Drone Inspection Scheduling for Base Station Backlight Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flying bodies, such as drones, face challenges in inspecting facilities like base stations and bridges due to backlight conditions, which degrade image quality and make it difficult to determine the facility's state.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus that specifies non-backlight time slots for drone operations, allowing the drone to shoot facilities during times when backlight conditions are not satisfied, thereby generating an operation plan that minimizes the influence of backlight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the drone shoots the facility during daylight hours, then the inspection can be performed during normal operating hours, but the backlight condition causes the brightness of the facility in the shot image to decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of facility geometry, shooting directions, and sun movement patterns to predict backlight conditions in advance. The operation plan is generated beforehand with scheduled time slots that avoid predicted backlight conditions, allowing the drone to shoot during optimal lighting conditions without requiring real-time adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the temporal parameter of the inspection operation by scheduling shots at specific times when backlight conditions are minimized. By analyzing sun position relative to facility orientation and shooting directions, the system identifies time slots where the sun does not create backlight interference, thus optimizing illumination intensity for image quality.
2Device complexity
If the operation plan does not consider backlight conditions, then the planning process is simpler and faster, but the shot images are degraded by backlight interference
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically analyzing facility data, determining optimal shooting directions, predicting backlight conditions, and generating the operation plan without requiring manual intervention. The server apparatus autonomously processes geometric information, calculates sun positions, identifies time slots, and creates the complete operation plan, reducing both complexity and improving reliability simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms by using facility geometric information and predetermined shooting directions to predict backlight conditions. The operation plan is generated based on this feedback analysis, and the system can adjust time slots to avoid periods when the sun would create backlight interference in the determined shooting directions, thus ensuring reliable image quality.
Data Source
AI summary
Time slot specifying unit reads out facility information of a facility to be inspected (specifically, a base station ID of a base station whose previous inspection day is included in a past predetermined period) from facility information storage unit. Daytime information acquiring unit acquires daytime information at positions at which base stations to be inspected are installed. Time slot specifying unit specifies non-backlight time slots based on the read-out facility information and the acquired daytime information. Operation plan generating unit generates an operation plan of drone in which facilities are shot in the specified non-backlight time slots. Operation plan outputting unit outputs the generated operation plan.