The present application claims priority to and the benefit of the filing date of Chinese Patent Application No. CN201610147391.9, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on Mar. 15, 2016, and entitled “Controlled Device and Communication System and Method Utilizing the Same,” the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication, and particularly to a controlled device and a communication system and method utilizing the same.
An unmanned aerial vehicle, called “UAV” for short, is an unmanned aircraft manipulated by a radio remote control device and a self-contained program control means. The UAV undertakes tasks of ground monitoring, target tracking, military attacking and the like; furthermore, as having advantages of small size, strong flexibility and the like, the UAV plays an extremely important role in the military and civil fields. Performances of data links of the UAV directly determine the security and flight effectiveness of the UAV during the implementation of the tasks, and they are as if the brain and eyes of the UAV.
The data links of the UAV may be divided into an uplink and a downlink according to different data transfer directions. The uplink is mainly used to send remote control commands from a ground-based terminal to the UAV, so as to realize real-time control of flight attitudes and command automatization. The downlink is mainly used to transfer information, such as sensed data and reconnaissance images, from the UAV to the ground-based terminal.
The UAV may be controlled by two remote controls, and communicate with them via the uplink and the downlink. Generally, the communication between the two remote controls and the UAV is achieved in such a manner that, a second remote control sends control data to a first remote control, the first remote control gathers the control data sent from the second remote control and control data of the first remote control itself, packages the gathered control data together and sends them to the UAV, and the UAV interprets the received control data so as to perform various operations. Under this operating mode, there is a disadvantage that a distance between the two remote controls should not be too far; in addition, since the remote controls are generally located not very high from the ground, the communication between the two remote controls would be seriously affected if there is an obstacle between the remote controls.
In order to more clearly illustrate technical solutions of embodiments of the present disclosure, drawings of the embodiments will be introduced briefly hereinafter. It should be understood that the drawings below merely show some embodiments of the present disclosure, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope. Other relevant drawings can also be obtained, in light of these drawings, by a person ordinarily skilled in the art without paying inventive effort.
Technical solutions of embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely hereinafter, in conjunction with drawings used for the embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, some but not all of embodiments of the present disclosure are described. Generally, components in the embodiments of the present disclosure, which are described and shown in the drawings herein, can be arranged and designed in different configurations. Therefore, the detailed description below of the embodiments of the present disclosure provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure, but merely represents chosen embodiments of the present disclosure. All the other embodiments, obtained by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without paying inventive effort, fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.
It should be noted that similar reference signs and letters represent similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once a certain item is defined in one drawing, it is not needed to be further defined or explained in subsequent drawings. Meanwhile, in the description of the present disclosure, terms, such as “first” and “second”, are merely for describing the distinction, but should not be construed as indicating or suggesting a relative significance.
Besides, it should be noted that the controlled device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may be a UAV, an unmanned ship, a robot and the like; and accordingly, the communication system provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to fields of the UAV, the unmanned ship, the robot and the like.
Referring to
The controlled device 30 is mounted with at least one load. The load may be a gimbal. Optionally, a means capable of photographing, such as a camera and a video camera, may be carried on the gimbal. The load may also be a sensing means, such as a temperature detector, an infrared detector and a multispectral scanner. Furthermore, the load may also be other external devices, such as a loudspeaker and a pesticide box. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, it is illustrated by taking a case that the load is a gimbal on which a video camera is carried as an example. One of the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 may be used to control a flight operation of the controlled device 30, and the other one may be used to control a load operation of the controlled device 30. In the present embodiment of the present disclosure, it is illustrated by taking a case that the first remote control 10 is used to control the flight operation of the controlled device 30 and the second remote control 20 is used to control the gimbal operation of the controlled device 30 as an example. However, in other embodiments, the first remote control 10 may also be used to control the gimbal operation of the controlled device 30, and the second remote control 20 may also be used to control the flight operation of the controlled device 30. It can be understood that the above flight operation may include but not limited to taking-off, hovering, bending-over, direction changing, accelerating, landing and the like. The above gimbal operation may refer to photographing with at least one video camera on the controlled device 30, a rotation of the gimbal itself, and the like.
