Control method and apparatus, unmanned aerial vehicle, control terminal, unmanned aerial vehicle system, and computer-readable medium

Abstract

A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising: in a first control mode, a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles each independently receive a first control signal transmitted by a control terminal, the first control signal being capable of being used for controlling the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, there being a plurality of first control signals, and the plurality of first control signals being in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles; and in a second control mode, a master unmanned aerial vehicle receives a second control signal transmitted by the control terminal, and sends information related to the second control signal, so that slave unmanned aerial vehicles can receive the information related to the second control signal, the second control signal being capable of controlling the master unmanned aerial vehicle, and the information related to the second control signal being capable of controlling the slave unmanned aerial vehicles.

Description

Control methods and devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), control terminals, UAV systems and computer-readable media Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control technology, and more specifically, to a control method for a UAV, a control device for a UAV, a control method for a control terminal, a control device for a control terminal, a UAV, a control terminal, a UAV system, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of drone technology, the number of drones required for various complex flight missions is increasing. Currently, when drones form a swarm to perform flight missions, users need to spend a lot of time and energy learning how to coordinate and control each drone, which undoubtedly increases the user's workload and significantly reduces the efficiency of drone swarms in performing flight missions. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a control device for an UAV, a control method for a control terminal, a control device for a control terminal, an UAV, a control terminal, an UAV system, and a computer-readable storage medium to solve at least one of the aforementioned technical problems.

[0004] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a method for controlling a drone, wherein the drone includes multiple drones, each including a master drone and slave drones, and the master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal; the control method includes: when the multiple drones are in a first control mode, each of the multiple drones independently receives a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal, the first control signal being usable for controlling the multiple drones, the first control signal including multiple signals, each of the multiple first control signals corresponding one-to-one with the multiple drones; and when the multiple drones are in a second control mode, the master drone receives a second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and sends relevant information of the second control signal, so that the slave drones can receive the relevant information of the second control signal, the second control signal being usable for controlling the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal being usable for controlling the slave drones.

[0005] This application provides a control device for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs include multiple UAVs, each comprising a master UAV and slave UAVs. The master UAV and the slave UAVs can be controlled by a common control terminal. The control device includes a memory and a controller connected to the memory. The controller is configured to: when the multiple UAVs are in a first control mode, control each of the multiple UAVs to independently receive a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal. The first control signal can be used to control the multiple UAVs, and the first control signal includes multiple signals, each corresponding one-to-one with the multiple UAVs; when the multiple UAVs are in a second control mode, control the master UAV to receive a second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and send relevant information about the second control signal, so that the slave UAVs can receive the relevant information about the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master UAV, and the relevant information about the second control signal can be used to control the slave UAVs.

[0006] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the following control method: when multiple drones are in a first control mode, each of the multiple drones independently receives a first control signal transmitted by a control terminal. The first control signal can be used to control the multiple drones, and the first control signal includes multiple components, each corresponding to one of the multiple drones; and when the multiple drones are in a second control mode, the master drone receives a second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and sends relevant information of the second control signal, so that the slave drones can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drones.

[0007] This application provides a method for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In a first control mode, each UAV independently receives a first control signal transmitted from a control terminal, allowing the control terminal to control each UAV individually. For example, the control terminal can control each UAV to take off one by one to facilitate formation. In a second control mode, the master UAV receives a second control signal from the control terminal and executes flight tasks according to the second control signal. The master UAV can also send relevant information about the second control signal to the slave UAVs, who then execute corresponding flight tasks based on this information. For example, the second control signal and its related signals can be the same, allowing the slave UAVs to synchronously follow the master UAV in performing tasks. By sending first control signals to each UAV individually in the first control mode, the control terminal can quickly form a UAV formation. Then, in the second control mode, the control terminal sends second control signals to the master UAV to control the other slave UAVs, thereby controlling the entire UAV formation to execute flight tasks. This application provides users with a new control scheme, enabling them to conveniently adopt different control modes when controlling a cluster of multiple drones, thereby reducing the user's workload and improving the efficiency of drones in performing flight missions.

[0008] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a control method for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs include multiple UAVs capable of jointly transporting a target object. When the multiple UAVs jointly transport the target object, each UAV is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope. One end of the mounting rope is connected to the corresponding UAV, and the other end is connected to the target object. The control method includes: acquiring load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each UAV, the load parameters indicating the tension borne by the mounting rope; determining whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs meet a preset balance condition based on the acquired load parameters; and responding to a situation where the load parameters of the mounting ropes do not meet the preset balance condition, adjusting the release length of the target UAV's mounting rope to ensure that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs meet the preset balance condition.

[0009] This application provides a control device for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs include multiple UAVs capable of jointly transporting a target object. When the multiple UAVs jointly transport the target object, each UAV is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope. One end of the mounting rope is connected to the corresponding UAV, and the other end is connected to the target object. The control device includes a memory and a controller connected to the memory. The controller is configured to: acquire load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each UAV, the load parameters indicating the tension borne by the mounting rope; determine whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs meet a preset balance condition based on the acquired load parameters; and, in response to the load parameters of the mounting ropes not meeting the preset balance condition, adjust the release length of the target UAV's mounting rope to make the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs meet the preset balance condition.

[0010] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the following control method: acquiring the load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each UAV, the load parameters indicating the tension borne by the mounting rope; determining whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs meet a preset balance condition based on the acquired load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs; and, in response to the load parameters of the mounting ropes not meeting the preset balance condition, adjusting the release length of the mounting rope of the target UAV among the multiple UAVs to make the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs meet the preset balance condition.

[0011] This application provides a control method for multiple drones that can jointly transport a target object. Each drone is equipped with a corresponding lanyard, one end of which is connected to the drone and the other end to the target object. By acquiring the load parameters of the lanyard for each drone, the tensile force on the lanyard is determined. Based on these load parameters, it is determined whether the load parameters of the multiple drones' lanyards meet a preset balance condition, thereby determining whether there is a risk of breakage. If the load parameters do not meet the preset balance condition, the release length of the target drone's lanyard is adjusted to ensure the load parameters of the multiple drones' lanyards meet the preset balance condition. This application provides a new control scheme that reduces the possibility of some drones consuming energy too quickly or experiencing flight accidents due to overload relative to other drones. Furthermore, this scheme can reduce the risk of lanyard breakage in overloaded drones when multiple drones are jointly transporting a target object.

[0012] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a control method for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), wherein the UAVs include a plurality of UAVs, the plurality of UAVs including a master UAV and slave UAVs, and the control method includes: in response to the plurality of UAVs receiving a formation command, the slave UAVs move with reference to the master UAV, so that the plurality of UAVs jointly form the formation required by the formation command; wherein, during the process of the slave UAVs moving with reference to the master UAV, the distance between the plurality of UAVs is greater than a collision distance threshold.

[0013] This application provides a control device for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs include multiple drones, each comprising a master drone and slave drones. The control device includes a memory and a controller connected to the memory. The controller is configured to: in response to the multiple drones receiving a formation command, control the slave drones to move relative to the master drone, so that the multiple drones collectively form the formation required by the formation command; wherein, during the movement of the slave drones relative to the master drone, the distance between the multiple drones is greater than a collision distance threshold.

[0014] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the following control method: in response to the plurality of drones receiving a formation command, the slave drone moves with reference to the master drone so that the plurality of drones jointly form the formation required by the formation command; wherein, during the process of the slave drone moving with reference to the master drone, the distance between the plurality of drones is greater than a collision distance threshold.

[0015] This application provides a control method for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs include multiple UAVs, comprising a master UAV and slave UAVs. In response to receiving formation commands, the slave UAVs move with reference to the master UAV, enabling the multiple UAVs to collectively form the formation required by the commands. During the movement of the slave UAVs with reference to the master UAV, the distance between the multiple UAVs exceeds a collision distance threshold, thereby preventing collisions between slave UAVs and the master UAV. This application provides users with a novel control scheme, reducing their workload, improving the efficiency of forming UAV formations, and lowering the risk of UAV collisions.

[0016] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a control method for a drone, wherein the drone is a master drone among a plurality of drones, and the plurality of drones further includes slave drones. The master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal. The method is applied to the master drone. The control method includes: when the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, receiving one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by the control terminal, wherein the plurality of first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones, and the plurality of first control signals correspond one-to-one with the plurality of drones; and when the plurality of drones are in a second control mode, receiving a second control signal transmitted by the control terminal, and sending relevant information of the second control signal, so that the slave drones can receive the relevant information of the second control signal, wherein the second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drones.

[0017] This application provides a control device for a drone, wherein the drone is a master drone among a plurality of drones, and the plurality of drones also includes slave drones. The master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal. The control device includes a memory and a controller connected to the memory. The controller is configured to: when the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, control and receive one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by the control terminal, wherein the plurality of first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones, and the plurality of first control signals correspond one-to-one with the plurality of drones; and when the plurality of drones are in a second control mode, control and receive a second control signal transmitted by the control terminal, and send relevant information of the second control signal, so that the slave drones can receive the relevant information of the second control signal, wherein the second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drones.

[0018] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the following control method: when multiple drones are in a first control mode, receiving one of multiple first control signals transmitted by a control terminal, wherein the multiple first control signals can be used to control the multiple drones and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with the multiple drones; and when the multiple drones are in a second control mode, receiving a second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and sending relevant information of the second control signal, so that the slave drone can receive the relevant information of the second control signal, wherein the second control signal can be used to control the master drone and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

[0019] This application provides a method for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In a first control mode, each UAV independently receives a first control signal transmitted from a control terminal, arriving at its respective position and hovering to form a UAV formation. In a second control mode, the master UAV receives a second control signal from the control terminal and executes flight tasks accordingly. Simultaneously, it sends relevant information about the second control signal to the slave UAVs, who then follow the master UAV. By sending first control signals to each UAV individually in the first control mode, the control terminal can quickly form a UAV formation. Then, in the second control mode, the control terminal controls the other slave UAVs by sending second control signals to the master UAV, thus controlling the entire UAV formation to execute flight tasks. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing their workload and improving the efficiency of UAV flight tasks.

[0020] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a control method for a drone, wherein the drone is a slave drone among a plurality of drones, the plurality of drones further including a master drone, the master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal, the control method is applied to the slave drone, and the control method includes: when the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, receiving one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by the control terminal, the plurality of first control signals being usable for controlling the plurality of drones, the plurality of first control signals corresponding one-to-one with the plurality of drones; and when the plurality of drones are in a second control mode, receiving relevant information of a second control signal transmitted by the master drone, wherein the relevant information of the second control signal is transmitted by the master drone to the slave drone in response to receiving the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal, the second control signal being usable for controlling the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal being usable for controlling the slave drone.

[0021] This application provides a control device for a drone, wherein the drone is a slave drone among a plurality of drones, and the plurality of drones also includes a master drone. The master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal. The control device includes a memory and a controller connected to the memory. The controller is configured to, when the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, control the reception of one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by the control terminal, wherein the plurality of first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones, and the plurality of first control signals correspond one-to-one with the plurality of drones; and, when the plurality of drones are in a second control mode, control the reception of relevant information of a second control signal transmitted by the master drone, wherein the relevant information of the second control signal is transmitted by the master drone to the slave drone in response to receiving the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal, and the second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

[0022] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the following control method: when multiple drones are in a first control mode, receiving one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by a control terminal, wherein the plurality of first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones, and the plurality of first control signals correspond one-to-one with the plurality of drones; and when the plurality of drones are in a second control mode, receiving relevant information of a second control signal transmitted by a master drone, wherein the relevant information of the second control signal is transmitted by the master drone to the slave drone in response to receiving the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal, the second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

[0023] This application provides a method for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In a first control mode, each UAV independently receives a first control signal transmitted from a control terminal, arriving at its respective position and hovering to form a UAV formation. In a second control mode, the master UAV receives a second control signal from the control terminal and executes flight tasks accordingly. Simultaneously, it sends relevant information about the second control signal to the slave UAVs, who then follow the master UAV. By sending first control signals to each UAV individually in the first control mode, the control terminal can quickly form a UAV formation. Then, in the second control mode, the control terminal controls the other slave UAVs by sending second control signals to the master UAV, thus controlling the entire UAV formation to execute flight tasks. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing their workload and improving the efficiency of UAV flight tasks.

[0024] Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide a control method for a control terminal. The control terminal is capable of controlling multiple drones and setting control modes for the multiple drones. The multiple drones include a master drone and slave drones. The control terminal for the multiple drones includes a first control mode and a second control mode. The control method includes: when the multiple drones are in the first control mode, sending a first control signal to the multiple drones. The first control signal is capable of controlling the multiple drones. The first control signal includes multiple signals, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with the multiple drones; and when the multiple drones are in the second control mode, sending a second control signal to the master drone, so that the master drone can receive the second control signal and send relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drones. The second control signal is capable of controlling the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal is capable of controlling the slave drones.

