Unmanned aerial vehicle airfield and airfield scheduling system

Abstract

Disclosed in the present description are an unmanned aerial vehicle airfield and an airfield scheduling system. An available area, used for the takeoff and landing of a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles in an unmanned airfield, is determined according to obstacles; the available area comprises user activity areas and beacon areas which are arranged at intervals, wherein a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicle takeoff and landing positions provided in the beacon areas are used for implementing continuous takeoff and landing of the unmanned aerial vehicles. In an unmanned aerial vehicle scheduling system, a plurality of takeoff and landing platforms capable of being bound to the unmanned aerial vehicles are provided; an unmanned aerial vehicle is bound to a takeoff and landing platform to carry out a flight task, and upon returning, lands on the takeoff and landing platform which has a binding relationship with the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Description

A UAV airport and airport dispatching system

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed on August 9, 2023, with application number 202311001167.5 and invention name “A UAV Airport” and the Chinese patent application filed on August 9, 2023, with application number 202311003255.9 and invention name “A UAV Dispatch System”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of unmanned driving technology, and in particular to a drone airport and an airport dispatching system. Background Art

[0003] With advancements in technology and the maturity of autonomous driving technology, autonomous vehicles have been successfully deployed in the delivery sector, often used in scenarios such as food delivery and express delivery. However, during drone missions, precise landing control is often required to ensure the safety of both the operator and the drone.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a drone airport, which is used for the takeoff and landing of multiple drones and includes: an available area and obstacles; the available area is determined based on the obstacles, the available area includes a beacon area and a user activity area, and the user activity area is arranged at intervals from the beacon area; the beacon area is provided with multiple drone take-off and landing positions, and the take-off and landing of adjacent flight missions of each drone are undertaken by the same take-off and landing position among the multiple drone take-off and landing positions.

[0006] In a feasible embodiment, there are one or more obstacles, and the available area is determined according to the following method: determining the safety distance corresponding to each obstacle according to the type of each obstacle; and determining the available area according to the area occupied by the one or more obstacles in the airport.

[0007] In a feasible implementation, the beacon area includes: a drone take-off and landing beacon area and an airport positioning beacon area, wherein the sizes of various beacon areas are consistent and the beacon areas meet preset spacing.

[0008] In a feasible implementation manner, a drone take-off and landing beacon is provided at the drone take-off and landing position, and the drone take-off and landing beacon is used for the drone to identify the landing position.

[0009] In a feasible embodiment, a liftable platform is provided at the drone take-off and landing position, and the drone take-off and landing beacon is provided on the upper surface of the liftable platform; wherein, when the drone takes off or lands at the drone take-off and landing position, the liftable platform is lifted to a first height to enable the drone to take off and land; when the drone lands on the liftable platform, the liftable platform is lowered to a second height to enable the user to complete the operation of the drone in the user activity area.

[0010] In a feasible implementation manner, the operation of the drone includes: loading and unloading delivery objects for the drone, and replacing batteries for the drone.

[0011] In a feasible implementation manner, the airport further includes: a charging cabinet area, and the position of the charging cabinet area is determined according to the distance between the beacon area and the charging cabinet area.

[0012] In a feasible embodiment, the obstacle includes a smoke exhaust device, and the position of the charging cabinet is also determined according to the distance between the influence area of ​​the smoke exhaust device and the charging cabinet, and the influence area is related to the smoke exhaust range of the smoke exhaust device.

[0013] In a feasible embodiment, the layout of the beacon area and / or the user activity area is determined by the operational indicators of executing the flight mission, and the operational indicators include one or more of the man-to-single ratio, the punctuality rate of the delivery mission, the maximum task volume per unit time, and the total task volume.

[0014] In a feasible implementation manner, the operation indicator is determined based on one or more of the number of users transporting delivered objects, the number of users replacing batteries for the drone, and the number of drones.

[0015] At least one of the above technical solutions adopted in this specification can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0016] The available area of ​​the drone airport for multiple drone takeoffs and landings is determined based on obstacle clearance. The available area includes spaced user activity areas and beacon areas. Multiple drone takeoff and landing locations are set within the beacon area to enable continuous takeoff and landing. Sequential drone missions are assigned to the same takeoff and landing locations, reducing the time required to move drones due to fixed beacon functions and improving the efficiency of drone mission execution.

[0017] A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a system for dispatching a drone, the system comprising: an information acquisition device, a drone, and multiple take-off and landing platforms; the information acquisition device is used to obtain the flight mission of the drone; the drone is used to collect identification information of the take-off and landing platform where the drone is currently located, and establish a binding relationship with the take-off and landing platform based on the identification information, wherein the binding relationship is used to instruct the drone to land on the take-off and landing platform after completing the flight mission.

[0018] In a feasible implementation, the drone is configured to determine, based on the identification information, whether the landing platform is bound to other drones; and establish the binding relationship in response to the landing platform not being bound to other drones.

[0019] In a feasible implementation manner, the drone is further configured to release the binding relationship after completing the flight mission and landing on the take-off and landing platform.

[0020] In a feasible embodiment, the take-off and landing platform is provided with a lifting structure, which is used to raise the take-off and landing platform to a first state so that the UAV takes off or lands on the take-off and landing platform in the first state; and after the UAV takes off or lands from the take-off and landing platform, the take-off and landing platform is lowered to a second state.

[0021] In a feasible embodiment, the drone is further used to send a first control instruction to the take-off and landing platform; the take-off and landing platform is further used to rise to the first state through the lifting structure based on the received first control instruction; the drone is further used to send a second control instruction to the take-off and landing platform; the take-off and landing platform is further used to descend to the second state through the lifting structure based on the received second control instruction.

[0022] In a feasible implementation manner, the take-off and landing platform is provided with a detection module, and the detection module is used to establish a communication connection with the UAV parked on the take-off and landing platform.

[0023] In a feasible embodiment, the take-off and landing platform is also used to: obtain the status information of the drone through the detection module after establishing the communication connection; determine whether the status of the drone meets the preset conditions based on the status information; and issue a maintenance reminder message for the drone if the status of the drone does not meet the preset conditions.

[0024] In a feasible implementation manner, the take-off and landing platform is provided with a warning light, and the warning light is used to issue the maintenance warning information.

[0025] In a feasible embodiment, the flight mission is a delivery mission; the information acquisition device is specifically used to scan the order attached to the goods in the delivery mission to obtain information about the delivery mission, and the information about the delivery mission includes the delivery destination of the goods; the drone is also used to obtain the delivery destination scanned by the information acquisition device, and complete the delivery mission according to the delivery destination.

[0026] In a feasible implementation manner, the information acquisition device is further used to generate a delivery task information identifier after acquiring the information of the delivery task; the drone is specifically used to scan the delivery task information identifier to determine the delivery destination.

[0027] At least one of the above-mentioned technical solutions adopted in this specification can achieve the following beneficial effects: It can be seen from the above-mentioned drone scheduling system that since the drone can be bound to the take-off and landing platform when performing a flight mission, the drone can complete the take-off and landing process on the same take-off and landing platform, which can reduce the safety hazards caused by multiple drones occupying the same take-off and landing platform during take-off and landing, thereby improving the drone's mission execution efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of this specification and constitute a part of this specification. The exemplary embodiments and descriptions of this specification are used to explain this specification and do not constitute an improper limitation of this specification. In the drawings:

[0029] FIG1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of a first drone airport provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of a second drone airport provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of a third drone airport provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of a fourth drone airport provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of a fifth drone airport provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of a sixth drone airport provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG7 is an exemplary flow chart of a method for distributing drone airports according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG8 is an exemplary structural diagram of a drone airport layout device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG9 is an exemplary structural diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG10 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a cargo transfer area provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG11 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a lifting platform provided with a lifting structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] FIG12 is an exemplary flow chart of a drone performing a delivery task on a take-off and landing platform with a lifting function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG13 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a take-off and landing platform using a warning light to prompt staff to perform maintenance on a drone, provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG14 is an exemplary flowchart of a drone controlling the raising of a take-off and landing platform provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this specification more clear, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions of this specification in conjunction with the specific embodiments of this specification and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this specification, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this specification, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this specification.

[0044] Conventional drone landing technology typically relies on visual guidance, requiring the use of markers for drone takeoff and landing, such as drone takeoff and landing beacons. Furthermore, for ease of management, these markers are currently tied to flight routes, meaning each route corresponds to a takeoff beacon and a landing beacon.

