Unmanned flight vehicle, control system for unmanned flight vehicle, and control method for unmanned flight vehicle

Abstract

To provide: an unmanned flight vehicle capable of returning to an upright posture and flying again even when the airframe is in contact with the ground in a vertically inverted posture; a control system for the unmanned flight vehicle; and a control method for the unmanned flight vehicle.SOLUTION: The unmanned flight vehicle according to the present disclosure comprises: a plurality of rotary blades provided on an airframe; and a control unit that controls rotation of the rotary blades. The control unit, in a state where the airframe is in contact with the ground in a vertically inverted posture, rotates only some of the plurality of rotary blades in an opposite direction to that during normal flight to raise the airframe into upright posture, meanwhile, in a process until the airframe returns to the upright posture, the control unit reduces rotation speed of the rotary blades rotating in the opposite direction or stops the rotation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to unmanned aerial vehicles, control systems for unmanned aerial vehicles, and control methods for unmanned aerial vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones have been used in various fields such as facility inspection. Unmanned aerial vehicles are equipped with multiple rotors to obtain thrust for lifting. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for controlling an aerial vehicle that turns by varying the rotation speed of the rotors. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-111181 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with such multiple rotors fails to land or crashes and touches down in an upside-down position (the aircraft is upside down), it may not be able to fly again, and depending on where it falls, it may not be possible to recover the aircraft.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle, a control system for an unmanned aerial vehicle, and a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle that can return the aircraft to an upright position and fly again even if it touches the ground in an upside-down position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, there is provided an aircraft comprising: A control unit that controls the rotation of the rotor, The control unit is When the aircraft is on the ground in an upside-down attitude, only a portion of the rotors are rotated in a direction opposite to that during normal flight to raise the aircraft to an upright attitude; An unmanned aerial vehicle is provided in which the rotational speed of the rotors rotating in the reverse direction is reduced or the rotation is stopped during the process until the aircraft returns to an upright attitude. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle that can return to an upright position and fly again even if the aircraft touches the ground in an upside-down position, a control system for an unmanned aerial vehicle, and a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] A plan view diagrammatically illustrating an unmanned aerial vehicle according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 is a front view of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] A diagram showing an example of the configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the same embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a front view of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the embodiment in an upside-down position. [Diagram 5] A figure showing the process of the unmanned aerial vehicle of the same embodiment rising from an inverted attitude to an upright attitude. [Figure 6] A figure showing a modified example of control of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the same embodiment. [Figure 7] 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating a process of rising from the state in FIG. 5 to an upright posture. [Figure 8] A figure showing the unmanned aerial vehicle assuming an upright position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0010] <Summary> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in a plan view. The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 (hereinafter also simply referred to as "aircraft") of this example is a rotorcraft that obtains lift and thrust by multiple rotors. Note that although the aircraft 1 of this example is an unmanned aerial vehicle, it may also be applied to a manned aerial vehicle on which a person is aboard.

[0011] The flying object 1 can fly in any space, whether indoors or outdoors. The present invention is particularly effective in environments where it is difficult for a user to directly retrieve the flying object 1 if the flying object 1 crashes, such as small spaces where it is difficult for people to enter, closed spaces, dark places, and environments filled with special gases or high-temperature gases.

[0012] As shown in the plan view of Figure 1 and the front view of Figure 2, the aircraft 1 comprises a plurality of rotors 20 provided on a main body 10 (aircraft body), and a control unit (e.g., a flight controller 23) that controls the rotors 20 (20A, 20B, 20C, 20D).

[0013] The main body 10 is provided with electronic components constituting a control unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, a sensor unit, an imaging unit (camera), etc., which will be described later, and has a frame that supports them, a cover that covers the electronic components, etc. The center of gravity of the aircraft 1 is preferably located approximately in the center of the main body 10 in a plan view, but is not limited to this.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the rotors 20 (20A, 20B, 20C, 20D) of this example are arranged at four locations around the main body 10 in a plan view. The number of rotors 20 is not limited to four, and may be three or less, or five or more. The number of vanes (blades) constituting the rotor 20 is not particularly limited, and any shape and any number of vanes may be adopted. Each rotor may have multiple vanes provided in the axial direction.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 2, the rotor 20 is preferably located at the center in the up-down direction. In other words, it is preferable that the propeller of the rotor 20 does not contact the ground when the aircraft 1 is in an upright or upside-down position. The aircraft 1 has an upper frame 10A that supports the rotor 20 from above, and a lower frame 10B that is located below the upper frame 10A. Electronic components that constitute a control unit, etc. are provided between the upper frame 10A and the lower frame 10B.

