Unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft landing methods

Abstract

To provide an unmanned aerial vehicle and a method for landing the unmanned aerial vehicle.SOLUTION: An unmanned aerial vehicle includes a positioning device and a processor. The positioning device is used to generate a current coordinate of the unmanned aerial vehicle. When the processor detects a flight status of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the processor obtains the current coordinate from the positioning device. The processor calculates a plurality of distances that the unmanned aerial vehicle travels from the current coordinate along a predetermined flight route to emergency landing coordinates based on the current coordinate, the predetermined flight route and the plurality of emergency landing coordinates. The processor obtains a target emergency landing coordinate based on the shortest distance of the plurality of distances. The processor controls the unmanned aerial vehicle to move along the predetermined flight route to the target emergency landing coordinate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle landing technology, and in particular, to an unmanned aerial vehicle used for emergency landing and an unmanned aerial vehicle landing method. [Background Art]

[0002] In recent years, when an emergency (for example, a power problem, the influence of an external force, etc.) occurs to an unmanned aerial vehicle (for example, a drone, a radio-controlled aircraft, etc.) during flight and the unmanned aerial vehicle cannot continue to fly along a predetermined flight route, the unmanned aerial vehicle can automatically fly to an Emergency Landing Zone (ELZ).

[0003] In a conventional unmanned aerial vehicle landing method, when an emergency occurs to the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle can stop a predetermined flight mission and directly move to the emergency landing zone with the shortest straight-line distance to the landing point for landing. However, if there is an obstacle or a no-fly area on the straight path between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the emergency landing zone, the unmanned aerial vehicle may be damaged, or personnel may be put at risk.

[0004] Therefore, an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of safely landing at an emergency landing zone in an emergency landing situation, an unmanned aerial vehicle landing method and related technologies thereof are currently one of the important issues in the field of research and development of unmanned aerial vehicle systems.

[0005] It should be noted that, since this "Background Art" section is only for helping understanding of the content of the present invention, the content disclosed in this "Background Art" section may include technologies not known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the content disclosed in this "Background Art" section does not mean that said content, or the problem to be solved by one or more embodiments of the present invention, has already been well known to those skilled in the art before the filing of the present invention. [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an unmanned aircraft and an unmanned aircraft landing method that can avoid colliding with obstacles or flying into no-fly airspace when the unmanned aircraft is in an emergency landing state by flying to the emergency landing zone that is closest in distance along a predetermined flight route.

[0007] Other objectives and advantages of the present invention can be further understood from the technical features disclosed herein. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve one, some, all, or other of the above-mentioned objectives, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for landing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The UAV landing method includes the following steps: A processor detects the flight state of the UAV and a positioning device obtains the current coordinates of the UAV. Based on the current coordinates, a predetermined flight path, and a plurality of emergency landing coordinates, the processor calculates a plurality of distances that the UAV will travel from its current coordinates along the predetermined flight path to these emergency landing coordinates. The processor obtains a target emergency landing coordinate based on the shortest of these distances, the target emergency landing coordinate being the emergency landing coordinate corresponding to the shortest distance. The processor controls the UAV to move along the predetermined flight path to the target emergency landing coordinate.

[0009] Furthermore, the unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention includes a positioning device and a processor. The positioning device is used to generate the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The processor is connected to the positioning device, and when the processor detects the flight state of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the processor obtains the current coordinates from the positioning device; based on the current coordinates, a predetermined flight route, and a plurality of emergency landing coordinates, the processor calculates a plurality of distances that the unmanned aerial vehicle will travel from the current coordinates along the predetermined flight route to the emergency landing coordinates; based on the shortest distance among the plurality of distances, the processor obtains target emergency landing coordinates, of which the target emergency landing coordinates are the emergency landing coordinates corresponding to the shortest distance; and the processor controls the unmanned aerial vehicle to move along the predetermined flight route to the target emergency landing coordinates. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] As described above, the present invention provides an optimal emergency landing point for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), enabling the UAV to fly along a predetermined flight path to a corresponding emergency waypoint first, and then to the emergency landing coordinates. Since there is a single path from the emergency waypoint to the emergency landing coordinates, the problem of the UAV encountering obstacles while flying an unknown path can be solved, and the safety of the UAV in an emergency landing situation can be improved.

