An Operation-Time Simulation Framework for UAV Swarm Configuration and Mission Planning

Abstract

In recent years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), have been increasingly utilized by both military and civilian organizations because they are less expensive, provide greater flexibilities and remove the need for on-board pilot support. Largely due to their utility and increased capabilities, in the near future, swarms of UAVs will replace single UAV use. Efficient control of swarms opens a set of new challenges, such as automatic UAV coordination, efficient swarm monitoring and dynamic mission planning. In this paper, we investigate the problem of dynamic mission planning for a UAV swarm. A centralized-distributed hybrid control framework is proposed for mission assignment and scheduling. The Dynamic Data Driven Application System (DDDAS) principles are applied to the framework so that it can adapt to the changing nature of the environment and the missions. A prototype simulation program is implemented as a proof-of- concept of the framework. Experimentation with the framework suggests the effectiveness of swarm control for several mission planning mechanisms.