Patent Application
20200307784
The present invention relates to a control system, and specifically to an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system applicable to the tracking of a controller.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are often used to gauge weather and take landscape shots or group photos. Generally speaking, the flight direction of a UAV is controlled by the user so that a better scene, scenery or portraits can be taken. A solution in the prior art is proposed where images are taken for the purpose of controlling the flight direction so as to take the image of a target. However, since controlling the flight direction through images recognition costs a large amount of calculation resources, and thus conventional ways of controlling the flight direction of a UAV does not work efficiently.
An objective of the present invention is to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system that utilize the localization module disposed on the unmanned aerial vehicle to receive the localization signal sent by a controller, thereby controlling the flight direction and flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle through a microcontroller.
An embodiment of the present invention provides an unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system including an unmanned aerial vehicle and a controller. The unmanned aerial vehicle has a body, a first localization module and a second localization module, in which the first localization module and the second localization module are disposed on the body with the first localization module facing a first direction and the second localization module facing a second direction. The controller is used for sending a localization signal to the first localization module and the second localization module, in which the unmanned aerial vehicle controls the direction that the body faces and the distance between unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller according to the localization signal.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides an unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system having an unmanned aerial vehicle and a controller. The unmanned aerial vehicle has a body, a first localization module and a second localization module, in which the first localization module and the second localization module are disposed on the body with the first localization module facing a first direction and the second localization module facing a second direction. The controller is used for receiving a first emission signal sent from the first localization module and a second emission signal sent from the second localization module, in which the controller controls the direction that the body faces and the distance between unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller according to the localization information of the first emission signal and the localization information of the second emission signal.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides an unmanned aerial vehicle including a body, a first localization module, and a second localization module. The body has a plurality of rotors, a rotor controlling module and an image capturing device. The first localization module has a first directional antenna disposed on the body and facing a first direction. The first localization module is used for sending a first emission signal. The second localization module has a second directional antenna disposed on the body and facing a second direction, the second localization module being used for sending a second emission signal.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides an unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system including an unmanned aerial vehicle and a controller. The unmanned aerial vehicle has a body, a first localization module and a second localization module, in which the first localization module and the second localization module are disposed on the body with the first localization module facing a first direction and the second localization module facing a second direction. The controller is used for receiving a first emission signal sent from the first localization module and a second emission signal sent from the second localization module, in which the controller sends a localization information data according to the localization information of the first emission signal and the localization information of the second emission signal, and the unmanned aerial vehicle receives the localization information data and adjusts the direction that the body faces and the distance between unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller according to the localization information data.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides an unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system applicable to the tracking of a controller and the controlling of the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle as stated above. The unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system includes a microcontroller, a plurality of directional antennae and a plurality of motor controllers. The plurality of directional antennae has a first directional antenna and a second directional antenna respectively coupled to the microcontroller, in which the first directional antenna receives a first receiving signal sent from the controller, the second directional antenna receives a second receiving signal sent from the controller, and the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal each have an identification code different from one another, wherein the microcontroller identifies the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal through the identification code thereof. The plurality of motor controllers includes a first motor controller and a second motor controller respectively coupled to the microcontroller. The microcontroller controls the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the first motor controller and the second motor controller according to the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal such that the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller is a predetermined distance.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides an unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system applicable to the controlling of the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle as stated above. The unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system includes a microcontroller, a plurality of directional antennae, a plurality of motor controllers and a controller. The plurality of directional antennae includes a first directional antenna and a second directional antenna respectively coupled to the microcontroller, in which the first directional antenna receives a first receiving signal sent from the controller, the second directional antenna receives a second receiving signal sent from the controller, and the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal each have an identification code different from one another, wherein the microcontroller identifies the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal through the identification code thereof. The plurality of motor controllers includes a first motor controller and a second motor controller respectively coupled to the microcontroller. The controller is wirelessly connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system and has a user interface. The controller is used for controlling that the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller is a predetermined distance. The microcontroller controls the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the first motor controller and the second motor controller according to the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal such that the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller is a predetermined distance.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes an unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system applicable to the tracking of a controller and the controlling of the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle as stated above. The unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system includes a microcontroller, a directional antenna, and a plurality of motor controllers. The directional antenna is coupled to the microcontroller and receiving a localization signal sent from the controller. The plurality of motor controllers includes a first motor controller and a second motor controller respectively coupled to the microcontroller. The microcontroller controls the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the first motor controller and the second motor controller according to the localization signal such that the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller is a predetermined distance.