Specifically, both the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 store a plurality of commands for controlling the flight operation and the gimbal operation of the controlled device 30. Referring to
It is worth mentioning that the above first control device 60 and second control device 70 may be a portable electronic device, such as a cellphone, a tablet computer and glasses, and they may be provided respectively on the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 in a clamping or suspending manner or the like, so as to be carried easily. Moreover, the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 may further transfer feedback information received from the controlled device 30 to the first control device 60 and the second control device 70, respectively, so as to make them displayed by display screens of the first control device 60 and the second control device 70.
It can be understood that each of the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 may also have a self-contained display screen so as to display the feedback information from the controlled device 30. Furthermore, the first control device 60 may also be integrated with the first remote control 10, and the second control device 70 may also be integrated with the second remote control 20, where specific implementations of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.
Referring to
The first input unit 13 is used to input first control information, the first control information may include first control data used for controlling the flight operation of the controlled device 30 and first transmission data intended to be transmitted to the second remote control 20. In the present embodiment, the first input unit 13 may be operation buttons on the first remote control 10 for allowing a user to input the first control information, such as a plurality of commands for controlling the flight operation of the controlled device 30. It can be understood that the first input unit 13 may also be a microphone for collecting voices of the user, and the first control information may correspondingly be voice information. It can be understood that the first control information may also be in the form of text, image or the like.
Upon receiving the first control information input through the first input unit 13, the first control unit 11 may control the first communication unit 15 to establish communication with the controlled device 30 via the first communication link, so as to send the first control information to the controlled device 30. In a specific implementation, the first control unit 11 may, before controlling the first communication unit 15 to send the first control information, process (for example, compress, encode or encrypt) the first control information, and then control the first communication unit 15 to send the processed first control information. Furthermore, the first communication unit 15 is further used to receive first feedback information transferred by the controlled device 30 and transfer the first feedback information to the first control unit 11. The first control unit 11 is further used to process (for example, decompress, decode or decrypt) the first feedback information, and transfer the processed first feedback information to the first output unit 17. The first output unit 17 is electrically connected with the first control device 60 (as shown in
It should be indicated that the first control data and the first transmission data included in the first control information may be sent simultaneously, or may also be sent separately, where specific implementations of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. Each of the first control data and the first transmission data includes a corresponding type identifier, and the controlled device may identify the first control data and the first transmission data from the first control information, based on their corresponding type identifiers. As mentioned above, the first control data is used to control the flight operation of the controlled device 30, and it may be input through operation buttons or a self-contained display screen (such as a touch screen) on the first remote control 10. As to the first transmission data, which may be at least one of text data, image data and voice data and transmitted to the second remote control 20 by means of the controlled device 30, it may also be input through the operation buttons or the self-contained display screen on the first remote control 10, or may also be input through the microphone on the first remote control 10. In addition, the above first feedback information includes the telemetric data of the controlled device 30 and the second transmission data sent from the second remote control 20, which will be described in detail hereinafter.
Referring to
The second input unit 23 is used to input second control information, the second control information may include second control data used for controlling the gimbal operation of the controlled device 30 and second transmission data intended to be transmitted to the first remote control 10. In the present embodiment, the second input unit 23 may be operation buttons on the second remote control 20 for allowing the user to input the second control information, such as a plurality of commands for controlling the gimbal operation of the controlled device 30. It can be understood that the second input unit 23 may also be a microphone for collecting voices of the user, and the second control information may correspondingly be voice information.
