Method for controlling a swarm of flying objects and system therefor

Abstract

A method for controlling a swarm (10) of flying objects comprising at least a plurality of unmanned flying objects (22-24), wherein the flying objects of the swarm (10) fly in a swarm configuration and a swarm leader flying object is determined from the set of flying objects of the swarm (10), the method comprising the following steps: - generating control command inputs by manual control inputs to a control command input device (30) of a manned flying object (21) and providing the control command inputs to a control command input interface (31) of the swarm leader flying object, - generating formation control commands depending on the control command inputs and the swarm configuration by an evaluation unit (33) of the swarm leader aircraft, - transmitting the formation control commands from the swarm leader aircraft to the other aircraft of the swarm (10) by means of a communication device (35) on the respective aircraft in order to control the other aircraft of the swarm (10) in accordance with the swarm configuration, characterized in that the provided control command inputs are impressed on the control elements (32) of the swarm leader aircraft in order to control the swarm leader aircraft in accordance with the manual control inputs.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for controlling a swarm of flying objects comprising a plurality of unmanned aircraft. The invention also relates to a system of flying objects for this purpose.

[0002] The support of manned aircraft with additional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is currently an active field of research. These unmanned aerial vehicles are intended to assist the manned aircraft in performing certain functions while the manned aircraft are in flight, thus expanding the overall functional scope of the fleet. For example, it is conceivable that manned aircraft could be supported by unmanned drones in carrying out missions such as aerial refueling, reconnaissance for intelligence gathering, material transport, and / or the engagement of enemy targets. This could increase the effectiveness of manned aircraft without requiring additional personnel.This combination of manned and unmanned aircraft creates an effective alliance of aircraft while reducing costs and risks for manned aircraft.

[0003] Such flight tasks are usually carried out through formation flight, in which the aircraft of the formation fly in a fixed swarm formation, which defines the spatial positioning of the aircraft relative to each other during the flight. Such a formation often follows a geometric pattern in a flight plane, for example, in the shape of a triangle or a diamond. The attitude of the aircraft, their orientation, and their position relative to each other are determined by the flight formation and are essentially maintained during the formation flight.

[0004] To control a swarm (also called a fleet) flying in a swarm formation and consisting of at least a number of unmanned aircraft, a control concept is necessary to steer the aircraft in the swarm and specifically influence their flight characteristics. Failure to control the swarm in a coordinated manner could result in disruptions or even crashes of the aircraft.

[0005] US 10,719,076 B1 discloses a system for controlling a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles, comprising a lead vehicle and a follower vehicle. The lead vehicle transmits corresponding control commands to the follower vehicle via a data link. The control commands are based on sensor detection of the environment.

[0006] From US 7,469,183 B2 a method for navigating unmanned aircraft in a formation is known, wherein, depending on the formation and the associated geometric shape of the formation, a waypoint is determined for each unmanned aircraft to which the respective unmanned aircraft is to fly.

[0007] US 2019 / 0130782 A1 discloses a flight system in which the pilot of a manned aircraft can teleport into the cockpit of an unmanned aircraft via virtual reality (VR) in order to control the unmanned aircraft. The disadvantage of this is that the pilot relinquishes control of his own aircraft to control another aircraft instead.

[0008] From US 10,114,384 B2 a method for formation flight of unmanned aircraft is known, in which the lead vehicle receives corresponding control commands from a ground station, which are then transmitted from the lead vehicle to the other following vehicles in the formation.

[0009] KR 10 2 089 067 B1 discloses a multi-drone system and a corresponding operating procedure.

[0010] MCLAUGHLIN, Tamara: Manned-unmanned teaming of aircraft - literature search DRDC-RDDC-2014-C2. 2013. URL: https: / / apps.dtic.mil / sti / tr / pdf / AD1016899.pdf [accessed July 23, 2024] discloses tests of manned and unmanned aircraft in a team.

[0011] Against this background, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved method and an improved system for formation flight, wherein the formation consists of at least a plurality of unmanned aircraft.

[0012] The object is achieved according to the invention with the method according to claim 1 and the system according to claim 11. Advantageous embodiments of the invention can then be found in the corresponding subclaims.

[0013] One aspect relates to a method for controlling a swarm of flying objects according to claim 1.

