Bird Scare System

Abstract

To provide a bird frightening system for effectively frightening birds away.SOLUTION: A bird frightening system 1000 has a main flying body 10 (first flying body) that approaches a bird to frighten away it, and a sub-flying body 40 (second flying body) that automatically follows the main flying body 10 in a predetermined positional relationship. The approach of the main flying body 10 frightens the bird to fly up; and the bird is surprised by the sub-flying body 40 following the main flying body 10 in a predetermined positional relationship and then flies away. In this way, birds can be effectively frightened away.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a bird scaring system. To Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] Various bird damages have become a problem. For example, birds eat seeds and rice in rice cultivation, trample fields, and interfere with aircraft takeoff and landing. Therefore, a method has been proposed to scare away birds by remotely controlling drones equipped with scaring speakers via wireless communication (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Also, a method of controlling a plurality of aircraft to fly stably in formation is known (for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-62743 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-185603 A [Patent Document 3] International Publication No. 2018 / 146803 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the method of scaring away birds by flying an aircraft equipped with a scaring speaker, as described in Patent Document 1, the birds temporarily retreat when the aircraft passes, but they may return by detouring around the aircraft after it has passed.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and provides a bird scaring system capable of effectively scaring away birds. M The purpose is to provide. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The bird scaring system of the present invention includes a first flying object that is controlled to fly toward a location where a bird is present, thereby scaring away the bird, and a second flying object that automatically follows the first flying object in a predetermined positional relationship. The second flying body has an acquisition unit that acquires image information including the first flying body imaged by a first imaging unit possessed by the second flying body as information regarding the positional relationship between the first flying body and the second flying body, and a flight control unit that controls the flight of the second flying body so that the positional relationship between the first flying body and the second flying body acquired from the image information including the first flying body acquired by the acquisition unit is maintained as the predetermined positional relationship and the second flying body automatically follows the first flying body. In addition, the bird scaring system of the present invention comprises a first flying body that is controlled to fly toward a location where birds are present to scare away birds, and a second flying body that automatically follows the first flying body in a predetermined positional relationship, and the second flying body has an acquisition unit that acquires positional information of the first flying body and positional information of the second flying body as information regarding the positional relationship between the first flying body and the second flying body, and a flight control unit that controls the flight of the second flying body so that the positional relationship between the first flying body and the second flying body is acquired from difference information between the positional information of the first flying body and the positional information of the second flying body acquired by the acquisition unit, while maintaining the predetermined positional relationship. In addition, the bird scaring system of the present invention comprises a first flying body that is controlled to fly toward a location where birds are present to scare away birds, and a second flying body that automatically follows the first flying body in a predetermined positional relationship, and the first flying body is controlled to automatically fly along a predetermined flight path after the positional relationship between the first flying body and the second flying body reaches the predetermined positional relationship. In addition, the bird scaring system of the present invention comprises a first flying body that is controlled to fly toward a location where birds are present to scare away birds, and a second flying body that automatically follows the first flying body in a predetermined positional relationship, the first flying body being controlled to fly automatically along a predetermined flight path and having a rewriting unit that rewrites the flight path according to the location of the bird, which is identified by image analysis of images captured by a second imaging unit that images the ground. In addition, the bird scare system of the present invention includes a first flying body that is controlled to fly toward a location where birds are present to scare away birds, a second flying body that automatically follows the first flying body in a predetermined positional relationship, a pilot that remotely controls the first flying body, and a third flying body that has a third imaging unit that images the ground, flies at a higher altitude than the first flying body, and transmits image information captured by the third imaging unit to the pilot. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, birds can be effectively repelled. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a bird scaring system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2(a) and 2(b) are schematic diagrams showing the flight states of the main flying vehicle and the secondary flying vehicle. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the bird scaring system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the secondary flying object in the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 5(a) and 5(b) are schematic diagrams showing the results of an experiment on how birds avoid flying objects. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bird scaring system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the main flying vehicle in the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the secondary flying object in the second embodiment. [Figure 9]FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bird scaring system according to a modified example of the second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the main flying vehicle in the modified example of the second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of a secondary flying object in a modified example of the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bird scaring system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the main flying vehicle in the third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the secondary flying object in the third embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bird scaring system according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the main flying vehicle in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the secondary flying object in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bird scaring system according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of a flight route rewriting process performed by the rewriting unit in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 20] 20(a) and 20(b) are schematic diagrams showing an example of a flight path before and after rewriting by the rewriting unit in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bird scaring system according to the sixth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] First Embodiment The bird scaring system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Figure 1 shows the configuration of a bird scaring system 1000 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the bird scaring system 1000 includes a primary flying vehicle 10, a secondary flying vehicle 40, and a piloted aircraft 70.

[0012] The primary flying vehicle 10 is, for example, a drone, and includes a main body 11 and four rotors (propellers) 12 attached to the main body 11. Similarly, the secondary flying vehicle 40 is, for example, a drone, and includes a main body 41 and four rotors (propellers) 42 attached to the main body 41. The primary flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40 fly by the rotation of the rotors 12 and 42. Note that the primary flying vehicle 10 and / or the secondary flying vehicle 40 may be fixed-wing aircraft that do not have rotors.

[0013] The main body 41 of the secondary flying object 40 is provided with an imaging unit 43. The imaging unit 43 is provided at a position where it can capture at least an image of the area in front of the secondary flying object 40 in the flight direction. The imaging unit 43 is a camera that captures an image of the area in front of the secondary flying object 40 at a predetermined angle of view in order to control the flight of the secondary flying object 40, and is, for example, a CCD camera. The secondary flying object 40 may be provided with multiple imaging units 43. In this case, the multiple imaging units 43 can be used as a stereo camera.

[0014] The pilot 70 comprises a main body 71, a control stick 72 provided on the main body 71, and a tracking mode switch 73 for switching the automatic tracking mode on and off. When the pilot 70 is operated by a user, it transmits operation information to the main flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40 via wireless communication. The pilot 70 may be a wireless communication terminal such as a smartphone.

[0015] A user can control the main flying object 10 by holding the main body 71 and operating the control stick 72. The secondary flying object 40 cannot be controlled by operating the control stick 72. When the user operates the follow-up mode switch 73, which switches the automatic follow-up mode on and off, the pilot 70 transmits a follow-up mode on signal or a follow-up mode off signal. The secondary flying object 40 is capable of receiving the follow-up mode on signal and off signal transmitted from the pilot 70. The automatic follow-up mode is a mode in which the secondary flying object 40 flies by automatically following the primary flying object 10. The automatic follow-up means that the secondary flying object 40 flies in approximately the same direction as the primary flying object 10 at an approximately constant distance from the primary flying object 10 without the user controlling the secondary flying object 40.

[0016] The flight signal transmitted from the pilot 70 to the primary flight vehicle 10 and the following mode on and off signals transmitted from the pilot 70 to the secondary flight vehicle 40 have different frequency bands. As an example, the frequency band of the flight signal is the 2.4 GHz band or the 5.7 GHz band, and the frequency band of the following mode on and off signals is the 920 MHz band.

