Integrated countermeasure system, integrated device, and flying object countermeasure method

Abstract

According to an embodiment, an integrated countermeasure system comprises: an operation management system that manages operations in a set airspace of a registered regular drone; and a countermeasure system that is capable of communicating with the operation management system. The operation management system is provided with a position information acquisition unit, a deviation detection unit, and a scan request unit. The position information acquisition unit acquires position information of the regular drone. The deviation detection unit detects, on the basis of the position information, a deviation of the regular drone from an air corridor. The scan request unit requests the countermeasure system to perform a radar scan of the area in which the deviation has occurred. The countermeasure system comprises a radar scan unit and a target information notification unit. The radar scan unit scans the area with the radar in response to a request from the operation management system. The target information notification unit notifies the operation management system of target information about a target that has been captured by the scan.

Description

Integrated response system, integrated device, and method for dealing with aircraft

[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention relate to an integrated response system, an integrated device, and a method for responding to an air vehicle.

[0002] Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as drones, are objects capable of moving through the air either by radio control or autonomously. To keep pace with the development of drone technology, an international standard has been developed and published to bring drone operations under certain management. This standard is known as "ISO 23629-5 UAS traffic management (UTM) - Part 5: UTM Functional Structure." UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) is a drone traffic management system that shares information about drones flying within a certain airspace and plays a role in preventing collisions.

[0003] Drones are being used in a wide range of fields, such as infrastructure inspections and disaster situation assessments. In particular, drones registered with the UTM are required for use in public applications. Hereinafter, publicly or privately registered drones will be referred to as "legitimate drones."

[0004] However, we are beginning to see and hear of cases where drones are being used maliciously, such as when a drone intrudes into airport airspace, causing the runway to be closed for an extended period of time, or when a drone intrudes into a power plant to disrupt operations, or when a drone is used in a terrorist act targeting a VIP. Drones used with malicious intent like these will be referred to as "suspicious drones."

[0005] Drones that are out of control due to malfunctions or drones that behave unintentionally due to inexperienced operators are also problematic. Drones that behave unexpectedly, even if not necessarily maliciously, are referred to as "malfunctioning drones."

[0006] There has been growing interest in counter-drone technology, a technology that can detect and deal with harmful drones early, separate from drone traffic control systems. This type of system is known as a C-UAS (Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems) or counter-drone system, and is equipped with radar for remotely detecting drones and assets for dealing with the aerial vehicles.

[0007] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-141240

[0008] Drones are expected to become more and more commonplace in the future, making people's lives more convenient. However, as the number of legitimate drones increases, the number of suspicious and malfunctioning drones is also sure to increase, making it important to take preventative measures to ensure the safety of airspace. Furthermore, birds and other obstacles can enter airspace, so it is desirable to be able to deal with such situations.

[0009] Therefore, the object is to provide an integrated response system, an integrated device, and an air vehicle response method that can ensure the safety of airspace where drones exist.

[0010] According to an embodiment, the integrated response system includes a traffic management system that manages the operation of registered authorized drones in a set airspace, and a response system that is equipped with a radar that detects flying objects and is capable of communicating with the traffic management system via a network. The traffic management system includes a position information acquisition unit, a deviation detection unit, and a scan request unit. The position information acquisition unit communicates with the authorized drone to acquire position information of the authorized drone. The deviation detection unit detects deviation of the authorized drone from a set air corridor based on the acquired position information. When a deviation is detected, the scan request unit requests the response system to perform a radar scan of the area where the deviation occurred. The response system includes a radar scanning unit and a target information notification unit. The radar scanning unit scans the area with radar in response to a request from the traffic management system. The target information notification unit notifies the traffic management system of target information regarding the target captured by the scan.

[0011] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an application example of an integrated response system according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a UTM 100. Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a C-UAS 200. Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing procedure in the integrated response system according to an embodiment.

[0012] Next, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a so-called drone is assumed as the unmanned aircraft, and the description will be made of how to deal with drones that threaten the safety of the monitored airspace. The basic configuration, action, and effect are the same for targets such as manned aircraft, vehicles, or ships.

[0013] <Overview> First, let me provide an overview. In recent years, the use of drones has become commonplace, and the number of drones flying in airspace is on the rise. Furthermore, it is expected that the use of drones that fly autonomously, with a programmed flight path rather than being manually controlled by a pilot, will expand. Autonomous drones have collision avoidance capabilities, and they head toward their destination along a flight path (corridor) while avoiding obstacles that may impede their flight. In such situations, there are concerns that drones may collide with other drones or birds or other obstacles, resulting in damage or falling. If a drone falls, material and personal damage will inevitably occur, and countermeasures are therefore required. Even with collision and obstacle avoidance capabilities, the possibility of collisions increases when multiple drones are flying.