[0011] To further clarify the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention, a detailed explanation will be given below with reference to examples and drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart of an unmanned aerial vehicle landing method according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This figure shows a predetermined flight route, emergency landing coordinates, and waypoints in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This figure shows a predetermined flight route, emergency landing coordinates, and waypoints in another embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The above-mentioned and other technical details, features, functions, and effects of the present invention will become clearer from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments based on the attached drawings. Note that the directional terms used in the following embodiments, such as up, down, left, right, front, or back, are merely directions as shown in the attached drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are solely for illustrative purposes and not intended to limit the present invention.

[0014] The present invention provides unmanned aerial vehicles and methods for landing unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be realized by any electronic device having computing capabilities. To further clarify the content of the present invention, preferred embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. These embodiments are merely illustrative and do not limit the present invention.

[0015] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a flowchart of the unmanned aerial vehicle landing method in one embodiment of the present invention. Figures 1 and 2 are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0016] Refer to Figure 1. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 provided in this embodiment includes a processor 110 and a positioning device 120. The positioning device 120 is used to generate the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and the processor 110 is connected to the positioning device 120. In another embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 further includes a storage medium 130. The storage medium 130 is electrically connected to the processor 110, and the storage medium 130 is used to store a reference table (comparison table) and a predetermined flight route. The reference table includes a plurality of emergency landing coordinates and a plurality of emergency waypoints corresponding to each of the plurality of emergency landing coordinates.

[0017] The processor 110 is, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Physics Processing Unit (PPU), a Programmable Microprocessor (Microprocessor), an embedded control chip, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or other similar device.

[0018] The positioning device 120 is, for example, a device based on the Global Positioning System (GPS), and is used to receive global positioning signals from the Global Positioning System and determine the current coordinate position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the positioning device 120 can continuously transmit the identified positioning information (i.e., the current coordinate position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100) to the processor 110.

[0019] The storage medium 130 is, for example, any type of fixed or movable random access memory, read-only memory, flash memory, hard disk, other similar device, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the storage medium 130 is used to store a plurality of program code fragments, which, after being installed, are executed by the processor 110 to perform the method for controlling the movement path of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 described below.

[0020] In another embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 further includes a transceiver (not shown) which is electrically connected to the processor 110 and used to transmit information to and receive information from a ground station (not shown). This information may include, for example, flight commands, reference tables, and predetermined flight routes. In one embodiment, when the ground station transmits flight commands to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, it may also transmit a predetermined flight route and a reference table to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, the predetermined flight route including the coordinate positions of a plurality of waypoints and the order in which the waypoints are passed. Thus, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can obtain a predetermined flight path based on the coordinate positions and order in which each waypoint is passed. The transceiver transmits and receives signals wirelessly or via a wired method. The transceiver transmits and receives signals using, for example, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, or other wireless methods. The transceiver includes, for example, hardware devices such as transmitters and receivers, but the present invention is not limited to these. In another embodiment, the transceiver can further perform, for example, low noise amplification (LNA), impedance matching, frequency mixing, upconversion, filtering, amplification, and other similar operations.

[0021] Refer to Figures 1 and 2 simultaneously. In step S210, when the processor 110 detects the flight state of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, the processor 110 obtains the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 from the positioning device 120. In this embodiment, the flight state of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is specifically an emergency landing state, which is a state in which the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can be automatically activated when it encounters an emergency. An emergency is, for example, a power shortage, signal instability, operational abnormality, or under attack of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. Specifically, when the processor 110 detects that an abnormality has occurred in the flight state of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, the processor 110 can immediately obtain the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 from the positioning device 120.

[0022] In one embodiment, the positioning device 120 can receive positioning signals by itself. In another embodiment, the positioning device 120 is electrically connected to a transceiver (not shown), and can receive positioning signals via the transceiver. The positioning device 120 can calculate the current coordinate position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 based on the received positioning signals. In one embodiment, the positioning device 120 can acquire the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 using Real Time Kinematic (RTK) technology. In addition, the positioning device 120 can obtain the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 by calculating the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and a positioning point (e.g., an origin (starting point), an end point, a ground station, etc.) using at least one of positioning methods including, for example, a positioning method based on Time of Arrival (TOA), a positioning method based on Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), and a positioning method based on Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), but the present invention is not limited thereto. Note that these positioning methods for unmanned aerial vehicles are technical means well known to those skilled in the art, so detailed descriptions thereof are omitted herein.