[0017] 2(a) and 2(b) show the flight state of the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40. FIG. 2(a) is a schematic diagram of the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 flying in the flight direction DM as seen from above, and FIG. 2(b) is a schematic diagram of the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 as seen from the side. In FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b), the vertical direction is the Z-axis direction, the direction perpendicular to the Z-axis is the X-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the Z-axis and the X-axis is the Y-axis direction. The flight direction DM of the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 is the X-axis direction. In FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b), the scale of the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 is larger than the distance between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 for the convenience of illustrating the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b), the secondary flying body 40 flies from behind the main flying body 10, automatically following the main flying body 10. That is, the secondary flying body 40 flies in approximately the same direction as the main flying body 10, automatically following the main flying body 10, while maintaining an approximately constant distance L between the secondary flying body 40 and the main flying body 10. The distance L between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 is, for example, 2 m to 20 m. For example, the secondary flying body 40 is located diagonally behind the main flying body 10 when viewed from above, and flies a flight path FP2 that is approximately parallel to the flight path FP1 of the main flying body 10 with a distance D1 in the Y-axis direction. The distance D1 is, for example, 1 m to 17 m. For example, when viewed from above with the main flying object 10 as the origin, if a first direction (-X direction) opposite to the traveling direction DM of the main flying object 10 is 0° and a second direction (-Y direction) perpendicular to the first direction is 90°, then the secondary flying object 40 is preferably located within a range of 30° to 60°, and more preferably within a range of 40° to 50°. "Approximately the same direction and approximately parallel" does not necessarily mean completely the same direction and parallel, but also includes deviations from the same direction and parallel to the extent of error in control precision. The distance D2 between the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 in the X-axis direction is, for example, 1 m to 17 m.

[0019] The flight path FP1 of the primary flying body 10 and the flight path FP2 of the secondary flying body 40 are, for example, at substantially the same altitude. That is, the secondary flying body 40 flies at substantially the same altitude as the primary flying body 10. Substantially the same altitude is not limited to being exactly the same altitude, but also includes cases where the altitudes differ by an amount equivalent to an error in control accuracy.

[0020] The secondary flying vehicle 40 may be located almost directly behind the main flying vehicle 10 and automatically follow the main flying vehicle 10. The secondary flying vehicle 40 may fly a higher or lower flight path than the flight path of the main flying vehicle 10.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bird scaring system 1000 according to the first embodiment.

[0022] (Primary Aircraft 10) The main flying vehicle 10 includes a control unit 20, a rotary wing mechanism 21, a wireless communication unit 22, a position detection unit 23, a geomagnetic detection unit 24, an ultrasonic detection unit 25, an angular velocity detection unit 26, an acceleration detection unit 27, a memory unit 30, and a battery 31. The control unit 20 is configured using, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The control unit 20 performs signal processing for controlling the operation of each unit of the main flying vehicle 10 and input / output processing of signals between other devices.

[0023] The control unit 20 includes a flight control unit 36 ​​that controls the rotary wing mechanism 21 to control the flight of the primary flying vehicle 10. The flight control unit 36 ​​is realized by cooperation between software stored in the memory unit 30 and the hardware of the control unit 20. The memory unit 30 is, for example, a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, and may be provided within the main body unit 11 or may be removable from the main body unit 11. The flight control unit 36 ​​controls the rotary wing mechanism 21 in accordance with a flight signal received from the pilot 70 via the wireless communication unit 22 to control the flight of the primary flying vehicle 10.

[0024] The rotor mechanism 21 includes a plurality of rotors 12, a plurality of motors 32 that rotate the plurality of rotors 12, and a motor amplifier 33 that amplifies the current supplied from the battery 31 and supplies the amplified current to the motors 32. The amount of current amplification by the motor amplifier 33 changes in response to a signal from a flight control unit 36.

[0025] Wireless communication unit 22 communicates wirelessly with wireless communication unit 82 of pilot aircraft 70. Wireless communication unit 22 receives various signals (e.g., flight signals, etc.) for control unit 20 from wireless communication unit 82 of pilot aircraft 70.

[0026] The position detection unit 23 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, which receives signals indicating the positions of multiple GPS satellites transmitted from the multiple GPS satellites, and detects the position of the primary flying body 10 based on the multiple received signals. The position detection unit 23 outputs position information of the primary flying body 10 to the control unit 20. Note that detection of the position information of the primary flying body 10 may be performed by the control unit 20 instead of the position detection unit 23. In this case, the position detection unit 23 outputs signals indicating the positions of the GPS satellites to the control unit 20.

[0027] The geomagnetic detection unit 24 is, for example, a geomagnetic sensor, which detects the direction and outputs the detection result to the control unit 20.

[0028] The ultrasonic detection unit 25 is, for example, an ultrasonic sensor that emits ultrasonic waves, detects ultrasonic waves reflected by the ground or the like, and outputs the detection result to the control unit 20. The detection result may include the distance from the main flying vehicle 10 to the ground, i.e., the altitude of the main flying vehicle 10.

[0029] The angular velocity detection unit 26 is, for example, a gyro sensor that detects the angular velocities of the main flying body 10 in three axial directions of the pitch axis, roll axis, and yaw axis, and outputs the detection results to the control unit 20.

[0030] The acceleration detection unit 27 is, for example, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the main flying body 10 in three axial directions, namely forward / backward, left / right, and up / down, and outputs the detection results to the control unit 20.

[0031] (Secondary aircraft 40) The secondary flying object 40 comprises a control unit 50, a rotary wing mechanism 51, a wireless communication unit 52, an imaging unit 43, a position detection unit 53, a geomagnetic detection unit 54, an ultrasonic detection unit 55, an angular velocity detection unit 56, an acceleration detection unit 57, a timing unit 58, a tracking mode changeover switch 59, a memory unit 60, and a battery 61. The control unit 50 is configured using, for example, a CPU, an MPU, or a DSP. The control unit 50 performs signal processing for controlling the operation of each unit of the secondary flying object 40 and input / output processing between other devices.

[0032] The control unit 50 includes an acquisition unit 65 and a flight control unit 66. The acquisition unit 65 acquires information regarding the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40. The flight control unit 66 controls the flight of the secondary flying body 40 so that the secondary flying body 40 automatically follows the main flying body 10 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 10 based on the information regarding the positional relationship acquired by the acquisition unit 65. For example, the acquisition unit 65 acquires image information including the main flying body 10 captured by the imaging unit 43 as information regarding the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40. The flight control unit 66 controls the flight of the secondary flying body 40 so that the secondary flying body 40 automatically follows the main flying body 10 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 acquired from the captured image including the main flying body 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 65. For example, the flight control unit 66 controls the flight of the secondary flying vehicle 40 so that the secondary flying vehicle 40 automatically follows the main flying vehicle 10 while maintaining a predetermined distance and a predetermined direction between the secondary flying vehicle 40 and the main flying vehicle 10 and the direction in which the main flying vehicle 10 is viewed from the secondary flying vehicle 40, which are acquired from image information including the main flying vehicle 10. The acquisition unit 65 and the flight control unit 66 are realized by cooperation between software stored in the storage unit 60 and the hardware of the control unit 50. The storage unit 60 is, for example, a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, and may be provided within the main body unit 41 or may be removable from the main body unit 41.

[0033] The rotor mechanism 51 includes a plurality of rotors 42, a plurality of motors 62 that rotate the plurality of rotors 42, and a motor amplifier 63 that amplifies the current supplied from a battery 61 and supplies the amplified current to the motors 62. The amount of current amplification by the motor amplifier 63 changes in response to a signal from a flight control unit 66.

[0034] The imaging unit 43 captures at least an image of the area ahead in the flight direction of the secondary flying object 40. The imaging unit 43 outputs captured image information to the control unit 50. As the secondary flying object 40 flies following the main flying object 10, the imaging unit 43 captures an image including the main flying object 10 and outputs the captured image information including the main flying object 10 to the control unit 50.

[0035] The wireless communication unit 52 wirelessly communicates with the wireless communication unit 82 of the controller 70. The wireless communication unit 52 receives, for example, a following mode on signal and an off signal from the wireless communication unit 82 of the controller 70.