[0025] This application provides a control device for a control terminal. The control terminal is capable of controlling multiple drones and setting control modes for the multiple drones. The multiple drones include a master drone and slave drones. The control terminal for the multiple drones includes a first control mode and a second control mode. The control device includes a memory and a controller connected to the memory. The controller is configured to: when the multiple drones are in the first control mode, control and send a first control signal to the multiple drones. The first control signal can be used to control the multiple drones. The first control signal includes multiple signals, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with the multiple drones; and when the multiple drones are in the second control mode, control and send a second control signal to the master drone, so that the master drone can receive the second control signal and send relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drones. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drones.

[0026] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the following control method: when multiple drones are in a first control mode, sending a first control signal to the multiple drones, the first control signal being capable of controlling the multiple drones, the first control signal comprising multiple first control signals corresponding one-to-one with the multiple drones; and when the multiple drones are in a second control mode, sending a second control signal to the master drone, so that the master drone can receive the second control signal and send relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drones, the second control signal being capable of controlling the master drones, and the relevant information of the second control signal being capable of controlling the slave drones.

[0027] This application provides a method for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In a first control mode, each UAV independently receives a first control signal transmitted from a control terminal, arriving at its respective position and hovering to form a UAV formation. In a second control mode, the master UAV receives a second control signal from the control terminal and executes flight tasks accordingly. Simultaneously, it sends relevant information about the second control signal to the slave UAVs, who then follow the master UAV. By sending first control signals to each UAV individually in the first control mode, the control terminal can quickly form a UAV formation. Then, in the second control mode, the control terminal controls the other slave UAVs by sending second control signals to the master UAV, thus controlling the entire UAV formation to execute flight tasks. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing their workload and improving the efficiency of UAV flight tasks.

[0028] Seventhly, embodiments of this application provide an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that includes the control device for the UAV in any of the above embodiments.

[0029] Eighthly, this application provides a control terminal, wherein the drone includes the control device of the control terminal in any of the above embodiments.

[0030] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a drone, comprising multiple drones, including a master drone and slave drones, wherein the master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal, wherein...

[0031] When the multiple drones are in a first control mode, each of the multiple drones independently receives a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal. The first control signal can be used to control the multiple drones. The first control signal includes multiple signals, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with the multiple drones. When the multiple drones are in a second control mode, the master drone receives a second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and sends relevant information of the second control signal so that the slave drones can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drones.

[0032] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, the UAV system including a control device for a UAV as described in any of the above embodiments, or the UAV system including a UAV as described in any of the above embodiments, or the UAV system including a control device for a control terminal as described in any of the above embodiments, or the UAV system including a control terminal as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0033] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0034] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this application will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein:

[0035] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0036] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the control device of the UAV according to some embodiments of this application;

[0037] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a drone according to some embodiments of this application;

[0038] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a first control mode of some embodiments of this application;

[0039] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a second control mode according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0040] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0041] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a third control mode according to some embodiments of this application;

[0042] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of this application showing the position required by the formation command for the drone to move from the drone;

[0043] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0044] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0045] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of a drone lifting a target object according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0046] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a drone lifting a target object according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0047] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the angle between the hoisting rope of the UAV for lifting the target object and the reference direction in some embodiments of this application;

[0048] Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating the control method of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0049] Figure 15 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0050] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of image information transmission of a first UAV according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0051] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of image information transmission of a first UAV according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0052] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of image information transmission of a first UAV according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0053] Figure 19 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0054] Figure 20 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0055] Figure 21 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0056] Figure 22 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0057] Figure 23 is a flowchart illustrating the control method of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0058] Figure 24 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0059] Figure 25 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the control device of the control terminal in some embodiments of this application;

[0060] Figure 26 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an unmanned aerial vehicle system according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0061] Figure 27 is a schematic diagram of a computer-readable storage medium according to certain embodiments of this application;

[0062] Key component symbols: Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control system 1000; UAV 100; Master UAV 101; Slave UAV 102; Control terminal 103; First UAV 104; UAV control device 10; Memory 11; Controller 12; Control device of control terminal 20; Memory 21; Controller 22; Computer-readable storage medium 300; Computer program 302; Processor 30. Detailed Implementation

[0063] With the rapid development of drone technology, the number of drones required for various complex flight missions is increasing. Currently, when drones form a swarm to perform flight missions, the coordinated control of each drone requires users to spend a significant amount of time and effort learning, which greatly increases the user's workload and significantly reduces the efficiency of drone swarms in performing flight missions. Therefore, how to improve the efficiency of drone swarms in performing flight missions has become a problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. To solve the above problems, this application provides a drone control method (shown in Figure 1), a drone control device 10 (shown in Figure 3), a drone 100 (shown in Figure 3), a drone system 1000 (shown in Figure 26), and a computer-readable storage medium (shown in Figure 27).

[0064] Please refer to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. The drone 100 includes multiple drones, each including a master drone 101 and slave drones 102. The master drone 101 and slave drones 102 can be controlled by a common control terminal 103. The drone control method in some embodiments of this application includes:

[0065] 003: When multiple drones 100 are in the first control mode, each drone 100 independently receives a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103. The first control signal can be used to control the multiple drones 100. The first control signal includes multiple signals, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with one of the multiple drones 100.

[0066] 005: When multiple drones 100 are in the second control mode, the master drone 101 receives the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103 and sends relevant information of the second control signal so that the slave drone 102 can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone 101, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone 102.

[0067] In the embodiments of this application, the drone 100 may include a plurality of drones, each drone may include its own onboard control device (e.g., flight controller), and the drone control device 10 includes the onboard control device (e.g., flight controller) of each drone.

[0068] The aforementioned control method for the drone 100 is applied to the drone control device 10. The drone control device 10 includes a memory 11 and a controller 12 connected to the memory 11. The controller 12 is used to: when multiple drones 100 are in a first control mode, control each of the multiple drones 100 to independently receive a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103. The first control signal can be used to control multiple drones 100. The first control signal includes multiple signals, and the multiple first control signals correspond one-to-one with the multiple drones 100; and when multiple drones 100 are in a second control mode, control the master drone 101 to receive the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103 and send relevant information of the second control signal so that the slave drone 102 can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone 101, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone 102. Furthermore, the onboard control devices of each of the multiple drones control the corresponding drone to receive the first control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103. The onboard control device of the master drone 101 controls the master drone 101 to receive the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103, and controls the master drone 101 to send relevant signals of the second control signal to the slave drone 102. The onboard control device of the slave drone 102 controls the corresponding slave drone to receive the relevant information of the second control signal.

[0069] A drone 100 is an aircraft that does not require a pilot and is controlled remotely or by built-in programs. Examples include fixed-wing drones 100, rotary-wing drones 100, and hybrid-powered drones 100. Drones 100 can be equipped with various sensors, cameras, or navigation systems to enable them to autonomously or semi-autonomously complete flight tasks in complex environments. Examples include environmental monitoring, mapping, small cargo delivery, and search and rescue. Since a single drone 100 can only perform relatively simple flight tasks, more complex tasks, such as long-distance transport of heavy cargo or 3D animation performances, require multiple drones 100 to work together. Therefore, in this application, the number of drones 100 is multiple (greater than or equal to two), meaning the drones 100 are controlled by a control terminal 103 in a swarm configuration to complete more complex flight tasks. The multiple drones 100 include a master drone 101 and slave drones 102, both controlled by the control terminal 103. Specifically, the control terminal 103 controls the main UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102 via wireless communication. The UAV 100 includes a control device 10, which is one of the core components of the UAV 100, primarily used to control the UAV 100's flight direction, attitude adjustment, and mission execution. The control device 10 includes a memory 11 and a controller 12 connected to the memory 11. The memory 11 stores important information and data such as the UAV 100's flight control program, data from the sensors on the UAV 100, and flight log information. The controller 12 is connected to the memory 11, thereby reading the information and data stored in the memory 11 during flight and controlling the UAV 100's flight direction and attitude based on the information and data stored in the memory 11, so that the UAV 100 flies in the user's desired direction and attitude.

[0070] Specifically, the control terminal 103 can set multiple control modes for the multiple drones 100, such as the first control mode in 003 and the second control mode in 005. The control terminal 103 can send control signals to the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 one by one via wireless communication to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each drone 100 respectively. In some embodiments, the first control mode can be called a one-to-many time-division control mode, that is, the control terminal 103 sends control signals to the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 one by one via wireless communication to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each drone 100 respectively. In other embodiments, the first control mode can also be a one-to-many control without time division. For example, the control terminal 103 can send multiple control messages to the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 at the same time. Each control message contains the unique identification information of the corresponding drone (such as the drone's serial number) so that only the drone marked with the serial number can receive and execute the contents of the control message. In some embodiments, the first control mode can be used to control multiple drones 100 that have not yet taken off to fly sequentially to different positions and hover, thereby determining a suitable position for each drone 100 that needs to fly in formation, that is, determining the distribution position of each drone 100 in the formation. For example, referring to Figure 4, the control terminal 103 can first send a first control signal to either the master drone 101 or the slave drone 102. The first control signal includes a preset position for each of the multiple drones 100. Each drone 100 moving to the preset position can form the formation cluster desired by the user. After receiving the first control signal, the multiple drones 100 can move according to their respective preset positions. The control terminal 103 can send the first control signal to each of the other drones 100 that have not yet taken off, and control each drone 100 that has not yet taken off to fly to its own preset position, thereby enabling all drones 100 to form a drone formation.

[0071] More specifically, since the positions of each drone 100 in the drone formation do not overlap, meaning the preset positions that the control terminal 103 controls each drone 100 to reach are also different, there are multiple first control signals. Each first control signal corresponds one-to-one with a specific drone 100. For example, referring to Figure 4, the control terminal 103 sends its corresponding first control signals to the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102, controlling them to take off and reach their preset positions (e.g., positions A, B, C, and D in Figure 4).

[0072] In other embodiments, multiple drones 100 need to take off to complete a collaborative task, but due to the limitation of the takeoff site, there may only be one takeoff airport available. Therefore, the control terminal 103 can take turns sending a first control command to each of the multiple drones 100 to control the different drones 100 to take off. After takeoff, the multiple drones 100 may also hover in any safe position. After receiving the formation command, the multiple drones 100 can automatically move to the position required by the formation command.

[0073] Specifically, the control terminal 103 can also send control signals to the master drone 101 via wireless communication, and the master drone 101 then sends control signals to the slave drones 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of multiple drones 100. In 005, the second control mode can be called the cluster cooperative control mode, that is, the control terminal 103 sends a second control signal to the master drone 101 via wireless communication. After receiving the second control signal from the control terminal 103, the master drone 101 sends the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drones 102 to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each slave drone 102. The relevant information of the second control signal can be the second control signal itself, a part of the second control signal, or a new control signal generated by the master drone 101 after processing the second control signal. The processing methods of the second control signal include, but are not limited to, interception, modification, and addition. The second control mode can be used to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of multiple slave drones 102 through the master drone 101, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to perform flight tasks. For example, referring to Figure 5, the control terminal 103 can first send a second control signal to the master UAV 101. After receiving the second control signal, the master UAV 101 sends it to the slave UAV 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, direction, and attitude of the slave UAV 102. Alternatively, the control terminal 103 can first send the second control signal to the master UAV 101. After receiving the second control signal, the master UAV 101 processes it to obtain a new control signal for controlling the slave UAV 102 (i.e., the relevant information of the second control signal), and then sends the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave UAV 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, direction, and attitude of the slave UAV 102. The control terminal 103 can control the slave UAV 102 by sending the second control signal to the master UAV 101, thereby achieving control of the entire UAV formation.

[0074] In one embodiment, the control method for a drone 100 provided in this application involves multiple drones 100 operating in a first control mode. Each drone 100 independently receives a first control signal transmitted by a control terminal 103. This first control signal may include a formation topology. The drones 100 can then reach their respective positions and hover based on this topology, thus forming a drone formation. In a second control mode, a master drone 101 receives a second control signal from the control terminal 103 and executes a flight mission according to the second control signal. Simultaneously, it sends relevant information about the second control signal to slave drones 102. The slave drones 102 then execute the flight mission indicated by the relevant information in the second control signal, such as following the master drone 101. By sending first control signals to each drone 100 individually through the first control mode, the control terminal 103 enables the drones 100 to quickly form a drone formation. The control terminal 103 then uses a second control mode to control other slave drones 102 by sending a second control signal to the master drone 101, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to perform flight missions. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing their workload and improving the efficiency of drones 100 in performing flight missions.