[0023] Next, in step S220, based on the current coordinates, the predetermined flight route and the plurality of emergency landing coordinates, the processor 110 calculates the distance for the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 to travel from the current coordinates to each emergency landing coordinate along the predetermined flight route. Specifically, a plurality of different movement trajectories of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 may be pre-stored in the storage medium 130 as the predetermined flight route. Accordingly, the processor 110 can set the predetermined flight route of the mission that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is about to complete as the current predetermined route, and each position on the predetermined flight route can be defined as coordinate values of plane coordinates or spatial coordinates. Furthermore, a plurality of emergency landing coordinates (EL1, EL2, EL3) for each predetermined flight route may be preset in the storage medium 130. For example, when planning the mission area of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, a user or the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can establish at least one Emergency Landing Zone (ELZ), and the emergency landing zone can be defined by coordinate values of plane coordinates or spatial coordinates, that is, the emergency landing coordinates of the present invention. When an emergency or other uncontrollable situation occurs to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can automatically fly to the emergency landing coordinates, thereby avoiding damage to personnel or the unmanned aerial vehicle 100.

[0024] Reference is made to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a predetermined flight route, emergency landing coordinates and passage points in an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, a plurality of passage points (P1 to P5) are marked on the predetermined flight route of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and the plurality of passage points (P1 to P5) include a plurality of emergency passage points (P1, P4, P5) respectively corresponding to the emergency landing coordinates (EL1, EL2, EL3). In this embodiment, the storage medium 130 is used to store a comparison table and the predetermined flight route, wherein the comparison table includes the emergency landing coordinates (EL1, EL2, EL3) and the emergency passage points (P1, P4, P5) respectively corresponding to the emergency landing coordinates. For example, the comparison table is as shown in Table 1 below.

[0025] [Table 1] As shown in Table 1, in this embodiment, the corresponding emergency waypoint for emergency landing coordinate EL1 is P1, the corresponding emergency waypoint for emergency landing coordinate EL2 is P4, and the corresponding emergency waypoint for emergency landing coordinate EL3 is P5, but the present invention is not limited to these.

[0026] The distance that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 travels from its current coordinates along a predetermined flight route to the emergency landing coordinates (EL1, EL2, EL3) is the sum of the flight distance that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 travels from its current coordinates along a predetermined flight route to the corresponding emergency waypoints (P1, P4, P5) and the flight route landing distance (abbreviated as "landing distance"). In one embodiment, the landing distance is the distance along the predetermined flight route between each emergency landing coordinate (EL1, EL2, EL3) and the corresponding emergency waypoint (P1, P4, P5). In another embodiment, the landing distance is the distance between each emergency landing coordinate (EL1, EL2, EL3) and the corresponding emergency waypoint (P1, P4, P5) This is the straight-line distance between them. For example, in this embodiment, the landing distance is the distance the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flies from emergency waypoint P1 to emergency landing coordinate EL1, the distance the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flies from emergency waypoint P4 to emergency landing coordinate EL2, or the distance the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flies from emergency waypoint P5 to emergency landing coordinate EL3. In this embodiment, by pre-storing the landing path that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flies from emergency waypoints (P1, P4, P5) to emergency landing coordinates (EL1, EL2, EL3) in the storage medium 130, it is possible to ensure that the path the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flies to the emergency landing coordinates (EL1, EL2, EL3) is a single path and that it does not encounter obstacles during the landing process.

[0027] Refer to Figures 1 to 3. When an abnormality occurs in the flight state of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, the processor 110 obtains the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 using the positioning device 120. Subsequently, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 calculates the distance along a predetermined flight route between its current coordinates and the emergency landing coordinates (EL1, EL2, EL3).

[0028] For example, as shown in Figure 3, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is currently located between waypoints P2 and P3 on a predetermined flight route. The distance between the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the emergency landing coordinate EL1, calculated by the processor 110, is 1300 meters (m). This 1300 meters is the distance the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 will travel along the predetermined flight route, passing waypoints P2 and P1, to reach the emergency landing coordinate EL1. The distance between the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the emergency landing coordinate EL2, calculated by the processor 110, is 800 meters. This 800 meters is the distance the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 will travel along the predetermined flight route, passing waypoints P3 and P4, to reach the emergency landing coordinate EL2. Furthermore, the processor 110 calculated that the distance between the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the emergency landing coordinate EL3 is 1500 meters. This 1500 meters is the distance that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 will travel along a predetermined flight route, passing through waypoints P3, P4, and emergency waypoint P5 to reach the emergency landing coordinate EL3.

