Convoy protection using multiple unmanned aerial vehicles: organization and coordination

This paper addresses the problem of how to use a given set of possibly heterogeneous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to provide protection to a moving convoy of ground vehicles. By protection, we mean providing video or sensor coverage of a moving region around the convoy. A hierarchical system design is described that addresses how convoy protection missions may be organized and how those missions might fit into a larger context. The system encompasses task generation and allocation, flight path generation and tracking, and synchronization between cooperative tasks. Task allocation is posed as a constraint satisfaction problem. The design of two classes of orbital flight paths, lateral and longitudinal, is discussed. A coordination algorithm is described that allows the aircraft to synchronize their motions to provide improved sensor coverage. Results of a hardware-in-the-loop simulation are shown.