Operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method

Abstract

The present invention comprises: a flight state / flight environment management unit 211 that inputs environmental information, which is information pertaining to an environment in which a flying body 110 moves, and movement information including a departure point and an arrival point of the flying body 110; a spatiotemporal potential evaluation unit 215 that uses environmental information input from the flight state / flight environment management unit 211 to generate difficulty data indicating the difficulty and / or ease with which the flying body 110 moves in a certain region in an environment in a digital space having one spatial dimension or higher and a time dimension; and a flight path generation unit 218 that generates a flight path of the flying body 110 by using the digital space to which the difficulty data is input and movement information, and outputs the digital space and the flight path. Accordingly, provided are an operation management device, an operation management system, and an operation management method with which it is possible to operate a moving body more safely than in the past.

Description

Operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method

[0001] The present invention relates to an operation management device, an operation management system, and an operation management method for managing the operation of a moving body.

[0002] Recently, systems have been proposed that use moving bodies such as unmanned aerial vehicles like drones and robots that travel on the ground to transport luggage to a destination. In such a transport system, it is important for the moving body to safely reach the destination.

[0003] As a means of safely arriving at the destination, creating a movement path that does not collide with obstacles can be mentioned. Regarding the creation of such a movement path, for example, there is the technology described in Patent Document 1.

[0004] This publication describes a path plan generation device that corrects the RRT path plan generated by the RRT (Rapidly-exploring Random Tree) method path plan generation unit by the processing of the potential method by the path plan correction unit. When the corrected path plan becomes a path plan that cannot avoid interference between the moving body and obstacles, the RRT path plan generation unit generates a new RRT path plan.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-151687

[0006] However, in the technology of Patent Document 1, future flight risks are not considered, and there may be cases where it becomes difficult to reach the destination.

[0007] For example, if the drone port where landing is scheduled becomes unusable due to bad weather or the like at the scheduled landing time, a change in the landing location is inevitable. Also, in the worst case such as insufficient remaining battery, it becomes necessary to make an emergency landing in the vicinity. This impairs the punctuality.

[0008] Further, in Patent Document 1, since changes in flight risks are not considered, it cannot be avoided in advance and must be avoided in real time, so the scheduled arrival time will be frequently changed. This leads to a deterioration in the quality of the service without ensuring punctuality, considering a transport service using a drone.

[0009] In view of these problems, the object of the present invention is to provide an operation management device, an operation management system, and an operation management method that enable safer operation of moving objects.

[0010] The present invention includes multiple means for solving the above problems, but to give one example, it includes: a management unit that inputs environmental information, which is information about the environment in which a moving object moves, and movement information, which includes the starting point and arrival point of the moving object; a digital space generation unit that uses the environmental information input from the management unit to generate difficulty data indicating the difficulty and / or ease of the moving object moving through a certain area in the environment on a digital space having one or more spatial dimensions and a time dimension; a movement path generation unit that uses the digital space into which the difficulty data is input and the movement information to generate a movement path for the moving object; and an output unit that outputs the digital space generated by the digital space generation unit and the movement path generated by the movement path generation unit.

[0011] According to the present invention, mobile vehicles can be operated more safely than in the conventional method. Other problems, configurations, and effects will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

[0012] This is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the aircraft, takeoff and landing ports, and control system of Example 1. This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the flight management system of Example 1. This is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the flight path planning unit shown in Figure 2. This is a flowchart showing the aircraft-side control process of the flight management system of Example 1. This is a flowchart showing the control process on the air traffic control side of the flight management system of Example 1. This is a flowchart for explaining the flight risk assessment method in the air traffic control side control process of the flight management system of Example 1. This is an explanatory diagram of the route generation method in the flight risk space of the flight management system of Example 1. This is an explanatory diagram of the route generation method in the flight risk space of the flight management system of Example 1. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen that an air traffic controller or pilot checks on the display screen of the flight management system of Example 1. This is an explanatory diagram of the route generation method in the flight risk space of the flight management system of Example 2.

[0013] The following describes embodiments of the operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications and applications are also included within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention.

[0014] In the drawings used in this specification, identical or corresponding components are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and repeated explanations of these components may be omitted.

