Drone control device, image content providing device, image content providing system, drone control method, image content providing method, drone control program, and image content providing program

Abstract

A drone control device 1 for controlling a drone 90 equipped with a camera 91 comprises: a flight plan storage unit 11 that stores a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, a waypoint, and an arrival point; and a flight control unit 12 that controls flight of the drone 90 such that the drone 90 flies in accordance with the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit 11.

Description

Drone control device, image content providing device, image content providing system, drone control method, image content providing method, drone control program, and image content providing program

[0001] The present invention relates to a drone control device, an image content providing device, an image content providing system, a drone control method, an image content providing method, a drone control program, and an image content providing program.

[0002] A technology has been proposed that detects people from videos taken by a drone and automatically controls the flight of the drone based on images of the detected people (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] A technology has been proposed that automatically edits multiple images taken by a drone by adding music to them (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

[0004] DJI "Mavic" https: / / www.dji.com / jp / products / camera-drones DJI "Lightcut" https: / / www.dji.com / jp / products / lightcut

[0005] A business model using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) to capture videos of visitors at tourist spots and events, then editing or processing the videos and selling or distributing them, is expected to become a profitable service. Existing technologies useful for such services include automatic drone control technology and automatic image editing technology (see, for example, Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). However, the automatic control technology described in Non-Patent Document 1 does not support flight control that ensures appropriate capture of tourists and the object spots at tourist destinations. Therefore, to realize the desired service, skilled drone piloting skills are required. Furthermore, the automatic editing technology described in Non-Patent Document 2 does not support the creation of content that is attractive to tourists and event participants. Furthermore, currently, videos captured by drones are distributed in a time-consuming and costly manner, such as by editing the raw data on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop to create content, then copying it to media such as a CD-ROM or USB memory stick and handing it over to users.

[0006] The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide users with image content captured by drones in one stop.

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, one embodiment of the drone control device of the present invention is a drone control device that controls a drone equipped with a camera, and includes a flight plan storage unit that stores a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, intermediate points, and arrival points, and a flight control unit that controls the flight of the drone so that it flies in accordance with the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit.

[0008] In one embodiment, the flight controller may control the drone to start, stop, end, ascend, descend, hover, move forward, move backward, turn left, and turn right.

[0009] In some embodiments, the flight controller may modify the flight plan based on images captured by the camera.

[0010] In one embodiment, the drone control device may further include a flight plan selection unit for selecting one flight plan from a plurality of flight plans, and the flight plan storage unit may store the plurality of flight plans.

[0011] In one embodiment, the drone control device may further include an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality, and a flight control switching unit that switches control of the drone between control by the flight control unit and manual control. The flight control switching unit may switch control of the drone from control by the flight control unit to manual control when the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality.

[0012] In one embodiment, the flight control switching unit may switch control of the drone from manual control to control by the flight control unit when the anomaly detection unit no longer detects an abnormality.

[0013] In one embodiment, the drone control device may further include a camera control unit that controls the camera. The flight plan storage unit may further store information regarding the camera's shooting direction at the departure point, the waypoint, and the arrival point. The camera control unit may control the camera's shooting direction according to the information stored in the flight plan storage unit.

[0014] Another aspect of the present invention is an image content providing device including any of the drone control devices described above and an image content creating unit, wherein the image content creating unit automatically edits images captured by a camera in conjunction with a flight plan stored in a flight plan storage unit to create image content to be provided to a user.

[0015] In one embodiment, the image content creator may also process and modify images captured by the camera.

[0016] In one embodiment, the image content creation unit may add audio linked to the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit to the image captured by the camera.

[0017] In some embodiments, the audio associated with the flight plan may include music.

[0018] In some embodiments, the drone may include a microphone for recording the user's voice, and the audio associated with the flight plan may include the user's voice recorded by the microphone.

[0019] In one embodiment, the image content providing device may further include an image content sending unit that sends the image content created by the image content creating unit to a user.

[0020] In one embodiment, the image content providing device may further include an image content management unit that links each image content created by the image content creation unit to a corresponding user among the multiple users. The image content transmission unit may transmit each image content to the user linked by the image content management unit.

[0021] In one embodiment, the image content providing device may further comprise a billing unit that bills the user for the image content transmitted to the user.