[0036] The position detection unit 53, geomagnetic detection unit 54, ultrasonic detection unit 55, angular velocity detection unit 56, and acceleration detection unit 57 have the same functions as the position detection unit 23, geomagnetic detection unit 24, ultrasonic detection unit 25, angular velocity detection unit 26, and acceleration detection unit 27 of the main flying body 10, so their explanations are omitted.

[0037] The timing unit 58 has, for example, a timer, measures time, and outputs the result to the control unit 50.

[0038] The following mode changeover switch 59 is a switch that switches the automatic following mode on and off. When the user operates the following mode changeover switch 59 or in response to a following mode on signal or off signal transmitted from the controller 70, the control unit 50 switches the automatic following mode on and off.

[0039] (Pilot 70) The controller 70 includes a control unit 80, a control stick 72, a following mode switch 73, and a wireless communication unit 82. The control unit 80 is configured using a CPU, MPU, DSP, or the like. The control unit 80 performs signal processing for controlling the overall operation of each unit of the controller 70, and input / output processing of signals between other devices, etc.

[0040] The control unit 80 generates flight signals for controlling the flight of the main flying body 10 in response to the user's operation of the control stick 72. The control unit 80 outputs the generated flight signals to the wireless communication unit 82. The control unit 80 also generates a following mode on signal or off signal in response to the user's operation of the following mode changeover switch 73. The control unit 80 outputs the generated following mode on signal and off signal to the wireless communication unit 82.

[0041] The wireless communication unit 82 transmits and receives signals using a predetermined wireless communication method (e.g., wireless communication in the 2.4 GHz or 5.7 GHz band) with the wireless communication unit 22 of the primary flying vehicle 10. The wireless communication unit 82 transmits flight signals generated by the control unit 80 to the wireless communication unit 22 of the primary flying vehicle 10. This allows the user to remotely control the primary flying vehicle 10 by operating the control stick 72 of the pilot 70.

[0042] In addition, the wireless communication unit 82 transmits and receives signals using a predetermined wireless communication method (for example, wireless communication in the 920 MHz band) with the wireless communication unit 52 of the secondary flying vehicle 40. The wireless communication unit 82 transmits tracking mode on and off signals generated by the control unit 80 to the wireless communication unit 52 of the secondary flying vehicle 40. As a result, the automatic tracking mode of the secondary flying vehicle 40 can be turned on or off by operating the tracking mode changeover switch 73 of the pilot 70.

[0043] (Flight Control) Flight control in the bird scaring system 1000 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. Note that the flight of the main flying vehicle 10 is controlled by the user operating the pilot 70, and since this is a typical control, a description thereof will be omitted. Therefore, the flight control of the secondary flying vehicle 40 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 4, the flight control unit 66 of the secondary flying object 40 waits until the automatic tracking mode is turned on by the tracking mode changeover switch 59 of the secondary flying object 40 or the tracking mode changeover switch 73 of the pilot 70 (step S10: No), and when the automatic tracking mode is turned on (step S10: Yes), it sets a home point (step S11). For example, the flight control unit 66 sets the location where the secondary flying object 40 currently exists as the home point. The flight control unit 66 stores the position information of the home point detected by the position detection unit 53 in the memory unit 60. After setting the home point, the flight control unit 66 issues an instruction to the rotary wing mechanism 51 to raise the secondary flying object 40 to a predetermined altitude and hover there (step S12).

[0045] When the secondary flying object 40 starts hovering, the acquisition unit 65 determines whether or not the image captured by the imaging unit 43 includes the main flying object 10, i.e., whether or not image information including the main flying object 10 has been acquired from the imaging unit 43 (step S13). In this case, the acquisition unit 65 determines whether or not the image includes the main flying object 10 by performing a pattern matching process between the captured image and a previously prepared image of the main flying object 10. However, without being limited to this, the acquisition unit 65 may determine whether or not the image includes the main flying object 10 by using other commonly known image analysis techniques.

[0046] If the acquisition unit 65 has not acquired image information including the main flying object 10 (step S13: No), it determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed (step S14), and if the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S14: No), it returns to step S13 and continues to attempt to acquire image information including the main flying object 10. The predetermined time is set to a time sufficient for the user to operate the pilot 70 to move the main flying object 10 into the imaging range of the imaging unit 43 and hover. If the user can move the main flying object 10 into the imaging range of the imaging unit 43 within the predetermined time (step S13: Yes), it proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, if the user cannot move the main flying object 10 into the imaging range of the imaging unit 43 within the predetermined time and image information including the main flying object 10 cannot be acquired even after the predetermined time has elapsed (step S14: Yes), the flight control unit 66 lands the secondary flying object 40 at the home point (step S19). After that, all the processing in FIG. 4 is completed.

[0047] In step S13, the secondary flying vehicle 40 may transmit an image information acquisition signal to the controller 70 when it acquires image information including the main flying vehicle 10. The controller 70 may turn on a lamp or the like when it receives the image information acquisition signal. This makes it easier for the user to recognize whether the primary flying vehicle 10 is hovering at an appropriate position. Also, in step S13, the secondary flying vehicle 40 may turn on the spot or rotate the imaging unit 43 so that image information including the main flying vehicle 10 can be acquired.

[0048] When the acquisition unit 65 acquires image information including the main flying object 10 (step S13: Yes), the flight control unit 66 acquires the positional relationship between the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 from the image information including the main flying object 10 (step S15). For example, the flight control unit 66 calculates the distance between the secondary flying object 40 and the main flying object 10 and the direction when the main flying object 10 is viewed from the secondary flying object 40 from the image information including the main flying object 10. For example, the flight control unit 66 can calculate the distance between the secondary flying object 40 and the main flying object 10 by extracting the size of the main flying object 10 with respect to the captured image. In addition, the flight control unit 66 can calculate the direction when the main flying object 10 is viewed from the secondary flying object 40 based on the position of the area in which the main flying object 10 is reflected in the captured image. Note that when the secondary flying object 40 has multiple imaging units 43, the multiple imaging units 43 can be used as stereo cameras, so that the distance can be calculated from the captured images of the multiple imaging units 43.

[0049] In addition, when the main flying body 10 is in a hovering state (stopped state), the secondary flying body 40 may not be able to determine the flight direction DM of the main flying body 10 and may not be able to move to a position where it is easy to follow the main flying body 10. Therefore, a marking indicating the rear may be provided on the main body 11 of the main flying body 10, and the secondary flying body 40 may recognize the flight direction DM of the main flying body 10 by acquiring the marking image by the imaging unit 43. Alternatively, when the main flying body 10 rises, moves, and then stops, the secondary flying body 40 may recognize the flight direction DM of the main flying body 10 by acquiring the moving direction of the main flying body 10 by the imaging unit 43. Alternatively, the secondary flying body 40 may acquire the direction of the main flying body 10 acquired by the main flying body 10 from the geomagnetic detection unit 24 or the like from the main flying body 10, and recognize the direction as the flight direction DM of the main flying body 10.

[0050] After step S15, the flight control unit 66 moves the secondary flying object 40 so that the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship (step S16). For example, the flight control unit 66 moves the secondary flying object 40 so that the distance between the secondary flying object 40 and the primary flying object 10 and the direction when the primary flying object 10 is viewed from the secondary flying object 40 become a predetermined distance and a predetermined direction. The flight control unit 66 may move the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 so that the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship by sequentially acquiring the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 from image information including the primary flying object 10 sequentially acquired by the acquisition unit 65. The predetermined positional relationship (predetermined distance and predetermined direction) can be a positional relationship (distance and direction) suitable for scaring off birds as a result of an experiment conducted in advance with different positional relationships.