[0015] The mobile vehicles managed by the operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method of the present invention, as described below, will be explained using eVTOLs (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft) and drones as examples, but are not limited to these and can also be applied to manned aircraft such as airplanes. Furthermore, the aircraft are not limited to multi-rotor aircraft, but can also be other autonomously flying aircraft.

[0016] <Example 1> Example 1 of the operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 8.

[0017] First, the overall configuration of the flight management system will be explained using Figure 1. Figure 1 shows the schematic configuration of the system, including the aircraft 110, control system 210, and takeoff / landing port 130 used in the present invention.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, the aircraft 110 has four rotor blades 102 positioned symmetrically on a rectangular housing body 101, and each rotor blade 102 is driven by an electric motor (omitted for illustrative purposes). However, the aircraft 110 in this embodiment is not limited to this; essentially, any aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically is acceptable.

[0019] The main body of the housing 101 is equipped with an aircraft control device 103 including a position and attitude sensor, and is further equipped with a communication device 104 that communicates the position of the aircraft 110 and its trajectory with the control system 210. Furthermore, the main body of the housing 101 is equipped with a well-known GNSS sensor and inertial measurement device for detecting the position and attitude of the housing.

[0020] The aircraft control device 103 uses a value obtained by adding the flight altitude corresponding to the flight position to the height reference value, based on path information representing the horizontal flight plan path of the aircraft 110 and height reference values ​​representing the elevation of the ground surface below each of the multiple positions on the flight plan path, as altitude information for the flight plan path, thereby enabling the aircraft to fly along the flight plan path without colliding with other aircraft or obstacles.

[0021] On the other hand, although the control system 210 that directs the flight path of the aircraft 110 is shown separately from the takeoff and landing port 130 in Figure 1, it may be integrated with it. Also, although only one takeoff and landing port 130 is shown in Figure 1, there may be multiple takeoff and landing ports 130. However, the control system 210 will direct the flight path of the aircraft 110 approaching at least one takeoff and landing port 130, and the aircraft 110 will not be directed to multiple flight paths by multiple control systems 210.

[0022] Next, an operational management system comprising one or more aircraft 110, 120, ... and a control system 210 according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 2. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the operational management system of Embodiment 1.

[0023] In Figure 2, the configuration of a typical aircraft 110 is shown, and other aircraft are represented as aircraft 120. The configuration of aircraft 120 is almost the same as that of aircraft 110, and specific notation is omitted in Figure 2. However, the configuration of aircraft 120 does not need to be the same as that of aircraft 110; it may be different.

[0024] In Figure 2, the aircraft 110 includes a communication device 104, an aircraft control device 103, a position and attitude sensor 113, a position and attitude control unit 114, a map database 116, and an operating state management unit 117.

[0025] The position and attitude information detected by the position and attitude sensor 113 is input to the communication device 104, the operation state management unit 117, and the target position and attitude generation unit 112 within the position and attitude control unit 114. Here, the position and attitude information represents the position and inclination of the aircraft 110 in the global coordinate system. The position and attitude sensor 113 detects the position of the aircraft 110 and parameters around the rotation axis of the aircraft 110, such as "yaw," "roll," and "pitch," and the tracking control unit 115 within the position and attitude control unit 114 controls the attitude by driving various electric motors mounted on the aircraft 110.

[0026] The communication device 104 outputs the position and attitude of the aircraft 110 detected by the position and attitude sensor 113, as well as the operating status of the aircraft from the operating status management unit 117, to the control system 210, and inputs the route information distributed by the control system 210 into the map database 116.

[0027] The operation state management unit 117 manages the operation state of the aircraft 110. Here, the operation state (mode) is managed as follows: "landing mode," "takeoff mode," and "cruising mode." In "landing mode" and "takeoff mode," the aircraft 110 performs vertical movement and turning, and in "cruising mode," it moves along the flight plan path according to the map database 116.