Upon receiving the second control information input through the second input unit 23, the second control unit 21 may control the second communication unit 25 to establish communication with the controlled device 30 via the second communication link, so as to send the second control information to the controlled device 30. In a specific implementation, similar to the first control unit 11, the second control unit 21 may also, before controlling the second communication unit 25 to send the second control information, process (for example, compress, encode or encrypt) the second control information, and then control the second communication unit 25 to send the processed second control information. Furthermore, the second communication unit 25 is further used to receive second feedback information transferred by the controlled device 30 and transfer the second feedback information to the second control unit 21. The second control unit 21 is further used to process (for example, decompress, decode or decrypt) the second feedback information, and transfer the processed second feedback information to the second output unit 27. The second output unit 27 is electrically connected with the second control device 70 (as shown in
It should be indicated that the second control data and the second transmission data included in the second control information may be sent simultaneously, or may also be sent separately, where specific implementations of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. Each of the second control data and the second transmission data includes a corresponding type identifier, and the controlled device may identify the second control data and the second transmission data from the second control information, based on their corresponding type identifiers. As mentioned above, the second control data is used to control the gimbal operation of the controlled device 30, and it may be input through operation buttons or a self-contained display screen (such as a touch screen) on the second remote control 20. As to the second transmission data, which may be at least one of text data, image data and voice data and transmitted to the first remote control 10 by means of the controlled device 30, it may also be input through the operation buttons or the self-contained display screen on the second remote control 20, or may also be input through the microphone on the second remote control 20. In addition, the above second feedback information includes the telemetric data of the controlled device 30 and the first transmission data sent from the first remote control 10, which will be described in detail hereinafter.
Referring to
The detection module 31 is used to acquire the telemetric data of the controlled device 30 and send the telemetric data to the control module 37. The telemetric data may include: sensed data, such as attitude, height and direction, of the controlled device 30 sensed by various sensing elements, such as an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a barometer, a magnetic sensor and a GPS; and reconnaissance images taken by the video camera carried on the gimbal of the controlled device 30. It should be indicated that, the detection module 31 may be activated when the controlled device 30 starts up, so as to collect the telemetric data in a real time manner; alternatively, the detection module 31 may also collect the telemetric data according to a corresponding control command received by the controlled device 30, where specific implementations of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.
The communication module 33 is used to establish two-way communication with the first communication unit 15 of the first remote control 10, so as to receive the first control information sent from the first communication unit 15 and send the first feedback information to the first communication unit 15. The first feedback information includes the telemetric data of the controlled device 30 and the second transmission data sent from the second remote control 20. Besides, this communication module 33 is further used to establish two-way communication with the second communication unit 25 of the second remote control 20, so as to receive the second control information sent from the second communication unit 25 and send the second feedback information to the second communication unit 25. The second feedback information includes the telemetric data of the controlled device 30 and the first transmission data sent from the first remote control 10. It can be understood that this communication module 33 can establish communication links based on identity information (ID) of the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20, respectively. For example, the communication module 33 can comprise a first communication module and a second communication module, where the first communication module is used to establish the first communication link with the first communication unit 15, so as to transfer information having a destination address or a source address related to the ID of the first remote control 10, and the second communication module is used to establish the second communication link with the second communication unit 25, so as to transfer information having a destination address or a source address related to the ID of the second remote control 20.
The routing module 35 is used to send the first control information and the second control information received by the communication module 33 to the control module 37. Besides, the routing module 35 is further used to send the telemetric data, the first transmission data and the second transmission data output by the control module 37 to the communication module 33. For example, the routing module 35 may send the telemetric data and the second transmission data having a destination address related to the ID of the first remote control 10 to the above first communication module, and may send the telemetric data and the first transmission data having a destination address related to the ID of the second remote control 20 to the above second communication module.