[0014] The emergence of drones operated with malicious intent (suspicious drones) is also anticipated. Interference activities by suspicious drones threaten the safety of surrounding airspace. Examples of interference activities include the following:

[0015] ・Interfering with the flight of legitimate drones, causing them to crash or fall, or deviating from the approved flight course. ・Infiltrating no-fly zones or facilities within those zones, causing information theft or damage to equipment. ・Causing the suspicious drone itself to fall.

[0016] Development of C-UAS is underway to address the threats posed by the expanding use of drones. C-UAS uses radar to detect suspicious drones flying in the airspace and captures them using a capture drone (CD). Meanwhile, UTM has the function of managing the location and flight path of legitimate drones flying in the airspace. If these systems can be linked together, it could potentially increase airspace safety even when a large number of drones are flying in the airspace.

[0017] <Issues> The following issues can be considered when linking C-UAS and UTM: 1. Difficulty in determining whether a target should be addressed. C-UAS is equipped with radar and can detect targets within its coverage area, but the radar can only obtain information such as the number, location, and speed of targets. It is difficult for C-UAS alone to determine whether a detected target is an unnecessary target (a legitimate drone) or a target that should be addressed (a suspicious drone, a malfunctioning drone, or an obstacle such as a bird).

[0018] 2. It is difficult to deal with situations where there are many legitimate drones.

[0019] In situations where there are many legitimate drones in the airspace, even if a target to be dealt with is found and a capture drone CD is sent to it, it must fly around the legitimate drones. This means that it takes time for the capture drone CD to approach the suspicious drone, which may allow it to escape. There is also a risk that the capture drone CD may mistakenly capture a legitimate drone flying nearby instead of a suspicious drone. In other words, in situations where there are many legitimate drones, it is difficult to effectively deal with suspicious drones.

[0020] 3. C-UAS cannot cover all UTM-controlled airspace at once.

[0021] Generally, the airspace managed by a UTM is much larger than the coverage area of ​​a C-UAS radar. Therefore, in order to monitor the entire airspace managed by a UTM, it is necessary to install additional C-UAS radars or multiple C-UASs. However, this significantly expands the scale of the entire system, increasing costs and the failure rate. In other words, even if the C-UAS operator and the UTM operator simply communicate with each other, it is difficult to continuously monitor the entire airspace. Therefore, the following describes a C-UAS / UTM collaboration technology that can effectively deal with suspicious drones, even in airspaces where many drones fly.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example application of an integrated response system according to an embodiment. In FIG. 1, an airspace (airspace 400) detectable by a UTM 100 is set in advance above a critical facility 300, such as a base, airport, nuclear power plant, or vertiport. The UTM 100 can communicate with the critical facility 300 and the C-UAS 200 via a network NW. In other words, the C-UAS 200 can communicate with the UTM 100 via the network NW.

[0023] C-UAS 200 includes radar 30 for detecting flying objects, including drones (including aircraft, flying objects, birds, and other airborne moving objects). Radar 30 includes, for example, a phased array antenna capable of scanning the beam direction, and is capable of electronically changing the coverage area 500. Although it is not possible to cover the entire airspace 400 at once, by directing coverage area 500 in the required direction, it is possible to observe substantially all areas of airspace 400.

[0024] A corridor 600 is set up in the air for drone navigation. Authorized drones (White Drones) WD under the control of UTM 100 respond to queries from UTM 100 by downlinking their own remote ID (IDentification). In other words, authorized drones WD can communicate with each other by exchanging query and response signals using technology similar to transponders used in aircraft. The downlink also contains information such as the authorized drone's own position, acquired by the authorized drone WD using its own positioning system (such as GPS (Global Positioning System)).

[0025] Not only regular drones WD, but also malfunctioning drones MD, suspicious drones (black drones) BD, and unknown objects (obstacles) may appear in the airspace. For example, if the appearance of suspicious drone BD1 forces regular drone WD1 to deviate from corridor 600, UTM 100 immediately detects this and requests C-UAS 200 to perform a radar scan of the area around the deviation point. C-UAS 200 then directs its radar beam toward the area, detects the suspicious drone BD1, and sends a capture drone CD to capture it.

[0026] Similarly, if a malfunctioning drone MD1 is flying unsteadily or an unknown object 700 such as a bird is detected, UTM100 specifies an area and requests C-UAS200 to perform a radar scan of the surrounding area.