[0028] The position and attitude control unit 114 includes a target position and attitude generation unit 112 and a tracking control unit 115. The position and attitude control unit 114 receives operational state management information from the operational state management unit 117, map information from the map database 116, and position and attitude information from the position and attitude sensor 113. Furthermore, the position and attitude control unit 114 generates target position and attitude information using the target position and attitude generation unit 112, and this target position and attitude information is input to the tracking control unit 115. The tracking control unit 115 has the function of autonomously operating the aircraft 110 in one of the following modes, "landing mode," "takeoff mode," or "cruising mode," which is selected based on the target position and attitude information.

[0029] The above are the main functional elements of the aircraft control device 103, and these functional elements are basically operated by executing a control program on a microcomputer. As is well known, a microcomputer consists of a central processing unit (CPU) that performs calculations, a non-volatile memory (ROM) that stores the control program, a volatile memory (RAM) that stores calculation results, and input / output circuits that receive sensor signals and output drive signals.

[0030] The air traffic control information server 310 distributes current and future forecast information of the airspace managed by the air traffic control system 210, namely weather conditions, radio wave conditions, aircraft flight position, and other information necessary for operational management, to the communication device 104. The air traffic control system 210 receives this information from the communication device 104 and inputs it into the flight status / flight environment management unit 211.

[0031] Next, the configuration and functions of the control system 210 are described.

[0032] The control system 210 includes a communication device 104, a flight status / flight environment management unit 211, a flight mode change unit 212, a flight path planning unit 213, and a presentation unit 222.

[0033] The control system 210's communication device 104 receives the position, attitude, and operating status from each of the aircraft 110, 120, ... and distributes the route to each of the aircraft 110, 120, .... The position and operating status of each aircraft 110, 120, ... obtained from the communication device 104 are input to the flight status / flight environment management unit 211, where the control system 210 manages the positions of all aircraft 110, 120, ... that it is under the control of, as well as the positions of aircraft 110, 120, ... that have newly entered a state requiring management. In other words, the flight status / flight environment management unit 211 receives environmental information, which is information about the environment in which the aircraft 110, 120, ... are moving, and movement information, which includes the departure and arrival points of the aircraft 110, 120, ....

[0034] The flight mode change unit 212 switches between "cruising mode" and "landing mode" based on input from the flight status / flight environment management unit 211, for example, depending on the distance to the destination and the current distance, and outputs the selected flight mode result to the communication unit 104. The communication unit 104 then transmits signals corresponding to the selected result to each of the aircraft 110, 120, ...

[0035] Furthermore, the flight path planning unit 213 plans a flight path based on the position, path, and flight environment information regarding the flight airspace obtained from the flight status / flight environment management unit 211, and the mode information obtained from the flight mode change unit 212, and transmits it to each of the aircraft 110, 120, ... from the communication device 104.

[0036] The display unit 222 is a display device for displaying flight path information, which will be described later, to the aircraft 110, 120, ...

[0037] In this embodiment, the display unit 222 is shown to be provided on the control system 210, but any display device capable of presenting information to the operators piloting each of the aircraft 110, 120, ... is acceptable, and can be a screen attached to a controller or the like, and is not particularly limited.

[0038] Next, the configuration inside the flight route planning unit 213 will be described using FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the flight route planning unit shown in FIG. 2.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, the flight route planning unit 213 includes an obstacle information registration unit 214, a spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215, a route generation condition registration unit 219, and a flight route generation unit 218.

[0040] The obstacle information registration unit 214 registers obstacle information including a flight prohibited area, a wind condition deterioration area, and other aircraft information obtained from the flight state / flight environment management unit 211 inside it, and distributes it to the spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215.

[0041] The obstacle information including "flight prohibited area, wind condition deterioration area, other aircraft information, etc." registered in the obstacle information registration unit 214 is used when the spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215 generates difficulty level data.

[0042] The spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215 includes a dimensional converter 216 and a spatio-temporal potential field calculator 217. Using the environmental information input from the flight state / flight environment management unit 211, on a digital space having one or more spatial dimensions and a time dimension, difficulty level data indicating the difficulty and / or ease of moving in the area where the flying objects 110, 120,... are present in the environment is generated.

[0043] Also, in the spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215, the possibility of interference and / or the degree of interference in the movement at a certain point where the flying objects 110, 120,... are present is calculated, and based on the possibility and / or the degree of interference, the difficulty and / or ease can be calculated.