[0022] In one embodiment, the image content providing device may further include an image content selection unit that presents image content associated with the user to the user and allows the user to select image content to be transmitted from the presented image content.

[0023] Yet another aspect of the present invention is an image content providing system. This system includes a drone, a server, and a user terminal. The drone includes a camera and any of the image content management units described above. The server includes any of the flight plan storage units described above, any of the image content creation units described above, any of the image content transmission units described above, and any of the image content management units described above. The user terminal includes an image content receiving unit that receives the image content transmitted from the image content transmission unit.

[0024] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a drone control method for controlling a drone equipped with a camera, the method including the steps of storing a predetermined flight plan including a start point, a waypoint, and an end point, and controlling flight of the drone to fly in accordance with the flight plan.

[0025] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for providing image content using a drone equipped with a camera, the method including the steps of storing a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, intermediate points, and an arrival point, controlling the flight of the drone so as to fly in accordance with the flight plan, and automatically editing images captured by the camera in conjunction with the flight plan to create image content to be provided to a user.

[0026] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a drone control program for controlling a camera-equipped drone, the program causing a computer to execute the steps of storing a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, intermediate points, and an arrival point, and controlling the flight of the drone so as to fly in accordance with the flight plan.

[0027] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a program for providing image content using a drone equipped with a camera, which program causes a computer to execute the following steps: storing a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, intermediate points, and an arrival point; controlling the flight of the drone so that the drone flies in accordance with the flight plan; and automatically editing images captured by the camera in conjunction with the flight plan to create image content to be provided to a user.

[0028] In addition, any combination of the above components, or mutual substitution of the components or expressions of the present invention between methods, devices, programs, temporary or non-temporary storage media on which programs are recorded, systems, etc., are also valid aspects of the present invention.

[0029] According to the present invention, image content captured by a drone can be provided to users in one stop.

[0030] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a drone control device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a photograph taken from a drone controlled by the drone control device of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a drone control device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a drone control device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a drone control device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing device according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing device according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing device according to an eighth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing system according to a tenth embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of a drone control method according to an eleventh embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of an image content providing method according to a twelfth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a flight plan according to an embodiment and an automatic editing timeline linked to the flight plan.

[0031] The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments and modifications, identical or equivalent components and parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted where appropriate. The dimensions of the components in the drawings are enlarged or reduced as appropriate for ease of understanding. Some elements that are not important for explaining the embodiments are omitted from the drawings. Terms including ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" are used to describe various components, but these terms are used only to distinguish one component from another and do not limit the components.

[0032] In this specification, the term "user" generally refers to the end user who receives the image content provision service. However, depending on the context, the term "user" may also refer to the provider of the image content provision service, the operator or manager of the drone, etc.

[0033] 1 is a functional block diagram of a drone control device 1 according to a first embodiment. The drone control device 1 controls a drone 90 equipped with a camera 91. The drone control device 1 includes a flight plan storage unit 11 and a flight control unit 12.

[0034] The drone 90 uses a camera 91 to capture images of users (tourists or event participants) at tourist spots or event venues (for example, entrance ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, company entrance ceremonies, weddings, etc.). The captured images are edited or processed and then sold or distributed to users.

[0035] The photographing method in this case is, for example, as follows: After photographing a close-up of the user's face and body from an aircraft approaching the user, the aircraft is raised to photograph a wide-angle image centered on the user, and finally, the camera is panned widely to photograph the entire scenery of the tourist spot, such as the mountains and sea. In this way, the photographing method using drone 90 in this embodiment has predetermined characteristics for each service provided.

[0036] Depending on the above-described photographing method, the flight plan of the drone 90 also has predetermined characteristics. For example, the drone 90 may depart from a departure point (such as the base of the drone 90), fly to a tourist spot where the user is standing, stop briefly at a point where a close-up of the user is photographed, rise to a predetermined altitude and stop briefly at a point where a wide-angle image is photographed, rise and turn again, stop briefly at a point where the entire landscape is photographed, and then fly to a destination point (such as the base of the drone 90) and finish.

[0037] Another possible method of taking pictures is to first take a picture of the entire landscape from the sky, far away from the user, then descend and take close-up pictures of the user, and finally take close-up pictures of the user's face and body from a distance.

