An unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle (10) with a fuselage including at least one flight mechanism which allows at least one vehicle within a line of sight to hover in the air to detect a traffic violation. Accordingly, the novelty of the invention is to comprise at least one image capture unit (11) disposed on said fuselage to obtain an image of said vehicle; a communication unit (16) to exchange data with a server (20); and a processor unit for detecting the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken from said image capture unit (11), comparing a violation image of the vehicle from the image obtained from the image capture unit and a reference traffic violation image and transmitting violation data containing the violation image of the vehicle and the number plate information of said vehicle to said server via said communication unit if the violation image of the vehicle is different from the reference traffic violation image as a result of the comparison.

Description

[0001] AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle which detects the traffic violations of vehicles.

[0004] PRIOR ART

[0005] Traffic violations, especially speed and red light violations, are one of the major problems that threaten traffic safety. The fact that whether or not vehicles infringe the traffic is usually detected using fixed cameras, red light cameras, and portable and movable cameras. Fixed cameras use radar or lasers to measure the speed of vehicles at a specific location, while red light cameras are used to document that the traffic lights are jumped at the moment when the traffic light turns red.

[0006] Since the positions of the fixed cameras and red light cameras cannot be changed, only traffic violations at certain locations are detected. In this case, drivers learn the locations of the cameras over time and pay attention to the traffic rules in certain locations to avoid traffic violations, while driving at a high speed or acting informally at locations where there are no cameras. Therefore, traffic violations are not monitored in a wide area, and their deterrence is insufficient. In addition, fixed cameras and red light cameras have high installation and maintenance costs. Each camera location requires a regular maintenance and calibration, limiting the large-scale applicability of the cameras.

[0007] In addition, since portable and movable cameras are mounted and operated on a vehicle, the cameras become easy to be detected by drivers. In this case, drivers pay attention to traffic rules for a certain period of time in certain locations when they notice the cameras, but after leaving the location of the cameras, they may drive at a high speed or act informally. In addition, the cameras used on the vehicle cause an increase in total system costs. Consequently, all the above-mentioned problems have made it necessary to make an innovation in the relevant technical field.

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle in order to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages and provide the relevant technical field with new advantages.

[0010] One object of the invention is to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle which detects traffic violations.

[0011] Another object of the invention is to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle which detects traffic violations in large areas and in a cost-efficiently manner.

[0012] In order to achieve all the objects mentioned above and that will be appreciated from the detailed explanation below, the present invention is an unmanned aerial vehicle with a fuselage containing at least one flight mechanism which allows at least one vehicle within a field of view to hover in the air to detect a traffic violation. Accordingly, the novelty of the invention is to comprise at least one image capture unit disposed on said fuselage to obtain an image of said vehicle; a communication unit to exchange data with a server; and a processor unit for detecting the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken from said image capture unit, comparing a violation image of the vehicle from the image obtained from the image capture unit and a reference traffic violation image and transmitting violation data containing the violation image of the vehicle and the number plate information of said vehicle to said server via said communication unit if the violation image of the vehicle is the same as the reference traffic violation image as a result of the comparison. Thus, the traffic violations are detected not only at a single location but also in a wide geographical area.

[0013] A possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that it includes at least one detector disposed on the fuselage to detect the information on the traffic violation. A possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the detector is a Doppler radar. Thus, the instantaneous speed of a vehicle may be determined.

[0014] A possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the detector is a laser scanner.

[0015] Another possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the fuselage contains a mechanism which allows the detector to be removably disposed on the fuselage.

[0016] Another possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the body contains an energy storage unit.

[0017] Another possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that it comprises a memory unit which storages data associated with the processor unit.

[0018] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0019] Fig. 1 shows a representative view of an unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0020] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] In this detailed description the subject matter of the invention is described with examples only for a better understanding of the subject in a non-limiting sense.

[0022] Referring to Fig. 1 , the invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle (10) with a fuselage including at least one flight mechanism which allows at least one vehicle within a line of sight to hover in the air to detect a traffic violation. Said fuselage comprises an energy storage unit (14) to provide energy to the unmanned aerial vehicle. In a possible embodiment of the invention, said energy storage unit (14) may be a battery, a cell, etc.

[0023] The unmanned aerial vehicle (10) includes at least one image capture unit (11 ) disposed on the fuselage to obtain an image of said vehicle. A possible embodiment of the invention said image capture unit (11) may be a camera, etc. The unmanned aerial vehicle (10) includes a communication unit (16) to exchange data with a server (20). In a possible embodiment of the invention, said communication unit (16) may include a Bluetooth module, a modem, a Wi-Fi card, a mobile data network, etc.

