KR-20260066929-A - Cooperative Mission System of Quadruped Walking Robot and Drone

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooperative mission system for a quadruped robot and a drone. The system according to the present invention comprises a quadruped robot and a plurality of drones. The quadruped robot comprises a robot arm and a drone mounting platform capable of mounting the drone. The drone comprises a body on which a plurality of propellers are rotatably mounted and a handle portion formed on the upper part of the body that can be grasped by a gripper of the robot arm. The quadruped robot moves the drone while gripping the handle portion with the gripper and positions the drone on the drone mounting platform. According to the present invention, there is an advantage in that the drone can be operated more efficiently in inaccessible areas by saving battery usage by mounting the drone on the platform in areas accessible to the quadruped robot.

Inventors

• 정진석
• 강왕구
• 황인성

Assignees

• 한국항공우주연구원

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20241105

Claims (7)

1. As a cooperative mission system of quadrupedal robots and drones, Includes a quadrupedal robot and multiple drones, The above-mentioned quadrupedal robot is, Robotic arm; and It includes a drone mounting stand capable of mounting the above-mentioned drone, and The above drone is, A fuselage on which a plurality of propellers are rotatably mounted; and It includes a handle portion formed on the upper part of the above body and capable of being grasped by the gripper of the robot arm, A cooperative mission system of a quadruped walking robot and a drone, wherein the quadruped walking robot moves the drone while gripping the handle portion with the gripper and positions the drone on the drone mounting base.
2. In Article 1, The above drone further includes a plurality of legs mounted on the lower part of the body, and The above drone mounting bracket is a cooperative mission system for a quadrupedal walking robot and a drone, having a plurality of position correction inclined holes formed therein for the plurality of legs to land on.
3. In Paragraph 2, The above handle part is, It includes a cylindrical portion formed vertically on the upper part of the body and a sphere formed at the upper end of the cylindrical portion, or A cooperative mission system for a quadrupedal robot and a drone, comprising two vertical columns formed vertically on the upper part of the body and a horizontal bar connecting the upper ends of the vertical columns.
4. In Paragraph 2, The above plurality of position correction slope holes are, A cooperative mission system for a quadruped walking robot and a drone, the diameter of which is larger than the circumference of the plurality of legs and formed in an inwardly inclined conical shape.
5. In Paragraph 4, Electromagnets are placed at the bottom of the above-mentioned multiple position correction inclined holes, and A cooperative mission system for a quadrupedal robot and a drone, wherein the electromagnet is activated after the plurality of legs are seated in the plurality of position correction inclined holes to prevent the drone from falling off the mounting base.
6. In Paragraph 4, A cooperative mission system of a quadrupedal robot and a drone, equipped with a mechanical fixing device for fixing the drone legs inside the plurality of position correction inclined holes.
7. Step of bringing a quadruped robot equipped with a drone into an indoor space, When the quadrupedal robot arrives at a point where entry and visibility of the quadrupedal robot are impossible, a step of launching a drone mounted on the quadrupedal robot to conduct additional exploration. When the above additional exploration is completed, the step of landing the drone near the quadruped robot, A step in which the above-mentioned quadrupedal robot retrieves the landed drone through a robot arm and a gripper and loads it onto a drone mounting stand, A method for operating a cooperative mission system of a quadruped robot and a drone, comprising the step of returning the quadruped robot that recovered the drone to a predetermined point.

Description

Cooperative Mission System of Quadruped Walking Robot and Drone The present invention relates to a cooperative mission system of a quadrupedal robot and a drone. A quadruped robot refers to a type of robot capable of walking using four legs, like a dog or a horse. Unlike unmanned ground vehicles that use wheels or tracks, it can be operated on stairs, rough terrain, or uneven ground. Furthermore, because quadruped robots can operate on stairs, rough terrain, and uneven ground and can easily overcome obstacles, they have the advantage of being suitable for movement in indoor exploration missions where the internal environment is unknown. Meanwhile, flying drones refer to multi-copter unmanned aerial vehicles with multiple propellers and coaxial counter-rotating helicopter unmanned aerial vehicles; they are capable of vertical take-off and landing and hovering, and can be manufactured in a relatively smaller size than fixed-wing or single-copter unmanned aerial vehicles. Multicopter drones and coaxial counter-rotating helicopter drones have advantages over other types of unmanned aerial vehicles when flying in confined indoor environments due to features such as hovering, vertical take-off and landing, and small size. A cooperative mission system refers to a cooperative framework in which multiple unmanned vehicles are organically connected as a single system to operate complementarily, designed to perform complex missions that are difficult to achieve with a single unmanned vehicle. With the advancement of unmanned vehicle technology, efforts are being made across various fields to utilize unmanned vehicles to solve complex indoor search missions that were previously too dangerous or inefficient for humans to perform. For instance, there is a growing trend to use unmanned vehicles for indoor search tasks in areas such as military operations (searching for enemy facilities), firefighting (interior search after fire suppression), facility inspection (facilities at risk of collapse), and disaster site investigation. Quadruped robots and flying drones are widely used for indoor search missions due to their unique advantages, but as individual units, they have difficulty performing missions smoothly due to their respective disadvantages. Since quadruped robots are ground robots that move around on the ground, there is a problem with difficulty in securing a clear view during indoor exploration. Additionally, small flying drones capable of flying indoors have a short flight time due to current battery performance limitations, making sufficient exploration impossible. Furthermore, there is a problem with the limited mission weight that can be carried, making it difficult to equip heavy, high-power communication equipment (modems) for smooth communication with the outside. Therefore, it is essential to apply a composite system that can mutually complement the disadvantages of each individual, such as quadrupedal robots and flying drones. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a cooperative mission system of a quadruped walking robot and a drone according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of a quadruped walking robot according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a detailed configuration diagram of a walking robot control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram exemplarily showing a state in which a drone according to one embodiment of the present invention has landed on a walking robot. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a multicopter-type drone according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a detailed configuration diagram of a drone control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a coaxial counter-rotating drone according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a drawing illustrating a drone stand according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of a drone being mounted on a drone mounting stand. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for performing a mission of a cooperative mission system of a quadruped walking robot and a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a cooperative mission system of a quadruped walking robot and a drone that additionally operates a quadruped walking robot equipped with a communication relay device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Then, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the invention. The terms used in this specification are for describing embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. In this specification