[0038] In this case, the flight plan of drone 90 is to rise quickly from the starting point (such as the base of drone 90) into the sky, stop once it reaches a specified altitude to capture the entire landscape, then slowly descend while keeping the user on the screen, stop once it gets close to the user to capture a close-up, and finally fly to the destination point (such as the base of drone 90) and finish.

[0039] The above-mentioned uses are merely examples, and are not limiting. It goes without saying that the flight plan of the drone 90 can be any suitable one depending on the service to be provided.

[0040] The flight plan storage unit 11 stores a predetermined flight plan including the departure point, waypoints, and arrival point as described above. The flight plan storage unit 11 may store only one flight plan or multiple flight plans.

[0041] The flight control unit 12 controls the flight of the drone 90 so that it flies according to the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit 11.

[0042] The flight control unit 12 may, for example, control the drone 90 to start flying, stop flying, end flying, ascend, descend, hover, move forward, move backward, turn left, and turn right.

[0043] 1, the drone 90 and the drone control device 1 are shown as separate entities, but this is not limiting. For example, the drone control device 1 may be mounted on the drone 90 as a whole, or either the flight plan storage unit 11 or the flight control unit 12 may be mounted on the drone 90, with the other being separate from the drone 90 (the same applies below).

[0044] 2 shows photographs taken by a drone 90 controlled by the drone control device 1. (a) is a close-up photograph of the user taken from the drone approaching the user, (b) is a wide-angle photograph centered on the user taken by raising the drone, and (c) is a photograph of the entire landscape taken by raising the drone even further.

[0045] The effects of this embodiment are described below. Due to the recent spread of smartphones and tablets and the "selfie" culture, the number of users of commemorative photography services using still images at tourist spots and other locations is declining. This has led to a demand for services that provide commemorative photography and image content with new added value. Meanwhile, aerial footage taken by drones is increasingly being seen on television and websites. However, even with drone photography, tourists and event participants rarely have the opportunity to receive aerial footage featuring themselves as the subject. Therefore, it would be useful for businesses to create content from aerial footage taken by drones and provide it to users. However, piloting and flight control of drones are generally difficult, and skilled techniques are required to capture the desired aerial footage.

[0046] In contrast, as explained above, drone photography of tourist spots and event venues has certain characteristics. Correspondingly, drone flight plans also have certain characteristics. Therefore, by focusing on these characteristics, storing them as flight plans and applying them to automatic control, it is possible to capture desired aerial footage without a highly skilled pilot.

[0047] In this way, according to this embodiment, it is possible to control the drone so that image content captured by the drone can be provided to the user in one stop.

[0048] In the above-described embodiment, the flight plan was predetermined for each service and was fixed. However, this is not limited to this, and the flight plan may be modified as appropriate. For example, the flight control unit 12 may modify the flight plan based on images captured by the camera 91 of the drone 90. Specifically, for example, when there are many users in the subject, the flight plan may be modified so that the aircraft moves back in order to fit all users in the frame when taking close-up photographs. Alternatively, when the shooting day is blessed with good weather and a beautiful view, the flight plan may be modified so that the aircraft stops for a longer period of time in order to capture a full view of the scenery.

[0049] [Second embodiment] Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of a drone control device 2 according to a second embodiment. The drone control device 2 includes a flight plan storage unit 11, a flight control unit 12, and a flight plan selection unit 13. That is, the drone control device 2 includes the flight plan selection unit 13 in addition to the configuration of the drone control device 1 in Figure 1. The other configuration of the drone control device 2 is the same as the configuration of the drone control device 1.

[0050] The flight plan selection unit 13 is a selection device for selecting one flight plan from a plurality of flight plans. The flight plan storage unit 11 stores a plurality of flight plans.

[0051] The flight plan selection unit 13 may, for example, display some or all of the multiple flight plans stored in the flight plan storage unit 11. The user may select a desired flight plan from the multiple flight plans displayed. In this case, the flight plan may be selected by the operator of the drone control device 2 or by the user receiving the image content. Alternatively, the flight plan selection unit 13 may automatically select a flight plan according to predetermined conditions.

[0052] According to this embodiment, it is possible to flexibly select a suitable flight plan depending on the location where the service is provided, the season, the time of day, the weather, the type and number of users, etc.