[0075] Please refer to Figures 2, 5, and 6. When the UAV 100 is in the second control mode, the control method also includes:

[0076] 006: In response to the disconnection of communication between the control terminal 103 and the main UAV 101, multiple UAVs 100 hover or perform a return-to-home operation.

[0077] The above-mentioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: control multiple UAVs 100 to hover or perform return to home in response to the disconnection of communication between the control terminal 103 and the main UAV 101.

[0078] Specifically, in the second control mode, during the flight mission of the drone formation, unforeseen circumstances may occur, such as drone 100 flying out of the wireless communication range of control terminal 103, wireless communication between drone 100 and control terminal 103 being blocked by obstacles, wireless communication being subject to electromagnetic interference, control terminal 103 malfunctioning, or drone 100 malfunctioning. All of these unforeseen circumstances may lead to a communication loss between control terminal 103 and the main drone 101. When communication between control terminal 103 and the main drone 101 is lost, control terminal 103 cannot continue to send the second control signal to the main drone 101; that is, control terminal 103 cannot continue to control the flight speed, direction, and attitude of the entire drone formation by controlling the main drone 101. To avoid collisions between drones 100 or drones 100 colliding with other obstacles, controller 12 controls drones 100 in the drone formation to hover, waiting to receive the second control signal again. Alternatively, controller 12 controls drones 100 in the drone formation to perform a return-to-home mission, waiting for relevant personnel to resolve the cause of the communication loss before the drone formation resumes its flight mission.

[0079] Please refer to Figures 2, 6, and 7. In some embodiments, the control method further includes:

[0080] 007: When multiple drones 100 are in the third control mode, the multiple drones 100 receive the third control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103. The third control signal can be used to control the multiple drones 100, and the multiple drones 100 can receive the same third control signal.

[0081] The above-mentioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: when multiple UAVs 100 are in the third control mode, control multiple UAVs 100 to receive the third control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103. The third control signal can be used to control multiple UAVs 100, and multiple UAVs 100 can receive the same third control signal.

[0082] Specifically, the control terminal 103 can also send control signals to all drones 100 via wireless communication to directly control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of all drones 100, such as the third control mode in method 007. When multiple drones 100 are in the third control mode, the multiple drones 100 in the drone formation directly receive the third control signal from the control terminal 103 and execute flight tasks according to the third control signal. For example, referring to Figure 7, the control terminal 103 sends the third control signal to multiple drones 100, that is, the multiple drones 100 in the drone formation directly receive the third control signal from the control terminal 103 and execute flight tasks according to the third control signal.

[0083] Please refer to Figures 2, 5, 6, and 7. In some embodiments, the control method further includes:

[0084] 008: When multiple drones 100 are in the first control mode or the third control mode, in response to the disconnection of communication between any drone 102 and the control terminal 103, the multiple drones 100 switch to the second control mode.

[0085] The above-mentioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied to the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: when multiple UAVs 100 are in the first control mode or the third control mode, in response to the disconnection of communication between any UAV 102 and the control terminal 103, control multiple UAVs 100 to switch to the second control mode.

[0086] Understandably, during the flight mission of a drone swarm, unforeseen circumstances may arise, such as a drone 100 flying out of the wireless communication range of the control terminal 103, wireless communication between the drone 100 and the control terminal 103 being blocked by obstacles, wireless communication being subject to electromagnetic interference, a malfunction of the control terminal 103, or a malfunction of the drone 100 itself. All of these unforeseen circumstances may lead to a break in communication between the control terminal 103 and the slave drone 102. When any slave drone 102 in the drone swarm loses communication with the control terminal 103, multiple drones 100 in the swarm switch from the first or third control mode to the second control mode. The slave drone 102 receives relevant information from the second control signal from the master drone 101 and executes the flight mission based on this information. At this time, the slave drone 102 no longer needs to directly receive the first or third control signal from the control terminal 103; it can execute the flight mission solely based on the relevant information from the second control signal sent by the master drone 101. This eliminates the impact of the inability to establish a wireless communication connection between the slave drone 102 and the control terminal 103, improving the control scheme's ability to flexibly handle unforeseen situations involving individual drones.

[0087] Please refer to Figures 2, 4, 5, and 6. In some embodiments, the control method further includes:

[0088] 002: In response to the user's triggering of the mode control on the control terminal 103, multiple drones 100 set the control mode to the first control mode or the second control mode.

[0089] The above-mentioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: in response to the user's triggering of the mode control of the control terminal 103, control multiple UAVs 100 to set the control mode to the first control mode or the second control mode.

[0090] Understandably, this embodiment provides users with a method to manually switch control modes. Users can control multiple drones 100 to set the control mode to a first control mode or a second control mode by triggering the mode control on the control terminal 103 (the mode control can be a button, a slide key, or a touch area on a touch screen, etc.). By providing users with a method to manually set the control modes of multiple drones 100 to the first control mode or the second control mode, the flexibility of the drone 100 control scheme is improved. During the drone formation flight mission, if an unforeseen situation that is difficult to handle is encountered, the user can manually switch the control modes of multiple drones 100 by triggering the mode control on the control terminal 103.

[0091] Please refer to Figures 2, 4, 5, and 6. In some embodiments, the control method further includes:

[0092] 004: In response to multiple drones 100 receiving formation instructions, the slave drone 102 moves with reference to the master drone 101 so that the slave drone 102 and the master drone 101 together form the formation required by the formation instructions.

[0093] The aforementioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: in response to multiple UAVs 100 receiving a formation command, control the slave UAV 102 to move with reference to the master UAV 101, so that the slave UAV 102 and the master UAV 101 together form the formation required by the formation command.

[0094] Specifically, before receiving formation commands, the multiple drones 100 can be in a state of already taken off and hovering in the air, or they can be in a state of being parked on a helipad. The formation commands include the topology of the formation and the relative positions between the master drone 101 and the slave drones 102. The slave drones 102 move around the master drone 101 based on the topology to a preset position in the topology, so that the slave drones 102 and the master drone 101 together form the formation required by the formation commands, thereby forming a drone formation with the preset formation (the shape of the drone formation required by the formation commands).

[0095] For example, in the first control mode, the control terminal 103 sends formation commands to each drone 100 one by one, and each slave drone 102 flies to its own preset formation position and hovers, using the master drone 101 as a reference. In the second control mode, the control terminal 103 sends formation commands to the master drone 101, and then the master drone 101 sends control commands containing the three-dimensional spatial coordinates of each slave drone 102 to the slave drones 102, so as to control the slave drones 102 to fly to their own preset formation positions.

[0096] In another embodiment, after multiple drones 100 take off, they hover in a safe position. After the master drone 101 or any drone receives the formation command, the drone 102 moves around the master drone 101 to its own preset formation position, referring to the formation topology in the formation command and the position of the master drone 101.

[0097] It is understood that in some embodiments, multiple drones 100 are in a second control mode. After receiving a formation command sent by the control terminal 103, the master drone 101 can forward the formation command containing the formation topology to the slave drone 102. Alternatively, the master drone 101 can reprocess the received formation command (e.g., signal enhancement or changing certain parameters in the formation command) to obtain relevant information about the formation command, and then send the relevant information about the formation command to the slave drone 102. After receiving the formation command or the relevant information about the formation command, the slave drone 102 can move around the master drone 101 based on the position information in the formation command or the relevant information about the formation command.

[0098] Referring to Figure 8, in some embodiments, during the movement of the drone 102 with reference to the master drone 101, the distance between the drone 102 and the master drone 101 is greater than the collision distance threshold.

[0099] Understandably, during the process of controlling the drones 100 to form the formation required by the formation command, the distance between the slave drone 102 and the master drone 101 needs to be greater than the collision distance threshold to avoid collisions between the slave drone 102 and the master drone 101 during movement. For example, if the path of the slave drone 102 flying straight to the position required by the formation command is blocked by the master drone 101, the slave drone 102 will bypass the master drone 101 and move to the position required by the formation command. That is, the slave drone 102 will move along the solid line with arrows in Figure 8, and will not move along the dashed line in Figure 8.

[0100] Please refer to Figures 2, 8, and 9. In some embodiments, the movement of the drone 102 with reference to the main drone 101 includes:

[0101] 0041: Acquire satellite observation data sent by the main UAV 101 from the UAV 102;

[0102] 0043: The slave drone 102 performs differential calculations based on its own satellite observation data and the satellite observation data of the master drone 101 to determine the relative position of the slave drone 102 with respect to the master drone 101;

[0103] 0045: Move from drone 102 according to the relevant location.

[0104] The control method of the above-mentioned UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: control the UAV 102 to acquire satellite observation data sent by the master UAV 101; control the UAV 102 to perform differential calculation based on its own satellite observation data and the satellite observation data of the master UAV 101 to determine the relative position of the UAV 102 relative to the master UAV 101; and control the UAV 102 to move according to the relevant position.

[0105] Specifically, compared to drones without Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) functionality, drones equipped with RTK functionality require additional weight. In this application, drone 100 only needs to receive satellite observation data through a navigation module (GPS module), eliminating the need for modules specifically designed for RTK functionality. This reduces the production cost of drone 100 and increases its flight range.

[0106] More specifically, during the movement of the slave drone 102 with reference to the master drone 101, the master drone 101 receives satellite observation data via GPS and transmits the satellite observation data to the slave drone 102. The slave drone 102 performs inter-drone differential calculations based on the satellite observation data it receives via GPS and the satellite observation data from the master drone 101 to determine its relative position with respect to the master drone 101, and moves accordingly based on this relative position.

[0107] Please refer to Figures 2, 6, and 8. In some embodiments, the control method further includes:

[0108] 009: During the flight of multiple drones 100 toward the target location, drone 102 moves with reference to the main drone 101 to maintain a preset formation.

[0109] The aforementioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied in the UAV control device 10. The controller 12 is also used to control the UAV 102 to move with reference to the main UAV 101 to maintain a preset formation during the flight of multiple UAVs 100 toward the target location.

[0110] Specifically, during the flight missions of multiple drones 100, the slave drone 102 moves according to its relative position to the master drone in the aforementioned manner, so that the slave drone 102 moves with the master drone 101 as a reference, thereby maintaining the formation of the entire drone formation. The preset formation includes the formation required by the formation command. For example, when the drone formation is performing a partial flight mission (such as lifting heavy cargo), the position of each slave drone 102 relative to the master drone 101 needs to remain relatively stable to prevent the cargo from slipping due to uneven stress or the lifting rope from breaking due to uneven stress.

[0111] Please refer to Figures 2, 6, and 8. In some embodiments, the control method further includes:

[0112] 010: During the flight of multiple drones 100 toward the target location, in response to the deviation of the formation formed by the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 from the preset formation, the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 hover.

[0113] The above-mentioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: when multiple UAVs 100 are flying toward the target, in response to the formation of the master UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102 deviating from the preset formation, control the master UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102 to hover.

[0114] Specifically, the condition for determining deviation from the formation can be: with the master drone 101 as the reference, the distance by which the slave drone 102 deviates from the master drone 101 is greater than the threshold required by the formation. For example, when the drone formation is performing part of the flight mission (such as lifting heavy cargo), the position of each slave drone 102 relative to the master drone 101 needs to remain relatively stable to avoid the cargo slipping due to uneven force or the lifting rope breaking due to uneven force. If the formation formed by the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 deviates from the preset formation, in order to prevent the cargo from slipping due to uneven force or the lifting rope breaking due to uneven force, the controller 12 will immediately control the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 to hover, thereby ensuring that the deviation of the formation formed by the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 from the preset formation is not too large, so as to ensure that the flight mission will not fail due to the deviation of the formation formed by the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 from the preset formation. After the master drone 101 and slave drone 102 hover, the user can manually take over and adjust the master drone 101 and slave drone 102 to re-form a preset formation in order to continue to perform the flight mission. This improves the ability of this application to handle sudden situations involving a single drone.

[0115] Please refer to Figures 2, 10, 11, and 12. In some embodiments, multiple drones 100 can be used to jointly transport a target object. When multiple drones 100 jointly transport a target object, each drone 100 is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope. One end of the mounting rope is connected to the corresponding drone 100, and the other end of the mounting rope is connected to the target object. The control method further includes:

[0116] 013: In response to the fact that the load parameters of the slings of multiple drones do not meet the preset balance conditions, the target drone 100 among the multiple drones 100 adjusts the release length of its sling and / or adjusts the height of the target drone 100 so that the load parameters of the slings of the multiple drones 100 meet the preset balance conditions, wherein the load parameters are used to indicate the tension borne by the sling.

[0117] The aforementioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied in the UAV control device 10. The controller 12 is further configured to: acquire the load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each UAV 100, the load parameters being used to indicate the tension borne by the mounting rope; determine whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs 100 meet a preset balance condition based on the acquired load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs 100; and, in response to the load parameters of the mounting ropes not meeting the preset balance condition, adjust the release length of the mounting rope of the target UAV 100 among the multiple UAVs 100 and / or adjust the height of the target UAV 100 so that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple UAVs 100 meet the preset balance condition.