The control module 37 is used to process the first control information and the second control information sent by the routing module 35, and process the telemetric data sent by the detection module 31. Furthermore, upon receiving the first control information, the control module 37 identifies the first control information so as to obtain at least one of the first control data and the first transmission data. For example, the control module 37 may perform this identification operation by utilizing specific type identifiers associated with the first control data and the first transmission data respectively. Thereafter, the control module 37 may control the flight operation of the controlled device 30 according to the first control data identified from the first control information, and/or send the first transmission data identified from the first control information and the telemetric data of the controlled device 30 itself to the second remote control 20 through the routing module 35 and the communication module 33. In a specific implementation, the control module 37 may send to the routing module 35 the first transmission data and the telemetric data after making them processed. For example, the control module 37 may set the destination address of the first transmission data and the telemetric data to be associated with the ID of the second remote control 20, and perform a processing, such as a compressing, encoding or encrypting operation, on the first transmission data and the telemetric data, so that the routing module 35 may send the first transmission data and the telemetric data, after being processed by the control module 37, with the second communication module (correspondingly, via the second communication link) according to the destination address.
Upon receiving the second control information, the control module 37 identifies the second control information so as to obtain at least one of the second control data and the second transmission data. For example, the control module 37 may perform this identification operation by utilizing specific type identifiers associated with the second control data and the second transmission data respectively. Thereafter, the control module 37 may control the gimbal operation of the controlled device 30 according to the second control data identified from the second control information, and/or send the second transmission data identified from the second control information and the telemetric data of the controlled device 30 itself to the first remote control 10 through the routing module 35 and the communication module 33. In a specific implementation, the control module 37 may send to the routing module 35 the second transmission data and the telemetric data after making them processed. For example, the control module 37 may set the destination address of the second transmission data and the telemetric data to be associated with the ID of the first remote control 10, and perform a processing, such as a compressing, encoding or encrypting operation, on the second transmission data and the telemetric data, so that the routing module 35 may send the second transmission data and the telemetric data, after being processed by the control module 37, with the first communication module (correspondingly, via the first communication link) according to the destination address.
Of course, the telemetric data may be transferred to the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 independently, that is, it is not necessary for the telemetric data to be transferred simultaneously with the first transmission data or the second transmission data. In fact, the telemetric data may be transferred in a real time manner, or may also be transferred at a predetermined time interval.
It should be indicated that, the routing module 35 and the control module 37 are shown in
Referring to
Step S1, the first remote control 10 sends first control information to the controlled device 30, and the second remote control 20 sends second control information to the controlled device 30, where the first control information includes first control data and first transmission data, and the second control information includes second control data and second transmission data.
The above first control information is transferred to the communication module 33 of the controlled device 30 through the first communication unit 15 of the first remote control 10, and the second control information is transferred to the communication module 33 of the controlled device 30 through the second communication unit 25 of the second remote control 20. Of course, the first control data and the first transmission data may be sent simultaneously, or they may be sent separately; similarly, the second control data and the second transmission data may be sent simultaneously, or they may be sent separately. Moreover, although both the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 send information to the controlled device 30 as described in the above step S1, there is no limitation on the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 that they have to send the information simultaneously. In fact, the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 may send the information to the controlled device 30 separately.
Step S2, the controlled device 30 receives the first control information and the second control information.
Specifically, the communication module 33 of the controlled device 30 receives the first control information and the second control information and transfers them to the control module 37. Correspondingly, in the present disclosure, there is no limitation on the controlled device 30 that it must receive the first control information and the second control information simultaneously. In fact, the first control information and the second control information may be received separately.
Step S3, the controlled device 30 identifies the first control information, and performs a flight operation according to the first control data identified from the first control information, and/or transfers the first transmission data identified from the first control information to the second remote control 20.
Specifically, after identifying the first control data from the first control information, the controlled device 30 is controlled to perform the flight operation according to the first control data; and after identifying the first transmission data from the first control information, the controlled device 30 transfers the first transmission data to the second remote control 20 through the routing module 35 and the communication module 33. That is to say, in this situation, the second remote control 20 can receive the first transmission data sent from the first remote control 10. In the case where the first transmission data is voice data, the second remote control 20 may play, by means of the loudspeaker thereof, this voice data sent from the first remote control 10. In another aspect, the controlled device 30 may collect the telemetric data (for example, continuously) with the detection module 31, and send the collected telemetric data to the second remote control 20 through the routing module 35 and the communication module 33, so that the second remote control 20 may make, upon receiving the telemetric data sent by the controlled device 30, the telemetric data displayed with the second control device 70 or a self-contained display screen for view.