[0053] [Third embodiment] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of a drone control device 3 according to a third embodiment. The drone control device 3 includes a flight plan storage unit 11, a flight control unit 12, an abnormality detection unit 14, and a flight control switching unit 15. That is, the drone control device 3 includes the abnormality detection unit 14 and the flight control switching unit 15 in addition to the configuration of the drone control device 1 in Figure 1. The other configuration of the drone control device 3 is the same as the configuration of the drone control device 1.

[0054] The anomaly detection unit 14 detects an abnormality in the drone 90. For example, the anomaly detection unit 14 detects an abnormality when an unexpected obstacle appears, a person or animal approaches, a sudden change in weather such as a gust of wind or lightning strike, or a malfunction of the drone.

[0055] When the abnormality detection unit 14 detects an abnormality, the flight control switching unit 15 switches the control of the drone 90 from control by the flight control unit 12 to manual control.

[0056] According to this embodiment, when an abnormality occurs, the control of the drone 90 is switched to manual control, thereby preventing accidents and damage to the aircraft.

[0057] In this embodiment, when the abnormality detection unit 14 no longer detects an abnormality, the flight control switching unit 15 may switch the control of the drone 90 from manual control to control by the flight control unit 12 (i.e., the control of the drone 90 may be returned from manual control to control by the flight control unit 12).

[0058] According to this embodiment, when the abnormality is resolved, control of the drone 90 is switched to control by the flight control unit 12, so that service can be resumed smoothly.

[0059] 5 is a functional block diagram of a drone control device 4 according to a fourth embodiment. The drone control device 4 includes a flight plan storage unit 11, a flight control unit 12, and a camera control unit 16. That is, the drone control device 4 includes the camera control unit 16 in addition to the configuration of the drone control device 1 in FIG. The other configuration of the drone control device 4 is the same as the configuration of the drone control device 1.

[0060] The flight plan storage unit 11 stores information about a predetermined flight plan including the departure point, intermediate points, and arrival points of the drone 90, as well as information about the shooting direction of the camera 91 at the departure point, intermediate points, and arrival points.

[0061] The camera control unit 16 controls the shooting direction of the camera 91 in accordance with the information stored in the flight plan storage unit 11. The control of the camera control unit 16 is, for example, as follows: when the aircraft is approaching the user, the camera 91 is directed toward the user's face or body, when the aircraft is ascending to a predetermined altitude, the camera 19 is directed to capture a wide-angle image centered on the user, and finally, when the camera is ascending significantly, the camera 19 is directed toward a tourist spot such as a mountain or the sea.

[0062] According to this embodiment, the camera is controlled in conjunction with the flight plan, thereby making it possible to capture suitable images.

[0063] 6 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing device 30 according to a fifth embodiment. The image content providing device 30 includes a flight plan storage unit 11, a flight control unit 12, and an image content creation unit 41. That is, the image content providing device 30 includes the image content creation unit 41 in addition to the configuration of the drone control device 1 in FIG. The other configuration of the image content providing device 30 is the same as the configuration of the drone control device 1.

[0064] The image content creation unit 41 automatically edits the images captured by the camera 91 in conjunction with the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit 11, thereby creating image content to be provided to the user.

[0065] The image content creation unit 41 automatically performs editing such as cutting out unnecessary time periods, fast-forwarding, slow playback, and reverse playback on the raw data received from the camera 91 in conjunction with the flight plan, thereby creating image content that is attractive to the user.

[0066] The image content creating unit 41 may add text and audio to the raw data.

[0067] In conventional image content creation, raw image data is manually edited by a person visually inspecting it on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. This requires a great deal of effort and cost. Although several automated image editing technologies have been proposed recently, none of them have the performance or quality suitable for the image content provision service that is the objective of this disclosure.

[0068] In contrast, the present embodiment has the advantage that a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, waypoints, and arrival points is stored in the flight plan storage unit 11. By utilizing this, image editing content can be associated with the flight plan scenario, thereby automatically creating image content suitable for the desired service (i.e., attractive to the user).

[0069] In this way, according to this embodiment, it is possible to simply create image content that is attractive to users based on footage captured by a drone.

[0070] In one embodiment, the image content creation unit 41 may process and modify the image captured by the camera 91. For example, the image content creation unit 41 may perform trimming, add information, etc. on the entire raw data. Alternatively, the image content creation unit 41 may perform deletion, shape modification, color change, image quality change, etc. on some objects within the raw data. In this case, processing may be performed to delete objects that are inappropriate from a legal or customary perspective.

