Unmanned vehicle having recovery function and recovery method of unmanned vehicle

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention may provide an unmanned vehicle comprising: a power supply unit having a main power supply unit and an auxiliary power supply unit and supplying driving power; a power management unit for controlling power switching and power supply of the main power supply unit and the auxiliary power supply unit of the power supply unit; a storage unit for storing a first recovery module for performing a communication recovery operation when communication is disconnected; a control unit which drives the first recovery module when the communication is disconnected; and an auxiliary control unit which is driven by power from the auxiliary power unit when main power is cut off, and performs the communication recovery operation.

Description

Unmanned vehicles with recovery functions and recovery methods for unmanned vehicles

[0001] The present invention relates to an unmanned vehicle, and more particularly, to an unmanned vehicle having a recovery function that enables recovery of the unmanned vehicle when communication is cut off due to battery discharge or malfunction of the unmanned vehicle, and a recovery method for the unmanned vehicle.

[0002] This invention is part of research conducted with support from the Defense Innovation Cluster with funding from the Defense Technology Advancement Research Institute in 2024 (DCL2020L, 2020 Defense Innovation Cluster Defense Materials and Components Research Lab Project).

[0003] This work was supported by the Advanced Materials and Components Laboratory Project for Defense Industry, under grant no. DCL2020L, funded by Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT).

[0004] Currently, unmanned vehicles are widely used in everyday life, industry, and military fields, and the pace of application is rapidly increasing.

[0005] An unmanned vehicle is a device that can drive, move on water, fly, and perform specific tasks without a human on board, such as an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), unmanned surface vehicle (USV), unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or unmanned robot.

[0006] During the operation of these unmanned vehicles, devices or calculations that accurately measure the remaining battery capacity are required to prevent loss due to discharge or communication breakdown of the unmanned vehicle.

[0007] In the case of conventional unmanned vehicles, they are configured to return to their initial location or be recovered when communication is cut off, but there is a problem in that it is difficult to recover the device in the event of a sudden power outage.

[0008] To prevent this, batteries must be periodically maintained, ensuring the drone is recovered before the battery discharges. Therefore, conventional drones have had difficulty utilizing their full battery capacity.

[0009] An embodiment of the present invention provides an unmanned vehicle having a recovery function and a recovery method of the unmanned vehicle that can prevent sudden discharge or communication interruption of the unmanned vehicle.

[0010] Another embodiment of the present invention provides an unmanned vehicle and a method for recovering an unmanned vehicle having a recovery function that enables recovery by transmitting a location signal or an encrypted location signal using an auxiliary battery when a sudden discharge occurs in the unmanned vehicle.

[0011] One embodiment of the present invention provides an unmanned vehicle including a power supply unit having a main power supply unit and an auxiliary power supply unit to supply driving power; a power management unit controlling power switching and power supply of the main power supply unit and the auxiliary power supply unit of the power supply unit; a storage unit storing a first recovery module that performs communication recovery operation when communication is disconnected; a control unit that operates the first recovery module when communication is disconnected; and an auxiliary control unit that is driven by power from the auxiliary power supply unit when the main power is cut off and performs communication recovery operation.

[0012] The main power supply and the auxiliary power supply may include a replaceable rechargeable battery.

[0013] The above power supply unit may further include an additional auxiliary power supply case unit that allows additional installation of an auxiliary power supply when the discharge time of the power supply unit is short compared to the operating time of the unmanned body.

[0014] The above first recovery module may be configured to be driven by the control unit when the communication is disconnected and to store operation information for a preset time before and after the communication is disconnected in the storage unit.

[0015] The above driving information may include one or more of location information, driving status information of the driving unit, and inertial measurement information.

[0016] The above first recovery module may be configured to suspend communication recovery for the communication disconnection when performing a top priority task.

[0017] The auxiliary control unit may include a second recovery module that is executed by the power of the auxiliary control unit when the main power is cut off, returns to a communication-enabled location included in the operation information, and then restores communication; and an emergency communication unit that performs emergency communication by the second recovery module when the main power is cut off.