[0014] Accordingly, control command inputs are generated from manual control inputs entered by the pilot of a manned aircraft on their control command input device, which is normally intended for controlling their manned aircraft. The manual control inputs are entered by operating the control elements provided for control in the cockpit of the manned aircraft.

[0015] The control command inputs generated in this way are then provided to a control command input interface of the swarm leader aircraft. The swarm leader aircraft can be the manned aircraft if it is part of the swarm, or an unmanned aircraft of the swarm, which is, for example, controlled remotely by the pilot. The generated control command inputs can be provided to the interface of the swarm leader aircraft in the form of further processed data. It is also conceivable, however, that the control command inputs contain the raw input data, and the command inputs contained therein are first calculated by the swarm leader aircraft.

[0016] From the control command inputs and the swarm configuration, formation control commands are also generated to control the remaining flying objects (following flying objects) according to the swarm configuration, so that the remaining flying objects in the swarm fly according to the swarm configuration. For example, it is conceivable that the remaining flying objects fly synchronously with the swarm leader flying object in the swarm configuration. The inventive concept encompasses both a centralized and a decentralized distribution of the formation control commands to the remaining flying objects in the swarm. A swarm configuration can, for example, be a geometric figure in the form of a swarm formation in which the individual flying objects fly.

[0017] With the help of the present invention, a type of local network is established among the flying objects of the swarm, whereby manual control inputs on the control elements of a manned flying object are used to control the entire swarm by exchanging corresponding formation control commands via the local network. Control via a ground station is eliminated, and the pilot is not forced to virtually "teleport" into the cockpit of an unmanned flying object using a VR headset.

[0018] The control command inputs can be used to directly control the swarm leader aircraft, whereby by generating the formation control commands for the other aircraft in the swarm, they are controlled according to the control of the swarm leader aircraft, so that a formation is maintained.

[0019] It is also conceivable, however, that the control command inputs merely represent specifications for flight parameters and / or flight states of the flying objects in the swarm, so that the control command inputs and the formation control commands generated from them do not directly control the swarm leader flying object. Such flight parameters and / or flight states can include, for example, the speed, direction, and / or altitude of the flying objects. These parameters are entered by the pilot via manual control inputs on the control command input device of the manned flying object and then distributed to the other flying objects in the swarm via the swarm leader flying object.

[0020] It is intended that the provided control command inputs are impressed on the control elements of the swarm leader aircraft in order to control the swarm leader aircraft in accordance with the manual control inputs.

[0021] These control command inputs are applied to the control elements of the swarm leader aircraft to control the swarm leader aircraft. Such control elements of an aircraft can include, in particular, the vertical stabilizer, the horizontal stabilizer, and / or the lift and / or propulsion engines. Ultimately, the control elements of an aircraft are elements with which the aircraft can influence its speed, direction, altitude, and / or attitude.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the manned flying object is part of the swarm.

[0023] According to one embodiment, it is provided that the swarm configuration is selected from a plurality of predefined swarm configurations stored in a data memory based on a selection signal which is generated from a manual selection input on an input device of the manned flying object.

[0024] Here, various spatial positioning and / or spatial and / or communicative behaviors for each swarm configuration are stored in a data memory, which can be manually selected by the pilot via an input device in the manned aircraft. If a corresponding selection is made manually by pressing the input device, a corresponding selection signal is generated based on this selection input, which then selects and defines the corresponding swarm configuration from the data memory. The swarm configuration can be changed during formation flight.

[0025] The swarm configuration can define a fixed spatial positioning for each flying object in the swarm. A fixed spatial positioning means that each flying object is located relative to another flying object in the swarm and maintains this spatial positioning. Parameters such as the size of the swarm (i.e., the distance between the flying objects), as well as the altitude, speed, and / or direction of the swarm can be controlled.

[0026] The swarm configuration can also define the spatial behavior of the swarm's flying objects, for example, such that the unmanned flying objects orbit the swarm leader or the manned flying object during flight. Defining the swarm configuration in terms of the spatial behavior of the flying objects creates a non-rigid formation defined by the behavior of the flying objects. By entering the control commands to control the flying objects in the swarm, parameters such as the speed of the flying objects, the size of the swarm, the altitude, and / or the direction of flight of the swarm can be controlled.Likewise, the swarm configuration can also define the communicative behavior of the flying objects in the swarm, for example, in such a way that the flying objects of the swarm do not receive the control command inputs centrally from the swarm leader flying object, but decentrally only from their respective neighbors, which also influences the resulting swarm behavior.