[0044] Furthermore, the spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215 can convert the time dimension into the same unit as the spatial dimension using an arbitrary speed parameter. At that time, a speed parameter (for example, the dummy speed variable Δvd described later) is set so that the resolution is the same as that of the spatial dimension, and the time dimension can be converted into the same unit as the spatial dimension.

[0045] Specifically, the spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215 first replaces the time dimension representing the time change of the moving space with a pseudo-space dimension in the dimension converter 216. A specific example of the replacement method will be described later using FIG. 6.

[0046] Next, the spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215 distributes the three-dimensional spatio-temporal information of the total of the two-dimensional plane representing the position of the drone at a certain time created by the dimension converter 216 and the pseudo-space dimension to the spatio-temporal potential field calculator 217.

[0047] Thereafter, the spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215 calculates the flight risk within the three-dimensional spatio-temporal using the current obstacle information obtained from the obstacle information registration unit 214 and the prediction information capturing the time change thereof in the spatio-temporal potential field calculator 217. The spatio-temporal flight risk information thus obtained is distributed to the flight path generation unit 218.

[0048] The route generation condition registration unit 219 stores information such as the upper limit information of the flight speed.

[0049] The flight path generation unit 218 generates the flight paths of the flying bodies 110, 120,... using the digital space in which the difficulty data is input and the movement information, and outputs the digital space and the flight path. Specifically, the flight path generation unit 218 generates a flight path based on the three-dimensional spatio-temporal information and its spatio-temporal flight risk information distributed from the spatio-temporal potential evaluation unit 215, and the information distributed from the route generation condition registration unit 219. Further, the generated digital space and the movement path are output.

[0050] The above is an explanation of the various functions of the overall operation management system.

[0051] Hereinafter, the control flow of the flying body 110 and the control system 210 will be described.

[0052] First, the control flow of the main functional elements in the flight control device 103 will be described.

[0053] [Control flow for setting the operating mode] First, Figure 4 shows the control flow of the aircraft control device 103 in the operation management system of the present invention, which sets the operating mode of the aircraft 110. Figure 4 is a flowchart of the control process on the aircraft 110 side in the operation management system of Embodiment 1.

[0054] Step S401: First, in step S401, the target position / attitude generation unit 112 acquires the current position / attitude information as the current operating state from the operating state management unit 117. This position / attitude information can be obtained from the position / attitude sensor 113. Once the current position / attitude information is acquired, the process proceeds to step S402.

[0055] ≪Step S402≫ Next, in step S402, the target position / attitude generation unit 112 determines whether the operating state acquired from the operating state management unit 117 is in "cruising mode". This determination step is based on the operating state information sent sequentially from the operating state management unit 117. If it is determined in this determination step that the state is in "cruising mode", the process moves to step S403, and if it is determined that the state is not in "cruising mode", the process moves to step S406.

[0056] Step S403: In step S403, the target position and attitude generation unit 112 acquires new flight path information transmitted from the control system 210 and sets it in the map database 116. Once the setting is complete, the system proceeds to the next step S404.

[0057] Step S404: In step S404, the target position and attitude generation unit 112 sets a target path consisting of the target position and attitude based on the path information stored in S403 and the information obtained from the position and attitude sensor 113. Furthermore, based on the set target path, the follow control unit 115 controls the aircraft 110 according to the target path. Once one control cycle is completed, the process moves to step S405.

[0058] ≪Step S405≫ In step S405, the position and attitude control unit 114 determines whether landing is complete or not based on the operating state of the operating state management unit 117 of the aircraft 110. For example, landing is determined to be complete when the flight altitude reaches 0m above ground level. If the landing completion flag is set in step S405, the flow ends; otherwise, the process returns to step S401, which is the starting point of the control flow.

[0059] ≪Step S406≫ In step S406, the position and attitude control unit 114 determines whether the operating state acquired from the operating state management unit 117 is in "takeoff mode". This determination step is based on the operating state information sent sequentially from the operating state management unit 117. If it is determined in this determination step that the state is in "takeoff mode", the process proceeds to step S407; if it is determined that the state is not in "takeoff mode", the process proceeds to step S408.

