unmanned aircraft (1) for receiving the watered unmanned aircraft (1).Composition according to Claim 10, characterized in that the aircraft (2) for receiving is a rotorcraft.Composition according to Claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the receiving device of the receiving aircraft (2) is an external load receiver of a rescue winch (4).The composition according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the receiving device of the receiving aircraft (2) and the receiving device of the unmanned aircraft (1) are configured for coupling by means of a magnetic connection.The composition according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the receiving aircraft (2) has a transport device which is designed for carrying the unmanned aircraft (1) in or on the receiving aircraft (2), wherein the receiving aircraft (2) is configured to place the unmanned aircraft (1) carried in the transport device in flight and to resume it again by means of the receiving device.The composition according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that the recording aircraft (2) has a remote control unit for remote control of the unmanned aircraft (1) cooperating with the unmanned aircraft (1) for remote control thereof.

Images