Unmanned aerial vehicle, base station, base station system, server, and method for providing base station function

Abstract

To rapidly provide a base station function in an area with a power outage when an unmanned aerial vehicle having a base station function of a wireless communication network is used to provide the base station function in the area.SOLUTION: A drone 3 includes a base station device 29 of a wireless communication network, and is equipped with a control unit 25. The control unit 25 flies the drone 3 to an area with a power outage on the basis of information on the area with a power outage received by the base station device 29, and executes a provision process (area determination process and flight / provision process) to provide a base station function to the area with a power outage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle, a base station, and a base station system. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless communication networks are lifelines during disasters such as earthquakes. However, when a disaster occurs, there is a possibility that the power supply to the base stations of the wireless communication networks will be cut off due to a power outage. For this reason, base stations are generally equipped with uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-080095 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, the power supply from a UPS stops after about three hours. Even after the power supply from the UPS stops, power may be generated by a diesel engine to supply power to the base station, but base stations equipped with diesel engines for generating electricity are often limited to urban areas. Even in urban areas, not all base stations are equipped with diesel engines, and the number of operating base stations decreases, which may cause communication failures.

[0005] If an operator instructs an unmanned aircraft having base station functions of a wireless communication network to an area where a power outage occurs, and the unmanned aircraft flies to the designated area where a power outage occurs, the base station functions can be provided to the area even if the base station cannot operate. However, it takes a certain amount of time for an operator to instruct an unmanned aircraft to an area where a power outage occurs. If there are multiple unmanned aircraft, it takes even more time, which may cause a delay in providing the base station functions.

[0006] This specification discloses a technology that can rapidly provide base station functions in a power outage area when the base station functions are provided by an unmanned aerial vehicle having the base station functions of a wireless communication network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An unmanned aircraft having a base station function of a wireless communication network, comprising a control unit, the control unit flying the unmanned aircraft to an area with a power outage based on information regarding the area with a power outage received by the base station function, and executing a provision process to provide the base station function to the area with a power outage. Effect of the Invention

[0008] When providing base station functions in areas experiencing a power outage using unmanned aerial vehicles having base station functions for a wireless communication network, the base station functions can be provided quickly. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] Schematic diagram of a base station system according to embodiment 1. [Diagram 2] Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a base station system [Diagram 3] Schematic diagram of a drone base station [Figure 4] Block diagram showing the drone's electrical configuration [Diagram 5] Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the drone base [Figure 6] Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the battery [Figure 7] A schematic diagram showing how a drone provides base station functionality [Figure 8] A block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a drone base according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] A block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a drone base according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] (Outline of this embodiment) (1) An unmanned aircraft having a base station function of a wireless communication network, comprising a control unit, the control unit flying the unmanned aircraft to an area with a power outage based on information about the area with a power outage received by the base station function, and executing a process of providing the base station function to the area with a power outage.

[0011] According to the above unmanned aircraft, since it flies to the power outage area based on information about the power outage area received by the base station function equipped in the unmanned aircraft, the operator does not need to instruct the unmanned aircraft to the power outage area. Therefore, when a base station function is provided to a power outage area by an unmanned aircraft having a base station function of a wireless communication network, the base station function can be provided more quickly than when the operator instructs the power outage area.

[0012] (2) In the provision process, the control unit may determine the power outage area based on the information received by the base station function, and fly the unmanned aircraft in the determined power outage area.

[0013] As an alternative to the method in which an operator instructs the unmanned aerial vehicle on the power outage area, an external server computer may determine the power outage area based on information on the power outage area received by the base station function of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and may instruct the unmanned aerial vehicle on the determined power outage area. However, if the power outage is due to a disaster such as an earthquake, it is possible that the server computer may be damaged or may have a communication network failure that makes it impossible to receive information on the power outage area, and therefore the server computer may not be able to determine the power outage area.

[0014] According to the above unmanned aircraft, the unmanned aircraft itself determines the power outage area based on the information received from the base station function equipped in the unmanned aircraft. Therefore, the base station function can be provided more reliably than when the server computer indicates the power outage area.

[0015] (3) The information may be at least one of voice data of a voice call made via the base station function, text data transmitted and received via the base station function, and an increase or decrease in communication traffic.