[0060] Step S407: In step S407, the position and attitude control unit 114 performs automatic takeoff control using, for example, an automatic takeoff mode installed on the aircraft 110. Once one control cycle is completed, the process proceeds to step S405.

[0061] Step S408: In step S408, the position and attitude control unit 114 performs automatic landing control using, for example, an automatic landing mode installed on the aircraft 110. Once one control cycle is completed, the process proceeds to step S405.

[0062] The above is a general overview of the control flow within the aircraft control device 103.

[0063] Next, the specific control flow of the control system 210 in this embodiment will be explained using Figure 5. Figure 5 is a flowchart of the control process on the control side of the operation management system in Embodiment 1.

[0064] Step S501: As shown in Figure 5, in step S501, the flight status / flight environment management unit 211 acquires the flight status, such as the position, attitude, and flight mode of the aircraft, from the aircraft 110 via the communication device 104. Once the acquisition is complete, the process proceeds to step S502.

[0065] Step S502: In step S502, the flight mode change unit 212 refers to the flight status acquired in step S501, extracts flight mode information, and makes a determination. If the ground control system 210 determines that a change in flight mode is necessary, the flight mode change unit 212 performs a determination process and transmits it to the aircraft 110. Once the determination process is complete, the process proceeds to step S503.

[0066] Step S503: In step S503, the flight mode change unit 212 refers to the result determined in step S502 and determines whether the determination result is "cruising mode". If it is "cruising mode", the process proceeds to step S504; if it is not "cruising mode", the control flow ends.

[0067] ≪Step S504≫ In step S504, the flight status / flight environment management unit 211 acquires air traffic control information from the air traffic control information server 310 via the communication device 104 and stores the information. This information includes, for example, weather information, wind condition information, radio wave quality information, movement information of other aircraft, movement information of unknown aircraft, etc., and includes forecast information from the present to the future. Once the acquisition of this information is complete, the system moves on to the next step S505.

[0068] Step S505: In step S505, the obstacle information registration unit 214 converts all the various flight environment information acquired in step S504 into a format that can be treated as normalized obstacle information values ​​ranging from 0 to 1, and then registers them.

[0069] The method will be explained below using Figure 6. Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating the flight risk assessment method in the control process on the air traffic control side of the flight management system in Example 1.

[0070] Specifically, the obstacle information registration unit 214 of the flight path planning unit 213 forms a three-dimensional spatiotemporal grid map consisting of a two-dimensional spatial plane with coordinates x and y, as shown on the left of Figure 6, and a time dimension t, and applies normalized values ​​of various obstacles corresponding to the ID of each grid.

[0071] The value to be normalized can be, for example, if wind speed is treated as a flight risk, by dividing it by the maximum wind speed in the airspace. This normalizes it as obstacle information representing the degree of danger during flight. Once the information registration is complete, proceed to the next step S506.

[0072] Step S506: In step S506, the dimension converter 216 of the spatiotemporal potential evaluation unit 215 converts a three-dimensional spatiotemporal grid map consisting of a two-dimensional spatial plane of coordinates x and y and a time dimension t into a three-dimensional spatiotemporal grid map consisting of a two-dimensional spatial plane of coordinates x and y and a pseudo-spatial dimension τ.

[0073] Specifically, as shown in equation (1) described later, if we let Δt be the time resolution of a three-dimensional spatiotemporal grid map consisting of a two-dimensional spatial plane of the original coordinates x and y and a time dimension t, and Δτ be the required pseudo-spatial dimension resolution set in advance, then by providing an arbitrary dummy velocity variable Δvd, the Δt dimension can be changed to the Δτ dimension as shown in the right figure of Figure 6 by equation (1) shown below.

[0074]

[0075] Here, in equation (1), Δτ is the pseudo-spatial dimension (design value), Δv ｄ Δt is the dummy velocity (arbitrary value), and Δt is time (design value).

[0076] In this context, the Gauss-Seidel method is known as a general technique for iteratively calculating potential fields using harmonic functions, i.e., the harmonic potential method.

