Method and apparatus for managing identification information of unmanned aerial vehicle

A method of managing identification information of a drone may include: generating an access message, wherein the access message includes an identifier for the ground identification device, which is a transmitter, an identifier for a receiver, an execution function command for classifying and defining a function to be performed, a serial number for transmitting information sequentially and retransmitting the information when transmission fails, data size information for informing a size of data to be transmitted, and transmission data; and transmitting the access message to an integrated management system corresponding to the identifier for the receiver.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0128623, filed on Sep. 29, 2021, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a technique for integrally managing identification information of a drone (unmanned aerial vehicle), and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for managing identification information of a drone, which use a ground identification device, an integrated management system, and an access method therebetween to integrally manage wireless identification information transmitted from the drone.

2. Description of Related Art

Recently, as the use of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is increased worldwide, cases of dysfunction such as invasion of privacy, security threats to important facilities, and the like are continuously increasing.

In the case of small drones, ordinary people can easily access the drone even without specific expertise, and due to the nature of drones that can be remotely controlled, the burden of exposing personal information of a drone operator or owner is low, and thus there is a tendency for the drone operator to neglect his/her safety responsibility that the operator of the drone should have by hiding behind such anonymity. In addition, the drones are highly likely to be abused for various criminal acts using the advantages of air movement, and there are difficulties in tracking and verifying responsibility when abused.

Therefore, it is necessary to establish a basis for checking whether the flight of the drone is legal or illegal with the drone owner and for managing insurance information and the like for follow-up actions in the event of an accident.

However, there is currently no system for identifying basic information on drones, such as owner information, insurance information, aircraft registration information, etc., in the field and responding to the criminal use of small drones, illegal flight in no-fly zones, or the like.

In this way, a ground identification device that receives identification information transmitted by a drone on the ground, and a management system that stores and integrally manages the received identification information of the drone in a database (DB) are required, and, in addition, there is a need for a system for allowing the ground identification device to access the integrated management system and transmit the identification information of the drone.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are provided to substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a ground identification device, an integrated management system, and an access method therebetween, which integrally manage wireless identification information transmitted from a drone.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method and apparatus form anaging identification information of a drone, which are capable of acquiring the identification information of the drone through a ground identification device and storing and managing the identification information of the drone in a database.

Objects of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned objects and other objects and advantages of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure which are not mentioned can be understood by the following description and more clearly understood by the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. It will also be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized and attained by the means and combinations thereof set forth in the appended claims.

According to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of managing, by a ground identification device, identification information of a drone may comprise: generating an access message, wherein the access message includes an identifier for the ground identification device, which is a transmitter, an identifier for a receiver, an execution function command for classifying and defining a function to be performed, a serial number for transmitting information sequentially and retransmitting the information when transmission fails, data size information for informing a size of data to be transmitted, and transmission data; and transmitting the access message to an integrated management system corresponding to the identifier for the receiver.

The method may further comprise: transmitting an access message for requesting the identifier for the transmitter to the integrated management system, wherein the identifier for the transmitter is set as its own unique identifier; and receiving a response message for allocating the identifier for the transmitter in response to the access message for the request from the integrated management system, wherein the identifier for the transmitter which is allocated by the integrated management system is used when a subsequent access message is configured.

The generating of the access message may include setting an execution function command for transmitting operation state information of the ground identification device, generating data size information, and configuring transmission data including the operation state information of the ground identification device.

The operation state information of the ground identification device may include location information including a location, a longitude, and an altitude, first information related to an operation state of the ground identification device, second information related to a communication method used for drone identification, and third information related to a communication frequency used for drone identification.

The generating of the access message may include setting an execution function command for transmitting the identification information of the drone, generating data size information, and configuring transmission data including the identification information of the drone.

The identification information of the drone may include an identifier for the drone, an operation state of the drone, location information including a location, a longitude, and an altitude of the drone, a moving speed of the drone, a moving direction of the drone, and an identification date and time of the drone.

The method may further comprise: receiving an access message for an initialization request from the integrated management system; performing an initialization process in response to the access message for the initialization request; and transmitting an initialization response message corresponding to the access message for the initialization request to the integrated management system.

The method may further comprise: receiving an access message for a restart request from the integrated management system; performing a restart process in response to the access message for the restart request, wherein, in the restart process, integrated management information including the identifier for the ground identification device and an identifier for the integrated management system, which are allocated from the integrated management system, is maintained; and transmitting a restart response message corresponding to the access message for the restart request to the integrated management system.