[0027] According to one embodiment, it is provided that the swarm leader flying object is selected from the set of flying objects based on a selection signal which is generated from a manual selection input on an input device of the manned flying object.

[0028] Based on a manual selection by operating the input device on one of the manned aircraft, a swarm leader aircraft is selected from the number of aircraft in the swarm. The swarm leader aircraft can be changed during formation flight. The input device preferably has knowledge of all aircraft in the swarm and can thus output a corresponding overview of all available aircraft suitable as swarm leader aircraft, allowing the pilot of the manned aircraft to select one of the available aircraft as the swarm leader aircraft.

[0029] However, it is also conceivable that the system has no knowledge of the swarm's flying objects, so that the manned flying object itself can be selected as the swarm leader. Especially with a decentralized communication link, it is not absolutely necessary for the manned flying object to have knowledge of all participants in the swarm.

[0030] The input device can be the same input device used to select a swarm configuration. However, it can also be a different input device. In particular, the classic helicopter control units could also be used for this if they were implemented in a fly-by-wire architecture.

[0031] According to one embodiment, it is provided that the transmitted formation control commands are provided to the respective remaining flying objects via a control command interface on an automatic control device, wherein control command inputs for controlling the respective flying object are generated by means of the automatic control device as a function of the provided formation control commands and are impressed on the control elements of the respective flying object in order to control the respective flying object.

[0032] For this purpose, the remaining flying objects have a control command interface through which the transmitted formation control commands are provided to an automatic control device of the respective flying object. At least every unmanned flying object, preferably all flying objects in the swarm, thus have such an automatic control device that has a control command interface through which the formation control commands are provided to the automatic control device. The automatic control device is then configured to generate corresponding control command inputs for controlling the flying object based on the provided formation control commands and then apply these to the corresponding control elements of the flying object in order to control the flying object.

[0033] According to one embodiment, it is provided that the swarm leader aircraft is the manned aircraft or that the swarm leader aircraft is one of the unmanned aircraft, wherein manual control command inputs are transmitted by means of the communication device from the manned aircraft to the swarm leader aircraft in order to control the swarm leader aircraft.

[0034] If the swarm leader aircraft is a manned aircraft, the manual control command inputs are used to control the manned aircraft and to generate the formation control commands.

[0035] If the swarm leader aircraft is an unmanned aerial vehicle, the manual control command inputs are used to control the unmanned aerial vehicle by transmitting them to the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling the swarm leader aircraft. At the same time, either the unmanned swarm leader aircraft or the manned aerial vehicle controlling the swarm leader aircraft generates the formation control commands based on the manual control command inputs and transmits them to the other aircraft in the swarm.

[0036] According to one embodiment, it is provided that a communication link is established to each individual remaining flying object of the swarm by means of the communication device of the swarm leader flying object, wherein the formation control commands are transmitted to the remaining flying objects by means of the respective communication link.

[0037] The swarm leader aircraft preferably has a separate communication link for each aircraft in the swarm, via which the swarm leader aircraft transmits the generated formation control commands. This communication link can be a communication link with a return channel, allowing the swarm leader aircraft to receive relevant information regarding the transmission of the formation control commands. This communication link explicitly does not involve the transmission of formation control commands via broadcast.

[0038] According to one embodiment, it is provided that a graphical representation of the swarm formation and / or the movement of the swarm is created from the generated formation control commands and that this graphical representation is shown on a display of the manned aircraft for perception by the pilot of the manned aircraft.

[0039] In this case, a graphical representation of the swarm configuration and / or the swarm's movement is created from the formation control commands, allowing the pilot of the manned aircraft to visualize the effects of their manual control command inputs on the entire swarm. The display on which this graphical representation is presented can be, for example, a cockpit display, a head-up display, and / or a pair of goggles that project the graphical representation into the pilot's field of vision.

[0040] According to one embodiment, it is provided that the formation control commands are transmitted by means of the communication device of the swarm leader flying object first to a first flying object of the swarm and then from the first flying object to a second flying object of the swarm.

[0041] With this decentralized control, the formation control commands are preferably always transmitted to the nearest or neighboring flying object, which then implements the formation control commands and simultaneously transmits the formation control commands to its neighboring flying object.