[0045] At the same time, in conventional technology, when laying out drone airports, on the one hand, the positions of each drone take-off and landing beacon are determined by artificial planning, which has the characteristics of long planning time and high cost, and it is difficult to predict whether the planning is reasonable. On the other hand, only the layout of drone take-off and landing beacons is considered, which leads to deviations in actual use.

[0046] When setting up a drone airport, the area to be set up can be selected based on needs, typically in areas with low traffic. For example, a drone airport can be designated in an open area such as a square, or it can be set up on the top floor of a building. Compared to setting up an airport in an open field, setting up an airport on the top floor of a building is more difficult due to the irregularity of the site, the large number of obstacles, and the need to maintain a safe distance. This makes it difficult to set up beacon areas at a high density, making it difficult for the drone airport to meet business needs (for example, it cannot meet the required delivery volume per unit time).

[0047] It can be seen that compared with setting up beacon areas in open areas, where generally only the beacon spacing needs to be considered, setting up drone airports in complex venues such as the top floor of a building requires more influencing factors to be considered, which further reduces the efficiency of manual layout of the airport. It is also difficult to determine whether the manual layout is reasonable and whether there is room for optimization.

[0048] At present, the beacons for drone takeoff and landing are set separately in the drone airport, which means that the drone takeoff position and the drone landing position are different, resulting in low space utilization of the drone airport and inability to achieve high-density takeoff and landing of drones.

[0049] Furthermore, currently, drone takeoff and landing locations are tied to flight routes, requiring a single route to be assigned a takeoff beacon at one drone airport location and a landing beacon at another. These two locations cannot be reused for other routes, requiring additional locations. This significantly reduces the space utilization of drone airports, and these drawbacks are particularly pronounced in complex areas with limited available space or irregular shapes.

[0050] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this specification are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0051] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a drone airport provided in this specification. The airport is used for takeoff and landing of multiple drones. The drone airport includes an available area 100 and obstacles 101.

[0052] In one or more embodiments of this specification, the usable area 100 is determined based on the obstacle 101. As shown in Figure 2, the area enclosed by bold lines represents the ground surface of the building's top floor, i.e., the area where the drone airport is located, while the area filled with diagonal lines represents the obstacle 101 on that top floor. In other words, the area enclosed by bold lines in Figure 2, except for the area filled with diagonal lines, represents the usable area 100.

[0053] In addition, the available area 100 includes a beacon area 102 and a user activity area 103, and the user activity area 103 is spaced apart from the beacon area 102. In one feasible embodiment, the beacon area 102 and the user activity area 103 intersperse with each other, as shown in Figure 1. The beacon area 101 is the take-off and landing location of the drone, used to set up drone take-off and landing beacons to locate and land the drone. Furthermore, the beacon area 101 is provided with multiple drone take-off and landing locations. In another feasible embodiment, only the area covered by the drone take-off and landing beacons (or the area covered by the drone take-off and landing beacons and the edge area extending around the area) is defined as the beacon area 107, while the surrounding area of ​​the drone take-off and landing beacons, such as the interval area between adjacent drone take-off and landing beacons, is defined as the user activity area 106. It will be understood that in this embodiment, each drone take-off and landing beacon is surrounded by the user activity area, that is, the user activity area 106 is spaced apart from the beacon area 107. In the drone airport provided in this specification, the take-off and landing of adjacent flight missions of each drone are undertaken by the same take-off and landing position among the multiple drone take-off and landing positions.

[0054] In this specification, if the drone airport is used for drone delivery missions, the flight mission performed by the drone is specifically a delivery mission. The user activity area is for users to work and assist the drone in completing the delivery mission. For example, they can carry delivery items for the drone or replace the drone's battery.

[0055] Furthermore, in this specification, the drone airport is located in a complex site, so there are one or more obstacles, and the available area is determined in the following manner: according to the type of each obstacle, the safety distance corresponding to each obstacle is determined, and the available area is determined according to the area occupied by the one or more obstacles in the airport.

[0056] Specifically, since different obstacles have different effects on drone flight and user activities, the server can specifically determine the types of obstacles in the area of ​​the airport to be set up, and determine the corresponding safety distances for each type of obstacle.

[0057] For example, building columns are typically of a certain height and could affect drone takeoff and landing. After takeoff, drones need to ascend to a safe altitude before leveling. Therefore, the safe distance from columns can be determined based on the distance the drone moves during its ascent to a safe altitude, influenced by environmental factors such as wind. Alternatively, the top floors of buildings often feature various outdoor equipment, such as smoke exhaust hoods, ventilation ducts, and air conditioning cooling towers. Some of these devices emit smoke or hot or cold air, potentially impacting drone flight safety. However, the degree of impact varies, so safety distances can be set accordingly.

[0058] In this specification, there is no limitation on how to set the safety distance for different types of obstacles. The safety distance can be set based on manual experience or according to the specific environment as described above.

[0059] Figure 3 shows the usable area determined based on the safety distances in Figure 2. The area marked a is the building structure, with a corresponding safety distance of m; the area marked b is the flue, with a corresponding safety distance of n; and the area marked c is the range hood outlet, with a corresponding safety distance of q. The area without the slash marks in the figure represents the usable area.

[0060] In one or more embodiments of the present specification, the beacon area includes: a drone take-off and landing beacon area and an airport positioning beacon area, wherein the sizes of various beacon areas are consistent and the beacon areas meet preset spacing.

[0061] Specifically, the drone take-off and landing beacon area is used for drone take-off and landing, that is, the drone lands with the drone take-off and landing beacon area as the end point of the route, or takes off from the drone take-off and landing beacon area and flies along the route. The airport positioning beacon area is used for drones to locate the airport. Generally speaking, when a drone is at a high altitude, it needs to first locate the airport position. Then, during the descent process, when it can accurately identify the drone take-off and landing beacon area, it will switch to landing according to the drone take-off and landing beacon area. Therefore, the airport positioning beacon area needs to be able to provide high-altitude positioning functions for drones. Therefore, multiple airport positioning beacon areas can be set up in the airport layout, as a whole, for drone high-altitude identification. Of course, a single airport positioning beacon area can also be used for drones to locate the airport position. One or more airport positioning beacons can be set up in an airport positioning beacon area. The airport positioning beacon can be in the form of a QR code, and this manual does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0062] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a drone airport layout provided in this specification. The user activity area is omitted in this diagram. Based on Figure 1, the beacon area is divided into a dot-filled area and a cross-out area. The dot-filled area represents the airport location beacon area 1021, while the cross-out area represents the drone takeoff and landing beacon area 1022, which is where drone takeoff and landing beacons are located.

[0063] Of course, in this specification, a drone take-off and landing beacon is provided at the drone take-off and landing position, and the drone take-off and landing beacon is used for the drone to identify the landing position.

[0064] Furthermore, in one or more embodiments of the present specification, a liftable platform may be deployed at the drone take-off and landing position in the beacon area for drone take-off and landing, and a drone take-off and landing beacon may be provided on the upper surface of the liftable platform.

[0065] Among them, when the drone takes off or lands in the beacon area, the liftable platform is raised to a first height to enable the drone to take off and land. When the drone lands on the liftable platform, the liftable platform is lowered to a second height to allow the user to complete the operation of the drone in the user activity area.

[0066] In this specification, the operation of a drone includes at least: loading and unloading delivery items for the drone, and replacing batteries for the drone.

[0067] The lifting mechanism of the liftable platform may be a scissor-type lift platform, or a lift platform with other structures, and this specification does not limit this.

[0068] If a liftable platform is installed at the drone takeoff and landing location within the beacon area, a fence can be installed to ensure user safety and prevent users from accidentally entering the liftable platform's operating area. However, the fence also requires a certain amount of space, so when a fence is installed, the spacing between drone takeoff and landing locations within the drone airport must also take the fence into account. In other words, the area corresponding to the fence must be planned.

[0069] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the beacon area consisting of the surrounding fence and drone landing beacons in the airport layout provided in this specification. Based on Figure 4, the area around the drone landing location is filled with vertical lines, which is the area occupied by the surrounding fence 104.

[0070] Furthermore, in one or more embodiments of the present specification, the airport further includes a charging cabinet area, the location of which is determined based on the distance between the beacon area and the charging cabinet area. The charging cabinet area is used to arrange outdoor charging cabinets for charging batteries for drones and providing batteries for drones.

[0071] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of an airport layout with an additional charging cabinet area provided in this specification. Based on FIG1 , the area filled with horizontal lines is the charging cabinet area 105 .