[0051] The secondary flying vehicle 40 may transmit a positioning completion signal to the pilot 70 when the positional relationship between the main flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship. The pilot 70 may turn on a lamp or the like when it receives the positioning completion signal. This makes it easier for the user operating the pilot 70 to recognize that the positional relationship between the main flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship.

[0052] Even after step S16, the acquisition unit 65 judges whether image information including the main flying object 10 is acquired from the imaging unit 43 (step S17). After the positional relationship between the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship, the user operates the pilot 70 to fly the main flying object 10, so the position of the main flying object 10 changes. Therefore, while the acquisition unit 65 is acquiring image information including the main flying object 10 (step S17: Yes), the flight control unit 66 acquires the positional relationship between the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 at a predetermined timing (step S15) until it receives a tracking mode off signal from the pilot 70 (step S18: No), and moves the secondary flying object 40 so that the positional relationship between the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 maintains the predetermined positional relationship (step S16). This allows the positional relationship between the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 to be maintained at a predetermined positional relationship, and allows the secondary flying object 40 to automatically follow the main flying object 10.

[0053] If the acquisition unit 65 is unable to acquire image information including the main flying vehicle 10 while the secondary flying vehicle 40 is automatically following the main flying vehicle 10 (step S17: No), the flight control unit 66 lands the secondary flying vehicle 40 at the home point to avoid danger (step S19). Note that instead of landing the secondary flying vehicle 40 at the home point, the secondary flying vehicle 40 may be made to hover in place and a signal may be sent to the pilot 70 to inform the pilot 70 that automatic tracking of the secondary flying vehicle 40 has been interrupted.

[0054] After the primary flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40 have finished scaring off the birds, the user operates the tracking mode changeover switch 73 of the pilot 70 to turn off the automatic tracking mode in order to end the flight of the primary flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40. Therefore, when the flight control unit 66 receives a tracking mode off signal from the pilot 70 (step S18: Yes), it lands the secondary flying vehicle 40 at the home point (step S19).

[0055] Figures 5(a) and 5(b) are schematic diagrams showing the results of an experiment on how birds escape from flying bodies. Figure 5(a) is a schematic diagram showing how the bird 1 escapes when a single flying body 2 is flown toward a location where the bird 1 is, and Figure 5(b) is a schematic diagram showing how the bird 1 escapes when the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 are flown as in this embodiment.

[0056] As shown in Fig. 5(a), when a single flying object 2 was flown in a straight line toward the location of bird 1, bird 1 was startled by the approach of flying object 2 and flew away, but after the flying object 2 passed, it went around the flying object 2 and flew back again as shown by the solid arrow. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 5(b), when a main flying object 10 and a secondary flying object 40 that automatically follows the main flying object 10 were flown in a straight line toward the location of bird 1, bird 1 was startled by the approach of the main flying object 10 and flew away, but then was startled by the secondary flying object 40 following behind the main flying object 10 and flew away as shown by the solid arrow, so the number of birds 1 returning to their original location was smaller than in Fig. 5(a).

[0057] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the main flying body 10 (first flying body) is flown to approach the bird toward the place where the bird is present, and the secondary flying body (second flying body) is flown toward the place where the bird is present so as to follow the rear of the main flying body 10. This makes it possible to effectively scare away the bird. Since the secondary flying body 40 automatically follows the main flying body 10 in a predetermined positional relationship, the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 can be maintained at a positional relationship suitable for scare away the bird with good accuracy even without the user operating the secondary flying body 40, and the bird can be effectively scare away. The predetermined positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 is determined in advance by experiments to be a positional relationship that can effectively scare away the bird, and therefore, an appropriate positional relationship can be set according to the type and location of the bird.

[0058] In addition, in the first embodiment, the secondary flying vehicle 40 automatically follows the primary flying vehicle 10 in a positional relationship that effectively prevents birds threatened by the primary flying vehicle 10 from going around to the rear of the primary flying vehicle 10. Specifically, the secondary flying vehicle 40 follows the primary flying vehicle 10 at approximately the same altitude diagonally behind the primary flying vehicle 10 when viewed from above. By having the secondary flying vehicle 40 follow the primary flying vehicle 10 diagonally behind, the direction in which the birds are chased away can be controlled.

[0059] 3, the secondary flying vehicle 40 has an acquisition unit 65 that acquires information regarding the positional relationship between the primary flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40, and a flight control unit 66 that controls the flight of the secondary flying vehicle 40 so that the secondary flying vehicle 40 automatically follows the primary flying vehicle 10 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the primary flying vehicle 10, based on the information regarding the positional relationship acquired by the acquisition unit 65. This makes it possible to cause the secondary flying vehicle 40 to automatically follow the primary flying vehicle 10 while favorably maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the primary flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40.

[0060] In the first embodiment, the acquisition unit 65 acquires image information including the primary flying body 10 captured by the imaging unit 43 as information regarding the positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40. The flight control unit 66 controls the flight of the secondary flying body 40 so that the secondary flying body 40 automatically follows the primary flying body 10 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 acquired from the image information including the primary flying body 10. In this way, by making the secondary flying body 40 automatically follow the primary flying body 10 using the image information including the primary flying body 10, it is possible to make the secondary flying body 40 automatically follow the primary flying body 10 without wireless communication between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40.

[0061] In the above first embodiment, the case where the primary flying vehicle 10 flies horizontally in the direction in which the birds are present has been described; however, this is not limiting, and for example, the primary flying vehicle 10 may be made to dive toward birds on the ground in order to effectively scare off the birds on the ground.

[0062] In the first embodiment, the flight control unit 66 calculates the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 from image information including the main flying body 10, but this is not limited to the case. For example, image information including the main flying body 10 may be transmitted to a device outside the secondary flying body 40, and this external device may calculate the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 and transmit it to the secondary flying body 40, so that the flight control unit 66 obtains the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40. In addition, in the first embodiment, the pilot 70 directly transmits the follow mode on signal and the off signal to the secondary flying body 40, but the pilot 70 may transmit the follow mode on signal and the off signal to the main flying body 10, and the follow mode on signal and the off signal may be transmitted to the secondary flying body 40 via the main flying body 10.

[0063] In addition, in the above first embodiment, the secondary flying vehicle 40 does not automatically follow the primary flying vehicle 10 using image information including the primary flying vehicle 10, but may also send a flight signal from the pilot 70 to the primary flying vehicle 10 to the secondary flying vehicle 40, and the secondary flying vehicle 40 may automatically follow the primary flying vehicle 10 by flying in accordance with this flight signal.

[0064] Second Embodiment FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the bird scaring system 1100 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the bird scaring system 1100 according to the second embodiment does not include a pilot 70. A flight path (flight route) is stored in the memory unit 30 of the main flying object 10, and the flight control unit 36 ​​automatically flies the main flying object 10 along the flight path stored in the memory unit 30. In addition, wireless communication is possible between the wireless communication unit 22 of the main flying object 10 and the wireless communication unit 52 of the secondary flying object 40, and signals are transmitted and received using a predetermined wireless communication method (for example, wireless communication in the 920 MHz band). The main flying object 10 is provided with a timekeeping unit 28 having, for example, a timer for measuring time. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, so their explanations are omitted. In addition, the flight states of the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b), so their explanations are omitted.

