Unmanned aerial vehicle photography system, unmanned aerial vehicle photography method, and unmanned aerial vehicle photography program

Abstract

To provide an unmanned aircraft photographing system which can improve workability relating on estimation of a repair of an existing building, a construction work estimation creation system using an unmanned aircraft, an unmanned aircraft photographing method, and an unmanned aircraft photographing program.SOLUTION: An unmanned aircraft photographing system 100 is a system for photographing appearance of an existing building 200 using an unmanned aircraft 2 includes: an unmanned aircraft 2; a photographic range acquisition part for acquiring a planar photographic range of the unmanned aircraft 2; a flight path creation part for creating a flight path in a horizontal direction of the unmanned aircraft 2 on the basis of the acquired photographic range; a photographic condition acquisition part for acquiring a photographic height and a number of photographic images; a photographic operation specification part for specifying photographic operation on the flight path on the basis of the acquired number of photographic images; and an operation control part for controlling flight operation of the unmanned aircraft 2 on the basis of the created flight path and the acquired photographic height, and controlling photographic operation of the unmanned aircraft 2 on the basis of the specified photographic operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system used for estimating and carrying out repairs (including repairs and renovations) of existing buildings, particularly at high altitudes. , nothing This invention relates to a manned aircraft photography method and an unmanned aircraft photography program. [Background technology]

[0002] In the past, construction workers had to work at heights to determine whether or not repairs were necessary to the roofs and walls of existing buildings. In recent years, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to photograph the exterior of roofs and walls has eliminated the need for manual work at heights, dramatically improving safety and workability when estimating and carrying out repairs.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a system for taking an image of a roof of an existing building in order to prepare an estimate for painting or waterproofing work on the roof. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-55351 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The system disclosed in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to create accurate and inexpensive estimates for roof painting or waterproofing work. However, the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that scanning when taking images with an unmanned aerial vehicle depends on the operation of a user (worker, etc.), making it difficult to improve workability in estimating repairs and the like for existing buildings.

[0006] The present invention has been devised in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system, a construction work estimate creation system using an unmanned aerial vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle photography method, and an unmanned aerial vehicle photography program that can improve the workability of estimating repairs and other work on existing buildings. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system according to the first invention is an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system for photographing the exterior of an existing building using an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising: an unmanned aerial vehicle; Square-shaped a shooting range acquisition unit that acquires a shooting range; a flight path generation unit that generates a horizontal flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the shooting range acquired by the shooting range acquisition unit; a shooting condition acquisition unit that acquires the shooting altitude and the number of shots in the shooting range acquired by the shooting range acquisition unit; a shooting operation identification unit that identifies a shooting operation on the flight path based on the number of shots acquired by the shooting condition acquisition unit; and a flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle that controls the flight path generated by the flight path generation unit and the shooting altitude acquired by the shooting condition acquisition unit, and that controls the shooting operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the shooting operation identified by the shooting operation identification unit. and capturing an image of the exterior of the existing building at a coordinate corresponding to the center of a longer diagonal line of the imaging range acquired by the imaging range acquisition unit and at a height at which the entire existing building fits within an angle of view. and an operation control unit for controlling the operation of the

[0008] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system of the second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the photography range acquisition unit acquires the photography range in a polygonal shape, and the flight path generation unit generates the flight path including a direction approximately perpendicular to the longest side of each side of the polygonal photography range acquired by the photography range acquisition unit.

[0009] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system of the third invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the operation control unit controls the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle so that when the remaining charge of the battery installed in the unmanned aerial vehicle on the flight path generated by the flight path generation unit falls below a predetermined lower limit, the unmanned aerial vehicle automatically retreats to the takeoff point, and then, when the remaining charge of the battery reaches a predetermined value or above, the unmanned aerial vehicle resumes photography from the point on the flight path where the retreat began.

[0010] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system of the fourth invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, it further comprises a server that can be controlled independently of the photography range acquisition unit, the flight path generation unit, the photography condition acquisition unit, the photography operation identification unit, and the operation control unit, and that receives two-dimensional appearance information showing the appearance of the existing building photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle via a wireless communication network, and acquires a three-dimensional modeling image showing the existing building based on the received two-dimensional appearance information.

[0011] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system of the fifth invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, it further comprises a server that receives exterior information showing the appearance of the existing building photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle via a wireless communication network, and a transmission control unit that controls the transmission of the exterior information to the server.

[0012] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system of the sixth invention is the first invention, further comprising an authentication unit that certifies that the approval information corresponding to the unmanned aerial vehicle is valid by referring to a database that links unmanned aerial vehicle identification information that identifies the unmanned aerial vehicle with approval information that indicates flight permission for the unmanned aerial vehicle in DIPS (Drone / UAS Information Platform System) or FISS (Flight Information Sharing System), and the operation control unit controls the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle after the authentication unit certifies that the approval information is valid.

[0013] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system of the seventh invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, it further includes a calculation unit that calculates the number of photographs based on the photography altitude or the photography altitude based on the number of photographs, and the photography condition acquisition unit first acquires either the number of photographs or the photography altitude, and then acquires the other calculated by the calculation unit.

[0014] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system of the eighth invention is the first invention, further comprising a calculation unit that calculates the photography altitude based on the photography interval of the unmanned aerial vehicle and a preset overlap width that is set as the overlap width at which the angles of view of the unmanned aerial vehicle at two adjacent points separated by the photography interval overlap, and the photography condition acquisition unit acquires the photography interval and then acquires the photography altitude calculated by the calculation unit.

[0016] No. 9 The unmanned aerial vehicle photography method in the invention is a method for photographing the exterior of an existing building using an unmanned aerial vehicle, Square-shaped a photographing range acquisition step of acquiring a photographing range; a flight path generation step of generating a horizontal flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the photographing range acquired by the photographing range acquisition step; a photographing condition acquisition step of acquiring a photographing altitude and the number of photographs in the photographing range acquired by the photographing range acquisition step; a photographing operation identification step of identifying a photographing operation on the flight path based on the number of photographs acquired by the photographing condition acquisition step; and controlling the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the flight path generated by the flight path generation step and the photographing altitude acquired by the photographing condition acquisition step, and controlling the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the photographing operation identified by the photographing operation identification step. After the flight operation and the photographing operation are completed, the exterior of the existing building is photographed at a coordinate corresponding to the center of a longer diagonal line of the photographing range acquired in the photographing range acquisition step and at an altitude where the entire existing building fits within an angle of view. and an operation control step for controlling the operation of the device.

[0018] No. 10The unmanned aerial vehicle photography program in the invention is an unmanned aerial vehicle photography program for photographing the exterior of an existing building using an unmanned aerial vehicle, and Square-shaped a photographing range acquisition step of acquiring a photographing range; a flight path generation step of generating a horizontal flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the photographing range acquired by the photographing range acquisition step; a photographing condition acquisition step of acquiring a photographing altitude and the number of photographs in the photographing range acquired by the photographing range acquisition step; a photographing operation identification step of identifying a photographing operation on the flight path based on the number of photographs acquired by the photographing condition acquisition step; and controlling the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the flight path generated by the flight path generation step and the photographing altitude acquired by the photographing condition acquisition step, and controlling the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the photographing operation identified by the photographing operation identification step. After the flight operation and the photographing operation are completed, the exterior of the existing building is photographed at a coordinate corresponding to the center of a longer diagonal line of the photographing range acquired in the photographing range acquisition step and at an altitude where the entire existing building fits within an angle of view. and an operation control step of causing a computer to execute the steps. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to the first to eighth inventions, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system includes an operation control unit that controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on a flight path generated based on the acquired photography range and the acquired photography altitude, and that controls the photography operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on photography operations determined based on the acquired number of photographs. Therefore, by setting the photography range to match the existing building, it is possible to automatically photograph the entire existing building according to the generated flight path. This improves the workability of estimating repairs and other work for existing buildings.

[0020] In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the flight path generation unit generates a flight path that includes a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the longest side of the acquired polygonal imaging range. This simplifies the process compared to calculating a flight path based on a side other than the longest side, and allows for efficient generation of the flight path. This improves the efficiency of estimates for repairs to existing buildings.

[0021] In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the operation control unit automatically evacuates the unmanned aerial vehicle to the takeoff point when the remaining battery charge falls below a preset lower limit on the flight path, and then resumes photographing from the point on the flight path where the evacuation began when the remaining battery charge reaches a predetermined value or higher. This allows the flight and photographing operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle to be controlled for a longer period of time. This also improves the workability of estimating repairs, etc., even for larger existing buildings.

[0022] In particular, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the system further includes a server that can be controlled independently of the operation control unit, receives two-dimensional appearance information captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle, and acquires a three-dimensional modeling image of an existing building based on the received two-dimensional appearance information. In other words, the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be controlled without waiting until a three-dimensional modeling image of an existing building based on the two-dimensional appearance information is generated and acquired. Therefore, acquisition of a three-dimensional modeling image and photography of other existing buildings by the unmanned aerial vehicle can be carried out in parallel. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs to existing buildings.

[0023] In particular, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the system further includes a server that receives exterior information captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle and a transmission control unit that controls the transmission of the exterior information to the server. Specifically, the system can re-capture exterior information and transmit it, or transmit multiple pieces of exterior information related to multiple existing buildings at once. This eliminates the need to wait until transmission of the exterior information is complete, due to line congestion caused by transmitting large amounts of data, to re-capture the exterior information or photograph other existing buildings. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for existing buildings. Furthermore, by re-capturing exterior information or transmitting multiple pieces of exterior information at once, the number of data transmissions can be reduced. Furthermore, by moving within a short-range wireless communication range, etc., and transmitting data, the waiting time until transmission of the exterior information is complete can be shortened. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for existing buildings.

[0024] In particular, according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the operation control unit controls the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle after the authentication unit certifies that the approval information is valid. This makes it easy and reliable to check whether the flight permit for the unmanned aerial vehicle has been forgotten or has expired, thereby avoiding or preventing illegal acts by the user. This improves the accuracy of compliance with laws and regulations regarding the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles used to estimate repairs and other work on existing buildings.

[0025] In particular, according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the operation control unit controls the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle after calculating either the number of photographs based on the acquired photographing altitude or the photographing altitude based on the acquired number of photographs. This automatically optimizes the number of photographs, reducing the system's communication capacity, storage capacity, and the effort required to check the photographed content. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs for existing buildings, etc.

[0026] In particular, according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a calculation unit that calculates the photographing altitude based on the photographing interval of the unmanned aerial vehicle and a preset overlap width, and the photographing condition acquisition unit acquires the photographing interval and then acquires the photographing altitude calculated by the calculation unit. In other words, by acquiring the photographing interval, the photographing altitude is automatically calculated according to the preset overlap width (overlap value). As a result, for large existing buildings, it is possible to complete the acquisition of exterior information with a minimum number of photographs (number of photographs) while satisfying the predetermined overlap value, and since the data volume of the exterior information is reduced, the waiting time until the exterior information is completely transmitted can be shortened. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for existing buildings.

[0027] According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a construction work cost estimate creation system includes a construction scope acquisition unit that acquires the construction scope of construction work specified from exterior information, a building material information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of building materials specified by a user, a building material quantity calculation unit that calculates the number of building materials based on the acquired construction scope and the building material identification information, and a construction work cost output unit that outputs the construction work cost based on the calculated number of building materials and the unit price of the building materials according to the acquired building material identification information.This makes it easy to output the construction work cost based on exterior information that shows the appearance of an existing building.This improves the workability of estimating repairs and other work for existing buildings.

[0028] According to the tenth and eleventh inventions, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography method includes an operation control step of controlling the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on a flight path generated based on the acquired photography range and the acquired photography altitude, and controlling the photography operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on photography operations determined based on the acquired number of photographs. Therefore, by setting the photography range to match the existing building, it is possible to automatically photograph the entire existing building according to the generated flight path. This improves the workability of estimating repairs and other work for the existing building.

[0029] In particular, according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, after the flight and photographing operations are completed, the operation control step photographs the exterior of the existing building at coordinates corresponding to the center of the longer diagonal of the acquired rectangular photographing range and at an altitude where the entire existing building fits within the field of view. This makes it easy to obtain exterior information that includes the entire existing building within the field of view at the same time as the exterior information photographed along the flight path, and can be used instead of, for example, a roof plan, to prevent oversights within the photographing range. This improves the accuracy of estimates for repairs to the existing building.

[0030] According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography program causes a computer to execute an operation control step that controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on a flight path generated based on the acquired photography range and the acquired photography altitude, and controls the photography operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on photography operations determined based on the acquired number of photographs. Therefore, by setting the photography range to match the existing building, the entire existing building can be automatically photographed according to the generated flight path. This improves the workability of estimating repairs and other work for the existing building. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0031] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2(a) is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control device that constitutes the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment, and Figure 2(b) is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle that constitutes the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the detailed configuration of the control device and unmanned aerial vehicle that constitute the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation method of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of information handled by the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6(a) is a schematic diagram showing an example of flight and photographing operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment, and Figure 6(b) is a schematic diagram showing an example of appearance information obtained by the photographing operation. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an operation method of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 8(a) to 8(e) are schematic diagrams showing an example of the operation method of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9(a) is a schematic diagram showing an example of an operation method of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment, and FIG. 9(b) is a schematic diagram showing a cross section taken along the line JJ in FIG. 9(a). [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of the operation method of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of the operation method of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the detailed configuration of the control device and unmanned aerial vehicle that constitute the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation method of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a database that constitutes the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the second embodiment. [Figure 15] 15(a) and 15(b) are schematic diagrams showing an example of details of the database that constitutes the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the second embodiment. [Figure 16] 16(a) and 16(b) are schematic diagrams showing an example of details of the database that constitutes the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the second embodiment. [Figure 17] 17(a) and 17(b) are schematic diagrams showing a modified example of the operation method of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system in the second embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the detailed configuration of a control device and an unmanned aerial vehicle that constitute a construction work estimate creation system equipped with an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of operation of a construction work estimate creation system equipped with an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing an example of information handled by a construction work estimate creation system equipped with an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a database constituting a construction work estimate creation system equipped with an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing an example of details of a database constituting a construction work estimate creation system equipped with an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system. [Figure 23] 23(a) and 23(b) are schematic diagrams showing an example of details of a database constituting a construction work estimate creation system equipped with an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method for acquiring construction information included in an operation method of a construction work estimate creation system equipped with an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method for outputting the construction work cost included in the operation method of a construction work estimate creation system equipped with an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] Hereinafter, an example of an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100, a construction work estimate creation system using an unmanned aerial vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle photography method, and an unmanned aerial vehicle photography program as an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the components in each figure are depicted schematically for the purpose of explanation, and for example, the size of each component and the size comparison between components may differ from those shown in the figures.