[0016] The flying object 1 of this example is equipped with a left front rotor 20A located on the left front side of the main body 10, a right front rotor 20B located on the right front side, a left rear rotor 20C located on the left rear side, and a right rear rotor 20D located on the right rear side. In this example, the two rotors 20 adjacent in the circumferential direction of the main body 10 are configured to rotate in opposite directions to each other during flight, but they may also rotate in the same direction.

[0017] In this example, during normal flight, the left front rotor 20A and the right rear rotor 20D are configured to rotate clockwise (CW (Clockwise) direction) in a plan view, and the right front rotor 20B and the left rear rotor 20C are configured to rotate counterclockwise (CCW (Counterclockwise) direction) in a plan view. When the flying object 1 stands up from an upside-down attitude and flips over to an upright attitude, the rotors 20 are rotated in the opposite direction to the above. However, this is not limited to the above configuration, and each may be configured to rotate in the opposite direction.

[0018] Here, a propeller guard 11 is provided on the outside of the rotor (outside when viewed from the center of the aircraft in a plan view) that extends from the main body 10 (lower frame 10B in this example) to protect the rotor 20. The propeller guard 11 may be integral with the lower frame 10B, or may be detachable from the lower frame 10B. Also, each rotor may be provided with a cylindrical propeller duct that surrounds the periphery of the rotor.

[0019] The rotor 20 in this example is supported by a rotor support part (upper frame 10A) that extends outward from the center of the main body 10. The rotor 20 is held below the rotor support part. In this example, a motor is located above a propeller that constitutes the rotor 20, and the rotor support part is located above the motor. This ensures that the propeller does not come into contact with the ground even if the rotor 20 is landed in an upside-down position. The rotor 20 may be supported from below by the main body 10. The upper frame 10A in this example is located above the rotor 20 and functions as a protective frame that protects the rotor 20, but protective frames may be provided above and below the rotor 20 separately from the upper frame 10A.

[0020] The aircraft 1 of this example includes a base unit 30 that is detachably attached to the underside of the main body unit 10. The base unit 30 is located at the center in the width direction (left-right direction) of the aircraft, but is not limited to this. The base unit 30 is located at the center in the front-rear direction of the aircraft, but is not limited to this.

[0021] The base unit 30 is, for example, a battery pack, and has a built-in battery that can be charged and used repeatedly. By preparing and charging a number of battery packs in advance, after a flight, it is possible to replace a charged battery pack and fly immediately. The battery supplies power to the rotors, control unit, etc. The joint between the base unit 30 and the main body unit 10 is provided with a connector (contact point) for power supply or signal communication. The base unit 30 may have components inside that constitute at least a part of the memory unit, control unit, etc., which will be described later.

[0022] In this example, the aircraft 1 is constructed so that the underside of the base portion 30 touches the ground when landing, but the aircraft may also be provided with, for example, four legs at the four corners of the aircraft (front left, front right, rear left and right), or with a pair of legs extending in the front-to-rear direction, one on each side.

[0023] Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram (plan view) showing an example of the hardware configuration of the aircraft 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the aircraft 1 according to the present embodiment has a rotor 20 for generating thrust, a motor 21, and an ESC (Electric Speed ​​Controller) 22. The aircraft 1 also has a flight controller 23 as a control unit in the main body 10. The flight controller 23 can have one or more processors 23b, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a programmable processor such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The flight controller 23 has a memory 23a and can access the memory 23a. The memory 23a stores logic, code, and / or program instructions that the flight controller 23 can execute to perform one or more steps. The flight controller 23 is an example of a control unit. The aircraft 1 of this example also has a camera and / or sensor 24 as an information acquisition unit. The aircraft 1 also has a transmission / reception unit 25. The configuration of the aircraft 1 shown in FIG. 3 is just one example, and rotorcraft having a configuration different from that of the main body 10 shown in FIG. 3 may also be included in the scope of the present invention.