With the aforementioned technical solutions, the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system of the present invention includes the body, the first localization module and the second localization module of the unmanned aerial vehicle, in which the first localization module and the second localization module can be disposed facing different directions such that the controller can receive difference localization signals. The controller then controls the direction that the body faces and the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller according to the localization signal sent from the first localization module and that sent from the second localization module, thereby achieving the tracking of the controller performed by the unmanned aerial vehicle with high accuracy.
Furthermore, the present invention utilizes the first directional antenna and the second directional antenna to receive the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal. The microcontroller determines whether to use the first motor controller and the second motor controller to change the flight direction and/or the flying distance according to the difference between the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal. In this way, the present invention can effectively reduce the manufacturing costs and enhance the spontaneity of the tracking performed by the unmanned aerial vehicle.
To further learn the features and technical content of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed descriptions and drawings related to the present invention. However, the provided drawings are used only for providing reference and descriptions, and are not intended to limit the present invention.
Please refer to
The unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system 10 includes an unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and a controller 200. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can be wirelessly controlled in Wi-Fi mode or in Bluetooth mode. In the present embodiment, the controller 200 is exemplified as a smartphone; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 includes the body 150, the first localization module 151, the second localization module 152, a plurality of rotors 160 and the image capturing device 170. The first localization module 151 includes the first emitter 1511 and the first directional antenna 1512. The first directional antenna 1512 is coupled to the first emitter 1511. The second localization module 152 includes the second emitter 1521 and the second directional antenna 1522. The second directional antenna 1522 is coupled to the second emitter 1521. It is commonly known that a localization module can emit and receive signals wirelessly, and thus details of the localization modules will not be further described herein.
Specifically, the first localization module 151, the second localization module 152, the rotors 160 and the image capturing device 170 are disposed on the body 150. The first directional antenna 1512 of the first localization module 151 is disposed facing the first direction. It should be understood that a signal sent from a directional antenna typically has at least one main lobe and at plurality of side lobes, in which the main lobes emit stronger radiation than the side lobes do. In addition, the first emission signal includes a first identification code, and the second emission signal includes a second identification code different from the first identification code. The controller 200 compares the localization information of the first emission signal and that of the second emission signal. The first localization module 151 sends a plurality of the first emission signals with a time interval between each successive first emission signal. The second localization module 152 sends a plurality of the second emission signals with the time interval of the first localization module 151 between each successive second emission signal. The time interval can be 1 ms, 5 ms, or 10 ms; however, the present invention is not limited thereto.
The main lobe of the first localization module 151 and that of the second localization module 152 face different directions. The controller 200 can receive the first emission signal sent from the first localization module 151 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and can receive the second emission signal sent from the second localization module 152 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. Furthermore, the controller 200 can determine the intensity of the first emission signal and that of the second emission signal through the information thereof. In other words, the controller 200 controls the direction that the body 150 faces and the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the controller 200 according to the localization information of the first emission signal and that of the second emission signal.
Please refer to
The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 includes a plurality of rotors 160 and a rotor controlling module (not shown in the drawings). The rotor controlling module controls the plurality of rotors 160 in accordance with the control signal sent from the controller 200 such that the flight direction and the flying distance of the body 150 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 can be controlled. For example, the controller 200 generates localization information data by comparing the localization information of the first emission signal and that of the second emission signal. Furthermore, the controller 200 sends the localization information data, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 receives the localization information data and adjusts the direction that the body 150 faces and the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the controller 200 according to the localization information data.
In one embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system 10 includes the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the controller 200. Specifically, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 has the body 150, the first localization module 151, and the second localization module 152. The first localization module 151 and the second localization module 152 are disposed on the body 150 and face a first direction and a second direction respectively. The controller 200 is used for sending a localization signal to the first localization module 151 and the second localization module 152, and then the microcontroller (not shown in the drawings) in the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 controls the direction of the body 150 and the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the controller 200. The unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system 10 adjusts the image capturing device 170 so that the image capturing device 170 faces the controller 200, which enables the image capturing device 170 to capture a desired image, e.g. the whole image of a certain target.
