UAV coordination on convex curves in wind: An environmental sampling application

Abstract

This paper is concerned with synchronization of UAVs, modeled as particles, moving along convex curves in the plane, in the presence of a steady wind. The method presented here integrates previous results on synchronization along convex loops, in still air, and synchronization on circles in an external flow field. The method is applied to a control-volume sampling problem, in which UAVs travel along a closed, convex curve in ambient winds in order to sample the air along a surface that bounds the control-volume. The periodic flight pattern of the UAVs is divided into a semi-circular sampling path and a near-minimum-time re-initialization path. To ensure consistent measurements, the vehicles coordinate their motion to arrive at the beginning of the sampling arcs simultaneously.