[0071] According to this embodiment, image content can be modified in more detail to suit the user's preferences or to avoid violating laws and regulations.

[0072] In one embodiment, the image content creation unit 41 may add audio linked to the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit 11 to the image captured by the camera 91 .

[0073] According to this embodiment, image content with audio can be created, making it possible to provide image content that is even more attractive to users.

[0074] In particular, the sound linked to the flight plan may include music, which allows image content to be created with music, thereby providing image content that is even more appealing to users.

[0075] In one embodiment, the drone 90 may include a microphone that records the user's voice. The user's voice recorded by the microphone is sent to the image content creation unit 41. The image content creation unit 41 adds the audio, including the user's voice, recorded by the microphone to an image in conjunction with a flight plan.

[0076] According to this embodiment, the user's own voice can be reflected in the image content, so that image content that is more familiar and attractive to the user can be provided.

[0077] 7 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing device 31 according to a sixth embodiment. The image content providing device 31 includes a flight plan storage unit 11, a flight control unit 12, an image content creation unit 41, and an image content transmission unit 42. That is, the image content providing device 31 includes the image content transmission unit 42 in addition to the configuration of the image content providing device 30 in FIG. 6. The other configuration of the image content providing device 31 is the same as the configuration of the image content providing device 30.

[0078] The image content sending unit 42 sends the image content created by the image content creating unit 41 to the user terminal 100 .

[0079] The image content transmitter 42 may transmit the image content to the user terminal 100 using any suitable wireless protocol. The image content may be uploaded to the user terminal 100 upon a trigger from the image content transmitter 42, or may be downloaded from the image content transmitter 42 upon a trigger from the user terminal 100.

[0080] Conventionally, image content has been distributed to users by copying it onto media such as CD-ROM or USB memory and handing it over to the user, which is a time-consuming process. According to this embodiment, the created image content is immediately sent to the user, making it possible to realize a one-stop service for more attractive image content.

[0081] [Seventh embodiment] Figure 8 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing device 32 according to a seventh embodiment. The image content providing device 32 includes a flight plan storage unit 11, a flight control unit 12, an image content creating unit 41, an image content transmitting unit 42, and an image content management unit 43. That is, the image content providing device 32 includes the image content management unit 43 in addition to the configuration of the image content providing device 31 in Figure 7. The other configuration of the image content providing device 32 is the same as the configuration of the image content providing device 31.

[0082] The image content management unit 43 links each image content created by the image content creation unit 41 to a corresponding user among the multiple users. The image content management unit 43 may, for example, include a content database made up of image content and a user database made up of users. In this case, the image content management unit 43 may link each image content in the content database to each user in the user database one by one.

[0083] The image content sending unit 42 classifies each image content according to the user associated with it by the image content management unit 43, and sends it to each user.

[0084] According to this embodiment, when there are a plurality of users, it is possible to transmit the image content to each user safely and reliably.

[0085] Eighth Embodiment Figure 9 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing device 33 according to an eighth embodiment. The image content providing device 33 includes a flight plan storage unit 11, a flight control unit 12, an image content creating unit 41, an image content transmitting unit 42, an image content managing unit 43, and an accounting unit 44. That is, the image content providing device 33 includes the accounting unit 44 in addition to the configuration of the image content providing device 32 in Figure 8. The other configuration of the image content providing device 33 is the same as the configuration of the image content providing device 32.

[0086] The billing unit 44 bills the user for the image content transmitted to the user. The billing unit 44 may be linked to any suitable payment system. For example, the billing unit 44 may perform billing in conjunction with an electronic money payment system, a prepaid card payment system, a QR code (registered trademark) payment system, a credit card payment system, a debit card payment system, or the like.

[0087] According to this embodiment, the fee for the image content provided can be charged in one stop, so that a convenient and attractive service can be realized for both the service provider and the service recipient.

[0088] 10 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing device 34 according to a ninth embodiment. The image content providing device 34 includes a flight plan storage unit 11, a flight control unit 12, an image content creation unit 41, an image content transmission unit 42, an image content management unit 43, and an image content selection unit 45. That is, the image content providing device 34 includes the image content selection unit 45 in addition to the configuration of the image content providing device 33 in FIG. The other configuration of the image content providing device 34 is the same as the configuration of the image content providing device 33.