According to a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of managing, by an integrated management system connected to a ground identification device through a network, identification information of a drone may comprise: receiving an access message from the ground identification device, wherein the access message includes an identifier for the ground identification device, which is a transmitter, an identifier for the integrated management system, which is a receiver, an execution function command for classifying and defining a function to be performed by the ground identification device, a serial number for transmitting information sequentially and retransmitting the information when transmission fails, data size information for informing a size of data to be transmitted, and transmission data; interworking with at least one of the ground identification device and a drone controller for drone identification on the basis of the information included in the access message; and receiving an access message including the identification information of the drone from at least one of the ground identification device and the drone controller, wherein the identification information of the drone includes an identifier for the drone, an operation state of the drone, location information including a location, a longitude, and an altitude of the drone, a moving speed of the drone, a moving direction of the drone, and an identification date and time of the drone.

The method may further comprise: receiving an access message for requesting identifier allocation from the ground identification device; allocating a first identifier for the ground identification device; and transmitting a response message including the first identifier to the ground identification device.

The method may further comprise, after the transmitting of the response message to the ground identification device is performed, receiving a message including operation state information of the ground identification device from the ground identification device.

The operation state information of the ground identification device may include location information including a location, a longitude, and an altitude, first information related to an operation state of the ground identification device, second information related to a communication method used for drone identification, and third information related to a communication frequency used for drone identification.

The method may further comprise: transmitting an access message for an initialization request to the ground identification device; and receiving an initialization response message corresponding to the access message for the initialization request from the ground identification device.

The method may further comprise: transmitting an access message for a restart request to the ground identification device; and receiving a restart response message corresponding to the access message for the restart request from the ground identification device, wherein, in the restart process performed by the ground identification device in response to the access message for the restart request, integrated management information including the identifier for the ground identification device and the identifier for the integrated management system, which are allocated from the integrated management system, is maintained.

The method may further comprise receiving an access message including other identification information of the drone from a controller of the drone.

The method may further comprise, before the receiving of the access message including other identification information of the drone from the controller is performed, receiving an access message for a controller identifier check request from the controller; transmitting a controller identifier check response message corresponding to the access message for the controller identifier check request to the controller; and receiving identification information of the controller from the controller.

The identification information of the controller may include an identifier for the controller, location information of the controller, and an identification date and time of the controller.

According to a third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus for managing identification information of a drone may comprise: a ground identification device access device configured to access a ground identification device that receives a signal from the drone and transmit information; a controller access device configured to access a controller of the drone and transmit information; an identification information management device configured to manage the identification information of the drone, which is received through the ground identification device access device, the controller access device, or both the ground identification device access device and the controller access device; and a database configured to store the identification information, wherein the ground identification device access device allocates an identifier to the ground identification device in response to a request of the ground identification device to transmit the identifier for the ground identification device to the ground identification device, and receives an access message including operation state information of the ground identification device as transmission data from the ground identification device, the controller access device allocates an identifier to the controller in response to a request of the controller to transmit the identifier for the controller to the controller, and receives an access message including operation state information of the controller as transmission data from the controller, and the access message includes an identifier for a transmitter, an identifier for a receiver, an execution function command for classifying and defining a function to be performed, a serial number for transmitting information sequentially and retransmitting the information when the transmission fails, data size information for informing a size of data to be transmitted, and transmission data.

The operation state information of the ground identification device may include location information including a location, a longitude, and an altitude, first information related to an operation state of the ground identification device, second information related to a communication method used for drone identification, and third information related to a communication frequency used for drone identification.

The identification information of the controller may include the identifier for the controller, location information of the controller, and an identification date and time of the controller.

According to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an access method between a ground identification device and an integrated management system, which is capable of effectively integrally managing wireless identification information transmitted from a drone.

Further, according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a drone identification information management apparatus which is capable of acquiring identification information of a drone through a ground identification device and storing and managing the identification information of the drone in a DB.

Further, according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an access method in which a ground identification device that receives identification information transmitted by a drone on the ground accesses an integrated management system to transmit ground identification device operation state, drone identification information, or the like, and the access method can contribute to effectively managing drone information and making a safe drone environment base through drone identification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed herein. However, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merely representative for purposes of describing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure set forth herein.

FIG.1is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a drone identification information management system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring toFIG.1, the drone identification information management system may include a ground identification device200, an integrated management system300, and a controller400.

The ground identification device200includes a drone information receiver210and an integrated management system access device220, receives identification information transmitted by a drone10through the drone information receiver210on the ground, and accesses the integrated management system300through the integrated management system access device220to transmit the identification information of the drone.

Similarly, the controller400may include a drone control device for controlling the drone and an integrated management system access device for accessing the integrated management system, and transmit self-managed identification information of the drone to the integrated management system300.

