Border patrol and surveillance missions using multiple unmanned air vehicles

In this paper, we propose hierarchical control architecture for a system that does border or perimeter patrol using unmanned air vehicles (AUV). By control architecture we mean a specific way of organizing the motion control and navigation functions performed by the UAV. It is convenient to organize the functions into hierarchical layers. This way, a complex design problem is partitioned into a number of more manageable subproblems that are addressed in separate layers. This paper discusses vehicle control requirements and maps them onto layered control architecture. The formalization of the hierarchy is accomplished in terms of the specific functions accomplished by each layer and of the interfaces between layers. The implementation of the layers is discussed and illustrative examples are provided.