[0033] (First embodiment: unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) An example of an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0034] 1, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 includes a control device 1, an unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and a wireless communication network 9. In response to information input by a user U operating the control device 1, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 photographs the exterior of an existing building 200 via the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 wirelessly connected via the wireless communication network 9.

[0035] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 may include a server 3 that can be wirelessly connected to the control device 1 and the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, via a wireless communication network 9. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 may also cooperate with an external system or device that stores a database, connected via the wireless communication network 9 or other known communication methods, and may send and receive information to and from such device.

[0036] <Control device 1> The control device 1 is a device for controlling the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The control device 1 is, for example, a terminal operated by a user U, and is portable. In addition to the terminal operated by the user U, the control device 1 may also include a relay device that relays the transmission and reception of information between the terminal and the server 3.

[0037] 2(a), the control device 1 includes a housing 10, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a storage unit 104, and I / Fs 105 to 107. The components 101 to 107 are connected via an internal bus 110. The control device 1 may be, for example, a portable electronic device such as a tablet terminal or a smartphone.

[0038] The CPU 101 controls the entire control device 1. The ROM 102 stores operation code for the CPU 101. The RAM 103 is a work area used when the CPU 101 is operating. The storage unit 104 stores various information such as backups of data stored in the ROM, databases, and learning target data. As the storage unit 104, for example, a data storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) is used. Note that the control device 1 may also have a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), not shown, for example.

[0039] The I / F 105 is an interface for transmitting and receiving various types of information to and from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and the server 3 as needed via the wireless communication network 9. The I / F 106 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information to and from the input unit 108. The input unit 108 may be, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and the user U inputs various types of information via the input unit 108. The I / F 107 is an interface for transmitting and receiving various types of information to and from the display unit 109. The display unit 109 displays various types of information stored in the storage unit 104, evaluation results, etc. A display is used as the display unit 109, and in the case of a touch panel type, for example, it is provided integrally with the input unit 108.

[0040] 3, the control device 1 includes a wireless communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, a shooting range acquisition unit 13, a flight path generation unit 14, a shooting condition acquisition unit 15, and a shooting operation identification unit 16. Each component of the control device 1 is realized by a CPU 101 using a RAM 103 as a working area to execute a program stored in a ROM 102, a storage unit 104, etc.

[0041] <Wireless communication unit 11> The wireless communication unit 11 transmits information to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 or the server 3. The wireless communication unit 11 transmits, for example, information acquired, generated, or stored by each component of the control device 1 to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 or the server 3 via the wireless communication network 9. The wireless communication unit 11 receives, for example, information acquired, generated, or stored by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication network 9. The wireless communication unit 11 receives, for example, information stored in the server 3.

[0042] <Storage section 12> The storage unit 12 stores, as needed, information acquired or generated by, for example, each component of the control device 1 in a database stored in the storage unit 104. The storage unit 12 retrieves, as needed, various pieces of information stored in the database stored in the storage unit 104, for example.

[0043] <Shooting range acquisition unit 13> The photographing range acquisition unit 13 acquires the planar photographing range of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The photographing range acquisition unit 13 acquires the photographing range by a method of accepting input from the user U via the input unit 108, for example.

[0044] Here, "planar" refers to a horizontal plane that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the Earth's gravity acts. That is, a planar imaging range may include latitude and longitude information, but does not include altitude information.

[0045] <Flight path generation unit 14> The flight path generation unit 14 generates a horizontal flight path for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The flight path generation unit 14 generates a flight path for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the shooting range acquired by the shooting range acquisition unit 13, for example.

[0046] Here, the horizontal direction refers to a direction on a horizontal plane that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the Earth's gravity acts, and is approximately parallel to the planar shooting range. In other words, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 of the present invention flies in the horizontal direction on the flight path generated by the flight path generation unit 14, and does not perform intentional flight operations in the vertical direction Z, except for environmental factors such as bad weather and collision avoidance, switching to a power-saving mode due to battery depletion, switching to an evacuation mode that interrupts flight operations, etc.

[0047] <Photography condition acquisition unit 15> The photographing condition acquisition unit 15 acquires the photographing conditions of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The photographing condition acquisition unit 15 acquires the photographing conditions, for example, by a method of accepting input from the user U via the input unit 108. The photographing condition acquisition unit 15 may acquire information related to the photographing conditions stored in advance in any of the components of the unmanned aerial vehicle photographing system 100, for example. The photographing condition acquisition unit 15 acquires the photographing conditions of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in the photographing range acquired by the photographing range acquisition unit 13, for example. Here, the photographing conditions include, for example, the photographing altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and the number of photographs to be taken.

[0048] <Photographing operation identification unit 16> The photographing operation identification unit 16 identifies the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The photographing operation identification unit 16 identifies the photographing operation on the flight path generated by the flight path generation unit 14, for example, based on the number of photographs among the photographing conditions acquired by the photographing condition acquisition unit 15. In this embodiment, after the photographing operation identification unit 16 identifies the photographing operation on the flight path, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 performs the photographing operation in accordance with the identified photographing operation.

[0049] <Unmanned aircraft 2> The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is a so-called small drone (multicopter) or unmanned helicopter capable of unmanned flight. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 includes unmanned aerial vehicles weighing 200g or more as defined by the Aviation Act, as well as so-called small unmanned aerial vehicles weighing less than 200g as defined by the same act. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may be, for example, a quadcopter with four rotors (propellers), or may be embodied as a helicopter with one rotor, a tricopter with three rotors, a hexacopter with six rotors, or an octocopter with eight rotors, depending on the required flight performance, reliability against failure, allowable cost, etc.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 1, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 includes a control unit 20, a camera 21, a battery 22, and a rotor motor 23.

[0051] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may have arms extending from the control unit 20 in different directions, with rotor motors 23 provided at the ends of the arms. In particular, when configured as a quadcopter with four rotors, the arms of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 are extended so that they are spaced at approximately 90° intervals from each other in a plan view. Each arm of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may be formed from a tubular body made of, for example, metal, resin, carbon, or other material. In this case, a cable for supplying power from a battery 22 connected to the control unit 20 may be inserted into the tubular body of the arm.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 2(b), for example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 has a CPU 201, a ROM 202, and a RAM 203. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may have a storage unit 204 for storing data other than the control program that controls the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may have an I / F 205 for connecting to the wireless communication network 9. The components 201 to 205 are connected by an internal bus 210. In the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, the CPU 201, ROM 202, and RAM 203 are integrated into a control unit 20. This control unit 20 may be, for example, a microcontroller.

[0053] The CPU 201 controls the entire unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The ROM 202 stores programs for controlling the overall hardware resources of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, information for controlling the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and the like. The RAM 203 is used as a working area for storing and extracting data, and temporarily stores various commands for controlling the overall hardware resources of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The storage unit 204 stores various information, such as backups of the information stored in the ROM 202 and a database that integrates this information. As the storage unit 204, for example, a data storage device such as an HDD or an SSD may be used. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may also have, for example, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) not shown.

[0054] The CPU 201 is a so-called central processing unit that controls all the components. The CPU 201 reads out programs stored in the ROM 202 or the storage unit 204, etc., and sends commands to each component to perform various operations. For example, if the program stored in the ROM 202 relates to the generation of a flight path, flight operations, or photographing operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, the CPU 201 generates various commands to generate a flight path, perform flight operations, or photographing operations based on the program, and sends them to each component.

[0055] The CPU 201 also generates various commands based on information related to flight path generation, flight operations, or photographing operations, and other information sent via the wireless communication network 9, and transmits them to each component. The CPU 201 also controls each component based on data sent from a group of sensors for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 sent from the GNSS receiver.

[0056] <Control unit 20> The control unit 20 is configured with a housing for accommodating integrated circuits and devices required for various controls. The housing is made of, for example, metal or resin, and is configured, for example, in a box shape. The housing is provided in advance with screw holes (not shown) required for attaching components including, for example, an arm for attaching a rotor and legs for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to land. The various components accommodated in the control unit 20 or connected to the control unit 20 are fixed via screws into screw holes provided in the housing of the control unit 20.

[0057] The control unit 20 includes a flight controller 50, a wireless communication unit 51, and an ESC (Electronic Speed ​​Controller) 52, for example, as shown in FIG.

[0058] <Flight Controller 50> The flight controller 50 is a device for controlling the attitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and movement such as autonomous flight. The flight controller 50 controls the rotor motor 23 via the ESC 54, and controls the movement of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The flight controller 50 may control the movement of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on information received by the wireless communication unit 51 via the wireless communication network 9, for example.

[0059] The flight controller 50 includes a sensor information acquisition unit 501 and an operation control unit 502. Note that each unit included in the flight controller 50 is realized by the CPU 201 executing a program stored in the ROM 202 or the like, using the RAM 203 as a working area.

[0060] <Sensor information acquisition unit 501> The sensor information acquisition unit 501 sequentially acquires, in a time series manner, information for controlling the movement of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The sensor information acquisition unit 501 includes, for example, a group of flight control sensors and a GNSS receiving unit.

[0061] The flight control sensor group may be composed of various sensors, such as an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a barometric pressure sensor (altitude sensor), a geomagnetic sensor (direction sensor), as well as an altimeter for detecting flight altitude, a wind vane anemometer for detecting wind speed and direction, an acceleration sensor for detecting the inclination angle and inclination direction of the aircraft, a gyro sensor, etc. The flight control sensor group acquires, for example, information indicating the movement speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 as three-dimensional information including a component in the forward / backward direction X, a component in the left / right direction Y, and a component in the height direction Z. The flight control sensor group acquires, for example, information indicating the movement direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2.

[0062] The GNSS receiver acquires position information indicating the position of the unmanned aircraft 2 in real time based on satellite positioning signals transmitted from artificial satellites while the unmanned aircraft 2 is moving. The GNSS receiver acquires the position information of the unmanned aircraft 2, for example, as three-dimensional information including latitude, longitude, and altitude.

[0063] <Operation control unit 502> The operation control unit 502 controls the flight operation and photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The operation control unit 502 controls the flight operation and photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, based on information received by the wireless communication unit 51. The operation control unit 502 controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, based on the flight path generated by the flight path generation unit 14 and the photographing altitude acquired by the photographing condition acquisition unit 15, and controls the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the photographing operation identified by the photographing operation identification unit 16.

[0064] The operation control unit 502 controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, by controlling the number of rotations and rotation speed of the rotor motor 23 via the connected ESC 53. The operation control unit 502 controls the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, via the connected camera 21. The operation control unit 502 is configured, for example, by a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controller.

[0065] <Wireless communication unit 51> The wireless communication unit 51 performs wireless communication with the control device 1 via the wireless communication network 9. The wireless communication unit 51 performs frequency conversion and other various conversion processes required for wireless communication with the control device 1, and also includes an antenna that converts electrical signals into radio waves or converts radio waves into electrical signals. The wireless communication unit 51 may, for example, convert control information superimposed on radio waves transmitted from the control device 1 or a device other than the control device 1 for controlling the operation of the unmanned aircraft 2 into an electrical signal and output the converted signal to the flight controller 50. As a result, the unmanned aircraft photography system 100 can control the unmanned aircraft 2 via the flight controller 50.

[0066] The wireless communication unit 51 may convert data received from the flight controller 50 or the camera 21 into radio waves and transmit the data to the wireless communication network 9, or may transmit the data to the control device 1 or the server 3 via the wireless communication network 9. The wireless communication unit 51 may also acquire various information from the wireless communication network 9 and transmit it to the flight controller 50. However, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to control the operation of the unmanned aircraft 2 based on control information received from an external source other than the unmanned aircraft photography system 100.

[0067] <Storage section 52> The memory unit 52 stores, as needed, information acquired or generated by, for example, each component of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in a database stored in the storage unit 204. The memory unit 52 retrieves, as needed, various types of information stored in, for example, the database stored in the storage unit 204.

[0068] <esc53> The ESC 53 controls the number of rotations or the rotation speed of the rotor motor 23 under the control of the operation control unit 502. By controlling the rotor motor 23, the ESC 53 can control the movement speed and movement direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2.

[0069] <Camera 21> The camera 21 is mounted on, for example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The camera 21 is attached to, for example, the lower part of the control unit 20, and photographs the area below the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The camera 21 may be a known camera that can acquire exterior information including images or videos.

[0070] <Battery 22> The battery 22 is a battery that supplies the power necessary to drive the control unit 20 and the camera 21. The battery 22 may be built into the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, or may be mounted on the surface of the body of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The battery 22 may be configured to be detachable from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example. The battery 22 may be designed to be rechargeable.

[0071] <Rotor motor 23> The rotor motors 23 are electrically connected to the control unit 20 and rotate the rotors mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. A rotor motor 23 is provided for each rotor, and rotates based on power supplied from the battery 22 via the control unit 20. The rotor motors 23 are not limited as long as they have the above-mentioned functions, and any commercially available motors can be used.

[0072] Rotating the rotor motors 23 rotates the rotors, allowing the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to instantly ascend or descend vertically, or to remain stationary. To move the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 forward, backward, left, or right, the rotation speed of the rotor motor 23 in the direction of travel is reduced, and the rotation speed of the rotor motor 23 on the opposite side of the direction of travel is increased. This allows the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to lean forward relative to its direction of travel, allowing it to move in that direction. Adjusting the output of the rotor motors 23 according to their rotation direction also allows the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 itself to rotate. The rotation speeds of these rotor motors 23 are controlled via the control unit 20.

[0073] <200 existing buildings> The existing building 200 is a structure that is the subject of photography by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The existing building 200 includes buildings classified into uses such as residences, apartment buildings, offices, factories, and hotels, but the higher the building portion or the larger the horizontal dimension, the more significant the improvement in workability that can be achieved by using the unmanned aerial vehicle 2.

[0074] <Server 3> The server 3 stores information acquired and generated by, for example, the control device 1 or the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The server 3 may be equipped with, for example, a CPU, ROM, and RAM, similar to the control device 1, and the CPU may read out a program stored in the ROM and control the operation of each component of the server 3 using the RAM as a work area. The server 3 may be connected to the control device 1 or the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, via a wireless communication network 9, and may transmit and receive any data to and from the control device 1 or the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The server 3 may store information indicating the position and dimensions of, for example, the existing building 200 in advance, and may transmit the stored information on the existing building 200 in response to a request from the control device 1 or the unmanned aerial vehicle 2.