[0024] The main body 10 is formed by a frame that constitutes the flying object 1. The material that constitutes the main body 10 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, carbon fiber resin, glass fiber resin, magnesium, magnesium alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, steel, titanium, or other materials. The rotor 20 is attached to the motor 21. The rotor 20 generates lift (thrust) on the flying object 1 by rotating due to the rotation of the motor 21, and in an upside-down attitude, may generate a force for rising up to an upright attitude. In this embodiment, the rotor 20 is provided at four locations, front, back, left and right, but the present invention is not limited to such an example, and the rotor 20 may be provided at six, seven, eight, or other locations around the aircraft. The number, size, and structure of the rotor 20 may be appropriately changed depending on the structure, shape, equipment, size, and the like of the flying object 1.

[0025] The memory 23a may include, for example, a separable medium such as an SD card or a random access memory (RAM) or an external storage device. Data acquired from the camera / sensor 24 may be directly transmitted to and stored in the memory 23a. For example, still image and video data captured by the camera is recorded in an internal memory or an external memory. The memory 23a can also store various types of information as appropriate, such as information acquired from an external information processing device connected via the signal connector 13 or information transmitted from the control terminal 26.

[0026] The flight controller 23 includes a control module configured to control the state of the aircraft 1. For example, the control module controls the motor 21, which is a propulsion mechanism of the aircraft 1, via the ESC 22 in order to adjust the spatial arrangement, speed, and / or acceleration of the aircraft 1 having six degrees of freedom (translational motions x, y, and z, and rotational motions θx, θy, and θz). The motor 21 rotates the rotor 20 to generate lift for the aircraft 1 and thrust for rising from an upside-down attitude. The flight controller 23 can adjust the force generated by the rotor 20 by controlling the rotation direction and rotation speed (number of rotations) of the motor 21. The number of rotations also means the number of rotations per given time.

[0027] The flight controller 23 can communicate with a transceiver 25 configured to transmit and / or receive data from one or more external devices (e.g., a piloting terminal 26). The transceiver 25 can use any suitable communication means, such as wired or wireless communication. The transceiver 25 can utilize one or more of any communication methods, such as, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), infrared, radio, WiFi, a point-to-point (P2P) network, a telecommunications network, cloud communication, and the like.

[0028] The transceiver 25 can transmit and / or receive one or more of data acquired by the sensor 24, processing results generated by the flight controller 23, predetermined control data, user commands from a terminal or a remote controller, and the like, and can store the received information in a storage unit such as the memory 23a. Information acquired by the camera and the sensor 24 may be output via the transceiver 25 to the pilot terminal 26, an external device, or the like.

[0029] The control terminal 26 is a device for instructing the flying object 1 to fly, rise (flip motion), and other actions (i.e., to control the flying object). The user can operate the control terminal 26 to instruct the flying object 1 to rise and the direction in which it will rise. For example, by inputting a button (icon image in the case of a touch panel) on the control terminal 26 instructing the flying object 1 to rise, a signal instructing the flying object 1 to rise is transmitted to the flying object 1. Also, by inputting a direction (such as tilting the stick in the corresponding direction) in any direction such as forward, backward, left, or right in order to instruct the direction in which it will rise from the control terminal 26, a signal instructing the direction in which it will rise is transmitted to the flying object 1. The user can use the control terminal 26 to operate the button instructing the flying object 1 to rise and to instruct the direction in which it will rise, thereby causing the flying object 1 to rise in the desired direction. When an input operation is performed to rise forward, the rear rotor rotates in the opposite direction, causing the rear side to rise, and the flying object 1 to rise on the front side of the aircraft.

[0030] The flight and rising of the aircraft 1 may be controlled by an operator on the ground or the like, or may be controlled by automatic or manual control based on an autonomous flight program (e.g., a Ground Control Station (GCS)) using flight route information and sensing. The control terminal 26 may be, for example, a transceiver (radio transmitter), a smartphone, a tablet, or other terminal. The control terminal 26 can send flight control instruction information to the flight controller 23.