[0089] The image content selection unit 45 presents image content associated with the user to the user, and allows the user to select image content to be transmitted from the presented image content.

[0090] The image content selection unit 45 may present the image content associated with the user to the user in any suitable manner. For example, the image content selection unit 45 may present the image content in a list display sorted by date / time or file size, in a thumbnail display, or in a playlist display of the user's preferences. The image content may be displayed on a user terminal such as a smartphone or tablet.

[0091] The user may select image content in any suitable manner. For example, the user may select image content directly at a tourist spot, event venue, or other location, or may save an image content list on their device and select image content later. Alternatively, the user may be provided with a URL or the like for selecting image content, and the user may select image content from there.

[0092] According to this embodiment, the user can view a plurality of image contents, and then select and purchase the desired image content.

[0093] 11 is a functional block diagram of an image content providing system 80 according to a tenth embodiment. The image content providing system 80 includes a drone 90, a server 70, and a user terminal 100.

[0094] The drone 90 is equipped with a camera 91 and a flight control unit 12. The flight control unit 12 controls the flight of the drone 90 so that the drone 90 flies according to the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit 11.

[0095] The server 70 includes a flight plan storage unit 11, an image content creation unit 41, an image content transmission unit 42, and an image content management unit 43. The flight plan storage unit 11 stores a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, waypoints, and arrival points. The image content creation unit 41 creates image content to be provided to a user by automatically editing images captured by the camera 91 in conjunction with the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit 11. The image content transmission unit 42 transmits the image content created by the image content creation unit 41 to the user terminal 100. The image content management unit 43 links each image content created by the image content creation unit 41 to a corresponding user among multiple users.

[0096] The user terminal 100 includes an image content receiving unit 101. The image content receiving unit 101 receives the image content transmitted from the image content transmitting unit .

[0097] In the image content providing system 80, the drone 90, the server 70, and the user terminal 100 work together to realize the image content providing service described above. According to the present embodiment, the drone 90, the server 70, and the user terminal 100 work together to realize the desired image content providing service described above while distributing functions.

[0098] 12 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of a drone control method according to an eleventh embodiment. This method is a drone control method for controlling a drone equipped with a camera. This method includes step S1 of storing a flight plan and step S2 of controlling the flight of the drone.

[0099] In step S1, the method stores a predefined flight plan including a departure point, waypoints and arrival points.

[0100] In step S2, the method controls the flight of the drone to fly according to the flight plan stored in step S1.

[0101] According to this embodiment, it is possible to control a drone so that image content captured by the drone can be provided to the user in one stop.

[0102] [Twelfth embodiment] Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of an image content providing method according to a twelfth embodiment. This method is an image content providing method using a drone equipped with a camera. This method includes step S1 of storing a flight plan, step S2 of controlling the flight of the drone, and step S3 of creating image content. That is, this method includes step S3 in addition to steps S1 and S2 of the drone control method shown in Fig. 12.

[0103] In step S3, the method creates image content to be provided to the user by automatically editing the images captured by the drone's camera in conjunction with the flight plan stored in step S1.

[0104] According to this embodiment, it is possible to easily create image content that is attractive to users based on footage captured by a drone.

[0105] [Thirteenth Embodiment] The thirteenth embodiment is a computer-executable program. This program executes processing according to the flow of Fig. 12. That is, this program causes a computer to execute step S1 of storing a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, waypoints, and arrival points, and step S2 of controlling the flight of a drone so that the drone flies in accordance with the flight plan.

[0106] According to this embodiment, a program for controlling a drone can be implemented as software so that image content captured by the drone can be provided to users in one stop.

[0107] [Fourteenth Embodiment] The fourteenth embodiment is also a computer-executable program. This program executes processing according to the flow of Fig. 13. That is, this program causes a computer to execute the following steps: Step S1: storing a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, waypoints, and arrival points; Step S2: controlling the flight of a drone so that the drone flies in accordance with the flight plan; and Step S3: automatically editing images captured by a camera in conjunction with the flight plan to create image content to be provided to a user.

[0108] According to this embodiment, a program can be implemented as software that simply creates image content that is attractive to users based on footage captured by a drone.