[0018] Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for restoring communication of an unmanned object, including a power supply unit having a main power supply unit and an auxiliary power supply unit, a power management unit, a storage unit storing a first recovery module, a control unit, and an auxiliary control unit, wherein the method includes a communication restoration preparation step in which the control unit executes the first recovery module when communication is disconnected, and stores operation information for a preset time before and after the communication disconnection point; and a communication restoration step in which, when the main power is cut off, the auxiliary control unit is supplied with power from the auxiliary power supply unit and is driven to restore communication using the operation information.

[0019] The above unmanned vehicle communication recovery method may further include a step of putting communication recovery on hold and performing the top priority mission when the first recovery module determines that the unmanned vehicle's mission is a top priority mission.

[0020] The above-mentioned top priority mission execution step may include a step in which the first recovery module, if the mission of the unmanned vehicle is determined to be a top priority mission, puts the communication recovery on hold; and a mission execution step in which the control unit executes the top priority mission.

[0021] The above communication recovery step may include a step in which the auxiliary control unit is driven by the power of the auxiliary power unit to determine whether the main power is cut off; a step in which the auxiliary control unit executes a second recovery module when the main power is cut off; and a step in which the second recovery module returns to a communication-enabled position using the operation information to restore communication.

[0022] The above unmanned vehicle communication recovery method may further include a step of determining, prior to performing the communication recovery preparation step, whether to additionally install an auxiliary power supply if the discharge time of the power supply is short compared to the operating time of the unmanned vehicle.

[0023] An embodiment of the present invention enables easy recovery of an unmanned vehicle by performing communication recovery when the unmanned vehicle is suddenly discharged or communication is cut off during operation.

[0024] An embodiment of the present invention prevents exposure of the location of an unmanned vehicle and facilities related to the unmanned vehicle by postponing communication recovery when the unmanned vehicle is suddenly discharged or communication is cut off during operation, if the priority mission is to be performed.

[0025] The effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

[0026] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of an unmanned body (1) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the processing process of an unmanned communication recovery method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, a detailed description will be given of a method for manufacturing a nano-pattern using a high-viscosity material according to an embodiment of the present invention according to a preferred embodiment. Herein, the same reference numerals are used for the same components, and repetitive descriptions and detailed descriptions of well-known functions and components that may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the invention are omitted. The embodiments of the invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to a person having average knowledge in the art. Therefore, the shapes and sizes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for a clearer description.

[0029] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of an unmanned body (1) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 1, the unmanned body (1) may include a power supply unit (100), a power management unit (200), a storage unit (300), a control unit (400), an auxiliary control unit (500), a positioning unit (600), a power measurement unit (700), a communication unit (800), and a driving unit (900).

[0031] The power supply unit (100) may be configured to supply driving power to the unmanned body (1) by including a main power supply unit (110) and an auxiliary power supply unit (120). The main power supply unit (110) and the auxiliary power supply unit (120) may include a replaceable rechargeable battery.

[0032] In addition, the power supply unit (100) may further include an additional auxiliary power supply case unit (130) that allows additional installation of an auxiliary power supply when the discharge time of the power supply unit (100) is short compared to the required operating time of the unmanned body (1).

[0033] The power management unit (200) above can be configured to control the power switching and power supply of the main power unit (110) and the auxiliary power unit (120).

[0034] To this end, the power management unit (200) may include a power conversion module (210) and a parallel power conversion module (220).

[0035] The power conversion module (210) may be configured to perform power transfer to the auxiliary power supply unit (120) when the main power supply of the main power supply unit (110) is cut off. The power conversion module (210) may be configured by selecting a switching device or element having a power switching function. The switching device or element having the power switching function may be a mechanical power switch, a relay, a power switch semiconductor, etc. The power conversion module (210) may also be configured to perform power transfer to the auxiliary power supply unit (120) without an external control command when the main power supply is cut off.