[0118] Specifically, multiple drones 100 can be used to perform a joint flight mission to transport a target object. When multiple drones 100 jointly transport a target object, each drone 100 is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope. One end of the mounting rope is connected to the corresponding drone 100, and the other end is connected to the target object. Please refer to Figures 11 and 12. For example, the other end of the mounting rope for each drone 100 can be attached to different positions on the target object, as shown in Figure 11. Alternatively, the other end of the mounting rope for each drone 100 can be attached to the same position on the target object, as shown in Figure 12.

[0119] Specifically, the controller 12 determines whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 meet preset balance conditions based on the acquired load parameters of the mounting ropes for each drone 100 (the load parameters reflect the tension borne by the mounting ropes). For example, it determines whether the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 are at risk of breakage, whether an overloaded drone will pose a safety hazard, or whether the target object is at risk of slipping due to uneven force. If the load parameters of the mounting ropes do not meet the preset balance conditions, it indicates the existence of the aforementioned risks. The controller 12 identifies the drone 100 that does not meet the preset balance conditions as the target drone 100 and adjusts the release length of the mounting rope of the target drone 100 among the multiple drones 100. Alternatively, the controller 12 identifies the drone 100 that does not meet the preset balance conditions as the target drone 100 and adjusts the height of the target drone 100, thereby ensuring that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 all meet the preset balance conditions, thus eliminating the aforementioned risks.

[0120] Please refer to Figures 2, 12 and 13. In some embodiments, the load parameters include the tension of the hanging rope and the angle between the hanging rope and a reference direction, wherein the reference direction includes the direction of gravity or the horizontal direction.

[0121] Understandably, the tension value of the sling can directly reflect the stress on the sling. The controller 12 obtains the tension value of the sling and maintains it within the sling's tolerance range by controlling the altitude of the target UAV 100 or by controlling the release length of the sling, thereby reducing the risk of sling breakage during the UAV 100's flight mission of slinging the target object. Furthermore, please refer to Figure 13, which is a plan view of the UAV 100 and the target object observed along the X-axis in Figure 12 (only one UAV 100 is shown in Figure 13 to represent the angle between the sling and the reference direction). The angle between the sling and the reference direction is angle α in Figure 13, and this angle reflects the stress exerted by the UAV 100 on the target object. The controller 12 obtains the angle between the sling and the reference direction, and maintains the angle between the sling and the reference direction within a preset range by controlling the altitude of the target UAV 100 or by controlling the release length of the sling, thereby reducing the risk of the sling breaking during the UAV 100's flight mission of slinging the target object.

[0122] Please refer to Figures 2, 11 and 12. In some embodiments, the target drone 100 includes drones 100 with the largest or smallest load parameters of the tether.

[0123] Understandably, to maintain uniform force on the target object and improve the success rate of flight missions, ideally, if all drones are of the same model, the load parameters of the mounting cables on drones 100 carrying the same target object should be identical. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the release length of the mounting cables and / or the altitude of the target drones 100, including the drones 100 with the largest or smallest load parameters on their mounting cables.

[0124] Please refer to Figures 2, 11, and 12. In some embodiments, whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones 100 meet preset balancing conditions includes:

[0125] The load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 are consistent; or, whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 meet a preset proportional relationship, wherein the preset proportional relationship is determined based on the power performance of the multiple drones 100.

[0126] Understandably, to maintain uniform force on the target object and improve the success rate of flight missions, ideally, when multiple drones 100 are of the same model, the load parameters of the ropes attached to the drones 100 carrying the same target object should be identical. The controller 12 determines whether the load parameters of the ropes attached to multiple drones 100 meet a preset balance condition by judging whether the load parameters are consistent. Alternatively, if the other ends of the ropes attached to the drones 100 carrying the same target object are connected to different positions on the target object, the controller 12 needs to ensure that the load parameters of the ropes attached to each drone 100 meet a preset proportional relationship (the preset proportional relationship is the ratio between the load parameters of the ropes attached to each drone 100 while maintaining the balance of the target object). Alternatively, if the drones 100 carrying the same target object are of different models, the controller 12 needs to ensure that the load parameters of the ropes attached to each drone 100 meet a preset proportional relationship, which can be determined based on the power performance of the multiple drones 100. For example, the rated force of the mounting rope of drone 100A is 200N, and the rated force of the mounting rope of drone 100B is 100N. Therefore, when the force ratio of the mounting ropes of drone 100A to drone 100B is not approximately 2:1, the two drones are considered to have an unbalanced load. The number and ratio of drones can be deduced similarly and are not limited here. For example, if the mounting ropes of both drone 100A and drone 100B are both subjected to a force of 100N, then because the force on drone 100A differs from its corresponding rated force by more than a threshold, this situation is considered not to meet the preset balance condition. Referring to Figures 2, 5, and 14, in some embodiments, the control method further includes:

[0127] 014: The main UAV 101 acquires environmental information and determines obstacle avoidance commands based on the environmental information;

[0128] 015: When multiple drones 100 are flying in a preset formation, the main drone 101 obtains obstacle avoidance instructions and performs obstacle avoidance operations based on the obstacle avoidance instructions;

[0129] 016: The drone 102 follows the main drone 101 to perform obstacle avoidance operations.

[0130] The aforementioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied in the UAV control device 10. The controller 12 is also used to: control the master UAV 101 to acquire environmental information, and the master UAV 101 to determine obstacle avoidance instructions based on the environmental information; when multiple UAVs 100 are flying in a preset formation, control the master UAV 101 to acquire obstacle avoidance instructions and execute obstacle avoidance operations based on the obstacle avoidance instructions; and control the slave UAV 102 to follow the master UAV 101 to perform obstacle avoidance operations.

[0131] Specifically, during the flight mission of the drone formation, various environmental obstacles may be encountered that obstruct the flight path. The controller 12 needs to control the master drone 101 to acquire environmental information in real time and determine obstacle avoidance commands based on the environmental information. More specifically, the master drone 101 will predict whether there is a collision risk among the drones 100 in the drone formation based on the flight speed and direction of the drone formation. When there is a collision risk among the drones 100 in the drone formation, it will generate obstacle avoidance commands and execute obstacle avoidance operations based on the obstacle avoidance commands. Since the slave drone 102 needs to maintain its relative position with the master drone 101 to maintain the formation of the entire drone formation, the slave drone 102 will also follow the master drone 101 to perform obstacle avoidance operations.

[0132] In some implementations, environmental information is collected by the master drone 101 and / or the slave drone 102, and obstacle avoidance commands are determined by the slave drone 102 based on the environmental information.

[0133] Understandably, the purpose of the main UAV 101 performing obstacle avoidance is to prevent any UAV 100 in the entire UAV formation from colliding with obstacles. Therefore, environmental information needs to be collected by both the main UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102. Alternatively, since the slave UAV 102 needs to maintain its relative position to the main UAV 101 to keep the formation of the entire UAV formation unchanged, the slave UAV 102 will also follow the main UAV 101 in performing obstacle avoidance. Therefore, only the main UAV 101 or the slave UAV 102 needs to collect environmental information and determine the obstacle avoidance command based on the environmental information. The obstacle avoidance command includes changes in flight speed, flight direction, flight altitude, etc.

[0134] Please refer to Figures 2, 15, and 16. In some embodiments, the plurality of drones 100 also includes a first drone 104, which is located above the other drones 100. The master drone 101 is different from the first drone 104. The control method further includes:

[0135] 017: The first drone 104 follows the main drone 101 in its movement;

[0136] 018: The first drone 104 sends the image information collected by the first drone 104 so that the display device of the control terminal 103 can display the image information. The image information includes the main drone 101, the slave drone 102 and the environmental information around the main drone 101 and the slave drone 102.

[0137] The aforementioned control method for the drone 100 is applied in the drone control device 10. The controller 12 is also used to: control the first drone 104 to follow the master drone 101 in movement; control the first drone 104 to send the image information collected by the first drone 104 so that the display device of the control terminal 103 can display the image information, the image information including the master drone 101, the slave drone 102 and the environmental information around the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102.

[0138] Specifically, currently, when multiple UAVs 100 perform flight missions in a platoon beyond visual range, users can only view the monitoring footage from the perspective of the master UAV 101 on the control terminal 103. However, from this perspective, it is difficult for users to observe the overall situation of the platoon. To address this, this application also provides a first UAV 104. The first UAV 104 is located above the other UAVs 100, and the master UAV 101 and the first UAV 104 are not the same UAV 100. The first UAV 104 follows the master UAV 101 to capture real-time images of the master UAV 101 and the slave UAVs 102 following it, as well as environmental images surrounding the master UAV 101 and the slave UAVs 102. Referring to Figure 16, the first UAV 104 sends the real-time captured image information to the control terminal 103. The control terminal 103 displays the footage, including the master UAV 101, the slave UAVs 102, and the environmental information surrounding the master UAV 101 and the slave UAVs 102, to the user through its display device. When the user manually operates the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102, the image information provided by the first drone 104 can help the user reduce the probability of the drone 100 being collided with.

[0139] Please refer to Figures 2, 15, and 17. In some embodiments, the plurality of drones 100 also includes a first drone 104, which is located above the other drones 100. The master drone 101 is different from the first drone 104. The control method further includes:

[0140] 019: The master drone 101 acquires image information collected by the first drone 104. The image information includes the master drone 101, the slave drone 102, and the environmental information surrounding the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102.

[0141] 020: The master drone 101 controls the movement of the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 based on the image information.

[0142] The aforementioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: control the master UAV 101 to acquire image information collected by the first UAV 104, the image information including the master UAV 101, the slave UAV 102 and the environmental information around the master UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102; and control the master UAV 101 to control the movement of the master UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102 according to the image information.

[0143] Specifically, after the first drone 104 completes the acquisition of image information containing environmental information surrounding the main drone 101, the slave drone 102, and both the main drone 101 and the slave drone 102, the first drone 104 can send the acquired image information to the main drone 101. Compared to the image information acquired by the main drone 101 from its own perspective, the first drone 104, positioned above the other drones 100, can acquire image information containing environmental information surrounding the other drones 100. In other words, the image information acquired by the first drone 104 is more comprehensive, while the main drone 101, located within the drone formation, cannot acquire image information encompassing the entire drone formation. Therefore, the main drone 101 acquires image information from the first drone 104 and controls its own and the slave drone 102's movement based on this image information, thereby further reducing the collision risk of other drones 100 within the drone formation.

[0144] Please refer to Figures 2, 15, and 18. In some embodiments, the plurality of drones 100 includes a first drone 104, which is located above the other drones 100. The master drone 101 is the first drone 104. The control method further includes:

[0145] 021: The main UAV 101 acquires image information, including the environmental information surrounding the secondary UAV 102, the main UAV 101, and the secondary UAV 102;

[0146] 022: The master drone 101 controls the movement of the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102 based on the image information.

[0147] The control method of the above-mentioned UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: control the master UAV 101 to acquire image information, the image information including the environmental information around the slave UAV 102 and the master UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102; and control the master UAV 101 to control the movement of the master UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102 according to the image information.

[0148] Specifically, in this embodiment, the first drone 104 and the master drone 101 are the same drone. After the first drone 104 completes the acquisition of image information containing information about the slave drone 102 and its surrounding environment, the first drone 104 can control the movement of itself and the slave drone 102 based on the acquired images. The first drone 104, located above the slave drone 102, can acquire image information containing information about the master drone 101 and its surrounding environment, meaning the image information acquired by the first drone 104 is more comprehensive. Therefore, the master drone 101 acquires image information and controls its own and the slave drone 102's movement based on this image information, thereby further reducing the collision risk of drones 100 within the drone formation.

[0149] Please refer to Figures 2, 15, 17, and 18. In some embodiments, the control method further includes:

[0150] 023: The main UAV 101 acquires the survey information collected by the first UAV 104 from the flight direction of the UAV 102;

[0151] 024: The main UAV 101 controls the movement of the main UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102 based on the survey information.

[0152] The control method of the above-mentioned UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: control the main UAV 101 to acquire the survey information on the flight direction of the slave UAV 102 collected by the first UAV 104; and control the main UAV 101 to control the movement of the main UAV 101 and the slave UAV 102 according to the survey information.