[0031] The sensor 24 according to the present embodiment can directly acquire various information such as the inclination of the flying object 1 in three axial directions (including at least an angle relative to the horizontal plane), angular velocity, velocity, acceleration, etc., or can acquire data for calculating them. The sensor 24 can include, for example, an inertial sensor (an inertial measurement unit such as an IMU (Inertial Measurement Sensor)), an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a GPS sensor, a wind sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, an altitude sensor, a proximity sensor such as LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), or a vision / image sensor other than a camera. The sensor 24 may be mounted on the flight controller 23 or may be provided outside the flight controller 23. If a camera is provided, the camera may be any camera. For example, the camera may be an infrared camera, a stereo camera, or the like, in addition to a general camera. For example, a camera for use in self-position estimation and a camera for capturing an image of a subject may be provided. In the flying object 1 of this example, the battery pack can be removed from the main body 10 and charged in a non-flying state. Furthermore, the aircraft 1 may be equipped with multiple batteries or only one battery.

[0032] When the flying object 1 is hovering in the air, it basically rotates the four rotors 20 at the same rotation speed. The rotation speed of each rotor 20 is appropriately controlled according to the flight environment. For example, information on the flight environment, such as the temperature, air pressure, wind speed, and wind direction of the flight space, is obtained by various sensors or received from an external device, and the flight controller determines the rotation speed of each rotor 20 based on the information, thereby maintaining an appropriate flight state.

[0033] When the aircraft 1 ascends, the rotation speeds of the four rotors 20 are made evenly larger (faster) than when hovering, and when descending, the rotation speeds are made evenly smaller (slower) than when hovering. When the aircraft 1 advances, the rotation speeds of the rear rotors (left rear rotor 20C and right rear rotor 20D) are made larger than the front rotors (left front rotor 20A and right front rotor 20B), and when retreating, the rotation speeds are made smaller. When the aircraft 1 advances to the left, the rotation speeds of the right rotors (right front rotor 20B and right rear rotor 20D) are made larger than the left rotors (left front rotor 20A and left rear rotor 20C), and when advancing to the right, the rotation speeds are made smaller. The aircraft 1 moves while tilting in the direction of movement from the reference attitude during hovering.

[0034] When the aircraft 1 turns left (counterclockwise), the rotational speed of the rotors rotating clockwise (CW (Clockwise) direction) (in this example, the left front rotor 20A and the right rear rotor 20D) is made faster than the rotational speed of the rotors rotating counterclockwise (CCW (Counterclockwise) direction) (in this example, the right front rotor 20B and the left rear rotor 20C), and conversely, when turning right, it is made slower. This utilizes the fact that a turning torque is generated in the airframe in the opposite direction to the rotational direction of the rotors 20.

[0035] 4 shows a state in which the aircraft 1 has crashed due to, for example, an operational error by a user using the control terminal 26 or contact with an obstacle, and has landed in an upside-down attitude. When the aircraft has landed in an upside-down attitude, the control unit 23 causes only a portion of the multiple rotors to rotate in the opposite direction to that during normal flight, thereby raising the aircraft to an upright attitude, and reduces the rotational speed of the rotors rotating in the opposite direction or stops the rotation of the rotors during the process until the aircraft returns to the upright attitude.

[0036] The user can perform an input operation to instruct the flying object 1 to rise (to invert to an upright position) by, for example, pressing a rise button on the control terminal 26 (or selecting and inputting a button icon on the input screen), which causes a signal to be sent from the control terminal 26 to the flying object 1 to rise. The control unit of the flying object 1 controls the rotor 20 based on the received instruction signal, and executes the rise-up operation (flip operation).