[0072] Furthermore, in one or more embodiments of the present specification, the obstacles in the airport also include: smoke exhaust equipment, and the position of the charging cabinet is also determined based on the distance between the influence area of ​​the smoke exhaust equipment and the charging cabinet, and the influence area is related to the smoke exhaust range of the smoke exhaust equipment.

[0073] Because smoke exhaust equipment can affect electronic components, electrical appliances should generally be placed away from smoke exhaust areas. Similarly, charging cabinet areas, where charging cabinets are located, also need to consider the impact of smoke exhaust on the charging cabinets. Therefore, smoke exhaust equipment should be pre-determined to determine the corresponding affected areas.

[0074] The affected area of ​​the smoke exhaust device can be determined based on the preset smoke exhaust range. Similar to the safety distance in the above process, the server can also determine that the smoke exhaust range is an unsafe area.

[0075] Furthermore, in one or more embodiments of the present specification, the layout of the beacon area and / or the user activity area is determined by the operational indicators for executing the flight mission, and the operational indicators include at least one or more of the man-to-single ratio, the punctuality rate of the delivery mission, the maximum task volume per unit time, and the total task volume.

[0076] In addition, in this specification, the operating indicator is determined based on one or more of the number of users transporting delivered items, the number of users replacing batteries for the drone, and the number of drones.

[0077] Specifically, this specification provides a method for determining drone airport layouts, primarily addressing the problem of high-density beacon placement in complex locations. This method can determine the aforementioned operational indicators and, from the various airport layouts, identify a target airport layout.

[0078] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this specification are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0079] FIG7 is an exemplary flow chart of a method for distributing drone airports in this specification, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0080] S200: Determine the area where the airport is to be set up, and locate the position of each obstacle in the area.

[0081] In this specification, the drone airport layout method can be executed by a server, or it can also be executed by a terminal device. This specification does not limit this. The following description will take the server executing this method as an example.

[0082] In one or more embodiments of this specification, a server may obtain site information for the area where the airport is to be set up. This site information includes information such as the terrain dimensions of the area where the airport is to be set up, obstacles within the area where the airport is to be set up, and other information. Of course, this specification does not limit the type of site information that may be used. However, one purpose of obtaining this site information is to perform 3D modeling of the airport during subsequent simulation steps. Therefore, any information required for 3D modeling of the airport can be used as site information. For example, the height of the top floor of the building where the airport is to be set up will also affect the route of the drone during delivery, and therefore can also be used as site information.

[0083] Additionally, it should be noted that, in this specification, the server can determine the locations of obstacles within the area of ​​the proposed airport based on the site information of the area where the airport is to be established. Because the drone airport layout method provided in this specification addresses the issue of drone airport layout in complex sites, obstacles that could affect drone takeoff and landing may exist within the area where the airport is to be established. The server needs to determine the locations of each obstacle.

[0084] Furthermore, in this specification, the server may determine the floor area of ​​each obstacle based on the location and size of the obstacle as the area occupied by the obstacle, so as to subsequently determine the airport layout in the area where the airport is to be set up.

[0085] In this specification, the shape of the area where the airport is to be set up and the location of obstacles are different information. Referring to Figure 2, the area surrounded by thick lines is the ground on the top floor of the building, and the area filled with diagonal lines is the obstacle on the top floor.

[0086] Furthermore, in this specification, since the drone take-off and landing process takes place in three-dimensional space, the height of the obstacle also affects the airport layout and the drone's execution of business. Therefore, the server can also determine the three-dimensional size and position of each obstacle, and determine the area occupied by the obstacle based on the three-dimensional size and the position, which is an area in three-dimensional space.

[0087] In addition, since the shape of the obstacle may be irregular, in this specification, the area occupied by the obstacle may be determined by specifically determining the minimum circumscribed three-dimensional bounding box of the obstacle.

[0088] For the purposes of this manual, users are personnel who assist drones in performing delivery tasks, such as those transporting items, performing maintenance, or replacing batteries. This manual does not restrict the tasks performed by users. Of course, due to the specialized nature of these tasks, users may be restricted to specific tasks. Furthermore, when different users perform different tasks, differences in airport layout can affect user efficiency and, consequently, drone delivery efficiency.

[0089] S202: Determine the layout of each airport to be selected based on the area of ​​the airport to be set up and the obstacles, where the airport layout at least includes: a beacon area and a user activity area.

[0090] In one or more embodiments of this specification, after determining the area of ​​the airport to be set up, the server can determine the layout of various airports to be selected within the area of ​​the airport to be set up. Furthermore, compared to the current practice of setting separate beacons for drone takeoff and landing, where a route requires a corresponding takeoff beacon and landing beacon, preventing other routes from being reused, resulting in low space utilization, the method provided in this specification provides an airport layout that includes at least: a beacon area and a user activity area. Furthermore, the takeoff and landing locations of the beacon area are no longer tied to the route, nor do they distinguish between takeoff and landing functions.

[0091] Specifically, the server may first determine the safety distance corresponding to each obstacle based on the type of obstacle in the area where the airport is to be set up. Because different obstacles have different impacts on drone flight and user activities, the server may specifically determine the type of obstacle in the area where the airport is to be set up and determine the corresponding safety distances for each type of obstacle. Obstacle types include at least building structures and outdoor equipment. Building structures are generally fixed-shaped obstacles, while outdoor equipment may be updated and generally have certain functions that actively affect the external environment.

[0092] For example, building columns are typically of a certain height and could affect drone takeoff and landing. After takeoff, drones need to ascend to a safe altitude before leveling. Therefore, the safe distance from columns can be determined based on the distance the drone moves during its ascent to a safe altitude, influenced by environmental factors such as wind. Alternatively, the top floors of buildings often feature various outdoor equipment, such as smoke exhaust hoods, ventilation ducts, and air conditioning cooling towers. Some of these devices emit smoke or hot or cold air, potentially impacting drone flight safety. However, the degree of impact varies, so safety distances can be set accordingly.

[0093] In this specification, there is no limitation on how to set the safety distance for different types of obstacles. The safety distance can be set based on manual experience or according to the specific environment as described above.

[0094] Next, after determining the types of obstacles, the server can determine the available area in the area where the airport is to be set up based on the area occupied by each obstacle and the safety distance corresponding to each obstacle.

[0095] In this specification, the beacon area is typically located on the ground at an airport, so the safety of the drone's takeoff and landing paths must be considered. Therefore, the server can also determine the three-dimensional bounding box of obstacles and, based on the projected area of ​​the three-dimensional bounding box on the ground and the corresponding safety distances of each obstacle, determine the available area within the area of ​​the airport to be set up.

[0096] Finally, the server can determine the beacon area and user activity area within the available area. Furthermore, in this specification, the number of beacon areas varies across airports. Each beacon area corresponds to a drone landing beacon for drone takeoff and landing, which can be in the form of a QR code.

[0097] Additionally, in this specification, the beacon area also includes: a drone takeoff and landing beacon area and an airport positioning beacon area. Each type of beacon area is of the same size and has a preset spacing between them. Specifically, the drone takeoff and landing beacon area is used for drone takeoff and landing. That is, a drone lands at the end of its route using the drone takeoff and landing beacon area, or takes off from the drone takeoff and landing beacon area and begins its flight along its route. The airport positioning beacon area is used by drones to locate airports. Generally, drones need to locate the airport's location while at high altitude. Then, during descent, once they can accurately identify the drone takeoff and landing beacon area, they can then land using the drone takeoff and landing beacon area. Therefore, the airport positioning beacon area needs to provide high-altitude positioning for drones. Therefore, multiple airport positioning beacon areas can be set up within the airport layout, acting as a whole for high-altitude drone identification. Of course, a single airport positioning beacon area can also be used by drones to locate the airport. See Figure 4.

[0098] S204: For each airport layout, in a three-dimensional simulation environment, based on multiple preset airport logistics modes, simulate the process of executing the distribution task under the airport layout, and determine the operating indicators for executing the distribution task under each airport logistics mode corresponding to the airport layout.

[0099] In one or more embodiments of this specification, after determining each candidate airport layout, the server can simulate, for each airport layout, the process of a drone performing a delivery mission under that airport layout in a three-dimensional simulation environment to determine the operational indicators for executing the delivery mission under that airport layout. Of course, since the drone delivery process generally requires user assistance, such as moving deliveries or replacing batteries, the number of different airport logistics personnel can also result in differences in operational indicators. Therefore, in this specification, the server can also determine multiple preset airport logistics modes and determine, in the three-dimensional simulation environment, the process of executing a delivery mission under different airport layouts and different airport logistics modes. The operational indicators for executing a delivery mission under each airport logistics mode corresponding to the different airport layouts are determined, so that the desired airport layout can be determined based on the operational indicators.