[0065] (Flight Control) Flight control in the bird scaring system 1100 will be described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the primary flying body 10. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the secondary flying body 40. As shown in Fig. 7, the flight control unit 36 ​​of the primary flying body 10 sets a home point (step S20), and then issues an instruction to the rotary wing mechanism 21 to raise the primary flying body 10 to a predetermined altitude and hover there (step S21). For example, the location where the primary flying body 10 currently exists can be set as the home point, and the flight control unit 36 ​​stores the position information of the home point detected by the position detection unit 23 in the memory unit 30.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 8, the flight control unit 66 of the secondary aircraft 40 waits until the automatic tracking mode is turned on (step S30: No), and when it is turned on (step S30: Yes), it sets the home point (step S31) and then issues instructions to the rotary wing mechanism 51 to raise the secondary aircraft 40 to a predetermined altitude and hover there (step S32).

[0067] When the secondary flying object 40 starts hovering, the acquisition unit 65 determines whether image information including the primary flying object 10 has been acquired from the imaging unit 43 (step S33). If image information including the primary flying object 10 has not been acquired (step S33: No), the acquisition unit 65 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed (step S34), and if the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S34: No), the process returns to step S33 and continues to attempt to acquire image information including the primary flying object 10. The predetermined time is set to a time sufficient for the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 to rise to a predetermined altitude and hover. The positions of the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 before hovering are set so that the main flying object 10 is within the imaging range of the imaging unit 43 when the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 rise to a predetermined altitude and hover. When the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 rise to a predetermined altitude within a predetermined time, the acquisition unit 65 acquires image information including the main flying object 10 (step S33: Yes), and the process proceeds to step S35. On the other hand, if the main flying object 10 and / or the secondary flying object 40 cannot rise to a predetermined altitude within a predetermined time and image information including the main flying object 10 cannot be acquired even after the predetermined time has passed (step S34: Yes), the flight control unit 66 lands the secondary flying object 40 at the home point (step S42). After that, all the processes in FIG. 8 are completed.

[0068] If the acquisition unit 65 acquires image information including the primary flying object 10 (step S33: Yes), the flight control unit 66 acquires the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 from the image information including the primary flying object 10 (step S35), and moves the secondary flying object 40 so that the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship (step S36). After the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 becomes the predetermined positional relationship, the flight control unit 66 transmits a flight start signal to the primary flying object 10 (step S37).

[0069] As shown in FIG. 7, after the main flying body 10 starts hovering, the flight control unit 36 ​​judges whether or not a flight start signal has been received from the secondary flying body 40 (step S22). If the flight control unit 36 ​​has not received the flight start signal (step S22: No), it judges whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (step S23), and if the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S23: No), it returns to step S22 and continues to try to receive the flight start signal. The predetermined time is set to a time sufficient for the secondary flying body 40 to move to a predetermined positional relationship with the main flying body 10. On the other hand, if the flight start signal cannot be received even after the predetermined time has elapsed (step S23: Yes), the flight control unit 36 ​​lands the main flying body 10 at the home point (step S27).

[0070] If the flight start signal is received within a specified time (step S22: Yes), the flight control unit 36 ​​automatically flies the main aircraft 10 along the flight path stored in the memory unit 30 (step S24), and automatically flies the main aircraft 10 to the end of the flight path (step S25: No).

[0071] As shown in FIG. 8, even after step S37, the acquisition unit 65 judges whether image information including the main flying object 10 is acquired from the imaging unit 43 (step S38). As described in FIG. 7, the main flying object 10 automatically flies along the flight path stored in the storage unit 30 after receiving the flight start signal, so the position of the main flying object 10 changes. Therefore, while the acquisition unit 65 is acquiring image information including the main flying object 10 (step S38: Yes), the flight control unit 66 acquires the positional relationship between the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 at a predetermined timing (step S39) until it receives a tracking mode off signal from the main flying object 10 (step S41: No), and moves the secondary flying object 40 so that the positional relationship between the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 maintains a predetermined positional relationship (step S40). This makes it possible to fly the secondary flying object 40 by automatically following the main flying object 10 while maintaining the positional relationship between the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 at a predetermined positional relationship. When the secondary aircraft 40 is automatically tracking the main aircraft 10, if the acquisition unit 65 is unable to acquire image information including the main aircraft 10 (step S38: No), the flight control unit 66 lands the secondary aircraft 40 at the home point (step S42).

[0072] 7, the flight control unit 36 ​​automatically flies the main flying body 10 to the end of the flight path stored in the memory unit 30 (step S25: Yes), and then transmits a tracking mode off signal to the secondary flying body 40 (step S26). After that, the flight control unit 36 ​​lands the main flying body 10 at the home point (step S27).

[0073] As shown in FIG. 8, when the flight control unit 66 receives a tracking mode off signal from the main aircraft 10 (step S41: Yes), it lands the secondary aircraft 40 at the home point (step S42).

[0074] According to the second embodiment, the primary flying body 10 automatically flies along a predetermined flight path. This relieves the user from the need to operate the primary flying body 10, thereby reducing the burden on the user. In addition, by setting the main flying body 10 to automatically fly at a predetermined time, the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 can fly to scare away birds even when the user is absent.

[0075] In the second embodiment, the primary flying body 10 automatically flies along the flight path after receiving a flight start signal transmitted from the secondary flying body 40 after the positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 reaches a predetermined positional relationship. In this way, the primary flying body 10 automatically flies along the flight path after the positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 reaches a predetermined positional relationship, so that the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 can be easily made to fly in a positional relationship suitable for scaring away birds.

[0076] Next, a bird scaring system according to a modified example of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a bird scaring system 1200 according to a modified example of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, in the bird scaring system 1200 according to a modified example of the second embodiment, the control unit 20 of the main flying object 10 includes an acquisition unit 35 in addition to a flight control unit 36. The acquisition unit 35 acquires the position information of the main flying object 10 detected by the position detection unit 23 and the position information of the secondary flying object 40 transmitted from the secondary flying object 40. The other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 6 of the second embodiment, so their explanations are omitted. In addition, the flight states of the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b), so their explanations are omitted.

[0077] (Flight Control) Flight control in the bird scaring system 1200 will be described with reference to Fig. 10 and Fig. 11. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the primary flying vehicle 10. Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the secondary flying vehicle 40. As shown in Fig. 10, the flight control unit 36 ​​of the primary flying vehicle 10 sets a home point (step S50), and then issues a command to the rotary wing mechanism 21 to raise the primary flying vehicle 10 to a predetermined altitude and hover there (step S51).

[0078] When the primary aircraft 10 starts hovering, the acquisition unit 35 judges whether or not it has acquired the position information of the primary aircraft 10 from the position detection unit 23 and the position information of the secondary aircraft 40 from the secondary aircraft 40 (step S52). If the acquisition unit 35 has not acquired the position information (step S52: No), it judges whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (step S53), and if the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S53: No), it returns to step S52 and continues to try to acquire the position information. On the other hand, if the position information cannot be acquired even after the predetermined time has elapsed (step S53: Yes), the flight control unit 36 ​​lands the primary aircraft 10 at the home point (step S59).

[0079] When the acquisition unit 35 acquires the position information of the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 (step S52: Yes), the flight control unit 36 ​​acquires the positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 from the position information of the primary flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40 (step S54). For example, the flight control unit 36 ​​acquires difference information between the position information of the primary flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40, that is, information on the relative position of the secondary flying body 40 with respect to the primary flying body 10. The flight control unit 36 ​​determines whether the positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 is a predetermined positional relationship (step S55), and if it is not the predetermined positional relationship (step S55: No), steps S52 to S55 are repeated.