[0037] In the example of Fig. 4, since there is an obstacle A on one side of the aircraft 1 (the right side of the figure: the left side from the perspective of the aircraft 1), the aircraft 1 is raised and turned over toward the other side (the left side of the figure: the right side from the perspective of the aircraft 1) where there is no obstacle A. For this reason, the control unit 23 rotates the right rotors (right front rotor 20B and right rear rotor 20D) in the direction opposite to normal rotation to generate a thrust P downward toward the ground G. In this case, the rotors other than the rotors that are rotated in the reverse direction (left front rotor 20A and left rear rotor 20C) may be stopped or may be rotated in the normal direction.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 5, the right side of the aircraft 1 rises due to the thrust P generated by the rotation of the right rotor 20. In the example of FIG. 5, the propeller guard 11, which is the outer end of the aircraft opposite to the rotor that is rotated in reverse, serves as a fulcrum, and the aircraft 1 gradually rises up. At this time, the rotors (left front rotor 20A and left rear rotor 20C) located on the opposite side to the rotor that is rotated in reverse, that is, the rotors on the fulcrum side, are rotated in the same manner as in normal flight to generate thrust P2 (see FIG. 6), thereby preventing the fulcrum from slipping to the left in FIG. 5 (the opposite direction to the rotor that is rotated in reverse). As a result, unnecessary movement of the aircraft 1 can be suppressed and the aircraft 1 can be efficiently reversed. The rotor 20 that is rotated in reverse may be only one or more. The rotor 20 that is rotated in the same direction as in normal flight to generate thrust P2 may be only one or more.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 10 reduces the rotation speed of the rotor 20 rotating in the reverse direction or stops the rotation during the process until the aircraft returns to the upright position. This makes it possible to appropriately suppress the momentum of the aircraft 1 when it turns over. For example, if the rotation speed of the rotor 20 rotating in the reverse direction is maintained until the aircraft 1 returns to the upright position, as shown in FIG. 8, the aircraft 1 may come into strong contact with the ground G when it returns to the upright position, which may damage the aircraft. However, if the rotation speed of the rotor 20 rotating in the reverse direction is reduced at least during the process until the aircraft returns to the upright position as in the present invention, the momentum of the aircraft 1 turning over can be suppressed and the possibility of damage can be reduced. In other words, the aircraft 1 can be turned over gently, and the load applied to the underside (base unit 30) of the aircraft 1 when it touches the ground can be reduced. Note that the control unit 10 may change the rotation direction of the rotor 20 rotating in the reverse direction during the process until the aircraft returns to the upright position, so that the rotor 20 rotates in the normal flight direction.

[0040] As described above, the unmanned aerial vehicle of this embodiment includes a plurality of rotors provided on the aircraft and a control unit that controls the rotation of the rotors, and the control unit rotates only a portion of the rotors in the opposite direction to that during normal flight when the aircraft is on the ground in an upside-down position, thereby raising the aircraft to an upright position, and reduces the rotation speed of the rotors rotating in the opposite direction or stops the rotation in the process until the aircraft returns to the upright position. With this configuration, even if the aircraft has landed in an upside-down position due to a crash or the like, it can be returned to an upright position and fly again. In addition, damage to the aircraft when it is flipped from an upside-down position to an upright position can be prevented.

[0041] In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit may reduce the rotation speed of the rotors rotating in the reverse direction or stop the rotation when the angle of the aircraft with respect to the horizontal plane (for example, angle θ in FIG. 5) satisfies a predetermined condition. The angle θ of the flying object 1 can be acquired from an information acquisition unit such as an inertial sensor, and may be compared with a threshold angle stored in advance in the storage unit, and when the angle θ is equal to or greater than the threshold, the control unit may reduce the rotation speed of the rotors rotating in the reverse direction or stop the rotation. The threshold angle may be, for example, 90 degrees, or may be greater than or equal to 90 degrees or less than 90 degrees.

[0042] In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit may reduce the rotational speed of the rotor rotating in the reverse direction or stop the rotation when the angular velocity when the aircraft returns to an upright position from an upside-down position satisfies a predetermined condition. In this case, the angular velocity of the flying object 1 can be acquired from an information acquisition unit such as an inertial sensor, and compared with a threshold angular velocity stored in advance in the storage unit, if the angular velocity is equal to or greater than the threshold, the control unit may reduce the rotational speed of the rotor rotating in the reverse direction or stop the rotation. The threshold angular velocity may be, for example, 360 degrees / second, but is not limited to this, and may be a value larger or smaller than that.