[0153] Specifically, the first UAV 104 can also be used to collect survey information along the flight path of UAV 102, including environmental information along the flight path of UAV 102. After completing the collection of survey information, the first UAV 104 can send the survey information to the control terminal 103, which then sends it to the main UAV 101. Alternatively, the first UAV 104 can directly send the survey information to the main UAV 101. Compared to the survey information obtained by the main UAV 101 or the UAV 102 from its own perspective, the first UAV 104, located above other UAVs 100, can obtain more comprehensive survey information, while the main UAV 101 or the UAV 102 within the UAV formation cannot collect survey information encompassing the entire UAV formation. Therefore, the main UAV 101 obtains survey information from the first UAV 104 and controls its own and the movement of the UAV 102 based on this information, thereby further reducing the collision risk of other UAVs 100 within the UAV formation.

[0154] In summary, the control method and control device 10 for a drone 100 provided in this application allow each drone 100 to independently receive a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103 when multiple drones 100 are in a first control mode.

[0155] The first control signal can include a formation topology, allowing multiple drones 100 to reach their respective positions and hover based on this topology, thus forming a drone formation. When the multiple drones 100 are in the second control mode, the master drone 101 receives the second control signal from the control terminal 103 and executes flight tasks according to the second control signal. Simultaneously, it sends relevant information about the second control signal to the slave drones 102. The slave drones 102, based on this information, execute the flight tasks indicated by the second control signal, such as following the master drone 101. By sending the first control signal to each of the multiple drones 100 individually through the first control mode, the control terminal 103 can quickly form a drone formation. Then, through the second control mode, the control terminal 103 controls the other slave drones 102 by sending the second control signal to the master drone 101, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to execute flight tasks. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing their workload and improving the efficiency of drones 100 in executing flight tasks.

[0156] Please refer to Figures 2, 11, 12, and 19. Multiple drones 100 are included, and these drones 100 can be used to jointly transport a target object. When multiple drones 100 jointly transport a target object, each drone 100 is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope. One end of the mounting rope is connected to the corresponding drone 100, and the other end is connected to the target object. The control method for the drones 100 in some embodiments of this application includes:

[0157] 025: Obtain the load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each drone 100. The load parameters are used to indicate the tension that the mounting rope can withstand.

[0158] 026: Determine whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones 100 meet the preset balancing conditions based on the obtained load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones 100.

[0159] 027: In response to the load parameters of the mounting rope not meeting the preset balance condition, the target drone 100 among the multiple drones 100 adjusts the release length of its mounting rope so that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones 100 meet the preset balance condition.

[0160] The aforementioned control method for the drone 100 is applied to the drone control device 10. The drone control device 10 includes a memory 11 and a controller 12 connected to the memory 11. The controller 12 is used to: acquire the load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each drone 100, the load parameters indicating the tension borne by the mounting rope; determine whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones 100 meet a preset balance condition based on the acquired load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones 100; and adjust the release length of the mounting rope of the target drone 100 among the multiple drones 100 in response to the load parameters of the mounting ropes not meeting the preset balance condition, so that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones 100 meet the preset balance condition.

[0161] The explanation of UAV 100 is the same as before and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, multiple UAVs 100 can be used to perform flight missions for jointly transporting a target object. When multiple UAVs 100 jointly transport a target object, each UAV 100 is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope. One end of the mounting rope is connected to the corresponding UAV 100, and the other end is connected to the target object. Please refer to Figures 11 and 12. For example, the other end of the mounting rope corresponding to each UAV 100 can be attached to different positions on the target object, as shown in Figure 11. Alternatively, the other end of the mounting rope corresponding to each UAV 100 can be attached to the same position on the target object, as shown in Figure 12.

[0162] Specifically, the controller 12 determines whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 meet preset balance conditions based on the acquired load parameters of the mounting ropes for each drone 100 (the load parameters reflect the tension borne by the mounting ropes). For example, it determines whether the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 are at risk of breakage, whether an overloaded drone will pose a safety hazard, or whether the target object is at risk of slipping due to uneven force. If the load parameters of the mounting ropes do not meet the preset balance conditions, it indicates the existence of the aforementioned risks. The controller 12 identifies the drone 100 that does not meet the preset balance conditions as the target drone 100 and adjusts the release length of the mounting rope of the target drone 100 among the multiple drones 100. Alternatively, the controller 12 identifies the drone 100 that does not meet the preset balance conditions as the target drone 100 and adjusts the height of the target drone 100, thereby ensuring that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 all meet the preset balance conditions, thus eliminating the aforementioned risks.

[0163] Please refer to Figures 2, 12 and 13. In some embodiments, the load parameters include the tension of the hanging rope and the angle between the hanging rope and a reference direction, wherein the reference direction includes the direction of gravity or the horizontal direction.

[0164] Understandably, the tension value of the sling can directly reflect the stress on the sling. The controller 12 obtains the tension value of the sling and maintains it within the sling's tolerance range by controlling the altitude of the target UAV 100 or by controlling the release length of the sling, thereby reducing the risk of sling breakage during the UAV 100's flight mission of slinging the target object. Furthermore, please refer to Figure 13, which is a plan view of the UAV 100 and the target object observed along the X-axis in Figure 12 (only one UAV 100 is shown in Figure 13 to represent the angle between the sling and the reference direction). The angle between the sling and the reference direction is angle α in Figure 13, and this angle reflects the stress on the UAV 100. The controller 12 obtains the angle between the sling and the reference direction, and maintains the angle between the sling and the reference direction within a preset range by controlling the altitude of the target UAV 100 or by controlling the release length of the sling, thereby reducing the risk of the sling breaking during the UAV 100's flight mission of slinging the target object.

[0165] Please refer to Figures 2, 11 and 12. In some embodiments, the target drone 100 includes drones 100 with the largest or smallest load parameters of the tether.

[0166] Understandably, to maintain uniform force on the target object and improve the success rate of flight missions, ideally, if all drones are of the same model, the load parameters of the mounting cables of drones 100 carrying the same target object should be identical. Therefore, the target drones 100 that require adjustment of the release length of the mounting cables and / or the altitude of the target drones 100 include the drones 100 with the largest or smallest load parameters of the mounting cables.

[0167] Please refer to Figures 2, 11, and 12. In some embodiments, whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones 100 meet preset balancing conditions includes:

[0168] The load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 are consistent, or the load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 meet the preset proportional relationship, wherein the preset proportional relationship is determined based on the power performance of multiple drones 100.

[0169] Understandably, to maintain uniform force on the target object and improve the success rate of flight missions, ideally, when multiple drones 100 are of the same model, the load parameters of the ropes attached to the drones 100 carrying the same target object should be identical. The controller 12 determines whether the load parameters of the ropes attached to multiple drones 100 meet a preset balance condition by judging whether the load parameters are consistent. Alternatively, if the other ends of the ropes attached to the drones 100 carrying the same target object are connected to different positions on the target object, the controller 12 needs to ensure that the load parameters of the ropes attached to each drone 100 meet a preset proportional relationship (the preset proportional relationship is the ratio between the load parameters of the ropes attached to each drone 100 while maintaining the balance of the target object). Alternatively, if the drones 100 carrying the same target object are of different models, the controller 12 needs to ensure that the load parameters of the ropes attached to each drone 100 meet a preset proportional relationship, which can be determined based on the power performance of the multiple drones 100. For example, the rated force of the mounting rope of drone 100A is 200N, and the rated force of the mounting rope of drone 100B is 100N. Therefore, when the force ratio of the mounting ropes of drone 100A and drone 100B is not approximately 2:1, the two drones are considered to have an unbalanced load. The number and ratio of drones can be deduced similarly and are not limited here. For example, if the mounting ropes of both drone 100A and drone 100B are both subjected to a force of 100N, then because the force on drone 100A differs from its corresponding rated force by more than a threshold, this situation is considered not to meet the preset balance condition. In summary, the drone control method provided in this application allows multiple drones 100 to be used to jointly transport a target object. When multiple drones 100 jointly transport a target object, each drone 100 is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope, one end of which is connected to the corresponding drone 100, and the other end is connected to the target object. By acquiring the load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each drone 100, the tensile force borne by the mounting rope is obtained. Then, based on the acquired load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100, it is determined whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100 meet a preset balance condition, thereby determining whether there is a risk of breakage of the mounting ropes of multiple drones 100. In response to the load parameters of the mounting ropes not meeting the preset balance condition, the release length of the mounting rope of the target drone 100 among the multiple drones 100 is adjusted to ensure that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones 100 meet the preset balance condition. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing the user's workload and reducing the risk of mounting rope breakage when the drone 100 is lifting a target object.

[0170] Please refer to Figures 2, 4, 5, 6, and 20. The drone 100 includes multiple drones, each including a master drone 101 and slave drones 102. The control method for the drone 100 in certain embodiments of this application includes:

[0171] 028: In response to multiple drones 100 receiving formation instructions, drone 102 moves with reference to the master drone 101 so that multiple drones 100 can jointly form the formation required by the formation instructions;

[0172] 029: In the process of moving from the drone 102 with reference to the main drone 101, the distance between multiple drones 100 is greater than the collision distance threshold.

[0173] The aforementioned control method for the UAV 100 is applied to the UAV control device 10. The UAV control device 10 includes a memory 11 and a controller 12 connected to the memory 11. The controller 12 is used to: in response to multiple UAVs 100 receiving a formation command, control a slave UAV 102 to move with reference to a master UAV 101 so that multiple UAVs 100 can jointly form the formation required by the formation command; and during the process of the slave UAV 102 moving with reference to the master UAV 101, control the distance between multiple UAVs 100 to be greater than a collision distance threshold.

[0174] Specifically, before receiving formation commands, the multiple drones 100 can be in a state of already taken off and hovering in the air, or they can be in a state of being parked on a helipad. The formation commands include the topology of the formation and the relative positions between the master drone 101 and the slave drones 102. The slave drones 102 move around the master drone 101 based on the topology to a preset position in the topology, so that the slave drones 102 and the master drone 101 together form the formation required by the formation commands, thereby forming a drone formation with the preset formation (the shape of the drone formation required by the formation commands).

[0175] For example, in the first control mode, the control terminal 103 sends formation commands to each drone 100 one by one, and each slave drone 102 flies to its own preset formation position and hovers, using the master drone 101 as a reference. In the second control mode, the control terminal 103 sends formation commands to the master drone 101, and then the master drone 101 sends control commands containing the three-dimensional spatial coordinates of each slave drone 102 to the slave drones 102, so as to control the slave drones 102 to fly to their own preset formation positions.

[0176] In another embodiment, after multiple drones 100 take off, they hover in a safe position. After the master drone 101 or any drone receives the formation command, the drone 102 moves around the master drone 101 to its own preset formation position, referring to the formation topology in the formation command and the position of the master drone 101.

[0177] It is understood that in some embodiments, multiple drones 100 are in a second control mode. After receiving a formation command sent by the control terminal 103, the master drone 101 can forward the formation command containing the formation topology to the slave drone 102. Alternatively, the master drone 101 can reprocess the received formation command (e.g., signal enhancement or changing certain parameters in the formation command) to obtain relevant information about the formation command, and then send the relevant information about the formation command to the slave drone 102. After receiving the formation command or the relevant information about the formation command, the slave drone 102 can move around the master drone 101 based on the position information in the formation command or the relevant information about the formation command.

[0178] Referring to Figure 8, it can be understood that during the process of controlling the drones 100 to form the formation required by the formation command, the distance between the slave drone 102 and the master drone 101 needs to be greater than the collision distance threshold to avoid collisions between the slave drone 102 and the master drone 101 during movement. For example, if the path of the slave drone 102 flying straight to the position required by the formation command is blocked by the master drone 101, the slave drone 102 will bypass the master drone 101 and move to the position required by the formation command. That is, the slave drone 102 will move along the solid line with arrows in Figure 8, not the dashed line in Figure 8.

[0179] Please refer to Figures 2, 8, 9, and 21. In some embodiments, the movement of the drone 102 with reference to the main drone 101 includes:

[0180] 0281: Acquire satellite observation data sent by the main UAV 101 from the UAV 102;

[0181] 0283: The slave drone 102 performs differential calculations based on its own satellite observation data and the satellite observation data of the master drone 101 to determine the relative position of the slave drone 102 with respect to the master drone 101;

[0182] 0285: Move from drone 102 according to its relative position.

[0183] The control method of the above-mentioned UAV 100 is applied in the control device 10 of the UAV. The controller 12 is also used to: control the UAV 102 to acquire satellite observation data sent by the master UAV 101; control the UAV 102 to perform differential calculation based on its own satellite observation data and the satellite observation data of the master UAV 101 to determine the relative position of the UAV 102 relative to the master UAV 101; and control the UAV 102 to move according to the relative position.

[0184] Specifically, compared to drones without Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) functionality, drones equipped with RTK functionality require additional weight. In this application, drone 100 only needs to receive satellite observation data through a navigation module (GPS module), eliminating the need for modules specifically designed for RTK functionality. This reduces the production cost of drone 100 and increases its flight range.