[0080] After the positional relationship between the main aircraft 10 and the secondary aircraft 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship (step S55: Yes), the main aircraft 10 executes steps S56 to S59, which are the same as steps S24 to S27 in Figure 7 of the second embodiment, so their explanation is omitted.

[0081] 11, the flight control unit 66 of the secondary flying vehicle 40 waits until the automatic tracking mode is turned on (step S60: No), and when it is turned on (step S60: Yes), it sets a home point (step S61) and then issues an instruction to the rotary wing mechanism 51 to raise the secondary flying vehicle 40 to a predetermined altitude and hover there (step S62). After the secondary flying vehicle 40 starts hovering, the flight control unit 66 transmits position information of the secondary flying vehicle 40 detected by the position detection unit 53 to the main flying vehicle 10 (step S63).

[0082] After step S63, the acquisition unit 65 determines whether image information including the main aircraft 10 has been acquired from the imaging unit 43 (step S64). If image information including the main aircraft 10 has not been acquired (step S64: No), the acquisition unit 65 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed (step S65), and if the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S65: No), returns to step S64 and continues to attempt to acquire image information including the main aircraft 10. On the other hand, if image information including the main aircraft 10 cannot be acquired even after the predetermined time has elapsed (step S65: Yes), the flight control unit 66 lands the secondary aircraft 40 at the home point (step S73).

[0083] When the acquisition unit 65 acquires image information including the main aircraft 10 (step S64: Yes), the flight control unit 66 acquires the positional relationship between the main aircraft 10 and the secondary aircraft 40 from the image information including the main aircraft 10 (step S66), and determines whether the positional relationship between the main aircraft 10 and the secondary aircraft 40 is a predetermined positional relationship (step S67). If the positional relationship is not the predetermined positional relationship (step S67: No), the flight control unit 66 moves the secondary aircraft 40 so that the positional relationship is the predetermined positional relationship (step S68). The acquisition unit 65 and the flight control unit 66 repeat steps S63 to S67 until the positional relationship between the main aircraft 10 and the secondary aircraft 40 is the predetermined positional relationship.

[0084] After the positional relationship between the main aircraft 10 and the secondary aircraft 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship (step S67: Yes), the secondary aircraft 40 executes steps S69 to S73, which are the same as steps S38 to S42 in Figure 8 of the second embodiment, so explanations are omitted.

[0085] According to a modification of the second embodiment, the primary flying body 10 automatically flies along the flight path after the positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40, which is obtained from difference information between the positional information of the primary flying body 10 detected by the position detection unit 23 and the positional information of the secondary flying body 40 transmitted from the secondary flying body 40, becomes a predetermined positional relationship. In this way, the primary flying body 10 automatically flies along the flight path after the positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship, so that it is easy to realize flying the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 in a positional relationship suitable for chasing away birds.

[0086] In the second embodiment and the modified example of the second embodiment described above, a flight path (flight pattern) effective for repelling each type of bird may be determined in advance, and a plurality of flight paths may be stored in the memory unit 30 so that an appropriate selection can be made from among them.

[0087] Third embodiment FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of the bird scaring system 1300 according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, in the bird scaring system 1300 according to the third embodiment, the secondary flying object 40 does not have an imaging unit 43. In addition, wireless communication is not performed between the wireless communication unit 82 of the pilot 70 and the wireless communication unit 52 of the secondary flying object 40, but wireless communication is possible between the wireless communication unit 22 of the primary flying object 10 and the wireless communication unit 52 of the secondary flying object 40, and signals are transmitted and received using a predetermined wireless communication method (for example, wireless communication in the 920 MHz band). The acquisition unit 65a of the secondary flying object 40 acquires the position information of the primary flying object 10 transmitted from the primary flying object 10 and the position information of the secondary flying object 40 detected by the position detection unit 53 as information regarding the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40. The flight control unit 66a controls the flight of the secondary flying body 40 so that the secondary flying body 40 automatically follows the primary flying body 10 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40, which is acquired from difference information between the position information of the primary flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40 acquired by the acquisition unit 65a. The other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, and therefore descriptions thereof will be omitted. In addition, the flight states of the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 are also the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b), and therefore descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0088] (Flight Control) Flight control in the bird scaring system 1300 will be described with reference to Figs. 13 and 14. Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the primary flying object 10. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the secondary flying object 40. As shown in Fig. 13, the flight control unit 36 ​​of the primary flying object 10 waits until it receives a flight signal from the pilot 70 (step S80: No), and upon receiving the flight signal (step S80: Yes), it flies the primary flying object 10 in response to the flight signal (step S81). When the flight control unit 36 ​​starts flying the primary flying object 10, it transmits position information of the primary flying object 10 detected by the position detection unit 23 to the secondary flying object 40 at a predetermined timing (step S82), and returns to step S80.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 14, the flight control unit 66a of the secondary aircraft 40 waits until the automatic tracking mode is turned on (step S90: No), and when it is turned on (step S90: Yes), it sets the home point (step S91) and then issues instructions to the rotary wing mechanism 51 to raise the secondary aircraft 40 to a predetermined altitude and hover there (step S92).

[0090] After the secondary flying object 40 starts hovering, the acquisition unit 65a judges whether or not it has acquired the position information of the primary flying object 10 from the primary flying object 10 and the position information of the secondary flying object 40 from the position detection unit 53 (step S93). If the acquisition unit 65a has not acquired the position information (step S93: No), it judges whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (step S94), and if the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S94: No), it returns to step S93 and continues to try to acquire the position information. On the other hand, if the position information cannot be acquired even after the predetermined time has elapsed (step S94: Yes), the flight control unit 66a lands the secondary flying object 40 at the home point (step S101).

[0091] If the acquisition unit 65a acquires the position information of the primary flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40 (step S93: Yes), the flight control unit 66a acquires the positional relationship between the primary flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 from the position information of the primary flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40 (step S95). For example, the flight control unit 66a acquires the positional relationship of the relative position of the secondary flying body 40 with respect to the primary flying body 10 from difference information between the position information of the primary flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40.

[0092] After step S95, the flight control unit 66a moves the secondary flying object 40 so that the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship (step S96). After step S96, the acquisition unit 65a determines whether or not it has acquired the positional information of the primary flying object 10 and the positional information of the secondary flying object 40 (step S97). While the acquisition unit 65a is acquiring the positional information of the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 (step S97: Yes), the flight control unit 66a acquires the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 at a predetermined timing (step S98) until it receives a tracking mode off signal from the primary flying object 10 (step S100: No), and moves the secondary flying object 40 so that the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 is maintained as a predetermined positional relationship (step S99). This enables the secondary flying vehicle 40 to fly automatically following the primary flying vehicle 10 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the primary flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40.

[0093] When the acquisition unit 65a is unable to acquire position information while the secondary flying object 40 is automatically following the primary flying object 10 (step S97: No), the flight control unit 66a lands the secondary flying object 40 at the home point (step S101). After the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 finish scaring off the birds, the user operates the tracking mode changeover switch 73 of the pilot 70 to turn off the automatic tracking mode in order to end the flight of the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40. Therefore, when the flight control unit 66a receives a tracking mode off signal transmitted from the pilot 70 via the primary flying object 10 (step S100: Yes), it lands the secondary flying object 40 at the home point (step S101).