[0077] To easily apply this Gauss-Seidel method, it is desirable that the resolution of each dimension of the three-dimensional spatiotemporal grid map be equal, but this is not always the case. For example, if the time resolution of the wind condition forecast obtained from the air traffic control information server 310 is Δt = 1 s, and the spatial resolution of the three-dimensional spatiotemporal grid map we want to obtain is Δx = Δy = Δτ = 10 m, then we can set the arbitrarily configurable dummy variable to Δvd = 10 m / s. In this way, the resolution of each dimension is unified, and the potential field can be easily calculated using the conventional iterative method. Once this transformation process is complete, we proceed to the next step S507.

[0078] <Step S507> In step S507, the spatiotemporal potential field calculator 217 of the spatiotemporal potential evaluation unit 215 iteratively calculates the potential field using, for example, the Gauss-Seidel method described earlier.

[0079] In this process, the Gauss-Seidel method determines the initial values ​​of the grid by considering the current location, destination, and obstacles. For example, the current location is set to a fixed value of 1, the destination to a fixed value of 0, and obstacles to a fixed normalized value. The other grids are then set to variable values ​​with an initial value of 0, and the initial conditions are defined. The grids are then iteratively calculated in order according to their IDs. Once all grids have been calculated, the process moves to the next step, S508.

[0080] In this way, the possibility and / or degree of interference during movement of the flying objects 110, 120, ... at a certain point in time can be calculated, and the difficulty and / or ease of such interference can be calculated.

[0081] ≪Step S508≫ In step S508, the spatiotemporal potential field calculator 217 performs a convergence check for the calculation of the potential field, and if convergence is confirmed, proceeds to step S509. Here, the convergence check can be performed, for example, by adding up the potential values ​​of all grids and comparing them with the sum of the potential values ​​from the previous cycle, and terminating if the range of change falls below a predetermined threshold. Alternatively, the process may be terminated when the predetermined number of iterations is exceeded. If the convergence check is not complete, the process returns to step S507.

[0082] Step S509: In step S509, the flight path generation unit 218 generates a path from the current location to the destination using the potential field obtained in step S508. The concept of the path generation method will be explained using Figures 7A to 7B. Figures 7A to 7C are explanatory diagrams of the path generation method in the flight risk space of the operation management system of Embodiment 1.

[0083] As shown in Figure 7A, we now set the potential of our current location to 1, use that as the starting point, and refer to the potential values ​​of the adjacent grids. In this case, by selecting and connecting to the grid with the smallest potential value among the adjacent grids, we can choose the safest path.

[0084] Furthermore, according to the harmonic potential method, if the current location is set to a potential value of 1 and the destination to a potential value of 0, there are no local minimums in the grid that interpolates between them. This ensures that a path is always secured where the potential value decreases uniformly from the current location to the destination, thus enabling the generation of a path that avoids dynamic obstacles. After selecting adjacent grids, proceed to the next step S510.

[0085] Step S510: In step S510, the flight path generation unit 218 determines whether the grid selected in step S509 has reached the destination. If the destination has been reached, the unit proceeds to step S511; otherwise, it returns to step S509 and selects an adjacent grid again. By repeating this process, a path from the current location to the destination is obtained (Figure 7B).

[0086] Step S511: In step S511, the flight path generation unit 218 converts the path in the pseudospace obtained in step S510 into a spatiotemporal path using the above equation (1) (Figure 7C). In this way, it converts the path into a spatial coordinate and time format that is easy to handle as a command to the aircraft 110. Once the conversion is complete, the process proceeds to step S512.

[0087] Step S512: Finally, in step S512, once the flight path generation unit 218 has finished updating the path, it transmits a command value to the aircraft 110 via the communication device 104.

[0088] By using the above processing to employ a flight path that avoids time-varying dynamic obstacles, safe flight becomes possible. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since arrival times can be set on the spatiotemporal potential, route planning that explicitly considers arrival times becomes possible, enabling efficient operation.

[0089] Next, an example of the user interface when the present invention is used by an air traffic controller or pilot will be described using Figure 8. Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen that an air traffic controller or pilot checks on the display screen of the air traffic control system of Embodiment 1.