[0029] Next, in step S230, the processor 110 obtains the target emergency landing coordinates based on the shortest distance among the multiple distances described above, and the target emergency landing coordinates are the emergency landing coordinates corresponding to the shortest distance. In the above embodiment, of the distances obtained by the processor 110 from the multiple current coordinates to the emergency landing coordinates (EL1, EL2, EL3) (for example, 1300 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters), the distance that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 flies along the predetermined flight route to the emergency landing coordinate EL2 is the shortest distance. Therefore, in this embodiment, the processor 110 can obtain that the target emergency landing coordinates are the emergency landing coordinate EL2 corresponding to the shortest distance (800 meters in this embodiment).

[0030] In another embodiment, the waypoint further includes the endpoint P6 and the origin (starting point) H of the predetermined flight route, and the emergency landing coordinates further include the endpoint and origin coordinates of the predetermined flight route. Of these, the endpoint coordinates are the coordinate values ​​of the endpoint P6, and the origin coordinates are the coordinate values ​​of the origin H. Figure 4 shows a predetermined flight route, emergency landing coordinates, and waypoints in another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, when the processor 110 calculates that the target emergency landing coordinates are the endpoint coordinates, the corresponding emergency waypoint and target emergency landing coordinates are the endpoint P6. Also, when the processor 110 calculates that the target emergency landing coordinates are the origin coordinates, the corresponding emergency waypoint and target emergency landing coordinates are the origin H. See Table 2 below. Table 2 is a comparison table including emergency landing coordinates (H, EL1, EL2, EL3, P6) and emergency waypoints (H, P1, P4, P5, P6) corresponding to the emergency landing coordinates.

[0031] [Table 2] Refer to Figure 4. For example, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is currently located between a waypoint P5 and an endpoint P6 on a predetermined flight route. Since the distance from the current coordinates to the endpoint P6 along the predetermined flight route is the shortest distance from the current coordinates to the endpoint P6 along the predetermined flight route, the processor 110 can calculate that the target emergency landing coordinates in this embodiment are the coordinates of the endpoint P6.

[0032] Next, in step S240, the processor 110 controls the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 to move along a predetermined flight path to the target emergency landing coordinates. As shown in Figure 3, the landing method for the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 of the present invention makes it possible to avoid the occurrence in which the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is damaged by colliding with an obstacle O while flying to the emergency landing coordinates EL3 after the conventional unmanned aerial vehicle system has determined that the emergency landing point is the emergency landing coordinates EL3 based on the shortest straight-line distance.

[0033] Based on the above, the unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft landing method of the present invention enable the unmanned aircraft to safely fly to an emergency landing coordinate, origin, or endpoint along a predetermined flight route. In the present invention, since the distance calculated by the processor is the distance of the path along the predetermined flight route, it is possible to ensure that the unmanned aircraft does not encounter obstacles or fly into no-fly zones during flight. This enables the unmanned aircraft to fly safely along the predetermined flight route, whether in normal flight conditions or emergency flight conditions. In this way, safety and stability during the flight and landing of the unmanned aircraft can be ensured.

[0034] The present invention has been disclosed above based on the aforementioned preferred embodiments, but the aforementioned preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the invention, and those skilled in the art can make minor modifications and embellishments to the invention as long as they do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the invention; therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be as defined in the attached claims. Furthermore, no embodiment or claim of the present invention is required to achieve all the purposes, advantages, or features disclosed herein. Also, parts of the abstract and the title of the invention are for the sole purpose of assisting in the search of literature and do not limit the scope of rights of the present invention. Furthermore, terms such as “first,” “second,” etc., as used herein or in the claims, are for the sole purpose of naming elements or distinguishing different embodiments or scopes, and do not limit the quantitative upper or lower limits of elements. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0035] 100: Unmanned aerial vehicle 110: Processor 120: Positioning device 130:Storage medium EL1, EL2, EL3: Emergency landing coordinates P1, P2, P3, P4, P5: Passing point H: Origin (starting point) P6: Terminal S210~S240: Step O: Obstacle