[0016] When a power outage occurs, it is assumed that voice calls regarding the power outage area are made via a wireless communication network. Similarly, when a power outage occurs, it is assumed that text data regarding the power outage area is transmitted and received via a wireless communication network. When a power outage occurs, it is assumed that communication traffic will be lower than usual because a base station in the power outage area will not be able to operate. For this reason, the power outage area can be determined with a certain degree of accuracy based on at least one of the voice data of voice calls made via a base station function, the text data transmitted and received via a base station function, and the increase or decrease in communication traffic.

[0017] (4) The information may include location information.

[0018] Location information may be added to the voice data and text data. According to the unmanned aerial vehicle described above, the power outage area is determined based on the location information added to the voice data and text data, and therefore the power outage area is more likely to be determined accurately than when the power outage area is determined only from the voice data and text data. If the power outage area can be determined accurately, the base station function can be reliably provided in the power outage area. In the case of an unmanned aerial vehicle that flies with power supplied by a storage element, if the power outage area is determined inaccurately, it is necessary to fly again to correct the position after flying once, which may result in unnecessary power consumption. If the power outage area can be determined accurately, such waste can be reduced, and the power of the storage element can be used efficiently. This also has the effect of providing the base station function for a long time.

[0019] (5) The unmanned aerial vehicle may have a propeller, an electric motor that rotates the propeller, and a storage element that supplies power to the electric motor, and the control unit may perform an estimation process to estimate the remaining power in the storage element, a power determination process to determine the amount of power required to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle from the power outage area to a location where the storage element can be charged, and a flight process to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle to the location when the remaining power of the storage element drops to the amount of power determined by the power determination process or an amount of power higher than that amount by a predetermined value while providing the base station function to the power outage area.

[0020] According to the above unmanned aerial vehicle, when the remaining power of the storage element becomes low while the vehicle is providing base station functions in a power outage area, the unmanned aerial vehicle will fly to a location where it can be charged, so that the storage element can be charged at a rechargeable location and the vehicle can fly to the power outage area again. This allows the unmanned aerial vehicle to provide base station functions even if the power outage is prolonged.

[0021] (6) A base station of a wireless communication network, comprising: an unmanned aerial vehicle described in any of (1) to (5) above; and a base facility having a landing pad on which the unmanned aerial vehicle lands, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle has a propeller, an electric motor for rotating the propeller, and a storage element for supplying power to the electric motor, the base facility has a charging unit for charging the storage element, and the charging unit float charges the storage element.

[0022] Float charging is a charging method in which a constant voltage is continuously applied to an electric storage element to keep the element fully charged or nearly fully charged. Since it is not known when a power outage will occur, it is desirable to always maintain the storage element in a fully charged or nearly fully charged state so that the unmanned aircraft can fly even if a power outage occurs. According to the above-mentioned base station, the storage element of the unmanned aircraft is float-charged by the charging unit of the base facility, so that the unmanned aircraft can fly in the power outage area even if a power outage occurs.

[0023] (7) The charging unit may charge the storage element in a non-contact manner.

[0024] For example, in a configuration in which a power connector or the like is connected to the unmanned aircraft for charging, if the remaining power in the storage element becomes low while the aircraft is providing base station functions in an area with a power outage, even if the aircraft returns to the base facility to charge, it will not be able to charge unless an operator is present, and the aircraft will not be able to fly into the area with a power outage again to provide base station functions. According to the unmanned aerial vehicle described above, since the unmanned aerial vehicle is charged in a non-contact manner, the power storage element can be charged even without an operator, and therefore the base station function can be provided for a long period of time even without an operator.

[0025] (8) A base station of a wireless communication network, comprising: an unmanned aerial vehicle having a first base station function of the wireless communication network; a landing pad on which the unmanned aerial vehicle lands; base equipment having a second base station function of the wireless communication network; and a control unit provided in the base equipment, wherein the control unit instructs the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly to the power outage area based on information regarding the power outage area received by the second base station function of the base equipment, and the unmanned aerial vehicle flies to the power outage area instructed by the control unit to provide the first base station function.

[0026] According to the above-mentioned base station, when base station functions are provided to a power outage area by an unmanned aerial vehicle having base station functions of a wireless communication network, the base station functions can be provided more quickly than when an operator specifies the power outage area.

[0027] (9) A base station of a wireless communication network, comprising: an unmanned aerial vehicle having a base station function of the wireless communication network; a base facility having a landing pad on which the unmanned aerial vehicle lands; and a control unit provided in the base facility, wherein the control unit instructs the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly to the power outage area based on information regarding the power outage area received by the base station function of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the unmanned aerial vehicle flies to the power outage area instructed by the control unit to provide the base station function.