[0100] Specifically, the server can first construct a 3D simulation environment for each airport layout based on the area of ​​the proposed airport, the obstacles, and the airport layout. Because drone missions are performed in a 3D environment, requiring takeoff and landing, and user assistance in performing delivery operations, the server can first construct a 3D simulation of the airport layout based on the data determined in the previous step. This 3D simulation allows the server to simulate the actual delivery process according to the airport layout and determine operational indicators. These indicators represent the efficiency and cost of executing delivery missions under the airport layout.

[0101] Finally, for each preset airport logistics mode, the server can simulate the process of each drone performing delivery tasks under the airport layout in a three-dimensional simulation environment corresponding to the airport layout based on the number of users transporting delivery items, the number of users replacing batteries, and the number of drones in the airport logistics mode.

[0102] When simulating drone delivery missions within the airport layout, the server generates deliveries for drones on time and in quantity according to pre-set order scheduling rules. It also plans delivery routes for each order based on the delivery pickup and drop-off locations. It also determines the transport routes for battery replacements for drones in different beacon areas, based on the locations of charging cabinets. When transporting deliveries, the server simulates the user's transport time based on the pre-set walking speed, and simulates the drone's waiting time based on the time it takes to retrieve and place deliveries from the drone.

[0103] Furthermore, when determining operational indicators, the server can simulate each drone's delivery mission within each airport's logistics model for a preset duration, determining the operational indicators. These indicators may include: on-time delivery rate, maximum number of missions per unit time, or total number of missions.

[0104] When determining the punctuality of a delivery task, the server can first determine whether the delivery task has timed out for each delivery task based on the estimated arrival time and timeout duration of the drone delivery simulated in the simulation environment, and determine the punctuality of the delivery task based on the ratio of timed orders to total orders within the preset time duration.

[0105] When determining the maximum task load per unit time, the server may count the number of delivery tasks completed by the drone within each unit time within the preset time period, and determine the maximum value as the maximum task load per unit time. The unit time can be set as needed, such as 1 hour, half an hour, etc.

[0106] Furthermore, since delivery tasks are assigned according to the same order scheduling rules across airport layouts and logistics models, there may be differences in delivery efficiency across different airport layouts and logistics models, resulting in undelivered orders. Therefore, the server can also determine the total number of delivery tasks completed by each drone within a preset timeframe.

[0107] Table 1

[0108] Table 1 is a schematic diagram of operational metrics, showing different airport logistics modes. The two rows below represent different numbers of beacon zones activated. All-day meal delivery represents the number of delivery tasks completed within the preset timeframe (24 hours), on-time rate represents the all-day on-time rate, maximum number of orders delivered per hour represents the maximum number of tasks per unit time, and total deliverable orders represents the total number of tasks that can be assigned in the simulation environment. It can be seen that no total number of tasks has been completed for each mode. Furthermore, the three rightmost columns represent the number of unmanned vehicles and users corresponding to different modes.

[0109] S206: Determine a target airport layout from the airport layouts according to the determined operation indicators, and set a beacon area and a user activity area according to the target airport layout.

[0110] In one or more embodiments of the present specification, after determining the operating indicators of each airport layout under different airport logistics modes, the server can determine the airport layout that meets the demand as the target airport layout based on the demand for the airport, and can set up a beacon area and a user activity area in the area where the airport is to be set up based on the target airport layout.

[0111] Specifically, different airports may have different requirements. For example, if a high-volume order area has a high maximum order volume per unit time, the airport layout that meets this requirement can be determined based on this operational indicator and used as the target airport layout. Alternatively, if a high requirement is placed on each person per order, the airport layout with the highest person-to-order ratio can be determined as the target airport layout based on the number of users and total delivery task completion.

[0112] In addition, in this specification, since there is a corresponding airport logistics model when simulating in the simulation environment, the server can also determine the target logistics model based on the airport logistics model adopted by the airport layout that meets the requirements of the operation indicators. Users, drones, etc. are configured according to the target logistics model.

[0113] Based on the drone airport layout method shown in Figure 7, the locations of obstacles within the area where the airport is to be set up are determined to identify candidate airport layouts. These airport layouts include at least a beacon area and a user activity area. For each airport layout, a 3D simulation environment is used to simulate the process of executing a delivery mission based on multiple preset airport logistics models. The corresponding operational indicators for each airport layout are then determined. Based on these indicators, a target airport layout is then selected from the various airport layouts.

[0114] By defining the functions of different areas of the airport layout and simulating the execution of distribution tasks in a simulation environment, the target airport layout is determined based on operational indicators that characterize the airport's operations. This avoids the inaccuracies of manual experience and provides quantitative indicators for determining the rationality of the airport layout. Furthermore, based on different operational indicators, the target airport layout can be determined based on the needs of different airports, improving the accuracy of the airport layout.

[0115] In addition, in one or more embodiments provided in this specification, the airport layout may also include a charging cabinet area, which is used to arrange outdoor charging cabinets for charging the batteries of drones and providing batteries for drones.

[0116] First, after determining the target airport layout, the server can identify smoke exhaust equipment within the outdoor equipment. Because smoke exhaust equipment can affect electronic components, electrical appliances are typically placed away from smoke exhaust areas. Similarly, charging cabinet areas are used for charging cabinets, and their impact on the cabinets also needs to be considered. Therefore, smoke exhaust equipment must be pre-determined to determine the affected areas.

[0117] Secondly, the server can determine the affected area of ​​the smoke exhaust device according to the preset smoke exhaust range. Similar to the safety distance in the above process, the server can also determine that the smoke exhaust range is an unsafe area.

[0118] Then, within the area of ​​the proposed airport, candidate charging cabinet layouts are determined. Specifically, the server may determine charging cabinet zones within the user's activity area, outside the beacon area. In addition to the locations of zones, different candidate charging layouts may also have different numbers of zones. Specifically, several charging cabinets are placed outdoors, configured according to different candidate charging layouts, and a target charging layout is determined through subsequent simulations.

[0119] The server can then use a process similar to step S204 to simulate the delivery task execution process under the target airport layout in a three-dimensional simulation environment for each candidate charging layout, based on the distance between the beacon area and the charging cabinet area, and the distance between the charging cabinet area and the impact area, and re-determine the operating indicators. The re-determined operating indicators also include the average battery replacement distance for users performing the delivery task.

[0120] Finally, the server may determine a target charging layout from among the candidate charging layouts based on the re-determined operating indicators, and set up charging cabinets in the area of ​​the airport to be set up based on the target charging layout.

[0121] In addition, in this specification, the server can also determine the target charging layout based on the cable length required for the charging cabinet area. Excessively long cable lengths may increase safety risks. The server can determine the score of each candidate charging layout based on the average battery replacement distance of users and the cable length. For example, the score is determined based on a weighted summation method, and the weights can be set in advance. Finally, the candidate charging layout with the highest score is selected as the target charging layout. Among them, the shorter the cable length, the higher the score, and the shorter the average battery replacement distance of users, the higher the score. Refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of the airport layout with an additional charging cabinet area provided in this specification.

[0122] Furthermore, in one or more embodiments of this specification, a liftable platform may be deployed in the beacon area for drone takeoff and landing. Specifically, when the beacon area is set according to the target airport layout, a liftable platform is set in the beacon area of ​​the target airport layout, and the drone takeoff and landing beacon is disposed on the upper surface of the liftable platform.

[0123] Among them, when the drone takes off or lands in the beacon area, the liftable platform is raised to a specified height to enable the drone to take off and land. When the drone lands on the liftable platform, the liftable platform is lowered to the user's operating height, allowing the user to pick up and place delivered items or replace batteries.

[0124] The lifting mechanism of the liftable platform may be a scissor-type lift platform, or a lift platform with other structures, and this specification does not limit this.

[0125] When a liftable platform is installed in the beacon area, a fence can be installed to ensure user safety and prevent users from accidentally entering the liftable platform's working area and causing injury. When planning the layout of the proposed airport, the beacon area must not only include the area occupied by the drone takeoff and landing beacons, but also the area corresponding to the fence.

[0126] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the beacon area consisting of the surrounding fence and drone take-off and landing beacons in the airport layout provided in this specification.

[0127] The above is a drone airport layout method provided by one or more embodiments of this specification. Based on the same idea, this specification also provides a corresponding drone airport layout device, as shown in Figure 8.

