CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/JP2019/015669, filed Apr. 10, 2019, which claims priority to International Application No. PCT/JP2018/015100, filed Apr. 10, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a shooting (imaging, taking of pictures) inspection (investigation) system and a shooting inspection method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system for and a method of performing shooting inspection using an unmanned flying object in an inspection space including the inside of a closed-type space such as the inside of a tubular space or the inside of a rectangular space.

BACKGROUND ART

The useful life of a sewage pipeline (sewer conduit) is set to approximately 50 years, and it is assumed that facilities that have reached the end of their useful life will exponentially increases in the future. For efficient maintenance and management, it is essential to grasp a state of the sewage pipeline.

As a method of inspecting the state of the sewage pipeline, a method of an inspector moving in a pipe to perform direct visual inspection, a method of arranging a television camera connected to the ground via a cable in a pipe to perform shooting, a method of loading a television camera connected to the ground via a cable into a self-propelled vehicle and arranging the television camera in a pipe to perform shooting while traveling, and the like have been used. However, in the method of the direct visual inspection by the inspector, there are various problems such as a risk of a toxic gas being produced in the sewage pipeline to affect a human body and a risk from immersion at the time of sudden rainfall. In the method of arranging the television camera in the pipe, there are also problems that a sufficient inspection speed is not obtained and a vehicle is difficult to control when a water level in the sewage pipeline rises.

In flying an unmanned aerial vehicle in not only the sewage pipeline but also an environment where a collision with any boundary surface such as a wall surface or a ceiling may occur, controllability of the unmanned aerial vehicle may be deteriorated by the collision with the boundary surface, or an vehicle body may be damaged in some cases.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-087917

Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-226259

Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-001967

Patent Literature 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-239665

Patent Literature 5: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-236728

Patent Literature 6: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-000059

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus configuration, a method, and the like for performing shooting inspection in an inspection space including the inside of a sewage pipeline using an unmanned flying object.

Solution to Problem

To solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a shooting inspection system including a flight start stage (flight start platform) on which an unmanned flying object can be placed, the unmanned flying object that is connected to a line-type member, includes an inspection camera, a traveling direction shooting camera, and an unmanned flying object-side communication unit, and starts to fly from a state where the unmanned flying object is placed on the flight start stage in an inspection space, shoots a traveling direction in the inspection space using the traveling direction shooting camera, and flies in the inspection space while transmitting traveling direction shooting data obtained by shooting the traveling direction from the unmanned flying object-side communication unit, an external control device that includes a display unit and an external control device-side communication unit, receives the traveling direction shooting data by the external control device-side communication unit, accepts an input of a control instruction to the unmanned flying object while displaying a moving image (movie) or a still image obtained based on the traveling direction shooting data on the display unit, and transmits a signal representing the control instruction from the external control device-side communication unit, and a draw device that is connected to the line-type member and draws the unmanned flying object.

The present invention provides a shooting inspection method including putting an unmanned flying object that is connected to a line-type member and includes an inspection camera, a traveling direction shooting camera, and an unmanned flying object-side communication unit into an inspection space with the unmanned flying object placed on a flight start stage, the unmanned flying object starting to fly from a state where the unmanned flying object is placed on the flight start stage in the inspection space, shooting a traveling direction in the inspection space using the traveling direction shooting camera, and flying in the inspection space while transmitting traveling direction shooting data obtained by shooting the traveling direction from the unmanned flying object-side communication unit, an external control device, including a display unit and an external control device-side communication unit, receiving the traveling direction shooting data using the external control device-side communication unit, accepting an input of a control instruction to the unmanned flying object while displaying a moving image or a still image obtained based on the traveling direction shooting data on the display unit, and transmitting a signal representing the control instruction from the external control device-side communication unit, and a draw device, connected to the line-type member, drawing the unmanned flying object.

The draw device may be an automatic winding device that winds the line-type member to draw the unmanned flying object.

The draw device may draw the unmanned flying object with the unmanned flying object stopping traveling in the traveling direction and floating.

The method may include the inspection camera performing shooting in the inspection space while the unmanned flying object is being drawn by the draw device.

The method may further include generating a developed view (development view) or expanded (developed) image data corresponding to a boundary surface of the inspection space from inspection camera shooting data obtained by the shooting using the inspection camera, and displaying the developed view or the expanded image data as an image.

An antenna may be attached to the flight start stage, and communication between the unmanned flying object-side communication unit and the external control device-side communication unit may be performed according to a wireless LAN (local area network) communication standard using the antenna.

Resolution of the moving image or the still image obtained based on the traveling direction shooting data may be lower than resolution of a moving image or a still image obtained based on shooting data obtained by the shooting using the inspection camera.

The flight start stage may be attached to a distal end portion of a rod-shaped body, and the rod-shaped body may be inserted into the inspection space from the side of the flight start stage on which the unmanned flying object is placed to put the unmanned flying object into the inspection space.

The unmanned flying object can be put into the inspection space by placing the flight start stage that is attached to the distal end portion of the rod-shaped body and on which the unmanned flying object is placed on a carriage (caddie, trolley) and inserting the rod-shaped body into the inspection space from an opening provided in the carriage.

Advantageous Effect of Invention

The present invention proposes a specific procedure, apparatus, and the like for performing shooting inspection using an unmanned flying object. As a result, safe shooting inspection in a sewage pipeline can be performed.