[0185] More specifically, during the movement of the slave drone 102 with reference to the master drone 101, the master drone 101 receives satellite observation data via GPS and transmits the satellite observation data to the slave drone 102. The slave drone 102 performs inter-drone differential calculations based on the satellite observation data it receives via GPS and the satellite observation data from the master drone 101 to determine its relative position with respect to the master drone 101, and moves accordingly based on this relative position.

[0186] In summary, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control method provided in this application includes multiple UAVs 100, each comprising a master UAV 101 and slave UAVs 102. In response to receiving a formation command, each slave UAV 102 moves with reference to the master UAV 101, enabling the multiple UAVs 100 to collectively form the formation required by the command. During the movement of the slave UAV 102 with reference to the master UAV 101, the distance between the multiple UAVs 100 exceeds a collision distance threshold, thereby preventing collisions between the slave UAV 102 and the master UAV 101. This application provides users with a novel control scheme, reducing their workload, improving the efficiency of UAVs 100 forming a UAV formation, and lowering the risk of collisions.

[0187] Please refer to Figures 2, 3, 4, and 22. The drone 100 is the master drone 101 among a plurality of drones 100. The plurality of drones 100 also includes slave drones 102. The master drone 101 and slave drones 102 can be controlled by a common control terminal 103. The control method is applied to the master drone 101 and includes:

[0188] 030: When multiple drones 100 are in the first control mode, receive one of multiple first control signals transmitted by the control terminal 103. These multiple first control signals can be used to control the multiple drones 100, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with one of the multiple drones 100; and

[0189] 031: When multiple drones 100 are in the second control mode, the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103 is received, and relevant information of the second control signal is sent so that the slave drone 102 can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone 101, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone 102.

[0190] The aforementioned control method for the drone 100 is applied to the drone control device 10. The drone control device 10 includes a memory 11 and a controller 12 connected to the memory 11. The controller 12 is configured to: receive one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by a control terminal 103 when the plurality of drones 100 are in a first control mode; the plurality of first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones 100, and the plurality of first control signals correspond one-to-one with the plurality of drones 100; and receive a second control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103 when the plurality of drones 100 are in a second control mode, and send relevant information of the second control signal so that the slave drone 102 can receive the relevant information of the second control signal; the second control signal can be used to control the master drone 101, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone 102.

[0191] The explanation of UAV 100 is the same as before and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, the control terminal 103 can be configured with multiple control modes for UAV 100, such as the first control mode in 030 and the second control mode in 031. The control terminal 103 can wirelessly send control signals to the master UAV 101 and slave UAV 102 one by one to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each UAV 100 respectively. In 030, the first control mode can be called a one-to-many time-sharing control mode, that is, the control terminal 103 wirelessly sends control signals to the master UAV 101 and slave UAV 102 one by one to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each UAV 100 respectively. The first control mode can be used to control multiple untaken UAVs 100 to fly sequentially to different positions and hover, thereby determining a suitable position for each UAV 100 that needs to fly in formation, that is, determining the distribution position of each UAV 100 in the formation. For example, referring to Figure 4, the control terminal 103 can first send a first control signal to either the master drone 101 or the slave drone 102 to control any one of the multiple drones 100 to fly to its ideal position (the ideal position is the position of each drone 100 in the drone formation before the multiple drones 100 form a drone formation and perform a flight mission). The control terminal 103 can then send the first control signal to each of the other drones 100 that have not yet taken off, and control each drone 100 to fly to its own ideal position, thereby enabling all the drones 100 to form a drone formation.

[0192] More specifically, since the positions of each drone 100 in the drone formation do not overlap, meaning the ideal positions that the control terminal 103 controls each drone 100 to reach are also different, there are multiple first control signals. Each first control signal corresponds one-to-one with a single drone 100. For example, referring to Figure 4, the control terminal 103 sends its corresponding first control signals to the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102, controlling them to take off one by one to their ideal positions (ideal positions are the positions of each drone 100 in the drone formation before they form a formation and perform a flight mission, i.e., positions A, B, C, and D in Figure 4).

[0193] Specifically, the control terminal 103 can also send control signals to the master drone 101 via wireless communication, and the master drone 101 then sends control signals to the slave drones 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of multiple drones 100. In 031, the second control mode can be called the cluster cooperative control mode, that is, the control terminal 103 sends a second control signal to the master drone 101 via wireless communication. After receiving the second control signal from the control terminal 103, the master drone 101 sends the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drones 102 to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each slave drone 102. The relevant information of the second control signal can be the second control signal itself, or it can be a new control signal generated by the master drone 101 after processing the second control signal. The second control mode can be used to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of multiple slave drones 102 through the master drone 101, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to perform flight tasks. For example, referring to Figure 5, the control terminal 103 can first send a second control signal to the master UAV 101. After receiving the second control signal, the master UAV 101 sends it to the slave UAV 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, direction, and attitude of the slave UAV 102. Alternatively, the control terminal 103 can first send the second control signal to the master UAV 101. After receiving the second control signal, the master UAV 101 processes it to obtain a new control signal for controlling the slave UAV 102 (i.e., the relevant information of the second control signal), and then sends the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave UAV 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, direction, and attitude of the slave UAV 102. The control terminal 103 can control the slave UAV 102 by sending the second control signal to the master UAV 101, thereby achieving control of the entire UAV formation.

[0194] It is understood that the control method for a drone 100 provided in this application involves multiple drones 100 operating in a first control mode. Each drone 100 independently receives a first control signal transmitted by a control terminal 103, arriving at its respective position and hovering to form a drone formation. In a second control mode, the master drone 101 receives a second control signal from the control terminal 103 and executes a flight mission accordingly. Simultaneously, it sends relevant information about the second control signal to the slave drones 102, which then follow the master drone 101 to perform the flight mission. By sending first control signals to each drone 100 individually through the first control mode, the control terminal 103 enables the drones to quickly form a drone formation. Then, through the second control mode, the control terminal 103 controls the other slave drones 102 by sending second control signals to the master drone 101, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to perform the flight mission. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing their workload and improving the efficiency of the drones 100 in performing flight missions.

[0195] Please refer to Figures 2, 3, 4, and 23. The drone 100 is a slave drone among a plurality of drones 100. The plurality of drones 100 also includes a master drone 101. The master drone 101 and the slave drones 102 can be controlled by a common control terminal 103. The method is applied to the slave drone 102. The control method for the drone 100 in some embodiments of this application includes:

[0196] 032: When multiple drones 100 are in the first control mode, receive one of multiple first control signals transmitted by the control terminal 103. These multiple first control signals can be used to control the multiple drones 100, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with one of the multiple drones 100; and

[0197] 033: When multiple drones 100 are in the second control mode, receive relevant information of the second control signal transmitted by the master drone 101. The relevant information of the second control signal is transmitted by the master drone 101 to the slave drone 102 in response to receiving the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone 101, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone 102.

[0198] The aforementioned control method for the drone 100 is applied to the drone control device 10. The drone control device 10 includes a memory 11 and a controller 12 connected to the memory 11. The controller 12 is configured to: receive one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by the control terminal 103 when the plurality of drones 100 are in a first control mode; the plurality of first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones 100, and the plurality of first control signals correspond one-to-one with the plurality of drones 100; and receive relevant information of the second control signal transmitted by the master drone 101 when the plurality of drones 100 are in a second control mode. The relevant information of the second control signal is transmitted by the master drone 101 to the slave drone 102 in response to receiving the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone 101, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone 102.

[0199] The explanation of UAV 100 is the same as before and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, the control terminal 103 can be configured with multiple control modes for UAV 100, such as the first control mode in 032 and the second control mode in 033. The control terminal 103 can wirelessly send control signals to the master UAV 101 and slave UAV 102 one by one to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each UAV 100 respectively. In 032, the first control mode can be called a one-to-many time-sharing control mode, that is, the control terminal 103 wirelessly sends control signals to the master UAV 101 and slave UAV 102 one by one to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each UAV 100 respectively. The first control mode can be used to control multiple untaken UAVs 100 to fly sequentially to different positions and hover, thereby determining a suitable position for each UAV 100 that needs to fly in formation, that is, determining the distribution position of each UAV 100 in the formation. For example, referring to Figure 4, the control terminal 103 can first send a first control signal to either the master drone 101 or the slave drone 102 to control any one of the multiple drones 100 to fly to its ideal position (the ideal position is the position of each drone 100 in the drone formation before the multiple drones 100 form a drone formation and perform a flight mission). The control terminal 103 can then send the first control signal to each of the other drones 100 that have not yet taken off, and control each drone 100 to fly to its own ideal position, thereby enabling all the drones 100 to form a drone formation.

[0200] More specifically, since the positions of each drone 100 in the drone formation do not overlap, meaning the ideal positions that the control terminal 103 controls each drone 100 to reach are also different, there are multiple first control signals. Each first control signal corresponds one-to-one with a single drone 100. For example, referring to Figure 4, the control terminal 103 sends its corresponding first control signals to the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102, controlling them to take off one by one to their ideal positions (ideal positions are the positions of each drone 100 in the drone formation before they form a formation and perform a flight mission, i.e., positions A, B, C, and D in Figure 4).

[0201] Specifically, the control terminal 103 can also send control signals to the master drone 101 via wireless communication, and the master drone 101 then sends control signals to the slave drones 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of multiple drones 100. In 033, the second control mode can be called the cluster cooperative control mode, that is, the control terminal 103 sends a second control signal to the master drone 101 via wireless communication. After receiving the second control signal from the control terminal 103, the master drone 101 sends the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drones 102 to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each slave drone 102. The relevant information of the second control signal can be the second control signal itself, or it can be a new control signal generated by the master drone 101 after processing the second control signal. The second control mode can be used to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of multiple slave drones 102 through the master drone 101, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to perform flight tasks. For example, referring to Figure 5, the control terminal 103 can first send a second control signal to the master UAV 101. After receiving the second control signal, the master UAV 101 sends it to the slave UAV 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, direction, and attitude of the slave UAV 102. Alternatively, the control terminal 103 can first send the second control signal to the master UAV 101. After receiving the second control signal, the master UAV 101 processes it to obtain a new control signal for controlling the slave UAV 102 (i.e., the relevant information of the second control signal), and then sends the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave UAV 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, direction, and attitude of the slave UAV 102. The control terminal 103 can control the slave UAV 102 by sending the second control signal to the master UAV 101, thereby achieving control of the entire UAV formation.

[0202] It is understood that the control method for a drone 100 provided in this application involves multiple drones 100 operating in a first control mode. Each drone 100 independently receives a first control signal transmitted by a control terminal 103, arriving at its respective position and hovering to form a drone formation. In a second control mode, the master drone 101 receives a second control signal from the control terminal 103 and executes a flight mission accordingly. Simultaneously, it sends relevant information about the second control signal to the slave drones 102, which then follow the master drone 101 to perform the flight mission. By sending first control signals to each drone 100 individually through the first control mode, the control terminal 103 enables the drones to quickly form a drone formation. Then, through the second control mode, the control terminal 103 controls the other slave drones 102 by sending second control signals to the master drone 101, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to perform the flight mission. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing their workload and improving the efficiency of the drones 100 in performing flight missions.

[0203] Please refer to Figures 2, 3, 4, and 24. The control terminal 103 can be used to control multiple drones 100 and set control modes for the multiple drones 100. The multiple drones 100 include a master drone 101 and slave drones 102. The control terminal 103 for the multiple drones 100 includes a first control mode and a second control mode. The control method of the control terminal 103 in some embodiments of this application includes:

[0204] 034: When multiple drones 100 are in the first control mode, a first control signal is sent to the multiple drones 100. The first control signal can be used to control the multiple drones 100. The first control signal includes multiple signals, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with the multiple drones 100; and

[0205] 035: When multiple drones 100 are in the second control mode, a second control signal is sent to the master drone 101 so that the master drone 101 can receive the second control signal and send the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drone 102. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone 101, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone 102.

[0206] The aforementioned control method for the drone 100 is applied to the control device 20 of the control terminal 103. The control device 20 of the control terminal 103 includes a memory 21 and a controller 22 connected to the memory 21. The controller 22 is used to: send a first control signal to the multiple drones 100 when the multiple drones 100 are in a first control mode. The first control signal can be used to control the multiple drones 100. The first control signal includes multiple signals, and the multiple first control signals correspond one-to-one with the multiple drones 100; and send a second control signal to the master drone 101 when the multiple drones 100 are in a second control mode, so that the master drone 101 can receive the second control signal and send the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drone 102. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone 101, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone 102.