[0128] FIG8 is an exemplary structural diagram of a drone airport layout device provided in this specification, which includes:

[0129] A positioning module 300 determines the area where the airport is to be set up and locates the positions of obstacles in the area;

[0130] The layout generation module 302 determines the layout of each candidate airport according to the area of ​​the airport to be set up and the obstacles, including at least: a beacon area and a user activity area;

[0131] The simulation detection module 304 simulates, for each airport layout, the process of executing a delivery task under the airport layout according to multiple preset airport logistics models in a three-dimensional simulation environment, and determines the operating indicators of executing the delivery task under each airport logistics model corresponding to the airport layout, wherein the operating indicators include at least the personnel-to-order ratio.

[0132] The layout selection module 306 determines a target airport layout from the airport layouts according to the determined operation index, and sets a beacon area and a user activity area according to the target airport layout.

[0133] In a feasible embodiment, the obstacles include building structures and outdoor equipment. The positioning module 300 determines the three-dimensional size and position of each obstacle, and determines the area occupied by the obstacle based on the three-dimensional size and position.

[0134] In a feasible implementation, the layout generation module 302 determines the safety distance corresponding to each obstacle according to the type of each obstacle in the area of ​​the airport to be set up, determines the available area in the area of ​​the airport to be set up according to the area occupied by each obstacle in the area of ​​the airport to be set up and the safety distance corresponding to each obstacle, and determines the beacon area and the user activity area in the available area, wherein the number of beacon areas in different airport layouts is not exactly the same.

[0135] In a feasible implementation, the beacon area includes: a drone take-off and landing beacon area and an airport positioning beacon area, wherein the sizes of various beacon areas are consistent and the beacon areas meet preset spacing.

[0136] In a feasible implementation, the simulation detection module 304 constructs a three-dimensional simulation environment corresponding to each airport layout according to the area of ​​the airport to be set up, the obstacles and the airport layout. For each preset airport logistics mode, according to the number of users transporting delivery items, the number of users replacing batteries and the number of drones in the airport logistics mode, the simulation module 304 simulates the process of each drone performing a delivery task under the airport layout in the three-dimensional simulation environment corresponding to the airport layout.

[0137] In a feasible implementation, the simulation detection module 304 simulates the process of each drone performing a delivery task under the preset airport layout for each preset airport logistics mode according to the preset duration, and determines the operating indicators, wherein the operating indicators also include: the punctuality rate of the delivery task, the maximum task volume per unit time, and the total task volume.

[0138] In a feasible embodiment, the layout selection module 306 sets a liftable platform in the beacon area of ​​the target airport layout according to the target airport layout, and a drone take-off and landing beacon is set on the upper surface of the liftable platform. When the drone takes off or lands in the beacon area, the liftable platform is lifted to a specified height to enable the drone to take off and land. When the drone lands on the liftable platform, the liftable platform is lowered to a user operating height to allow the user to pick up and place deliveries or replace batteries.

[0139] In a feasible embodiment, the airport layout also includes: a charging cabinet area, and a layout selection module 206 is also used to determine the smoke exhaust equipment in the outdoor equipment when determining the target airport layout, and determine the impact area corresponding to the smoke exhaust equipment according to the preset smoke exhaust range. In the area of ​​the airport to be set up, the candidate charging layout of the charging cabinet area is determined, and for each candidate charging layout, in a three-dimensional simulation environment, according to the distance between the beacon area and the charging cabinet area in the target airport layout and the distance between the charging cabinet area and the impact area, the process of performing the delivery task under the airport layout is simulated, and the operating indicators are re-determined. The re-determined operating indicators also include the average battery replacement distance of users performing delivery tasks. According to the re-determined operating indicators, the target charging layout is determined from each candidate charging layout, and according to the target charging layout, a charging cabinet is set in the area of ​​the airport to be set up.

[0140] This specification also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program can be used to execute the drone airport layout method provided in Figure 7 above.

[0141] This specification also provides an exemplary block diagram of an electronic device, shown in Figure 9. As shown in Figure 9, at the hardware level, the electronic device includes a processor, an internal bus, memory, and non-volatile storage, and may also include other hardware required for its operations. The processor reads the corresponding computer program from the non-volatile storage, transfers it to the internal memory, and then executes it, thereby implementing the drone airport layout method provided in Figure 7.

[0142] Of course, in addition to software implementation, this specification does not exclude other implementation methods, such as logic devices or a combination of software and hardware, etc. That is to say, the execution subject of the following processing flow is not limited to each logic unit, but can also be hardware or logic devices.

[0143] In the 1990s, technological improvements could be clearly distinguished as either hardware improvements (for example, improvements to circuit structures like diodes, transistors, and switches) or software improvements (improvements to process flows). However, with the advancement of technology, many process flow improvements today can now be considered direct improvements to hardware circuit structures. Designers almost always create the corresponding hardware circuit structure by programming the improved process flow into the hardware circuit. Therefore, it cannot be said that a process flow improvement cannot be implemented using hardware modules. For example, a programmable logic device (PLD), such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), is an integrated circuit whose logical function is determined by user programming. Designers can "integrate" a digital system on a PLD by programming it themselves, without having to hire a chip manufacturer to design and manufacture a dedicated integrated circuit chip. Moreover, nowadays, instead of manually fabricating integrated circuit chips, this programming is mostly done using "logic compiler" software. This is similar to the software compiler used when developing programs. Before compilation, the original code must also be written in a specific programming language, called a hardware description language (HDL). There is not just one HDL, but many, such as ABEL (Advanced Boolean Expression Language), AHDL (Altera Hardware Description Language), Confluence, CUPL (Cornell University Programming Language), HDCal, JHDL (Java Hardware Description Language), Lava, Lola, MyHDL, PALASM, RHDL (Ruby Hardware Description Language), etc. The most commonly used are VHDL (Very-High-Speed ​​Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language) and Verilog. Those skilled in the art will also understand that by simply programming the method flow in one of these hardware description languages ​​and then programming it into an integrated circuit, a hardware circuit that implements the logic method flow can be easily obtained.

[0144] The controller can be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, the controller can take the form of a microprocessor or processor and a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable program code (e.g., software or firmware) executable by the (micro)processor, logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers. Examples of controllers include, but are not limited to, the following microcontrollers: ARC 625D, Atmel AT91SAM, Microchip PIC18F26K20, and Silicone Labs C8051F320. The memory controller can also be implemented as part of the control logic of the memory. Those skilled in the art will also know that in addition to implementing the controller in a purely computer-readable program code format, the controller can be implemented in the form of logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers by logically programming the method steps. Therefore, such a controller can be considered a hardware component, and the devices included therein for implementing various functions can also be considered as structures within the hardware component. Or even, the devices for implementing various functions can be considered as both software modules that implement the method and structures within the hardware component.

[0145] The systems, devices, modules, or units described in the above embodiments may be implemented by computer chips or entities, or by products having certain functions. A typical implementation device is a computer. Specifically, the computer may be, for example, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a camera phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or a combination of any of these devices.

[0146] For the convenience of description, the above devices are described as being divided into various units according to their functions. Of course, when implementing this specification, the functions of each unit can be implemented in the same or multiple software and / or hardware.

[0147] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Thus, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0148] The present invention is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0149] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0150] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0151] In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPUs), input / output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

[0152] Memory may include non-permanent storage in a computer-readable medium, random access memory (RAM) and / or non-volatile memory in the form of read-only memory (ROM) or flash RAM. Memory is an example of a computer-readable medium.

[0153] Computer-readable media includes permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media that can be implemented by any method or technology to store information. The information can be computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other non-transmission media that can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined herein, computer-readable media does not include transitory computer-readable media (transitory media), such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.

[0154] At the same time, as mentioned above, the airport in the embodiment of the present disclosure is used for the takeoff and landing of multiple drones. During this process, multiple drones may share a take-off and landing location, which may cause safety accidents during the take-off and landing of multiple drones. For example, when a drone takes off, another drone happens to return and land after completing its flight mission. Then, since these two drones take off and land at the same location, they may collide with each other, causing a safety accident.

[0155] To avoid the aforementioned situation, this specification provides a drone dispatching system. This system can include information acquisition equipment, multiple drones, and multiple take-off and landing platforms. During a flight mission, a drone can establish a binding relationship with a take-off and landing platform. The drone will take off from this take-off and landing platform to perform its flight mission and land on this take-off and landing platform during its return. Therefore, the drone dispatching system provided in this specification effectively allows multiple drones performing simultaneous flight missions to establish binding relationships with different take-off and landing platforms. This prevents these drones from colliding with other drones that have taken off during their return and landing, thereby improving the safety of the drones performing their flight missions.