[0075] <Wireless Communication Network 9> The wireless communication network 9 is, for example, an Internet network or the like to which the control device 1, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and the server 3 are connected via a communication circuit. The wireless communication network 9 may be realized by a known communication technology such as a wireless communication network including LTE (Long Term Evolution). Note that in the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100, the control device 1 and the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may be connected by a known short-range wireless communication such as "Wi-Fi (registered trademark)" instead of the wireless communication network 9, or may be connected by a long-distance transmission technology unique to the unmanned aerial vehicle such as "OcuSync (registered trademark) 2.0" or "OcuSync (registered trademark) 3.0."

[0076] (First embodiment: an example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) Next, an example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 9. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 is executed via an unmanned aerial vehicle photography program installed in, for example, the control device 1, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and the server 3.

[0077] 4, the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 includes a photography range acquisition step S11, a flight path generation step S12, a photography condition acquisition step S13, a photography operation specification step S14, and an operation control step S15. Note that in this embodiment, an example will be described in which the photography condition acquisition step S13 is performed after the flight path generation step S12, but the photography range acquisition step S11 or the flight path generation step S12 may be performed after the photography condition acquisition step S13.

[0078] First, various types of information associated with the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 in this embodiment will be described. The various types of information handled by the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 include, for example, unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D11, photography range information D12, flight path information D13, photography condition information D14, unmanned aerial vehicle flight information D15, and appearance information D16, as shown in Fig. 5. The various types of information handled by the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 are acquired by the input unit 108 of the control device 1 accepting input from the user U, are acquired by information stored or generated in advance in each component of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100, or can be acquired via a sensor mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 2.

[0079] <Unmanned aircraft identification information D11> The unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D11 is information that identifies the user U who uses the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 or the control device 1 that controls the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D11 includes, for example, a pilot name D111, an unmanned aerial vehicle name D112, etc. The pilot name D111 and the unmanned aerial vehicle name D112 are, for example, stored in association with each other.

[0080] The pilot name D111 is information that identifies the user U. The pilot name D111 is obtained, for example, by the user U directly inputting it into the control device 1 or the server 3. The pilot name D111 is transmitted, for example, from the control device 1 to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 or the server 3. The pilot name D111 is used, for example, when querying the unmanned aerial vehicle name D112 linked to the pilot name D111, or when authenticating the user U as the user of the unmanned aerial vehicle name D112.

[0081] The unmanned aircraft aircraft name D112 is information that identifies the unmanned aircraft 2. The unmanned aircraft aircraft name D112 is stored in advance, for example, in the server 3. The unmanned aircraft aircraft name D112 is used, for example, when grouping appearance information acquired by the unmanned aircraft 2 in association with information photographed by the unmanned aircraft 2, or when inquiring about the expiration date of the flight permission of the unmanned aircraft 2.

[0082] <Shooting range information D12> The photographing range information D12 is information that specifies the photographing range of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The photographing range information D12 specifies a planar photographing range along the horizontal direction. The photographing range information D12 may specify, for example, a polygonal photographing range, or may specify a circular or any other shaped photographing range.

[0083] The shooting range information D12 is formed along the outer periphery of the existing building 200 in a plan view or so as to include the outer periphery. As shown in Fig. 6, for example, the shooting range information D12 specifies a quadrangular shooting range in a plan view having four vertices, namely, first position information D121, second position information D122, third position information D123, and fourth position information D124, in order to shoot the entire existing building 200, which has a quadrangular shape in a plan view. Here, the various pieces of position information D121 to D124 are acquired, for example, by the input unit 108 of the control device 1 accepting input from the user U.

[0084] <Flight route information D13> The flight path information D13 is information that specifies the flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The flight path information D13 specifies a planar flight path along the horizontal direction. As shown in Fig. 5, for example, the flight path information D13 includes first path information D131 that is first generated based on the shooting range information D12, and second path information D132 that is generated based on the first path information D131.

[0085] <Photography condition information D14> The photographing condition information D14 is information that specifies the photographing conditions of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The photographing condition information D14 includes, for example, photographing altitude information D141, photograph number information D142, photographing time information D143, and photographing operation specification information D144.

[0086] The photographing altitude information D141 is information indicating the photographing altitude at which the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 performs photographing operations, and refers to the altitude at which the camera 21 mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is located. When the camera 21 is attached to the bottom of the body of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, an error occurs between the flight altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and the photographing altitude depending on the size of the body of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 performs horizontal flight operations based on the flight path information D13 at a flight altitude based on the photographing condition information D14.

[0087] The number of captured images information D142 indicates the number of images captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), when the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 performs a capturing operation while flying through points P1, P2, P3, and P4 in this order within a rectangular capturing range formed by various pieces of position information D121 to D124, the camera 21 performs the flying and capturing operations while maintaining a constant capturing altitude and keeping the angle of view V of the camera 21 constant at a vertical width w1 and a horizontal width w2 within the angle of view. Note that the diagonal lines in the figure indicate the diagonals of the angles of view V1 to V4, which are used to distinguish between the angles of view V1 to V4. Furthermore, to obtain the exterior information of the entire existing building 200, an overlapping area of ​​vertical width w3 and horizontal width w4 is required for the angles of view V1, V2, V3, and V4 at each of points P1, P2, P3, and P4. Specifically, feature points included in the overlapping area of ​​two or more pieces of appearance information are compared between the pieces of appearance information to determine their relative positions. Determining such relative positions can be achieved, for example, by using SfM (Structure from Motion), a well-known technique for estimating a three-dimensional scene from a two-dimensional image. By setting the overlapping vertical width w3 and overlapping horizontal width w4 to constant values, the number of shots required to capture the entire shooting range can be planned (four in the case of Figure 6). Note that the field of view vertical width w1, field of view horizontal width w2, overlapping vertical width w3, and overlapping horizontal width w4 all correspond to the actual dimensions (actual measurements) of the subject included within the field of view V, and are different from the size of the image or video.

[0088] That is, the planned number of images to be captured when a constant imaging altitude is maintained based on the imaging altitude information D141 may be acquired as the number-of-images information D142. Alternatively, by setting the overlapping vertical width w3 and overlapping horizontal width w4 of the overlapping area to constant values, the vertical width w1 and horizontal width w2 within the angle of view V of the angle of view V required to capture the entire imaging range may be calculated based on the number-of-images information D142, and the imaging altitude at which the angle of view V can be realized may be acquired as the imaging altitude information D141.

[0089] An example of each piece of information to be acquired is, for example, the vertical width w1 within the field of view V from more than 0 m to 100 m, and the horizontal width w2 within the field of view from more than 0 m to 100 m. Also, an example of each setting value to be set in advance is, for example, the overlap vertical width w3 of the overlapping area from more than 0 m to 20 m, and the overlap horizontal width w4 from more than 0 m to 20 m.

[0090] The shooting time information D143 indicates, for example, the time until the next shooting after the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 has shot an image, and also includes the time for continuous shooting when the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 shoots a video. In this embodiment, an example is described in which the shooting operation is performed according to the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, but the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may also perform the shooting operation according to the flight speed and flight direction of the flight operation and the shooting time included in the shooting time information D143.

[0091] The photographing operation specification information D144 indicates the content of the photographing operation on the flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The photographing operation specification information D144 is specified based on the number of photographs information D142, for example.

[0092] Examples of the contents of the photographing operation include a photographing operation in which the number of photographs included in the photograph count information D142 is taken as the total number of photographs taken along the flight path, and photographing is performed at equal intervals along the entire flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. Also included is a photographing operation in which the photographing time included in the photographing time information D143 is taken as the total photographing time along the flight path, and photographing is performed at equal intervals along the predetermined scheduled flight time of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2.

[0093] <Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flight Information D15> The unmanned aerial vehicle flight information D15 is information that indicates the status of the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, the unmanned aerial vehicle flight information D15 includes unmanned aerial vehicle position information D151, flight speed information D152, remaining battery level information D153, and flight date and time information D154. The unmanned aerial vehicle flight information D15 is obtained, for example, in response to a request from each component of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100, or automatically at predetermined intervals.

[0094] The unmanned aerial vehicle position information D151 is information (position information) that indicates the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The unmanned aerial vehicle position information D151 is used, for example, when controlling the flight and photographing operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the position information, or when linking the position information to photographed exterior information. In this embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 continuously or intermittently acquires changes in the altitude and coordinate information included in the unmanned aerial vehicle position information D151 and controls the flight operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to follow the flight path information D13 in order to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 horizontally while maintaining a constant altitude. Furthermore, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 continuously or intermittently acquires the altitude and coordinate information included in the unmanned aerial vehicle position information D151 and controls the photographing operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to follow the flight path information D13 and the photographing condition information D14 in order to have the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 photograph the entire predetermined photographing range with a predetermined number of photographs.

[0095] The flight speed information D152 is information that indicates the flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The flight speed information D152 is used, for example, to determine whether the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is flying at a predetermined speed and whether it is flying in a flight direction that follows the flight path. In this embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 continuously or intermittently acquires the speed included in the flight speed information D152 and controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to follow the flight path information D13 in order to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in the horizontal direction while maintaining a constant speed.

[0096] The battery remaining amount information D153 is information that indicates the remaining battery amount of the battery 22 mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The battery remaining amount information D153 is used, for example, when determining whether the remaining battery amount has fallen below a preset lower limit, or when determining whether the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 that is being charged with the battery 22 mounted thereon can resume image capture (for example, whether the remaining battery amount has reached or exceeded a preset value).

[0097] The flight date and time information D154 is information that indicates the date and time when the unmanned aircraft 2 performs a flight operation. The flight date and time information D154 is used, for example, when linking time information to exterior information photographed by the unmanned aircraft 2, or when checking whether the flight permission for the unmanned aircraft 2 is within the validity period.

[0098] <Appearance Information D16> The appearance information D16 indicates visual information such as images and videos captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The appearance information D16 includes, for example, building part appearance information D161, entire building appearance information D162, and processed appearance information D163.

[0099] The building portion appearance information D161 indicates visual information showing a portion of the existing building 200 photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The building portion appearance information D161 is visual information showing a portion of the existing building 200 included in each of the angles of view V1 to V4, as shown in FIG. 6(b), for example.

[0100] The entire building exterior information D162 indicates visual information showing the entire plan view of the existing building 200, excluding walls and the like, photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The entire building exterior information D162 is acquired in a single photographing operation, for example, by increasing the photographing altitude and expanding the vertical width w1 and horizontal width w2 within the angle of view of the angle of view V, thereby fitting the entire existing building 200 within the angle of view.

[0101] The processed appearance information D163 is visual information generated by processing at least one of the building portion appearance information D161 and the entire building appearance information D162 captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The processed appearance information D163 is visual information showing the entire existing building 200, generated by synthesizing a plurality of pieces of building portion appearance information D161 showing portions of the existing building 200 included in each of the angles of view V1 to V4, as shown in FIG. 6(a), for example. In this case, the processed appearance information D163 is generated by synthesizing based on position information included in Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format) assigned to the plurality of pieces of building portion appearance information D161. Here, in the present invention, since the building portion appearance information D161 is captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 at a similar altitude, it is easy to generate processed appearance information D163 by more accurately synthesizing the plurality of pieces of building portion appearance information D161.

[0102] Note that Figure 6(a) shows an example in which the entire plan view of the existing building 200 is included in each of the viewing angles V1 to V4, but when some visual information of the entire plan view of the existing building 200 is missing, the processed appearance information D163 may be generated by complementing the missing visual information using a known artificial intelligence system and then synthesizing it.

[0103] The processed appearance information D163 includes, for example, a three-dimensional modeling image that shows a three-dimensional appearance of the existing building 200. The three-dimensional modeling image is useful for accurately grasping, for example, the three-dimensional structure of the roof portion of the existing building 200, such as the degree of slope of the roof, the direction of the slope, and the structure of a lean-to roof or a ridge roof that is difficult to grasp in a planar view. The three-dimensional modeling image may be, for example, an image output by inputting multiple pieces of building portion appearance information D161 into the well-known open source software "Open Drone Map."

[0104] Next, the flow of operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 in this embodiment will be described.

[0105] <Advance preparation> As a preliminary preparation for operation, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 may authenticate that the user U operating the control device 1 is the pilot of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. As an authentication method, for example, the control device 1 may transmit the pilot name D111 entered by the user U to the server 3, authenticate that the pilot name is linked to the unmanned aerial vehicle name D112 corresponding to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 stored in advance in the server 3, and activate control of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 by the control device 1.

[0106] <Photographing range acquisition step S11> In the photographing range acquisition step S11, the photographing range acquisition unit 13 acquires photographing range information D12 including a planar photographing range, for example, as shown in FIG. 7 (S111).

[0107] The control device 1 may transmit the shooting range information D12 including the planar shooting range R acquired by the shooting range acquisition unit 13 to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S112). The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 stores the shooting range information D12 received via the wireless communication network 9 in the storage unit 204. When the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 detects that it has departed from the shooting range information D12 received by an on-board sensor or the like, it may transmit a notification to that effect to the control device 1 or the server 3.

[0108] 8(a), for example, the shooting range acquisition unit 13 acquires each piece of position information D121 to D124 through input by the user U, and then acquires shooting range information D12 including a planar shooting range R. In more detail, first, the user U taps four points, namely, points A, B, C, and D, which correspond to the vertices of the outer periphery of the existing building 200, in a known map application that shows a planar view of the surrounding area of ​​the existing building 200 displayed on the display unit 109 of the touch panel-type control device 1. At this time, the shooting range acquisition unit 13 acquires coordinate information corresponding to each of points A to D from the map application. As a result, the shooting range acquisition unit 13 acquires point A, point B, point C, and point D, which were input via the input unit 108, as first position information D121, point C, and point D, as second position information D122, point C, and point D, which were input via the input unit 108, as third position information D123, and point D, as fourth position information D124, and acquires the rectangular shooting range R as shooting range information D12 based on the coordinate information included in each piece of position information. The display unit 109 may display the acquired shooting range R. When the control device 1 acquires the current location of the unmanned aircraft 2 from the unmanned aircraft 2 before flight operation, the display unit 109 may display it as the takeoff point H. The shooting range acquisition unit 13 may directly acquire shooting range information D12 including the planar shooting range R through input such as a range specification by the user U.