[0043] In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit may reduce the rotation speed of the rotor rotating in the reverse direction or stop the rotation when the distance from a predetermined surface or point such as the ground or a wall surface to a specific point on the aircraft when the aircraft returns from an upside-down posture to an upright posture satisfies a predetermined condition. The distance from the predetermined surface or point to the specific point on the aircraft can be calculated based on information on the length measured by a distance measuring sensor such as a ToF sensor provided on the aircraft 1, for example, as in the length d in FIG. 5. The specific point may be the position where the distance measuring sensor is provided, but is not limited to this, and the distance from the predetermined surface or point to the center point of the aircraft may be calculated using data from the distance measuring sensor. In this case, too, the rotation speed of the rotor rotating in the reverse direction may be reduced or the rotation may be stopped when the distance from the predetermined surface or point to the specific point on the aircraft is equal to or greater than the threshold value, as compared with the distance value that is a threshold value stored in advance in the storage unit. The predetermined surface or point is not limited to the ground, but may be any surface or point that can be measured by a distance measuring sensor, such as a wall surface of a side wall or an obstacle A.

[0044] In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit may reduce the rotation speed of the rotor rotating in the reverse direction or stop the rotation when the elapsed time since the rotor started rotating in the reverse direction satisfies a predetermined condition. In this case, the clock function of the control unit of the flying object 1 may measure the elapsed time since the rotor started rotating in the reverse direction, and compare it with a threshold value of the elapsed time stored in the storage unit in advance. If it is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the control unit may reduce the rotation speed of the rotor rotating in the reverse direction or stop the rotation. For example, the control unit may reduce the rotation speed of the rotor or stop the rotation 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, etc. after the rotor starts rotating in the reverse direction.

[0045] In this embodiment, the control unit may rotate at least some of the rotors other than the rotors rotated in the reverse direction in the same forward direction as in normal flight, thereby enabling efficient reversal by suppressing slippage of the fulcrum during the reversal process.

[0046] In this embodiment, the control unit may control the rotation speed of the rotors rotated in the reverse direction from a high speed to an intermediate speed lower than the high speed during the process until the aircraft returns to an upright attitude. This makes it possible to realize an appropriate change (transition) in the thrust force P without simply switching the reverse rotation on and off.

[0047] In this embodiment, the rotors may be four or more rotors arranged around the airframe in a plan view, and the rotors that rotate in the opposite direction may be rotors located on the front, rear, left, or right side of the airframe. This allows the airframe 1 to be inverted in four directions, that is, the front, rear, left, or right side of the airframe 1.

[0048] In this embodiment, the control unit may determine the rotor to be rotated in the reverse direction based on the control signal transmitted from the control device. For example, a plurality of options in which the direction in which the flying object is to be reversed is associated with one or more rotors to be rotated in the reverse direction may be stored in the storage unit in advance, and the control unit may select an appropriate rotor according to the direction in which the user wants to reverse the flying object. In other words, when the user instructs the flying object 1 to be reversed from the control terminal 26, the rear rotor 20 rotates in the reverse direction, and when the user instructs the flying object 1 to be reversed from the control terminal 26, the front rotor 20 rotates in the reverse direction. In this way, it is preferable that the flying object 1 can be reversed in a plurality of directions (four directions, i.e., forward, backward, left, right, and diagonally, and eight directions, etc.).

[0049] It is preferable that the control unit of the flying object 1 is capable of detecting that the flying object 1 is in an upside-down attitude. For example, it can detect that the flying object 1 is currently in an upside-down attitude based on sensor data (data indicating the flying object's attitude) such as an inertial sensor, or image data from a camera. In this case, the control unit of the flying object 1 notifies the control terminal 26 that the flying object 1 is in an upside-down attitude.

[0050] Furthermore, when the control unit detects that the drone is in an upside-down position, the control unit may automatically switch to a mode (flip mode) for performing a flip function (a function for rising from an upside-down position to an upright position). In this flip mode, a specific rotor 20 stored in advance or a specific rotor 20 based on input information from the user's control terminal 26 rotates in the opposite direction to that during normal flight.

[0051] The control unit of the flying object 1 may detect obstacles that may hinder the rising motion from sensors or camera images, and notify the user or restrict the rising motion in the direction of the obstacle.