The integrated management system300is a device for storing and integrally managing the identification information of the drone, and includes a ground identification device access device310for transmitting information by accessing the ground identification device200through a network, a controller access device340for transmitting information by accessing the controller400through the network, an identification information management device320for managing the identification information of the drone, which is received through at least one of the ground identification device access device and the controller access device, and an identification information storage database (DB)330for storing and managing the identification information of the drone or the like.

The ground identification device, the integrated management system, and the controller may each include an access device or communication module for transmitting or receiving signals and data to or from each other through the network, and in terms of the above aspects, the access device or the communication module may be referred to as a communication node.

The network may support a mobile communication network, for example, fourth generation (4G) communication, such as long-term evolution (LTE), LTE-A (LTE advanced), or fifth generation (5G) communication, such as New Radio (NR), which is defined in the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, or the like. Here, 4G communication may be performed using a frequency of about 6 GHz or less, and 5G communication may be performed using a frequency of about 6 GHz or more as well as the frequency of about 6 GHz or less.

Further, the network may include a wired or wireless local area network (LAN). The wireless LAN may include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. In this case, the ground identification device, the integrated management system, and the controller may be connected through a wireless LAN or a wired/wireless Internet network other than mobile communication to transmit or receive signals and data.

Further, the network may further include a core network. When the network supports 4G communication, the core network may include a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), a mobility management entity (MME), or the like. When the network supports 5G communication, the core network may include a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), or the like.

Further, the network may further include a satellite network or a wired/wireless Internet. The satellite network or the wired/wireless Internet may be combined with a LAN, a mobile communication network, a vehicle network, a maritime network, or combinations thereof.

FIG.2is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of messages for interconnection between the ground identification device and the integrated management system or for interconnection between the controller and the integrated management system in the system ofFIG.1.

Referring toFIG.2, an access message has a message configuration for managing the identification information of the drone. That is, an access message20includes a transmitter identifier21for identifying a device that transmits information, a receiver identifier22for specifying and identifying a device that receives information, an execution function command23for classifying and defining a function to be performed, a serial number24for transmitting information sequentially and retransmitting the corresponding information when transmission fails, data size information25for informing the size of data to be transmitted, and transmission data26. The identifier may be referred to as an identification (ID), and at least one of the transmitter identifier and the receiver identifier may be set as its own unique identifier.

FIG.3is a flowchart for describing an interworking function between a ground identification device and an integrated management system that can be employed in the system ofFIG.1.

In the present embodiment, a ground identification device200and an integrated management system300interwork with each other to manage identification information of a drone. To this end, the ground identification device200may first transmit an access message for an access request to the integrated management system300.

Referring toFIG.3, the ground identification device200requests allocation of an identifier (ID) from the integrated management system300(S31), and receives an identifier allocation response from the integrated management system300(S32). The integrated management system300may allocate an identifier to the ground identification device200in response to the identifier allocation request and add the identifier to a response message to respond to the ground identification device. The ground identification device200may pre-store the identifier for the integrated management system300or receive the identifier for the integrated management system300from the integrated management system300through a response message. The response message may be, for example, an access message corresponding to a response to the identifier allocation request.

Such identifier allocation may be preferentially performed for interworking between the ground identification device200and the integrated management system300, and a subsequent identifier allocation for interworking between the ground identification device200and the integrated management system300may be achieved after adding and transmitting the allocated identifier to an access message when transmitting or receiving information or messages.

Next, the ground identification device200may transmit an access message including operation state information of the ground identification device, including the allocated identifier, to the integrated management system300(S33), and receive a response message indicating that such information has been successfully received from the integrated management system300(S34).

Further, the ground identification device200may transmit an access message including the identification information of the drone, which is received from the drone, to the integrated management system300(S35), and receive a response message indicating that the identification information of the drone has been successfully received from the integrated management system300(S36).

FIG.4is a flowchart for describing another embodiment of the interworking function between the ground identification device and the integrated management system that can be employed in the system ofFIG.1.

In the present embodiment, the ground identification device200and the integrated management system300interwork with each other to manage the identification information of the drone. In this case, in order to manage the identification information of the drone, the integrated management system300may first request to perform an initialization procedure for access or perform a restart procedure during access, from the ground identification device200.

Referring toFIG.4, the integrated management system300may request initialization in order to reset the information of the ground identification device200(S41), and receive a response to the initialization request from the ground identification device200(S42). In this case, the ground identification device200may initialize the information including the identifier previously allocated in response to the initialization request.

Further, the integrated management system300may use an access message to request a restart for performance management of the ground identification device200(S43), and receive a response to the restart request from the ground identification device200(S44). Here, the ground identification device200may use an access message to transmit a restart response message to the integrated management system300and then may restart the system. In this case, the ground identification device200may maintain the existing information including the identifier which is allocated from the integrated management system300without change.