[0028] According to the above-mentioned base station, when base station functions are provided to a power outage area by an unmanned aerial vehicle having base station functions of a wireless communication network, the base station functions can be provided more quickly than when an operator specifies the power outage area.

[0029] (10) A base station system in which a plurality of base stations according to any one of (6) to (9) above are distributed and arranged.

[0030] When the remaining power of the storage element of an unmanned aerial vehicle becomes low, it will no longer be able to provide base station functions. If the remaining power of the storage element becomes low, it is possible to fly to an uninterruptible power supply area to charge it. However, if there is only one unmanned aerial vehicle, it will no longer be able to provide base station functions if it flies to an uninterruptible power supply area. In contrast, if there are multiple base stations equipped with unmanned aerial vehicles, the multiple unmanned aerial vehicles can take turns flying in and out of power outage areas to provide base station functions, making it possible to provide base station functions more reliably.

[0031] The invention disclosed in this specification can be realized in various forms, such as an apparatus, a method, a computer program for implementing the functions of these apparatus or methods, and a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded.

[0032] <Embodiment 1> The first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. In the following description, the reference numerals of the drawings may be omitted for the same components, with some exceptions.

[0033] (1) Base Station System A base station system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The base station system 1 is a base station system for a mobile phone network and a wireless access network (such as LTE: Long Term Evolution), and includes a plurality of base stations 2 that are distributed over a wide area. The mobile phone network and the wireless access network are each an example of a wireless communication network. Drones 3 (an example of an unmanned aerial vehicle) are deployed at some of the base stations 2 among the multiple base stations 2. Drones 3 may be deployed at all of the base stations 2. In the following description, the base station 2 where the drone 3 is deployed will be referred to as a drone base station 2.

[0034] (2) Drone base station As shown in Fig. 2, the drone base station 2 has a base station function of a mobile phone network and is wirelessly connected to the exchange 11. The drone base station 2 also has a base station function of a wireless access network, and is connected to a packet switch 13 via the exchange 11, and is connected to the Internet via the exchange 11 and a server 12.

[0035] As shown in Fig. 3, the drone base station 2 includes a drone 3 and a drone base 4 (an example of base equipment and a place where an unmanned aerial vehicle can be charged) having a landing pad 20 on which the drone 3 lands. The landing pad 20 is a flat platform on which the drone 3 lands. The drone 3 according to the first embodiment is a multicopter, more specifically, a quadcopter having four propellers 24. The drone 3 includes a drone body 21 constituting an aircraft part, four arms 22 extending radially in four directions from the drone body 21, electric motors 23 (see FIG. 4) provided at the tips of the arms 22, and propellers 24 driven by the electric motors 23 to rotate.

[0036] (2-1) Electrical configuration of the drone The electrical configuration of the drone 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The drone 3 includes a control unit 25, an electric motor 23, various sensors 26, a GPS receiver 27, a flight controller 28, a base station device 29 (an example of a base station function), a wireless communication unit 34, a battery 30, a power receiving device 31, and the like.

[0037] The various sensors 26 are used to control the drone 3, and specifically include a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, and an air pressure sensor. The GPS receiver 27 receives radio waves transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) and detects the current position (latitude, longitude) of the drone 3. The current position may be detected based on radio waves transmitted from a positioning satellite other than the GPS. The flight controller 28 is composed of an ASIC, a microcomputer, etc. The flight controller 28 controls the autonomous flight of the drone 3 based on the detection results of the various sensors 26.

[0038] The base station device 29 is a device that has the above-mentioned mobile phone network base station function and wireless access network base station function. The base station device 29 includes an amplifier (AMP) that amplifies transmitted and received signals, a modulator / demodulator (MDE) that converts baseband signals into high-frequency signals, a voice processor (SPE) that converts voice signals into digital code strings, a base station control device (BCE) that assigns wireless channels and switches channels with adjacent base stations, and a base station antenna (ANT).

[0039] The wireless communication unit 34 is a device for the base station device 29 to wirelessly communicate with the exchange 11. Generally, the base station 2 is connected to the exchange 11 by a wired optical fiber cable or the like, but the drone base station 2 is equipped with a wireless communication unit 34 to communicate with the exchange 11 from the destination.