[0024] The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a processor unit (15) which compares a violation image of a vehicle from the image captured from the image capture unit (11) with a reference traffic violation image. In a possible embodiment of the invention, said processor unit (15) may be a processor such as a microprocessor, a CPU, a GPU.

[0025] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the reference traffic violation image may be images indicating a traffic violation, such as jumping a red light, exceeding a speed limit, doing an improper lane change, parking in an area where parking is prohibited, going in the opposite direction, using the safety lane, using a mobile phone by a vehicle driver while driving.

[0026] The processor unit (15) detects the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken from the image capture unit (11 ) if the image of the vehicle violation is the same as the reference traffic violation image as a result of the comparison. In a possible embodiment of the invention, the number plate information is determined by an image processing method. In a possible embodiment of the invention, the number plate information of a vehicle is detected by an optical character recognition (OCR) and an automatic number plate recognition system (ANPR).

[0027] The processor unit ensures that if it is determined that the vehicle violation image is different from the reference traffic violation image as a result of the comparison, a violation data containing the vehicle number plate information and the vehicle violation image is transmitted to said server via said communication unit.

[0028] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit (15) analyzes the vehicle image taken from the image capture unit (11) by an image processing method and accordingly, detects whether the vehicle has committed a traffic violation or not. For example, the processor unit (15) may compare the image of a vehicle parked with the specified parking rules and district regulations by the image processing and determine whether or not the vehicle is parked in a wrong area. Accordingly, the processor unit detects the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken from the image capture unit (11 ) if the vehicle is determined to be parked in the wrong area. The position information of the area where the image is captured is determined by a position detecting unit (17). The processor unit (15) transmits the image and number plate information of the vehicle parked in the wrong area to the server (20) via the communication unit (16).

[0029] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit analyzes the vehicle image taken from the image capture unit (11 ) by an image processing method. The processor unit detects the route, lane, and turning movements of the vehicle from the analyzed vehicle image and compares them with traffic rules and district regulations. In a possible embodiment of the invention, said traffic rules and district regulations may include turning prohibitions, safety lane information, and reverse direction information. As a result of the comparison, it is determined whether the vehicle violates said traffic rule. Accordingly, the processor unit (15) detects the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken from the image capture unit (11 ) in case that the vehicle is determined to violate a rule. The processor unit (15) transmits the image, number plate information, location and other related information of the vehicle committed a violation to the server (20) via the communication unit (16). In this way, various rule violations such as the turning prohibition, the use of safety lanes, and the reverse direction may be detected.

[0030] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit analyzes all vehicle images taken from the image capture unit (11) by the image processing method and detects the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken, even if it has not violated any rules. The processor unit (15) transmits the image and number plate information of each vehicle to the server (20) via the communication unit (16). In order to support public order on the server (20), all number plate information from the processor unit (15) may be questioned, and an alarm may be generated for vehicles with security violations, thereby sending a warning to the security units via the corresponding user interface.

[0031] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle (10) includes at least one detector (12) disposed on the fuselage to detect the traffic violation information of the vehicle. In another possible embodiment of the invention, the fuselage contains a mechanism which allows the detector (12) to be removably disposed on the fuselage. This allows the detector (12) to be simply replaced or maintained if necessary. In addition, different types of detectors (12) may be attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the unmanned aerial vehicle (10) is able to work conformably in different conditions.

[0032] In a possible embodiment of the invention, said detector may be a speed detector. In a possible embodiment of the invention, the traffic violation information of the vehicle may be a speed information of the speed value of the vehicle. In a possible embodiment of the invention, said speed detector may be a Doppler radar. In a possible embodiment of the invention the speed detector may be a laser scanner (a Lidar). In this way, the instantaneous speeds of the vehicles in traffic may be determined.

[0033] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle (10) includes at least one position detecting unit (17) disposed on the fuselage to detect the position information of the vehicle. In a possible embodiment of the invention, said position detecting unit (17) may be a GPS (a global positioning system) module. In this way, the position information of the area where the vehicles traveling in traffic are detected may be determined.

[0034] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit (15) compares information on a vehicle traffic violation received from the detector (12) with a reference traffic violation information. In a possible embodiment of the invention, said reference traffic violation information may be a reference speed value. In a possible embodiment of the invention, said reference speed value is a speed value determined according to the legal traffic speed limits for a particular road or district.

[0035] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit (15) detects the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken from the image capture unit (11) if the traffic violation information of the vehicle is different from the reference traffic violation image as a result of the comparison. In a possible embodiment of the invention, the number plate information is determined by an image processing method. In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit (15) detects the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken from the image capture unit (11), if it is determined that the speed of the vehicle is more than the reference speed value, as a result of the comparison.