[0109] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 receives the shooting range information D12 via the wireless communication network 9 and stores it in the storage unit 204. Note that when the flight path generation step S12 is executed by the flight path generation unit 14 mounted on the control device 1, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 does not need to receive the shooting range information D12.

[0110] <Flight Path Generation Step S12> In the flight path generation step S12, the flight path generation unit 14 generates flight path information D13 including the horizontal flight path of the unmanned aircraft 2 based on the shooting range R included in the shooting range information D12 acquired by the shooting range acquisition unit 13 in the shooting range acquisition step S11, as shown in Figure 7, for example (S121).

[0111] The control device 1 may transmit flight path information D13, including the horizontal flight path generated by the flight path generation unit 14, to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S122). The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 stores the flight path information D13 received via the wireless communication network 9 in the storage unit 204. When the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 detects that it has deviated from the received flight path information D13 using an on-board sensor or the like, it may transmit a notification to that effect to the control device 1 or the server 3.

[0112] 8(b), for example, the flight path generation unit 14 first calculates the length of each side that makes up the rectangular shooting range R based on the coordinate information of the two corresponding points, and identifies the longest side AB of the range width W1. Then, based on a preset turning-back width W2, point A, which is closest to takeoff point H among points A and B, is set as the shooting start point, and turning-back points E1 to E4 are identified on the longest side AB from point A to point B. Note that the number of turning-back points is not limited to four, and the number may be determined according to the range width W1 of the longest side AB and the turning-back width W2.

[0113] Furthermore, when the photographing altitude information D141 is acquired in a step described below, the folding width W2 may be updated based on the vertical width w1 and horizontal width w2 within the field of view of the field of view V calculated based on the photographing altitude information D141, and the preset overlapping vertical width w3 and horizontal width w4 of the overlapping area between the building portion exterior information D161. For example, when the photographing altitude included in the photographing altitude information D141 indicates a height of 7 m from the existing building 200, the field of view V of the camera 21 is a regular square pyramid shape of 90° in plan view, the vertical width w1 within the field of view = the horizontal width w2 within the field of view = 14 m, and the initial value of the folding width W2 is set to 5 m, the overlapping horizontal width w4 of the overlapping area is calculated as w4 = w2 × 1 / 2 + w2 × 1 / 2 - W2 = 9 m (see points P2 and P3 in FIG. 6). Here, if the overlap width w4 of the overlapping area is 5 m and sufficient appearance information D16 is obtained, the folding width W2 may be updated to an enlarged value, calculated by back-calculating from the overlap width w4, as follows: folding width W2 = w2 × 1 / 2 + w2 × 1 / 2 - w4 = 9 m. The overlapping vertical width w3 of the overlapping area may be calculated in the same way as the overlap width w4. In this case, the entire shooting range R can be automatically photographed with fewer images and shorter flight time. This improves the efficiency of work involved in estimating repairs and other work for the existing building 200.

[0114] The flight path generation unit 14 then generates first path information D131, including paths L1a-L1d that pass through turnaround points E1-E4 and are substantially perpendicular to the longest side AB. The intersections of the paths L1a-L1d with each side other than the longest side AB are designated as turnaround points F1-F4. For example, as shown in FIG. 8(e), when generating a path that is substantially perpendicular to a side BC other than the longest side AB, an extra step is added: a line segment BC' is generated by extending the side BC, a path that is substantially perpendicular to the line segment BC' is generated, and the intersection point between the path and the imaging range R (E7' in FIG. 8(e)) is calculated. However, selecting the longest side AB can easily prevent this step from occurring. In this case, the processing is simplified compared to when the flight path L is calculated based on a reference other than the longest side AB, and the flight path L can be generated efficiently. This improves the efficiency of estimates for repairs and other work on the existing building 200. In addition, the routes L1a to L1d are not limited to being approximately perpendicular to the longest side AB, and for example, the first route information D131 may be generated to include routes that are all approximately parallel to the side AD adjacent to the longest side AB, or the first route information D131 may be generated to include routes that are all approximately parallel to the side BC adjacent to the longest side AB.

[0115] After generating the first route information D131, the flight path generation unit 14 generates second route information D132 including a route connecting each path of the first route information D131, as shown in Fig. 8(c), for example. At this time, the second route information D132 indicates a route that realizes the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 flying in directions that alternate in the order of routes L1a, L1b, L1c, and L1d. In detail, the line segment AE1 connecting point A, which is the starting point of shooting, and point E1, which is the starting point of route L1a, is defined as route L2a; the line segment F1F2 connecting point F1, which is the end point of route L1a, and point F2, which is the starting point of route L1b, is defined as route L2b; the line segment E2E3 connecting point E2, which is the end point of route L1b, and point E3, which is the starting point of route L1c, is defined as route L2c; the line segment F3F4 connecting point F3, which is the end point of route L2b, and point F4, which is the starting point of route L1d, is defined as route L2d; and the line segment E4B connecting point E4, which is the end point of route L1d, and point B, which is the end point of shooting, is defined as route L2e, and second route information D132 is generated including these routes L2a to L2e.

[0116] Using the above-described procedure, flight path generation unit 14 generates flight path information D13 including a flight path L consisting of first route information D131 and second route information D132. Note that flight path L is not limited to the above example, and may be, for example, a flight path L consisting of first route information D131 and second route information D132, in which line segment AF1 is route L2a, line segment E1E2 is route L2b, line segment F2F3 is route L2c, line segment E3E4 is route L2d, and line segment F4B is route L2e. Unmanned aerial vehicle 2 receives flight path information D13 via wireless communication network 9 and stores it in storage unit 204.

[0117] <Photographing condition acquisition step S13> In the shooting condition acquisition step S13, the shooting condition acquisition unit 15 acquires shooting condition information D14 including at least shooting altitude information D141 and number of shots information D142 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the shooting range R included in the shooting range information D12 acquired by the shooting range acquisition unit 13 in the shooting range acquisition step S11, as shown in Figure 7, for example (S131).

[0118] The control device 1 transmits the photographing condition information D14 acquired by the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S132). The photographing condition information D14 transmitted by the control device 1 only needs to include at least photographing altitude information D141; by transmitting photographing operation identification information D144 identified by the photographing operation identification unit 16 in a step described below, it is not necessary to transmit the number of photographs information D142 and photographing time information D143. The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 receives the photographing condition information D14 via the wireless communication network 9 and stores it in the storage unit 204.

[0119] <Photographing Operation Identification Step S14> In the photographing action identification step S14, the photographing action identification unit 16 identifies the photographing action as photographing action identification information D144 on the flight path L based on the photographing number information D142 acquired by the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 in the photographing condition acquisition step S13 (S141). Thereafter, the control device 1 transmits the photographing action identification information D144 identified by the photographing action identification unit 16 to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S142).

[0120] The photographing operation specifying unit 16 specifies points s1 to s20 where photographing will be performed according to the acquired vertical interval width W3 and horizontal interval width W4 of the photographing interval, for example, as shown in Fig. 8(d). The photographing operation specifying unit 16 determines the number of photographing positions according to the photographing number information D142 acquired by the photographing condition acquiring unit 15 (in the case of Fig. 8, the number of photographs is 20).

[0121] Note that the turn-around width W2, the interval vertical width W3, and the interval horizontal width W4 may use preset values ​​regardless of the photographing altitude information D141. The interval horizontal width W4 of the photographing interval may be the same value as the turn-around width W2 of the flight path L. The interval vertical width W3 of the photographing interval may be set based on the ratio (aspect ratio) of the angle of view V's angle of view vertical width w1 and the angle of view horizontal width w2. That is, the interval vertical width W3 of the photographing interval may be acquired as angle of view vertical width w1 × interval horizontal width W4 / angle of view horizontal width w2, where vertical width W3: horizontal width W4 = vertical width w1: horizontal width w2.

[0122] In the example shown in Figure 8(d), the points corresponding to points A, E1, E2, E3, E4, and B on the flight path L and on the longest side AB are acquired as photographing points s1, s2, s10, s11, s19, and s20, and the points corresponding to points F1, F2, F3, and F4 on the flight path L and on either side AD, side DC, or side CB are acquired as photographing points s5, s6, s15, and s16. Furthermore, points on route L1a that are separated from point s2 by the vertical width W3 of the shooting interval are designated s3 and s4, points on route L1b that are separated from point s10 by the vertical width W3 of the shooting interval are designated s9, s8, and s7, points on route L1c that are separated from point s11 by the vertical width W3 of the shooting interval are designated s12, s13, and s14, and points on route L1d that are separated from point s19 by the vertical width W3 of the shooting interval are designated s18 and s17. Note that when adjusting to reduce the number of shots, point s14 may be excluded from the shooting points because the visual information obtained from shooting at point s15 is approximately the same.

[0123] Based on the above-mentioned concept, the shooting operation identification unit 16 identifies shooting operation identification information D144 including a shooting position identified based on, for example, the shooting altitude information D141 and the number of shots information D142 acquired by the shooting condition acquisition unit 15 through input by the user U, the horizontal interval width W4 of the shooting interval that is the same as the turnaround width W2 of the flight path L updated using the shooting altitude information D141, and the vertical interval width W3 of the shooting interval that corresponds to the horizontal interval width W4, the vertical width w1 within the angle of view, and the horizontal width w2 within the angle of view.

[0124] <Operation control step S15> In the operation control step S15, after completing the photographing operation identification step S14, the control device 1 generates a control signal for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to start photographing and transmits the control signal to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S151). After receiving the control signal for starting photographing from the control device 1, the operation control unit 502 controls the horizontal flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the flight path L included in the flight path information D13 generated by the flight path generation unit 14 in the flight path generation step S12 and the photographing altitude included in the photographing altitude information D141 acquired by the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 in the photographing condition acquisition step S13, and starts controlling the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the photographing operation included in the photographing operation identification information D144 identified by the photographing operation identification unit 16 in the photographing operation identification step S14 (S152). In other words, because the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is automatically controlled by the operation control unit 502, the user U can be involved in work related to estimates for repairs, etc. even if he or she is unfamiliar with operating the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. Furthermore, the user U can obtain the appearance information D16 required for estimating repairs and the like without having to climb onto the existing building 200 to check the dimensions or the condition of the roof, so that work related to estimating repairs and the like can be carried out safely and the work time can be reduced. In this case, by setting the photographing range R to match the existing building 200, the entire existing building 200 can be photographed automatically according to the generated flight path L. This can improve the workability related to estimating repairs and the like for the existing building 200.

[0125] 8(c)-(d), the operation control unit 502 controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to fly along flight path L, while controlling the photographing operation to photograph the existing building 200 at each of points s1-s20. This allows the unmanned aerial vehicle photographing system 100 to photograph substantially the entire photographing range R, and as a result, visual information regarding the appearance of the existing building 200 in plan view (for example, the roof, skylights, rooftop installations, etc.) can be obtained.

[0126] The operation control unit 502 controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, in the order of the arrows shown in Figure 8(c), i.e., from point A to point B, so that the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 flies along flight path L in the order of second path L2a, first path L1a, second path L2b, first path L1b, second path L2c, first path L1c, second path L2d, first path L1d, and second path L2e. At this time, the operation control unit 502 may fly at a constant speed on each path (L1a to L1d, L2a to L2e), may decelerate or accelerate midway along each path, or may decelerate or accelerate when each path switches.

[0127] The operation control unit 502 may control the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, at each of the points s1 to s20 shown in Figure 8(d) without changing the flight speed, or may control deceleration or acceleration so as to control the photographing operation while the unmanned aerial vehicle is stationary in the air at each of the points s1 to s20.

[0128] The operation control unit 502 may control the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, to fly at a preset flight speed, acceleration, etc. The operation control unit 502 may control the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, to change the flight speed, acceleration, etc. at a point corresponding to preset coordinates or at an interval corresponding to a preset distance, or to stop in the air. The operation control unit 502 may control the speed or acceleration on each route, the speed or acceleration at each point, the stopping time at each point, etc., of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, so that the flight operation and photographing operation are completed within a preset flight time.

[0129] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may appropriately transmit unmanned aerial vehicle flight information D15 acquired during, for example, a photographing operation to the control device 1 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S153).

[0130] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may appropriately transmit appearance information D16 acquired, for example, during a photographing operation, to the control device 1 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S154). Note that the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may automatically transmit the appearance information D16 to the control device 1 immediately after acquiring it, or may transmit it to the control device 1 in response to a request from the control device 1.

[0131] For example, during a photographing operation, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may calculate an escape route along the flight path L or depart from the flight path L and return to the takeoff position, and then appropriately transmit information regarding the calculated escape route to the control device 1 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S155).

[0132] After completing the photographing operation, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 returns to the takeoff position (S156). The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may be controlled by the control device 1 to land at a position different from the takeoff position.

[0133] After the above steps are performed, the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 in this embodiment ends. Note that the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 may, for example, repeatedly perform the above steps.

[0134] (First embodiment: First modified example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) The operation control unit 502 may control the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to automatically retreat to the takeoff point when the remaining charge of the battery 22 mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 falls below a preset lower limit on the flight path L generated by the flight path generation unit 14, and then to resume photographing from the point on the flight path L where the retreat began when the remaining charge of the battery 22 reaches a predetermined value or above. Note that the remaining charge of the battery 22 may be determined, for example, by a known battery charge detector (not shown) mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and compared with a preset lower limit, and the comparison result may be evaluated.

[0135] Specifically, for example, when point H shown in FIG. 8(d) is the takeoff point and the remaining charge of battery 22 at point s10 falls below a preset lower limit (e.g., 10%), unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is caused to fly horizontally from point s10 to above point H and then land at point H, requesting replacement or charging of battery 22. Thereafter, when the remaining charge of battery 22 reaches a predetermined value (e.g., 80%) or greater, unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may be controlled to take off vertically from the ground surface at point H, land above point H, then fly horizontally to point s10 on flight path L where evacuation began, and resume photographing from point s10. In this case, automatic control is possible even when photographing the exterior of a larger existing building 200. This improves the efficiency of work related to estimates for repairs, etc., regardless of the dimensions of existing building 200.