[0094] According to the third embodiment, the acquisition unit 65a acquires the position information of the main flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40 as information on the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40. The flight control unit 66a controls the flight of the secondary flying body 40 so that the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40, acquired from the difference information between the position information of the main flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40, is maintained as a predetermined positional relationship, and the secondary flying body 40 automatically follows the main flying body 10 while maintaining the predetermined positional relationship. In this way, by making the secondary flying body 40 automatically follow the main flying body 10 using the position information of the main flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40, the secondary flying body 40 does not need to be equipped with an imaging unit, and therefore, the number of parts can be reduced, thereby realizing cost reduction and weight reduction.

[0095] Fourth embodiment FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of the bird scaring system 1400 according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, in the bird scaring system 1400 according to the fourth embodiment, the secondary flying object 40 does not have an imaging unit 43. The acquisition unit 65a of the secondary flying object 40 acquires the position information of the primary flying object 10 transmitted from the primary flying object 10 as information on the positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 and the position information of the secondary flying object 40 detected by the position detection unit 53. The flight control unit 66a controls the flight of the secondary flying object 40 so that the secondary flying object 40 automatically follows the primary flying object 10 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the primary flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 acquired from the difference information between the position information of the primary flying object 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 65a and the position information of the secondary flying object 40. The other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 6 of the second embodiment, so that the description will be omitted. Moreover, the flight conditions of the main flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40 are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in Figs. 2(a) and 2(b), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0096] (Flight Control) Flight control in the bird scaring system 1400 will be described with reference to Figs. 16 and 17. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the primary flying body 10. Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of flight control of the secondary flying body 40. As shown in Fig. 16, the flight control unit 36 ​​of the primary flying body 10 sets a home point (step S110), and then issues an instruction to the rotary wing mechanism 21 to raise the primary flying body 10 to a predetermined altitude and hover there (step S111). After the primary flying body 10 starts hovering, the flight control unit 36 ​​transmits position information of the primary flying body 10 detected by the position detection unit 23 to the secondary flying body 40 (step S112).

[0097] As shown in FIG. 17, the flight control unit 66a of the secondary aircraft 40 waits until the automatic tracking mode is turned on (step S120: No), and when it is turned on (step S120: Yes), it sets the home point (step S121) and then issues instructions to the rotary wing mechanism 51 to raise the secondary aircraft 40 to a predetermined altitude and hover there (step S122).

[0098] When the secondary flying object 40 starts hovering, the acquisition unit 65a judges whether or not it has acquired the position information of the primary flying object 10 from the primary flying object 10 and the position information of the secondary flying object 40 from the position detection unit 53 (step S123). If the acquisition unit 65a has not acquired the position information (step S123: No), it judges whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (step S124), and if the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S124: No), it returns to step S123 and continues to try to acquire the position information. On the other hand, if the position information cannot be acquired even after the predetermined time has elapsed (step S124: Yes), the flight control unit 66a lands the secondary flying object 40 at the home point (step S132).

[0099] When the acquisition unit 65a acquires the position information of the main flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40 (step S123: Yes), the flight control unit 66a acquires the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 from the position information of the main flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40 (step S125). For example, the flight control unit 66a acquires the positional relationship, which is the relative position of the secondary flying body 40 with respect to the main flying body 10, from the difference information between the position information of the main flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40. After step S125, the flight control unit 66a moves the secondary flying body 40 so that the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 becomes a predetermined positional relationship (step S126). After the positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 becomes the predetermined positional relationship, the flight control unit 66a transmits a flight start signal to the main flying body 10 (step S127).

[0100] As shown in FIG. 16, after the main aircraft 10 transmits position information to the secondary aircraft 40, it executes steps S113 to S118. Since these are the same as steps S22 to S27 in FIG. 7 of the second embodiment, their explanation will be omitted.

[0101] As shown in FIG. 17, after transmitting a flight start signal to the main aircraft 10, the secondary aircraft 40 executes steps S128 to S132. However, since these are the same as steps S97 to S101 in FIG. 14 of the third embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

[0102] According to the fourth embodiment, the main flying body 10 automatically flies along a predetermined flight path. In this case, the acquisition unit 65a acquires the position information of the main flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40, and the flight control unit 66a controls the flight of the secondary flying body 40 so that the secondary flying body 40 automatically follows the main flying body 10 while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40 acquired from the difference information between the position information of the main flying body 10 and the position information of the secondary flying body 40. For example, in a case of poor visibility such as fog or darkness, it is difficult for a user to operate the pilot to fly the main flying body 10, and it is also difficult for the secondary flying body 40 to acquire image information including the main flying body 10. However, as in the fourth embodiment, the primary aircraft 10 flies along a predetermined flight path and the secondary aircraft 40 automatically follows the primary aircraft 10 using position information of the primary aircraft 10 and the secondary aircraft 40, so that the primary aircraft 10 and the secondary aircraft 40 that automatically follows the primary aircraft 10 can fly even in poor visibility such as fog or darkness.

[0103] Fifth embodiment In the fifth embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the main flying object 10 automatically flies along the flight path stored in the memory unit 30. FIG. 18 shows a block diagram of a bird scaring system 1500 according to the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 18, due to the limitations of the drawing, the same components as those in FIG. 6 of the second embodiment are omitted. As shown in FIG. 18, the bird scaring system 1500 according to the fifth embodiment is provided with a third flying object 90 in addition to the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40. The third flying object 90 includes a control unit 100, a rotary wing mechanism 101, a wireless communication unit 102, an imaging unit 93, a position detection unit 103, a geomagnetic detection unit 104, an ultrasonic detection unit 105, an angular velocity detection unit 106, an acceleration detection unit 107, a memory unit 110, and a battery 111. The rotary wing mechanism 101 includes a plurality of rotary wings 92, a motor 112, and a motor amplifier 113. The control unit 100 includes a flight control unit 116 that automatically flies the third flying object 90 along a flight path stored in the memory unit 110.

[0104] The third flying object 90 flies at a higher altitude than, for example, the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40. An imaging unit 93 of the third flying object 90 images the ground. The image captured by the imaging unit 93 is output to a wireless communication unit 102. The position detection unit 103, geomagnetic detection unit 104, ultrasonic detection unit 105, angular velocity detection unit 106, and acceleration detection unit 107 of the third flying object 90 have the same functions as the position detection unit 23, geomagnetic detection unit 24, ultrasonic detection unit 25, angular velocity detection unit 26, and acceleration detection unit 27 of the main flying object 10, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0105] In addition to between the wireless communication unit 22 of the main flying object 10 and the wireless communication unit 52 of the secondary flying object 40, wireless communication is possible between the wireless communication unit 22 of the main flying object 10 and the wireless communication unit 102 of the third flying object 90, and signals are transmitted and received using a predetermined wireless communication method (for example, wireless communication in the 920 MHz band). The control unit 20 of the main flying object 10 includes a flight control unit 36, as well as a rewriting unit 37 that performs image analysis on images captured by the imaging unit 93 transmitted from the third flying object 90 and rewrites the flight path stored in the memory unit 30. The other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 6 of the second embodiment, so their explanations are omitted. In addition, the flight states of the main flying object 10 and the secondary flying object 40 are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b), so their explanations are omitted.

[0106] Fig. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of a flight path rewriting process by the rewriting unit 37. As shown in Fig. 19, the rewriting unit 37 receives ground image information captured by the imaging unit 93 of the third flying object 90 from the third flying object 90 (step S140). The rewriting unit 37 analyzes the received ground image information using a general image analysis technique and identifies the location of the bird (step S141). The rewriting unit 37 rewrites the flight path stored in the memory unit 30 so that the main flying object 10 flies above the location of the identified bird (step S142).