[0036] The above parallel power conversion module (220) may be configured as a switching device or element to connect the main power supply (110) and the main power supply (110) in parallel under the control of the control unit (400). By the parallel power conversion module (220), the power of the auxiliary power supply (120) is supplied together with the main power supply (110), thereby increasing the discharge time of the power supply (100). As a result, the operating time of the unmanned vehicle (1) can be increased.

[0037] The above storage unit (300) may be composed of a storage device such as a non-volatile storage device or a non-volatile magnetic storage device. The storage unit (300) may store software for operating the unmanned vehicle (1), the first recovery module (310), and operation information (320) of the unmanned vehicle (1).

[0038] The above first recovery module (310) may be configured to be driven by the control unit (400) when communication is disconnected, and to store operation information for a preset time before and after the communication disconnection in the storage unit (300).

[0039] The above operation information may include positioning information such as GPS during operation of the unmanned vehicle (1), driving unit status information such as motor driving status, and inertial measurement information.

[0040] The above preset time can be arbitrarily set to 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. according to the user's needs. The first recovery module (310) may be configured to suspend communication recovery for communication disconnection when the unmanned object (1) is performing a top priority task.

[0041] The above control unit (400) may be configured to perform control necessary for the operation of the unmanned vehicle (1). The control unit (400) may drive the first recovery module (310) when the communication is disconnected. When parallel power conversion is required, the control unit (400) may transmit a control command for performing parallel power conversion to the parallel power conversion module (220). The control unit (400) may include an operation circuit and a cache memory therein and may be configured to execute a program for operating the unmanned vehicle stored in the storage unit (300), a program such as the first recovery module (310), etc.

[0042] The auxiliary control unit (500) may be configured to be driven by the power of the auxiliary power unit (120) when the main power is cut off, thereby performing communication recovery operation. The auxiliary control unit (500) may be driven regardless of the control of the control unit (400) when the main power is cut off.

[0043] The above auxiliary control unit (500) may be configured to include a second recovery module (510) and an emergency communication unit (800) for communication recovery when the main power is cut off.

[0044] The second recovery module (510) may be operated by the power of the auxiliary control unit (500) when the main power is cut off. The second recovery module (510) may restore communication by returning to a communication-enabled location included in the operation information. The communication-enabled location may include the location at the time of communication disconnection.

[0045] The above emergency communication unit (800) may be configured to be driven by the second recovery module (510) when the main power is cut off, and to perform emergency communication using minimal power. The above emergency communication unit (800) may be configured to transmit only location information without control information.

[0046] The above-mentioned positioning unit (600) may be configured to measure the location information of the unmanned object (1). The positioning unit (600) may be applied with various local positioning systems, such as global satellite navigation systems such as GPS, GALILEO, and GLONASS, and location-based location services using mobile communication networks, to measure the location information.

[0047] The power measurement unit (700) may be configured to measure the charging state of the power unit (100). The power measurement unit (700) may measure the internal resistance of the battery of the main power unit (110), auxiliary power unit (120), and additional auxiliary power case unit (130) and the capacity when fully charged.

[0048] To this end, the power measurement unit (700) may be configured to include a resistance measurement unit (710) and a charge measurement unit (720).

[0049] The above control unit (400) can be configured to predict the discharge time of the battery by analyzing the charging capacity information of the power unit measured by the power measurement unit (700) and the capacity information at the time of full charge.

[0050] The above communication unit (800) may be a communication device that mediates communication between the unmanned body (1) and an external device.

[0051] The above driving unit (900) may be configured to receive power from the power supply unit (100) and provide driving force to the unmanned body (1). The driving unit (900) may be manufactured in various ways, such as a driving device for flight including a motor and a propeller, a driving device for water movement, a driving device for ground movement including a motor and wheels, or a walking device of a robot.

[0052] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the processing process of an unmanned communication recovery method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] As shown in Fig. 2, the unmanned communication recovery method may include an additional auxiliary power installation determination step (S10), a communication recovery preparation step (S20), a top priority mission execution step (S40), and a communication recovery step (S50).

