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EP-4279381-B1 - CONTROL DEVICE, PROGRAM, SYSTEM, AND CONTROL METHOD

EP4279381B1EP 4279381 B1EP4279381 B1EP 4279381B1EP-4279381-B1

Inventors

  • NAKAZAWA EIJI

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20211227

Claims (12)

  1. A control device (300) comprising: a flight vehicle position information acquisition unit (304) which is configured to acquire service flight vehicle position information indicating positions of a plurality of service flight vehicles, each of which functions as a stratosphere platform and is mounted with a communication device which forms a wireless communication area by emitting a beam and provides a wireless communication service to a user terminal in the wireless communication area; an arrangement determination unit (306) which is configured to determine arrangement of a relay flight vehicle which is configured to relay communication of one service flight vehicle among the plurality of service flight vehicles on a basis of a predetermined condition and the service flight vehicle position information; and a flight vehicle control unit (308) which is configured to control the relay flight vehicle to move according to the arrangement determined by the arrangement determination unit (306) and establish wireless communication connection with the one service flight vehicle, characterized in that the control device (300) further comprises a weather-related information reception unit (312) which is configured to receive weather-related information on weather in the wireless communication area formed by each of the plurality of service flight vehicles, the weather-related information including rainfall information indicating a rainfall or a predicted rainfall in the wireless communication area formed by each of the plurality of service flight vehicles, wherein the arrangement determination unit (306) is configured to determine arrangement of the relay flight vehicle which relays communication of the one service flight vehicle, of which the wireless communication area formed has the rainfall or the predicted rainfall larger than a predetermined rainfall threshold or a predetermined predicted rainfall threshold, among the plurality of service flight vehicles on a basis of the rainfall information included in the weather-related information.
  2. The control device (300) according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement determination unit (306) is configured to determine the arrangement of the relay flight vehicle such that wireless communication connection is able to be established with both the one service flight vehicle and a gateway on ground, and the flight vehicle control unit (308) further is configured to control the relay flight vehicle to relay communication between the one service flight vehicle and the gateway.
  3. The control device (300) according to claim 2, wherein the arrangement determination unit (306) is configured to determine the arrangement of the relay flight vehicle such that a distance between the relay flight vehicle and the gateway becomes shorter within a range where wireless communication connection is able to be established with both the one service flight vehicle and the gateway.
  4. The control device (300) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the arrangement determination unit (306) is configured to determine the arrangement of the relay flight vehicle such that wireless communication connection is able to be established with both the one service flight vehicle and another service flight vehicle among the plurality of service flight vehicles, and the flight vehicle control unit (308) further is configured to control the relay flight vehicle to establish wireless communication connection with the another service flight vehicle and relay communication between the one service flight vehicle and the another service flight vehicle.
  5. The control device (300) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the arrangement determination unit (306) is configured to determine the arrangement of the relay flight vehicle such that wireless communication connection is able to be established with both the one service flight vehicle and another relay flight vehicle, and the flight vehicle control unit (308) further is configured to control the relay flight vehicle to establish wireless communication connection with the another relay flight vehicle and relay communication between the one service flight vehicle and the another relay flight vehicle.
  6. The control device (300) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: a priority setting unit (310) which is configured to set a priority of the wireless communication area of each of the plurality of service flight vehicles wirelessly communicatively connected to the relay flight vehicle, wherein the flight vehicle control unit (308) further is configured to control the relay flight vehicle to allocate a predetermined communication capacity to the plurality of service flight vehicles on a basis of the priority set by the priority setting unit (310).
  7. The control device (300) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a communication speed-related information acquisition unit (314) which is configured to acquire communication speed-related information on communication speeds of the plurality of service flight vehicles, wherein the arrangement determination unit (306) is configured to determine, on a basis of the communication speed-related information, arrangement of the relay flight vehicle which relays communication of the one service flight vehicle, which has a communication speed with the user terminal lower than a first communication speed threshold or a communication speed with a gateway on ground lower than a second communication speed threshold, among the plurality of service flight vehicles.
  8. The control device (300) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control device (300) is mounted on the relay flight vehicle.
  9. A program for causing a computer to function as the control device (300) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
  10. A system comprising: the control device (300) according to any one of claims 1 to 8; and the relay flight vehicle (200).
  11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the relay flight vehicle does not have a function of providing the wireless communication service.