Step S4, the controlled device 30 identifies the second control information, and performs a gimbal operation according to the second control data identified from the second control information, and/or transfers the second transmission data identified from the second control information to the first remote control 10.
Specifically, after identifying the second control data from the second control information, the controlled device 30 is controlled to perform the gimbal operation according to the second control data; and after identifying the second transmission data from the second control information, the controlled device 30 transfers the second transmission data to the first remote control 10 through the routing module 35 and the communication module 33. That is to say, in this situation, the first remote control 10 can receive the second transmission data sent from the second remote control 20. In the case where the second transmission data is voice data, the first remote control 10 may play, by means of the loudspeaker thereof, this voice data sent from the second remote control 20. In this way, voice communication may be realized between the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20, thereby facilitating real-time talkback therebetween. In another aspect, this controlled device 30 may collect the telemetric data (for example, continuously) with the detection module 31, and send the collected telemetric data to the first remote control 10 through the routing module 35 and the communication module 33, so that the first remote control 10 may make, upon receiving the telemetric data sent by the controlled device 30, the telemetric data displayed with the first control device 60 or a self-contained display screen for view.
It should be indicated that, the order of the above steps S3 and S4 may also be reversed, or steps S3 and S4 may be performed concurrently, as long as the establishment of communication (for example, voice communication) between the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 can be ensured. Moreover, since the communication (for example, voice communication) between the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 is established by means of the controlled device 30, positions of the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 and a distance therebetween may be flexibly adjusted. For example, the first remote control 10 may be provided indoors, and the second remote control 20 may be provided outdoors; alternatively, the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 may be provided at two sides of a mountain; alternatively, the first remote control 10 may be provided at the site of an accident, and the second remote control 20 may be provided at a distant monitoring site. In the multiple scenes described above, the distance between the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 may not be limited, and a distance between the controlled device 30 and the first remote control 10 and a distance between the controlled device 30 and the second remote control 20 each may be set according to communication capacities of respective means and on-site obstacles. For example, the distance between the first remote control 10 and the controlled device 30 and the distance between the second remote control 20 and the controlled device 30 each are preferably 2 to 4 kilometers.
It should be specially indicated that, the communication system 100 and method provided by embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to involving only the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 described in the embodiments, more remote controls may further be involved, for example, a third remote control and a fourth remote control. That is to say, with the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of remote controls can communicate with each other by means of the controlled device 30. For example, the first transmission data in the form of voice output by the first remote control 10 may be transferred to the second remote control 20, the third remote control and the fourth remote control by means of the controlled device 30, and the first remote control 10 may receive the transmission data in the form of voice transferred by the second remote control 20, the third remote control and the fourth remote control be means of the controlled device 30; and in this way, multi-party talkback is realized among the plurality of remote controls, thereby forming one talkback system.
In the communication system 100 and method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the controlled device 30 receives the first transmission data sent by the first remote control 10 and the second transmission data sent by the second remote control 20, and the controlled device 30 transfers the first transmission data to the second remote control 20 and the second transmission data to the first remote control 10. In this way, the first remote control 10 and the second remote control 20 can establish communication (for example, voice communication) by means of the controlled device 30, enabling restriction caused by the distance between the two remote controls on the communication therebetween to be eliminated, that is, the two remote controls can communicate normally with each other in the case that there is a long distance therebetween, and enabling influences caused by obstacles existing between the remote controls on the communication therebetween to be significantly reduced.
It should be noted that similar reference signs and letters represent similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once a certain item is defined in one drawing, it is not needed to be further defined or explained in subsequent figures.
The foregoing is merely representative of specific embodiments of the present disclosure, while the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Alterations or substitutions, which can be easily contemplated by any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, should fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be determined by the scope of protection of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201610147391.9 | Mar 2016 | CN | national |