[0156] In the above system, the flight mission to be performed by the drone can be specifically assigned by the information acquisition device. Therefore, before the drone takes off, the information acquisition device can first obtain the drone's flight mission and send the flight mission to the drone. The information acquisition device mentioned here can be an electronic device such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, or personal digital assistant (PDA).

[0157] There are various ways for the information acquisition device to synchronize flight missions with the drone. For example, the information acquisition device can establish a direct communication link with the drone, such as Bluetooth or infrared, to transmit the mission information to the drone. Alternatively, the flight mission can be synchronized with the drone via a connected local area network. Alternatively, the flight mission can be first sent to a server, which then transmits the flight mission to the drone. Alternatively, the mission identification information can be displayed to the drone, and the drone's camera can scan the mission identification information to enable the drone to obtain the flight mission.

[0158] In this specification, drones can perform a variety of flight mission types, such as environmental exploration of a designated area or cargo delivery. For ease of description, the following uses drone delivery as an example to provide a detailed description of the drone scheduling system provided in this specification.

[0159] For delivery scenarios, multiple drones can be managed centrally within a cargo transfer area. Within this area, multiple takeoff and landing platforms will be provided for each drone to perform its delivery missions. This specification describes beacon area 101 in Figure 1 as a drone takeoff and landing location, where drone takeoff and landing beacons are set up to locate and land drones. Furthermore, beacon area 101 is equipped with multiple drone takeoff and landing locations. The following describes several possible implementations for drone takeoff and landing.

[0160] FIG10 is an exemplary schematic diagram of the cargo transfer area provided in this specification.

[0161] As can be seen from Figure 10, there are multiple take-off and landing platforms in the cargo transfer area, and each drone can occupy a take-off and landing platform to perform delivery tasks.

[0162] After a user places an order online, the merchant can deliver the goods ordered by the user to the delivery capacity. The delivery capacity can usually transport the goods to the delivery destination to deliver the goods to the user. The delivery capacity mentioned here can refer to delivery personnel, unmanned vehicles, etc.

[0163] However, due to some special conditions that may occur during the delivery process, the delivery vehicle itself may no longer be able to deliver the goods to the user in person. For example, the road that the delivery vehicle takes to deliver the goods is under construction, which may result in the vehicle being unable to reach the user's delivery destination. For another example, due to traffic conditions, the delivery vehicle may not be able to deliver the goods to the user on time.

[0164] For the above situations, the delivery capacity can first transport the goods from the merchant to the goods transfer area, and then the drone in the goods transfer area will deliver the goods to the user.

[0165] Therefore, after the delivery capacity delivers the goods to the cargo transfer area, the staff in the cargo transfer area can transfer the goods to the drone. To ensure the safety of the drone's delivery, the goods to be transported must meet certain weight requirements, that is, they cannot exceed the drone's load capacity. If it is determined that the goods meet the drone's weight requirements, the delivery capacity can transfer the goods to the drone for delivery. If the goods do not meet the drone's weight requirements, the delivery capacity can continue to deliver them.

[0166] The staff in the cargo transfer area can use the above-mentioned information acquisition device to obtain the information of the delivery tasks corresponding to the goods transported by the delivery capacity. The specific method can be: the goods to be transported often have order information affixed to them (such as the order receipt posted on the takeaway packaging bag), and the information acquisition device can identify the order information to obtain the corresponding delivery task information.

[0167] There are many ways for the information acquisition device to obtain information about delivery tasks. For example, if the order information posted on the goods to be delivered contains the user's address information, optical character recognition (OCR) can be used to identify the text information in the order information, and then semantic recognition can be used to further determine the user's address information from the identified text information as the delivery destination of the goods, and the information of the delivery destination can be used as the information of the acquired delivery task.

[0168] For another example, if the order information posted on the goods to be shipped includes a QR code (or barcode) for the order, the information acquisition device can scan the order information and parse the QR code to obtain the information of the delivery destination corresponding to the order as the information of the acquired delivery task. If the QR code carries the information of the delivery destination of the order, the information acquisition device can directly obtain this information by scanning the QR code. If the QR code carries the order ID of the order, the information acquisition device can send a query request to the server based on the order ID to query the information of the delivery destination corresponding to the order.

[0169] After obtaining the information of the delivery task, the information acquisition device can synchronize the information to the drone. There are many ways to synchronize information. Just as the information acquisition device mentioned above synchronizes the flight mission to the drone, the information acquisition device can establish a direct connection with the drone and send the obtained delivery task information to the drone.

[0170] Of course, after acquiring the information of the delivery task, the information acquisition device can generate a delivery task information identifier, and then the drone assigned to perform the delivery task can scan the delivery task information identifier to determine the delivery destination of the goods to be transported. Among them, the delivery task information identifier can be displayed in the form of a QR code or a barcode. Then, after the information acquisition device generates the delivery task information identifier, it can display it to the drone through the screen on the information acquisition device, so that the drone scans the delivery task information identifier displayed on the screen of the information acquisition device. In addition, after the information acquisition device generates the delivery task information, it can also print out the delivery task information identifier through the connected printing device and post it on the goods. Then, the drone can scan the delivery task information identifier posted on the goods to determine the delivery destination of the goods to be transported.

[0171] For each landing platform in the cargo transfer area, identification information is provided on the landing platform. The identification information mainly identifies the landing platform. The identification information can be specifically displayed in the form of a QR code or a bar code.

[0172] Then, the staff in the cargo transfer area can mount the cargo to be transported by the delivery capacity on the selected drone. At this time, the drone can be powered on and start the set camera to collect the identification information of the take-off and landing platform where the drone is currently located through the camera, and establish a binding relationship with the take-off and landing platform based on the collected identification information. In the process of executing the delivery task, the drone can take off and land on the take-off and landing platform based on the binding relationship.

[0173] Among them, in the process of establishing a binding relationship with the take-off and landing platform where the drone is located, it is necessary to first determine whether the take-off and landing platform is bound to other drones based on the collected identification information. If it is determined that the take-off and landing platform is not bound to other drones, a binding relationship with the take-off and landing platform can be established. If it is determined that the take-off and landing platform is bound to other drones, it means that other drones are already performing delivery tasks based on the take-off and landing platform. In this case, it can be determined that the binding between the drone and the take-off and landing platform has failed, and a prompt message will be sent to prompt the drone to be moved to other take-off and landing platforms to perform delivery tasks.

[0174] In this specification, a drone can determine whether a landing pad is bound to another drone in various ways. For example, after collecting the pad's identification information, the drone can send a query request to a server based on that information to determine whether the pad is currently bound to another drone. For another example, if the pad is equipped with a data storage module, the drone can establish a direct connection with the data storage module and retrieve the pad's binding record from the data storage module to determine whether the pad is currently bound to another drone.

[0175] Once a drone is bound to the landing pad, it can take off and fly to the destination. After delivering the goods to the user, it can return and land on the landing pad. Once the drone completes the delivery mission (i.e., has landed on the landing pad), it can be unbound from the landing pad, allowing it or other drones to perform other delivery missions.

[0176] There are various ways to unbind a relationship. For example, a drone can send a unbinding request to a server, causing the server to unbind the relationship between the drone and the landing pad. Another example is that a drone can send a unbinding instruction to the data storage module, causing the data storage module to delete the recorded binding relationship between the drone and the landing pad or mark it as invalid based on the unbinding instruction. Other methods are not described in detail here.

[0177] In addition, the process of the drone returning home based on the above-mentioned binding relationship can also be divided into multiple situations. For example, when returning home, the drone can first return to the cargo transfer area and hover over the cargo transfer area. Then, based on the binding relationship, it can query the position of the take-off and landing platform bound to the drone in the cargo transfer area, and then based on the position, fly above the take-off and landing platform and land on the take-off and landing platform.

[0178] For another example, based on the binding relationship, the drone can query the specific coordinates of the take-off and landing platform from the server, and then fly directly to the location of the specific coordinates during the return flight to land on the take-off and landing platform.

[0179] For example, based on this binding relationship, the drone can send a return request to the server. Based on this return request, the server can control the landing pad associated with the drone to broadcast a return guidance signal containing the specific location of the landing pad. When the drone flies over the cargo transfer area, it can recognize the return guidance signal and use it to determine the specific location of the landing pad, allowing it to land there.