Referring to
The first controller 510 is used for sending a first localization signal to the group of unmanned aerial vehicles 515 and controlling the direction of the body and the distance between the first group of the unmanned aerial vehicles 515 and the first controller 510. In other words, the first controller 510 can control all the unmanned aerial vehicles of the first group of unmanned aerial vehicles 510 at the same time. In the present embodiment, the first controller 510 can control the two unmanned aerial vehicles in the first group of unmanned aerial vehicles 510 at the same time, and in another embodiment, the first controller 510 can control a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles in the first group of unmanned aerial vehicles 515. The second controller 520 is used for sending a second localization signal and controlling the direction of the body and the distance between the second group of unmanned aerial vehicles 525 and the second controller 520. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the number of the unmanned aerial vehicles and the controllers.
Please refer to
Referring to
The microcontroller (MCU) 110 can include software, firmware and hardware that enable the microcontroller 110 to complete proper calculation so as to control the flight direction and flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle. For instance, when the unmanned aerial vehicle is too far away from the user taking hold of the controller, the microcontroller 110 controls the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly towards the user. On the contrary, when the unmanned aerial vehicle is too close to the user taking hold of the controller, the microcontroller 110 controls the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly away from the user.
In the present embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system 1 includes a plurality of directional antennae. Specifically, in this embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system 1 includes a first directional antenna 131 and a second directional antenna 132. The first directional antenna 131 sends a first emission signal to the controller, which calculates the first receiving signal according to the first emission signal. The second directional antenna 132 sends a second emission signal to the controller, which calculates the second receiving signal according to the second emission signal. The microcontroller 110 controls the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the difference between the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal. For example, if the information of the second emission signal sent by the second directional antenna 132 is sequenced prior to the information of the first emission signal sent by the first directional antenna 131, the controller determines by calculation that the signal intensity of the second receiving signal is stronger than that of the first receiving signal.
To be specific, a directional antenna is designed to emit and receive electromagnetic waves in one or more particular directions, along which the main lobes have stronger field strength. The directional antenna emits and receives weaker electromagnetic waves in other directions, where the side lobes reside. If a circular polarization antenna is used, polarization mismatch may occur when the controller is being moved. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the first emission signal sent by the first directional antenna 131 and the second emission signal sent by the second directional antenna 132 can avoid polarization mismatch during the displacement of the controller.
The first directional antenna 131 and the second directional antenna 132 are coupled to the microcontroller 110 through the first Bluetooth module 121 and the second Bluetooth module 122 respectively. The first directional antenna 131 receives the first receiving signal sent from the controller, and the second directional antenna 132 receives the second receiving signal sent form the controller, wherein the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal each have an identification code different from one another. The microcontroller 110 identifies the first receiving signal and second receiving signal through the identification codes thereof.
In the present embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system 1 has a plurality of motor controllers. Specifically, the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system 1 includes the first motor controller 141 and the second motor controller 142 respectively coupled to the microcontroller 110. Furthermore, the first motor controller 141 is used for controlling the flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the second motor controller 142 is used for controlling the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The microcontroller 110 controls the unmanned aerial vehicle to rotate and change the flight direction thereof, or control the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly close to or away from the controller through the first motor controller 141 and the second motor controller 142.
Specifically, when the microcontroller 110 determines that the localization information of the first receiving signal is not equal to that of the second receiving signal, it may be the case that the information transmitted between the first directional antenna 131 and the controller is different from that transmitted between the second directional antenna 132 and the controller. Accordingly, the microcontroller 110 controls the first motor controller 141 to rotate the flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle in a manner such that the localization information of the first receiving signal is essentially equal to that of the second receiving signal.
On the other hand, when the microcontroller 110 determines that the localization information of the first receiving signal and that of the second receiving signal are identical and both smaller than a first distance-localization signal intensity, the microcontroller 110 controls the second motor controller 142 such that the unmanned aerial vehicle flies a flying distance towards the controller until the distance therebetween is equal to a predetermined distance. When the microcontroller 110 determines that the localization information of the first receiving signal and that of the second receiving signal are identical and both larger than a second distance-localization signal intensity, the microcontroller 110 controls the second motor controller 142 such that the unmanned aerial vehicle flies a flying distance away from the controller until the distance therebetween is equal to the predetermined distance. Specifically, the second distance-localization signal intensity is larger than the first distance-localization signal intensity. For instance, when the microcontroller 110 determines that the unmanned aerial vehicle is too far away from the controller, the microcontroller 110 controls the second motor controller 142 such that the unmanned aerial vehicle flies towards the controller until the distance therebetween is the predetermined distance. On the other hand, when the microcontroller 110 determines that the unmanned aerial vehicle is too close to the controller, the microcontroller 110 controls the second motor controller 142 such that the unmanned aerial vehicle flies away from the controller until the distance therebetween is the predetermined distance.