[0036] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit (15) transmits the violation information, including the number plate information of the vehicle and vehicle traffic violation information, to the server (20) via the communication unit (16).

[0037] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit transmits the vehicle image to the server (20) together with information such as date, time and location of said violation. In this way, the violation information is seen by the traffic management centers through a user interface and the traffic penalty procedures are applied according to the violation information. In a possible embodiment of the invention, said user interface may be a mobile application, a website, etc., which is accessed through mobile devices such as a computer, a tablet, a mobile phone, etc.

[0038] The unmanned aerial vehicle (10) contains a memory unit (13) for storing the data associated with the processor unit (15). In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit records the violation information in the memory unit (13). In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit (15) records the violation information in the memory unit (13) along with information such as date, time and location. In a possible embodiment of the invention, the memory unit (13) may contain a combination of memories which store data permanently and, if necessary, temporarily.

[0039] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the vehicle traffic violation information determines whether the vehicle complies with the traffic rules. For this purpose, the processor unit (15) analyzes the vehicle image taken from the image capture unit (11 ) by the image processing method and detects whether or not the vehicle violates a red light according to the color conditions of the traffic lights. Accordingly, the processor unit detects the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken from the image capture unit (11) in case that the vehicle is determined to jump a red light. The position information of the area where the image is captured is determined by means of the position detecting unit (17). The processor unit (15) transmits the image and number plate information of the vehicle jumping a red light to the server (20) via the communication unit (16).

[0040] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the processor unit compares the speed traffic violation information of a vehicle received from the detector (12) with the violation information of a reference speed traffic value, and transmits the data of a violation information containing the vehicle number plate information and vehicle traffic violation information to the server (20) via the communication unit (16), if it is determined that the speed traffic violation information of the vehicle is more than the speed value from the reference traffic violation information as a result of the comparison.

[0041] An exemplary operation scenario of the invention is provided below:

[0042] In a possible embodiment of the invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle (10) flies by moving on a specified route. The unmanned aerial vehicle (10) continuously measures the speed of vehicles traveling in traffic by means of a Doppler radar. In this way, the instantaneous speeds of the vehicles are determined. If it is determined that the vehicle speed exceeds the specified reference speed value with the Doppler radar, the number plate information of the vehicle is determined by taking the vehicle image with the camera.

[0043] After the number plate information is determined, the number plate information, the violation information including the speed information, and the vehicle image taken with the camera are transmitted to a server (20) together with the time, location and date information. In this way, traffic management centers are allowed to see the violation information through a computer screen and to apply traffic fines to vehicle owners.

[0044] The protection scope of the invention is specified in the attached claims and cannot be limited to what is explained in this detailed description for the exemplary purposes. That is because it is clear that a person skilled in the art may represent similar embodiments in the light of what has been explained above without departing from the main spirit of the invention.

[0045] REFERENCE NUMBERS IN THE DRAWING 10 Unmanned aerial vehicles

[0046] 11 Image capture unit

[0047] 12 Detector

[0048] 13 Memory unit 14 Energy storage unit

[0049] 15 Processor unit

[0050] 16 Communication unit

[0051] 17 Position detecting unit

[0052] 20 Server

Claims

CLAIMS1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (10) with a fuselage including at least one flight mechanism which allows at least one vehicle within a field of view to hover in the air to detect a traffic violation, characterized in that it comprises at least one image capture unit (11 ) disposed on said fuselage to obtain an image of said vehicle; a communication unit (16) to exchange data with a server (20); and a processor unit for detecting the number plate information of the vehicle from the image taken from said image capture unit (11), comparing a violation image of the vehicle from the image obtained from the image capture unit and a reference traffic violation image, and transmitting violation data containing the violation image of the vehicle and the number plate information of said vehicle to said server via said communication unit if the violation image of the vehicle is the same as the reference traffic violation image as a result of the comparison.

2. An unmanned aerial vehicle (10) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the vehicle contains at least one detector (12) disposed on the fuselage to detect traffic violation information.

3. An unmanned aerial vehicle (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the detector (12) is a Doppler radar.

4. An unmanned aerial vehicle (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the detector (12) is a Laser scanner.

5. An unmanned aerial vehicle (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the fuselage contains a mechanism which allows the detector (12) to be removably disposed on the fuselage.

6. An unmanned aerial vehicle (10) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the fuselage contains an energy storage unit (14).

7. An unmanned aerial vehicle (10) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the it comprises a position detecting unit (17) to detect the position information of a vehicle.

8. An unmanned aerial vehicle (10) according to claim 1 , characterized in that it comprises a memory unit (13) for storing the data associated with the processor unit (15).

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