Laser Spot UAV Guidance for Precise Inspection Flight Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for accurately controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during inspections, such as in tunnels or bridge piers, face challenges with increased weight, power consumption, and cost due to the use of radars and high-precision IMUs, and determining the positional relationship with target objects is difficult.
Innovation Solution
A control device using a Total Station (TS) with a spot-type indicating laser beam generates a bright spot on the target surface, allowing the UAV to follow the movement of this spot for precise flight control, eliminating the need for radars and high-precision IMUs by using the TS to measure distances and angles, and guiding the UAV along a desired path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If radar or laser scanner and high-precision IMU are mounted on the UAV to perform three-dimensional measurement for accurate flight control, then the measurement precision and flight control accuracy are improved, but the weight of the UAV increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the measurement function from the UAV and relocates it to a ground-based total station. The UAV is relieved of carrying radar, laser scanners, or high-precision IMUs, thereby reducing its weight. The total station performs three-dimensional measurements and provides guidance signals to control the UAV's flight path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a ground-based total station as an intermediary device between the control system and the UAV. This intermediary performs the complex measurement and calculation functions, receiving target position information and generating guidance signals that direct the UAV to specific positions without requiring the UAV to carry heavy measurement equipment.
2Measurement precision
If radar or laser scanner and high-precision IMU are mounted on the UAV to perform three-dimensional measurement for accurate flight control, then the flight control accuracy is improved, but the electrical power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the power-intensive measurement and calculation functions from the UAV and relocates them to the ground-based total station. This eliminates the need for the UAV to consume electrical power for operating radar, laser scanners, or high-precision IMUs, thereby reducing its power consumption while maintaining flight control accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The ground-based total station serves as an intermediary that handles the computationally intensive tasks of three-dimensional measurement and flight path calculation. By offloading these functions to the ground station, the UAV's electrical power requirements are significantly reduced, as it only needs to receive and follow guidance signals.
3Measurement precision
If radar or laser scanner and high-precision IMU are mounted on the UAV to perform three-dimensional measurement for accurate flight control, then the flight control accuracy is improved, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the expensive measurement equipment (radar, laser scanners, high-precision IMUs) from the UAV configuration and replaces it with a more cost-effective ground-based total station. This extraction eliminates the need for multiple high-cost components on the UAV while achieving the same or better measurement precision through the total station's capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the ground-based total station to create a three-dimensional model or representation of the target area and calculates the optimal flight path based on this copied spatial information. This approach avoids the need for the UAV to carry and process raw measurement data from expensive sensors, reducing equipment costs while maintaining measurement accuracy.
4Device complexity
If conventional methods are used to determine the positional relationship of the UAV with respect to the target object, then the system complexity is reduced, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in determining positional relationship
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the ground-based total station continuously measures the UAV's position and compares it with the desired flight path. The system automatically generates correction signals to guide the UAV back to the intended trajectory, eliminating the need for operators to manually calculate and adjust positional relationships. This feedback loop simplifies operation while maintaining system effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The ground-based total station acts as an intermediary that automatically determines and communicates the positional relationship between the UAV and the target object. This intermediary handles the complex coordinate transformations and position calculations, providing the operator with simplified guidance signals rather than requiring them to interpret raw positional data.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method efficiently guides the UAV to specific parts of target objects, reducing the load on the UAV and eliminating the need for advanced manipulation techniques, while allowing for precise position and posture control relative to the target.
Implementation Method 1
a laser emitting unit 101 having a function of emitting a spot-type indicating laser beam
Data Source
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AI summary
Objects of the present disclosure include providing a technique which can efficiently guide an unmanned aerial vehicle to a particular part of a target object. Provided is a control device for an unmanned aerial vehicle (200) including a camera (201). The control device comprises a bright spot detection unit configured to detect, from an image captured by camera (201), a bright spot (301) generated by a laser pointer; a flight control unit configured to perform, based on position of the bright spot (301) in the image, flight control over the unmanned aerial vehicle (200). In such structure, the camera (201) detects the bright spot (301), generated by the irradiation of spot-type indicating laser beam from the total station (100), on a wall surface (300), and the flight control over the unmanned aerial vehicle (200) is performed in a manner that the unmanned aerial vehicle (200) follows the bright spot (301).