[0040] The battery 30 supplies power to each component of the drone 3. The specific configuration of the battery 30 will be described later. The power receiving device 31 is for contactlessly charging the battery 30. The power receiving device 31 includes a power receiving coil 31A, a rectifier 31B that converts AC power received by the power receiving coil 31A into DC power, etc. The power receiving device 31 and a power transmitting device 33 provided in the drone base 4 described later constitute a contactless charging device.

[0041] The control unit 25 includes a microcomputer 25A in which a CPU and a RAM are integrated into one chip, a ROM 25B, etc. The control unit 25 controls each part of the drone 3 by executing a control program stored in the ROM 25B. The control unit 25 and a management unit 44 of the battery 30, which will be described later, constitute the control unit.

[0042] (2-2) Electrical configuration of the drone base The electrical configuration of the drone base 4 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The drone base 4 includes a drone detection unit 32 and a power transmission device 33 (an example of a charging unit) in addition to the landing pad 20 described above. The base station 4 may also include an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

[0043] The drone detection unit 32 is provided on the upper surface of the landing pad 20. The drone detection unit 32 detects the presence or absence of the drone 3 on the landing pad 20 and outputs the detection result to the charge controller 33C of the power transmission device 33. Specifically, for example, the drone detection unit 32 is configured as a push button switch. When the drone 3 is on the landing pad 20, the push button switch is pressed by the weight of the drone 3, and when the drone 3 is not on the landing pad 20, the push button switch is not pressed, thereby detecting the presence or absence of the drone 3. The drone detection unit 32 may have any configuration as long as it can detect the presence or absence of the drone 3.

[0044] The power transmitting device 33 includes a power transmitting coil 33A, a transformer 33B, a charging controller 33C, and the like. The transformer 33B is connected to a commercial power source (not shown), and transforms the voltage of AC power supplied from the commercial power source to a predetermined voltage and supplies it to the power transmitting coil 33A. When AC power is supplied from the transformer 33B to the power transmitting coil 33A, power is induced in the power receiving coil 31A of the drone 3 by electromagnetic induction or electromagnetic coupling. The charging controller 33C is composed of an ASIC, a microcomputer, and the like, and controls the power transmitting device 33 based on the detection result of the drone detection unit 32. The control of charging by the charging controller 33C will be described later.

[0045] (3) Battery electrical configuration As shown in FIG. 6, the battery 30 includes a battery pack 41 made up of a plurality of secondary batteries 40 (an example of a power storage element), and a BMS 42 (Battery Management System) that manages the secondary batteries 40.

[0046] The secondary battery 40 is a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, and specifically, for example, a lithium ion secondary battery. The BMS 42 includes a current sensor 43, a voltage sensor 47, and a management unit 44. The current sensor 43 is connected in series with the battery pack 41, and measures the current value [A] of the charge / discharge current of the battery pack 41 and outputs it to the management unit 44. The voltage sensor 47 measures the terminal voltage [V] of each secondary battery 40 and outputs it to the management unit 44.

[0047] The management unit 44 includes a microcomputer 45 in which a CPU 45A, a RAM 45B, and the like are integrated into one chip, and a ROM 46. The ROM 46 stores a management program and various data for managing the battery 30. The management unit 44 executes various processes such as an estimation process described below by executing the management program stored in the ROM 46.

[0048] The estimation process is a process for estimating the state of charge (SOC) of the battery 30. Known methods for estimating SOC include a current integration method and an OCV method. The current integration method is a method for estimating SOC by measuring the charge / discharge current of the battery pack 41 at a predetermined time interval using a current sensor 43 and adding or subtracting the measured current value from an initial value. The OCV method is a method for estimating SOC from the open circuit voltage (OCV) of the battery 30. There is a relatively accurate correlation between SOC and OCV. For this reason, the SOC can be estimated by measuring the OCV using a voltage sensor 47 and identifying the SOC corresponding to the measured OCV from an SOC-OCV curve. The management unit 44 may estimate the SOC using the current integration method or the OCV method.

[0049] (4) Battery float charging The battery 30 of the drone 3 is float charged by a non-contact charging device (the power transmitting device 33 and the power receiving device 31). Float charging is a charging method that keeps the battery 30 always fully charged or close to fully charged by continuously applying a constant voltage to the battery 30. In float charging, when the SOC of the battery 30 decreases, the battery 30 is immediately charged.