[0107] 20(a) and 20(b) are schematic diagrams showing an example of a flight path before and after rewriting by the rewriting unit 37. As shown in FIG. 20(a), before rewriting by the rewriting unit 37, a flight path in which the main flying object 10 flies through the center of an area 5 (e.g., a farm area) from which birds are to be chased away is stored in the memory unit 30. As shown in FIG. 20(b), when an image of the ground received from the third flying object 90 is analyzed and it is determined that the bird 1 is located near the edge of the area 5, the rewriting unit 37 rewrites the flight path to one in which the main flying object 10 flies above the edge of the area 5.

[0108] According to the fifth embodiment, the primary flying vehicle 10 has a rewriting unit 37 that rewrites the flight path according to the location of the bird 1 identified by image analysis of the image captured by the imaging unit 93 that captures the ground. This allows the primary flying vehicle 10 to approach the bird when flying automatically along the flight path, thereby effectively scaring off the bird.

[0109] In the fifth embodiment, the third flying object 90 is, for example, a drone, but may be a flying object floating in the air, such as a balloon. In addition, the third flying object 90 is shown to be located based on an image of the ground captured by the imaging unit 93, but the main flying object 10 and / or the secondary flying object 40 may have an imaging unit that captures images of the ground, and the location of the bird 1 may be identified based on an image of the ground captured by the imaging unit. In addition, the third flying object 90 is shown to be flying automatically, but may be remotely controlled by a user operating a control device.

[0110] Sixth Embodiment FIG. 21 shows a block diagram of the configuration of a bird scaring system 1600 according to the sixth embodiment. In FIG. 21, due to limitations of the drawing, the same components as those in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment are omitted from the illustration. As shown in FIG. 21, the bird scaring system 1600 according to the sixth embodiment is provided with a third flying object 90 in addition to the main flying object 10, the secondary flying object 40, and the piloted aircraft 70. The configuration of the third flying object 90 is the same as that of the third flying object 90 in FIG. 18 of the fifth embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted. The third flying object 90 flies at a higher altitude than the main flying object 10. Wireless communication is possible between the wireless communication unit 82 of the piloted aircraft 70 and the wireless communication unit 102 of the third flying object 90, and signals are transmitted and received using a predetermined wireless communication method (for example, wireless communication in the 920 MHz band). The piloted aircraft 70 has a display unit 83 capable of displaying an image of the ground captured by the imaging unit 93 and transmitted from the third flying object 90. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 3, so their explanations will be omitted. Also, the flight states of the main flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40 are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 2(a) and Fig. 2(b), so their explanations will be omitted.

[0111] According to the sixth embodiment, ground image information captured by the imaging unit 93 from the third flying body 90 flying at a higher altitude than the primary flying body 10 is transmitted to the pilot vehicle 70. This allows the user operating the pilot vehicle 70 to recognize the location of the bird from the ground image displayed on the display unit 83, for example. This allows the user to fly the primary flying body 10 toward the location of the bird, thereby effectively chasing away the bird.

[0112] In the above first to sixth embodiments, the case where there is one secondary flying body 40 that automatically follows the primary flying body 10 has been described as an example, but multiple secondary flying bodies 40 may automatically follow the primary flying body 10. For example, two secondary flying bodies 40 may automatically follow the primary flying body 10, with one of the two secondary flying bodies 40 automatically following the left diagonally rear of the primary flying body 10 and the other automatically following the right diagonally rear of the primary flying body 10. For example, multiple secondary flying bodies 40 lined up in sequence at a predetermined interval diagonally rear of one of the primary flying bodies 10 may automatically follow the primary flying body 10.

[0113] In addition, in the above first to sixth embodiments, examples have been shown in which the main flying vehicle 10 and the secondary flying vehicle 40 do not emit sounds to scare away birds from speakers or the like, but it is also possible for the main flying vehicle 10 and / or the secondary flying vehicle 40 to emit sounds to scare away birds using speakers or the like.

[0114] In addition, in the first to sixth embodiments, a resin or metal chain may be hung from at least one of the main flying body 10 and the secondary flying body 40. This makes the main flying body 10 and / or the secondary flying body 40 appear larger to birds, and can effectively scare off birds.

[0115] Furthermore, in the above first to sixth embodiments, the case of repelling birds has been shown as an example, but the invention according to the embodiments may be applied to cases of repelling insects, animals, and the like.

[0116] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 10 Primary Aircraft 20 Control section 22 Wireless Communication Section 23 Position detection unit 30 Storage section 35 Acquisition Department 36 Flight Control Unit 37 Rewrite section 40 Sub-aircraft 43 Imaging unit 50 Control section 52 Wireless Communication Section 53 Position detection unit 59 Follow mode switch 60 Storage section 65, 65a acquisition part 66, 66a Flight control unit 70 Pilot 73 Follow mode switch 80 Control section 82 Wireless Communication Section 83 Display section 90 Third Aircraft 93 Imaging section 100 Control section 102 Wireless Communication Department 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600 Bird Scare System

Claims

1. a first flying object that is controlled to fly toward a location where the bird is present and thereby chases away the bird; A second flying object that automatically follows the first flying object in a predetermined positional relationship; The second flying object is a bird scaring system having an acquisition unit that acquires image information including the first flying object imaged by a first imaging unit possessed by the second flying object as information regarding the positional relationship between the first flying object and the second flying object, and a flight control unit that controls the flight of the second flying object so that the positional relationship between the first flying object and the second flying object acquired from the image information including the first flying object acquired by the acquisition unit is maintained as a predetermined positional relationship,

2. A first flying object that is controlled to fly toward a location where birds are present and thereby repels birds; A second flying object that automatically follows the first flying object in a predetermined positional relationship; The bird scaring system includes an acquisition unit that acquires position information of the first flying body and position information of the second flying body as information regarding the positional relationship between the first flying body and the second flying body, and a flight control unit that controls the flight of the second flying body so that the positional relationship between the first flying body and the second flying body acquired from difference information between the position information of the first flying body and the position information of the second flying body acquired by the acquisition unit is maintained as the specified positional relationship, thereby controlling the flight of the second flying body so that the second flying body automatically follows the first flying body.

3. A first flying object that is controlled to fly toward a location where birds are present and thereby repels birds; A second flying object that automatically follows the first flying object in a predetermined positional relationship; A bird scaring system in which the first flying body is controlled to automatically fly along a predetermined flight path after the positional relationship between the first flying body and the second flying body reaches the specified positional relationship.

4. A first flying object that is controlled to fly toward a location where birds are present and thereby repels birds; A second flying object that automatically follows the first flying object in a predetermined positional relationship; The first flying object is controlled to fly automatically along a predetermined flight path, and the bird scaring system has a rewriting unit that rewrites the flight path according to the location of a bird identified by image analysis of images captured by a second imaging unit that images the ground.

5. A first flying object that is controlled to fly toward a location where birds are present and thereby repels birds; A second flying object that automatically follows the first flying object in a predetermined positional relationship; A controller that remotely controls the first flying object; A bird scaring system comprising: a third flying vehicle having a third imaging unit that images the ground, flies at a higher altitude than the first flying vehicle, and transmits image information captured by the third imaging unit to the piloted aircraft.

6. The bird scaring system according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined positional relationship is a positional relationship that prevents a bird scared by the first flying body from going around to the rear of the first flying body.

7. 7. The bird scaring system according to claim 1, wherein the second flying body automatically follows the first flying body diagonally behind the first flying body when viewed from above.

8. The bird scaring system according to claim 1 , wherein the second flying object automatically follows the first flying object at approximately the same altitude as the first flying object.

9. The bird scaring system of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a controller that transmits flight signals to the first flying object to remotely control the first flying object.

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