[0207] The explanation of UAV 100 is the same as before and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, the control terminal 103 can be configured with multiple control modes for UAV 100, such as the first control mode in 034 and the second control mode in 035. The control terminal 103 can wirelessly send control signals to the master UAV 101 and slave UAV 102 one by one to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each UAV 100 respectively. In 034, the first control mode can be called a one-to-many time-sharing control mode, that is, the control terminal 103 wirelessly sends control signals to the master UAV 101 and slave UAV 102 one by one to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each UAV 100 respectively. The first control mode can be used to control multiple untaken UAVs 100 to fly sequentially to different positions and hover, thereby determining a suitable position for each UAV 100 that needs to fly in formation, that is, determining the distribution position of each UAV 100 in the formation. For example, referring to Figure 4, the control terminal 103 can first send a first control signal to either the master drone 101 or the slave drone 102 to control any one of the multiple drones 100 to fly to its ideal position (the ideal position is the position of each drone 100 in the drone formation before the multiple drones 100 form a drone formation and perform a flight mission). The control terminal 103 can then send the first control signal to each of the other drones 100 that have not yet taken off, and control each drone 100 to fly to its own ideal position, thereby enabling all the drones 100 to form a drone formation.

[0208] More specifically, since the positions of each drone 100 in the drone formation do not overlap, meaning the ideal positions that the control terminal 103 controls each drone 100 to reach are also different, there are multiple first control signals. Each first control signal corresponds one-to-one with a single drone 100. For example, referring to Figure 4, the control terminal 103 sends its corresponding first control signals to the master drone 101 and the slave drone 102, controlling them to take off one by one to their ideal positions (ideal positions are the positions of each drone 100 in the drone formation before they form a formation and perform a flight mission, i.e., positions A, B, C, and D in Figure 4).

[0209] Specifically, the control terminal 103 can also send control signals to the master drone 101 via wireless communication, and the master drone 101 then sends control signals to the slave drones 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of multiple drones 100. In 035, the second control mode can be called the cluster cooperative control mode, that is, the control terminal 103 sends a second control signal to the master drone 101 via wireless communication. After receiving the second control signal from the control terminal 103, the master drone 101 sends the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drones 102 to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of each slave drone 102. The relevant information of the second control signal can be the second control signal itself, or it can be a new control signal generated by the master drone 101 after processing the second control signal. The second control mode can be used to control the flight speed, flight direction, and flight attitude of multiple slave drones 102 through the master drone 101, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to perform flight tasks. For example, referring to Figure 5, the control terminal 103 can first send a second control signal to the master UAV 101. After receiving the second control signal, the master UAV 101 sends it to the slave UAV 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, direction, and attitude of the slave UAV 102. Alternatively, the control terminal 103 can first send the second control signal to the master UAV 101. After receiving the second control signal, the master UAV 101 processes it to obtain a new control signal for controlling the slave UAV 102 (i.e., the relevant information of the second control signal), and then sends the relevant information of the second control signal to the slave UAV 102, thereby controlling the flight speed, direction, and attitude of the slave UAV 102. The control terminal 103 can control the slave UAV 102 by sending the second control signal to the master UAV 101, thereby achieving control of the entire UAV formation.

[0210] It is understood that the control method of the control terminal 103 provided in this application, when multiple drones 100 are in a first control mode, allows each drone 100 to independently receive a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103, thereby reaching its respective position and hovering to form a drone formation. When the multiple drones 100 are in a second control mode, the master drone 101 receives a second control signal from the control terminal 103 and executes a flight mission according to the second control signal. Simultaneously, it sends relevant information about the second control signal to the slave drones 102. The slave drones 102 then execute corresponding flight missions based on this information. For example, the second control signal and its related signal can be the same signal, enabling the slave drones to synchronously follow the master drone in executing missions. The control terminal 103, through the first control mode, sends first control signals to each of the multiple drones 100, enabling them to quickly form a drone formation. The control terminal 103 then, through the second control mode, sends second control signals to the master drone 101 to control the other slave drones 102, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to execute flight missions. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing their workload and improving the efficiency of the UAV100 in performing flight missions.

[0211] In some implementations, the first control mode and the second control mode can be switched in response to user selection.

[0212] Understandably, this embodiment provides users with a method to manually switch control modes. Users can control multiple drones 100 to set the control mode to a first control mode or a second control mode by triggering the mode control on the control terminal 103 (the mode control can be a button, a slide key, or a touch area on a touch screen, etc.). By providing users with a method to manually set the control modes of multiple drones 100 to the first control mode or the second control mode, the flexibility of the drone 100 control scheme is improved. During the drone formation flight mission, if an unforeseen situation that is difficult to handle is encountered, the user can manually switch the control modes of multiple drones 100 by triggering the mode control on the control terminal 103.

[0213] Please refer to Figure 3. This application also provides a drone 100, which includes the drone control device 10 in any of the above embodiments.

[0214] Please refer to Figure 25. This application also provides a control terminal 103, which includes the control device 20 of the control terminal 103 in any of the above embodiments.

[0215] Please refer to Figure 26. This application also provides an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system 1000, which includes the UAV control device 10 in any of the above embodiments, or the UAV 100 in any of the above embodiments, or the control device 20 including the control terminal 103 in any of the above embodiments, or the control terminal 103 in any of the above embodiments.

[0216] Referring to Figure 27, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium 300 storing a computer program 302 thereon, characterized in that the program, when executed by the processor 30, implements the control method in any of the above embodiments.

[0217] For example, when computer program 302 is executed by processor 30, the following control method is implemented:

[0218] 003: When multiple drones 100 are in the first control mode, each drone 100 independently receives a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103. The first control signal can be used to control the multiple drones 100. The first control signal includes multiple signals, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with one of the multiple drones 100.

[0219] 005: When multiple drones 100 are in the second control mode, the master drone 101 receives the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal 103 and sends relevant information of the second control signal so that the slave drone 102 can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone 101, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone 102.

[0220] For example, when computer program 302 is executed by processor 30, the following control method is implemented:

[0221] 006: In response to the disconnection of communication between the control terminal 103 and the main UAV 101, multiple UAVs 100 hover or perform a return-to-home operation.

[0222] For example, when computer program 302 is executed by processor 30, it can also implement the control methods in 002, 004, 0041, 0043, 0045, 007, 008, 009, 010, 011, 012, 013, 014, 015, 016, 017, 018, 019, 020, 021, 022, 023, 024, 025, 026, 027, 028, 0281, 0283, 0285, 029, 030, 031, 032, 033, 034, and 035.

[0223] In the computer-readable storage medium 300 of this application, when multiple drones 100 are in a first control mode, each drone 100 independently receives a first control signal transmitted by a control terminal 103 to reach its respective position and hover, thereby forming a drone formation. When the multiple drones 100 are in a second control mode, the master drone 101 receives a second control signal from the control terminal 103 and executes a flight mission according to the second control signal. Simultaneously, it sends relevant information about the second control signal to the slave drones 102, which then follow the master drone 101 to execute the flight mission based on the relevant information. The control terminal 103, through the first control mode, sends first control signals to each of the multiple drones 100, enabling them to quickly form a drone formation. The control terminal 103 then, through the second control mode, controls the other slave drones 102 by sending second control signals to the master drone 101, thereby controlling the entire drone formation to execute flight missions. This application provides users with a new control scheme, reducing their workload and improving the efficiency of the drones 100 in executing flight missions.

[0224] The technical features of the embodiments described above can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as the combination of these technical features does not contradict each other, it should be considered within the scope of this specification. Furthermore, other implementation methods can be derived from the above embodiments, allowing for structural and logical substitutions and changes without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0225] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementation methods of this application, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these all fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this patent application should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drones include multiple drones, and the multiple drones include a master drone and slave drones, wherein the master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal; the control method includes: When the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, each drone independently receives a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal. The first control signal can be used to control the plurality of drones. The first control signal includes multiple signals, each corresponding one-to-one with one of the drones. When the multiple drones are in the second control mode, the master drone receives the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and sends relevant information of the second control signal so that the slave drone can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the drone is in the second control mode, the control method further includes: In response to the disconnection of communication between the control terminal and the main UAV, the plurality of UAVs hover or perform a return-to-home maneuver.

3. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control method further includes: When the multiple drones are in the third control mode, the multiple drones receive a third control signal transmitted by the control terminal. The third control signal can be used to control the multiple drones, and the multiple drones can receive the same third control signal.

4. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control method further includes: When the plurality of drones are in the first control mode or the third control mode, in response to the disconnection of communication between any of the drones and the control terminal, the plurality of drones switch to the second control mode.

5. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control method further includes: In response to the user's triggering of the mode control on the control terminal, the plurality of drones set the control mode to the first control mode or the second control mode.

6. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control method further includes: In response to the plurality of UAVs receiving a formation command, the slave UAV moves with reference to the master UAV so that the slave UAV and the master UAV together form the formation required by the formation command.

7. The control method according to claim 6, characterized in that, During the process of the slave drone moving with reference to the master drone, the distance between the slave drone and the master drone is greater than the collision distance threshold.

8. The control method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The movement of the slave drone with reference to the master drone includes: The satellite observation data sent by the main UAV is acquired from the UAV; The slave drone performs differential calculations based on its own satellite observation data and the satellite observation data of the master drone to determine the relative position of the slave drone relative to the master drone; and The drone moves according to the relative position.

9. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control method further includes: During the flight of the multiple drones toward the target location, the slave drones move with reference to the master drone to maintain a preset formation.

10. The control method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The control method further includes: During their flight toward the target location, in response to the formation of the master drone and the slave drones deviating from the preset formation, the master drone and the slave drones hover.

11. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multiple drones can be used to jointly transport a target object. When the multiple drones jointly transport the target object, each drone is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope. One end of the mounting rope is connected to the corresponding drone, and the other end of the mounting rope is connected to the target object. The control method further includes: In response to the fact that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the plurality of UAVs do not meet the preset balance condition, the target UAV among the plurality of UAVs adjusts the release length of its mounting rope and / or adjusts the altitude of the target UAV so that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the plurality of UAVs meet the preset balance condition, wherein the load parameters are used to indicate the tension borne by the mounting rope.

12. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The load parameters include the tension value of the hanging rope.

13. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The load parameters include the angle between the mounting rope and the reference direction.

14. The control method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The reference direction includes the direction of gravity or the horizontal direction.

15. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The target drone includes the drone with the largest or smallest load parameter of the attached rope.

16. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones meet the preset balance conditions includes: the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones are consistent; or, whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones meet the preset proportional relationship.

17. The control method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The preset proportional relationship is determined based on the power performance of the multiple drones.

18. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control method further includes: When the multiple drones fly in a preset formation, the master drone receives obstacle avoidance instructions and performs obstacle avoidance operations based on the instructions; and The slave drone follows the master drone to perform the obstacle avoidance operation.

19. The control method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Before the main UAV receives obstacle avoidance instructions, the control method further includes: The main UAV acquires environmental information, and the main UAV determines the obstacle avoidance command based on the environmental information.

20. The control method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The environmental information is collected by the master drone and / or the slave drone.

21. The control method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The obstacle avoidance command is determined by the UAV based on environmental information.

22. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plurality of drones also includes a first drone, which is positioned above the other drones, and the main drone is different from the first drone; The control method further includes: The first drone transmits the image information it has collected so that the display device of the control terminal can display the image information. The image information includes the main drone, the slave drone, and environmental information around the main drone and the slave drone.

23. The control method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The control method further includes: The first drone follows the main drone in its movement.

24. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plurality of drones also includes a first drone, which is positioned above the other drones, and the main drone is different from the first drone; The control method further includes: The master drone acquires image information collected by the first drone, the image information including the master drone, the slave drone, and environmental information surrounding the master drone and the slave drone; and The master drone controls the movement of the master drone and the slave drone based on the image information.

25. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plurality of drones includes a first drone positioned above the other drones, the master drone being the first drone, and the control method further includes: The master drone acquires image information, which includes the image information of the slave drone and the environmental information surrounding the master drone and the slave drone; and The master drone controls the movement of the master drone and the slave drone based on the image information.

26. The control method according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that, The control method further includes: The main UAV acquires the survey information along the flight direction of the secondary UAV collected by the first UAV; and The master drone controls the movement of itself and the slave drones based on the survey information.

27. A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drones include multiple drones capable of jointly transporting a target object. When the multiple drones jointly transport the target object, each drone is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope. One end of the mounting rope is connected to the corresponding drone, and the other end is connected to the target object. The control method includes: Obtain the load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each UAV, and the load parameters are used to indicate the tensile force borne by the mounting rope; Based on the obtained load parameters of the mounting cables of the multiple drones, determine whether the load parameters of the mounting cables of the multiple drones meet the preset balancing conditions; and In response to the load parameters of the mounting rope not meeting the preset balance condition, the target drone among the plurality of drones adjusts the release length of its mounting rope so that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the plurality of drones meet the preset balance condition.

28. The control method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The load parameters include the tension value of the hanging rope.