[0050] While the drone 3 is detected by the drone detection unit 32, the charging controller 33C of the drone base 4 controls the power transmission device 33 to constantly supply power to the power receiving device 31. The power receiving device 31 converts the supplied AC power into DC power by the rectifier 31B and applies it to the battery 30. This causes the battery 30 to be float charged.

[0051] (5) Providing base station functions in areas with power outages The following describes a process for providing base station functions to a power outage area, which is executed by the control unit 25 of the drone 3. The process for providing base station functions to a power outage area is a process in which the drone 3 determines the power outage area by itself based on information about the power outage area received by the base station device 29, and flies autonomously to the determined area to provide the base station function by the base station device 29. The process includes a region determination process, a flight / provision process, and a return process, which are described below. The region determination process and the flight / provision process are examples of the provision process.

[0052] (5-1) Regional Judgment Processing The area determination process is a process for determining an area affected by a power outage based on information about the area affected by the power outage received by the base station device 29. The information received by the base station device 29 is specifically voice data of a voice call made via the base station device 29 and character data transmitted and received via the base station device 29.

[0053] Specifically, the character data is, for example, character data transmitted and received as an e-mail, character data posted to a social networking service (SNS) (or character data downloaded from an SNS), character data transmitted and received by other communication programs, etc. The character data is not limited to these, and may be any unencrypted character data transmitted and received via base station device 29.

[0054] The region determination process will be specifically described below. The process described below is an example. The region determination process is not limited to the process described below. The control unit 25 performs voice recognition on the voice data transmitted and received via the base station device 29. Voice recognition refers to analyzing voice data and converting it into character data. Known methods of voice recognition include statistical methods, dynamic time warping methods, and hidden Markov models. Voice recognition may be performed using these methods or other methods.

[0055] The control unit 25 determines whether the character string "power outage" is included in the character data converted by voice recognition, and if so, searches for a place name from the character data. Specifically, for example, map data of a predetermined range centered on the drone base station 2 is stored in the ROM 25B of the control unit 25. The control unit 25 determines whether any place name included in the map data is included in the character data, and if so, extracts the place name. The same applies when the information received by the base station function is character data.

[0056] The control unit 25 performs the above-mentioned process each time it receives voice data and each time it receives character data until any place name is extracted a predetermined number of times. When any place name is extracted a predetermined number of times, the control unit 25 determines that the area represented by the place name is an area where a power outage has occurred. The above-mentioned predetermined number of times can be determined appropriately.

[0057] (5-2) Flight and provision processing The flight and provision process is a process of flying the drone 3 to the power outage area determined in the above-mentioned area determination process to provide base station functions to the power outage area. The control unit 25 acquires the position information (latitude, longitude) of the power outage area determined in the area determination process from the map data, and sets it as the destination to fly the drone 3. The control unit 25 acquires position information of the current position of the drone 3 from the GPS receiver 27, and controls the flight controller 28 based on the current position and destination of the drone 3 to fly the drone 3 to the power outage area.

[0058] As shown in Fig. 7, when the drone 3 arrives in the power outage area, the control unit 25 hovers the drone 3 in the sky above the power outage area to provide base station functions to the power outage area. Providing base station functions from the sky allows base station functions to be provided over a wider area than a ground base station 2, so a smaller number of drones 3 can cover the power outage area.

[0059] (5-3) Return Processing The return process is a process for returning the drone 3 to the original landing pad 20 for charging when the remaining power of the battery 30 of the drone 3 becomes low while providing a base station function in a power outage area. Specifically, when the control unit 25 arrives at the power outage area, it determines the amount of power required to return the drone 3 to the landing pad 20 from the distance from the current position of the drone 3 to the original landing pad 20 and the amount of power required to fly the drone 3 a unit distance (an example of a power determination process).

[0060] The control unit 25 calculates the remaining power of the battery 30 (=total charge capacity of the battery 30×SOC) from the estimated SOC each time the management unit 44 of the battery 30 estimates the SOC, and when the remaining power drops to the amount of power required to return the drone 3 to the landing pad 20 or to an amount of power that is a predetermined value higher than that amount, flies the drone 3 to the landing pad 20 (an example of flight processing). The predetermined value can be determined appropriately. For example, the predetermined value may be an amount of power equivalent to 10% of the SOC.