[0180] As can be seen from the above system, since the drone can be bound to the take-off and landing platform when performing a flight mission, the drone can complete the take-off and landing process on the same take-off and landing platform, which can reduce the safety hazards caused by multiple drones occupying the same take-off and landing platform during take-off and landing, thereby improving the drone's mission execution efficiency.

[0181] Furthermore, the take-off and landing platform provided in this specification may be provided with a lifting structure, which may enable the take-off and landing platform to present different states, and the UAV may complete take-off and landing based on the different states presented by the take-off and landing platform.

[0182] Specifically, for any take-off and landing platform, the set lifting structure can make the take-off and landing platform rise to the first state, so that the drone can take off or land on the take-off and landing platform in the first state, and after the drone takes off or lands from the take-off and landing platform, the lifting structure can be used to lower the take-off and landing platform to the second state, as shown in Figure 11.

[0183] FIG11 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a lifting and lowering platform provided in this specification with a lifting structure.

[0184] The take-off and landing platform shown in Figure 11 is equipped with a lifting platform, on which the UAV can take off and land, and a lifting structure, such as a slide rail, is provided in the vertical direction for the lifting platform to be raised or lowered. As can be seen from Figure 11, the take-off and landing platform can be raised by the lifting structure, as shown in the solid line in Figure 11, and can also be lowered by the lifting structure, as shown in the dotted line in Figure 11.

[0185] For example, when a drone is performing a delivery mission, the platform can be raised to a first position by the lifting structure. After the platform is raised, the drone can take off from the platform and fly to the delivery destination. Once the drone leaves the platform, it can be lowered to a second position by the lifting structure.

[0186] During the drone's return and landing process, the take-off and landing platform can first be raised to the first state by the lifting structure, and the drone can land on the take-off and landing platform in the first state. Once the drone lands on the take-off and landing platform, the take-off and landing platform can be lowered to the second state by the lifting structure.

[0187] The raising and lowering of the take-off and landing platform can be achieved through a variety of control methods. For example, if a communication module is provided on the take-off and landing platform, the UAV can send a first control instruction to the take-off and landing platform when taking off or landing (the first control instruction can be sent to the take-off and landing platform through a server, or through a local area network, or through a direct communication connection established with the take-off and landing platform). After the take-off and landing platform receives the first control instruction through the communication module, it can be raised to the first state through the lifting structure.

[0188] After the UAV completes takeoff or landing, it can send a second control instruction to the take-off and landing platform. After the take-off and landing platform receives the second control instruction through the communication module, it can descend to the second state through the lifting structure.

[0189] Of course, the raising or lowering of the landing pad can also be controlled through other means. For example, after the drone completes takeoff, it can report takeoff status information to the server based on the aforementioned binding relationship. Based on this status information, the server can send a descending command to the landing pad bound to the drone based on the binding relationship to control the landing pad to descend to the second state. When the drone returns, it can report return status information to the server based on the binding relationship. The server can then send a raising command to the landing pad bound to the drone based on the binding relationship to control the landing pad to ascend to the first state. After the drone has landed on the landing pad, it can report landing status information to the server. Based on this status information, the server can send a descending command to the landing pad to control the landing pad to descend to the second state.

[0190] For another example, a take-off and landing platform could be equipped with a button to control take-off and landing. When the drone takes off, a staff member at the platform can touch the button to raise the platform to a first position. After the drone has taken off from the platform, the staff member can touch the button to lower the platform to a second position. When the drone returns, a return prompt message can be sent to the information acquisition device used by the staff member. Based on the return prompt message, the staff member goes to the landing platform associated with the drone and, after the drone reaches the cargo transfer area, touches the button to raise the landing platform to the first position. After the drone has landed on the platform, the staff member can touch the button to lower the landing platform to the second position.

[0191] For landing platforms that don't have a lifting function, workers need to maintain a certain distance from the platform during the landing process to ensure personal safety. Only after the drone has landed can workers get close to the platform to attach cargo to the drone.

[0192] As can be seen from the aforementioned liftable landing platform, controlling the takeoff and landing of a drone using the liftable landing platform not only ensures the personal safety of workers during the takeoff and landing process, but also allows the drone to take off and land on the landing platform raised to its first position. This eliminates the need for workers to be far away from the landing platform during takeoff and landing, ensuring that after the drone lands on the landing platform, workers can quickly attach cargo to the drone, thereby improving drone delivery efficiency.

[0193] Furthermore, workers do not need to be at a long distance from the take-off and landing platform with lifting function during the take-off and landing of the drone. Therefore, more take-off and landing platforms can be deployed in a limited space, which can further improve the execution efficiency of the delivery task.

[0194] To facilitate the description of the process of a drone performing a delivery mission on a take-off and landing platform with lifting functions, a specific example will be used to illustrate this process, as shown in Figure 12.

[0195] FIG12 is an exemplary flowchart provided in this specification of a drone performing a delivery task on a take-off and landing platform with lifting function.

[0196] When performing a delivery mission, a drone must first be placed on a landing pad and powered on. The drone then uses its camera to capture the pad's identification information, using this information to bind to the pad. Once bound, the drone enters a ready state, where the pad is raised to its first position via a built-in lifting mechanism. Once the pad is raised, the drone takes off, travels to the delivery destination, and delivers the goods to the user.

[0197] Once the drone has delivered the goods to the user, it can return home and, based on the previously established binding relationship, hover over the landing pad and begin to descend. Once the drone has landed on the landing pad, the landing pad can begin to descend through the installed lifting structure, completing the entire delivery process.

[0198] After completing the above delivery tasks, the drone can be maintained, such as replacing batteries, charging, status detection, etc., and then placed on the landing platform (which can be the landing platform with which the binding relationship was established before, or other landing platforms) to continue to perform other delivery tasks.

[0199] It's important to note that a drone can first establish a binding relationship with a landing pad before obtaining delivery information for the cargo to be transported. That is, when a drone is parked on a landing pad, it can use its camera to identify the pad's identification information and establish a binding relationship. After the binding relationship is established, the drone can wait for a worker to attach cargo to the drone and obtain delivery information for the cargo.

[0200] A drone can also first obtain delivery mission information and then establish a binding relationship with the landing pad. That is, a worker can first mount the cargo on a drone, have the drone obtain the delivery mission information for the cargo, and then place the drone on a landing pad. The drone can then use its camera to capture the landing pad's identification information and establish a binding relationship with the landing pad based on this identification information.

[0201] In addition, the above-mentioned landing platform may also be equipped with a detection module, which is mainly used to establish a communication connection with the drone parked on the landing platform and detect the status of the drone through the communication connection.

[0202] Therefore, after establishing a communication connection with a drone parked on the platform, the landing platform can obtain the drone's status information through the detection module. Then, based on this status information, it can determine whether the drone's status meets the preset conditions. If it is determined that the drone's status does not meet the preset conditions, a maintenance reminder message for the drone will be issued.

[0203] Among them, the specific forms of the preset conditions mentioned above can be various. For example, if it is determined that the battery level of the drone is lower than the preset battery level, it can be determined that the state of the drone does not meet the preset conditions. Or after sending a self-test instruction to the drone through the detection model, if it is determined that there is an abnormality in the working status of the drone, such as the camera, propeller, etc., it can be determined that the state of the drone does not meet the preset conditions.

[0204] If a drone's status is determined to not meet pre-set conditions, a maintenance reminder message for the drone can be issued in a variety of ways. For example, the landing platform can send the maintenance reminder message to a server, which then forwards the message to an information acquisition device used by personnel in the cargo transfer area, prompting the personnel to visit the landing platform and perform maintenance on the drone parked there. Another example is that the landing platform can send the maintenance reminder message to the information acquisition device used by personnel in the cargo transfer area via a local area network located in the cargo transfer area.

[0205] Of course, a warning light may also be provided on the above-mentioned landing platform, and the landing platform may send the above-mentioned maintenance reminder message through the warning light. That is, after determining that the status of the UAV parked on the landing platform does not meet the preset conditions, the warning light may be controlled to light up to remind the staff to perform maintenance on the UAV, as shown in FIG13 .

[0206] FIG13 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a take-off and landing platform provided in this specification that uses a warning light to remind staff to maintain the drone.

[0207] As shown in Figure 13, each landing pad in the cargo transfer area is equipped with a warning light. For landing pad B, if the detection module detects that the status of a drone parked there does not meet preset conditions, the warning light on landing pad B will illuminate. To facilitate prompting staff to perform maintenance quickly, a broadcast device can also be installed in the cargo transfer area. When a landing pad in the cargo transfer area detects that the status of a parked drone does not meet preset conditions, it can send a broadcast message to the landing pad and activate the warning light on the landing pad. At this time, the broadcast device can emit a warning voice, which notifies staff that a drone requires maintenance. Staff can then locate the specific drone requiring maintenance by observing the warning light on the landing pad.