29. The control method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The load parameters include the angle between the mounting rope and the reference direction.

30. The control method according to claim 29, characterized in that, The reference direction includes the direction of gravity or the horizontal direction.

31. The control method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The target drone includes the drone with the largest or smallest load parameter of the attached rope.

32. The control method according to claim 27, characterized in that, Whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones meet the preset balance conditions includes: the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones are consistent; or, whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones meet the preset proportional relationship.

33. The control method according to claim 32, characterized in that, The preset proportional relationship is determined based on the power performance of the multiple drones.

34. A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drones include multiple drones, and the multiple drones include a master drone and slave drones. The control method includes: In response to the plurality of drones receiving a formation command, the slave drone moves with reference to the master drone so that the plurality of drones together form the formation required by the formation command; During the process of the secondary drone moving with reference to the primary drone, the distance between the multiple drones is greater than the collision distance threshold.

35. The control method according to claim 34, characterized in that, The movement of the slave drone with reference to the master drone includes: The satellite observation data sent by the main UAV is acquired from the UAV; The slave drone performs differential calculations based on its own satellite observation data and the satellite observation data of the master drone to determine the relative position of the slave drone relative to the master drone; and The drone moves according to the relative position.

36. A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drone is a master drone among a plurality of drones, which also includes slave drones. The master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal. The control method is applied to the master drone, and the control method includes: When the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by the control terminal is received. These plurality of first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones, and each of the plurality of first control signals corresponds one-to-one with one of the plurality of drones. When the multiple drones are in the second control mode, the system receives the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and sends relevant information about the second control signal so that the slave drone can receive the relevant information about the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information about the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

37. A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drone is a slave drone among a plurality of drones, the plurality of drones also including a master drone, the master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal, the control method is applied to the slave drone, and the control method includes: When the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by the control terminal is received. These plurality of first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones, and each of the plurality of first control signals corresponds one-to-one with one of the plurality of drones. When the plurality of drones are in the second control mode, the relevant information of the second control signal transmitted by the master drone is received. The relevant information of the second control signal is transmitted by the master drone to the slave drone in response to receiving the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

38. A control method for a control terminal, characterized in that, The control terminal is capable of controlling multiple drones and setting control modes for the multiple drones. The multiple drones include a master drone and slave drones. The control terminal for the multiple drones includes a first control mode and a second control mode. The control method includes: When the plurality of drones are in the first control mode, a first control signal is sent to the plurality of drones. The first control signal is capable of controlling the plurality of drones, and the first control signal comprises multiple signals, each corresponding one-to-one with one of the plurality of drones. When the plurality of drones are in the second control mode, a second control signal is sent to the master drone, so that the master drone can receive the second control signal and send relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drone. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

39. The control method according to claim 38, characterized in that, The first control mode and the second control mode can be switched in response to the user's selection.

40. A control device for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drones include multiple drones, and the multiple drones include a master drone and slave drones, wherein the master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal; the control device includes: Memory; and A controller connected to the memory, the controller being used for: When the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, each of the plurality of drones is controlled to independently receive a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal. The first control signal can be used to control the plurality of drones, and the first control signal includes multiple signals, each corresponding one-to-one with one of the plurality of drones. When the multiple drones are in the second control mode, the master drone is controlled to receive the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and send relevant information of the second control signal so that the slave drone can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

41. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, When the drone is in the second control mode, the controller is also configured to: In response to the disconnection of communication between the control terminal and the main UAV, the multiple UAVs are controlled to hover or return to base.

42. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: When the multiple drones are in the third control mode, the multiple drones are controlled to receive a third control signal transmitted by the control terminal. The third control signal can be used to control the multiple drones, and the multiple drones can receive the same third control signal.

43. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: When the plurality of drones are in the first control mode or the third control mode, in response to the disconnection of communication between any of the drones and the control terminal, the plurality of drones are controlled to switch to the second control mode.

44. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: In response to the user's triggering of the mode control on the control terminal, the multiple drones are controlled to set the control mode to the first control mode or the second control mode.

45. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: In response to the plurality of UAVs receiving a formation command, the slave UAVs are controlled to move with reference to the master UAV, so that the slave UAVs and the master UAV together form the formation required by the formation command.

46. ​​The control device according to claim 45, characterized in that, During the process of the slave drone moving with reference to the master drone, the distance between the slave drone and the master drone is greater than the collision distance threshold.

47. The control device according to claim 45, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: Control the acquisition of satellite observation data sent by the main UAV from the UAV; The slave drone is controlled to perform differential calculations based on its own satellite observation data and the satellite observation data of the master drone to determine the relative position of the slave drone relative to the master drone; and Control the drone to move according to the relative position.

48. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: During the flight of the multiple drones toward the target location, the slave drones are controlled to move with reference to the master drone in order to maintain a preset formation.

49. The control device according to claim 48, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: During their flight toward the target location, the multiple drones control the main drone and the slave drones to hover in response to the formation of the main drone and the slave drones deviating from the preset formation.

50. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The multiple drones can be used to jointly transport a target object. When the multiple drones jointly transport the target object, each drone is equipped with a corresponding lanyard. One end of the lanyard is connected to the corresponding drone, and the other end of the lanyard is connected to the target object. The controller is further configured to: Obtain the load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each UAV, and the load parameters are used to indicate the tensile force borne by the mounting rope; Based on the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones obtained, determine whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones meet the preset balance conditions. and In response to the load parameters of the mounting rope not meeting the preset balance condition, the target drone among the plurality of drones adjusts the release length of its mounting rope and / or adjusts the altitude of the target drone so that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the plurality of drones meet the preset balance condition.

51. The control device according to claim 50, characterized in that, The load parameters include the tension value of the hanging rope.

52. The control device according to claim 50, characterized in that, The load parameters include the angle between the mounting rope and the reference direction.

53. The control device according to claim 52, characterized in that, The reference direction includes the direction of gravity or the horizontal direction.

54. The control device according to claim 50, characterized in that, The target drone includes the drone with the largest or smallest load parameter of the attached rope.

55. The control device according to claim 50, characterized in that, Whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones meet the preset balance conditions includes: the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones are consistent; or, whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones meet the preset proportional relationship.

56. The control device according to claim 55, characterized in that, The preset proportional relationship is determined based on the power performance of the multiple drones.

57. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: When the multiple drones fly in a preset formation, the master drone is controlled to acquire obstacle avoidance commands and execute obstacle avoidance operations based on the commands; and Control the slave drone to follow the master drone in performing the obstacle avoidance operation.

58. The control device according to claim 57, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: The system controls the main UAV to acquire environmental information and determines the obstacle avoidance command based on the environmental information.

59. The control device according to claim 58, characterized in that, The environmental information is collected by the master drone and / or the slave drone.

60. The control device according to claim 57, characterized in that, The obstacle avoidance command is determined by the UAV based on environmental information.

61. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The plurality of drones also includes a first drone positioned above the other drones, and the master drone is different from the first drone; the controller is further configured to: The first drone is controlled to send the image information collected by the first drone so that the display device of the control terminal can display the image information. The image information includes the main drone, the slave drone, and the environmental information around the main drone and the slave drone.

62. The control device according to claim 61, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: Control the first drone to follow the main drone in movement.

63. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The plurality of drones also includes a first drone positioned above the other drones, and the master drone is different from the first drone; the controller is further configured to: The master drone is controlled to acquire image information collected by the first drone, the image information including the master drone, the slave drone, and environmental information surrounding the master drone and the slave drone; and The master drone is controlled to move in accordance with the image information.

64. The control device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The plurality of drones includes a first drone positioned above the other drones, the master drone being the first drone, and the controller further configured to: The master drone is controlled to acquire image information, the image information including the environment information surrounding the slave drone, the master drone, and the slave drone; and The master drone is controlled to move in accordance with the image information.

65. The control device according to claim 63 or 64, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: The master UAV is controlled to acquire survey information about the flight direction of the slave UAV collected by the first UAV; and The master drone is controlled to move according to the survey information.

66. A control device for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drones include multiple drones capable of jointly transporting a target object. When the multiple drones jointly transport the target object, each drone is equipped with a corresponding mounting rope. One end of the mounting rope is connected to the corresponding drone, and the other end is connected to the target object. The control device includes: Memory; and A controller connected to the memory, the controller being used for: Obtain the load parameters of the mounting rope corresponding to each UAV, and the load parameters are used to indicate the tensile force borne by the mounting rope; Based on the obtained load parameters of the mounting cables of the multiple drones, determine whether the load parameters of the mounting cables of the multiple drones meet the preset balancing conditions; and In response to the load parameters of the mounting rope not meeting the preset balance condition, the target drone among the plurality of drones adjusts the release length of its mounting rope so that the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the plurality of drones meet the preset balance condition.

67. The control device according to claim 66, characterized in that, The load parameters include the tension value of the hanging rope.

68. The control device according to claim 66, characterized in that, The load parameters include the angle between the mounting rope and the reference direction.

69. The control device according to claim 68, characterized in that, The reference direction includes the direction of gravity or the horizontal direction.

70. The control device according to claim 66, characterized in that, The target drone includes the drone with the largest or smallest load parameter of the attached rope.

71. The control device according to claim 66, characterized in that, Whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones meet the preset balance conditions includes: the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones are consistent; or, whether the load parameters of the mounting ropes of the multiple drones meet the preset proportional relationship.

72. The control device according to claim 71, characterized in that, The preset proportional relationship is determined based on the power performance of the multiple drones.

73. A control device for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drones include multiple drones, and the multiple drones include a master drone and slave drones. The control device includes: Memory; and A controller connected to the memory, the controller being used for: In response to the plurality of drones receiving a formation command, the slave drones are controlled to move with reference to the master drone, so that the plurality of drones together form the formation required by the formation command; and During the process of the secondary drone moving with reference to the primary drone, the distance between the multiple drones is greater than the collision distance threshold.

74. The control device according to claim 73, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: Control the acquisition of satellite observation data sent by the main UAV from the UAV; The slave drone is controlled to perform differential calculations based on its own satellite observation data and the satellite observation data of the master drone to determine the relative position of the slave drone relative to the master drone; and Control the drone to move according to the relative position.

75. A control device for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drone is a master drone among a plurality of drones, and the plurality of drones also includes slave drones. The master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal. The control device includes: Memory; and A controller connected to the memory, the controller being used for: When the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, the controller receives one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by the control terminal. These multiple first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with one of the plurality of drones. When the multiple drones are in the second control mode, the controller receives the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and sends relevant information of the second control signal so that the slave drone can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

76. A control device for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The drone is a slave drone among multiple drones, and the multiple drones also include a master drone. The master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal. The control device includes: Memory; and A controller connected to the memory, the controller being used for: When the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, the controller receives one of a plurality of first control signals transmitted by the control terminal. These multiple first control signals can be used to control the plurality of drones, and each of the multiple first control signals corresponds one-to-one with one of the plurality of drones. When the multiple drones are in the second control mode, the control receives relevant information about the second control signal transmitted by the master drone. The relevant information about the second control signal is transmitted by the master drone to the slave drone in response to receiving the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information about the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

77. A control device for a control terminal, characterized in that, The control terminal is capable of controlling multiple drones and setting control modes for the multiple drones, including a master drone and slave drones. The control terminal for the multiple drones includes a first control mode and a second control mode. The control device includes: Memory; and A controller connected to the memory, the controller being used for: When the plurality of drones are in the first control mode, a first control signal is sent to the plurality of drones. This first control signal is capable of controlling the plurality of drones, and includes multiple first control signals, each corresponding one-to-one with one of the plurality of drones. When the plurality of drones are in the second control mode, a second control signal is sent to the master drone so that the master drone can receive the second control signal and send relevant information of the second control signal to the slave drone. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

78. The control device according to claim 77, characterized in that, The first control mode and the second control mode can be switched in response to the user's selection.

79. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, The control device for the unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 40-76.

80. A control terminal, characterized in that, A control device including the control terminal of any one of claims 77-78.

81. A drone, characterized in that, The drones include multiple drones, comprising a master drone and slave drones, wherein the master drone and the slave drones can be controlled by a common control terminal. When the plurality of drones are in a first control mode, each drone independently receives a first control signal transmitted by the control terminal. The first control signal can be used to control the plurality of drones. The first control signal includes multiple signals, each corresponding one-to-one with one of the drones. When the multiple drones are in the second control mode, the master drone receives the second control signal transmitted by the control terminal and sends relevant information of the second control signal so that the slave drone can receive the relevant information of the second control signal. The second control signal can be used to control the master drone, and the relevant information of the second control signal can be used to control the slave drone.

82. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, characterized in that, It includes the drone as described in claim 81 and the control terminal as described in claim 80.

83. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the program is executed by the processor, it implements the control method according to any one of claims 1-39.

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