[0109] [Example] As an example, FIG. 14 shows an example of a flight plan of the image content providing device according to the embodiment and an example of an automatic editing timeline linked to the flight plan.

[0110] The flight plan that follows this timeline and the steps for creating the associated image content are as follows:

[0111] For the first eight seconds of flight, the drone hovers in mid-air. No special editing or processing is done on the footage during this time. Title captions are added as text, and the user's voice, recorded by a microphone mounted on the drone, is added as audio.

[0112] From 9 seconds to 16 seconds after the start of the flight, the drone will move backwards 100 meters. From 9 seconds to 12 seconds after the start of the flight, no special editing or processing is done to the video. From 3 seconds to 16 seconds after the start of the flight, the video is played at double speed. No text is added, but music is used as audio.

[0113] From 17 seconds into the flight to 20 seconds into the flight, the drone moves backward 150 meters and rises 10 meters. During this time, the video is played at double speed. No text is added, but music is used as the audio.

[0114] From 21 seconds into the flight to 25 seconds into the flight, the drone ascends 30 meters while pointing the camera at a -20° angle. During this time, the video is played back at four times the normal speed. No text is added, but music is used as the audio.

[0115] From 26 seconds into the flight to 30 seconds into the flight, the drone ascends 40 meters. During this time, the video is played at four times the normal speed. No text is added, but music is used as the audio.

[0116] From 31 to 44 seconds into the flight, the drone rotates 180 degrees. From 31 to 32 seconds into the flight, the video is played at four times the speed. From 33 to 42 seconds into the flight, the video is deleted and expanded onto the screen. From 43 to 44 seconds into the flight, the video is played at double the speed. No text is added, and music is used as audio.

[0117] From 45 to 48 seconds into the flight, the drone hovers and stops in the air. From 45 to 47 seconds into the flight, the footage is not specially edited or processed. From 48 to 49 seconds into the flight, the footage is unfolded on the screen. From 50 to 52 seconds into the flight, the footage is not specially edited or processed. No text is added, and music is used as audio.

[0118] From 49 to 54 seconds into the flight, the drone zooms back the camera. From 49 to 50 seconds into the flight, the screen unfolds. From 50 to 52 seconds into the flight, no special editing or processing is done to the footage. From 53 to 55 seconds into the flight, the image goes black. No text is added. From 49 to 52 seconds into the flight, music is added as audio. From 53 to 54 seconds into the flight, the audio fades out.

[0119] The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. The embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in the combination of the respective components and treatment processes, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

[0120] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the flight control unit controls the drone's ascent, descent, hovering, forward movement, backward movement, left turn, and right turn. However, the flight control unit is not limited to this, and may control any suitable drone movement, such as the drone's acceleration, deceleration, tilt, skid, snake, and wobble.

[0121] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the camera control unit controls the shooting direction of the camera in accordance with the information stored in the flight plan storage unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the camera control unit may control any suitable setting items of the camera, such as the aperture value, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, magnification, contrast, and color tone.

[0122] Any combination of the above-described embodiments and modifications is also useful as an embodiment of the present disclosure. A new embodiment resulting from the combination has the combined effects of the combined embodiments and modifications.

[0123] When understanding the abstract technical ideas of the embodiments, the technical ideas should not be interpreted as being limited to the contents of the embodiments. The above-described embodiments and variations are merely illustrative examples, and many design modifications, such as changes, additions, and deletions of components, are possible. In the embodiments, the contents in which such design modifications are possible are emphasized by adding the notation "embodiment." However, design modifications are also permitted even in contents not so notated.

[0124] The present invention relates to a drone control device, an image content providing device, an image content providing system, a drone control method, an image content providing method, a drone control program, and an image content providing program.

[0125] 1...Drone control device. 2...Drone control device. 3...Drone control device. 4...Drone control device. 11...Flight plan storage unit. 12...Flight control unit. 13...Flight plan selection unit. 14...Abnormality detection unit. 15...Flight control switching unit. 16...Camera control unit. 30...Image content providing device. 31...Image content providing device. 32...Image content providing device. 33...Image content providing device. 34...Image content providing device. 35...Image content providing device. 41...Image content creation unit. 42...Image content transmission unit. 43...Image content management unit. 44...Accounting unit. 45...Image content selection unit. 70...Server. 80...Image content providing system. 100...User terminal. 101...Image content receiving unit. S1...Step of storing flight plan. S2...Step of controlling drone flight. S3...Step of creating image content.