[0136] (First embodiment: second modified example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) When the shooting range acquisition unit 13 acquires a rectangular shooting range R in the shooting range acquisition step S11, in the operation control step S15, the operation control unit 502 may, for example, after completing the shooting operation and flight operation based on the flight path L generated by the flight path generation unit 14 in the flight path generation step S12, photograph the exterior of the existing building 200 at coordinates corresponding to the center of the longer of the diagonals of the rectangular shooting range R and at an altitude where the entire existing building 200 fits within the angle of view V.

[0137] Specifically, the operation control unit 502 controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, which has completed the flight operation and the photographing operation, so that when the photographing range R is a rectangle ABCD along the periphery of the existing building 200 in a plan view, as shown in FIG. 9(a), for example, the operation control unit 502 controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 so that the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 flies horizontally to a point G above the sky corresponding to the center of a diagonal line BD that is longer than the diagonal line AC. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9(b), for example, the operation control unit 502 controls the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 so that the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 ascends to a photographing altitude at which the angle of view V of the photographing angle θ (e.g., approximately 90°) fits the building width W5 of the diagonal line BD, and then photographs the exterior of the existing building 200. In this case, it is possible to easily obtain appearance information D16 that captures the entire existing building 200 within the angle of view V at the same time as the appearance information D16 photographed along the flight path L. This information can be used instead of, for example, a roof plan, to easily prevent oversights within the photographing range R. This improves the accuracy of estimates for repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0138] The shooting altitude at which the angle of view V of the shooting angle θ falls on the diagonal line BD is the sum of the height h1 connecting point G on the roof of existing building 200 and point G' in the sky above point G where camera 21 is located in Figure 9(b), and the height h2 of existing building 200. The flight altitude of unmanned aerial vehicle 2 above the ground is height h0, which is calculated as the sum of height h1, height h2, and height h3 of unmanned aerial vehicle 2. Height h1 may be calculated using the building width W5 of diagonal line BD and the shooting angle θ using the following formula.

[0139]

number

[0140] (First embodiment: third modified example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 may further include a determination unit (not shown) that determines the usefulness of the photographed exterior information D16, and only the acquired exterior information D16 that the determination unit determines to be useful may be stored in the storage unit 104 or 204. In this case, the system's communication capacity, storage capacity, and the effort required to check the photographed content can be reduced by discarding out-of-focus or other useless exterior information. This can further improve the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0141] The judgment unit (not shown) can use a publicly known image processing library such as "OpenCV (registered trademark)" to determine the usefulness of the image. For example, the "overexposure" of the appearance information D16 can be determined based on whether the HSV (hue, saturation, and brightness) of the image in the appearance information D16 is within a predetermined threshold using an InRange function or the like. The "out-of-focus" of the appearance information D16 can be determined based on whether parameters such as the Laplacian Variance, Tenengrad, Image Entropy, and Blurriness Index of the image in the appearance information D16 are within a predetermined threshold. For example, according to "Analysis of focus measure operators for shape-from-focus (2013)," the Laplacian Variance of the appearance information D16 is calculated, and if the high-frequency components of the appearance information D16 are less than a predetermined value, the image is deemed "out-of-focus." Image entropy is an index of image clutter. Since an in-focus image has more information and is more disordered than an out-of-focus image, an in-focus image has a higher image entropy. For example, one method is to generate appearance information D16' by blurring the original appearance information D16, calculate the image entropy for each of the appearance information D16 and the appearance information D16', and determine that the greater the difference between the two, the more in-focus the original appearance information D16 was.

[0142] (First embodiment: Fourth modified example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) 10, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 may further include a server 3 that receives two-dimensional appearance information showing the appearance of an existing building 200 photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. Here, the two-dimensional appearance information is visual information including building part appearance information D161, entire building appearance information D162, and processed appearance information D163 of two-dimensional images or two-dimensional videos among the appearance information D16, and does not include three-dimensional modeling images.

[0143] The server 3 receives the two-dimensional appearance information photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, via the wireless communication network 9, and acquires a three-dimensional modeling image of the existing building 200 based on the received two-dimensional appearance information. Here, the server 3 is controllable, for example, independently of the control device 1 and the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. Specifically, the server 3 is controllable independently of the photographing range acquisition unit 13, flight path generation unit 14, photographing condition acquisition unit 15, and photographing operation identification unit 16 constituting the control device 1, and the operation control unit 502 constituting the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. In other words, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 can control the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 from generating a three-dimensional modeling image of the existing building 200 based on the two-dimensional appearance information showing the appearance of the existing building 200 until it is acquired, without having to wait. In this case, the acquisition of the three-dimensional modeling image and the photographing of other existing buildings by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 can be carried out in parallel. This further improves the efficiency of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0144] Next, an example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 will be described.

[0145] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 transmits, for example, two-dimensional appearance information acquired during a photographing operation to the server 3 or the control device 1 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S154).

[0146] During the operation control step S15, the server 3 receives the two-dimensional appearance information directly from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 during or after the completion of the photographing operation by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 (S15a). Note that the server 3 may also receive the two-dimensional appearance information from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the control device 1 (S15b).

[0147] Thereafter, based on the received appearance information, the server 3 acquires a three-dimensional modeling image showing the existing building 200. At this time, the server 3 may input the two-dimensional appearance information into known three-dimensional modeling image generation software stored in advance in a ROM or the like installed on the server 3 to generate the three-dimensional modeling image showing the existing building 200 by itself, and then acquire the image, or may input the two-dimensional appearance information into known three-dimensional modeling image generation software stored in advance in another terminal with which the server 3 can communicate, to generate the three-dimensional modeling image showing the existing building 200, and then receive the image.

[0148] (First embodiment: Fifth modified example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 may further include a server 3 that receives appearance information D16 indicating the appearance of the existing building 200 photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, as shown in FIG. 11, for example.

[0149] The control device 1 may further include a transmission control unit (not shown) that controls the transmission of the appearance information D16 to the server 3, for example. That is, the control device 1 can re-capture the appearance information D16 and transmit it to the server 3, or can collectively transmit multiple pieces of appearance information D16 related to multiple existing buildings 200. In this case, there is no need to wait to re-capture the appearance information D16 or to capture images of other existing buildings until the transmission of the appearance information D16 is complete, due to line congestion caused by the transmission of large amounts of data. This can further improve the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200. In addition, the number of data transmissions can be reduced by re-capturing the appearance information D16 or collectively transmitting multiple pieces of appearance information D16. Furthermore, by moving within a short-range wireless communication range, etc., and transmitting data, the waiting time until the transmission of the appearance information D16 is complete can be shortened. This can further improve the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0150] Next, an example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 will be described.

[0151] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 transmits appearance information D16, acquired during, for example, a photographing operation, to the control device 1 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S154). Thereafter, the control device 1 performs steps similar to steps S11 to S14 for other existing buildings without transmitting the appearance information D16 received from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to the server 3, and then performs operation control step S15' for photographing other appearance information showing the appearances of the other existing buildings. Note that operation control step S15' has the same content as the above-described operation control step S15 for the existing building 200. Furthermore, the other appearance information indicates information similar to appearance information D16.

[0152] Specifically, in operation control step S15', the control device 1 generates a control signal for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to start photographing another existing building, and transmits the control signal to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication unit 11 and the wireless communication network 9 (S151'). The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 then starts photographing the other existing building (S152'), appropriately transmits unmanned aerial vehicle flight information D15 acquired during the photographing operation to the control device 1 (S153'), and may also appropriately transmit other appearance information acquired during the photographing operation to the control device 1 (S154'). The control device 1 may then collectively transmit to the server 3 the appearance information D16 received from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in operation control step S15 and the other appearance information received from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in operation control step S15' (S15d). The server 3 may also collectively receive the appearance information D16 and the other appearance information transmitted from the control device 1 (S15e). This photographing method reduces the number of times data is transmitted, and can further improve the workability of estimating repairs and the like for the existing building 200.

[0153] When retaking appearance information D16, the control device 1 may perform operation control step S15' to retake appearance information D16 for the same existing building 200, without transmitting appearance information D16 received from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in operation control step S15 to server 3, and omit performing steps similar to steps S11 to S14. Thereafter, the control device 1 may transmit the retaken appearance information D16 received from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in operation control step S15' to server 3, and discard the pre-retaken appearance information D16 received from the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in operation control step S15 without transmitting it to server 3. This photographing method reduces the number of data transmissions, and can further improve the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0154] The unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may further include a transmission control unit (not shown) that controls the transmission of the appearance information D16 to the control device 1. That is, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 can retake the appearance information D16 and then transmit it to the control device 1, or can transmit a plurality of pieces of appearance information D16 relating to a plurality of existing buildings 200 at once. In this case as well, there is no need to wait until the transmission of the appearance information D16 is complete to retake the appearance information D16 or to photograph other existing buildings 200, which reduces the number of data transmissions, and further shortens the waiting time by moving within a short-range wireless communication range or the like to transmit data, thereby further improving the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing buildings 200.

[0155] According to this embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 includes an operation control unit 502 that controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the flight path L generated based on the acquired photography range R and the acquired photography altitude, and that controls the photography operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the photography operation specified based on the acquired number of photographs. Therefore, by setting the photography range R to match the existing building 200, it is possible to automatically photograph the entire existing building 200 according to the generated flight path L. This can improve the workability of estimating repairs and the like for the existing building 200.

[0156] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the flight path generation unit 14 generates a flight path L that includes a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the longest side AB of the sides of the acquired polygonal imaging range R. This simplifies the processing compared to calculating the flight path L based on a side other than the longest side AB, and allows the flight path L to be generated efficiently. This improves the efficiency of estimating repairs and the like for the existing building 200.

[0157] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the operation control unit 502 automatically evacuates the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 to the takeoff point when the remaining charge of the battery 22 falls below a preset lower limit on the flight path L, and then resumes image capture from the point on the flight path L where the evacuation began when the remaining charge of the battery 22 reaches a predetermined value or more. This makes it possible to control the flight and image capture operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 for a longer period of time. This also makes it possible to improve the workability of estimating repairs, etc., even for larger existing buildings 200.

[0158] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the system further includes a server 3 that can be controlled independently of the operation control unit 502 and the like, receives two-dimensional appearance information photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication network 9, and acquires a three-dimensional modeling image showing the existing building 200 based on the received two-dimensional appearance information. In other words, the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 can be controlled without having to wait until the three-dimensional modeling image showing the existing building 200 based on the two-dimensional appearance information is generated and acquired. Therefore, the acquisition of the three-dimensional modeling image and the photographing of other existing buildings 200 by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 can be carried out in parallel. This can further improve the workability involved in estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0159] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 further includes a server 3 that receives the appearance information D16 captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 via the wireless communication network 9, and a transmission control unit that controls the transmission of the appearance information D16 to the server 3. Specifically, the appearance information D16 can be re-captured and then transmitted, or multiple pieces of appearance information D16 relating to multiple existing buildings 200 can be transmitted simultaneously. This eliminates the need to wait until transmission of the appearance information D16 is complete, due to line congestion caused by transmitting large amounts of data, to re-capture the appearance information D16 or to capture images of other existing buildings. This further improves the efficiency of work related to estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200. Furthermore, re-capturing the appearance information D16 or transmitting multiple pieces of appearance information D16 simultaneously can reduce the number of data transmissions. Furthermore, by moving within a short-range wireless communication range, etc., and transmitting data, the waiting time until transmission of the appearance information D16 is complete can be shortened. This further improves the efficiency of work related to estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0160] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle photographing method includes an operation control step S15 that controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the flight path L generated based on the acquired photographing range R and the acquired photographing altitude, and controls the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the photographing operation specified based on the acquired number of photographs. Therefore, by setting the photographing range R to match the existing building 200, it is possible to automatically photograph the entire existing building 200 according to the generated flight path L. This can improve the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0161] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, after the flight operation and the photographing operation are completed, the operation control step S15 photographs the exterior of the existing building 200 at coordinates corresponding to the center of the longer of the diagonals of the acquired rectangular photographing range R and at an altitude where the entire existing building 200 falls within the angle of view V. Therefore, it is possible to easily obtain appearance information D16 that includes the entire existing building 200 within the angle of view V at the same time as the appearance information D16 photographed on the flight path L, and it is easy to use this information in place of, for example, a roof plan or the like to prevent oversights within the photographing range R. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of estimates for repairs, etc. of the existing building 200.

[0162] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle photography program causes the computer to execute an operation control step S15 that controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the flight path L generated based on the acquired photography range R and the acquired photography altitude, and controls the photography operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 based on the photography operation specified based on the acquired number of photographs. Therefore, by setting the photography range R to match the existing building 200, it is possible to automatically photograph the entire existing building 200 according to the generated flight path L. This can improve the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0163] (Second embodiment: unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) An example of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 12. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 further includes an authentication unit 17. Note that a description of the same configuration as that described above will be omitted.

[0164] The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 further includes at least one of an authentication unit 17 and a calculation unit 18, as shown in FIG. 12, for example.

[0165] <Authentication Section 17> The authentication unit 17 certifies that the approval information corresponding to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is valid. The authentication unit 17 certifies that the approval information corresponding to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is valid, after referring to a database 7 that contains information regarding flight permission for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in, for example, DIPS or FISS.

[0166] <Calculation unit 18> The calculation unit 18 calculates the number of images taken based on the shooting altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, or the shooting altitude based on the number of images taken. The calculation unit 18 calculates the number of images taken based on the shooting altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 acquired by the shooting condition acquisition unit 15, for example, or the shooting altitude based on the number of images taken of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 acquired by the shooting condition acquisition unit 15.

[0167] (Second embodiment: an example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) Next, an example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0168] The operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 further includes an authentication step S16 and an appearance information storage step S17, as shown in Fig. 13. The authentication step S16 may be performed before or after the photography range acquisition step S11, the flight path generation step S12, the photography condition acquisition step S13, or the photography operation identification step S14, as long as it is performed before the operation control step S15, or may be performed multiple times. The appearance information storage step S17 may be performed together with the operation control step S15, or may be performed after the operation control step S15 is completed.

[0169] First, various types of information associated with the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 in this embodiment will be described.

[0170] <Database 7> The database 7 is stored in advance in any of the components of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100. In this embodiment, an example is described in which the database 7 is stored in advance in the server 3, but the database 7 may also be stored in advance in each storage unit 104, 204, etc. instead of or together with the server 3, for example.

[0171] As shown in Fig. 14, for example, the database 7 includes an unmanned aerial vehicle information table 71, an approval information table 72, an appearance information table 73, and a construction work information table 74. The information stored in each of the tables 72 to 74 is preferably linked to identifiable information, for example, the information stored in the unmanned aerial vehicle information table 71. The information stored in each table is received by or directly input to, for example, the server 3. The information stored in each table is saved in association with identification information, such as a library number issued by the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 or reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71. The information stored in each of the tables 71 to 74 may be information input in advance by the user U.