[0090] As shown in Figure 8, the display screen 221 shown on the display unit 222 of the control system 210 shows control information on the left side and the flight status of each aircraft 110, 120, ... in the flow status window 220 on the right side.

[0091] Furthermore, as air traffic control information, as shown in the lower part of Figure 8, the flight path at each time point from 0 minutes to the arrival time of 35 minutes later is shown as a vector field, where the potential gradient, which is the rate of change of the potential value, is represented as a vector.

[0092] For example, an obstacle appears between 5 and 15 minutes past the hour and disappears during other time periods. This corresponds to a flight hazard area caused by, for example, sudden turbulence. In this case, the control information includes a time-series potential field and flight path information for that time.

[0093] By displaying the target flight path and obstacle information at each time point in time, safe piloting and operational monitoring can be performed while recognizing the temporal changes in the obstacles. Furthermore, because it is displayed as a vector field, the direction of obstacle avoidance can be clearly visualized with arrows.

[0094] In this way, by allowing air traffic controllers and pilots to operate the aircraft while referring to the information on the display unit 222, safe remote flight becomes possible.

[0095] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0096] The control system 210 of Embodiment 1 of the present invention described above includes: a flight state / flight environment management unit 211 that inputs environmental information, which is information about the environment in which the aircraft 110 moves, and movement information, which includes the departure point and arrival point of the aircraft 110; a spatiotemporal potential evaluation unit 215 that uses the environmental information input from the flight state / flight environment management unit 211 to generate difficulty data in a digital space having one or more spatial dimensions and a time dimension, indicating the difficulty and / or ease of the aircraft 110 moving through a certain area in the environment; and a flight path generation unit 218 that uses the digital space into which the difficulty data is input and the movement information to generate a flight path for the aircraft 110, and outputs the digital space and the flight path.

[0097] In this way, difficulty data indicating the difficulty and / or ease of movement of the aircraft 110 in a given area is generated in the environment, and by inputting this difficulty data into the spatial dimension, a flight path is created that reflects future flight risks, and by outputting it in digital space, a safe and efficient flight path is presented that allows the aircraft to reach its destination by the arrival time, taking into account changes in future flight risks such as weather forecasts. As a result, the stability and safety of operations can be improved compared to conventional methods, and the aircraft can be operated more safely and efficiently than before.

[0098] Furthermore, the spatiotemporal potential evaluation unit 215 calculates the possibility and / or degree of interference during movement of the aircraft 110 at a certain point in time, and calculates the difficulty and / or ease based on the possibility and / or degree of interference. This allows for a more accurate reflection of future flight risks, and thus enables the determination of safe and efficient flight paths with higher accuracy.

[0099] Furthermore, the spatiotemporal potential evaluation unit 215 converts the time dimension to units similar to the spatial dimension using arbitrary velocity parameters. In particular, when the spatiotemporal potential evaluation unit 215 converts the time dimension to units similar to the spatial dimension, it sets the velocity parameters so that the resolution is similar to the resolution of the spatial dimension, thereby enabling the conversion and related processing to be executed smoothly and at high speed.

[0100] Furthermore, the flight path generation unit 218 outputs the digital space and the flight path superimposed, thereby creating a white box representation of the digital space and the flight path. This makes the safety of the generated path visible to the user, allowing the user to easily understand that it is a safe flight path.

[0101] <Example 2> The operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method of Example 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 9.

[0102] In the above-described Example 1, we mainly illustrated the case where the aircraft 110 flies in an area without speed restrictions. However, depending on the route, it may be desirable to generate a flight path while considering speed restrictions and motion restrictions of the aircraft 110. In Example 2, a route is generated while considering speed restrictions and motion restrictions of the aircraft 110.

[0103] Example 2 will be explained using Figure 9. Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram of the route generation method in the flight risk space of the flight management system of Example 2.

[0104] In this embodiment, the flight path generation unit 218 generates a flight path using digital space, taking into account either or more of the speed limit and the motion limit of the moving object.

[0105] The spatiotemporal potential field is shown on the left side of Figure 9 as a plane with x-coordinate in spatial dimension and t in time dimension. In this case, the slope of the path obtained corresponds to the amount of x-coordinate movement per unit time, and therefore represents the x-component of velocity.