Claims

1. A method for landing an unmanned aerial vehicle, The system detects the flight status of the unmanned aerial vehicle and obtains the current coordinates of the unmanned aerial vehicle using a positioning device; Based on the current coordinates, a predetermined flight path, and a plurality of emergency landing coordinates, the unmanned aerial vehicle calculates a plurality of distances to travel from the current coordinates along the predetermined flight path to the plurality of emergency landing coordinates; A target emergency landing coordinate is obtained based on the shortest distance among the aforementioned multiple distances, and the target emergency landing coordinate is the emergency landing coordinate corresponding to the shortest distance; and A method for landing an unmanned aircraft, comprising controlling the unmanned aircraft to move along a predetermined flight route to the target emergency landing coordinates.

2. A method for landing an unmanned aircraft according to claim 1, An unmanned aircraft landing method, wherein a plurality of waypoints are marked on the predetermined flight route, and the plurality of waypoints include a plurality of emergency waypoints corresponding to the plurality of emergency landing coordinates.

3. A method for landing an unmanned aircraft according to claim 2, A method for landing an unmanned aircraft, wherein each of the plurality of distances is the sum of the flight distance the unmanned aircraft travels from the current coordinates along a predetermined flight route to a corresponding emergency waypoint and the landing distance, and the landing distance is the distance between each of the plurality of emergency landing coordinates and the corresponding emergency waypoint.

4. A method for landing an unmanned aircraft according to claim 2, A method for landing an unmanned aircraft, wherein the plurality of waypoints include the endpoint and starting point of the predetermined flight route.

5. A method for landing an unmanned aircraft according to claim 4, An unmanned aircraft landing method, wherein the plurality of emergency landing coordinates further include the endpoint coordinate and the starting point coordinate of the predetermined flight route, and when the target emergency landing coordinate is the endpoint coordinate, the corresponding emergency waypoint is the endpoint, and when the target emergency landing coordinate is the starting point coordinate, the corresponding emergency waypoint is the starting point.

6. It is an unmanned aerial vehicle, A positioning device for generating the current coordinates of the aforementioned unmanned aerial vehicle; and This includes a processor connected to the positioning device, When the processor is detecting the flight status of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the processor obtains the current coordinates from the positioning device, Based on the current coordinates, a predetermined flight path, and a plurality of emergency landing coordinates, the processor calculates a plurality of distances the unmanned aerial vehicle will travel from the current coordinates along the predetermined flight path to the plurality of emergency landing coordinates. Based on the shortest distance among the plurality of distances, the processor obtains target emergency landing coordinates, and the target emergency landing coordinates are the emergency landing coordinates corresponding to the shortest distance. The processor controls the unmanned aerial vehicle to move along the predetermined flight path to the target emergency landing coordinates.

7. An unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 6, An unmanned aerial vehicle having multiple waypoints marked on the predetermined flight route, wherein each of the multiple waypoints includes a plurality of emergency waypoints corresponding to the plurality of emergency landing coordinates.

8. An unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 7, Each of the aforementioned multiple distances is the sum of the flight distance the unmanned aircraft travels from its current coordinates along a predetermined flight route to a corresponding emergency waypoint and the landing distance, wherein the landing distance is the distance between each of the aforementioned multiple emergency landing coordinates and the corresponding emergency waypoint.

9. An unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 7, The aforementioned multiple waypoints include the endpoint and starting point of the predetermined flight route, and the unmanned aerial vehicle.

10. An unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 9, An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in which the plurality of emergency landing coordinates further include the endpoint coordinate and the starting point coordinate of the predetermined flight route, wherein when the target emergency landing coordinate is the endpoint coordinate, the corresponding emergency waypoint is the endpoint, and when the target emergency landing coordinate is the starting point coordinate, the corresponding emergency waypoint is the starting point.

11. An unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 7, The processing device further includes a storage medium connected to the processing device, An unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the storage medium is used to store a reference table and the predetermined flight route, and the reference table includes the plurality of emergency landing coordinates and the plurality of emergency waypoints corresponding to each of the plurality of emergency landing coordinates.

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