[0172] <Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Information Table 71> The unmanned aerial vehicle information table 71 stores reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71, for example, as shown in FIG. 15(a).

[0173] <Reference unmanned aircraft identification information D71> The reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71 is information for identifying one or more unmanned aerial vehicles. The reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71 includes information such as the "pilot name," "unmanned aerial vehicle name," "serial number," "wireless aircraft registration number," and "insurance expiration date."

[0174] The reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71 may include, for example, information corresponding to the unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D11 that identifies the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The "pilot name" may include, for example, information corresponding to the pilot name D111 that identifies the user U. The "unmanned aerial vehicle name" may include, for example, information corresponding to the unmanned aerial vehicle name D112 that identifies the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The "serial number," "wireless aircraft registration number," and "insurance expiration date" may include information corresponding to the serial number, registration number, and insurance expiration date of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, respectively.

[0175] After confirming that the reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71 stored in advance in the unmanned aerial vehicle information table 71 corresponds to the pilot name D111 received from the control device 1, the server 3 may receive information such as the "serial number," "wireless aircraft registration number," and "insurance expiration date" of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 linked to the pilot name D111 and store it as part of the reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71. For example, if the pilot name D111 received from the control device 1 does not correspond to the pre-stored reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71, the server 3 may newly generate reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71 corresponding to the pilot name D111 received by the server 3 and store it as part of the database 7. These processes can be substituted with any information included in the unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D11 that can identify the user U or the unmanned aerial vehicle 2; for example, the unmanned aerial vehicle name D112 may be used instead of the pilot name D111.

[0176] <Authorization information table 72> The approval information table 72 stores reference approval information D72, for example, as shown in FIG. 15(b).

[0177] <Reference approval information D72> The reference approval information D72 is information indicating the details of the flight permission for each of one or more unmanned aerial vehicles. The reference approval information D72 includes information such as the "flight permission number" and the "flight permission expiration date."

[0178] The reference approval information D72 may include information corresponding to approval information indicating the contents of the flight permission for the unmanned aircraft 2, which is stored in an external database such as DIPS (Drone Information Infrastructure System) or FISS (Flight Information Sharing System). The "flight permission number" may include information corresponding to the flight permission number of the unmanned aircraft 2, for example. The "flight permission expiration date" may include information corresponding to the flight permission expiration date linked to the flight permission number of the unmanned aircraft 2, for example.

[0179] After the server 3 confirms that the reference unmanned aircraft identification information D71 stored in advance in the unmanned aircraft information table 71 corresponds to the unmanned aircraft identification information D11 received from the control device 1, it may receive approval information for the unmanned aircraft 2 linked to the unmanned aircraft identification information D11 and store it in the reference approval information D72.

[0180] <Appearance Information Table 73> The appearance information table 73 stores reference appearance information D73, as shown in FIG. 16(a), for example.

[0181] <Reference Appearance Information D73> The reference appearance information D73 includes appearance information captured for each of one or more unmanned aerial vehicles. The reference appearance information D73 includes, for example, information such as a "partial building image," a "full building image," and a "three-dimensional modeling image."

[0182] The reference appearance information D73 may include, for example, information corresponding to the appearance information D16 captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The "building partial image" may include, for example, information corresponding to the building partial appearance information D161 captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. The "entire building image" may include, for example, information corresponding to the entire building appearance information D162 captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and processed appearance information D163 processed based on the building partial appearance information D161. The "three-dimensional modeling image" may include, for example, information corresponding to the building partial appearance information D161 captured by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and processed appearance information D163 processed based on the entire building appearance information D162, etc.

[0183] After the server 3 confirms that the reference unmanned aircraft identification information D71 stored in advance in the unmanned aircraft information table 71 corresponds to the unmanned aircraft identification information D11 received from the control device 1, it may receive the appearance information D16 of the unmanned aircraft 2 linked to the unmanned aircraft identification information D11 and store it in the reference appearance information D73.

[0184] <Construction Work Information Table 74> The construction work information table 74 stores reference construction work identification information D74, as shown in FIG. 16(b), for example.

[0185] <Reference Construction Work Identification Information D74> The reference construction work identification information D74 is information for identifying construction work of one or more existing buildings. The reference construction work identification information D74 includes information such as the "building construction name," "construction contractor name," "construction work property name," and "construction area."

[0186] The reference construction work identification information D74 may include, for example, information corresponding to construction work information indicating the details of the construction work on the existing building 200. The "building work name" may include, for example, information corresponding to the name of the construction work on the existing building 200. The "construction contractor name" may include, for example, information corresponding to the name of the contractor carrying out the construction work on the existing building 200. The "construction work property name" may include, for example, information corresponding to a name that identifies the existing building 200. The "construction area" may include, for example, information corresponding to a name that identifies the area in which the existing building 200 is located.

[0187] After the server 3 confirms that the reference unmanned aircraft identification information D71 stored in advance in the unmanned aircraft information table 71 corresponds to the unmanned aircraft identification information D11 received from the control device 1, it may receive the appearance information D16 of the unmanned aircraft 2 linked to the unmanned aircraft identification information D11 and link and store the reference construction work identification information D74 and the reference appearance information D73 via the reference unmanned aircraft identification information D71.

[0188] Next, the flow of operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 in this embodiment will be described.

[0189] <Authentication step S16> In authentication step S16, the authentication unit 17 refers to the database 7, which includes an approval information table 72 linking the reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71 and the reference approval information D72, and then certifies that the approval information corresponding to the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is valid. After it is certified that the approval information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 is valid in authentication step S16, in operation control step S15, the operation control unit 502 controls the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. In this case, it is possible to easily and reliably confirm whether the flight permit for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 has been forgotten or has expired, thereby avoiding or preventing illegal acts by the user U. This improves the accuracy of compliance with laws and regulations regarding the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 used to estimate repairs, etc., of the existing building 200.

[0190] When the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 cooperates with an external system such as DIPS or FISS, it may apply for approval of flight permission to the external system via the control device 1 or server 3, and store the status information of the application (application in progress, reapplication required, approved) received as appropriate, and the approval information for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 as a result of the received approval request, in the reference approval information D72. In this case, it is possible to centrally manage confirmation of whether or not flight permission is granted for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, the application for flight permission, and the acquisition of approval information. This improves the operability of preparing the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 for flight.

[0191] <Photographing condition acquisition step S13> In the photographing condition acquisition step S13, the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 first acquires either the photographing altitude information D141 or the photograph count information D142, and then acquires the other calculated by the calculation unit 18. In this case, the number of photographs can be automatically optimized, reducing the system's communication capacity, storage capacity, and the effort required to check the photographed content. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200. Note that when the number of photographs indicated by the acquired photograph count information D142 falls outside the threshold, the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 may re-acquire at least one of the photographing altitude information D141 and the photograph count information D142 in order to optimize the number of photographs. For example, when the photographing interval (vertical interval W3 or horizontal interval W4) of the angle of view V based on the previously acquired photographing altitude information D141 is set to 3 m and the photographing number information D142 indicating the number of photographs being 30 or less is calculated, the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 may set the photographing interval to 1 m and recalculate the photographing number information D142 indicating the number of photographs being more than 30. Also, when the previously acquired photographing number information D142 is greater than 300, the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 may extend the photographing interval and calculate the photographing number information D142 indicating the number of photographs being 300 or less. Also, when the overlapping vertical width w3 and overlapping horizontal width w4 of the overlapping area are set to greater than 0 and the photographing interval is set to the maximum, and the photographing number information D142 indicating the number of photographs being more than 300 is calculated, the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 may determine that the existing building 200 or the photographing range R is wider than expected and return an error.

[0192] <Appearance information storage step S17> In the appearance information storage step S17, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 links the appearance information D16 acquired by the operation control unit 502 in the operation control step S15, for example, with the unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D11 stored in the storage unit 204, and transmits the linked information to the server 3. The server 3 then generates reference appearance information D73 corresponding to the received appearance information D16, or duplicates it as reference appearance information D73, links it with the reference unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D71 corresponding to the received unmanned aerial vehicle identification information D11, and stores it as an appearance information table 73. In this case, the scope of applications of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 can be expanded, for example, by acquiring visual information of a single existing building 200 using multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, or by managing visual information of multiple existing buildings on a single server 3. Note that some or all of the functions of the server 3 in the appearance information storage step S17 can be replaced by functions of the control device 1.

[0193] (Second embodiment: modified example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) 17, the calculation unit 18 calculates the photographing altitude based on the photographing interval In of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and a set overlap width that is preset as the overlap width (width of the overlapping area) where the angles of view V of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 at two adjacent points that are spaced apart by the photographing interval In overlap with each other. Note that the set overlap width may be preset in the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, for example, or may be preset in any of the components of the unmanned aerial vehicle photographing system 100.

[0194] At this time, the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 acquires the photographing interval In and then acquires the photographing altitude calculated by the calculation unit 18. That is, by acquiring the photographing interval In, the photographing altitude is automatically calculated according to the preset overlap width (overlap value) of the overlapping area. In this case, it is possible to complete acquisition of the appearance information D16 for the large existing building 200 with a minimum number of photographs (number of photographs) while satisfying a predetermined overlap value, and since the data volume of the appearance information D16 is reduced, it is possible to shorten the waiting time until transmission of the appearance information D16 is completed. This can further improve the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200. The overlap width may be a value sufficient for estimating a three-dimensional scene from a two-dimensional image using, for example, the above-mentioned SfM, and may be set to, for example, an actual measured value of approximately 2 meters or more.

[0195] First, an example of information associated with the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 will be described. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 uses photography condition information D14, which includes photography interval information indicating the photography interval In and set overlap width information indicating the set overlap width. The photography interval information and set overlap width information may be stored in advance in each component of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100, or may be stored after receiving input from the user U. Note that the set overlap width indicates, for example, a value required as processed appearance information D163 when synthesizing multiple pieces of building partial appearance information D161 to generate visual information showing the entire existing building 200, or when generating a three-dimensional modeling image of the existing building 200 based on two-dimensional appearance information.

[0196] As an example of the photographing interval information and the set overlap width information, FIG. 17(a) shows the photographing altitude calculated by the calculation unit 18 based on the photographing interval In and the set overlap width (calculated photographing altitude) before application, and FIG. 17(b) shows the photographing altitude after application. Note that FIGS. 17(a) and 17(b) are side views corresponding to points P1 and P2 in the plan view of FIG. 4(a).

[0197] 9, and the angles of view V1 and V2 are set for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 in the sky above points P1 and P2 on the roof of existing building 200. The shooting angle θ, vertical width w1 within the angle of view, height h1 from the roof to camera 21 of unmanned aerial vehicle 2 at points P11 and P21 above before the application of the calculated shooting altitude, height h2 of existing building 200, and adjusted height h4 of unmanned aerial vehicle 2 from points P11 and P21 above to points P12 and P22 above before and after the application of the calculated shooting altitude are all the same at points P1 and P2. In this case, the sum of height h1 and height h2 is the shooting altitude before the application of the calculated shooting altitude, and the sum of height h1, height h2, and adjusted height h4 is the calculated shooting altitude. The angles of view V1 and V2 are each a regular square pyramid with a shooting angle θ of approximately 90°, and are line-symmetrical with respect to the vertical direction in the side views shown in Figures 17(a) and 17(b). In this case, the distance from point P1 to the outer edge of angle of view V1 and the distance from point P2 to the outer edge of angle of view V2 are both w1 / 2. The overlapping width in the flight direction of the overlapping area between angle of view V1 at points P11 and P12 in the sky above point P1 and angle of view V2 at points P21 and P22 in the sky above point P2 is defined as vertical overlap width w3.

[0198] In this case, before the application of the calculated shooting altitude, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 flies from aerial point P11 toward aerial point P21 while maintaining the shooting altitude, as shown in Figure 17(a), for example. At this time, the relationship is: vertical overlap width w3 = w1 / 2 + w1 / 2 - In, i.e., vertical overlap width w3 = vertical width within angle of view w1 - shooting interval In. If the vertical overlap width w3 does not satisfy the preset vertical overlap width w3' in the flight direction within the preset overlap width, it is necessary to correct at least one of the shooting interval In and the vertical width within angle of view w1. However, since the vertical width within angle of view w1 is a parameter that can be changed by adjusting the shooting altitude, by calculating the calculated shooting altitude or the adjusted height h4 using the calculation unit 18, the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 can be controlled to satisfy the set vertical overlap width w3' at any shooting interval In.

[0199] Next, an example of the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 will be described.

[0200] In the photographing condition acquisition step S13, the photographing condition acquisition unit 15 acquires photographing condition information D14 including photographing interval information and set overlap width information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2. Thereafter, the calculation unit 18 calculates the calculated photographing altitude based on the photographing interval information and set overlap width information previously acquired by the photographing condition acquisition unit 15. The photographing condition acquisition unit 15 also acquires the calculated photographing altitude calculated by the calculation unit 18.

[0201] Then, in the operation control step S15, the operation control unit 502 receives a control signal to start shooting from the control device 1, and then controls the flight operation of the unmanned aircraft 2 based on the flight path L contained in the flight path information D13 generated by the flight path generation unit 14 in the flight path generation step S12 and the calculated shooting altitude contained in the shooting altitude information D141 acquired by the shooting condition acquisition unit 15 in the shooting condition acquisition step S13.

[0202] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17(b), the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 ascends from aerial point P11 by the adjusted height h4 to aerial point P12 corresponding to the calculated shooting altitude, and then flies toward aerial point P22 while maintaining the calculated shooting altitude. At this time, the relationship is: vertical width within the angle of view w1' = shooting interval In + set vertical overlap width w3'. By calculating a shooting altitude that satisfies the vertical width within the angle of view w1', the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 can acquire the exterior information D16 of the large existing building 200 with a minimum number of shots (number of images) while satisfying the specified overlap value. Note that if the adjusted height h4 is less than 0, i.e., if the calculated shooting altitude is lower than the shooting altitude, it is preferable to descend from aerial point P11 by the adjusted height h4 and then fly while maintaining the calculated shooting altitude, since this allows for clearer appearance information D16 to be acquired while satisfying the specified overlap value.