[0061] When the drone 3 returns and lands on the landing pad 20, the battery 30 is charged wirelessly by the wireless charging device (power transmitting device 33 and power receiving device 31). When charging is complete, the drone 3 flies again to the power outage area to provide base station functions.

[0062] (6) Effects of the embodiment The drone 3 according to the first embodiment flies to the power outage area based on information (voice data and text data) about the power outage area received by the base station device 29 included in the drone 3, so the operator does not need to specify the power outage area to the drone 3. Therefore, when the base station function is provided to the power outage area by the drone 3 having the base station function of a wireless communication network, the base station function can be provided more quickly than when the operator specifies the power outage area. If the reason for the power outage is a disaster such as an earthquake, it is possible that the operator will be unable to indicate the power outage area because the operator has been affected by the disaster, or because traffic has been paralyzed and the operator is unable to reach the facility for instructing the drone 3 of the power outage area. The drone 3 autonomously flies to the power outage area based on information about the power outage area received by the base station device 29 that the drone 3 is equipped with, and therefore has the effect of providing base station functions more reliably than when the operator indicates the power outage area. According to the drone 3, since it is equipped with the base station device 29, even during flight, information on the power outage area can be received by the base station device 29. Since the latest information can be received by receiving information during flight, it is possible to flexibly respond even if the power outage area changes.

[0063] According to the drone 3, the drone 3 determines the power outage area by itself based on the information received by the base station device 29 equipped in the drone 3, so that the base station function can be provided more reliably than when the server computer indicates the power outage area.

[0064] According to the drone 3, based on the voice data of the voice call made via the base station device 29 and the text data transmitted and received via the base station device 29, the power outage area can be determined with a certain degree of accuracy.

[0065] According to the drone 3, when the remaining power of the battery 30 decreases while the drone 3 is providing base station functions in a power outage area, the drone 3 returns to the drone base 4, so that the drone can charge the battery 30 at the drone base 4 and fly to the power outage area again. This makes it possible to provide base station functions even if the power outage is prolonged.

[0066] According to the drone base station 2 of embodiment 1, the battery 30 of the drone 3 is float charged by the power transmission device 33 possessed by the drone base 4, so that the drone 3 can be flown in a power outage area whenever a power outage occurs.

[0067] According to the drone base station 2, the power transmission device 33 wirelessly charges the battery 30 of the drone 3, so the battery 30 can be charged even without an operator. Therefore, the drone 3 can provide base station functions for a long period of time even without an operator.

[0068] According to the base station system 1 according to the first embodiment, a plurality of drone base stations 2 are deployed in a distributed manner. With a plurality of drone base stations 2, a plurality of drones 3 take turns flying in the power outage area to provide the base station function, thereby making it possible to provide the base station function more reliably.

[0069] <Embodiment 2> As shown in Fig. 8, the drone base 204 according to the second embodiment includes a control unit 50, a base station device 51, and a wireless communication unit 52 in addition to the configuration of the drone base 4 according to the first embodiment. The drone 3 according to the second embodiment further includes a wireless communication unit for communicating with the wireless communication unit 52, and the control unit 50 communicates with the drone 3 via the wireless communication unit 52. The base station device 29 included in the drone 3 is an example of a first base station function, and the base station device 51 included in the drone base 204 is an example of a second base station function.

[0070] In the second embodiment, the control unit 50 of the drone base 204 determines the power outage area and instructs the drone 3 to fly to the power outage area via the wireless communication unit 52. Specifically, the control unit 50 of the drone base 204 determines the power outage area based on information about the power outage area received by the base station device 51 provided in the drone base 204, and instructs the drone 3 to fly to the power outage area via the wireless communication unit 52. When the control unit 25 of the drone 3 according to the second embodiment is instructed by the control unit 50 of the drone base 204 to fly to the power outage area, it flies to the instructed power outage area and provides base station functions.

[0071] According to the drone base station of embodiment 2, when base station functions are provided to a power outage area by the drone 3, the base station functions can be provided more quickly than when the operator specifies the power outage area.

[0072] <Embodiment 3> 9, the configuration of the drone base 304 according to the third embodiment is substantially the same as that of the drone base 204 according to the second embodiment, except that the drone base 304 according to the third embodiment does not include the base station device 51 of the drone base 204 according to the second embodiment. The drone 3 according to the third embodiment also includes a wireless communication unit that communicates with the wireless communication unit 52 of the drone base 304, in addition to the configuration of the drone 3 according to the first embodiment.