Claims

1. A drone control device that controls a drone equipped with a camera, comprising: a flight plan storage unit that stores a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, intermediate points, and an arrival point; and a flight control unit that controls the flight of the drone so that it flies in accordance with the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit.

2. The drone control device described in claim 1, characterized in that the flight control unit controls the drone's flight start, stop, flight end, ascent, descent, hovering, forward movement, backward movement, left turn, and right turn.

3. The drone control device described in claim 1, characterized in that the flight control unit modifies the flight plan based on images captured by the camera.

4. A drone control device as described in claim 1, further comprising a flight plan selection unit for selecting one flight plan from a plurality of flight plans, wherein the flight plan storage unit stores a plurality of flight plans.

5. A drone control device as described in claim 1, further comprising: an abnormality detection unit that detects abnormalities; and a flight control switching unit that switches control of the drone between control by the flight control unit and manual control, wherein the flight control switching unit switches control of the drone from control by the flight control unit to manual control when the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality.

6. The drone control device described in claim 5, characterized in that the flight control switching unit switches control of the drone from manual control to control by the flight control unit when the abnormality detection unit no longer detects an abnormality.

7. A drone control device as described in claim 1, further comprising a camera control unit that controls a camera, wherein the flight plan storage unit further stores information regarding the shooting direction of the camera at the departure point, intermediate points, and arrival points, and the camera control unit controls the shooting direction of the camera in accordance with the information stored in the flight plan storage unit.

8. An image content providing device comprising: a drone control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; and an image content creation unit, wherein the image content creation unit creates image content to be provided to a user by automatically editing images captured by a camera in conjunction with a flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit.

9. The image content providing device according to claim 8, wherein the image content creating section processes and corrects the image captured by the camera.

10. The image content providing device described in claim 8, characterized in that the image content creation unit adds audio linked to the flight plan stored in the flight plan storage unit to the image captured by the camera.

11. The image content providing device according to claim 10, wherein the sound associated with the flight plan includes music.

12. The image content providing device described in claim 10, characterized in that the drone is equipped with a microphone that records the user's voice, and the audio linked to the flight plan includes the user's voice recorded by the microphone.

13. The image content providing device according to claim 8, further comprising an image content sending unit that sends the image content created by said image content creating unit to a user.

14. The image content providing device described in claim 13, further comprising an image content management unit that links each image content created by the image content creation unit to a corresponding user among a plurality of users, and wherein the image content transmission unit transmits each image content to the user linked by the image content management unit.

15. The image content providing device according to claim 14, further comprising a billing unit that bills the user for the image content transmitted to the user.

16. The image content providing device according to claim 14, further comprising an image content selection unit that presents image content associated with the user to the user and allows the user to select image content to be transmitted from the presented image content.

17. An image content providing system comprising a drone, a server, and a user terminal, wherein the drone is equipped with a camera and a flight control unit as described in claim 1, the server is equipped with a flight plan storage unit as described in claim 1, an image content creation unit as described in claim 8, an image content transmission unit as described in claim 13, and an image content management unit as described in claim 14, and the user terminal is equipped with an image content receiving unit that receives the image content transmitted from the image content transmission unit.

18. A drone control method for controlling a drone equipped with a camera, comprising: a step of storing a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, a waypoint, and an arrival point; and a step of controlling the flight of the drone so that it flies in accordance with the flight plan.

19. A method for providing image content using a drone equipped with a camera, comprising the steps of: storing a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, intermediate points, and an arrival point; controlling the flight of the drone so that it flies in accordance with the flight plan; and automatically editing images taken by the camera in conjunction with the flight plan to create image content to be provided to a user.

20. A drone control program for controlling a drone equipped with a camera, the program causing a computer to execute the following steps: storing a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, intermediate points, and an arrival point; and controlling the flight of the drone so that it flies in accordance with the flight plan.

21. An image content provision program for providing image content using a drone equipped with a camera, the program causing a computer to execute the following steps: storing a predetermined flight plan including a departure point, intermediate points, and arrival points; controlling the flight of the drone so that it flies in accordance with the flight plan; and automatically editing images taken by the camera in conjunction with the flight plan to create image content to be provided to a user.

Images