[0203] Furthermore, depending on the calculated shooting altitude, if the appearance information D16 becomes unclear at some shooting points of the existing building 200 due to being too far away from the existing building 200, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 may be manually flown to the shooting point and a close-up image may be supplemented to the appearance information D16. Furthermore, a three-dimensional modeling image with no blurring may be generated by using the appearance information D16 acquired by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 under the control of the operation control unit 502 and the supplemented image taken by the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 manually.

[0204] According to this embodiment, the operation control unit 502 controls the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 after the authentication unit 17 has authenticated that the approval information is valid. This makes it possible to easily and reliably check whether a flight permit for the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 has been forgotten or has expired, thereby avoiding or preventing illegal acts by the user U. This improves the accuracy of compliance with laws and regulations regarding the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 used to estimate repairs, etc., of the existing building 200.

[0205] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the operation control unit 502 controls the photographing operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 after calculating either the number of photographs based on the acquired photographing altitude or the photographing altitude based on the acquired number of photographs. This automatically optimizes the number of photographs, reducing the system's communication capacity, storage capacity, and the effort required to check the photographed content. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0206] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 further includes a calculation unit 18 that calculates the photographing altitude based on the photographing interval In of the unmanned aerial vehicle 2 and a preset overlap width. The photographing condition acquisition unit 15 acquires the photographing interval In and then acquires the photographing altitude calculated by the calculation unit 18. That is, by acquiring the photographing interval In, the photographing altitude is automatically calculated according to the preset overlap width (overlap value). Therefore, for a large existing building 200, it is possible to complete acquisition of the appearance information D16 with a minimum number of photographs (number of photographs) while satisfying a predetermined overlap value, and since the data volume of the appearance information D16 is reduced, it is possible to shorten the waiting time until transmission of the appearance information D16 is completed. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0207] (Third embodiment: Construction work estimate creation system using unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) An example of a construction work estimate creation system using the above-described unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 18. Note that a description of the same configuration as that described above will be omitted.

[0208] 18, in addition to the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100 described above, the construction work estimate creation system further includes a construction area acquisition unit 61, a building material information acquisition unit 62, a building material quantity calculation unit 63, a unit price acquisition unit 64, and a construction work amount output unit 65. Note that, in this embodiment, an example will be described in which the control device 1 includes the units 61 to 65, but at least some of the units 61 to 65 may also be included in the server 3.

[0209] <Construction Scope Acquisition Section 61> The construction area acquisition unit 61 acquires the construction area of ​​the building construction work specified from the appearance information. The construction area acquisition unit 61 acquires the construction area of ​​the building construction work specified from the appearance information D16 that indicates the appearance of the existing building 200 photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100, for example.

[0210] The construction scope acquisition unit 61 acquires the construction scope of the specified building work, for example, by receiving input via the input unit 108 from a user U who has viewed the appearance information D16 displayed on the display unit 109. The construction scope acquisition unit 61 may acquire the construction scope of the specified building work, for example, by automatically recognizing specific parts of the existing building 200, such as the roof or walls, from the appearance information D16 using a known image recognition system.

[0211] <Building material information acquisition department 62> The building material information acquisition unit 62 acquires identification information of building materials used in construction work. The building material information acquisition unit 62 acquires the identification information of building materials, for example, by a method of receiving input from the user U via the input unit 108. The building material information acquisition unit 62 may acquire the identification information of building materials by a method such as referring to a database in which identification information of building materials is pre-linked for each specific part of the existing building 200, according to the specific part of the existing building 200 acquired from the appearance information D16 via a known image recognition system, for example.

[0212] <Building Material Quantity Calculation Unit 63> The building material quantity calculation unit 63 calculates the number of parts of building materials to be used in the building work from the construction scope related to the building work and the identification information of the building materials. The building material quantity calculation unit 63 calculates the number of parts of building materials to be used in the building work from, for example, the construction scope acquired by the construction scope acquisition unit 61 and the identification information of the building materials acquired by the building material information acquisition unit 62.

[0213] The building material quantity calculation unit 63 calculates the number of parts by, for example, dividing the area of ​​the construction range acquired by the construction range acquisition unit 61 by the area of ​​one piece of building material, or by integrating the amount used per unit area. The building material quantity calculation unit 63 calculates the number of parts by dividing the area of ​​the construction range for each part acquired by the construction range acquisition unit 61, for example, the area of ​​the construction range acquired for each part such as horizontal roofing, vertical roofing, gables, and walls, by the area of ​​one piece of building material corresponding to each part, or by integrating the amount used per unit area corresponding to each part. The building material quantity calculation unit 63 may use, as the calculation result, the result of automatically calculating the number of parts for the roof or exterior wall using publicly known exterior roof allocation estimating software such as "Tsubo-hiki (registered trademark)".

[0214] <Unit Price Acquisition Section 64> The unit price acquisition unit 64 refers to the database 7 in which the identification information of the building material and the unit price of the building material are linked in advance, and acquires the unit price of the building material corresponding to the identification information of the building material from the database 7. The unit price acquisition unit 64 acquires the unit price of the building material corresponding to the identification information of the building material acquired by the building material information acquisition unit 62, for example.

[0215] <Construction work cost output section 65> The construction work cost output unit 65 outputs the construction work cost according to the number of parts of the building material and the unit price of the building material. The construction work cost output unit 65 outputs the construction work cost according to, for example, the number of parts of the building material calculated by the building material number calculation unit 63 and the unit price of the building material acquired by the unit price acquisition unit 64.

[0216] (Third embodiment: an example of the operation of a construction work estimate creation system using the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) Next, an example of the operation of the construction work estimate creation system in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 19 to 25. The construction work estimate creation system is executed via, for example, the control device 1, the unmanned aerial vehicle 2, and an unmanned aerial vehicle photography program installed in the server 3.

[0217] 19, the operation of the construction work estimate creation system further includes a construction scope acquisition step S21, a building material information acquisition step S22, a building material quantity calculation step S23, a unit price acquisition step S24, and a construction work amount output step S25. Note that in this embodiment, an example is described in which the operation of the construction work estimate creation system is performed after steps S11 to S17 included in the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100, but if appearance information D16 is acquired in advance using the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100, steps S11 to S17 may be omitted.

[0218] First, various types of information that accompany the operation of the construction work estimate creation system in this embodiment will be described.

[0219] <Construction Information D17> The construction information D17 is information related to construction work on the existing building 200. The construction information D17 includes construction scope information D171, for example, as shown in FIG. 20 . The construction information D17 may include construction site information D172, and may be stored in association with the construction scope information D171. The construction information D17 may include construction area information D173, and may be stored in association with the construction scope information D171. The construction information D17 is acquired, for example, by the input unit 108 of the control device 1 accepting input from the user U.

[0220] The construction scope information D171 is information that identifies the scope of construction work on the existing building 200. The construction scope information D171 identifies a planar construction scope. The construction scope information D171 identifies, for example, a polygonal construction scope. The construction scope information D171 includes, for example, the dimensions of each side of the polygonal shape and the area of ​​the planar construction scope for the identified construction scope. The construction scope information D171 may identify, for example, multiple construction scopes that are spaced apart from each other.

[0221] The construction area information D171 is formed, for example, along the outer periphery shape from the appearance information D16 of the existing building 200. At this time, a part or all of the roof of the existing building 200 included in the appearance information D16 may be specified as the construction area, or a part or all of the wall may be specified as the construction area.

[0222] The construction site information D172 is information that identifies the sites that make up the exterior of the existing building 200. The construction site information D172 includes information that identifies sites such as the "roof" and the "wall," for example.

[0223] The construction area information D173 is information that indicates the area where the existing building 200 where construction work is to be carried out is located. The construction area information D173 includes, for example, information that identifies each region division of Japan or each division of a local government.

[0224] <Building material information D18> The building material information D18 is information related to building materials used in construction work on the existing building 200. The building material information D18 includes, for example, building material characteristic information D181, building material identification information D182, and building material quantity information D183. The construction information D17 may include only one of the building material characteristic information D181 and the building material identification information D182, or may include both and store them linked to each other. The building material information D18 is acquired, for example, by the input unit 108 of the control device 1 accepting input from the user U.

[0225] The building material characteristic information D181 is information that indicates the characteristics of building materials used in the construction work of the existing building 200. The building material characteristic information D181 includes, for example, information that indicates the category of building materials, such as "horizontal roofing," "vertical roofing," and "ridge shingle," and information that indicates the material of the building materials, such as "steel" and "aluminum."

[0226] The building material identification information D182 is information for identifying building materials used in the construction work of the existing building 200. The building material characteristic information D181 includes information for identifying building materials, such as the product name and product model number of the building material, for example.

[0227] <Database 7> The database 7 further includes a building material application information table 75, as shown in Fig. 21. The information stored in the building material application information table 75 is preferably linked to identifiable information, and is stored in association with, for example, identification information such as a library number issued by a construction work estimate creation system.

[0228] <Construction Work Information Table 74> 22, the construction work information table 74 stores reference construction work identification information D74 for identifying construction work on one or more existing buildings, and reference building material information D76, in association with each other. The construction work information table 74 may further store reference construction work identification information D74 for identifying construction work on one or more existing buildings, in association with reference exterior information D73 and reference construction information D75, for example. Note that the reference building material information D76 is a copy of the information stored in the building material construction information table 75, for example.

[0229] <Reference Construction Information D75> The reference construction information D75 is information indicating the details of construction work for one or more existing buildings. The reference construction information D75 includes information such as "building material installation area" indicating the installation area of ​​building materials used in the construction work.

[0230] The reference construction information D75 may include, for example, information corresponding to construction construction information indicating the details of the construction work on the existing building 200. The "building material installation area" may include, for example, information corresponding to the construction scope information D171 included in the construction information D17 on the construction work on the existing building 200.

[0231] <Building Material Construction Information Table 75> The building material application information table 75 stores reference building material information D76, for example, as shown in Fig. 23(a). The building material application information table 75 may store the reference building material information D76 and reference application information D77 in association with each other, for example, as shown in Fig. 23(b).

[0232] <Reference building material information D76> The reference building material information D76 is information showing details of building materials used in the construction work of one or more existing buildings. The reference building material information D76 includes information such as the "building material name," "building material unit price," "building material dealer name," "building material," "building material characteristics," "auxiliary material name," and "number of building materials" of the building materials used in the construction work.

[0233] The reference building material information D76 may include, for example, information corresponding to the building material identification information D182. The reference building material information D76 may include, for example, information corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181. The "building material name" may include, for example, information indicating the name of the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182. The "building material unit price" may include, for example, information indicating the unit price of the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182. The "building material dealer name" may include, for example, information indicating the name of the dealer of the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182. The "building material material" may include, for example, information indicating the material of the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182. The "auxiliary material name" may include, for example, information indicating the jigs and the like required for installing the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182. The "number of building materials" may include, for example, information indicating the number of building materials corresponding to the building material number information D183 included in the building material information D18.

[0234] <Reference construction information D77> The reference construction information D77 is information showing details of the construction of building materials used in the construction of one or more existing buildings. The reference construction information D77 includes information such as "construction name," "contractor name," "construction content," "construction unit price," and "construction man-hours" related to the construction of building materials used in the construction work.

[0235] The reference construction information D77 may include, for example, one or more pieces of construction information corresponding to the building material identification information D182. The reference construction information D77 may include, for example, one or more pieces of construction information corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181. Here, the one or more pieces of construction information may be multiple pieces of information for different construction processes, or may be chronologically sequential or alternative information included in the same construction process. The "construction name" may include, for example, information indicating the construction name related to the construction of the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182. The "contractor name" may include, for example, information indicating the contractor related to the construction of the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182. The "construction content" may include, for example, information indicating the construction content related to the construction of the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182. The "construction unit price" may include, for example, information indicating the construction unit price related to the construction of the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182. "Construction man-hours" can include, for example, information indicating the construction man-hours involved in constructing the building material corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 or the building material identification information D182.

[0236] Next, the flow of operations of the construction work estimate creation system in this embodiment will be described.

[0237] <Construction scope acquisition step S21> In construction range acquisition step S21, the construction range acquisition unit 61 acquires the construction range of the building work specified from the reference appearance information D73 as construction range information D171, for example, as shown in Fig. 24. The construction range acquisition unit 61 may also acquire the construction range of the building work specified from the appearance information D16 as construction range information D171. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which a three-dimensional modeling image of the existing building 200 is used as the reference appearance information D73, but one or more images may be used, or a video may be used.

[0238] The construction area acquisition unit 61 receives a designation of the construction area via the input unit 108 from the user U who has viewed reference appearance information D73, such as a three-dimensional modeling image of the existing building 200 displayed on the display unit 109. This allows construction area information D171, for example, including area A, area B, area C, and area D, to be acquired as construction information D17. Furthermore, by accepting input of the construction area information D171 and construction part information D172 from the user U, the construction area acquisition unit 61 can acquire, as construction information D17, construction area information D171 linked to construction part information D172, for example, including roof A with area A, roof B with area B, roof C with area C, and roof D with area D.

[0239] In the example of FIG. 24, the user U operates to select the perimeter of each roof in 3D modeling image A displayed on display unit 109, thereby acquiring the range of roofs A to C and the dimensions of each side. Then, the user U operates to rotate 3D modeling image A and specify the perimeter of the remaining roof in 3D modeling image B displayed on display unit 109, thereby acquiring the range of roof D and the dimensions of each side. Then, to simplify the calculation of the number of building materials, a planar development diagram of each of roofs A to D is acquired as construction area information D171 by a generation process based on the acquired dimensions of each of roofs A to D, or by a method of receiving input from user U regarding the acquired dimensions of each of roofs A to D.

[0240] <Building material information acquisition step S22> In the building material information acquisition step S22, the building material information acquisition unit 62 acquires the building material identification information D182 designated by the user U. The building material information acquisition unit 62 acquires the building material identification information D182 by accepting input of a building material designation from the user U who has visually recognized a list of one or more pieces of reference building material information D76 displayed on the display unit 109, for example.

[0241] Here, all of the reference building material information D76 may be displayed on the display unit 109, or only information related to the construction information D17 acquired by the construction range acquisition unit 61 may be displayed on the display unit 109. In the example of Fig. 24, when the construction range acquisition unit 61 acquires construction information D17 including construction portion information D172 indicating the "roof" portion, the display unit 109 may display only the reference building material information D76 corresponding to the roof material.