[0073] In the third embodiment, the control unit 50 of the drone base 304 determines the power outage area and instructs the drone 3 to fly to the power outage area via the wireless communication unit 52. Specifically, the control unit 50 of the drone base 304 receives information about the power outage area received by the base station device 29 equipped in the drone 3 from the drone 3 via the wireless communication unit 52. The control unit 50 of the drone base 304 determines the power outage area based on the information received from the drone 3 and instructs the drone 3 to fly to the power outage area via the wireless communication unit 52. When the control unit 25 of the drone 3 according to the third embodiment is instructed by the control unit 50 of the drone base 304 to fly to the power outage area, it flies to the instructed power outage area and provides a base station function.

[0074] According to the drone base station of embodiment 3, when base station functions are provided to a power outage area by the drone 3, the base station functions can be provided more quickly than when the operator specifies the power outage area.

[0075] <Other embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the configuration of one embodiment may be added to the configuration of another embodiment. Furthermore, part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment or a well-known technique. Furthermore, part of the configuration of one embodiment may be deleted. Furthermore, a well-known technique may be added to the configuration of one embodiment.

[0076] (1) In the above embodiment, voice data and text data are used as examples of information relating to the power outage area. However, the information relating to the power outage area may be either one of these data.

[0077] (2) In the above embodiment, the case where the power outage area is determined by extracting a place name from voice data or text data containing the character string "power outage" in the area determination process has been described as an example. Alternatively, or in addition, the power outage area may be determined based on location information contained in the data transmitted and received. Specifically, when the voice data or text data contains the character string "power outage" and the data contains location information, the location information may be extracted, and when location information indicating a position within a certain range is extracted a predetermined number of times, the location may be determined to be a power outage area. Including location information increases the possibility of accurately determining the power outage area compared to when the power outage area is determined based only on the voice data or text data.

[0078] If the power outage area can be accurately determined, base station functions can be reliably provided in the power outage area. In the case of the drone 3 that flies using power supplied by the battery 30, if the power outage area is not accurately determined, it may be necessary to fly again to correct the position after flying once, which may result in unnecessary consumption of power. If the power outage area can be accurately determined, such waste can be reduced, and the power of the battery 30 can be used efficiently. This also has the effect of providing base station functions for a long period of time.

[0079] (3) In the above embodiment, the power outage area is determined based on the number of times a place name is extracted from voice data or character data or the number of times location information is extracted. In contrast, the power outage area may be determined by AI (Artificial Intelligence) learning the relationship between the content of voice data or the content of character data transmitted and received during a power outage and the power outage area.

[0080] (4) In the above embodiment, the power outage area is determined based on the voice data of the voice call and the text data transmitted and received via the base station function. However, the power outage area may be determined based on the increase or decrease in communication traffic. Specifically, communication traffic is the number of calls, the amount of voice data and text data, etc. When a power outage occurs, it is expected that the communication traffic will fall below a predetermined threshold because the base station in the power outage area will not be able to operate. Therefore, the power outage area can be determined with a certain degree of accuracy based on the communication traffic.

[0081] (5) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the drone 3 itself determines the area of ​​the power outage based on information about the area of ​​the power outage received by the base station device 29. In contrast, a server computer communicatively connected to the drone base station 2 may determine the area of ​​the power outage based on information about the area of ​​the power outage received by the base station device 29 included in the drone 3, and instruct the drone 3 to fly into the area of ​​the power outage.

[0082] (6) In the above embodiment, the drone 3 is returned to the original landing pad 20 when the remaining power of the battery 30 of the drone 3 becomes low. In contrast, the drone 3 may be flown to any drone base 4 in an uninterruptible power supply area where no other drones 3 have landed, to charge the drone. However, when multiple drones 3 are flying, there is a possibility that the drones 3 may compete with each other for the drone base 4 to fly to. For this reason, it is desirable to adjust the drones 3 to avoid competition for the drone base 4 to fly to, for example, by wireless communication between the drones 3.

[0083] (7) In the above embodiment, the drone 3 is described as an example of an unmanned aerial vehicle, but the unmanned aerial vehicle is not limited to the drone 3 as long as it can provide base station functions in areas experiencing power outages. For example, the unmanned aerial vehicle may be an unmanned helicopter. The unmanned aerial vehicle is not limited to one powered by the electric motor 23, but may be one powered by a gasoline engine, for example.