[0054] The above additional auxiliary power supply mounting determination step (S10) may be a step in which the control unit (400) determines whether to additionally mount an auxiliary power supply when the discharge time of the power supply unit (100) is short compared to the operating time of the unmanned vehicle (1).

[0055] The above-described additional auxiliary power installation determination step (S10) may be a step in which the control unit (400) predicts the discharge time of the power supply unit (100) from the measurement value of the power measurement unit (700). The discharge time of the power supply unit (100) may be predicted by the control unit (400) analyzing the charging capacity of the power supply unit (100) and the unmanned vehicle (1) operation time per unit charging capacity.

[0056] The above additional auxiliary power supply mounting determination step (S10) may be a step for determining that additional auxiliary power supply mounting is necessary when the discharge time of the power supply unit (100) is shorter than the mission execution time of the unmanned vehicle (1).

[0057] The above-described additional auxiliary power supply mounting determination step (S10) may include a power supply capacity insufficient determination step (S110) and an auxiliary power supply additional mounting determination step (S120), as shown in FIG. 2.

[0058] The above power supply capacity insufficiency determination step (S110) may be a step for determining whether there is a capacity insufficiency by using the discharge prediction time of the power supply (100) by the above-described control unit (400) and the required operating time for performing the mission of the unmanned object (1).

[0059] The step (S120) of determining whether to additionally install the auxiliary power supply may be a step in which the control unit (400) outputs an output to additionally install the auxiliary power supply when the discharge prediction time of the power supply unit (100) is shorter than the required operation time for performing the mission of the unmanned vehicle (1).

[0060] The above communication recovery preparation step (S20) may be a step in which the control unit (400) executes the first recovery module (310) when communication is disconnected, and stores operation information for a preset time before and after the communication disconnection point in the storage unit (300) and the auxiliary control unit (500).

[0061] To this end, the communication recovery preparation step (S20) may include a communication disconnection determination step (S210) and a communication recovery operation information storage step (S220).

[0062] The above communication disconnection determination step (S210) may be a step in which the control unit (400) determines whether communication is disconnected by measuring the disconnection of transmission and reception of communication measurement signals.

[0063] The above communication recovery operation information storage step (S220) may be a step for determining the communication disconnection time based on the communication disconnection determination time or the last received data reception time, when the control unit (400) determines that communication has been disconnected. The communication recovery operation information storage step (S220) may be a step for the control unit (400) to store operation information of the unmanned vehicle (1) for a preset time before and after the communication disconnection time in the storage unit (300) and the emergency communication unit (800).

[0064] The above-mentioned top priority mission determination step (S30) may be a step in which the first recovery module (310) determines whether the mission of the unmanned vehicle (1) is a top priority mission. If the mission of the unmanned vehicle (1) is determined to be a top priority mission, the top priority mission execution step (S40) may be performed.

[0065] The above-mentioned top priority mission execution step (S40) may include a communication recovery hold step (S410) and a mission execution step (420).

[0066] The above communication recovery hold step (S410) may be a step in which the first recovery module (310) holds communication recovery when the mission of the unmanned vehicle (1) is determined to be a top priority mission. The above communication recovery hold step (S410) may prevent the mission from being made known to the outside when the unmanned vehicle (1) is performing a top priority mission.

[0067] The above task execution step (S420) may be a step in which the control unit (400) performs the highest priority task.

[0068] The above communication recovery step (S50) can be performed when it is determined that the task is not a top priority task in the top priority task determination step (S30) and when the task is completed in the top priority task execution step (S40).

[0069] The above communication recovery step (S50) may be a communication recovery step in which, when the main power is cut off, the auxiliary control unit (500) is powered by the auxiliary power unit (120) and operates to recover communication using the operation information.

[0070] The above communication recovery step (S50) may include a main power cut-off determination step (S510), a second recovery module execution step (S520), and a position recovery and communication recovery step (S530).

[0071] The above main power cut-off determination step (S510) may be a step in which the auxiliary control unit (500) is driven by the power of the auxiliary power unit (120) to determine whether the main power is cut off.

