SwarmintelligencebasedapproachforrealtimeUAVteamcoordination

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Abstract:
Thispaperproposesswarmintelligencebasedapproachfortherealtime
coordinationofgroupsofUAVs(UnmannedAerialVehicles)intaskswherevalues
thataresensedfromtheaerialplatformcanbeusedtoqualifytheindividuals.In
particular,asanexampleapplication,hereweconsiderenvironmentalmonitoring
UAVteams.Theirfunctionistomonitoranareaandwhensomeundesired
environmentalconditionarises,coordinatethemselvestofindthesourceasfast
aspossible.Theswarmbasedalgorithmhasbeenextensivelytestedusinga3D
simulationplatformandvalidatedwithrealUAVsflyingoveranindustrialarea.

Summary:
ThispaperproposesanautonomouscoordinationstrategyforUAVbased
systemsthatcanbeusedforthedetectionofpollutionemittingsourcesinthe
environmentinanautonomousmannerbyteamsofUAVs.Thestrategyis
inspiredonswarmbasedapproachestooptimizationbutithasbeenadaptedto
itsoperationinrealtimeusingrealUAVs,theunitshavebeenequippedwithan
autopilotbasedonaGPS,aminiatureInertialMeasurementUnit(IMU)andan
AttitudeHeadingReferenceSystem(AHRS).AlsoaLongRangeSystem(LRS)for
UAVshasbeeninstalled.Thesimulatorsoftwarehasbeenimplementedusing
JAVAandthejMonkey3OpenGLGameEngineforthe3Denvironmentasasingle
threadedprocessthatexecutesacontinuousloopconsistingofPollutionfunction,
World.Airplanes.Controller,Communicationschannel.

NetworkCentricSystemsforMilitaryOperationsinUrbanTerrain:The
RoleofUAVs

Abstract:
Militarysystemsarethemotivationaldriverformuchofthetechnology
developmentconductedatappliedresearchlaboratoriesaroundtheworld.As
theneedsoftheworld'smilitarieschange,sodoesthefocusofthisresearchand
development.Inthispaper,wediscusshowthefundamentalcharacteristicsof
militaryoperationsinurbanterrain(MOUT)imposerequirementsandconstraints
onsensingandreconnaissance.Wehighlighttheimportanceofanewclassof
smallunmannedaerialvehicles(UAVs)fornetworkcentricmilitaryurban
operations.WereviewsomeoftheUAVsthathavebeendevelopedinrecent
years,andthatareunderdevelopment,withparticularattentiontotheir
endurance,portability,performance,payload,andcommunicationcapabilities.
Selecteduniversitytestbedsarealsobrieflynoted.Overthelastfewyearsthere
hasbeenconsiderableresearchfocusedonhowthesesmallUAVs,both
individuallyandcollectively,canoperateautonomouslyinurbanenvironments
andhelpcaptureandcommunicateneededinformation.Wediscusssomeofthis
research;specifictopicscoveredincludeguidanceandcontrolforautonomous
operation,multiUAVcoordinationandrouteoptimization,andadhoc
networkingwithUAVnodes.Anewconceptofoperationsisdescribedthatrelies
oncoordinationandcontrolofaheterogeneoussuiteofsmallUAVsfor
surveillanceandreconnaissanceoperationsinurbanterrain.

Summary:
LargescaleUAVsarecontrolledbygroundstationoperatorswhoprovidelow
levelwaypointcommandsviadatalinkstoUAVavionics.Thisisuntenablefor
smallUAVsintheurbanenvironmentbecauseofthegreateruncertainty,shorter
timescales,andfasterrequiredresponsetimesinvolved.Therearetwobroad
categoriesofongoingtechnologydevelopments:1)highflyingorperchedUAVs
actingasGPSpseudolitesprovidinghigherstrengthnavigationsignals;2)nonGPS
navigationaidingdevicessuchasradar,videoandladarsensorswith

terrain/imagematchingwithurbandatabases. Visionbasedflightcontrolisone
promisingsolution;miniatureopticalflowsensorsarenowavailablethatcanbe
usedtodetectpotentialcollisions