[0084] (8) In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the drone 3 hovers above an area with a power outage to provide base station functions. However, the drone 3 may also provide base station functions by landing in a high position, such as on the roof of a building.

[0085] (9) In the above embodiment, the battery 30 is charged contactlessly, but the battery 30 does not necessarily have to be charged contactlessly. For example, if the battery 30 is provided with a mechanism for automatically connecting and disconnecting a charging connector without manual intervention, the battery 30 may be charged in a contact-type manner.

[0086] (10) In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the drone 3 provides base station functions to a power outage area when the base station stops operating due to a power outage. In contrast, there is a possibility that communication may become difficult due to a communication failure or a concentration of calls for some reason (in other words, a state in which it is difficult to connect calls or a state in which data transfer speed is significantly reduced). In such a case, it is possible that the processing capacity of the base station is insufficient. In such a case, the drone 3 may be flown to an area where communication is difficult to perform to provide the base station function, thereby complementing the base station. In other words, the drone 3 may provide the base station function at times other than when there is a power outage.

[0087] (11) In the above embodiment, a lithium ion secondary battery is used as an example of the power storage element. However, the power storage element may be a capacitor that involves an electrochemical reaction. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 1 Base Station System 2. Drone base station (an example of a base station) 3. Drones (an example of an unmanned aerial vehicle) 4. Drone base (an example of base facilities) 23 Electric Motor 24 Propeller 25 Control Unit 29 Base station device (an example of a base station function of a wireless communication network and a first base station function) 33 Power transmission device (example of charging unit) 40 Secondary battery (an example of a storage element) 44 Management department (an example of a control department) 51 Base station device (an example of a second base station function) 204 Drone base (an example of base facilities) 304 Drone base (an example of base facilities)

Claims

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle having a base station function of a wireless communication network, A control unit is provided, The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle flies the unmanned aerial vehicle to the power outage area based on information about the power outage area received by the base station function, and performs a provision process to provide the base station function to the power outage area.

2. 2. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, The control unit, in the provision process, determines the power outage area based on the information received by the base station function, and flies the unmanned aircraft to the determined power outage area.

3. 3. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 2, The unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the information is at least one of voice data of voice calls made via the base station function, text data sent and received via the base station function, and an increase or decrease in communication traffic.

4. 4. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 3, The information includes location information.

5. An unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a propeller, an electric motor that rotates the propeller, and a storage element that supplies power to the electric motor; The control unit is An estimation process for estimating a remaining power of the storage element; a power determination process for determining an amount of power required to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle from the power outage area to a location where the storage element can be charged; a flight process for flying the unmanned aerial vehicle to the location when the remaining power of the storage element drops to the amount of power determined in the power determination process or a predetermined amount of power higher than the amount of power while the base station function is being provided to the power outage area; An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that performs the above function.

6. 1. A base station for a wireless communication network, comprising: An unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5; A base facility having a landing pad on which the unmanned aerial vehicle lands; Equipped with The unmanned aerial vehicle has a propeller, an electric motor that rotates the propeller, and a power storage element that supplies power to the electric motor; The base facility has a charging unit that charges the storage element, The charging unit float-charges the storage element.

7. 7. A base station according to claim 6, The charging unit charges the storage element in a non-contact manner.

8. 1. A base station for a wireless communication network, comprising: an unmanned aerial vehicle having a function of a first base station of a wireless communication network; a landing pad on which the unmanned aerial vehicle lands and a base station facility having a second base station function of the wireless communication network; A control unit provided in the base equipment; Equipped with The control unit instructs the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly to the power outage area based on information about the power outage area received by the second base station function of the base facility, A base station, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle flies to the power outage area instructed by the control unit to provide the first base station function.

9. 1. A base station for a wireless communication network, comprising: An unmanned aerial vehicle having a base station function of a wireless communication network; A base facility having a landing pad on which the unmanned aerial vehicle lands; A control unit provided in the base equipment; Equipped with The control unit instructs the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly to the power outage area based on information about the power outage area received by the base station function of the unmanned aerial vehicle, A base station in which the unmanned aerial vehicle flies to the power outage area instructed by the control unit to provide the base station function.

10. A base station system comprising a plurality of base stations according to any one of claims 6 to 9, which are distributed and arranged.

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