[0052] Although the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail above with reference to the attached drawings, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present disclosure can conceive of various modified or amended examples within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the autonomous flight control is described as being executed by the flight controller 23 of the flying object 1, but the present technology is not limited to this example. That is, the autonomous flight control method is not limited to an example in which the autonomous flight control method is processed at an edge in the flying object, and the above-mentioned correction process may be performed remotely by another autonomous flight control device, the processing result may be transmitted to the flying object, and the drive unit may be controlled based on the result. That is, the main hardware that executes the autonomous flight control method is not particularly limited, and the above-mentioned functional unit may be executed by multiple hardware.

[0054] In addition, the effects described in this specification are merely descriptive or exemplary and are not limiting. In other words, the technology according to the present disclosure may achieve other effects that are apparent to a person skilled in the art from the description of this specification, in addition to or in place of the above effects.

[0055] Note that the following configurations also fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure. (Item 1) A plurality of rotors provided on the aircraft; A control unit that controls the rotation of the rotor, The control unit is When the aircraft is in an upside-down position on the ground, only a portion of the rotors are rotated in a direction opposite to that during normal flight to raise the aircraft to an upright position; An unmanned aerial vehicle in which the rotational speed of the rotor rotating in the reverse direction is reduced or the rotation is stopped during the process until the aircraft returns to an upright attitude. (Item 2) The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle described in item 1 reduces the rotational speed of the rotor blades rotating in the reverse direction or stops the rotation when the angle of the aircraft relative to the horizontal plane satisfies a predetermined condition. (Item 3) The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle described in item 1 reduces the rotational speed of the rotor blades rotating in the reverse direction or stops the rotation when the angular velocity of the aircraft returning from an upside-down attitude to an upright attitude satisfies a predetermined condition. (Item 4) The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle described in item 1 reduces the rotational speed of the rotor blades rotating in the reverse direction or stops the rotation when the distance from a specified plane or point to a specific point on the aircraft when the aircraft returns from an upside-down position to an upright position satisfies a specified condition. (Item 5) The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle described in item 1 reduces the rotational speed of the rotor rotating in the reverse direction or stops the rotation of the rotor when the elapsed time since the rotor started to rotate in the reverse direction satisfies a predetermined condition. (Item 6) The unmanned aerial vehicle described in item 1, wherein the control unit rotates at least a portion of the rotors other than the rotors that rotate in the reverse direction in the same forward direction as during normal flight. (Item 7) The control unit controls the rotational speed of the rotors rotating in the reverse direction from a high speed to an intermediate speed lower than the high speed during the process until the aircraft returns to an upright attitude. (Item 8) The plurality of rotors are four or more rotors arranged around the airframe in a plan view, 2. The unmanned aerial vehicle described in item 1, wherein the rotors that rotate in the opposite direction are multiple rotors located on either the front, rear, left, or right side of the aircraft. (Item 9) The control unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle described in item 1 determines which rotor to rotate in the reverse direction based on a control signal transmitted from a control device. (Item 10) A plurality of rotors provided on the aircraft; A control unit for controlling rotation of the rotor blades. The control unit is When the aircraft is in an upside-down position on the ground, only a portion of the rotors are rotated in a direction opposite to that during normal flight to raise the aircraft to an upright position; A control system for an unmanned aerial vehicle that reduces the rotational speed of the rotor blades rotating in the reverse direction or stops the rotation of the rotor blades during the process of the aircraft returning to an upright attitude. (Item 11) A plurality of rotors provided on the aircraft; A control unit that controls rotation of the rotor blades. The control unit is When the aircraft is in an upside-down position on the ground, only a portion of the rotors are rotated in a direction opposite to that during normal flight to raise the aircraft to an upright position; A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising reducing the rotational speed of the rotor blades rotating in the reverse direction or stopping their rotation during the process until the aircraft returns to an upright attitude. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 10 Main body 20 Rotor 23 Control Unit

