Aerial shooting method and system using a drone

• US 10,627,821 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2017
• Issued: 04/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yuneec International Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Yuneec International Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Tian, Yu, Jiang, Wenyan
• Primary Examiner(s): Kalinowski, Alexander G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malhotra, Sanjeev
• Application Number:
  US15/494,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20170308087A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,095 Days
• Field of Search: 701 2, 701 3, 701302, 396 8, 348148, 244110 F
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/15 for conventional or electronic warfare
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an aerial shooting method and system using a drone, wherein the aerial shooting method using a drone comprises steps of presetting an aerial path and generating a first operation instruction based on the preset aerial path; controlling the drone to fly along the preset aerial path according to the first operation instruction; marking a plurality of waypoints during the flight of the drone along the preset aerial path; planning a flight path based on the plurality of waypoints and generating a flight instruction based on the flight path; making the drone automatically fly along the flight path according to the flight instruction; and controlling the drone to shoot during the automatic flight of the drone.

Claims

1. An aerial shooting system using a drone, comprising a ground station, a drone and a control device disposed on the drone, and the system further comprises a pan-and-tilt disposed on the drone and a camera disposed on the pan-and-tilt, wherein,

the ground station is adapted to preset an aerial path, generate a first operation instruction based on the preset aerial path, and transmit the first operation instruction to the control device;

the control device is adapted to control the drone to fly along the preset aerial path according to the first operation instruction;

the ground station is adapted to mark a plurality of waypoints during the flight of the drone along the preset aerial path, and transmit the plurality of waypoints to the control device;

the control device is adapted to plan a flight path based on the plurality of waypoints, generate a flight instruction based on the flight path, and transmit the flight instruction to the drone;

the drone is adapted to automatically fly along the flight path according to the flight instruction; and

the control device is adapted to control the pan-and-tilt and the camera to shoot during the automatic flight of the drone,

wherein the ground station comprises a master remote controller and a slave remote controller, and remote control mode of the master remote controller and the slave remote controller comprises a dual control mode and a single control mode, wherein in the single control mode, either one of the master remote controller and the slave remote controller is in communication connection with the drone, the pan-and-tilt and the camera, and in the dual control mode, the master remote controller is in communication connection with the drone, while the slave remote controller is in communication connection with the pan-and-tilt and the camera, and

the ground station further comprises a switch, and in the single control mode, the switch is capable of being operated to disconnect the communication connection between the master remote controller and the pan-and-tilt and the camera, and establish the communication connection between the slave remote controller and the pan-and-tilt and the camera, so as to switch the remote control mode from the single control mode to the dual control mode.

2. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 1, wherein the flight path planned by the control device is in a form of a curve.

3. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 1, wherein,

the ground station is further adapted to receive a second operation instruction and transmit the second operation instruction to the control device during the automatic flight of the drone;

and

the control device is adapted to control a flight attitude of the drone according to the second operation instruction.

4. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 3, wherein the flight attitude comprises at least one of starting, stopping, backing off, going forward, acceleration and deceleration.

5. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 1, wherein,

the ground station is further adapted to receive a third operation instruction and transmit the third operation instruction to the control device during the automatic flight of the drone;

and

the control device is adapted to control a shooting angle of the camera according to the third operation instruction.

6. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 1, wherein,

the ground station further comprises a display device, and the control device is adapted to transmit flight parameters of the drone to the display device, which is used for displaying the flight parameters.

7. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 6, wherein,

the control device is further adapted to transmit images captured by the camera to the display device, which is further used for displaying the captured images.

8. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 1, wherein,

in the single control mode, the switch is further capable of being operated to disconnect the communication connection between the slave remote controller and the drone, and establish the communication connection between the master remote controller and the drone, so as to switch the remote control mode from the single control mode to the dual control mode.

9. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 1, wherein,

in the dual control mode, the switch is capable of being operated to disconnect the communication connection between the slave remote controller and the pan-and-tilt and the camera, and establish the communication connection between the master remote controller and the pan-and-tilt and the camera, so as to switch the remote control mode from the dual control mode to the single control mode.

10. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 1, wherein,

in the dual control mode, the switch is further capable of being operated to disconnect the communication connection between the master remote controller and the drone, and establish the communication connection between the slave remote controller and the drone, so as to switch the remote control mode from the dual control mode to the single control mode.

11. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 1, wherein,

each of the master remote controller and the slave remote controller is provided with a wireless transceiver module.

12. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 1, wherein,

the slave remote controller is provided with a display device.

13. The aerial shooting system using a drone of claim 12, wherein,

the display device is adapted to display images captured by the camera.

14. An aerial shooting method using a drone, comprising steps of:

S1, presetting an aerial path by use of a ground station, which generates a first operation instruction based on the preset aerial path and transmits the first operation instruction to a control device;

S2, the control device controls the drone to fly along the preset aerial path according to the first operation instruction;

S3, marking a plurality of waypoints during the flight of the drone along the preset aerial path by use of the ground station, and the ground station transmits the plurality of waypoints to the control device;

S4, the control device plans a flight path based on the plurality of waypoints, generates a flight instruction based on the flight path, and transmits the flight instruction to the drone;

S5, the drone automatically flies along the flight path according to the flight instruction; and

S6, controlling the drone to shoot during the automatic flight of the drone by use of the control device,

wherein the method further comprises the following steps;

connecting in communication either one of a master remote controller and a slave remote controller of the ground station with the drone, a pan-and-tilt provided on the drone and a camera provided on the pan-and-tilt in a single control mode, and connecting in communication the master remote controller with the drone and connecting in communication the slave remote controller with the pan-and-tilt and the camera in a dual control mode, and

in the single control mode, operating a switch to disconnect the communication connection between the master remote controller and the pan-and-tilt and the camera, and establish the communication connection between the slave remote controller and the pan-and-tilt and the camera so as to switch from the single control mode to the dual control mode.

15. The aerial shooting method using a drone of claim 14, wherein the flight path planned in the step of S4 is in a form of a curve.

16. The aerial shooting method using a drone of claim 14, wherein in the step of S6, the ground station receives a second operation instruction and transmits the second operation instruction to the control device during the automatic flight of the drone;

and

the control device controls a flight attitude of the drone according to the second operation instruction.

17. The aerial shooting method using a drone of claim 16, wherein the flight attitude comprises at least one of starting, stopping, backing off, going forward, acceleration and deceleration.

18. The aerial shooting method using a drone of claim 14, wherein in the step of S6, the ground station receives a third operation instruction and transmits the third operation instruction to the control device during the automatic flight of the drone;

and

the control device controls a shooting angle of a camera of the drone according to the third operation instruction.