[0208] In the case where a drone controls the raising and lowering of a take-off and landing platform, it is necessary to set up some communication mechanisms to ensure that the drone can control the raising of the take-off and landing platform within the specified time, so as to prevent the drone from waiting for the take-off and landing platform to rise for too long and thus reducing the delivery efficiency, as shown in Figure 14.

[0209] FIG14 is an exemplary flowchart of a drone controlling the raising of a take-off and landing platform provided in this specification.

[0210] There is a Wi-Fi local area network in the cargo transfer area. After the drone is placed on a landing pad, it can be powered on and connected to the Wi-Fi. After confirming that the cargo has been mounted on the drone and the drone has been bound to the landing pad, the server can send accurate takeoff instructions to the server.

[0211] After receiving the prepare-to-take-off instruction, the drone can self-check whether it has been normally connected to Wi-Fi. If so, the drone can send an ascending instruction (i.e., the first control instruction mentioned above) to the take-off and landing platform through the local area network.

[0212] After sending the command to ascend to the take-off and landing platform, the drone needs to constantly check whether the command has been successfully delivered. This can be achieved through active inquiry or active feedback from the take-off and landing platform. That is, the drone can send an inquiry message to the take-off and landing platform to inquire whether the take-off and landing platform has received the command, or if the take-off and landing platform has successfully received the command, it will return a feedback message to the drone indicating that it has been successfully received.

[0213] If the drone determines that the command has been issued successfully, it can wait for the take-off and landing platform to rise and fall, and after monitoring that the take-off and landing platform has been successfully raised, it takes off from the take-off and landing platform to fly to the delivery destination to perform the delivery mission.

[0214] Among them, the drone can also determine whether the take-off and landing platform has been successfully raised by actively asking or actively providing feedback from the take-off and landing platform. That is, the drone can send an inquiry message to the take-off and landing platform to inquire whether the take-off and landing platform has been successfully raised, or after the take-off and landing platform has been successfully raised, it can send a feedback message to the drone that it has been successfully raised.

[0215] During this process, if the drone detects that it cannot access wifi, it will not be able to send instructions to the take-off and landing platform through the communication connection between it and the take-off and landing platform in the subsequent process, which can prompt the staff that the take-off has failed so that the staff can perform maintenance on it.

[0216] If the drone detects that the take-off and landing platform has not received the command normally, it can determine whether the time elapsed after sending the command has timed out. If it is determined that it has timed out, the staff can be prompted that the take-off failed so that the staff can maintain the drone or the take-off and landing platform. If it is determined that it has not timed out, the command can be resent.

[0217] Furthermore, if the drone detects that the landing platform has not been successfully raised after the set time, it can prompt the staff to maintain the landing platform, or prompt the staff to place the drone on another landing platform to continue the delivery mission.

[0218] It should also be noted that the terms "comprises," "includes," or any other variations thereof are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, commodity, or apparatus that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed, or includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity, or apparatus. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity, or apparatus that includes the element.

[0219] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of this specification may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Thus, this specification may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Furthermore, this specification may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0220] This specification may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. This specification may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices connected through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media, including storage devices.

[0221] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to in conjunction with each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences between the other embodiments. In particular, the system embodiments are generally similar to the method embodiments, so the description is relatively simple. For relevant parts, refer to the description of the method embodiments.

[0222] The above are merely examples of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Various modifications and variations are possible for those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A drone airport, characterized in that: The airport is used for takeoff and landing of multiple drones, including: available areas and obstacles; The available area is determined according to the obstacle, the available area includes a beacon area and a user activity area, and the user activity area is arranged at intervals from the beacon area; The beacon area is provided with a plurality of UAV take-off and landing positions, and the take-off and landing of adjacent flight missions of each UAV are undertaken by the same take-off and landing position among the plurality of UAV take-off and landing positions.

2. The airport according to claim 1, characterized in that The obstacle is one or more obstacles, and the available area is determined according to the following method: Determine the safety distance corresponding to each obstacle according to the type of each obstacle; The available area is determined in the airport according to areas occupied by the one or more obstacles.

3. The airport according to claim 1, characterized in that The beacon area includes: a drone take-off and landing beacon area and an airport positioning beacon area, wherein the sizes of various beacon areas are consistent and the beacon areas meet preset spacing.

4. The airport according to claim 1, characterized in that The drone take-off and landing position is provided with a drone take-off and landing beacon, and the drone take-off and landing beacon is used for the drone to identify the landing position.

5. The airport according to claim 4, characterized in that A liftable platform is provided at the take-off and landing position of the UAV, and a UAV take-off and landing beacon is provided on the upper surface of the liftable platform; Among them, when the drone takes off or lands at the drone take-off and landing position, the elevating platform is lifted to a first height to enable the drone to take off and land; when the drone lands on the elevating platform, the elevating platform is lowered to a second height to enable the user to complete the operation of the drone in the user activity area.

6. The airport according to claim 5, characterized in that: The operation of the drone includes: loading and unloading delivery objects for the drone and replacing batteries for the drone.

7. The airport according to claim 1, characterized in that The airport also includes: a charging cabinet area, and the position of the charging cabinet area is determined according to the distance between the beacon area and the charging cabinet area.

8. The airport according to claim 7, characterized in that The obstacle includes a smoke exhaust device, and the position of the charging cabinet is also determined based on the distance between the influence area of ​​the smoke exhaust device and the charging cabinet, and the influence area is related to the smoke exhaust range of the smoke exhaust device.

9. The airport according to claim 1, characterized in that The layout of the beacon area and / or the user activity area is determined by the operational indicators for executing the flight mission, and the operational indicators include one or more of the man-to-single ratio, the punctuality rate of the delivery mission, the maximum task volume per unit time, and the total task volume.

10. The airport according to claim 9, characterized in that The operation index is determined based on one or more of the number of users transporting the delivered objects, the number of users replacing batteries for the drone, and the number of drones.

11. A system for dispatching unmanned aerial vehicles, characterized in that: The system includes: an information acquisition device, a drone, and a plurality of take-off and landing platforms; The information acquisition device is used to obtain the flight mission of the UAV; The drone is used to collect identification information of the take-off and landing platform where the drone is currently located, and establish a binding relationship with the take-off and landing platform based on the identification information, wherein the binding relationship is used to instruct the drone to land on the take-off and landing platform after completing the flight mission.

12. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that The drone is used to determine whether the landing platform is bound to other drones according to the identification information; and establish the binding relationship in response to the landing platform not being bound to other drones.

13. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that The drone is also used to release the binding relationship after completing the flight mission and landing on the landing platform.

14. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that The landing platform is provided with a lifting structure, which is used to lift the landing platform to a first state so that the UAV takes off or lands on the landing platform in the first state; and after the UAV takes off or lands from the landing platform, the landing platform is lowered to a second state.

15. The system according to claim 14, characterized in that The drone is further configured to send a first control instruction to the take-off and landing platform; The lifting and lowering platform is further configured to be lifted to the first state by the lifting structure based on the received first control instruction; The drone is further used to send a second control instruction to the take-off and landing platform; The lifting and lowering platform is further configured to descend to the second state via the lifting structure based on the received second control instruction.

16. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that The landing platform is provided with a detection module, and the detection module is used to establish a communication connection with the drone parked on the landing platform.

17. The system according to claim 16, characterized in that The landing platform is also used for: After establishing the communication connection, obtaining the status information of the drone through the detection module; According to the status information, determining whether the status of the drone meets a preset condition; When the state of the drone does not satisfy the preset condition, a maintenance reminder message for the drone is issued.

18. The system according to claim 17, characterized in that The landing platform is provided with a warning light, and the warning light is used to issue the maintenance warning information.

19. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that The flight mission is a delivery mission; The information acquisition device is specifically used to scan the order attached to the goods in the delivery task to obtain the information of the delivery task, and the information of the delivery task includes the delivery destination of the goods; The drone is also used to obtain the delivery destination scanned by the information acquisition device and complete the delivery task according to the delivery destination.

20. The system according to claim 19, characterized in that The information acquisition device is further used to generate a delivery task information identifier after acquiring the information of the delivery task; The drone is specifically used to scan the delivery task information identifier to determine the delivery destination.

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