Improvement in the model of cooperative aerial reconnaissance used in the tactical decision support system

Šilinger

et al. 2020

Sensors

Self Cite

This article examines autonomous reconnaissance in a complex urban environment using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Environments with many buildings and other types of obstacles and/or an uneven terrain are harder to be explored as occlusion of objects of interest may often occur. First, in this article, the problem of autonomous reconnaissance in a complex urban environment via a swarm of UAVs is formulated. Then, the algorithm based on the metaheuristic approach is proposed for a solution. This solution lies in deploying a number of waypoints in the area of interest to be explored, from which the monitoring is performed, and planning the routes for available UAVs among these waypoints so that the monitored area is as large as possible and the operation as short as possible. In the last part of this article, two types of main experiments based on computer simulations are designed to verify the proposed algorithms. The first type focuses on comparing the results achieved on the benchmark instances with the optimal solutions. The second one presents and discusses the results obtained from a number of scenarios, which are based on typical reconnaissance operations in real environments.

Section: Experiments On Real Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective Perception Using UAVs: Autonomous Aerial Reconnaissance in a Complex Urban Environment

Stodola

Šilinger

et al. 2020

Sensors

Self Cite

“…The original CAR model was improved in the work of [29], where the trajectories were smoothed in order to achieve the following: (a) shorten their length and thus hasten the reconnaissance operation, and (b) be able to use fixed-wing UASs that cannot change direction so abruptly. The result of this improvement, applied to the previous example situation, is shown in Figure 2 in red.…”

Section: Cooperative Aerial Reconnaissancementioning

confidence: 99%

Trajectory Optimization in a Cooperative Aerial Reconnaissance Model

Stodola

Nohel

et al. 2019

Sensors

In recent years, the use of modern technology in military operations has become standard practice. Unmanned systems play an important role in operations such as reconnaissance and surveillance. This article examines a model for planning aerial reconnaissance using a fleet of mutually cooperating unmanned aerial vehicles to increase the effectiveness of the task. The model deploys a number of waypoints such that, when every waypoint is visited by any vehicle in the fleet, the area of interest is fully explored. The deployment of waypoints must meet the conditions arising from the technical parameters of the sensory systems used and tactical requirements of the task at hand. This paper proposes an improvement of the model by optimizing the number and position of waypoints deployed in the area of interest, the effect of which is to improve the trajectories of individual unmanned systems, and thus increase the efficiency of the operation. To achieve this optimization, a modified simulated annealing algorithm is proposed. The improvement of the model is verified by several experiments. Two sets of benchmark problems were designed: (a) benchmark problems for verifying the proposed algorithm for optimizing waypoints, and (b) benchmark problems based on typical reconnaissance scenarios in the real environment to prove the increased effectiveness of the reconnaissance operation. Moreover, an experiment in the SteelBeast simulation system was also conducted.

“…There are several papers and scientific works related to the topic of this paper. [9][10][11] However, most of the papers are focused on either military purposes or technical aspects of the models or systems. The use of the modified UAS reconnaissance model for civilian purposes, particularly for oversized cargo movement, is the objective of a limited number of papers.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of an aerial reconnaissance model during the movement of oversized loads

Journal of Defense Modeling & Simulation

Neubauer

2019

The paper sets out the results of an experiment carried out using the Virtual Battle Space 2 simulator to verify the applicability of an autonomous unmanned aerial system (UAS) reconnaissance model when moving oversized loads. The model is originally implemented within a decision-support system under military conditions. The aim of the experiment is to verify the possibilities of using the model for civilian needs. The basic output of the experiment presented in the paper is confirmation that the autonomous UAS reconnaissance model can be applied in the actual transportation of oversized loads: the experiment confirms the author’s hypothesis. Based on the result of the experiment it is possible to state that a slightly modified UAS model can significantly influence the execution phase of the oversized load movement in a positive way. It shows that the use of the model reduces the time of the movement and avoids unexpected interferences.