[0042] According to one embodiment, it is provided that at least two manned swarm leader aircraft are fixed, wherein formation control commands for determining the flight direction, the flight attitude and / or the extent of the formation of the swarm are generated and transmitted depending on the position of the two swarm leader aircraft relative to one another.

[0043] The idea is that two swarm leader aircraft are designated, which is advantageous, for example, when the swarm configuration extends over a very large area. The relative position of the two swarm leader aircraft forms the basis for generating the formation control commands and ultimately the movement of the entire swarm. If, for example, the two swarm leader aircraft fly very far apart and move away from each other, the distance between the remaining aircraft also increases, meaning that the extent of the formation depends on the distance between the two swarm leader aircraft.

[0044] The object is also achieved by a system comprising a swarm of flying objects, which comprises a plurality of unmanned flying objects and at least one manned flying object, wherein the flying objects are configured to carry out the method described above.

[0045] The invention is explained in more detail using the accompanying figure as an example. It shows: Fig. 1 schematic representation of a swarm of flying objects according to the present invention

[0046] Fig. Figure 1 shows a swarm 10 consisting of a plurality of flying objects 21 to 24. Flying object 21 is a manned flying object designed as a swarm leader. The remaining flying objects 22 to 24 are unmanned flying objects that follow the swarm leader 21 as follower objects. In the embodiment of the Fig. 1, the swarm 10 forms a V-formation in which the flying objects 21 to 24 move.

[0047] Flying objects 21 to 24 may, for example, be rotary-wing aircraft (e.g. helicopters) or fixed-wing aircraft or a combination of these.

[0048] The manned flying object 21, which forms the swarm leader flying object of the swarm 10, has a control command input device 30 with which the pilot (not shown) can enter manual control inputs by actuating the control command input device 30. From these manual control inputs, corresponding control command inputs are then generated by the control command input device 30.

[0049] The control command input device 30 is signal-connected to a control command input interface 31, to which the control command inputs generated by the control command input device 30 are provided.

[0050] The control command input interface 31 is communicatively connected to the control elements 32 of the manned flying object 21, so that the control command inputs provided at the control command input interface 31 for controlling the manned flying object 21 are impressed on these control elements 32.

[0051] Such control elements 32 can, for example, be control elements for speed control, attitude control, and altitude control. For example, such control elements 32 can be the horizontal stabilizer or the vertical stabilizer in fixed-wing aircraft. The respective propulsion engine of the flying object 21 can also be a control element 32 within the meaning of the present invention. The rotor blades of a rotary-wing aircraft, which are operatively connected by means of a swashplate for changing the angle of attack of the rotor blades, as well as the rotor as a whole, whose angle of attack can also be changed by means of the swashplate, can also be control elements within the meaning of the present invention.

[0052] By applying the control command inputs to the control elements 32 of the manned aircraft 21, the aircraft can be controlled during flight. Thus, by applying the control command inputs to the control elements 32 of the aircraft 21, the altitude, orientation, attitude, and flight speed are influenced in particular.

[0053] The control command input interface 31 is also connected to an evaluation unit 33, which also receives the control command inputs. With the aid of the evaluation unit 33, corresponding formation control commands are generated depending on the specified swarm configuration and the manual control inputs contained in the control command inputs in order to also control the remaining flying objects 22 to 24 following the swarm leader flying object 21 in such a way that these remaining flying objects 22 to 24 are controlled according to the selected swarm configuration.

[0054] For this purpose, the evaluation unit 33 is connected to a data storage unit 34 to obtain relevant data for the swarm configuration. This includes, in particular, the spatial positioning of the individual flying objects relative to each other and their size, but can also define the spatial and / or communicative behavior of the flying objects.

[0055] The generated formation control commands are then transmitted to a communication device 35 of the manned aircraft 21 so that these formation control commands can be transmitted to the remaining aircraft 22 to 24. The communication device 35 is configured to establish a communication link with the remaining aircraft 22 to 24 and to transmit the formation control commands via this link.

[0056] For this purpose, the flying objects 22 to 24 also have a communication device 35 for receiving the formation control commands. The communication device 35 communicates with a control command interface 36, via which these formation control commands are transmitted to an automatic control device 37. Based on the formation control commands, the control device 37 then generates corresponding control command inputs for controlling the respective flying object 22 to 24, which are then applied to the control elements 32 of the respective flying object 22 to 24 for control purposes.