In the present embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system 1 has a plurality of Bluetooth modules. Specifically, the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system 1 includes the first Bluetooth module 121 and the second Bluetooth module 122. The first Bluetooth module 121 has the first serial peripheral interface (SPI) 1211, and the second Bluetooth module 122 has the second serial peripheral interface 1222. The first serial peripheral interface 1211 of the first Bluetooth module 121 is coupled between the first directional antenna 131 and the third serial peripheral interface 1101 of the microcontroller 110. The second serial peripheral interface 1222 of the microcontroller 110 is coupled between the second directional antenna 132 and the fourth serial peripheral interface 1102 of the microcontroller 110. Both the first Bluetooth module 121 and the second Bluetooth module 122 include storage circuits. The first Bluetooth module 121 receives the first receiving signal from the first directional antenna 131, and the second Bluetooth module 122 receives the second receiving signal from the second directional antenna 132. In one embodiment, a switch (not shown in the drawings) is provided between the first Bluetooth module 121 and the first directional antenna 131 and between the second Bluetooth module 122 and the second directional antenna 132 such that the first directional antenna 131 can be coupled to the second Bluetooth module 122, and the second directional antenna 132 can be coupled to the first Bluetooth module 121.
It can be derived from the above that the microcontroller 110 controls the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the first motor controller 141 and the second motor controller 142 according to the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal in a manner such that the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller held by the user is equal to the predetermined distance.
Please refer to
Referring to
Furthermore, the first motor controller 341 is used for controlling the flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the second motor controller 342 is used for controlling the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle. When the microcontroller 310 determines that the intensity of the localization signal is smaller than the direction-localization signal intensity, which indicates that the main lobe received by the controller is shifted in a significant manner, the microcontroller 310 controls the first motor controller 341 to rotate the unmanned aerial vehicle such that the flight direction thereof is changed. When the microcontroller 310 determines that the intensity of the localization signal is smaller than the distance-localization signal intensity, the microcontroller 310 controls the second motor controller 342 such that the unmanned aerial vehicle flies towards the controller until the distance therebetween is the predetermined distance. When the microcontroller 310 determines that the intensity of the localization signal is larger than the distance-localization signal intensity, the microcontroller 310 controls the second motor controller 342 such that the unmanned aerial vehicle flies away from the controller until the distance therebetween is the predetermined distance. The microcontroller 310 controls the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the first motor controller 341 and the second motor controller 342 according to the localization signal such that the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller held by the user is the predetermined distance.
Please refer to
In summary, the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned aerial vehicle controlling system provided by the present invention include the body, the first localization module and the second localization module of the unmanned aerial vehicle, in which the first localization module and the second localization module are disposed facing different directions such that the controller receives different localization signals. The controller then controls the direction that the body faces and the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller according to localization signal sent form the first localization module and that sent from the second localization module, thereby achieving accurate tracking of the controller performed by the unmanned aerial vehicle.
Furthermore, the present invention utilizes the first directional antenna and the second directional antenna to receive the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal respectively, in which the microcontroller determines the difference between the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal to decide whether to change the flight direction and the flying distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the first motor controller and the second motor controller. In addition, the first receiving signal and the second receiving signal each have an identification code different from each other so that the microcontroller can distinguish the first receiving signal from the second receiving signal, thereby enhancing the communication between the first directional antenna, the second directional antenna and the controller. The present invention controls the unmanned aerial vehicle to track the controller held by a user by calculating the intensity difference between the localization signals so that the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the controller is essentially equal to a predetermined distance, thereby effectively enhancing the spontaneity of the tacking and lowering the manufacturing costs. In addition, the first emission signal sent by the first directional antenna and the second emission signal sent by the second directional antenna can avoid polarization mismatch which may occur when the controller is being moved.
The present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, but the above embodiments are merely examples for implementing the present invention. It should be noted that the disclosed embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. On the contrary, any modification and equivalent configuration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims shall fall within the scope of the present invention.