[0106] Furthermore, when performing pathfinding, this characteristic can be taken into account, and by limiting the amount of x-coordinate movement per unit time, a speed limit can be considered (Figure 9, right). By defining the searchable area in this way and proceeding with the search, it becomes possible to generate a path that takes speed limits into account. Applying this similarly to three-dimensional spacetime, the speed-limited area can be represented by a cone shape.

[0107] Furthermore, when restricting the movement of the aircraft 110, for example, measures are taken to prevent it from entering no-fly zones or from performing flight maneuvers prohibited by ordinances or other regulations.

[0108] The other configurations and operations are substantially the same as those of the operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method described in Example 1 above, and details are omitted.

[0109] In the operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method of Embodiment 2 of the present invention, substantially the same effects as those of the operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method of Embodiment 1 described above can be obtained.

[0110] Furthermore, the flight path generation unit 218 generates a flight path using digital space, taking into account either or more of the speed limit and the motion limit of the moving object. This enables the generation of a path that takes speed limits into account, allowing for flexible responses to regulations and other restrictions.

[0111] <Other> Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are included. For example, the embodiments described above are explained in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described.

[0112] Furthermore, it is possible to replace parts of the configuration of one embodiment with parts of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add parts of the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace parts of the configuration of each embodiment with parts of other configurations.

[0113] 101...Main enclosure 102...Blade rotor 103...Aircraft control device 104...Communication device 110, 120...Aircraft (mobile) 112...Target position / attitude generation unit 113...Position / attitude sensor 114...Position / attitude control unit 115...Tracking control unit 116...Map database 117...Operational status management unit 130...Takeoff / landing port 210...Control system (flight management device) 211...Flight status / flight environment management unit (management unit) 212...Flight mode change unit 213...Flight path planning unit 214...Obstacle information registration unit 215...Spatiotemporal potential evaluation unit (digital space generation unit) 216...Dimensional converter 217...Spatiotemporal potential field calculator 218...Flight path generation unit (movement path generation unit, output unit) 219...Path generation condition registration unit 220...Flow status window 221...Display screen 222...Display unit 310...Air traffic control information server

Claims

1. An operation management device comprising: a management unit that inputs environmental information, which is information relating to the environment in which a moving object moves, and movement information, which includes the starting point and arrival point of the moving object; a digital space generation unit that uses the environmental information input from the management unit to generate difficulty data indicating the difficulty and / or ease of the moving object moving through a certain area in the environment on a digital space having one or more spatial dimensions and a time dimension; a movement path generation unit that uses the digital space into which the difficulty data is input and the movement information to generate a movement path for the moving object; and an output unit that outputs the digital space generated by the digital space generation unit and the movement path generated by the movement path generation unit.

2. An operation management device according to claim 1, wherein the digital space generation unit calculates the possibility and / or degree of interference in movement of the moving object at a certain point in time, and calculates the difficulty and / or ease based on the possibility and / or degree of interference.

3. An operation management device according to claim 1, wherein the digital space generation unit converts the time dimension to units similar to the spatial dimension using arbitrary speed parameters.

4. An operation management device according to claim 3, wherein the digital space generation unit converts the time dimension to units similar to the spatial dimension by setting the speed parameter so that the resolution is similar to the resolution of the spatial dimension.

5. An operation management device according to claim 1, wherein the movement path generation unit generates the movement path using the digital space, taking into consideration either or more of the speed limit and the movement limit of the moving body.

6. An operation management device according to claim 1, wherein the movement path generation unit outputs the digital space and the movement path superimposed.

7. An operation management system comprising one or more of the aforementioned mobile bodies and an operation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. An operation management method that inputs environmental information, which is information about the environment in which a moving object moves, and movement information, which includes the starting point and arrival point of the moving object; generates difficulty data, which indicates the difficulty and / or ease of the moving object moving through a certain area in the environment, on a digital space having one or more spatial dimensions and a time dimension, using the input environmental information; generates a movement path for the moving object using the digital space in which the difficulty data is input and the movement information; and outputs the generated digital space and the movement path.

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