[0027] 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the UTM 100. The UTM 100 is a computer including a processor 11, a memory 10, and a storage 12. That is, the functions of the UTM 100 are realized by the processor 11 executing a program 12a (process 10a) loaded from the storage 12 to the memory 10.

[0028] The UTM 100 further includes a communication unit 13, a media reader 15 that reads optical media 14, an interface (I / F) unit 16, a display device 17, and an operation unit 18. These are connected to an internal bus 19 along with the processor 11, memory 10, and storage 12.

[0029] The communication unit 13 is connected to the C-UAS 200 via the network NW and mediates data communication between them. The interface unit 16 is connected to a display device 17 and an operation unit 18. The operation unit 18 is equipped with a mouse, keyboard, etc., and accepts operations by the operator.

[0030] The storage 12 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and stores a program 12 a. Here, the program 12 a is, for example, recorded on optical media 14 and distributed, and can be installed in the UTM 100 via a media reader 15.

[0031] The processor 11 includes, as new functions according to the embodiment, a location information acquisition unit 11a, a deviation detection unit 11b, a scan request unit 11c, a warning target extraction unit 11d, a threat level determination request unit 11e, and a dangerous airspace setting unit 11f. These functions are realized by the processor 11 executing a program 12a (process 10a) loaded into the memory 10.

[0032] The location information acquisition unit 11a periodically or as needed transmits an interrogation signal to authorized drones WD present in the airspace 400, and acquires location information of the authorized drones WD addressed to the interrogation from downlink signals returned in response. The deviation detection unit 11b detects deviation of the authorized drones WD from the corridor 600 based on the coordinate information of the corridor 600 and the location information acquired from the authorized drones WD.

[0033] When deviation from the corridor 600 is detected, the scan request unit 11c specifies the area where the legitimate drone WD has deviated from the corridor 600 and requests the C-UAS 200 to perform a radar scan of that area.

[0034] The alert target extraction unit 11d extracts targets to be monitored based on the target information notified from the C-UAS 200 and the position information of the legitimate drone WD. For example, if the target information includes the position information of multiple targets, it can compare the target information with the position information of the legitimate drone WD and extract targets that do not match the position information of the legitimate drone WD. The alert target extraction unit 11d considers these extracted targets to be targets not registered in the UTM 100 and marks them as targets to be monitored.

[0035] The threat level determination request unit 11e requests the C-UAS 200 to determine the threat level of a target marked as a target for vigilance.

[0036] The dangerous airspace setting unit 11f sets a dangerous airspace where entry of legitimate drones WD is temporarily prohibited, depending on the threat level of the target notified by the C-UAS 200. The dangerous airspace is set to a certain size that includes, for example, the area scanned by the radar 30. The size of the dangerous airspace may be expanded or reduced depending on the level of the alert rank.

[0037] 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the C-UAS 200. The C-UAS 200 is constructed with an integrating device 210 at its core. The integrating device 210 is communicatively connected to the radar 30, the assets (jammer 41, capture drone CD, and shooting device 43), and the UTM 100.

[0038] The radar 30 is, for example, a passive radar that captures radio waves emitted from a target and obtains sensing data. The sensing data includes at least the signal strength and the signal's arrival direction (horizontal and vertical directions). The sensing data also includes data such as the signal's frequency, bandwidth, communication method, and acquisition time. The sensing data is received and analyzed to obtain target information such as the target's arrival direction.

[0039] The jammer 41 has the ability to emit jamming radio waves of a specific frequency, disrupting (jamming) the target drone's radio waves. The jammer 41's jamming range is, for example, a 500-meter radius from the antenna, and it can repel or force a soft landing of a target drone within this range. If the target drone uses radio waves in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, the jammer 41 also emits radio waves in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Incidentally, many commercially available drones use radio waves in these bands.

[0040] The capture drone CD is equipped with a net gun and other devices to capture the target drone and transport it to our side. The capture drone CD flies autonomously toward the approaching target drone and captures the target drone at the rendezvous point or when it enters a certain area. Incidentally, if the target drone flies at an average speed of 60 km / h, the capture drone CD should preferably have a flight speed of around 90 km / h.

[0041] The firing device 43 fires bullets, projectiles, etc. at the target drone to physically destroy it. If the device is capable of rapid firing, it can attack multiple times within its range. It is desirable to ensure a range of about 1 km.

[0042] The integrated device 210 is a computer including a processor 21, a memory 20, and a storage 22. That is, the functions of the integrated device 210 are realized by the processor 21 executing a program 22a (process 20a) loaded from the storage 22 to the memory 20.