[0057] The formation control commands can generally be identical for each of the remaining flying objects 22 to 24, with the respective flying object 22 to 24 then generating the individual control command inputs necessary for its control. However, it is also conceivable that the formation control commands are generated individually for each individual flying object 22 to 24 by the evaluation unit 33 of the swarm leader flying object 21, so that the swarm leader flying object 21 can control each individual flying object 22 to 24 individually.

[0058] In addition, an additional input device (not shown) can be provided in the manned flying object 21, with which, for example, the swarm leader flying object can be determined and / or the swarm formations can be selected.

[0059] It is also conceivable that the swarm leader aircraft is an unmanned aircraft (e.g., 22), in which case manual control inputs at the control command input device 30 of the manned aircraft 21 do not result in these being directly applied to the control elements 32, but rather in these manual control inputs in the form of control command inputs leading to the direct control of the unmanned aircraft (e.g., 22). At the same time, corresponding formation control commands are then generated by the unmanned aircraft (e.g., 22) or by the manned aircraft 21, which are then issued to the remaining aircraft to control the formation. List of reference symbols 10 swarm 21 manned aircraft 22 - 24 unmanned aerial vehicle 30 Control command input device 31 Control command input interface 32 control elements of the flying objects 33 Evaluation unit 34 data storage 35 Communication device 36 Control command interface 37 automatic control device

Claims

[1] Method for controlling a swarm (10) of flying objects comprising at least a plurality of unmanned flying objects (22-24), wherein the flying objects of the swarm (10) fly in a swarm configuration and a swarm leader flying object is determined from the set of flying objects of the swarm (10), the method comprising the following steps: - generating control command inputs by manual control inputs to a control command input device (30) of a manned flying object (21) and providing the control command inputs to a control command input interface (31) of the swarm leader flying object, - generating formation control commands depending on the control command inputs and the swarm configuration by an evaluation unit (33) of the swarm leader aircraft, - transmitting the formation control commands from the swarm leader aircraft to the other aircraft of the swarm (10) by means of a communication device (35) on the respective aircraft in order to control the other aircraft of the swarm (10) according to the swarm configuration, characterized by that the provided control command inputs are impressed on the control elements (32) of the swarm leader flying object in order to control the swarm leader flying object in accordance with the manual control inputs. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that the manned flying object (21) is part of the swarm (10). [3] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the swarm configuration is selected from a plurality of predefined swarm configurations stored in a data memory (34) based on a selection signal which is generated from a manual selection input on an input device of the manned flying object (21). [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the swarm leader flying object is selected from the set of flying objects based on a selection signal which is generated from a manual selection input on an input device of the manned flying object (21). [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the transmitted formation control commands are provided to the respective remaining flying objects via a control command interface (36) on an automatic control device (37), wherein by means of the automatic control device (37) control command inputs for controlling the respective flying object are generated as a function of the provided formation control commands and are impressed on the control elements (32) of the respective flying object in order to control the respective flying object. [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the swarm leader aircraft is the manned aircraft (21) or that the swarm leader aircraft is one of the unmanned aircraft (22-24), wherein manual control command inputs are transmitted by means of the communication device (35) from the manned aircraft (21) to the swarm leader aircraft in order to control the swarm leader aircraft. [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that by means of the communication device (35) of the swarm leader flying object, a communication link is established to each individual remaining flying object of the swarm (10), wherein the formation control commands are transmitted to the remaining flying objects by means of the respective communication link [8] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that by means of the communication device (35) of the swarm leader flying object, the formation control commands are first transmitted to a first flying object (22-24) of the swarm (10) and then from the first flying object (22-24) to a second flying object (22-24) of the swarm (10). [9] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat a graphic representation of the swarm configuration and / or the movement of the swarm (10) is created from the generated formation control commands and this graphic representation is shown on a display of the manned flying object (21) for perception by the pilot of the manned flying object (21). [10] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least two manned swarm leader aircraft are defined, wherein formation control commands for defining the flight direction, the flight attitude and / or the extent of the formation of the swarm (10) are generated and transmitted depending on the position of the two swarm leader aircraft relative to one another. [11] System comprising a swarm (10) of flying objects comprising a plurality of unmanned flying objects (22-24) and at least one manned flying object (21), wherein the flying objects are configured to carry out the method according to one of the preceding claims.

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