Addressing method for functional modules of a movable object

Abstract

A method for assigning addresses to a plurality of controllers carried by a movable object includes receiving, at each controller, an addressing signal including an address and transmitted from a master controller via a shared communication interface that is shared by the plurality of controllers and the master controller, the plurality of controllers each being configured to control a component of the movable object; perform, in response to receiving the addressing signal, an assessment to determine whether a selected controller among the plurality of controllers has previously received an activation signal transmitted from the master controller via a respective private communication interface of a plurality of private communication interfaces that are connected to the master controller in parallel; and assigning the address to the selected controller in response to determining that the selected controller previously received the activation signal according to a result of the assessment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for assigning addresses to a plurality of controllers carried by a movable object, comprising:
 receiving, at each of the plurality of controllers, an addressing signal including an address and transmitted from a master controller via a shared communication interface that is shared by the plurality of controllers and the master controller, the plurality of controllers each being configured to control a component of the movable object;   performing, in response to receiving the addressing signal, an assessment for each of the plurality of controllers to determine whether a selected controller among the plurality of controllers has previously received an activation signal transmitted from the master controller via a respective private communication interface of a plurality of private communication interfaces that are connected to the master controller in parallel; and   assigning the address to the selected controller in response to determining that the selected controller previously received the activation signal according to a result of the assessment.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the movable object is an unmanned aerial vehicle. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of controllers include a plurality of electronic speed controls (ESCs) each operably coupled to a corresponding propulsion unit of the movable object. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the corresponding propulsion unit includes a rotor and a motor configured to drive the rotor to rotate. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein each ESC is configured to generate control signals for controlling the corresponding propulsion unit. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the control signals include at least one of: a pulse position modulation signal, a chopper signal, an input port signal, or an output port signal. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of controllers include a plurality of sensor controllers each operably coupled to a corresponding sensor of the movable object. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the private communication interfaces is a unidirectional communication interface allowing one-way communication from the master controller to a corresponding controller of the plurality of controllers. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the one-way communication includes at least one of: pulse position modulation signals, pulse width modulation signals, or analog voltage signals. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shared communication interface is a bidirectional communication interface allowing two-way communication between the master controller and the plurality of controllers. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the shared communication interface is a bus interface. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the bus interface includes at least one of: a 485 bus, an I2C bus, a SPI bus, or a CAN bus. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing the assigned address in a memory associated with the selected controller.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting a confirmation signal from the selected controller to the master controller via the shared communication interface in response to the address being assigned to the selected controller.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the address is a first address and the selected controller is a first selected controller, the method further comprising:
 receiving, at each of the plurality of controllers, a query signal from the master controller via the shared communication interface, the query signal comprising a second address;   assessing, in response to receiving the query signal, whether a second selected controller among the plurality of controllers has been assigned the second address; and   transmitting a response signal to the master controller via the shared communication interface in response to the second selected controller being assigned the second address.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the query signal includes a request for state information of the second controller having the second address, and the response signal includes the state information generated by the second controller. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the second controller is an electronic speed control (ESC) coupled to an actuator, and the state information includes a rotation speed of the actuator or a current value for the ESC. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the query signal is received at each of the plurality of controllers at predetermined time intervals during operation of the movable object. 
     
     
         19 . A controller for controlling a component of a movable object, comprising:
 one or more processors; and   a memory storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the controller to:
 receive an addressing signal including an address and transmitted from a master controller via a shared communication interface that is shared by a plurality of controllers and the master controller, the plurality of controllers each being configured to control a component of the movable object; 
 perform, in response to receiving the addressing signal, an assessment to determine whether the controller has previously received an activation signal transmitted from the master controller via a respective private communication interface of a plurality of private communication interfaces that are connected to the master controller in parallel; and 
 assign the address to the controller in response to determining that the controller previously received the activation signal according to a result of the assessment. 
   
     
     
         20 . A system for assigning addresses to a plurality of controllers of a movable object, comprising:
 a plurality of controllers each configured to control a component of the movable object;   a master controller configured to transmit signals to the plurality of controllers;   a shared communication interface configured to operably couple the master controller to each of the plurality of controllers; and   a plurality of private communication interfaces connected to the master controller in parallel, each of the plurality of private communication controllers corresponding to one of the plurality of controllers and being configured to couple the master controller to a corresponding one of the plurality of controllers,   wherein each of the plurality of controllers is configured to:
 receive an addressing signal including an address and transmitted from the master controller via the shared communication interface; 
 perform, in response to receiving the addressing signal, an assessment to determine whether a selected controller among the plurality of controllers has previously received an activation signal transmitted from the master controller via a respective private communication interface of the plurality of private communication interfaces; and 
 assign the address to the selected controller in response to determining that the selected controller previously received the activation signal according to a result of the assessment.