Claims

1. A plurality of rotor blades provided on the aircraft, A control unit that controls the rotation of the rotor blades based on control signals received from a control terminal, It includes a memory unit, The control unit, With the aircraft in an inverted position and on the ground, by rotating only a portion of the multiple rotors in the opposite direction to that of normal flight, the aircraft is raised to an upright position, using the outer end of the aircraft on the opposite side of the rotor that is rotating in the opposite direction as a pivot point. In the process of the aircraft returning to an upright position, the rotational speed of the rotor blades rotating in the opposite direction is reduced or stopped, thereby mitigating the impact caused by contact with the ground when the aircraft returns to an upright position. The memory unit pre-stores a plurality of options associated with the direction in which the aircraft rises and one or more rotor blades that rotate in the opposite direction. The control unit selects one or more rotor blades to rotate in the opposite direction to the uprighting direction of the aircraft instructed by the control signal, based on the plurality of options, for the unmanned aerial vehicle.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control signal includes an instruction for the direction in which the aircraft will stand up, selected by the control terminal from among a plurality of directions.

3. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit, upon receiving an instruction from the control terminal to raise the aircraft, raises the aircraft to an upright position in accordance with the control signal indicating the direction in which the aircraft should rise.

4. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit, upon detecting that the aircraft is in an inverted position, switches to a mode for executing a function to raise the aircraft from an inverted position to an upright position, and raises the aircraft to an upright position in response to the control signal indicating the direction in which the aircraft should rise.

5. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the control unit detects that the aircraft is in an upside-down position based on data indicating the attitude of the aircraft from an inertial sensor or image data from a camera.

6. The plurality of rotors are four or more rotors arranged around the aircraft in a plan view, The rotor blades that rotate in the opposite direction are a plurality of rotor blades located on the front, rear, left, or right side of the aircraft. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of directions are the four directions of the front, rear, left, and right sides of the aircraft, or eight directions including diagonal directions in addition to the four directions.

7. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit rotates the rotor blade on the pivot point side in the same forward direction as during normal flight when raising the aircraft to an upright position.

8. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit detects an obstacle that may hinder the righting operation from a sensor or camera image and notifies the user of the control terminal, or restricts the righting operation in the direction of the obstacle.

9. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit stops the rotation of the rotor blades that rotate in the opposite direction during the process of the aircraft returning to an upright position, thereby mitigating the impact caused by contact with the ground when the aircraft returns to an upright position.

10. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit controls the rotational speed of the rotor blades that rotate in the opposite direction so that it changes from a high speed to an intermediate speed lower than the high speed during the process until the aircraft returns to an upright attitude.

11. A plurality of rotor blades provided on the aircraft, A control unit that controls the rotation of the rotor blades based on control signals received from a control terminal, A control system for an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a memory unit, The control unit, With the aircraft in an inverted position and on the ground, by rotating only a portion of the multiple rotors in the opposite direction to that of normal flight, the aircraft is raised to an upright position, using the outer end of the aircraft on the opposite side of the rotor that is rotating in the opposite direction as a pivot point. In the process of the aircraft returning to an upright position, the rotational speed of the rotor blades rotating in the opposite direction is reduced or stopped, thereby mitigating the impact caused by contact with the ground when the aircraft returns to an upright position. The memory unit pre-stores a plurality of options associated with the direction in which the aircraft rises and one or more rotor blades that rotate in the opposite direction. The control unit is an unmanned aerial vehicle control system that, based on the plurality of options, selects one or more rotor blades to rotate in the opposite direction according to the uprighting direction of the aircraft instructed by the control signal.

12. A plurality of rotor blades provided on the aircraft, A control unit that controls the rotation of the rotor blades based on control signals received from a control terminal, A control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a memory unit, The control unit, With the aircraft in an inverted position and on the ground, by rotating only a portion of the multiple rotors in the opposite direction to that of normal flight, the aircraft is raised to an upright position, using the outer end of the aircraft on the opposite side of the rotor that is rotating in the opposite direction as a pivot point. In the process of the aircraft returning to an upright position, the rotational speed of the rotor blades rotating in the opposite direction is reduced or stopped, thereby mitigating the impact caused by contact with the ground when the aircraft returns to an upright position. The memory unit pre-stores a plurality of options associated with the direction in which the aircraft rises and one or more rotor blades that rotate in the opposite direction. A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the control unit selects one or more rotor blades to rotate in the opposite direction to the uprighting direction of the aircraft instructed by the control signal, based on the plurality of options.

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