FIG.5is a configuration diagram of operation state information of a ground identification device that can be employed in the system ofFIG.1.

Referring toFIG.5, operation state information50of the ground identification device includes location information51including latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the ground identification device, ground identification device operation state information52indicating whether the ground identification device operates normally or a problem occurs, communication method information53, which includes a communication method used for drone identification, for example, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc., and drone identification communication frequency information54, which includes a communication frequency used for drone identification, for example, a frequency of about 433 MHz, about 915 MHz, etc.

FIG.6is a configuration diagram of drone identification information that can be employed in the system ofFIG.1.

Referring toFIG.6, drone identification information60may be transmitted from a ground identification device to an integrated management system and stored in the integrated management system. Further, the drone identification information60may be transmitted from a controller to the integrated management system and stored in the integrated management system.

The drone identification information60may include drone ID information61, which is unique information for distinguishing a drone, drone operation state information62for transmitting information on a state such as a state before take-off, a state in flight, an emergency situation, etc., location information63including latitude, longitude, and altitude information, drone movement speed information64on a speed at which the drone moves, drone movement direction information65on a direction in which the drone moves, drone identification date and time information66, and the like.

Here, the emergency situation may include a state such as a low battery, an emergency landing, or the like.

FIG.7is a flowchart for describing an interworking function between a controller and an integrated management system that can be employed in the system ofFIG.1.

In the present embodiment, an integrated management system300may manage drone identification information of a drone by interworking with a controller400that controls the drone, instead of a ground identification device. In this case, the controller400may receive the identification information or flight-related information from the drone.

Referring toFIG.7, the integrated management system300may receive an identifier check request message from the controller400(S71) and transmit a response message to the identifier check request message to the controller400(S72). In this case, the integrated management system300may check an identifier for the corresponding controller400in response to the identifier check request message, and add a result of the check to the response message to transmit the response message to the controller400.

The identifier check should be performed first for interworking between the controller400and the integrated management system300, and thereafter, when the controller400and the integrated management system300transmit or receive the information to or from each other, the identifier may be added to the information and transmitted.

Further, the integrated management system300may receive controller identification information including the identifier for the controller from the controller400(S73), and transmit a response indicating that the controller identification information has been successfully received to the controller400(S74).

FIG.8is a configuration diagram of controller identification information that can be employed in the system ofFIG.1.

Referring toFIG.8, controller identification information80that is transmitted from a controller to an integrated management system and stored in the integrated management system may include controller ID information81, which is unique information for distinguishing a drone, location information82including latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the drone, controller identification date and time information83, and the like.

FIG.9is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of hardware of a drone identification information management apparatus that can be employed in the ground identification device, the integrated management system, or the controller of the drone identification information management system ofFIG.1.

Referring toFIG.9, a drone identification information management apparatus100is a component that performs at least some functions of the integrated management system, and may include at least one processor110, a memory120, and a transceiver130that is connected to a network to perform communication. Further, the drone identification information management apparatus100may further include an input interface device140, an output interface device150, a storage device160, or the like. The respective components included in the drone identification information management apparatus100may be connected to each other through a common bus170to communicate with each other.

However, the respective components included in the drone identification information management apparatus100may be connected to each other through an individual interface or an individual bus centering on the processor110instead of the common bus170. For example, the processor110may be connected to at least one of the memory120, the transceiver130, the input interface device140, the output interface device150, and the storage device160through a dedicated interface.

The processor110may execute a program or instructions stored in at least one of the memory120and the storage device160. The processor110may be a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor on which the methods according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are performed.

Each of the memory120and the storage device160may be configured as at least one of a volatile storage medium and a non-volatile storage medium. For example, the memory120may be configured as at least one of a read-only memory (ROM) and a random-access memory (RAM).

The memory120and the storage device160may store an access message generation module, an access message transmission module, an access message reception module, an access message management module, an identifier management module, an identifier allocation request module, an identifier allocation module, an identifier allocation response module, a ground identification device operation state transmission module, a ground identification device operation state management module, a ground identification device operation state message generation module, a ground identification device operation state information transmission response module, a drone identification information generation module, a drone identification information management module, a drone identification information transmission module, a drone identification information transmission response module, an initialization request module, an initialization processing module, an initialization response module, a restart request module, a restart processing module, a restart response module, a controller identifier management module, a controller identifier check request module, a controller identifier check response module, a controller identification information generation module, a controller identification information transmission module, a controller identification information transmission response module, a controller identification information management module, or combinations thereof. At least some of the above modules are software modules and may be mounted on the processor110to perform corresponding functions under the control of the processor110.