  12. A control method which is executed by a computer, the control method comprising: acquiring flight vehicle position information by acquiring service flight vehicle position information indicating positions of a plurality of service flight vehicles, each of which functions as a stratosphere platform and is mounted with a communication device which forms a wireless communication area by emitting a beam and provides a wireless communication service to a user terminal in the wireless communication area; determining arrangement of a relay flight vehicle which relays communication of one service flight vehicle among the plurality of service flight vehicles on a basis of a predetermined condition and the service flight vehicle position information; and controlling a flight vehicle by controlling the relay flight vehicle to move according to the arrangement determined by the determining arrangement and establish wireless communication connection with the one service flight vehicle, characterized in that the control method further comprises receiving weather-related information on weather in the wireless communication area formed by each of the plurality of service flight vehicles, the weather-related information including rainfall information indicating a rainfall or a predicted rainfall in the wireless communication area formed by each of the plurality of service flight vehicles, wherein the determining arrangement of a relay flight vehicle includes determining arrangement of the relay flight vehicle which relays communication of the one service flight vehicle, of which the wireless communication area formed has the rainfall or the predicted rainfall larger than a predetermined rainfall threshold or a predetermined predicted rainfall threshold, among the plurality of service flight vehicles on a basis of the rainfall information included in the weather-related information.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a control device, a program, a system, and a control method. 2. RELATED ART Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-135823 describes a communication system using a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS). US 2020/380874 A1 describes a system and a method for suppressing a deterioration of communication quality due to frequent occurrence of handovers at cell boundaries of a plurality of cells formed by a plurality of radio relay apparatuses that can move in an upper airspace, are provided. In the system, each of the plurality of radio relay apparatuses for performing a radio communication with a terminal apparatus comprises a radio relay station which is movably provided by flying in an upper airspace, forms a cell toward the ground or the sea, and performs a radio communication with a terminal apparatus located in the cell. Each of the plurality of radio relay apparatuses flies in cooperation with each other so as to maintain a positional relationship between the radio relay apparatuses by an autonomous control or external control. GENERAL DISCLOSURE The invention is defined in the independent claims. Embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a control device is provided. The control device includes a flight vehicle position information acquisition unit which acquires service flight vehicle position information indicating positions of a plurality of service flight vehicles, each of which functions as a stratosphere platform and is mounted with a communication device which forms a wireless communication area by emitting a beam and provides a wireless communication service to a user terminal in the wireless communication area. The control device includes an arrangement determination unit which determines arrangement of a relay flight vehicle which relays communication of one service flight vehicle among the plurality of service flight vehicles on the basis of a predetermined condition and the service flight vehicle position information. The control device includes a flight vehicle control unit which controls the relay flight vehicle to move according to the arrangement determined by the arrangement determination unit and establish wireless communication connection with the one service flight vehicle. The arrangement determination unit may determine the arrangement of the relay flight vehicle such that wireless communication connection is able to be established with both the one service flight vehicle and a gateway on ground. The flight vehicle control unit may further control the relay flight vehicle to relay communication between the one service flight vehicle and the gateway. When a distance between the one service flight vehicle and the relay flight vehicle is shorter than a predetermined distance threshold, the arrangement determination unit may determine that the relay flight vehicle can establish wireless communication connection with the one service flight vehicle. When a distance between the gateway and the relay flight vehicle is shorter than a predetermined distance threshold, the arrangement determination unit may determine that the relay flight vehicle can establish wireless communication connection with the gateway. The arrangement determination unit may determine the arrangement of the relay flight vehicle such that a distance between the relay flight vehicle and the gateway becomes shorter within a range where wireless communication connection is able to be established with both the one service flight vehicle and the gateway. the arrangement determination unit may determine the arrangement of the relay flight vehicle such that wireless communication connection is able to be established with both the one service flight vehicle and another service flight vehicle among the plurality of service flight vehicles. The flight vehicle control unit may further control the relay flight vehicle to establish wireless communication connection with the another service flight vehicle and relay communication between the one service flight vehicle and the another service flight vehicle. The arrangement determination unit may determine the arrangement of the relay flight vehicle such that wireless communication connection is able to be established with both the one service flight vehicle and another relay flight vehicle. The flight vehicle control unit may further control the relay flight vehicle to establish wireless communication connection with the another relay flight vehicle and relay communication between the one service flight vehicle and the another relay flight vehicle. When a distance between the relay flight vehicle and the another relay flight vehicle is shorter than a predetermined distance threshold, the arrangement determination unit may determine that the relay flight vehicle can establish wireless communication connection with the another relay fligh