[0072] The above second recovery module execution step (S520) may be a step in which the auxiliary control unit (500) executes the second recovery module (510) when the main power is cut off.

[0073] The above location return and communication recovery step (S530) may be a step in which the second recovery module returns to a communication-capable position using the operation information and recovers communication.

[0074] The above location recovery and communication recovery step (S530) may further include a step of transmitting the current location information of the unmanned object (1) and the mission performance result or mission completion result information through the emergency communication unit (800) after communication is restored.

[0075] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, these are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Accordingly, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be determined solely by the appended claims.

[0076] The present invention can be applied in various fields of industry and military, including transportation, traffic, logistics, agriculture, fisheries, disaster response, and military, using unmanned vehicles.

Claims

1. A power supply unit that supplies driving power by having a main power supply unit and an auxiliary power supply unit; A power management unit that controls power switching and power supply between the main power unit and the auxiliary power unit of the power unit; A storage unit storing a first recovery module that performs communication recovery operation in case of communication disconnection; A control unit that drives the first recovery module when the communication is disconnected; and An unmanned vehicle including an auxiliary control unit that is driven by the power of the auxiliary power unit when the main power is cut off and performs communication recovery operation.

2. In paragraph 1, An unmanned vehicle including the main power supply and the auxiliary power supply and a replaceable rechargeable battery.

3. In the first paragraph, the power supply unit, An unmanned vehicle further comprising an additional auxiliary power case that enables additional installation of an auxiliary power source when the discharge time of the power source is short compared to the operating time of the unmanned vehicle.

4. In the first paragraph, the first recovery module, An unmanned vehicle configured to be driven by the control unit when the communication is disconnected and to store operation information for a preset time before and after the communication is disconnected in the storage unit.

5. In paragraph 4, the operation information is An unmanned vehicle including at least one of position information, driving status information of a driving unit, and inertial measurement information.

6. In the first paragraph, the first recovery module, An unmanned vehicle that holds off on restoring communication for the above communication cutoff when performing a top priority mission.

7. In the first paragraph, the auxiliary control unit, A second recovery module that is executed by the power of the auxiliary control unit when the main power is cut off, returns to a communication-enabled position included in the operation information, and then restores communication; and An unmanned vehicle including an emergency communication unit that performs emergency communication by the second recovery module when the main power is cut off.

8. A method for restoring communication of an unmanned body including a power supply having a main power supply and an auxiliary power supply, a power management unit, a storage unit storing a first recovery module, a control unit, and an auxiliary control unit, A communication recovery preparation step in which the control unit executes the first recovery module when communication is disconnected, thereby storing operation information for a preset time before and after the communication disconnection point; and An unmanned vehicle communication recovery method including a communication recovery step in which, when the main power is cut off, the auxiliary control unit is powered by the auxiliary power unit and operates to recover communication using the operation information.

9. In paragraph 8, An unmanned vehicle communication recovery method further comprising a step of putting communication recovery on hold and performing the top priority mission when the first recovery module determines that the unmanned vehicle's mission is a top priority mission.

10. In paragraph 9, the step of performing the highest priority task is: The above first recovery module, If the mission of the above unmanned body is determined to be a top priority mission, a step of putting the communication recovery on hold; and An unmanned vehicle communication recovery method including a mission execution step in which the above control unit performs a top priority mission.

11. In paragraph 8, the communication recovery step is: A step in which the auxiliary control unit is driven by the power of the auxiliary power unit to determine whether the main power is cut off; When the main power is cut off, the auxiliary control unit executes the second recovery module; and An unmanned vehicle communication recovery method including a step of the second recovery module returning to a communication-enabled location using the operation information to recover communication.

12. In paragraph 8, Prior to performing the above communication recovery preparation step, the control unit, An unmanned vehicle communication recovery method further comprising a step of determining whether to additionally install an auxiliary power supply when the discharge time of the power supply is shorter than the operating time of the unmanned vehicle.

Images