[0043] The integrated device 210 further includes a communication unit 23, a media reading unit 25 that reads optical media 24, an interface (I / F) unit 26, a display device 27, and an operation unit 28. These are connected to an internal bus 29 along with the processor 21, the memory 20, and the storage 22.

[0044] The communication unit 23 is connected to the radar 30, jammer 41, capture drone CD, shooting device 43, and UTM 100 via a network NW, and mediates data communication between them. The interface unit 26 is connected to a display device 27 and an operation unit 28. The operation unit 28 is equipped with a mouse, keyboard, etc., and accepts operations by the operator.

[0045] The storage 22 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and stores a program 22 a. The program 22 a is distributed, for example, by being recorded on optical media 24, and can be installed in the integrated device 210 via a media reader 25.

[0046] The processor 21 includes, as new functions according to the embodiment, a radar scanning unit 21 a, a target information notification unit 21 b, a threat level determination unit 21 c, and a target handling unit 21 d. These functions are realized by the processor 21 executing a program 22 a (process 20 a) loaded into the memory 20.

[0047] In response to a request from the UTM 100, the radar scanning unit 21a scans an area (a certain region of space) specified by the UTM 100 with the radar 30 and obtains sensing data. The target information notifying unit 21b calculates target information relating to a target captured by scanning with the radar 30 from the sensing data, and notifies the UTM 100 of the target information such as the direction, position, speed, and size of the target.

[0048] In response to a request from the UTM 100, the threat level determination unit 21c determines the threat level of an air vehicle (target) that is the object of surveillance, and notifies the UTM 100 of the threat level. The threat level can be calculated quantitatively by analyzing, for example, the signal strength or direction of arrival of radio waves (radar echoes, transmitted waves, etc.) received from the target, the size and moving speed of the target itself, etc. It is also possible to calculate the trend of the target's movement (approaching or moving away, etc.) from changes in signal strength, and calculate the threat level based on this trend.

[0049] The target dealing unit 21d selects an asset suitable for the flying object under surveillance and deals with the flying object under surveillance using the asset. Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.

[0050] 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure in the integrated response system according to the embodiment. This sequence is triggered, for example, by an evasive action taken by a legitimate drone flying along the corridor 600.

[0051] In Figure 4, when an unknown object 1 such as a bird, a malfunctioning drone MD, or a suspicious drone BD appears (step S1), the authorized drone WD1 autonomously takes evasive action, resulting in deviation from the corridor 600 (step S2). Meanwhile, the UTM 100 constantly acquires the position information of the authorized drone WD1 for airspace control purposes, and immediately detects that the authorized drone WD1 has deviated from the corridor 600 (step S3). For example, it is possible that the authorized drone WD1 has avoided some kind of obstacle. Therefore, the UTM 100 requests the C-UAS 200 to scan the airspace where the route deviation occurred.

[0052] In response, C-UAS200 scans the specified airspace (area) with radar 30, obtains target information, and notifies UTM100 (step S4). UTM100 compares the target information with the position information of the authorized drone WD1, and if it determines that an unknown flying object (target) has arrived, it confirms the registration information of the target by transmitting a transponder interrogation signal or the like (step S5).

[0053] If the UTM 100 concludes that the target is not registered (step S6), it requests the C-UAS 200 to determine the threat level of the target. The C-UAS 200 determines the threat level of the specified target and notifies the UTM 100 (step S7). Upon receiving the notification, the UTM 100 sets a dangerous airspace according to the threat level and simultaneously issues a warning signal to the authorized drone WD1 (and other authorized drones WD) (step S8). Upon receiving this signal, the authorized drone WD1 (and other authorized drones WD) immediately leaves the dangerous airspace and takes evasive action (step S9). This prevents a collision between the capture drone CD launched by the C-UAS 200 and the authorized drone WD, or the authorized drone WD from being accidentally captured.

[0054] Next, the C-UAS 200 deals with the target remaining in the dangerous airspace (Step S10). For example, if the target is a bird or similar, it will flee the dangerous airspace by chasing it with a capture drone CD (Step S11). If the target remains in the dangerous airspace despite the warning, the net gun is fired and the capture drone CD captures and neutralizes the target (Step S12).

[0055] C-UAS200 then scans the dangerous airspace again with radar 30 (step S13) and notifies UTM100 of the target information. When UTM100 confirms from the target information that the unknown aircraft is no longer present, it cancels the dangerous airspace setting and notifies authorized drone WD1 (and other authorized drones WD) of this (step S14). All authorized drones WD that receive this notification then re-enter corridor 600 and resume navigation along their routes (step S15).

[0056] As described above, in this embodiment, the C-UAS 200 and the UTM 100 are linked together, and the target information detected by the radar 30 of the C-UAS 200 is compared with the information of the legitimate drones WD managed by the UTM 100, thereby extracting and dealing with suspicious drones BD.