[0242] <Building material quantity calculation step S23> In building material quantity calculation step S23, the building material quantity calculation unit 63 calculates building material quantity information D183 from the construction scope information D171 acquired by the construction scope acquisition unit 61 in construction scope acquisition step S21 and the building material identification information D182 acquired by the building material information acquisition unit 62 in building material information acquisition step S22. In the example of Fig. 24, in addition to calculating the total number of each building material as construction information D17, the number of "real" pieces used as a single material and the number of "cut pieces" that are cut to fit the shape of the roof or exterior wall may also be calculated.

[0243] <Unit price acquisition step S24> In unit price acquisition step S24, the unit price acquisition unit 64 refers to the database 7 in which the identification information of the building material and the unit price of the building material are linked in advance, and then acquires the unit price of the building material corresponding to the building material identification information D182 acquired by the building material information acquisition unit 62 from the database 7. For example, as shown in FIG. 25 , the unit price acquisition unit 64 refers to the building material construction information table 75 in which the "building material name" and the "building material unit price" are linked, and then acquires the unit price of the building material corresponding to the building material identification information D182 from the building material construction information table 75.

[0244] <Construction work cost output step S25> In the construction work cost output step S25, the construction work cost output unit 65 outputs a construction work cost D19 based on the building material quantity information D183 calculated by the building material quantity calculation unit 63 in the building material quantity calculation step S23 and the unit price of the building material acquired by the unit price acquisition unit 64 in the unit price acquisition step S24. For example, as shown in FIG. 25, the construction work cost output unit 65 outputs the "material cost" for each building material according to the building material identification information D182, and the estimated subtotal A obtained by multiplying the "quantity (A1)" of that building material by the "unit price (A3)" of that building material, as the construction work cost D19. In other words, even if the user U does not have specialized knowledge and is unfamiliar with estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200, he or she can be involved in work related to estimating repairs, etc. In this case, the construction work cost D19 can be easily output based on the appearance information D16 showing the appearance of the existing building 200. This improves the workability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200. At this time, the construction work amount output unit 65 may calculate the estimated amount subtotal B by multiplying the "quantity (B1)" of the processing by the "unit price (B3)" to obtain the "processing cost" according to the building material identification information D182 and the building material quantity information D183, and may calculate the estimated amount subtotal C by multiplying the "quantity (C1)" of the construction by the "unit price (C3)" to obtain the "construction cost" according to the building material identification information D182 and the building material quantity information D183, and may then add up the estimated amount subtotals A to C to obtain the total estimated amount D, which is output as the construction work amount D19.

[0245] In addition, when the unit price acquisition unit 64 refers to the building material construction information table 75 in which the "building material name" and the "building material cost" are linked, and acquires the cost of the building material corresponding to the building material identification information D182 from the building material construction information table 75, it may acquire the unit sales price calculated using the "cost (A2)" of the building material and the "gross profit rate (E)" specified by the user U, and multiply this by the "quantity (A1)" instead of the "unit price (A3)" to calculate the estimated amount.

[0246] (Third embodiment: modified example of the operation of the construction work estimate creation system using the unmanned aerial vehicle photography system 100) The following example is an example of a modified operation of the construction work estimate creation system. In the building material information acquisition step S22, the building material information acquisition unit 62 acquires building material characteristic information D181 specified by the user U. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 23(b), for example, the building material information acquisition unit 62 refers to a building material construction information table 75 in which building material characteristics (e.g., "building material characteristics") and building material identification information (e.g., "building material name") are linked, and acquires the "building material name" linked to the "building material characteristic" corresponding to the acquired building material characteristic information D181 from the building material construction information table 75 as building material identification information D182. In this case, by identifying the building material characteristics, the effort required to grasp the building material identification information is eliminated. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs and the like for the existing building 200. Furthermore, when multiple "building material names" are linked to one "building material characteristic," the user U can selectively specify building material identification information D182 from one or more "building material names." In this case, if there are multiple pieces of identification information for the building material that correspond to the characteristics of the specified building material, the identification information for the building material can be selected arbitrarily. This improves the operability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0247] Another example of a variation of the operation of the construction work estimate creation system is as follows. In construction area acquisition step S21, the construction area acquisition unit 61 acquires construction area information D173 specified by the user U. Furthermore, in building material information acquisition step S22, the building material information acquisition unit 62 acquires building material characteristic information D181 specified by the user U. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 23(b), for example, the building material information acquisition unit 62 refers to a building material construction information table 75 in which building material characteristics (e.g., "building material characteristics") and construction area are linked to building material identification information (e.g., "building material name"), and acquires the "construction area" corresponding to the acquired construction area information D173 and the "building material name" linked to the "building material characteristics" corresponding to the building material characteristic information D181 from the building material construction information table 75 as building material identification information D182. In this case, it is possible to easily output a construction work price D19 that takes into account building material circumstances attributable to the construction area, such as regional characteristics. This makes it possible to further improve the workability in estimating repairs and the like for the existing building 200.

[0248] Another example of a variation of the operation of the construction work estimate creation system is as follows. In the unit price acquisition step S24, the unit price acquisition unit 64 refers to a building material construction information table 75, which associates the identification information of the building material (e.g., "building material name") with the unit price of the building material (e.g., "building material unit price") and the unit price of construction (e.g., "construction unit price"), as shown in FIG. 23(b), and acquires the "building material unit price" and "construction unit price" associated with the "building material name" corresponding to the acquired building material identification information D182 from the building material construction information table 75. In this case, the details of the construction can be taken into consideration in the construction work estimate. This improves the accuracy of estimates for repairs to the existing building 200, etc. Furthermore, when multiple "construction unit prices" are associated with one "building material name," the user U can selectively specify the construction unit price from one or more "construction unit prices." In this case, if there are multiple unit prices for construction work corresponding to the identification information of the specified building material, the unit price for construction work can be selected arbitrarily according to the content of the construction work. This improves the operability of estimating repairs, etc. for the existing building 200.

[0249] Another example of a variation of the operation of the construction work estimate creation system is as follows. In the construction scope acquisition step S21, the construction scope acquisition unit 61 acquires construction area information D173 specified by the user U. In the unit price acquisition step S24, the unit price acquisition unit 64 references the building material construction information table 75, which associates the identification information (e.g., "building material name") and construction area with the construction unit price (e.g., "construction unit price") of the building material, as shown in FIG. 23(b), and acquires from the building material construction information table 75 the "construction unit price" associated with the "building material name" corresponding to the acquired building material identification information D182 and the "construction area" corresponding to the acquired construction area information D173. In this case, the construction cost D19 can be easily output, taking into account construction circumstances attributable to the construction area, such as regional characteristics. This further improves the workability of estimating repairs and other work for the existing building 200.

[0250] According to this embodiment, the construction work cost estimate creation system includes a construction scope acquisition unit 61 that acquires the construction scope of the construction work specified from the appearance information D16, a building material information acquisition unit 62 that acquires identification information of building materials specified by the user U, a building material quantity calculation unit 63 that calculates the number of copies of the building materials from the acquired construction scope and the identification information of the building materials, and a construction work cost output unit 65 that outputs a construction work cost D19 based on the calculated number of copies of the building materials and the unit price of the building materials according to the acquired identification information of the building materials. Therefore, it is possible to easily output the construction work cost D19 based on the appearance information D16 that shows the appearance of the existing building 200. This improves the workability of estimating repairs, etc. of the existing building 200.

[0251] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0252] 100 Unmanned Aerial Photography System 200 Existing buildings 1. Control device 10. Cabinet 101, 201 CPU 102, 202 ROM 103, 203 RAM 104, 204 Preservation Department 105~107, 205 I / F 108 Input section 109 Display section 110, 210 internal bus 11. Wireless Communication Section 12 Storage section 13 Shooting range acquisition unit 14 Flight path generation unit 15. Shooting condition acquisition unit 16 Shooting action identification unit 17 Authentication Section 18 Calculation section 61 Construction Scope Acquisition Department 62 Building material information acquisition department 63 Building Materials Quantity Calculation Department 64 Unit Price Acquisition Department 65 Construction work cost output section 2 Unmanned aerial vehicle 20 Control Unit 21 Camera 22 Battery 23 Rotor motor 50 Flight Controller 501 Sensor information acquisition unit 502 Operation control unit 51 Radio Communication Department 52 Storage section 53 ESC 3 Server 7 Database 71 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Information Table 72 Approval Information Table 73 Appearance Information Table 74 Construction Work Information Table 75 Building material construction information table 9 Wireless communication network S11 Shooting range acquisition step S12 Flight path generation step S13 Shooting condition acquisition step S14 Shooting action identification step S15 Motion control step S16 Authentication Step S17 Appearance information storage step S21 Construction scope acquisition step S22 Building material information acquisition step S23 Building material quantity calculation step S24 Unit price acquisition step S25 Construction cost output step D11 Unmanned aircraft identification information D12 Shooting range information D13 Flight Route Information D14 Shooting condition information D15 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flight Information D16 Appearance Information D17 Construction Information D18 Building material information D19 Construction cost D71 Reference Unmanned Aircraft Identification Information D72 Reference approval information D73 Reference Appearance Information D74 Reference Construction Work Identification Information D75 Reference Construction Information D76 Reference building material information D77 Construction information for reference

Claims

1. In an unmanned aerial vehicle photography system that uses an unmanned aerial vehicle to photograph the exterior of an existing building, Unmanned aerial vehicles and a photographing range acquisition unit that acquires a planar rectangular photographing range of the unmanned aerial vehicle; a flight path generation unit that generates a horizontal flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the photographing range acquired by the photographing range acquisition unit; a photographing condition acquisition unit that acquires a photographing altitude and a number of photographs in the photographing range acquired by the photographing range acquisition unit; a photographing operation identification unit that identifies a photographing operation on the flight path based on the number of photographs acquired by the photographing condition acquisition unit; an operation control unit that controls the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the flight path generated by the flight path generation unit and the shooting altitude acquired by the shooting condition acquisition unit, and controls the shooting operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the shooting operation identified by the shooting operation identification unit, while photographing the exterior of the existing building at coordinates corresponding to the center of the longer of the diagonals of the shooting range acquired by the shooting range acquisition unit and at an altitude where the entire existing building fits within the angle of view; To be prepared An unmanned aerial photography system characterized by the above.

2. the imaging range acquisition unit acquires the imaging range in a polygonal shape, the flight path generation unit generates the flight path including a direction substantially perpendicular to the longest side of each side of the polygonal imaging range acquired by the imaging range acquisition unit.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system according to claim 1,

3. The operation control unit controls the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle so that when the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle falls below a preset lower limit on the flight path generated by the flight path generation unit, the unmanned aerial vehicle automatically retreats to the takeoff point, and when the remaining charge of the battery thereafter reaches a predetermined value or more, the unmanned aerial vehicle resumes photographing from the point on the flight path where the retreat began.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system according to claim 1,

4. The unmanned aerial vehicle further includes a server that can be controlled independently of the shooting range acquisition unit, the flight path generation unit, the shooting condition acquisition unit, the shooting operation identification unit, and the operation control unit, and that receives, via a wireless communication network, two-dimensional appearance information showing the appearance of the existing building photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle, and acquires a three-dimensional modeling image showing the existing building based on the received two-dimensional appearance information.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system according to claim 1,

5. a server that receives, via a wireless communication network, appearance information showing the appearance of the existing building photographed by the unmanned aerial vehicle; a transmission control unit that controls transmission of the appearance information to the server; Further provide 2. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system according to claim 1,

6. The system further includes an authentication unit that refers to a database in which unmanned aircraft identification information that identifies the unmanned aircraft is linked to approval information that indicates flight permission for the unmanned aircraft in a Drone / UAS Information Platform System (DIPS) or a Flight Information Sharing System (FISS), and authenticates that the approval information corresponding to the unmanned aircraft is valid; The operation control unit controls the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle after the authentication unit authenticates that the approval information is valid.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system according to claim 1,

7. A calculation unit is further provided to calculate the number of photographs based on the photographing altitude or the photographing altitude based on the number of photographs, The photographing condition acquisition unit first acquires either one of the number of photographs or the photographing altitude, and then acquires the other calculated by the calculation unit.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system according to claim 1,

8. a calculation unit that calculates the photographing altitude based on a photographing interval of the unmanned aerial vehicle and a preset overlap width that is a width where the angles of view of the unmanned aerial vehicle at two adjacent points spaced apart by the photographing interval overlap each other; The photographing condition acquisition unit acquires the photographing interval and then acquires the photographing altitude calculated by the calculation unit.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle photography system according to claim 1,

9. An unmanned aerial vehicle photographing method for photographing the exterior of an existing building using an unmanned aerial vehicle, a photographing range acquisition step of acquiring a planar rectangular photographing range of the unmanned aerial vehicle; a flight path generation step of generating a horizontal flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the photographing range acquired in the photographing range acquisition step; a photographing condition acquisition step of acquiring a photographing altitude and a number of photographs in the photographing range acquired in the photographing range acquisition step; a photographing operation identification step of identifying a photographing operation on the flight path based on the number of photographs acquired by the photographing condition acquisition step; an operation control step of controlling the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the flight path generated in the flight path generation step and the shooting altitude acquired in the shooting condition acquisition step, and controlling the shooting operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the shooting operation identified in the shooting operation identification step, and after the flight operation and the shooting operation are completed, photographing the exterior of the existing building at coordinates corresponding to the center of the longer of the diagonals of the shooting range acquired in the shooting range acquisition step and at an altitude where the entire existing building fits within an angle of view; Having An unmanned aerial vehicle photographing method comprising:

10. In a drone photography program that uses drones to photograph the exteriors of existing buildings, a photographing range acquisition step of acquiring a planar rectangular photographing range of the unmanned aerial vehicle; a flight path generation step of generating a horizontal flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the photographing range acquired in the photographing range acquisition step; a photographing condition acquisition step of acquiring a photographing altitude and a number of photographs in the photographing range acquired in the photographing range acquisition step; a photographing operation identification step of identifying a photographing operation on the flight path based on the number of photographs acquired by the photographing condition acquisition step; an operation control step of controlling the flight operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the flight path generated in the flight path generation step and the shooting altitude acquired in the shooting condition acquisition step, and controlling the shooting operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the shooting operation identified in the shooting operation identification step, and after the flight operation and the shooting operation are completed, photographing the exterior of the existing building at coordinates corresponding to the center of the longer of the diagonals of the shooting range acquired in the shooting range acquisition step and at an altitude where the entire existing building fits within an angle of view; to have a computer execute An unmanned aerial photography program featuring:

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