[0057] That is, the C-UAS 200 obtains from the UTM 100 the location information of the authorized drone WD and the location information of the point where the route deviation occurred. The C-UAS 200 also uses the radar 30 to scan the location of the route deviation detected by the UTM 100 and detects the target. The UTM 100 compares the target information detected by the C-UAS 200 with the location information of the authorized drone WD that it manages, and extracts targets that need to be dealt with. If a target that needs to be dealt with is present, the UTM 100 sets up a danger zone, restricts the entry of authorized drones WD, and then takes action using the C-UAS 200.

[0058] In this way, targets that should be dealt with can be extracted from targets detected by the C-UAS 200. Furthermore, by designating dangerous airspace, legitimate drones WD can be prevented from entering, so even in situations where numerous legitimate drones WD are present in the airspace, they can be dealt with effectively without the risk of collision with capture drones CD. Furthermore, because the area to be scanned can be specified for the C-UAS 200, the radar 30 does not need to deploy a coverage area that covers the entire airspace, resulting in cost reduction. Of course, by scanning the radar 30 beam, it is possible to scan the entire airspace under the control of the UTM 100 (in a time-division manner) without omissions.

[0059] As a result, according to the embodiments, it is possible to provide an integrated response system, an integrated device, and an air vehicle response method that can ensure the safety of airspace where drones exist, thereby supporting the safe operation of drones and ensuring the safety of airspace.

[0060] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the type of radar 30 is not limited to a passive radar (radio wave sensor). For example, an active radar that emits radar pulses into space and receives reflected echoes from a target, or an image sensor that acquires image data as sensing data, may be connected to the C-UAS 200. Furthermore, an acoustic sensor that captures sounds (such as propeller sounds) emitted from the target using a microphone or the like and acquires target information such as the target's direction of arrival, model, and classification results using techniques such as spectral analysis may be connected to the C-UAS 200.

[0061] Although an embodiment has been described, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This novel embodiment can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the inventions described in the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An integrated response system comprising: a traffic management system that manages the operation of registered legitimate drones in a set airspace; and a response system that is equipped with a radar that detects flying objects and is capable of communicating with the traffic management system via a network, wherein the traffic management system comprises: a location information acquisition unit that communicates with the legitimate drone to acquire the location information of the legitimate drone; a deviation detection unit that detects deviations of the legitimate drone from a set aerial corridor based on the acquired location information; and a scan request unit that, when the deviation is detected, requests the response system to perform a radar scan of the area where the deviation occurred, and the response system comprises: a radar scanning unit that scans the area with the radar in response to a request from the traffic management system; and a target information notification unit that notifies the traffic management system of target information regarding targets captured in the scan.

2. The integrated response system described in claim 1, wherein the traffic management system further comprises a target extraction unit that extracts a target for surveillance based on target information notified from the response system and the location information of the legitimate drone, and a threat level determination request unit that requests the response system to determine the threat level of the target for surveillance, and the response system further comprises a threat level determination unit that determines the threat level of the target for surveillance in response to a request from the traffic management system and notifies the traffic management system of the threat level.

3. The integrated response system described in claim 2, wherein the traffic management system further includes a danger airspace setting unit that sets a danger airspace where entry of the legitimate drone is temporarily prohibited depending on the threat level notified by the response system.

4. The integrated response system described in claim 3, further comprising: assets for dealing with aircraft; and a target response unit that uses the assets to deal with the target of surveillance.

5. An integrated device comprising: a communications unit that communicates via a network with an operational traffic control system that manages the operation of registered legitimate drones in a set airspace; a radar that detects flying objects; a radar scanning unit that uses the radar to scan areas where the legitimate drone has deviated from a set aerial corridor in response to a request from the operational traffic control system; and a target information notification unit that notifies the operational traffic control system of target information regarding targets captured by the scan.

6. A method for dealing with an aerial vehicle in an integrated response system comprising a traffic management system that manages the operation of registered legitimate drones in a set airspace, and a response system that is equipped with a radar for detecting aerial vehicles and is capable of communicating with the traffic management system via a network, the method comprising the steps of: the traffic management system communicating with the legitimate drone to obtain position information of the legitimate drone; the traffic management system detecting a deviation of the legitimate drone from a set air corridor based on the obtained position information; the traffic management system, when the deviation is detected, requesting the response system to perform a radar scan of the area where the deviation occurred; the response system scanning the area with the radar in response to a request from the traffic management system; and the response system notifying the traffic management system of target information regarding targets captured in the scan.

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